Dear Parents,

Our year has begun in such a positive way with the arrival of so many wonderful new students in classes across the school as well as with the arrival of our beautiful new Kindergarten students.  We’ve also welcomed Miss Taylor Stokes and Mrs Casey Stewart onto our teaching staff.  Welcome to the St Columba’s community.  We love having you here! 

We have started our year with an emphasis on our Mercy values that will be presented on an ongoing basis in every classroom and at our assemblies. One of these is Hospitality and we’re definitely seeing this as a strength as we begin our year.  Children have been reminded to greet people with a smile and friendly welcome and to use encouraging words in their interactions.

We recognise the importance of positive thinking and a growth mindset in building the skills of our children to take on new challenges and to overcome difficulties and we remind them that there are also times when someone else is needed to help get through. We know parents are the greatest role models in this and our teachers work to support and promote this thinking at school too.  With this in mind, we have a real focus on wellbeing and social and emotional learning this year.  More information is to come on this.

We all look forward to working with you in partnership and with our school community for another busy and productive year!

Jenny Howard

Please be aware of the importance of following the signage and road rules around our school.  Safety for our students and their families is paramount!
There is no parking in the Drop off zone and those who park there are making the afternoon pick-ups for Lockyer St very dangerous.
It is not only illegal but very dangerous to complete U-turns across the double lines in front of the school.  Please drive further down the hill to turn around.
 
We often receive multiple phone calls, emails and walk ins complaining about double parking and blocking Lockyer st at school pick up time.
Parents/Carer's are not to double park! Blocking traffic by double parking carries a large fine and very inconsiderate to other road users.
Thank you to the parents who wait at the bottom of Lockyer and join the line after it has cleared as per the correct procedure.  A staff member is with students until 3.10 at the Kiss and Drop gate so there is plenty of time to collect your child.
Please note when we receive these complaints, we are advising them to take down registration plates and report this to police, we will also be asking parking rangers to be on site more often to police this an issue fines if warranted.
If someone picks up your child and doesn’t look at or have access to Compass please pass this important information on.

If a student isn't collected by 3.10 the teacher on duty will take them to the office and the parent/carer will receive a call. If there is a change to your child's end of day dismissal please call the office by 1.30pm so we can put the note in the note basket, we like to minimise the disruption to the classroom of phoning through these messages, we understand that sometimes this is unavoidable though.

kiss and Drop/Pick up and go - Gate 3

We advise that parents wait at the bottom of Lockyer St and do not proceed to join the kiss and drop line until it is moving freely and there is no need to double park, a good time is between 3.05pm-3.10pm. If you have missed joining the line then you need to proceed toward Brunker Road, turn left and use the roundabout if you need to come back into Lockyer Street.

Please note it only takes the first car to do the wrong thing and double park which then causes a bank up of vehicles behind them, these vehicles are then stuck further complicating the issue.

Top Gate - Gate 6

School main entrance next to the canteen, parents wait outside the gate until children are dismissed.

Brunker Road - Gate 1

Bottom pedestrian gate on Brunker Rd, parents wait outside the gate until children are dismissed.

Bottom Field - Gate 8

Mid way along footpath off Lockyer st, please note students are dismissed from this gate as soon as they arrive and the teacher leaves, please do not use this dismissal point if there is concern that your child will be left there alone.

We are excited to invite parents to school on Tuesday February 18 for our beginning of year parent information night.  All sessions will be held in the classrooms.  If there is a clash and you are unable to attend a session, please get in touch with the teacher and they will share their information with you.  Each session will go for no more than 20 minutes, apart from Kindergarten which will be around 45 minutes.

5:30pm – Year 1 & Year 2

5:55 pm – Year 3 & Year 4

6:20pm – Kindergarten, Year 5 & Year 6.

Children are not able to attend as there will be no supervision available.

A reminder that we have a pupil free day planned for Monday 24^th February. Our staff will be working with another school with a focus on curriculum.  OOSH will be operating on this day for families who require care for children.

Here are the other ways we keep parents informed:

• Newsletter: Published fortnightly on Thursdays.
• Facebook:  Sharing what’s been happening and reminders of things to come
• Compass: Vital for ongoing information, permissions, calendar, attendance etc.
• Curriculum Overviews: Released in Week 2 each term (At Parent Information Night for Term 1).
• Teacher Phone calls: Teachers will be calling to touch base with parents and to check in as to whether there are things you’d like the teachers to know about your child.
• Parent Information Evening: Tuesday, 18 February (More details in the newsletter and Compass).
• Parent-Teacher-Student Goal Setting Meetings: Booking times will be available in Compass closer to the date.

It is extremely important that both parents and students are aware that mobile phones and watches that allow messaging are not permitted at school. If a student requires a phone to communicate with parents during travel to and from school, it must not be used during school hours. The mobile phones must be turned off and kept in bags. Any watch that has the ability to phone / message must be set to school mode and cannot be used to contact parents. If you need to relay a message to your child, please call or email Admin. Contact through mobile phones or watches is not permitted.

Family engagement in our school community plays a vital role in ensuring all St Columba’s students reach their full potential.

This year, St Columba’s will continue to host a Parent Engagement Group meeting, known as a PEG, once per term. All parents and carers are encouraged to attend these informative events; their purpose is to support you in guiding your children’s learning and wellbeing both at home, and at school. 

At these PEG meetings, parents and carers will also have an opportunity to raise and discuss issues related to the spiritual, social and academic development of St Columba’s students.  There is no requirement for parents to take on roles such as President, Treasurer and Secretary at our family forums. Simply come along, connect with other parents, carers and staff so that together, we can build a stronger community.

As a community, we will still seek assistance for events, such as helping on Pancake Tuesday, the Easter Egg raffle or Mothers’ & Fathers’ Day stalls.  So, please get in touch if you’re able to assist with one or more of these.

Our first meeting will go over our school goals for the year and will have a focus around our wellbeing program.  The date is yet to be confirmed as we are hoping to have all relevant staff present and we also have our Parent Information night coming up.  We will keep you posted.

This year, we have begun to use the Grow Your Mind program.  You will hear more about this at the Parent Information evening but you can also have a look online: Grow Your Mind - Awareness of mental health through education

We will be sharing more resources with you as the term goes on but we’re already seeing the use of the language from the program.  If your children are referring to the “Guard Dog” you will soon know why.

This program will be at the centre of our first PEG meeting so please keep an eye out for the date and come along to hear more.

Thank you to Therese Bryant and Ella Pappalardo who are taking on the role of sport co-ordinators in the absence of Samantha Howard.

Polding Trials

Best of luck to Taj Hickey and Iris Frost as they trial for the Polding team in Tamworth tomorrow for basketball.

Central Region Swimming Carnival

We are proud to have 35 students representing St Columba’s at the Central Region Swimming Carnival next Monday at Wallsend Pool. Congratulations to all students who have qualified!

Those who succeed at the Regional Carnival will advance to the Diocesan Carnival on Wednesday, 26 February, at The Forum.

Good luck to all our swimmers!

2025! The Jubilee Year in our Catholic faith. A Jubilee year is a year of rest and fallow. A year to allow ourselves and our world to repair and heal and renew focus on our spiritual lives. This particular year only comes across every 25years in the Church calendar.

We often say how busy we are, so perhaps for this year, we can focus on being busy with the things that matter. Busy ourselves with prayer and relaxation, time with loved ones and time in nature. A few small changes can positively impact our wellbeing. This being said, some staff at St. Columba’s have opted to join a school “Wellbeing Team” to assist in supporting and developing the wellbeing of all members in our school community. One part of this is launching a whole-school wellbeing program “Grow Your Mind” which will be mentioned in our parent information sessions. This compliments our Positive Behaviour for Learning framework. Exciting times ahead at St. Columba’s as we busy ourselves with the important things – nurturing students’ wellbeing, teaching expected behaviours, praising the good things and connecting with our emotions.

Welcome to Term 1, 2025. On behalf of the staff of St Columba’s Primary School, we would like to extend a warm welcome to our new families and staff members. We hope that you have all had a joyous and restful time over the school break. I look forward to a wonderful year ahead.  

As we begin the term, we look forward to commencing Liturgical celebrations this term, beginning with our Opening School Mass on the 26th February.  

In our Church tradition.... Sacramental Program for 2025 (Years 4 to 6)  

SACRAMENTAL PROGRAM 2024: This year children in Year 4 or above have the opportunity to complete their Sacrament of Reconciliation, Confirmation and Eucharist. For students interested, flyers with all information will be sent home in the next two weeks. If your child is in Year 5 or 6 and would like to complete, please email: amie.harry@mn.catholic.edu.au to advise to ensure information is sent home. I will send home flyers to ALL Year 4 families.  

Important Dates for the Sacramental Program – TERM 1 Reconciliation 

Please note that all enrolment forms (to be sent home) and Baptism certificates need to be copied, completed and returned to Mrs Harry at the School asap as we are needing to inform the Parish of students involved. 

Please Note: There will only be ONE 3:30pm face to face session for each Sacrament offered in Adamstown. If you are unable to make the 3:30pm time in Adamstown – all Mondays (approx. 60mins), please advise as your child needs to complete one face to face lesson per Sacrament and can attend another in Kotara or Cardiff as an alternative. Dates and times will be provided.  

CLASS MASS: This year, children will continue to attend a weekly Mass with their class with Father Joseph and our Parish community. From this year, our children will take on a more active role during class Mass, completing readings, bringing up the gifts of bread & wine and singing a hymn to begin the Mass. One class will attend per week, with Father Jospeh taking some time to talk with the classes when the Mass concludes. Parents are very welcome, please see Compass for dates coming up for classes.  

WEEKEND MASS TIMES FOR ST COLUMBA’S: It is always lovely for children and their families to attend Mass in our Parish. Currently Mass is celebrated each Sunday at 8:00am.  

In our Community.... Dates for the Term 1 Calendar   

In our Curriculum....  

Our Religion lessons have taken a new look in recent years, with Kinder to Year 4 now being educated using the updated units based on a Pedagogy of Encounter. Kinder to Year 3 have been on this journey for the last three years with some very positive feedback from teachers and the children. This is an exciting initiative as it invites dialogue, deep thinking and engagement with the Catholic story. Students are given time and support to answer the key questions of:   

• What do I know, think, sense and feel about ..... ?  

• What do others know, think, feel about .......?  

• What is the Catholic worldview about .......?  

• How does this challenge, change or transform me and my relationship with God?   

• What do I know, think and feel now?   

As you can see there is a strong focus on student voice and most importantly providing students with the opportunity to undertake a personal learning path through inquiry-based learning. I look forward to sharing Religious Education learning over the year to showcase the amazing work happening in classrooms.   

Have a lovely week and may God bless you always,  

Amie Harry and Emma McCulloch  

Religious Education Coordinators 

Kinder 2026 Enrolment

Online enrolments are now open for Kinder 2026, please see the link below to complete enrolment if you have a child attending in 2026. This year we are having an open day for Kinder families on March 26th, there is a morning and afternoon session, please see the link below to register your interest.

https://www.adamstownsc.catholic.edu.au/enrolment-information/enrolment-information/

Open days | Catholic Schools Maitland-Newcastle

School Fees

School fees statements have now been emailed, if you are the holder of a health care card or pension card (in the parent/carer name) please send a copy of this through to lisa.jackson@mn.catholic.edu.au 

Volunteering

Please see the link below if you wish to complete the process to volunteer at St Columba's, please note this can take 2-6 weeks. You still need to complete this process if you are the holder of a working with children check.

https://www.mn.catholic.edu.au/families-communities/volunteers/

Uniform ordering

Below is due to transitioning from BME Uniforms to Yeronga

BME - 1st option 

https://scpsuniformshop.bigcartel.com/?fbclid=IwAR2fp08x9txkjn_M_gojY1clV-EFrH80Wuj9_JUrUzbqcxd-a6Au9gHCuMw

If there are items that are no longer available through BME you can visit the Yeronga Uniforms web site. We are in the process of moving over to this supplier. Link below. Some items not yet available.

Yeronga Uniforms

https://www.yerongauniforms.com/product-category/schools/st-columbas-adamstown/

Application for leave

If your child is going to be away for more than 10 school days (consecutive) the leave needs to be applied for and approved by the school principal. This form is available on Compass under School Documentation.

Adding attendance note to Compass

Full day absence can be added via Compass but partial abesence is to be entered by the parent/carer at the school office on the Compass Kiosk (late arrival/early leave). You can also put in a date range for more than one day.

A reminder that if there is a change to arrangements for your child in the afternoon, please contact the office prior to 1.30pm when possible so the note can go via the note basket, this way we are not interrupting the class learning time with phone calls.