Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to the start of a new term. I hope that you were able to enjoy some time with your famiy and friends over the two week holiday break.

Today, we celebrate World Teachers Day. This year, World Teachers Day focuses on 'A Bright-future' for our profession which includes teachers who are just embarking their career. We’re also celebrating the role experienced teachers play in both the classroom and supporting beginning teachers on their teaching journey.

'I wasn't born to just teach. I was born to inspire others, to change people for the better and never give up: even when faced with challenges that seem impossible.'

Personally, I would like to commend and thank the wonderful staff at our school, who on a daily basis work and endeavour to provide our students with the best learning environment possible. This was highlighted by the Cyclic Review panel on Wednesday. Dedicated, committed and with a great sense of teamwork and fun, our staff serve our school community with pride, passion and purpose.

Thank you to the P&F for providing breakfast for our staff this morning in the Monsignor Downey Hall - it is greatly appreciated.

Our first Kindergarten Transition to School 2020 playgroup sessions start on Monday with 58 new students and parents. Over the course of the 8 sessions being held on a Monday and Thursday in the MD Hall, our new students, parents and teachers will have the opportunity to starting building the social and emotional connections needed for successful transition to school. It will be lots of fun for our new students and we are looking forward to providing our new families and their children with a positive beginning to life at our fantastic school.

On Wednesday, our Cyclic Review was held with panel members Mr Mark Raue, Mr Noel Henry and Mrs Kay Blundell from the Catholic Education Office, Wollongong. Students, staff and parents were also interviewed throughout the course of the day. The last Cyclic Review was held in 2014 and is implemented on a five-year cycle. It is essentially centred on three questions - Where have we been?, Where are we at? and Where are we headed into the future? The process was extremely positive and we would like to sincerely thank all members of our community who were involved.  A report will be drafted and then signed off by the Director of Schools, Mr Peter Turner. Once we have the report, the recommendations will be shared with the school community.

On Monday evening, we held our final Understanding Our Boys workshop with the theme being technology. Thank you to Mr Mark Woolley (Catholic Education Office, Wollongong) for sharing his expertise in this field, along with Sam Immens and Mrs Disibio for their continued support. The four Understanding Our Boys sessions have been a great success with many of the strategies and recommendations being implemented by both staff and parents.

Over the holidays, there was a number of building works that took place and we continue to upgrade our school resource base and infrastructure. This included the refurbishment of the Administration, Teacher Resource and Staff-room areas, along with external work on the south east and south west corners of the building. These changes have created more functional and practical workplaces for our staff and students.

In receiving our 2019 NAPLAN results, we were extremely pleased with outcomes in both Year 3 and Year 5. Our Year 3 cohort achieved their best results since 2009 across all areas which included Reading, Writing, Grammar/Punctuation and Numeracy. Year 5 made significant learning gains in the areas of Reading, Grammar/Punctuation and Numeracy from 2018. Our focus for 2019 will be a strategic approach to writing inclusive of Spelling and Grammar/Punctuation. For further information, please view the NAPLAN 2019 article below. 

Enjoy a senesational couple of weeks and please save the date for our Family Fun Day on Saturday 16 November.

Take care

Mr Brad Colquhoun

First Holy Communion

On Wednesday evening, students and parents celebrated a third sacramental class. The final class will be held on Wednesday, 13 November followed by a retreat day on Wednesday, 20 November. A huge thanks to all those staff and parishioners who are involved in running the classes. Please continue to pray for these children as they prepare to receive the body of Christ for the first time. 

All Saints Day/All Souls Day

The 1^st and 2^nd of November are special days in the Church’s calendar. Friday, 1 November, All Saints Day is when we honour those men and women who—whether they’ve been canonized or not—have led lives of heroic virtue that set an example for all Christians. Saints are big dreamers. They believe that with God on their side, no one and nothing can stop them. Saints are go-getters. They don’t wait for someone else to do good first; they jump right in. Saints are love-bringers. They try to see Christ in every person and every situation. Saints tell us what matters most in life is not what we earn or own, not the job we have or the people we know. What really matters is how much we love God, others, and ourselves, and how well we show that love in all we do.

All Souls' Day, November 2, is a day to remember and pray for the souls of all who have died and a way to ensure that they are never forgotten. This feast should serve as a valuable reminder of who we are and what we are made for.  It should also be a special day to fondly remember loved ones who are no longer with us.

Year 4 will be attending Mass to celebrate All Saints Day on the Friday and the weekend Parish Masses will be celebrated for All Souls Day. As this is a Parish Mass weekend the whole school community is invited to celebrate the Mass and supper/morning tea after the celebrations. Looking forward to seeing many families at St Columbkille’s Church with a plate of food to share.

October – Month of the Rosary

Students continue to celebrate the life and prayers of Mary by bringing home their class Mary prayer bag for their family prayer time. Some lovely intentions and illustrations have been shared in the workbooks and I hope it has allowed for a small amount of spirituality to be nourished within your family.

Mission Month

During October, we have been celebrating World Mission Month, in particular advocacy and fundraising for Ghana. Class lessons have allowed us to focus on our work as Catholics to help others in need. Our Mini Vinnies Group has decided on a mufti day ($1 donation) on Friday, 22 November. Year 2/3 sports activities on this same day will help with this fundraising.

Have a great fortnight

Yours in faith

Mrs Joanne Herring - Religious Education Coordinator

Analysis of the 2019 NAPLAN reflects a number of learning gains and it identified areas for improvement in both Literacy and Numeracy. In Year 3, 69% of students achieved Band 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9 (higher bands for Year 3) for Reading, 73% of students achieved Band 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9 in Grammar and Punctuation and 62% of the students in the top six bands for Spelling. There were no students below the National Minimum Standard (NMS) and the School Mean was above the State and National Mean across all domains in Year 3. 

In Year 5 there were zero students below the NMS in Numeracy. The Year 5 results were above State and National Means in Reading, and Mean Scores in Grammar and Punctuation and Numeracy have improved since 2018.  31% of students in Year 5 achieved Band 7 or higher in Reading, 52% in Spelling and 52% in Grammar and Punctuation.  

Congratulations to all our Year 3 and Year 5 studnets.  

Maria Disibio - Assistant Principal

Congratulations to the Donnelly Family on the arrival of their daughter, Sophia.

To Brooke, Jeff, Malachy (Kinder Blue) and Eva on the birth of Sophia, we wish you all the best and every happiness as a family moving into the future. 

'A baby is a blessing. A gift from Heaven above, a precious little angel to

cherish and to love'.

Congratulations to the following students:

Awards

Principal’s Award

KB - Wilfrid Welch

KG - Poppy Galaxidis, Maxx Hancock, Stella Howell, Bianca Piers, Alyssa Tatton

1G - Georgia Allman, Adelaide Blacka, Harrison Esteves, Dylan Fang, Alyssa Nowak

2B - Vogue Catlin, Thomas Docherty, Ilueka Gale, Laura Mannion, Randy O'Brien, Leah Petch, Joshua Potter, Juliet Ritz, Willow Russell, Claude Vincent

2G - Nikhita Hira, Maddie Nightingale, Nathan Noonan, Dominik Raschilla

3B – Amaya Misopapas, Levi Seweris

3G – Charlee Campbell, Kayle Galaxidis, Archie Malcolm, Lauren Miller, Zaria Nguyen, Haydon Sharman, Dean Srbinoski

4B - Declan Duvall

4G - Isaac Ayers, Grace Docherty, Alyssa Fitzpatrick, Blake George, Benjamin Harris, Eleisha Niew, Marcus Saveski, Molly Stephen, Joshua Tsekouras, Christian Villella, Emma Whiddon

6G - Tayte Catlin, Annabelle Donachy, Hayley Fitzpatrick, Thomas Rohoseink, Emy Ryan

Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop Award

1B - Felix Ibrahim, Rosalie Larkin

1G - Aidan Conway

2B - Leah Petch, Juliet Ritz

2G - Kaitlin Cram, Alexander Mamouris

3B – William Jones Murphy

3G – Kayle Galaxidis, Victoria Muller, Haydon Sharman

4B - Maddison Beverley, Harper Duggan

5B - Oliver Ibrahim

6G - John Jones Murphy x 2

Medallion

We have had quite a few families losing jackets and hats that have had their children's names on them.  Could all families please check the names on these items, to see if a jacket or a hat has been mistakenly picked up during recess and lunch, as this can very easily happen during play time and sport. 

There are also quite a few jackets in the office that almost look brand new and thanks to Mrs Samways have been washed and returned to school. If you are missing one, please call into the office and see if any of them belong to you. 

Sincere thanks for your help and cooperation.

Each year, The Northern Illawarra Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (AECG) recognises Indigenous students from the Northern Illawarra region through the awarding of ‘Deadly Encouragement Awards’.

This year we are nominated Willow Russell and Jack McPhee to receive an award. Willow was nominated for being a keen participant in all celebrations and recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture who encourages other students to be involved in learning about, and appreciating, Indigenous history and beliefs.

Jack was nominated for keenly participated in all cultural and environmental learning opportunities at school, and readily assisting the younger students to increase their understanding and involvement.

Mrs Michelle Lace - Middle Leader

On Wednesday, 16 October, I had the pleasure of attending the opening of the Christmas Art Story Exhibition with Mr Colquhoun at the Wollongong City Art Gallery. Each year all the schools in the Wollongong Diocese compete in this competition, culminating in 56 Art works chosen to be displayed at the gallery. From there a number of finalists from both Year 5 and Year 6 are chosen to compete against other schools from all over New South Wales in Sydney.  The level of talent on display at the gallery was truly wonderful, creativity and artistic skills in every single artwork. Gabriela Ramirez and Alessandra Ezquerro (Year 5) both had their artwork on display at the gallery. Although they were not finalists on the night, Alessandra was given a Highly Commended award.  Both girls and their parents should be extremely proud of their efforts.  Congratulations girls.

 Mrs Colleen Kipp – Leader of Christmas Art

CEDoW coverage of the Christmas Story Art Competition and Exhibition:  https://www.dow.catholic.edu.au/about-us/general-news/christmas-story-art-exhibition-2019/

We're looking forward to welcoming and acknowledging your students' work at the “The Good, The Beautiful, The True. Student Critical, Creative and Reflective Thinking" 2019 SPLICED Publication and Website launch including morning tea on arrival:

• DATE: Thursday 14 November, 2019
• TIME: 9.45am – 12pm
• VENUE: The Fraternity Club, 11 Bourke Street, Fairy Meadow
• DRESS: School Uniform

This invitation is extended to selected students as listed below, their families and school staff.

• Alessandra Ezquerro,
• Holly Jeffree,
• Luca Tortorici.

Mr. Peter Turner, Director of Schools and special guests will be attending to make the presentations of the 2019 Publication and certificates to each student, launch the website and address the audience.

Schools are encouraged to pre-order copies of the 2019 Publication to be used as a Teaching Resource. Schools will be invoiced directly through the CEO finance department. Please indicate in the survey link below how many publications your school would like to order. The publications will be ready for pickup at the SPLICED Launch. Each Publication is $20.

Mira Cameron (Year 5)

On Wednesday, I travelled to St Joseph's Bulli for the public speaking competition. I presented a speech on the topic "What happens when it all runs out?". I presented 11th. Even though I didn't win it was a great experience and I would definitely do it again! The other speeches where at a very high standard!

Luke Purtell (Year 6)

Our public speaking competition was on Wednesday, 12.30pm at St Joseph’s, Bulli.  There was about 3 people from St. John’s at Dapto, from last year’s competition and it‘s really cool making the regionals twice in a row, both in Year 5 and Year 6.  The experience from going is tremendous! As I was last to do my speech, there were 2 others doing my topic and used the exact same quotes as me.

On Tuesday, the Enviro Ninja's, along with Meryl from Bunnings Bellambi built a worm farm and planted lots of different plants including lavender in the Infants Playground. We would like to thank Mrs Russo and Mrs Emmett for organising this for us. Also, we would like to thank Bunnings in Bellambi and Meryl for donating the worm farm and plants.

Enviro Ninja's - Leaders of Environment

       

If you haven't already don't forget to follow the Parents and Friends Facebook page. www.facebook.com/stcolumbkilles.pandf The P&F post reminders for school and P&F events which is very helpful, especially as we get closer to the F&F Family Fun Day.  

Canteen Roster

Term 4 - Week 3

Monday, 28 October

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

Tuesday, 29 October – SUSHI TUESDAY

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

Wednesday, 30 October

Donna Kelly, Yvette Vincent, Sally Ritz

Thursday, 31 October

Jennie Fitzpatrick, Lyndell Warmington

Friday, 1 November

Nicky Bishop, Mary Munn, Clare Duggan

Term 4 - Week 4

Monday, 4 November

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

Tuesday, 5 November – SUSHI TUESDAY

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

Wednesday, 6 November

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

Thursday, 7 November

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

Friday, 8 November

Jessica England, Tania Erven, Kylie Walsh