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