Dear Parents and Carers,

I hope that you are well, have enjoyed a lovely couple of weeks and looking forward to the holiday break.

Father Geoff Allen who turned 80 last year, passed away yesterday afternoon following recent surgery and illness in Wollongong Private Hospital. He was ordained 17 Dec 2011 after more than 30 years in the NSW Police Force. Father Geoff was Parish Priest at St Columbkille's for the last 4 years, worked as a Police Chaplain and with the parishes of Thirroul and Helensburgh. He was a compassionate, respectful and a genuine gentleman, who had a deep love and understanding of his faith and church, the police force, family and cricket. Father Geoff will be dearly missed by the St Columbkille's community. Our prayers and thoughts are with his family during this most challenging of times.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of the faithfully departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen

St Columba Day was celebrated with our school community last Friday. The day was highlighted by several events and activities which included Liturgy and presentation of the St Columbkille's Awards. These annual awards are presented to 14 students (one frrom each class) on behalf of their teachers, for living our core values - 'Faith, Learning, Respect, Responsibility, Community and Celebration each day. Congratulations to the following students.

KB George Al Achkar KG Bodhi Powell 1B Imiah Nguyen 1G Brae Cooke

2B Elodie McLuskey 2G Joshua Jenkins 3B Sophie Coughlan 3G Rosalie Larkin

4B Millie Dalton 4G Livinia McLuskey 5B Payten Sims 5G Betty Barry

6B Maddison Beverley 6G Harry Costin

After the Liturgy and award presentation, students and staff enjoyed the 'Festival of Fun' activities which included The Jurassic Park Jumping Castle, The Zoomer, along with tabloid games and sports. Thank you to the P&F Team for providing lunch and drinks for staff and students  

NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia each July to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. As a school community, we will acknowledged the week with Liturgy in the MD Hall last Wednesday. NAIDOC is celebrated not only in Indigenous communities, but by Australians from all walks of life. The 2021 theme ‘Heal Country’ calls for greater protections for Aboriginal lands, waters, sacred sites and cultural heritage. For further information, please refer to the following link: https://www.naidoc.org.au

Today we celebrated our end of term Principal's Luncheon. Throughout the term our students are awarded raffle tickets for following our school expectations of being' Respectful, Responsible and Safe'  in the playground and during Specialist Teachers lessons. Congratulation to the following students who were selected fro the luncheon in Wednesday's raffle draw.

Abbie Stenos , Zaria Ny, Anastasia Auld, Dominic Rashlia, Isaac Ayers, Ciara Pons, Betty Barry, Ivy Powell

In relation to staff, I would like to announce that Mrs McDonald (SSSO) will be taking leave from Term 3 Week 3 to the end of the year due to personal health reasons. We wish Mrs McDonald all the very best and look forward to seeing her back at our St Columbkille's for the beginning of next year.