Dear Parents and Carers, 

I hope you have had a lovely fortnight.  

A huge congratulations to Talon Mayo, Ariah-Blue Channer and Khloe Jorgenson for singing the Responsorial Psalm at the recent Year 6 Mass with the Bishop.  

A friendly reminder that hats and ties are part of our school uniform and must be worn each day, with ties only worn with the winter uniform. Should your child not have the full school uniform, a letter/email should be directed to your class teacher or the school office.  Your support in ensuring our students are wearing the uniform with pride is much appreciated.

We will transition to Summer uniform from Monday 26 August and then wear full Summer from Monday 9 September.  During the two weeks of tranisiton (Week 6 & 7) students can select to wear either full summer or full winter uniform depending on the weather.  Students should not wear a combnation of the Winter and Summer unifrom.  

A huge thank you to those who have donated old school uniforms and unwanted suitcases and large travel bags.  Our items were collected and will make their way to Fiji in the coming months.  With remaining old uniforms I encourage you to get creative  and use these items in ways that consider our enviornment. Planet Ark have a few ideas. 

I look forward to celebrating Book Week next week with the many activities Mrs Carroll has organised.Thank you in advance to Mrs Carroll for her time, organisation and creativity.  It is definitely magic! 

The P&F will organise a Father's Day Stall on Tuesday 20 August for our student to participate in purchasing gifts for their father's and father figures.  Our students always get much joy from this shopping experience.  A huge thanks in advance to our P&F and parent helpers. 

Our Father's Day Picnic breakfast (BYO or Order from the Canteen) & social play on Balawarri (Front Cement) will be celebrateed on Friday 30 August.  We look forward to having our father's on site. Our School canteen has a special breakfast deal, with orders being taken online. Our Father's Day Liturgy will commence at 9:15 in the Monsignor Downey Hall and open classrooms will follow. See below for further details.

I look forward to celelbrating with our dad's and father figures.  

Warm regards, 

Mrs Maria Disibio 

Acting Principal

Students will have a Pupil Free Day on Friday 27th September 2024, while our staff engage in a Spirituality Day.

Last day of Term 3 for students will be on Thursday 26th September 2024. 

Monday 14th October will also be a Student Pupil Free Day while our staff engage in Professional Learning. Students' first day of Term 4 will be Tuesday 15th October. 

Feast of the Assumption

Last night our school and parish community celebrated the Feast of the Assumption. Thank you to all those who volunteered to take on a leading role for this Mass, both staff and students. This special mass acknowledged the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary when we remember when Mary was taken (“assumed”) into heaven, body and soul, after she died. You will not find this story in the Bible. However, a tradition handed down from the earliest days of the Church says that Mary died in Jerusalem and was buried in a tomb. But when the apostles opened the tomb again, her body was gone. Why would God take Mary’s body and soul into heaven? In part because Mary is special to God: she said “yes” to becoming the mother of Jesus. But God also wanted to show us that one day, all of us will share in the bodily resurrection of Jesus. Mary is the first person in the Church to experience the resurrection in its fullness.

The Story of the Assumption: When the apostles heard that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was going to be taken from this world, they gathered at her house and kept watch with her. And behold, the Lord Jesus did not let the one in whose womb he had dwelled see the corruption of death;
but instead, he came with his angels and took her up to heaven as the beginning and image of the Church coming to perfection, and a sign of sure hope and comfort to God’s people.—from The Illuminated Rosary

World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation

St Columbkille's will join together to acknowledge our diocese's commintment to the Season of Creation by celebrating a liturgy on Monday 2nd September at 9am in the Monsignor Downey Hall. The liturgy will begin this season by focusing on "World Day of Prayer for the care of Creation." Thank you to all those students, staff and volunteers who have prepared and been involved in this acknowledgement.

This year, the theme for the season is “To hope and act with Creation”. Amid the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution, many are beginning to despair and suffer from eco-anxiety. As people of faith we are called to lift the hope inspired by our faith, the hope of the resurrection. This is not a hope without action but one embodied in concrete actions of prayer and preaching, service and solidarity.

Father's Day Celebrations

We welcome all our dads and those who provide for us with a father's love, to our celebration on Friday 30th August beginning at 8.30am. Please see the attached flyer within the newsletter for specific details, and don't forget to pre order some yummy breakfast items from the canteen. We look forward to having our dads celebrate with us within our school and classrooms.

First Holy Communion

The Sacramental Team have been busy finalising details for our Year 3 students making their First Holy Communion. Commitment masses are occurring and the retreat day will be held on Thursday 5th September. If you have any concerns please contact Lisa Bates at the parish office on 42843000. We continue to keep these students in our prayers as they discuss and reflect on this sacrament within their classrooms and homes.

Have a wonderful fortnight!

Mrs Joanne Herring - Religious Education Coordinator

Last Thursday, as we celebrated the Feast of Saint Mary MacKillop, we paused again to consider her great legacy.

Mary is part of a trio who are very important to the Australian Catholic story: Mary MacKillop, St Joseph and Julian Tennison Woods.

These three people experienced the disturbing presence of God. All three heard God’s call - a disturbing voice in the night, an invitation to act with courage, a relentless voice for the poor, a choice to make a difference.

How did they hear it and how did they create the space in their life to be aware of God’s disturbing presence? What was it that enabled them to stop, to notice, to ponder? And once experienced, how did they become a godly presence that disturbed others?

Working in Catholic education we are called to be people of hope and to realise the gift of our mission.

But how do we do that? How do we take the time to stop, to notice, to ponder and to respond to the disturbing presence of God in our lives? How do we hear the invitation to make a difference, the same invitation that inspired St Joseph, Julian Tennison Woods and Mary MacKillop?

Our Catholic Social Teachings can provide a clue to this - they urge us to always see God in others, to value the importance of connection, to cut the chains of privilege and to stand up for the dignity of others.

As Mary MacKillop said herself - “Let no obstacle deter us from proceeding with courage.”

It is helpful to realise that sometimes ‘God the disruptor’ doesn’t tap us gently on the shoulder or whisper in our ear... sometimes the disruption is like having the rug pulled right out from under us! However, such disruptions can lead us to joys we never anticipated and to fight important battles and achieve victories which we might have otherwise sidestepped.

So on this Feast of St Mary MacKillop, and in the days that follow, let us listen and respond to the disruptions with courage as Mary did. Let us realise that being a godly presence for others is not about following certain rules, engaging in certain rituals, or believing certain creeds…it’s about accepting God’s invitation to make a difference and to encourage those around us to do the same.

The official theme for St Mary MacKillop’s feast day this year is “Be Fierce for Fair” - encouraging us to walk in Mary’s disruptive footsteps by being:

• Fierce in the face of adversity
• Fair and proactive when we see injustice
• Loving to those we encounter each day

Prayer

God of the prophets you gifted Mary MacKillop with vision and courage.
In her, we see one who was not afraid to speak fearlessly your gospel of love.
We pray for the sensitivity and imagination to read the signs of our times
and to articulate new possibilities for our own day.
Like Mary, may we learn to confront all that is oppressive and unjust,
and empower others towards true freedom and integrity.
Spirit of wisdom, be with us as we face new horizons.

Amen

We are engaging in our school's Cyclic Inquiry in October. This is an opportunity to celebrate the great work that we are doing here at school, but also to identify areas for improvement. As part of this, we require parent representatives to come in on 23rd October to meet with members of the Cyclic Inquiry Panel (from the Catholic Education Office, Diocese of Wollongong). 

If you are interested and available, please email me at perrec01@dow.catholic.edu.au.

Thank you.

Students may begin wearing their Summer Uniform from Monday 26th August. This is the transition period. 

All students must wear their Summer Uniform Summer from Monday 9th September. 

These dates are available in the Parent Calendar. 

Please Note: Students are not permitted to wear a combination of Summer and Winter Uniform. 

Primary Athletics Selection Trials

On Tuesday 13th August, the Primary Athletics Selection Trials were held at Beaton Park. Congratulations to our team who proudly represented St Columbkille's. 

The first four place getters in each event, have gained selection to represent St Columbkille’s at the Diocesan Athletics Trials. The trials bring together the first four place getters from the Western Region and South Coast Region for a chance to represent the Wollongong Diocese at the Mackillop Trials. This will be held at Beaton Park Athletics Track, Wollongong on Tuesday 20th August. Thank you to Mrs Lucchitti for volunteering her time and helping with shot put.

Students who will represent St Columbkille’s at the Diocesan Athletics Trials are:

Beau J 1st Junior boys discus

Harrison E 2nd Senior boys 800m & 1500m

Kynan M 2nd Senior boys discus

Madelyn S 4th 8yrs girls 100m

Theia V 3rd 11yrs girls long jump

James A 1500m

Congratulations to all the students who represented our school.  

Please note the closing date is Friday 23rd August. 

Below is a table showing the number of book students are required to read in order to meet the challenge:

PRC book lists can be found on the PRC website - https://online.det.nsw.edu.au/prc/home.html

For Kindergarten to Year 2 students, books can be read to them. 

Please see the PRC website for books lists, tips and further details.

If you have any queries please contact me direct on CarrollK03@dow.catholic.edu.au

Katrina Carroll, SCC Librarian

World Gratitude Day is recognised on Saturday 21st September 2024. 

Our Student Representative Council (SR) are planning a day of celebrations on Thurs 26th Sept (Last Day of Term 3 for Students - Week 10).

This day will be a Mufti Day. Students are asked to bring a Gold Coin donation (will contribute to our Mission Month donation to Caritas in October).

The SRC have planned lots of fun activities including:

- Performing of a chant at the morning assembly on Thurs 26th Sept

- Creating a Gratitude Tree (whole school) and a Gratitude Chain (Individual Classes)

- Finally, the SRC will run a games afternoon!

Gratitude Day serves as a timely reminder of the profound impact gratitude can have on our lives.

"Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow." Melody Beattie

"A grateful heart is the best kind to have." Author unknown

"Living in a state of gratitude, is the gateway to grace." Arianna Huffington

Parliament and Civics Education Rebate- (PACER)

Year 5 Students from our school have recently undertaken an education tour of the national capital on 8^th and 9^th August 2024.

Students were given the opportunity to participate in a variety of educational programs with a focus on Australia’s history, culture, heritage, and democracy.

The Australian Government recognises the importance of all young Australians being able to visit the national capital as part of their Civics and Citizenship education. To assist families in meeting the cost of the excursion the Australian Government is contributing funding to our school in the amount of $30 per student under the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate program towards those costs. The rebate is paid directly to the school upon completion of the excursion.

Our P&F Fathers Day Stall will be held on

If you are able to volunteer to help on the day at the stall please contact the school office.

20% Discount on Sports & Co-Curricular Group Photos available until 29/08/2024

Dear Parents,

These school sports and co-curricular groups were photographed on 16/05/2024:

You can now view and purchase the group images listed above and if you place your order before 29/08/2024 you will get a 20% early order discount. Just click on the link below. Please note the discount will be automatically applied at checkout.

Images can also be viewed by visiting www.advancedlife.com.au entering the code: J1P J1W Q55 and clicking on “Group Photos”

Important

• Sports and co-curricular group photos can only be purchased online,PLEASE DO NOT return payment to your school
• If your child's group or team is scheduled to be photographed at a later date, you will receive an additional email notification when the images are ready to be ordered
• Photos will be returned to your school for distribution approximately six weeks after the discountedearly order period has closed
• Past years' photographs including sports, co-curricular and representative groups are also available at your school'sadvancedorder and your child's advancedyou photo sites

advancedlife would like to express our appreciation to St Columbkille's Catholic Primary School for placing your trust in us. Please remember we offer a 100% money-back guarantee on our products to ensure your peace of mind. We would also love to receive your feedback or resolve any issues you may experience, to ensure your satisfaction. If you have any questions, comments or feedback relating to your advancedlife experience, please contact us at www.advancedlife.com.au/contact

For more details and registration click here.