Term 2 Week 2
Dear Families,
Welcome back to Term 2. The students have returned fresh faced and looking forward to getting back into the swing of routines.
Last week, I had a conversation with Michael Beelitz from Yorketown Area School and topic of conversation was the use of canteen and OSHC. Michael expressed that our numbers for canteen orders were recently down and asked me to remind you all that this service is still available for St Columba's students. We currently have access to the canteen four days a week and all orders can be made via QkR app. There has also been discussion around the Out of School Hours Care service which have been in the pipeline for a while. As it stands, YAS is looking to have their OSHC service running as early as Term 3. This service will be open to all neighbouring schools. We will look to run a bus service each afternoon and morning. We will be directed by Michael and his staff and once we receive correspondence, we will endeavour to pass all forms and expressions of interest to families. Finally, this term, we welcome staff and students from YAS to begin the transition between St Columba’s students and high school. This first step will take place here at St Columba’s as ex-students walk through their experiences of transitioning to High school.
Late last term we received some very exciting news from Catholic Education SA informing us that we have received a considerable contribution from them in conjunction with the State Government to purchase a new school vehicle. This has resulted in the school purchasing a 22-seater mini bus that will help with sport excursions, camps, and classroom excursions. This will also assist us in providing transport to school for additional families outside of Yorketown. This bus has been tentatively ordered and will arrive late in Term 2. In addition, Families who access a school-managed bus services and who reside more than 5km from St Columba’s will continue to receive a subsidy worth 60% of the annual cost of accessing the school bus, thanks to a grant from the government. I hope that this confirmation of continued subsidy support, together with recent Catholic Education SA commitments to make Catholic schooling more affordable and accessible to all, will be well received.
As I often do, I reflect on the people who positively support myself, my family and community. At St Columba’s we are very fortunate to have so many giving members. People who give their time, advice, expertise, and anything else to help those around them. This fortnight I sit with the Board members, Parents and Friends committee and Parish Pastoral Council. All three groups have the best intentions for the school and those connected to it. I would like to thank these members for their extra time and rich conversations around creating a school of plentiful experiences, rich learning, inclusiveness, and faith.
On Wednesday May 29th I will be conducting a Principals Tour for those interested in sending their children to St Columba's. There will be a guided tour of our beautiful facilities as well as refreshments provided and the opportunity to ask me any questions about the school. If you know people who are considering enrolling their child, please let them know about this tour. Once we know our numbers for the coming years, this greatly assists in planning for the future.
Last but not least, a reminder to all children (and adults!) that Mothers’ Day is upon us this weekend. This is a great opportunity to honour our mothers, make them feel special and remind them how greatly they are loved. I look forward to sharing in the Mother’s Day breakfast held this Friday 10th May @ 7:15am with all the women in our community. I hope all the gifts and cards made this week are received with love. A special thanks to Miriam Honner who has worked extremely hard in the organising of the event and Jo Minks who is cooking up a storm for the morning.
A special mention to my own mum…. Happy Mother’s Day Mum, sending all my love up to Sydney.
God Bless
Luke Buchanan
Hello!
This morning we held a Liturgy, celebrating Mother’s Day. It is so great we can start off this special weekend with a Liturgy then also a breakfast tomorrow to celebrate, thank and remember our mums, grandmas and special women who have had a mothering presence in our lives. We hope all of these women have a beautiful day on Sunday and are spoilt and looked after!
In a couple of weeks, we will be celebrating the feast of Pentecost. It is a significant feast day in the life of the Church as we mark it as the Birthday of Church. We will be having some class and whole school celebrations to mark this occasion.
At the end of week six we will be celebrating the feast of St Columba. For this day we will be needing big cardboard boxes for a special activity. If you have any or collect any over the next few weeks, could you hold onto them for us and bring them in that week? Thank you!
Have a great couple of weeks and a very big Happy Mother’s Day to our Mums, Grandmas and women celebrating!
God Bless,
Miriam Honner
“A woman by her very nature is maternal – for every woman, whether married or unmarried, is called upon to be a biological, psychological, or spiritual mother — she knows intuitively that to give, to nurture, to care for others, to suffer with and for them — for maternity implies suffering — is infinitely more valuable in God’s sight than to conquer nations and fly to the moon.” - Alice Von Hildebrand
“The Most Important Person on earth is a mother. She cannot claim the honour of having built Notre Dame Cathedral. She need not. She has built something more magnificent than any cathedral—a dwelling for an immortal soul, the tiny perfection of her baby’s body….The angels have not been blessed with such a grace. They cannot share in God’s creative miracle to bring new saints to Heaven. Only a human mother can. Mothers are closer to God the Creator than any other creature; God joins forces with mothers in performing this act of creation….What on God’s good earth is more glorious than this; to be a mother?” - József Cardinal Mindszenty
Just a reminder that lunch orders are available every day except Tuesdays. Orders can be done via the Qkr! app. If you need assistance, please contact the school office.
In Reception, students have been learning to connect number names, numerals, and quantities. For this activity, students created a math resource they could use in the classroom to help them with their math learning. Each student was given 2-3 numbers from 1-20 and asked to write the numeral, number name and quantity to match.
The Year 1s and 2s have been working with Molly to create characters, inspired by a locally written song 'Hey Wool Bay'. The song was written as part of a recent collaborative community music project. Our students are now using it as inspiration and seeing what we can create together! The focus of these sessions is to build skills in collaboration and confidence in creativity. So far, we have spent time thinking about the lyrics in the song, brainstorming ideas through group drawings and exploring how the different characters in the lyrics might move and dance. We have created masks to help us transform into the characters and at the end of this term we will bring these characters to life while we learn about media. We think a music video staring our 1/2s is on the cards!
In the Middle Primary Class we have been learning about plant production in our local community. We discussed what Australia's major exports are and where they are sourced around Australia. We have now turned our attention to South Australia, looking at our biggest production operations.
The students worked with Jo in our school garden and green space to learn about potato production. They have started planting their own potatoes and will closely monitor the progress over the next term. We also discussed how we cook with potatoes. The students sampled some of our own potatoes during our lesson this week.
We are looking forward to investigating our local produce at school and how we can utilise these foods in our school community.
Students have been engaging in a comprehensive analysis of CJ Dennis's poetry. Their exploration delves into the poem's genre, the deeper meanings conveyed, and study of language techniques such as rhythm, rhyme, alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia, personification, imagery, similes, and metaphors. This in-depth examination allows them to appreciate the intricate layers of meaning and artistic expression within Dennis's poetic works.
In our Year 6/7 Leadership Class, we're not just dreaming big, we're mapping out our journey to success. With our trusty leadership journals in hand, we're setting intentions that will guide us toward our goals this term. Taking on the learning from our leadership conference and retreat last term we have set the tone for Term 2; to take on all challenges that are presented to us and to be present as we move through our last year at St Columba’s Memorial School.
La Comida
This term's topic is La Comida (Food). In this task we created a fruit bowl and drew and labelled the fruit. Some of the names are the same in English - for example el kiwi and el mango.
At St. Columba’s we are introducing an additional method of testing Literacy skills, called DIBELS, which stands for Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills. This systems allows for students to be tested from Reception to High School Years. This year, because we have the Pre.Lit and Inia.Lit program operating in Reception and Yr. 1/2, which allows teachers to collect useful data about our students’ ability to recognise the names and sounds of the alphabet, to operate with decoding skills, to recognise sight words, we will begin our DIBELS testing in Yr. 3 and work through with every student up to and including Yr. 7.
This DIBELS system has much to commend it; it costs nothing to use as teachers can freely access the testing materials from the Internet. It is designed to allow each student in the class to be tested a minimum of 3 times a year. If the data suggests an individual is not yet to standard, then that individual is given extra, personalised assistance, and can be retested regularly. It follows the progress of each student, even very capable ones, so that all individuals are monitored and expected to demonstrate growth throughout the year.
Three teachers have completed specialised, in-depth training in this system of testing, namely Julie Anderson, Jorja Warwick, and myself. Other Staff have worked through a P.D. session in Staff Meeting recently so all are ready to work with this new system.
We are continuing to do testing with Running Records, using the PM Series, so that class teachers have a wide range of data that informs them of each individual student’s strengths and challenges, allowing us to personalise instruction and give any additional assistance, to ensure students reach their potential.
Regards,
Mandy Thompson
This term, students will explore the topic of "Farm to Fork" with Jo and Miss K. "Farm to Fork" covers a wide array of essential lessons, including understanding food miles, sustainable practices for living, waste reduction strategies, food preservation techniques, effective food storage methods, and gaining insight into the origins of our food. Together, we'll explore the journey our food takes from the farm to our tables, empowering students with valuable knowledge for a sustainable future.
Term two has had a lovely start - both with perfect weather, and lots of activity in the Green Space!
Winter seedlings have gone in with the capable help of the 3/4 class. We have been focussing on fibre, food production and potatoes this week, the potato patch looks very well mulched and cared for, and we anticipate yet another great crop towards the end of the year. We have learned about optimal conditions for plants to grow, with students demonstrating a good understanding of what plants need to thrive, and that good growing conditions equal plentiful crops.
Junior primary helpers are always enthusiastic to join in during break times to help in all sorts of ways, we've even repotted some of the indoor plants for Mrs Grainger recently!
If you would like to purchase a jar of school made relish, made from the tomatoes we have grown, please pop into the front office. Only 8 jars left!
Please welcome our Mini Vinnies for term 2! Each term students nominate for the positions within the committee, and we discuss what each role is responsible for. Congratulations
to Aiden who is President for Term 2, Elle Vice President, Zade Treasurer and Madison M Secretary.
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