Dear Parents and Carers,

I hope that you are well, and that you have enjoyed the last couple of weeks.

On Wednesday, the Year 6 Confirmation candidates celebrated Mass with Father Patrick, in preparation for this sacrament. It was a wonderful opportunity for our students and teachers to come together as a school community and discuss the significance and meaning of Confirmation. The Sacrament of Confirmation will be held with Bishop Brian and Father Patrick on Thursday 10 June and Friday 11 June.

Thank you to our Year 3 and Year 5 staff for their support of our students during the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) this week. Their readiness program and organisation has ensured a seamless and successful 4 days of assessing. Catch up sessions will run next week.  

Have a brilliant weekend. I look forward to Week 5 and 6.

Take care – Brad Colquhoun (Principal)

This Sunday, we commemorate the Feast of the Ascension. As Christians we believe that Jesus was taken up into heaven both body and soul. It occurs on the fortieth day after Easter Sunday and generally the day is meant to celebrate the completion of the work of our salvation and the pledge of our glorification with Christ. It also encourages us to live a life inspired by the teachings of Christ, a way of living with our gaze towards heaven which then inspires us to look outward to “the other.” 

In the month of May we remember to pray to our Mother Mary through the intercession of her special prayer, the ‘rosary.’ Your family may like to pray a decade or one of the mysteries (Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious, Luminous) by using this resource below.

https://www.fatima.org.au/the-holy-rosary/

Confirmation Candidate Mass

Our Year 6 Confirmation candidates celebrated a special mass on Wednesday as they prepare their hearts for receiving this sacrament. Thanks to Father Patrick who reminded us of the special parts of this celebration and asked questions to further contemplate what a significant occasion this will be. Bishop Brian will officiate at both evenings on Thursday 10 and Friday 11 June. Our Confirmation retreat day is coming up shortly, on Wednesday 9 June and books are to be returned by Friday 28 May.

Parish Family Mass - 5 and 6 June

Thank you to the two families who have volunteered to read at our Sunday morning Family Mass on 6 June. We still need readers for Saturday 5 June, please contact myself if you are available. Although the capacity of St Columbkille’s Church remains at 90, we would still like to see as many people as possible join in the Eucharistic celebration. For those students making their Confirmation it is a perfect opportunity to spend an hour with their God and give their prayer card to a parishioner who will pray for them during their preparation. It might even be nice to invite their Kindergarten buddy to celebrate the Mass together. 

National Sorry Day / Reconciliation Week

St Columbkille’s School recognises National Sorry Day with an assembly prayer in which we pause to remember the Stolen Generations of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It leads us into National Reconciliation Week which is held each year between 27^th May and 3^rd June. The theme for National Reconciliation Week 2021 is More Than a Word. Reconciliation Takes Action.  Reconciliation Week is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia. For the Catholic Church in Australia, this week offers us a time to be fully the Church that God dreams for us - a Church in which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples make their own unique contribution and that contribution is joyfully received by others. More information regarding our school celebrations will be forthcoming.

Bicentenary of Catholic Education

On Monday 24 May, CEO and school staff from the Diocese of Wollongong, will gather at St John Vianney’s Cathedral to celebrate Mass. This Mass will commemorate the 200^thanniversary of Catholic Education in Australia. Our 1,755 Catholic schools across Australia are distinct and diverse. From metropolitan cities to rural, regional and remote parts of Australia, our schools meet the individual needs of their students differently, but with the same shared mission of an excellent, faith-based education. If you or a friend would like to participate in a service to recognise this event, a National Mass will be live streamed via St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney. The link will be available on this website: https://200years.catholic.edu.au/

Joanne Herring - Religious Education Coordinator 

This year, the Vinnies Winter Appeal will provide emergency relief to people at risk and experiencing homelessness. Your donation will help our Vinnies volunteers to rebuild lives. As a part of our contribution to the St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal, we are asking students to make an item donation beginning from Week 5 to the end of Week 9. Items of need for the Corrimal community have been identified and we ask that students donate an item for their stage. The items for each stage group include:   

Early Stage One: Tinned Soups and Vegetables

Stage One: Packaged Meals such as Mac and Cheese, Irish Stew etc

Stage Two: Pasta Sauce, Pasta and Rice

Stage Three: Deodorant, Shampoo and Conditioner (Male and Female)

These items will be placed in a stage basket and will be donated directly to the Corrimal St Vincent de Paul Society.With over two million people living below the poverty line in Australia, including over half a million children, your donation allows the St Vincent de Paul Society to provide more than immediate help, it provides something much more valuable – the opportunity of a better life. 

Miss O’Leary and the Mini Vinnies

Congratulations to the following students:

Principal's Awards

KG - Jake Franco, Finn Briscoe-Hough, Lucinda Merola, Georgie Gilmore, Emily England, Esme Zemaitis, Savannah Martelozzo, Willow Patris, Liam Ferguson, Jett Hyslop, Nate Jansen

1B - Kai Beverley

2G - Cleo Mancini, Mia McCormack, Milla Piacentin, Amity Fuller, Stella Howell, 

2B - James Andary, Jed Bell, Halle Petch, Harlan Menghi, Max Hancock, Theia Vincent, Elodie McLuskey, Bronte Jansen, Keira Fabon

3B - Ciara Pons 

St Mary of the Cross MacKillop Award 

1G - Oliver Park

2B - James Andary

6G - Zahli O'Hara

6B - Grace Docherty

School Medallions

2B - Theia Vincent 

3B - Ciara Pons

4B - Ashton Cooper

5G - William Jones Murphy

6B - Isaac Ayer (Week 3)

Congratulations to Lisa Murphy who has welcomed a new daughter named Maddison into her family.  We wish Lisa, Victoria (5B) and Maddison every happiness moving into the future.

'Your Baby Girl is a blessing from heaven, usher her with love and care! May God bless you all and help you whenever you seek it from!'

On Saturday 15 May at 10.30am at the Fraternity Club, the director of the Italian Institute of Culture, dott. Lillo Guarneri,  will officially open the exhibition of works by the winners of the “Lucca Comics & Games“ Competition.

Every year the Italian language is celebrated worldwide during the Week of Italian Language in the World, an initiative of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. The theme of the 2020 edition was Italian between words and images: graffiti, illustrations, comics. One of the initiatives organized for this annual event was the exhibition of the winners of the Lucca Project Contest 2020, which has already taken place at the Italian Cultural Institute, the University of Sydney and the Victoria University in Wellington (NZ).  In 2020 Lucca Crea has established a collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and thanks to this collaboration the exhibition will be circulated within the Italian diplomatic-consular network, which will in turn make it available to all universities and foreign institutions where Italian is taught who will request it.

The exhibition at the Fraternity Club in Fairy Meadow will be inaugurated on the 15th of May 2021, and the works will remain on display until the 29th of May 2021. Entry is free.  If you visit the Fraternity Club, I encourage you to take a look at the exhibition.  

Signora Disibio - Leaader of Langauges - Italian 

All students are expected to wear the full winter school uniform from Monday 23 May. If you have any concerns regarding the winter uniform, please contact the office.

Link to uniform policy and information.

Each Tuesday, we are encouraging students to be mindful of the rubbish they generate and to minimise the impact that this has upon our environment. In order to do this, we ask that your children bring their crunch and sip, morning tea and lunch in reusable containers, without the use of plastic wrap or snap-lock bags.

Each week, teachers will be giving ‘Trash-Free Tuesday’ stickers to students who participate, which will be placed into their sticker books to acknowledge their efforts in being environmental stewards.

Clear labelling of all containers/lids/spoons etc. will ensure that items aren’t lost. Not only does this initiative minimise the amount of waste that we produce, but over time, there is a cost saving benefit to this approach.

We look forward to introducing Waste Free Wednesday in the coming weeks. 

Thank you for your support and assistance with this whole school initiative.

TOMORROW - Staff Development Day: Pupil Free Day Friday 11 June

A reminder to all families and community members that dogs are not permitted on any of our school grounds unless they are assistance dogs. We have a student in our school that has an Anaphylaxtic reaction to dog fur/hair, hence this is for their safety and for the safety of all our community.