Filter Content
Columba Catholic Primary School Acknowledges the Bunurong Peoples’ of the Kulin Nation as Traditional Owners and Custodians, and pays respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.
Columba acknowledges the Bunurong’s continuing relationship to the land and waterways and respects that their connection and spiritual identify is maintained through ancient ceremonies, songlines, dance, art and living culture.
We pay tribute to the invaluable contributions of the Bunurong and other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Elders who have guided and continue to guide the work we do.
Welcome back to another school term. I hope you all had a Holy Easter and that many had a restful break with family and friends.
I am looking forward to continuing the wonderful momentum we had toward the end of last term, specifically continuing the hard work by staff and students in our classrooms. This term we will celebrate our first Columba Expo, Mother's Day event, School Murals, Catholic Education Week, Kings Birthday Holiday and to finish, the Semester 1 student reports. Please be aware that our Pupil Free days for Term 2 will be
- Wednesday - 17th May
- Monday - 10th July
If you have any need to clarify anything, please make your child's classroom teacher the first point of contact. Teachers can be reached through email.
Next Wednesday 3rd May, Columba will invite all community members to our first Expo. The purpose of the Expo is to open the school and it's learning spaces to the community, for both current and perspective families. It is a chance to 'check out' the school, meet many of our staff and other families. If you know of any new families to the area, please let them know we are OPEN FOR BUSINESS on May 3rd from 4:30-7:30.
We will have activities for adults and children to engage in in all the learning spaces so we encourage you all to come along, friends, family, even random strangers who might need a school for their child.
I am hopeful the Expo will act as a launch in celebrating our wonderful learning community and serve as a way of us all being proud of our amazing school and all it has to offer.
I look forward to seeing many of you there.
The Columba Mother's Day Stall is now open for orders. Presents are $5 or $10. The stall will be held at school on Monday 8th May. There is a limit of 2 presents per child please. Orders will be open on CDF Pay from today untill 9am Friday 5th May (Next Friday). Orders can only be made online through CDF Pay using the link below
EASTER LITURGY
In the last week of Term 1, our students performed an Easter Liturgy in
NEXT Assembly
Thursday 4th May 2:20 MP ROOM
All Families Welcome
ANZAC Day
There is currently one opening in our school advisory group.
If you would like to have a voice in an official capacity as a parent in the school, you are welcome to nominate yourself for a position. Please contact Andrew with your interest at princial@bunyip.catholic.edu.au
Currently, our School Advisory Team is
Andrew Greco
Father Avinash
Julia Johnson - Secretary
Shara Mcauley - Chair
Yvette Goulette
Erin Howlett
Brad Walker
We will meet only 4 times a year between 7-8pm on Thursdays.
________________________
We raised over $2300!
Thank you to all families that purchased tickets and well done to all the winners!
A big thank you to the P&F for the yummy Hot Cross Buns they supplied for our school in the last week of Term.
__________________________________________
MOTHERS DAY EVENT
Thursday 11th May
9:30 start on Basketball Courts
School Liturgy Celebrating our mums!
A Coffee Van for all Mums and Special Friends will be here, which will be free of charge as a special gift to all our mums.
Pupil Free Days - NO STUDENTS 2023
Wednesday - 17th May
Monday - 10th July
Wednesday - 16th August
Thursday - 19th October
Monday - 6th November
2023 Dates
Monday 24th April - Pupil Free Day
Tuesday 25th April - ANZAC Day Holiday
Wednesday 26th April - First Day Back Term 2
Wednesday 3rd May - Columba Learning Expo
Thursday 11th May - Mother's Day Event
Wednesday 17th May - Pupil Free Day
Monday 12th June - King's Birthday Holiday
Sunday 18th June - First Communion Sacrament
Friday 23rd June - End of Term 2 (Early finish 2:15pm)
Monday 10th July - Pupil Free Day
Tuesday 11th July - First Day Back Term 3
Thursday 10th August - Book Week Dress Up Day
Wednesday 16th August - Pupil Free Day
Friday 1st September - Round Robin Sports Day 5/6
Saturday 9th September - Confirmation Sacrament
Thursday 31st August - Father's Day Event
Friday 15th September - End of Term 3 (Early finish 2:15pm)
Monday 2nd October - First Day Back Term 4 - Monday 2nd October
Tuesday 10th October - Athletics Day
Thursday 19th October - Pupil Free Day
Friday 27th October - Grandparents Day
Monday 6th November - Pupil Free Day
Tuesday 7th November - Cup Day Public Holiday
Tuesday 12th December - Grade 6 Big Day Out Gumbya World
Tuesday 12th December - Grade 6 Graduation
Monday 11th December - Whole School Transition Day (find out grades for 2024)
Wednesday 13th December - Whole School End of year Mass at Iona Church
Friday 15th December - Last Day Students 2023
School Fees and Concessions 2023
Please contact the school office if you need to discuss your 2023 school fee payment.
DO YOU QUALIFY FOR A SCHOOL FEE DISCOUNT?
For any families that have recently received a Government means-tested health care concession card, please forward a copy of your card to the office to check your eligibility, as a fee concession may apply. The card must be in the name of the parent/fee payer for a fee concession to apply.
If you qualify for this, please contact the school as school fees will be considerably less for your family.
If any families would like to set up a weekly, fortnightly, or monthly direct debit schedule for school fees, please complete the Direct Debit Form below and return it to the school office. For any assistance regarding calculations of payments, please contact us via email at: finance@bunyip.catholic.edu.au
If your current Health Care card is due to expire this year and your card is re-issued, please send a copy of your new card details to the office as soon as possible for the concession to be checked and applied for next year's fees, if not already done so.
For more FEE INFORMATION please visit our website
https://bunyip.catholic.edu.au/school-fees-and-levies
2023 School Fees Concession Program Financial Hardship
Eligible Centrelink Concession Card (CCC) Holder
Information for Applicants
Aim: To assist school families experiencing financial hardship in accessing a Catholic Primary education for their child/children.
Confidentiality: At all times, the dignity and privacy of those seeking a fee concession will be respected.
Level of Concession: School office staff can advise applicants of the concessional fee to be charged. This concessional fee is fixed annually by Diocese of Sale Catholic Education Limited. Approved applicants will be charged only the concessional fee which will cover all standard school fees and levies including any charges remaining for camps, sports and excursions after the application of the Camps, Sports, Excursion Fund (CSEF) benefit.
Eligible Concession Cards: Centrelink issues a number of concession cards for a variety of reasons. Some cards have a generous or no income test and therefore holders of these cards are ineligible for a fee concession under Category One. Only CCC’s that are eligible for CSEF are eligible for the School Fees Concession Program.
The following CCC’s are the most common cards that are eligible for CSEF. The CCC type is specified as a two or three letter code printed on the concession card.
- YA or YAL – Youth Allowance
- PPS – Parenting Payment Single
- PPP – Parenting Payment Partnered
- DSP – Disability Support Pension
- NSA – New Start Allowance
- LI – Low Income
- FA – Family Tax Benefit
- SA or SKA - Sickness Allowance
- CAR - Carer Allowance
- ABA or ABY - Schooling Applicant
- AGE - Age Pension
- AUS - Austudy
- HCC - Health Care Card
- PTA - Partnered Allowance
- SPL - Special Benefit
- WID or WFD or WFA – Widow Allowance/Pension
- The CCC must be issued in the name of the fee payer and list the students for which the concession is to be applied.
- The expiry date of the card must be on or after 1 January of the year (2023) for which the concession is to be applied.
- If an eligible concession card expires after the start of the year, the concessional fee rate will still be applied for the entire year.
- If a family becomes eligible during the course of a school year, then a pro-rata concession may be granted.
Lodgement of Application: Application for 2023 close on Friday 23rd June 2023, please lodge your application immediately for your card to be checked and a pro-rata concession to be applied if applicable.
The following application forms must be completed and are available from the school office:
- Complete the school’s application form & the Direct Debit Request (DDR) Service Agreement (or Centrepay application form)
- Submit the completed forms and present a valid CCC for verifying and copying.
- Complete and return the CSEF application form immediately after receiving it from the school.
Important Notes:
- The concession is automatic for a parent/guardian responsible for the school fees, who holds an eligible CCC.
- Any offer of a concession is subject to the applicant entering into a DDR Service Agreement or CentrePay arrangement for a regular payment plan of remaining fees (either weekly or fortnightly payments preferred). Any default in payment may result in the concession being withdrawn.
- The Direct Debit form is available from the school office or alternatively the CentrePay application form is available online at https://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/forms/sa325.
- A CSEF application must be submitted for a concession to be granted.
- A new application must be made for each school year.
- Where the fee account is split, the concession applies to only that portion payable by the eligible card holder.
- All families requesting, or receiving, a fee concession must notify the school should their financial circumstances change sufficiently to affect the level of concession offered or if cards are cancelled.