News

This term in the year 5/6/7 class, the focus within our HASS and Science lessons revolves around the key ideas and messages in the 2019 documentary ‘2040’. The students have watched the documentary in class and will now explore what the future would look like by the year 2040 if we simply embraced the best solutions already available to us to improve our planet and shifted them rapidly into the mainstream. These units have been designed to allow students to explore climate change and its causes by looking at a range of real-world solutions such as making transport more sustainable, improving food security, making education available to everyone and implementing alternative energy sources.

Hello!

Welcome to Term 4 😊

Next week we have two important feast days. On November 1 it is the Feast day of All Saints when we remember all those who have attained Heaven and on November 2 we commemorate All Souls Day when we remember and pray for all those who have died. For the Feast of All Saints Day we will be having a whole school mass on Thursday, November 3 at 9:15am. We would love to have you join us. If you ever have any questions about the Mass or any curiosities, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I am more than happy to help answer them or discuss further. 😊

These two feast days are celebrated in many ways around the world but one tradition that I think is beautiful is that of visiting a cemetery on the feast of All Souls Day and praying for those who have died. Reading the names of on the gravestones and remembering these people, even if we never knew them, but saying their names and recognising their lives is a powerful way to feel the communion of saints and also to remember our own mortality. There is an old Catholic practice of meditating on one’s death called ‘Momento Mori’ a Latin phrase meaning, “remember your death.” – find out more HERE. This practice helps us to remember that we will one day die (“You are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Gen 3:19)) so we need to use each day to do the best we can to do good, to love well and to seek God in all things. This may seem all a bit morbid, but its purpose is actually the opposite; to truly understand our mortality and so to live well, to live intentionally. So I invite you to take the time next Wednesday to head out to the cemetery, alone or as a family, to walk through the graves and say the names of those who lie there and offer a prayer for them. May we be encouraged to live well.

God Bless,

Miriam Honner, APRIM

We have a busy time in the library this term as we are installing a new library system. The children will be able to borrow extra books as there will be no borrowing in Week 4 and 5 whilst this is happening.

Could all Issue 7 Book Club orders please be in by Friday 28 th of October.

How exciting! Our "Buy One Get One Free" Book Fair is commencing on the 28th of October and will be running until the 9th of November. A great opportunity to get some Christmas shopping done.

Thankyou 

Julie Anderson 

A very famous Spanish painter is Pablo Diego Jose Francisco De Paula Juan Nepomuceno Crispin Crispiniano Maria Remedios de La Santisima Trinidad Ruiz Picasso. That is the name of just one painter and he is better known as Pablo Picasso. He became one of the most influential artists of the 20th century with many other artists changing their style as a result of his works. He was an excellent drawer from a very early age and his mother said his first sentence that he spoke was to ask for a pencil to draw.

He often drew people  in small chunks, from several angles, simultaneously. And then reassembled the different pieces, so that his portraits were not meant to be realistic, but a collection of different views of the one person.

Regards,

Mandy Thompson.

The average daily UV Index during October is 5 in South Australia, so as we jump into Term 4 it’s very important that we are reminding and encouraging staff, families, students and children to use a combination of sun protection measures during all outdoor activities whenever the UV is 3 and above.

Now that daylight savings has begun, sun protection times have changed and extended. Remember, you can access local daily sun protection times using the SunSmart app, to help determine when you should protect your skin in five ways—slip, slop, slap, seek and slide.

Download the SunSmart app here.. SunSmart app - Cancer Council (cancersa.org.au)

Thanks!

Amy Kennedy

WHS Officer

A group of Senior Students works with me 2 mornings a week, during our school Spelling Time. Our goal in this 15 minute slot, is to explore Descriptive Writing and practise various techniques that will make our writing more vivid and alive. We have brainstormed how we already attempt to do this and each week we are adding a new strategy. We have discussed HYPERBOLE, and how the exaggeration is not meant to be taken literally, but rather to stress a point that the writer wants to make. An example we examined stated that the writer felt so elated and surreal on top of the mountain, that he felt he could touch heaven.

We are currently examining the Noun Group, and how knowing what features it contains, allows us to expand our own writing to make what we are describing move from the mundane into becoming ‘alive’ for the reader. Here is the example we worked on together.

The noun, ‘dog” becomes: His muddy, lonely, kelpie dog, with the black patch over his right eye, and a determination to endear himself to anyone foolish enough to stand still…………. Once we recognise that we can expand a simple noun with a POINTER (His), DESCRIBER (muddy), QUANTIFIER (lonely), CLASSIFIER (Kelpie), and the longest component, QUALIFIER (with the patch………...to stand still), our writing takes on a great deal of polish.

Regards,

Mandy Thompson, Literacy Coach.

Within our science lessons, students have been learning about potential and kinetic energy. Using the knowledge they have acquired over the past few weeks, they worked in groups to create a model using recycled materials that demonstrated how such energy is produced. We were very impressed with their unique designs and each group found success.

The 5/6/7 class has had a fantastic start to the school year. We’ve had a mixture of in class and home learners, all striving to achieve their best. It has been wonderful to see all our learners dedicated to their learning and pushing through challenges with a growth mindset.

This week we have welcomed all our year seven students back on site and presented them with their ‘Successful Leaders’ certificate. We trust that our student leaders will have a positive influence on their peers and be supportive role models in the yard for all students. We have faith in our leaders and trust that they will have a lasting impact on the entire school community. We wish Skye, Isabella, Lylah, Hayley, Riley and Tait all the best as they begin their final year at St Columba’s Memorial School.

Successful Leaders

Are positive people

A committed

Accept Challenges

Encourage others

Are considerate

Respect everyone

Are honest

Are organised

Accept differences

Strive to achieve

Are responsible

Use their time wisely

Know how to influence others positively

Have a lasting impact

At the end of each academic year, teachers have a time together at school, after students have left for their summer holidays. During this time, teachers exchange very valuable insights which they have gained over the year, from teaching their pupils. The information is passed on to the teacher who will be guiding this particular student in the new year. The information might include general reports, spelling levels, reading levels, maths capabilities. Teachers also engage in 1:1 discussions about individual student predispositions to learning and any individual adjustments that have been made in the past.

All teachers will spend time in the first couple of weeks in the new year, testing the students in their new class, to verify exactly where students are with their learning so that the teacher recognises where lessons in each subject need to be directed. But the information gained in these ‘Hand-over Sessions’ at the end of the year, ensure that the teacher is starting from a position of knowledge, rather than tackling the undefined.

For the Literacy Coach, this means handing each class teacher a copy of student Reading Levels, with insights about any difficulties, such as comprehension challenges, reading strategies still needing to develop, and oral reading  strengths.

Regards,

Mandy Thompson

This term students have been working on describing people, and some classes have covered Face Shapes. We have learnt how to draw a face using light guide-lines to make our face drawing symmetrical. Then we have focused on 4 main face types, small (pequena), big (grande), long (larga) and round (redonda). Adding this knowledge to our other work on eye colour and hair shades, the students will be armed with the skills to describe themselves in detail.

Regards,

Mandy Thompson

Term four is always a busy, yet very fun and exciting term. Our Upper and Senior Primary classes have been working very hard to perfect all aspects of our school performance ‘Aladdin Trouble’, having taken on a lot of the lead roles for the concert. 

Performing Arts, is a vital element of our curriculum as it teaches students skills that will help them in all aspects of their future development. 

Through our Performing Arts program, we have been able to see our students improve their self-confidence, self-motivation and expression, anxieties around public speaking, memory skills, cooperation and team work skills. 

The support and encouragement that our students have been showing each other has been fantastic. We look forward to you seeing all the students' hard work and dedication, come together next Thursday at Light Church.

All Recorder students from Years 4/5/6/7 have learnt  the same 2  pieces for the Concert, in their individual Recorder classes. We have worked on memorizing the pieces to free us up as musicians, in order to focus on the musicality of performing. Our aim has been not only to play accurately with regard to the melody, but to listen to the backing music and to each other. By doing this, we ensure we play as a team, and not a collection of separate performers.

We have also worked on finer details, such as a light touch with staccato notes, and feeling the music, as indicated by the lyrics. We have worked out how best to set ourselves up before our performance, so that we can move efficiently into position, with everyone knowing their role. For the chorus of one piece, we have devised group movements while we join in the singing, before we ready ourselves to accompany the singers for the next verse.

As with all performances, we are aware that a polished presentation prepares musicians to bow and exit gracefully, as part of the audience experience. Our work in the combined school rehearsals will be the first time the Recorder  students have worked together as a unified, large group. During these whole school rehearsals, we will begin to appreciate the polishing that musicians need to apply to produce a worthwhile performance.

We hope you enjoy.

Regards,

Mandy Thompson

Year 3/4/5 Camp 

Attending a school camp is an important milestone, and we are very proud of the enthusiastic approach our Year 3/4/5 students have shown over the past week. It had been a long time coming for these students, who have been awaiting a school camp for nearly two years. During the camp, all students had to adopt a Growth Mindset in their approach to new physical challenges. The students developed a strong sense of responsibility when they had to help clean tables, pack up dishes and keep their room tidy.  

Throughout the camp, students were all excited to share all the new activities they were able to experience. Every student became risktakers and tried knee boarding, caving, kayaking and experimented with new tricks in the gymnasium. Most importantly, the students expressed gratitude towards the staff at Illawonga at mealtimes, during activities and respected the campsite rules. All the students looked happy, fresh faced and ready to tackle challenges, in activities they were not used to doing.  

As staff members, we were amazed by the beauty of creation when we drove into the Swan Reach area, and the landscape of the river lived up to all our expectations. We are both very grateful that the parent volunteers and the Illawonga staff, ensured that the camps activities were filled with laughter and joy. This camp will be a highlight of many of these students’ school experience and will certainly be remembered by all.  

Amy McPhail and Angela Grigoras-Oates

Middle and Upper Primary Teachers

The Junior Primary and Reception classes, along with most of the other schools and Kindy's in the district, had a wonderful time attending the Peter Coombe concert, held recently at Warooka Primary School. Peter was a fantastic entertainer, singing classics such as 'Newspaper Mama', 'Spaghetti Bolognaise' and the ultimate favourite...'Mr Clickity Cane'. A highlight of the trip was seeing Mrs Hughes' very excited reaction when the song 'Tadpole Blues' began...her all-time favourite Peter Coombe song and a fitting song for the Reception class as we have been observing our tadpoles morph into frogs. Thanks very much to Warooka Primary School for inviting us.

“When we plant trees, we plant the seeds of peace, and seeds of hope.”

On a very windy Monday the 20th of September the Middle Primary Class travelled to Lake Fowler to plant trees in our local bushfire affected area. The students travelled in the school vans to the council land surrounding Lake Fowler to plant a variety of native trees in their revegetation area. Students worked in groups of three to plant trees, install tree guards and water each plant. The students were set the challenge of planting over 150 hundred trees in under 2 hours!

All students reflected positively on the day and were very grateful to be given the opportunity to plant new trees in a bushfire affected area. It was particularly special for the Year 4 students to see the growth from the trees that they planted last year. Many of the students are excited to go back and visit the site in years to come, to see the future growth.

This year all Year 1 students in our state have been required to sit a new, Phonics Screening Test. This is a requirement for all schools, whether they be Education Department, Religious or Independent. The purpose of this test  is for teachers to gauge how students are progressing with their Phonics Learning, what sounds need to be revised, and whether some students may need individual assistance. The test contains 40 words; some are real words like “shed”, “long”, “soil”; while some are nonsense words like, “fip”, “pon”, “hab”. The thinking behind this, is that real words can be memorized, and students who rely only on memory cannot decode an unknown word, such as a person’s name, if they have no decoding strategies. The real words may test their memory or their strategies; it’s impossible to tell. But the nonsense words require the students to use all of the strategies which are explicitly taught in our InitiaLit Phonics lessons, at St. Columba’s.

Teachers have now completed these tests, and will register the results with the State Department responsible for this project. Then the data will be carefully examined by our teachers, and lessons will be planned accordingly, to give students the best opportunity to fully develop their phonics skills.

We employ several tests for our students, from Running Records, PAT testing, weekly InitiaLit tests, to name but a few. This Phonics Screening Test is another that will give us important  data, which allows us to provide the exact help that your child requires to succeed, with Phonics Learning.

Regards,

Mandy Thompson

The year 1/2 Class have been learning about measurement in Maths over the past couple of weeks. The have looked at length, mass, capacity, volume and area. Who knew that there were so many different components to explore when learning about measurement. They have enjoyed measuring the length of different objects in the classroom, comparing the weight of different items and exploring the capacity of various containers with water in our schools outdoor learning space.

The year 1/2s have also been busy revising their phonics knowledge by completing lots of hands on activities in literacy rotations.

We are formulating and practicing dance choreography for the school concert! All Senior and Upper Primary students have been learning a combined dance that will look amazing on the big night! Other group dance will continue to be taught throughout the term.

The 5/6/7 classes are also involved in the final rehearsals for their performance at the Catholic Schools Music Festival on Thursday the 23^rd of September.

We can't wait to perform at the Entertainment Centre in Adelaide!

Over the past couple of weeks, the Year 3/4 Class have been learning about 2D and 3D shapes in the world around us. The class was able to search the school looking for various shapes and sort and classify them into various groups. Following on from our previous work on angles, students were able to identify the types of angles within a 2D shape. 

Students were set the challenge of creating their own 3D shapes using their new knowledge of nets. Students worked in groups to create nets that could effectively be converted into a 3D shape. The class was very excited when they managed to work as a group to create their own icosahedron (polyhedron with 20 faces). 

In the Year 1/2 Class we have been learning about money. We have looked at the Australian coins and which picture is on the back of each of them. We have learnt to order them based on their value and have started adding small collections of coins. Soon we will be looking at Australian notes and how to work out how to give change after purchasing an item. 

Week 5 was Science Week in the Reception class with many wonderful science activities and investigations taking place. We had tadpoles which we are watching grow, fossils to excavate and flowers to study. We did colour experiments with skittles and tye dye, and we made colourful rain. Such a big week for our Reception Scientists!

In the 3/4 Class, the students have been learning about various types of poetry. Over the past four weeks, students have learnt about acrostic, haiku, cinquain and limerick poems. Here are some examples below:

Recorder students from Year 4-7 are currently working on pieces for our End Of Year Concert. There are many challenges in doing this. Firstly, of course, we need to become familiar with the songs which we are playing. That procedure involves being so confident with the music that we can all play well, at the speed of the backing music, which will guide our performances. Next, because moving music stands and sheet music is an added burden when students are performing on stage before a large audience, we have chosen to memorize these songs. So that is an extra challenge for us. These pressures of performing are not expected of Year 3 students in their first year of learning Recorder.

We start with a positive mindset, that we are capable of the challenge, and a sense of steady as we go; small steps upon which we can build.

Regards,

Mandy Thompson

The Middle Primary Class has spent the past three weeks looking into the history of the Olympics. The class began looking into the first Ancient Olympic Games held in Olympia, Greece in 776BC. In 1896, Athens hosted the first Modern Olympics. Since then, the class have been looking at the various countries who have hosted both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games over the past 125 years.  

Throughout our unit of inquiry, students have started developing a greater understanding of the core values that the Olympics has. The founder of the modern Olympic Games, Baron Pierre de Coubertin was a massive fan of sport. He believed sport could help people excel and also bring them together in ways that could help them better understand each other. It was from here, that the beliefs were forged to create the core Olympic values of friendship, respect and excellence.  

One of the most significant pieces of information that the students came across was that the Olympic rings were designed with the five competing continents in mind. At least one colour from the national flag of every country competing at the time was included. The continents are now represented by the following colours: Africa (yellow), the Americas (red), Asia (green), Europe (black), and Oceania (blue). To symbolise athletes from all over the world coming together for the games, Baron Pierre de Coubertin designed the rings to be linking.  

Reflecting on the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, the class discussed how important mindset really is. We discussed the resilience shown by Cate Campbell as she showed great determination in her swimming events after experiencing disappointment in the 2016 Rio Olympics. Emma McKeon was another stand out for the class, as she took home seven medals, consisting of four gold and three bronze. Jessica Fox’s determination to win gold in the female canoe slalom and perseverance she displayed throughout her previous Olympic journeys was one to be highly commended.  

As the Tokyo Olympics Games have drawn to a close, the students continue to ask questions and reflect on the success that not only Australian athletes experienced but the success of their competitors. The Olympic encompasses much more than just a world-wide sporting event, it teaches us to value honesty, determination, hard work, self-discipline, and the importance of an individual’s mindset. These are all important values that we as a class continue to develop amongst one another daily.  

Throughout the last 6 weeks, students have studied more complex ideas within the topic of measurement. This involved students learning about volume, capacity and the area and perimeter of a variety of shapes. Students enjoyed being able to use hands-on approaches to their learning which included using technology to measure objects around the school and even calculate the area of their own feet!

For the final assessment of the topic, students created their own dream bedroom. They had to use a scale to draw accurate designs of their room and how everything would fit within it. They recorded these measurements in a table and showed their mathematical understanding by also converting units of measurement and calculating the perimeter and area of what they purchased. This assessment was a great success and I believe students enjoyed it thoroughly.

Last Monday the junior primary unit celebrated 100 days of school for 2021. We completed different activities about the number 100 and enjoyed working together for this milestone in their schooling.

Dear Parents Term 3 is a busy and exciting time in the library. Below are some dates for up and coming events. . August the 9th we have a book fair held in the library. . August 21st - 27th Book Week . The theme this year is ‘Old Worlds, New Worlds, Other worlds. . Wednesday 25th August we will be celebrating Book Week by having a costume parade at 9am in the hall. This is a fun day with the children dressing up as their favourite book character. Also could all issue 5 Book club orders be in by Friday 13th . Thank you.Dear Parents Term 3 is a busy and exciting time in the library. Below are some dates for up and coming events. . August the 9th we have a book fair held in the library. . August 21st - 27th Book Week . The theme this year is ‘Old Worlds, New Worlds, Other worlds. . Wednesday 25th August we will be celebrating Book Week by having a costume parade at 9am in the hall. This is a fun day with the children dressing up as their favourite book character. Also could all issue 5 Book club orders be in by Friday 13th . Thank you.

Every Monday after lunch, the Year 6/7 class is taking part in an in-depth series of GRAMMAR explorations. Last term we looked at the five categories of verbs and how excellent writers employ verbs from all of these different groupings of Action, Saying, Sensing, Relating, & Existing. To prove the point, we examined a piece of literature by Michael Morpurgo, the author of the very successful novel ‘War Horse’. We are choosing to model ourselves on experienced writers and through examining the skills they employ, make our own writing more polished.

This term we are investigating nouns and how, by using the seven categories of the noun group, we will be able to expand our writing to create something more exciting and descriptive. Here is an example of what we have worked on. Students were experimenting with analysing the seven categories of the Noun Group, from Pointer (e.g. these), Classifier (e.g. sponge), Describer (e.g. delicious), Intensifier (e.g. extremely),  Quantifier (few), Qualifier (e.g. extra information, ‘that sat so temptingly on the delicately patterned plate’), and the Noun itself (e.g. cakes)

instead of the flat example of : The cakes………..

We now have: These few, extremely delicious sponge cakes that sat so temptingly on the delicately patterned plate…..This is what recognised writers do. Our plan is to use these strategies throughout our creative writing, in imitation of excellent role models, to produce writing that evokes a very clear descriptive image in the minds of our readers.

Regards,

Mandy Thompson, Literacy Coach

The children have loved exploring the Pig the Pug series by Aaron Blabey which has developed into the children’s love for sharing stories about their beloved dogs at home. Our Library display has now expanded to include pictures of children’s family dogs. It never ceases to amaze me the impact a tiny display can have and the richness of involvement.

This term the students have begun a Science unit on circuits and switches. 

Circuits and switches provides students with hands-on opportunities to: 

• construct and represent simple circuits 
• investigate how changing the components of a simple circuits affects how it works 
• explore different sources of energy that may generate electricity 
• examine the role of switches in a simple circuit 

In each of the five Spanish classes, students have a prayer to learn and recite in Spanish, each week. We remain with the same prayer until students feel quite comfortable reciting it. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, students  are able to become very familiar with the frequently repeated Spanish phrases. Next, they come to use this language in context, speaking as native Spanish speakers might pray. In addition they appreciate that peoples around the world from different countries, with different languages and cultures, can share many aspects, religion being one of them.

 Currently we are praying to Saint Joseph as this year has been nominated as the Year of St. Joseph.

Regards,

Mandy Thompson.

Congratulations to the following students: 

Madison Matthias for being a great teacher helper and her outstanding work in Literacy and Maths.

Georgia Braine for showing improvement in her concentration skills during mat time and being a helpful member of the class.

Drey Towers for making great progress with his reading skills. Drey has been using his phonics knowledge to read unfamiliar texts fluently.

Willowmiena Chircop for working very hard to improve her number skills in Maths. Willowmiena recognises the numbers to 50 and is working towards her goal of recognising the numbers to 100.

Coby Short for whowing great levels of perseverance when confronted with challenges in his learning. Coby is working hard in Mathematics to improve his measurement skills.

Gabriela Taheny for showing great dedication towars all her learning. Gabriela always adopts a positive mindset when taking on challenges and works effeciently to complete all learning tasks. 

Max Johnson for applying himself to all tasks and approaching all of his learning with a positive attitude.

Lylah Minks for being a positive and happy learner within the class. This students makes the classroom a fun space to be and is working hard to understans challenging topics.

Sarah McConnell for representing the school exceptionally well at the Cross Country carnival in horrendous conditions and excelling in all learning areas. 

Where would we be without our wonderful volunteers at our school.  We are so lucky in our Library to have Julie Tonkin, she is in the library ready to put books away at 7.30 am each week. The library loves you Julie.

Book Club: Could all Issue 4 Book Club orders be finalised by this Friday, June 18th.

Thank you

Julie Anderson 

These happy students in Year 3 & 4,  have just received a brand new, shiny recorder, provided free of charge, by the school.

At St. Columba’s students begin learning a musical instrument in Year 3, when they can count, deal with fractions, and their hands are sufficiently developed to manage a

recorder.

In music lessons we work towards correct technique, playing in time, keeping together as a group and playing musically.

Recorder allows us the joy and discipline of reading music and performing, with an instrument that is small, portable, strong and relatively inexpensive.

Regards,

Mandy Thompson.

Emmett Dickson for being a kind member of our class and for working independently to develop his literacy learning.

Nate Mason for becoming more independent in his learning tasks and taking on challenges in his literacy learning.

Shelley Bishop for making great progress with her spelling and writing skills. Shelley has been using her phonics knowledge to spell words correctly.

Everlyn Warren for working very hard to improve her reading skills.

Eliza Johnson for showing great levels of perserverance when learning new concepts in Mathematics. Eliza has continued to ask questions and challenge herself to complete all her set tasks.

Patrick Johnson for taking on great challenges in Mathematics with a positive attitude. Patrick is always willing to challenge himself and share his new knowledge with his peers. 

Jade Player Congratulations on your amazing efforts in your HASS Assignment! You are doing a wonderful job interpreting and applying information to present a fantastic piece of creative work!

Lily Thompson  you are to be commended in your servie to our classroom learning environment! Congratulations on your foresight and initiative in acting out and problem solving what needs to be done and achieved! Keep up the great work!

Kaitlen Dickson for adjusting well to her transition to St Columba's and beginning to show leadership qualities as a Year 7 student. Kaitlen is continuing to grow as a strong learner.

Joseph Honner for representing the school positively at co-curricular events and being a diligent Alter Server at the Parish Masses. Joe has worked hard this semester to learn new ideas and not swing on his chair. 

Dear SCMS family, 

Kids in Sport 

Last Friday I travelled to Pt Pirie, to meet with other country Principals around how we can improve our practice as a system. The day was heavy in content, and much of what we learnt was delivered over Zoom or Teams, rather than Face to Face. It was a good day, but an exhausting day and in a lot of ways devoid of human connection. 

Leaving at 4pm as I travelled back to Yorketown,  listening to various podcasts ( I have been fortunate enough to have some recommendations from parents which made the travelling aspect of my job more bearable),  I traversed through Minlaton at around 6:30pm.  

I dropped in at the Minlaton Basketball Centre and saw some of our students in action at local netball.

It was exactly what I needed.

A chance to see some of these students outside of uniform and engaging in local sport. We talk about regularly around being ‘others focused’ at our school. What I love about Team Sport is it puts children (and adults) in situations where they must be others focused. To get the ball they need the help of their teammates. To shoot a goal in netball you must rely on more than one person. A coach’s job is to make others better.  

Team Sport teaches many great lessons and it is so pleasing to see our community so heavily involved in it. 

SAPSASA Football 

I am so proud that some of our students are involved at a representative level at SAPSASA Football this week. It has been great to hear positive reports about how they have carried themselves as part of a team, knowing that their actions off the field, are equally as important as their skills on it. 

Uniform 

Our school uniform is a signficant part of our culture.

It reinforces a sense of pride as well as establishing patterns of discipline.

It allows there to be no sense of teasing or bullying about choice of clothing.

Next week I will be communicating aspects of our uniform in various ways. Pictures, Tables that indicate what days are Sport Days and which days are Formal uniform days. I will communicate these systems and diagrams that you can use or put on your fridge to support your student owning which uniform they should be in on which day.  

Our communication up to this point has been only OK. On our end as a school, I want to make it better.  

In short - I would like our communities support in working together to improve our adherence to uniform at our school.   

Student Free Days 

A reminder that next week on the 10^th and 11^th of June (Thursday and Friday) we have two student free days. The extra student free day replaces a student free day in Term 3.  

Growth Mindset Challenge 

It has been great to see some early engagement in our Growth Mindset Challenge. Next week I will be asking people involved in the challenge (students, staff, parents) to post a short video introducing themselves and their challenge.  

I will send out a note on Monday that will provide details of how to submit these videos. 

Some of the challenges the children have set themselves are amazing. 

Cooking a 3 course dinner for their family. Climbing a ‘virtual’mountain by monitoring their hill climbs on their bike rides. Creating an Art Journal. 

It is inspiring stuff. 

God Bless, 

Scott 

This term in science we have been looking at chemical changes. We have completed lots of experiments to find if the changes were reversible or irreversible. Last week we found out what happens when you mix baking soda, detergent and vinegar. We are looking forward to finding out what happens when you mix different materials over the next few weeks.

My voice is amazing! I am beginning to hit the high notes! Tanja

My choreography is getting good! I nearly know all of the moves. Catalina

My moves are getting groovy! Edwin

My favourite choir song is “Africa” because it is fast and has great harmony. Jada

My favourite choir song is “Like A Singing Bird” because it has a lovely tune and I know it well. Lily

My favourite choir song is “One Moment In Time” because it was a theme song for the Seoul Olympics. Angus

The best part of the choir is learning the choreography. It is fun. Max

I am looking forward to performing on the big stage at the Entertainment Centre with my friends. Jade

I have improved in choir by remembering more of the songs. Riley

I can now sing high in harmony. Chloe

My singing continues to improve really well. Lexi

You are going to love the fun parts of our choreography! Jordan.

I love singing with all of the children in the Five, Six and Seven class. Brock

The fun part of the choir is doing the choreography to “Fa La La”! It will surprise you and make you laugh! Sam

Computers vs Hand Written  

Why don’t Primary School children use computers all the time in class?

This is a very sensible question since computers are an indispensable part of modern life.  We see computers being used at our local Foodland checkout, and by farmers working during Seeding to put crops in. Why doesn’t school mirror society, and let students work from computers exclusively, if the world is so dependent upon them?

Well, there is respected, detailed research from Princeton University, to indicate that “Writing by hand encourages positivity and improves creativity, comprehension and information recall.” These researchers found that students who hand-wrote notes outperformed exclusive computer users. How exciting, that by teaching students to develop and use their handwriting means that they will be more creative when thinking and composing new work. These same students will also have greater understanding and insight  into information that they have written by pen rather that with a keyboard. A better ability to recall and accurately remember facts also is an outcome of handwriting.

So what might have appeared as an old-fashioned approach, using handwriting, is in fact a means of benefiting students greatly, and is supported by the most recent research. Rest assured that at Saint Columba’s Memorial School, all staff work consistently to provide the very best educational approach for your child, based on sound research.

Why don’t students use computers exclusively in class?  The answer is, we have found a much better way to move forward. We will be using computers certainly, as the modern world requires, but we continue to develop your child’s ability to write by hand, because we want all the advantages that writing brings.

Regards,

Mandy Thompson, Literacy Coach.

Terri recently worked with Braxton and Coby to use produce from the garden and the Aquaponics to make a yummy pasta meal. 

We made pasta sauce with tomatoes & basil from the garden & aquaponics. It was delicious! Good job boys.

Hello!

Last week we held our first Mass back for term 2, celebrating Mary during this month of May which is traditionally held as her month. It was also another chance for us to reflect on motherhood and our mums. 

 Thank you to the Year 5/6/7 class who ran the Mass for us, they did a great job. Our next whole school Mass will be on Thursday, June 3^rd and will be run by the Year 3/4 class. We would love to see you there. 

This Sunday is a very special feast day, Pentecost. We remember when God sent his Holy Spirit on Mary and the Apostles, filling them with the gifts of the Holy Spirit and empowering them to go out to all the ends of the earth proclaiming the Good News, that is that Jesus died for us, for our sins and calls us to Him. I hope on this special day that the Holy Spirit comes to each one of us in a special way so that we can know His love and be, especially at this time, instruments of His peace.

God Bless,

Miriam

Dear Community,            

As I finish typing this report around 35 of our students are completing the last of the NAPLAN tests, with Numeracy on the menu this morning.

Our kids have been exceptional in the way they have approached each test with a sense of what I could only describe as ‘begrudging enthusiasm’

In more simple language that could be described as

‘ I know I have to do this. I know some parts of it are going to be challenging. I know some parts I will be hard. I know it’s important. I know I have to do my best.’

Part of NAPLAN is an endurance test for the children. The Year 7 reading test is 65 minutes long. To ask anyone to concentrate for that long is a challenge, let alone a 12 or 13 year old child.

I have been impressed with our school’s preparation and how the children have left the test feeling accomplished.

When the results come (Usually sometime towards the end of Term 3) they form part of a bigger picture of data for each child that includes assessments that we conduct as part of units of work, other standardised tests.

How do we us all this data?

To understand exactly what a student currently knows. To understand what they do not know. And most importantly, to understand what we can do as teachers to fix that.

School Photos

Our School photo day is next Friday the 28^th of May.

Students are required to wear their formal school uniform, for the day.

For your reference this is:

Boys:

Navy/Gold Polo Top with Emblem

Navy School Shorts or Trousers (No Cargo or Track Pants)

Black School Shoes or Boots (No Sports Shoes) Or Black or Brown Sandals

Navy and Gold Polar Fleece Jumper with Emblem (will be removed for photo)

Girls:

Summer Dress, Skorts, Navy School Shorts or Navy School Pants

Navy Gold Polo Top with Emblem

White or Navy Socks that cover ankle

Black school shoes or boots Or Black/Brown Sandals

Navy Blue leggings or tights

Navy/Gold Polar fleece jumper with emblem (will be removed for photo)

Student Free Days

At its most recent meeting the School Board approved Student Free Days for:

Thursday the 10^th of June, and Friday the 11^th of June.

The extra student Free Day this term will replace the Student Free day in Term 3.

The reasoning behind this decision is to facilitate a staff professional development/retreat opportunity on the 10^th and 11^th of June in Penola. Staff will use the Thursday to travel to Penola, to hold their annual retreat.

St Mary Mackillop established the first Catholic School in Penola in 1866, becoming the first Catholic School in our state. Staff visiting Penola will visit the Mary Mackillop Centre, receive presentations from two current Catholic Priests, and visit St Mary Mackillop School in Penola to tour the grounds and meet with the staff.

A staff retreat is mandated by the Catholic Education Office and forms an important part of our staff spiritual and wellbeing program.

Kind Regards,

Scott March

MiniLit is an evidence-based, explicit, and effective early literacy intervention program for teaching sounds and reading skills to children.

Each year a picture book, written and illustrated by an Australian author and illustrator, is read simultaneously in libraries and many other places around the country. Our children were excited to have their picture taken in our very own St. Columba’s Rocket.

This week the Junior Primary classes have been busy preparing for the National Simultaneous Storytime. 

The children loved hearing the story Give me some Space knowing that other children across Australia were reading or listening at the same time. They created and decorated some fantastic Rockets, and the highlight of the day was having a photo taken looking through our own library rocket. The children had such a blast!

NAPLAN TESTING

The Year 3 students have spent the past two weeks undergoing their first NAPLAN tests, where they have completed the NAPLAN Writing, Reading, Conventions of Language and Numeracy Tests. The students were required to write a narrative using the NAPLAN prompt of ‘following footprints or a track’. The students applied their knowledge from the Seven Steps to Writing Program which has been implemented across Years 3-7 to structure their texts in a creative and engaging way.   

All students used their new knowledge of the brain and applied their Growth Mindsets to tackle these new challenges. They found themselves reflecting after about how they kept using positive affirmations in their heads to encourage themselves to keep persevering. Students found themselves using various strategies to climb out of the Learning Pit to achieve success. The students should be extremely proud of themselves and be commended on all their hard work, dedication, and effort.  

It has been a decent effort to get it to this point, but we hope that it brings you into the classrooms a little bit more. As the term progresses, we are going to add picture galleries, and videos that will help add to the reading/viewing of the piece.

You will be able to find our newsletter each fortnight by clicking the News section of our website and clicking the enewsletter section.

NAPLAN

This year our school will complete the 2021 NAPLAN tests online.  Over a 2-week period from Tuesday 11 May until Thursday 20 May, our Year 3 and 5 students will be participating in NAPLAN.  It is important for all our students to understand that NAPLAN is not a pass or fail type of test.  It is about assessing student progress. As a school, we use this data to assist with improving our teaching and learning programs.  As the tests are online this year, we hopefully will receive the results much faster than in previous years. 

The timetable for the tests is below:

Catholic Education Week is this week from May 3 – 9, 2021.  It is a great opportunity for families to explore the benefits of a Catholic Education.  This year, our focus is on promoting our free mid-year intake for Reception students.

We will conclude Catholic Education Week with our Mother’s Day Liturgy, and an afternoon tea for these amazing women with open classrooms until the end of the day.

Mid-Year Reception Intake

One of many initiatives announced by the South Australian Commission for Catholic Schools (SACCS) is to reduce the financial burden on families.

 All Diocesan schools, including St Columba’s will offer the 2021 Term 3 Reception intake, to parents free of charge.  The free intake includes tuition fees excluding uniforms and extra-curricular costs.

Scott March

Principal

The event was held at Yorketown Area School with a 2km track set up for the Under 10's while the Under 11's, 12's and 13s.

As this was the first time in many, many years that they had held an interschool event in the SYP, our students were recording their personal bests for the first time.

Our goal for the day was for each student to finish the race which we were able to achieve.

Many of our students finished in the top 6 in their age group, which makes them eligible to compete in the State finals in Oakbank later this term.

I was so proud of this group of children.

Scott

Test