Dear Families,

This week it has been such a wonderful feeling to be able to feel like we are back to normal. Parents walking through the gates to watch their children run their hearts out during our Cross Country event, the Prep excursion to Melbourne Museum, the grade 4 camp to Phillip Island, Mother's Day events, Athletics Sports and Grade 1-2 science incursion. Wow! How busy but how fun!

I know that your children will coming home with many stories of their experiences at school and I ask that you take the time to listen to their excitement, worries, clarifications and anticipations. It is easy to forget the events and experiences we missed over the last two years, so let's cherish and embrace the busyness and get excited for all the learning and fun that is to come.

I do ask that all families consider visiting the FREE RESOURCE FOR FAMILIES, School TV. This resource is brilliant and is backed by highly regarded professionals who have extensive experience, research and knowledge in all areas of parenting and raising children. It ranges from articles to video clips, all brief but fantastic in providing some real advice on how to tackle tricky issues with your children.

Just click on the links provided below and further in this newsletter. I know it will help us all and give us a extra tool in our toolkit to help navigate this parenting job that we are all working to do the best possible job we can in.

Take care everyone

FREE Resource to Help Parents

COLUMBA Catholic Primary School is so glad to announce a wonderful FREE resource for Parents

SCHOOL TV

https://bunyip.catholic.schooltv.me/

Essential information for modern day parenting.

Columba is supporting parents to help keep their children safe.

SchoolTV offers parents a fresh approach to the growing issues and pressures faced by Australian youth. SchoolTV is a unique online resource delivering powerful and credible information to empower parents with the skills to address these issues and raise happy, well and resilient kids.

Content is based around major topics of influence and are delivered via a series of videos presented by leading youth health specialist, Dr Michael Carr-Gregg.

Each month a new topic will be presented and introduced by Dr Michael Carr-Gregg. Some topics will include:

• Youth Anxiety

• Depression

• Digital Reputation

• Screen Addiction

• Drug and Alcohol use

• Cyberbullying

• Social Networking

• Self-harm and Suicide

I implore families to check out this resource as it brilliant and will most certainly help us all find the words and actions to support our children as they grow.

WATCH FOR SYMPTOMS

If your child is unwell, even with mild COVID-19 symptoms, you must keep your child at home until their symptoms resolve and get your child tested with a PCR test (nose and throat swab) or complete a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT).

If symptoms continue, your child should stay home and take another RAT or PCR test in 24 hours. If that test is also negative, your child may return to school if another diagnosis is confirmed (such as an underlying health condition or medication).

TESTING

RATs will be provided to all staff and students at no charge.

Students and staff should take a RAT twice-weekly on the morning before attending school. Test kits will continue to be supplied by schools during this time.

HOUSEHOLD AND HOUSEHOLD-LIKE CONTACTS

Household and household-like contacts are no longer required to quarantine but are required to undertake the following additional safety measures in the seven (7) days that would have been their quarantine period:

Parents must;

1. notify the school if returning during their seven (7)-day period;
2. undertake daily rapid antigen testing five (5) times within the seven (7) days;
3. wear a face mask indoors (if aged eight (8) and above) unless a lawful exemption applies;
4. are not permitted to visit hospitals or care facilities unless an exemption applies.

Household and household-like contacts are still permitted to participate in school activities, including camps and excursions, as long as they wear a mask when indoors (if aged eight (8) and above or have a valid exception) and complete five (5) rapid antigen tests within the seven (7)-day period that would have been their quarantine period.

A household or household-like contact attending an off-site activity during this period must notify the school they are attending under these requirements.

If a student, parent, guardian or carer cannot comply with the additional safety measures at any time, they must:

1. quarantine immediately for the remainder of their seven (7)-day household contact period
2. get tested on day one (1) (or as soon as possible) and on day six (6) of their household contact period
3. not attend school until a negative day six (6) test result is received.

Take care

Andrew Greco

Columba Enrolments 2022

Mother's Day Event

What a wonderful morning!

On Friday, students, family members, and staff, gathered on the basketball court to commemorate Mother's Day. Although a chilly and fresh morning, the weather held off for us to be able to celebrate the wonder of motherhood outside. Mums and special ladies were able to grab a hot coffee from the coffee van and pay a visit to the classrooms for a browse at the work students have been doing. This was a special event for Columba, as it was the first time in a long time that we have been able to open our school up to families and visitors. What better way than to have the wonderful women in our lives, our role models, our first teachers, and our number one supporters along for the occasion!

SCHOOL TV

This month on SchoolTV - Screen Time

As a result of the global pandemic, there has been a noticeable shift in the amount of time people spend on screen-based devices. Families are transitioning back to pre-COVID routines but many are still struggling to re-establish the boundaries and rules around screen use. Some continue to deal with digital conflict and tech tantrums on a daily basis. The latest research found that 77% of teenagers spend more than five hours on screens per day, but it is important to note that not all screen time is considered equal.

Parents play a crucial role in modeling a positive and healthy approach to using screens and assisting children to navigate the content they watch. It is better to model and mentor screen use, rather than monitor it. Children tend to do more of what they see us do, and less of what we tell them to do. However, it is still important to outline the risks and highlight the benefits of screen use to ensure you keep a balanced attitude. Encourage discussions around the issues that people experience in monitoring their screen time and be honest about your own difficulties.

Parents need to remain firm in their approach to managing screen time. Excessive screen time can be detrimental to a child’s overall wellbeing. Ensuring the correct privacy settings are in place is vital to prevent children from being inadvertently exposed to inappropriate content or online predators. Parents need to also be mindful of the potential impact screen time can have on a child’s social, emotional, educational, behavioural, and even physical domains.

In this edition of SchoolTV, caregivers will be provided with a range of guidelines and strategies to help manage screen time at home. We hope you take the time to reflect on the information offered in this month’s edition, and we always welcome your feedback.

If you do have any concerns about the wellbeing of your child, please contact the school for further information or seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to this month's edition https://bunyip.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/managing-screen-time

NAPLAN ONLINE

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) will take place online this year between Tuesday 10th May and Friday 20th May 2022.

Students in Years 3, 5, 7, and 9 participate in the annual NAPLAN tests in reading, writing, conventions of language (spelling, grammar, and punctuation) and numeracy.

COLUMBA'S NAPLAN TIMETABLE

Columba camps, incursions and excursions

Our school camps, incursions and excursions program seeks to provide opportunities for students to learn about the world and about themselves in ways that are difficult to present in a classroom environment. Activities are planned to engage students in learning and are linked to concepts and skills being explored in class. Opportunities have been very limited over the past two years so staff are busily planning a variety of learning experiences for our students. Many students have already had the opportunity to participate in a camp or excursion this year with more planned in the coming terms.

Grade 4 Camp

Our grade 4 students travelled to Phillip Island this week to attend camp at 'The Island Camp'. Students were challenged by a variety of activities including the giant swing, flying fox, pyramid climb, pedal cars, an art class with a local artist etc. The students were encouraged to step out of their comfort zones in a number of ways: being away from family-some staying away from home for the first time, making new friends, working together in a team to solve problems, being brave enough to try new things. Staff were very proud to report that our students faced these challenges with confidence and supported each other very well.

Grade Prep 'Bugs" excursion & incursion

Last week our Prep classes travelled to the Melbourne Museum to learn about bugs and their habitats. They participated in the hands-on Bugs, Bugs, Bugs program, learning about the external features of real insects, spiders and other arthropods, using a hand lens to sort and classify them scientifically and learn about classification. They learned how museum scientists look after the insect collection.

Students used science inquiry skills and become ‘scientists’ making predictions about what is a bug, what is an insect and how is a spider different to an insect.

There's a buzz around the learning in our Prep classes! Next week the Preps are looking forward to an incursion from a local expert on Bees. We will learn about these wonderful insects and why they are such an important part of our environment.

Grade 1-2 'The Science of Push and Pull' incursion

This term, our Year 1-2 scientists are conducting experiments in their quest to test and understand forces of push and pull. Yesterday was a particularly special day in their scientific endeavours!

Swinburne PrimeSCI came to Columba for the ‘Toys In Motion’ Incursion. The sessions included exciting demonstrations and hands-on learning activities. Students investigated forces and motion through the properties of toys. Concepts of push, pull, friction and gravity were tested and explored.

In addition to this, 1-2s embarked on the ‘Pop Fly Challenge’! Students worked in teams to design, test and build something that launches a ball high enough so you can catch it. A range of materials were provided including skewers, fly swats, spoons, scoops, cups, tape and straws. In trials, students worked together to test, modify and improve their design.

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School Pickup

Car dashboard family name Reminder

Thank you to all families that continue to display their last names on the back of their visors to help us know who is ready for pickup. With the glare, tinted windows, and very busy pace of dismissal, this helps us a lot. It also means that we can call students quicker and put them in cars quicker, which means the wait time in the car line will reduce. If you do not have your laminated family name card or have misplaced it, please contact your child's classroom teacher to have another one sent home. You are also free to make your own as long as it is big enough to see and is clear. We thank you for your support in this.

SCHOOL FEES & CONCESSIONS

Payment of Term 1 fees were due at the end of Term 1. If they have not been paid, please make a payment at your earliest convenience. Term 2 fees are due and payable by 13th May 2022.

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 to the school office. For any assistance regarding calculations of payments, please contact us via email at: finance@bunyip.catholic.edu.au

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 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.

Please call us if you want to talk through your fees, we are here to help.

Travelling Family Prayer Bags

Welcome to the family prayer bag.

Each family is going to be invited to gather together and pray. A travelling family prayer bag will come home with students over the term. There will be instructions and items in this bag may help you with this.

1. Find a time when you are all free (you may keep the bag up to a week)
2. Choose a place in your home. For example, you may like to sit on the living room floor, around the kitchen table or outside.
3. Remove or turn off any distractions
4. Open your hearts to this experience together
5. Use the prayer prompts from the bag or share a prayer you make up. The students do this at school every day and should be able to lead the family
6. Record a note or message in this prayer book. The prayer book
you are holding now, is for you to share. You may like to write a
message from your family, add or photo, write a prayer or draw
a picture.

If you have any questions, that your child can not answer, then please talk to the class teacher or email Kelly Lucas at klucas@bunyip.catholic.edu.au