Dear Parents and Carers,

Hope that you are well and you have been enjoying the past few weeks.

This Saturday and Sunday many of our Year 3 students will be celebrating their First Holy Communion. We thank Fr Patrick, St Columbkille's catechists: Kelly, Anna and Millie and teachers - Mrs Griggs, Mrs McLeod and Mr Lowrie, for their support in  preparing the children for this sacrament of initiation. Thank you to the parents and grandparents who have supported their child in their ongoing faith development and formation throughout this time.

We would like to announce our School and Vice Captains for 2023.  It is a wonderful achievement for each student and their family. We look forward to announcing the remainder of the Student Leadership teams in the Week 8 Newsletter.

Congratulations to the following Year 5 students:

• School Captains:  Livinia McLuskey and Claude Vincent
• Vice Captains:     Alissa Bishop and Dominik Raschilla

Staffing for 2023 has been finalised. Teachers are currently putting together classes for next year and students will transition with their new teacher/s and classes on Tuesday 13 December 2022. Please refer to the SCC Staffing for 2023 article attached.

Congratulations to Mrs Gaffney on successfully gaining a full-time permanent teaching position at St John's Bosco School, Engadine next year. She has been part of the SCC community for 7 years. Mrs Gaffney has supported many of our students with their learning across several grades and has been a Leader of Sport during this time. We thank Mrs Gaffney for her genuine care, kindness, love of learning and teaching, along her connection to our students and their families - thank you for being such a supportive, invested and compassionate staff member. We look forward to celebrating Mrs Gaffney's time at SCC and wish her every success, happiness and joy moving into the future. 

Both Mr Lattimore and Mr Lowrie have achieved their Teaching Proficiency accreditation from NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA). It is a wonderful achievement and with the support of Mrs Perre, they have been dedicated and commited to fulfilling the NESA requirements.  We wish both Tom and Adam a successful and rewarding career in the teaching profession.

Our final Parents & Friends meeting for the year was held on Tuesday evening. I would like to take the opportunity to sincerely thank our P&F Executive  Nicky Bishop (President), Sarah Foster (Vice-President), Pina Martelozzo (Vice-President), Kelly Saveski (Secretary), Rosie King (Treasurer) and parents who have supported the P&F. Collectively, your unwavering dedication, generosity and commitment to our students, staff, parents and grandparents throughout the year has been greatly appreciated and always welcomed. P&F inspired events including the Colour Run, Discos and Mothers/ Fathers Day Stalls have been highly successful and most enjoyable. We look forward to another sensational P&F year moving into 2023.

As one of our School Review and Improvement focuses, we have been working on revising our school's vision and mission statements, along with our core values. Facilitated by Gary Quinn from Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong (CEDoW) and in consultation with students, staff, parents and parish, we have reaffirmed and commitment to our current vision statement and core values, and realigned our mission statement with a contemporary lens. We are expectational proud of and dedicated to the school community that is St Columbkille's and will continue in both word and actions to live out our vision, mission and core values each daily.

Remembrance Day

The acknowledgement of this event last Friday 11th November 2022, allowed our K-4 grades time to reflect on this special event. The signing of the armistice to end WW1 reminds us to pray for those who have lost their lives as a result of wars and continue to pray for peace in our world. Thank you to those students who helped lead the liturgy and Mrs O'Connor and Mr Lowrie for their organisation. Year 5 & 6 took part in a special celebration with the community at Anzac Grove in Corrimal.

First Holy Communion

Our two events are being held this weekend on Saturday evening at 6pm and Sunday morning at 9.30am. Father Patrick will lead this celebratory Mass with our communicants receiving the 'body of Christ' for the first time. We thank all those who have helped these students prepare for this event. May these children continue to pray for the blessings of Jesus each time they receive the holy Eucharist. 

 Christmas Celebration (Save the Date)

Staff and students have begun the organisation and rehearsals for our Christmas Concert. It is an extra special celebration for the whole community with our students leading the celebration alongside a talented group of musicians, both adults and high school aged students alike. A number of businesses and families have helped by sponsoring this event and to them we are extremely grateful. We cannot wait to sing, dance and celebrate together on Monday 12th December 2022 at 6pm. Don't forget to put this date in your calendar and ask family and friends to come along too!

Feast of Christ the King

This Sunday the solemnity of 'Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe' is celebrated. Jesus wasn’t the king they were expecting. The Messiah was supposed to free God’s people from the oppressive foreigners who came into the Promised Land and controlled them. But Jesus was not a military commander. He did not incite rebellion against the Romans. Instead he preached about love of God and others.

Jesus is our king. He frees us from fear and death. In his kingdom, we care for each other, especially the weak, the outcast, the sick, the despised, the sinners. He shows us how to trust in the Father, which is the only way we can be truly free. He shows us that love requires sacrifice, and that the sacrifice is worth it. He is the revelation of divine love.  https://young-catholics.com/3692/solemnity-of-christ-the-king-year-c/ 

Advent

On Sunday 27th November 2022 we commence the season of Advent. This is a time in the Church year when we prepare for the birth of Jesus. The word Advent comes from the Latin 'adventus,' which means 'coming' or 'arrival' to signify the birth of Jesus. The Advent season is divided into four weeks, and each week features a different liturgical theme. Traditionally, the first week remembers the hope and expectation of the Jewish people as they looked forward to the Saviour’s arrival — and it also reminds believers today to wait expectantly for Jesus’ second coming. Your child/ren may come home mentioning the words "Advent wreath" and "Advent calendar" as they prepare for Jesus' birth. 

Have a great fortnight.

Joanne Herring - Religious Education Coordinator 

Congratulations to all of our students who participated in the UNSW Global Mathematics ICAS Assessment for 2022. A special mention to the following students for their outstanding results: 

Credit: Hunter Moskwa, Dylan Fang, Isabella Masters, Juliet Ritz and Jackson Logue

Distinction: Brody Foster and Abigail England.

Mrs Bethany Tirchett - Middle Leader Two

Student academic reports for Semester Two will be distributed via Compass on Thursday 1 December. The Semester Two Report, assesses all Key Learning Areas taught using the A to E scale.  Students Kindergarten to Year 6 will receive a Semester Two Report. 

Optional Learning Conversations will follow during Week 9 and 10.  Should you require a Learning Conversation with your child's class teacher, please contact the teacher via email or through the School Office.   

Maria Disbio - Assiatant Principal 

NSW Indoor Hockey State Championships

Patrick Fahey 6G travelled to Orange on the 10th and 11th of November to represent the under 15's and Under 13s teams to compete in the NSW Indoor Hockey State Championships. Congratulations Patrick - Well done.

CEDoW CDF Sports Awards 2022

CEDoW CDF Sports Awards were held last Friday night at St Mary's Star of the Sea College in Wollongong.  SCC had five students who represented the Diocese of Wollongong and/or MacKillop throughout the year in a variety of sports.

Congratulations to Sonny O'Brien 5G, who recieived a Red Award and Ryder Bighetti 5G, Amelia Rutledge 6G, Harry Esteves 4G and Bailey Mitchell 6G on receiving Sports Medallions. It is a wonderful achievement and we are extremely proud of their efforts.

Congratulations Livinia McLuskey 5G, winner of the Wollongong Community Greening Poetry Award -  an outstanding achievement. Below is Livinia's recount of yesterday's live Zoom award ceremony in Year 5.

My classmates and I clung to each other, our fingers and wrists crossed. I knew of course, but wasn’t allowed to speak the words that made my heart beat a million times an hour. I stare at the screen, my pulse racing. Kirli Saunders revealed the secret I had been forced to keep, “And the winner of the Wollongong Community Greening is……. Liv-“ Screams envelope me, as hands around me grasp my hands, their fingers brushing my skin as questions replace the hoarse cheering. My lips hurt from the grin stretched across my face.

Our Year 5 2023 students will require to Bring their Own Device for iPad for Learning from Thursday Week 2 (2 February 2023). 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 2023 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 this device is quite expensive and also does not have a headphone jack.  Considering this the iPad (9^thGeneration) can be purchased for school prices through EduComIT . Alternatively, you may wish to shop around for a more competative 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 bluetooth keyboard or an Apple pen.  

The attached booklet will provide further information about the rollout.  Should you have additional questions, please feel free to contact me via email for via the school office.  

Maria Disibio - Assistant Principal and Technology Leader 

ALEA has developed a series of modules to support parents and carers with activities that can be shared with their children. The activities have been designed with an emphasis on learning through collaborative play and shared discovery.  Some of the activities are incidental and some are planned. The modules are as follows:

We have downloaded these modules and they can be found here:

Christine Perre - Middle Leader/Instructional Coach

Rosalia Lane is strictly a no stopping zone. It is recommended that parents and carers should not park in the laneways and/or driveways (Coxs and Rosalia) prior to afternoon dismissal - Carlines commences at 3pm and finishes at 3:30pm.

We ask parents/carers and grandparents do not arrive before 3pm and wait in the either laneway. Arriving at and/or after 3pm greatly reduces the congestion and makes the flow of traffic safer and effective.

Please ensure that the following guidelines are adhered to for the safety of all. 

• Children must only be dropped off or picked up in the clearly mark designated area
• Children must only enter and exit from the driver side of the car
• Family names are to be clearly displayed on the sunviser of all cars. Please contact the office if you need a one
• Overtaking a stationary vehicle is not permitted - it is a dangerous practice and unsafe for students exiting vehicles.

Thank you once again for your ongoing support.