Last Friday we celebrated Book Week – ‘My Secret Power’ with great enthusiasm and a wonderful sense of fun. Thank you to the parents for their support, along with the staff and students for dressing up and getting into the spirit of the day. Our Librarian Mrs Russo planned a variety of activities throughout the week, including Corrimal Library  Book Week visit and presentation for K-3, our ‘My Secret Power’ parade and special Book Week assembly. Thank you to Mrs Russo, Mrs Moon, Mrs Tighe and the staff, for their sensational assembly performance of 'The Dress-Up Box'. The entire day was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone.

Yesterday we celebrated Father’s Day with our BBQ Breakfast and Liturgy in the Monsignor Downey Hall. It was wonderful to see so many fathers, grandfathers great-grandfathers, uncles and father figures in attendance with their children To Dale Masters, Marc Fursey, Nigel Curbison and Fab Raschilla for their participation in the Liturgy, your time and support was greatly appreciated. This was followed by our Father’s Day Stall today. Thank you to P&F in raising $2241 from the Father's Day Stall, Caroline Ayers, Linda Logue, Fiona Lally, along with their team of helper for the opportunity in giving our students a gift to purchase in preparation for Sunday. I wish all the dad’s and grandfather’s a wonderful day on Sunday. Enjoy the time with your family and I hope that they look after you on this special day.

'My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person: He believed in me'.

I would also like to thank the following school families and local businesses for their kind donations and ongoing generosity in supporting our Father's Day raffle which raised in total $822. 

Ray & Tracy Disibio from Practic Automotive Services Corrimal, Grant & Linda Logue from Harley & John's Seafood, Nelson Pires Junior from Polka Shoppe, Burson Auto Parts, QI Feet Clinic, The Bald Hill Company, Bunnings Bellambi, Coast Café, Flaunt Hair by Ron, Drift Lounge Cafe and Guardian Chemist. 

Next week, we acknowledge National Child Protection Week. This campaign is held annually across Australia to raise awareness of child safety and child abuse prevention. It is a time to reaffirm our commitment to the protection of the children and young people in our care. We strive also to support all of our students to learn to develop respectful relationships with others. Child Protection Week is an opportunity to raise awareness about child protection systems and preventative strategies for safeguarding children in our schools.

On Friday 6 September we will be celebrating White Balloon Day as part of National Child Protection Week. Chalk activities in support of White Balloon Day will held be on the Front Cement from 12pm, followed by an acknowledgement of the day at our afternoon Award Assembly. For further information, please refer to the links below:

'Whether you are a primary school, high school, childcare or early-learning centre, you have a duty to PROTECT KIDS. Make sure everyone in your school community knows how important child protection is to your school or centre by raising awareness on White Balloon Day'

Below are links for additional information for both National Child Protection Week and White Balloon Day

National Child Protection Week         White Balloon Day

Enjoy Father's Day with your child/ren and dad's. I looking forward to seeing you over the next couple of weeks.

Take care

Mr Brad Colquhoun – Principal

Father's Day

What a lovely celebration we had yesterday to recognise Father's Day this coming Sunday, 1 September! Thank you to my RE team who helped organise and set up for the liturgy. A special thanks to Marc Fursey and his children Harper, Bronte and Darcy, as well as Isabella Masters and her dad Dale. The heartfelt and funny memories really showed the love each of these families have for one another. Jensen Curbison and dad Nigel spoke reverent prayers and Year 2, under the guidance of Mrs Thatcher and Miss O’Leary, performed an energetic song about dads. I would also like to acknowledge Miss O’Leary and Mrs Tyrrell for their time spent baking the lovely cookie gifts given to our male audience. Finally, to the staff and parents who helped out with our delicious breakfast, a huge thanks. It was certainly a lovely morning for children to spend time with their dad, granddad and father figures over breakfast.

Sacrament of Reconciliation

Our classes commenced last Wednesday with a number of students preparing themselves for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The next class takes place on Wednesday 18 September followed by the Sacrament on Wednesday 25 September.  Please keep these children in your prayers.

Season of Creation

Throughout the month of September Pope Francis, inspired by his encyclical ‘Laudato Si, ‘ calls on every person living on this planet to “care for our shared Earth.”

This weekend marks the beginning of the Month of Creation with the celebration of ‘World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation.’ Our school will celebrate this event on Wednesday 4 September with a liturgy and important messages from guest speakers. In highlighting this month of creation Mr Fang and our Enviro ninjas will aim to change our recycling habits by employing soft plastic recycling bins around the school. This type of plastic was noted as a major problem when an audit took place last year. Our school community, with Mr Fang’s help in delivering our soft plastic rubbish, will aim to recycle this waste into suitable products to be used within communities. Click on this link to watch an amazing video about organisations, which are already working to turn soft plastics into exciting products. Recycling Comes full Circle.

Mini Vinnie’s

On Friday 6 September members of our Mini Vinnie’s group will meet with other schools as part of the annual Vincentian Gathering Youth Celebration. Our students will share our school and community good works in acknowledging a more just and compassionate society. We look forward to reading the write up of their exciting day.

Altar Servers

A reminder that if you are interested in altar serving at Mass please contact the office or Mrs Herring. Practice will be held shortly to help you in this ministry. Thank you. 

Joanne Herring - Religious Education Coordinator

A Staff Spirituality Day has been planned for Friday 27 September.  This will be a Pupil Free Day for our students and hence the last day of Term 3 will be Thursday 26 September.  Term 4 of the school year will resume on Monday 14 October.

Congratulations to the following students:

Awards

Principal’s Award

KB - Boston Bennett, Lachlan Donachy, Abigail England, Zara Erven, Bronte Jansen, Giorgia Marcelli, Mia McCormack, Oscar Haafkens

KG - Noah Akhurst, Eamon Higgins, Indie Humphries, Joshua Jenkins, Jack Leffley, Dylan Saveski, Sophie Windisch

1B - Scarlett Raschilla, Talon Mayo, Ciara Pons

1G - Tillee Harris, Harper Harrison, Bede Risorto

2B - Joseph Molina, Cruz Tropea

2G - Ruby Franco, Natalie Harris, Benjamin Niew, Amelia Stewart, John-Samuel Tadros, Sonny O'Brien, Olivia Ryan, Max Warmington

3B – Harper Briscoe-Hough

3G – Niamh Conway, Angus Coughlan, Kiah Hukins-Ellis, Payten Sims, Mason Stone, Annabelle Lyons, Zac Rosengren

4B - Quito Munoz Letham, Alex Baumeister, Matilda Noonan, Sebastian Pannell

4G - Grace Docherty, Zachary Jacobson, Chloe Nightingale, Aliza Woodford

5B - Sophia Kordalis

5G - Saxon Cappellin, Kobe Carter, Isaac Fielding, Cameron Munn, Noah Smart 

Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop Award

2G - Natalie Harris

3G - Zac Rosengren, Isaac Tasca

4B - Samuel Warmington

4G - Chloe Townsend

5B - Jasmine Whiddon

5G - Max Baumeister

6G - Lilly Gallo

Medallion

3B - Isla Ryan

3G - Isaac Tasca

Thank you to everyone who added to the fun of our Book week celebrations. The children looked fantastic and I'm sure they felt wonderful too. It never ceases to amaze me how creative some of the costumes have become - kid-sized books, horns, sceptres, the make-up/face paint, crazy hair-does and being able to match the clothes on a character in the book, with your child's own clothes, is just incredible. I hope you made some beautiful memories. 

We had a great time watching some of the books come to life with the Corrimal librarians on Monday and with our own talented staff on Friday. During the week the students enjoyed listening to and responding to the shortlisted books and spent time enjoying books with their buddy classes.

Thank you to all the parents and grandparents who joined us for the parade and the assembly. A special thanks to those who took the time to donate a book/books to our school library on behalf of their child. It is always very much appreciated.

Please take the time to read to your child every day and let them see you reading. The gift of reading is a gift for life.

The web is a great place to learn, be creative and stay connected, but with one in five young Australians found to be victims of cyberbullying each year, and the many other challenges young people face online, it’s important that we invest in giving our students the skills they need to be responsible digital citizens. eSmart assists schools and communities to achieve this.

At St Columbkille’s we are an accredited eSmart school. This means we have a collaborative approach to digital inclusion, digital literacy and cybersafety, bringing together government, industry, schools, libraries, families, organisations and most importantly, you, our eSmart community.

During National eSmart Week, September 6 to 12, we encourage you to explore being smart, safe and responsible with digital technologies at home.  You may find the following sites helpful: 

• eSafety Commissioner 

• Cyber Safety Solutions 

Maria Disibio - Assistant Principal 

On Tuesday a number of Students from St Columbkilles’ attended the Diocesan Time Trials at Beaton Park. All students participated with enthusiasm and were very competitive.  The following students have gained selection in the Mackillop Team competing at Homebush on the 16September; Hamish Dorney (1500m), Danielle Mullard (Discus), Amelia Rutledge (100m) and Randy O’Brien (100m).  Well done to all students who competed and congratulations to our four MacKillop representatives.

Leader of Sport - Mrs Colleen Kipp

On Tuesday the 20th of August 2019, a group of St. Columbkille’s Girls from Year 5 and 6 attended the Sam Bremner Girls Rugby League Day at Croome Road Sporting Complex in Albion Park. There were two teams that attended and they were very competitive. Both teams played two games each and if they won both of their games, they made it to the semi finals. Team 1 won both of their games with no tries scored against them so that meant they made it straight through the semi final. They won their semi final so they were ready to compete in the grand final. The girls were unsuccessful and didn’t win their grand final but there were lots of tries scored and they had lots of fun. Team 2 played 3 games, winning one! These girls had lots of fun and enjoyed the day very much. Thank you to the coach of the teams, Michael Costin who helped the girls succeed throughout the day. A big thank you to Mrs Gaffney for all of her organisation. 

Matilda Bailey 5B and Georgia Bighetti 6G

NSW Parliament - Year 5 Excursion

On Thursday the 22nd of August, Year 5 visited NSW Parliament on Macquarie Street in Sydney. We travelled by bus and when we arrived, we got to eat our lunch at Hyde Park. After this, we made our way into the parliamentary building, walking through the security checkpoint. Our bags were placed on the security scanner belt to be checked. Mr Ryan Park took us on a tour and spoke to us about the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council as these are the largest spaces in Parliament. Members of Parliament meet in the chambers to debate bills (proposed laws) and represent the people from their electorate. Inside the chambers red represents the Legislative Council and green represents the Legislative Assembly.  We were lucky enough to be apart of Question Time where debates over flammable cladding took place. The premier, Gladys Berejiklian debated against Labor in regards to the proposed questions. We are able to view heritage rooms, paintings and photographs of past and present leaders. Year 5 had a great day and learnt a lot to support the learning that we are doing in History for our ‘Australia as a Nation’ unit of work. 

Written by Riley Locke (5B) and Aly Ezquerro (5G) 

This newsletter, we congratulate KB, 3G, 4B, 6G for their Trash Free Tuesday efforts. We also thank and congratulate the growing number of families who are having the eco-conversations at home and sending their children to school trash free every day! Well done. Every little action helps.

Thank you to Mrs Emmett for all the time and effort she has put into our waste management program. The outside green bins arrived this week and will be added to the Vinnies Return and Earn bins and the red landfill bins on the playground.

Lastly, we collected another 200 lids from water, milk, soft drink, UHT and juice bottles last week. Please keep collecting at home and just a reminder that the lids should be rinsed and the white foam circle in the milk lids should be removed for cleaning. Sorry no pop-tops.

Thank you Chloe N from 4G for taking them on to the regional collection point.  It takes 500 lids to create 1 prosthetic hand so every lid counts.Thank you.

If you find navagating Compass difficult, then you may find the below help sheet helpful.  

As you would be aware a number of our students have food allergies to nuts, eggs, fish and shellfish.  In keeping these students safe from food reactions including anaphylaxis, we ask that you take great care when packing lunch boxes for your child/ren school each day.  We ask that you pack;

• No raw nuts (nut muesli bars)
• No nut products (peanut butter, Nutella)
• No nuts in cooked items
• No raw eggs
• No cooked eggs (egg sandwich, egg in a salad)
• No meringue 
• No raw fish
• No raw shellfish
• No cooked white fish, salmon or shellfish 

Items that are OK to include in lunchboxes are;

•  tinned tuna
• egg within cooked foods (cakes, biscuits, quiche or zucchini slice) 

We ask all who consume these foods to wash hands thoroughly after consumption and to ensure that they do not share their food with others.  The following website, ‘Kids with Food Allergies’ contains a number of recipes that are as free of many different food allergens as possible.  If you struggle with what to pack your child, this site is worth a browse. Kids with Food Allergies.  

The Term 3 P&F Disco will be held on Thursday 19 September.  The Infants Disco (K-2) will commence at 5pm and conclude at 6:30.  The Primary disco will commence at 7pm and conclude at 8:30pm.  Entry fee will be $5 this includes a drink and packet of chips.  Additonal food and drink will be available for purchase and so to will glo items and light up accessories.  

Get out those dancing shoes! 

The annual Spring into Corrimal will be held on Sunday 8 September. St Columbkille’s has once again been invited to participate in the Grand Parade commencing at 10:00 am.  We will be marching in a school group as part of our continuing support of the local community. Children participating will meet Mr Colquhoun and Mrs Disibio at 9:30am at Short St Carpark opposite Ziems Park, Corrimal, wearing their full summer uniform.

If your child/children are able to join with fellow students from St Columbkille’s in the Grand Parade,it would be greatly appreciated, so that our school is represented in significant numbers at this important festival. A permisiion note has been sent home with further detials.  

Maria Disibo - Assistant Principal

Canteen Roster

Term 3 - Week 7

Monday, 2 September

Janine Baumeister, Kristy Collyer, Lynn Harrison, Marguerite Zind (9.00-11.30) 

Tuesday, 3 September – SUSHI TUESDAY

(Canteen is closed – Sushi Available via Online Order Only)

Wednesday, 4 September

Donna Kelly, Yvette Vincent, Sally Ritz

Thursday, 5 September

Jennie Fitzpatrick, Lyndell Warmington

Friday, 6 September

Nicky Bishop, Mary Munn, Clare Duggan, Valentina Vega (11.30-2.30)

Term 3 - Week 8

Monday, 9 September

Lucy Fielding, Lynda Cross, Joy Drady (9.30-11.30), Olivia Hira (11.30-2.30)

Tuesday, 10 September – SUSHI TUESDAY

(Canteen is closed – Sushi Available via Online Order Only)

Wednesday, 11 September

Mary Munn, Penelope Geraldi (11.30-2.30), Natalie Piacentin (11.30-2.30)

Thursday, 12 September

Michelle Donachy (9.00-11.30), Lisa McCormack (11.30-2.30), Fiona Humphries (11.30-2.30)

Friday, 13 September

Jessica England (9.00-11.30), Tania Erven, Aimee Mancin, Kylie Walsh