Dear Parents and Carers, 

We have had many occasions to celebrate recently, including Advent Liturgies, Thanksgiving Mass, Graduation Mass and Ceremony, the KLA Award Assembly, and the Farewell Horseshoe. It is important to express our thanks, gratitude, and appreciation to everyone who organised these events. We should acknowledge their efforts and the positive impact these celebrations have had on our community.

Congratulations to our Year 6 students of 2024. As you finish your Primary school education and embark on the exciting journey of High School, I want to extend my warmest wishes and heartfelt congratulations. This is a momentous occasion, marking the culmination of years of hard work, dedication, and growth.

Remember, the knowledge and skills you have acquired during your time in primary school have laid a strong foundation for your future success. As you step into this new chapter, embrace the opportunities that lie ahead with open arms. High School will present new challenges and experiences, but it will also offer a chance to explore your passions, discover your talents, and forge lifelong friendships.

Continue to nurture your curiosity, embrace a love of learning, and approach each day with enthusiasm. Believe in yourselves, set ambitious goals, and never hesitate to reach out for support when needed. The future is yours to shape, and I have no doubt that you will achieve great things.  Never forget that God is forever by your side and Christ is the Way.   

As they finish up on their temporary contracts, we thank Mr Bow-Smith, Miss Plunkett, Mrs Khoury, Mrs Cinco, Mrs Logue and Mrs Hofman for their work with us during 2024. We wish them all the very best moving forward and hope to see many of them again at St Columbkille’s in 2025 or beyond.

I thank you for choosing a Catholic Education for your children and for supporting our school initiatives, celebrations and events, as well as our procedures and policies. Educating a child is a co responsibility that can only be achieved with collaboartion and mutual repsect for each other. I have truly embraced and enjoyed my role as Acting Principal in 2024 and very much look forward to serving the school community in 2025. 

Wishing you and your family a Merry and holy Christmas filled with hope, joy, peace and an abundance of blessings. May your school vacation period be filled with cherished moments spent with loved ones, creating wonderful memories. May the New Year bring you health, prosperity, and happiness.

Go well!

Maria Disibio 

Acting Principal

Dear Parents and Carers,

As we come to the end of 2024, I would like to take a moment to extend my heartfelt thanks for your continued support, understanding, and partnership.

It has been a year of considerable growth and many challenges, but always at the centre of what we do, are the students in our care. 

Your involvement and commitment play such a vital role in the success of our school. It has been a privilege to work alongside such a dedicated parent community, and I am truly grateful for the trust you place in us every day. Together, we continue to nurture the growth, wellbeing, faith and learning of our students.

Thank you again for your support and for being an integral part of our school community.

I look forward to working with you further as we move into 2025. 

Wishing you all a very holy and safe Christmas. May you take the time to be with family and friends and embrace the true meaning of this special time of year. 

Warm regards,
Mrs Christine Perre
Acting Assistant Principal

Remaining teacher staffing for 2025 has been finalised as of yesterday.  We welcome Mrs Bronwyn Johnson and Mrs Emma Cotterill.  

Mrs Johnson will join team Year 5 and teach 5 Gold and Mrs Cotterill will teach 5 Blue on a Wednesday (REC Release) and two days in 3 Blue (Thursday and Friday) job sharing with Mrs Barrett.

Mrs Lattimore will continue teaching Italian in 2025 and Mrs Perre will take up a Support Role one day a week, supporting teachers and or students when and where needed.  

The Holiday Reading Challenge is back for another year, but in a way that is environmentally friendly and easy to access for all interested students.  

The Holiday Reading Challenge will be available via the Google Classroom platform. Here you can elect to print a copy of the booklet or complete the booklet online.  

Students need to simply log into their student Google accounts and join the Holiday Reading Challenge Classroom using the class code: f4p3aco or via the invitation link:https://classroom.google.com/c/NDI5MzQyMjMwOTQ2?cjc=f4p3aco

The Challenge starts on the first day of the school break (19th December) and will end on the last day of the school break (3rd February).  

Further information is contained within the Google Classroom and booklets.  

Mrs Christine Perre - Acting Assistant Principal 

Dear SCC Students, families and friends,

As the 2024 school year comes to an end, I wanted to make contact with you all before I left St Columbkille's School and Parish.

I hope you all know I will leave with a heart full of happy memories of the last six years at our school. Staff, students and families have given me many special memories which I will carry with me for a long time.

For those of you, whose children I had the privilege to teach and educate, thank you for entrusting your child's education in my care and for your continued support during that time.

The 2025 year will be challenging and exciting as I move to Secondary Education in the western region of NSW but one which I am looking forward to. I humbly ask you to keep my family and I in your prayers. And if you and your families visit the Dubbo area, please make contact...I know a good "tourist guide" out there who can share some great places to visit!

To you all, I wish you Christ's love during the coming Christmas Season. May this time of celebration bring you, and your loved ones, much joy. And may you always know the peace that our Saviour brings.

God bless,
Rita Finlay-Joseph

For some families today is not only an end to the school year, it is also an end to their time as active members of the St Columbkille's School community. I would just like to take a moment to acknowledge these families and wish them all the very best. Even though you may no longer be active members of our community you will always be part of the St Columbkille's family.  

Thank you and all the best to: 

Our conference is most grateful for the support we have received from the Mini Vinnies, families and teachers at St Columbkille’s for our Christmas Appeal. At this time of the year we offer many families a Christmas Hamper, and to those with children we also offer toys. The $507.05 we received from St Columbkille’s School will help considerably towards the cost of these items. We are blessed to have such generous friends.

Thank you. Peter Riordan, President.

Please find the attached 2025 Resource List for Kinder to Year 6.

Our Year 5 2025 students will be required to Bring their Own Device for iPad for Learning from Thursday, Week 1 (6 February 2025). This device needs to be an Apple iPad.  

If your child currently has an iPad for their exclusive use at school, then that iPad would be fine. Please note that in 2025 your child will do the NAPLAN tests on their iPad which needs to be an iPad Air 3 or later (those sold in the last 5 years). If you need to purchase a new iPad, the latest iPad is Generation 10, however, please note that this device is quite expensive and also does not have a headphone jack.  The iPad (9^th Generation) can be purchased. A device can be purchased via  EduComIT  at school prices or alternatively, you may wish to shop around for a more competitive price.  

The iPad Mini does NOT meet the minimum size requirements for NAPLAN Online testing, and so, should not be purchased for your child’s use. We also recommend that the iPad is WiFi only — not Cellular. This means there are no additional internet usage charges, and your child will only be connected to the internet when WiFi is available (at school for example).

We highly recommend purchasing a survivor type case for the ipad as this type of case provides greater protection when carrying the iPad in school bags.  Your child will not require a blue tooth keyboard nor an Apple pen.  

Should you have additional questions, please feel free to contact me via email for via the school office.  

Maria Disibio - Acting Principal and Technology Leader

A generous group of girls in Year 2 (Darcy, Milena, Imogen, Chloe, Bindi and Lara) made and sold loom bands during their break time to raise money for those in need. The girls raised a massive $150.  This money will be donated to St Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal. St Vincent de Paul will use the funds to purchase Christimas gifts and food for those in need within the Corrimal area.  

I congratulate the girls for acting with the hands of Christ and truly showng that Christ is the Way. 

Changes in Our Library for 2025 - Volunteers Needed!

As we look ahead to 2025, there will be some changes in how our library is managed. Due to an increase in the time I’ll be allocated to supporting our students, the hours given to my role as Library Administrator have been reduced. While our students remain our top priority, this adjustment does mean I’ll need a little extra help to ensure our library continues to run smoothly and effectively.

Before the Covid lockdown, we were fortunate to have wonderful parent volunteers assisting in the library and I would love to see this practice return. Not only does it help keep the library running efficiently but it’s also a fantastic way to strengthen our school community and involve parents in their children’s learning environment.

How You Can Help - 

We need support with tasks such as:

• Returning and shelving books
• Dusting and cleaning shelves and bookcases (it’s amazing how dusty things can get!)
• Cataloguing and covering new books
• On a Friday (our student library day), assisting with loaning books to students

Whether you can commit to regular volunteer hours or can only assist occasionally, any help would be greatly appreciated. I know our students would enjoy seeing you in the library and I would be truly grateful for your support.

If you’re interested in volunteering, please contact me via email at CarrollK03@catholic.edu.au.

Thank you for considering this opportunity to make a difference in our library. With your help I’m sure we can continue to make our library a welcoming and well-run space for all.

Merry Christmas and God bless.

Katrina

(Mrs Carroll)

The final day for Term 4 for students is Wednesday 18th December.

Thursday 19th December and Friday 20th December are Pupil Free Days.

Staff return for Term 1 in 2025 for two Teacher Professional Planning Days on Friday 31st January and Monday 3rd February. Students do not attend on these days.

Students in Years 1-6 begin Term 1 on Tuesday 4th February 2025.

Students in Kindergarten begin Term 1 on Wednesday 5th February 2025. 

One Talk at a Time – National Office for Child Safety

One Talk at a Time aims to protect children and young people from sexual abuse by helping adults understand that child sexual abuse is preventable and encouraging them to have ongoing, proactive, preventative conversations with children, young people and other adults in their lives.

You may have already noticed or seen the campaign's 60-second advertisement. 'One Talk at a Time' was informed by a substantial research program to ensure it is effective, culturally-safe, accessible and trauma-informed. This research included research and testing with over 8,500 Australians, including the campaign's target audience, victims and survivors, child safety experts and the National Strategy's priority groups. 

This campaign is a key measure under the National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse 2021-2030 and fulfils a recommendation of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.