Principal Message 9th December 2022
Dear Parents
Firstly a big congratulations to the whole community for Wednesday and Wednesday night. Our school motto 'Let Your Light Shine' has never been more on show. The children were smiling, parents were singing, smiling and laughing along with every dance and every song. In short, there was much joy and love to be had from so many. We appreciate everyone that had big and small roles in making the day happen and again, I want to commend our staff who continue to go above and beyond when the petrol tanks are almost empty. They are truly wonderful.
Student Reports
On Wednesday afternoon the student's school reports will be released to families on PAM. Please look out for the alert that will be sent through to your email. As the reports arrive, I ask that it be a time to celebrate all the work your child has don for the last 12 months of learning at Columba. The semester two reports act as a learning 'check in' for all our students, as a way of keeping parents informed on how their child is developing and forming in many areas of the Victorian Curriculum.
Again we remind parents that school reports will be made available via PAM (Parent Access Module). This is the platform parents are now using to log student absences, receive sickbay notifications and receive reports. If you did not download and set up your family’s PAM account during Term 2 for mid-year reports, you can contact office@bunyip.catholic.edu.au , call or pop in to the school office and we can help set up PAM and troubleshoot any issues.
Next year, PAM will look a little different, with increased security and the opportunity for more than one family member to receive emails/notifications etc. This setup will occur during mid-January and will hopefully be ready for the 2023 school year. Parents will need to refresh the app but we will provide further information early in the new school year.
In response to parent feedback, Columba is continuing to streamline our communications. We will reduce the number of platforms/apps we use by moving to the PAM platform to provide information and permission for excursions and camps in 2023 (previously done through Operoo). Details will be provided early next year.Transition Day
On Monday between 11:30-1:30, students will be told their new classes and teachers for 2023. While many will be excited, we know that some will feel disappointed they didn't get all their friends or had a picture of what next year would be in their head, but it hasn't happened they way they wanted. I ask that you please listen to all your children when they come home with stories from the day and support them in any way you can. I also ask that you trust that the school has spent many hours in putting together classes that we know will provide the best learning environment for your children for next year and beyond.
Grade 6 Celebrations
Guard of Honour
Looking to next week, it is a time to celebrate of grade 6 students who will be leaving us after 7 years of primary school education. Through the week our Grade 6 students will have a Big Day Out, attend a Graduation Ceremony, be celebrated at our End of Year Mass and partake in our annual Guard of Honour. Please see the week's events below. Parenst are welcome to attend the guard of honour.
Tuesday 13th December - 9:00-3:20pm - Big Day Out - Gumbya World
Tuesday 13th December - 5:30pm - Graduation - Columba Junior Learning Centre
Wednesday 14th December - 9:30am - End of Year Mass - Iona Church
Thursday 15th December - 3:00pm - Guard of Honour - Joseph Building Ramp
End of Year Mass
We also look forward to celebrating the Whole School's year of achievement at our End of Year Mass on Wednesday 14th December. Mass will commence at 9:30am at IONA Church, all students will be attending. All families and friends are invited to attend. We look forward to seeing many there.
