Term 3 Week 6 Tuesday 16th August

Acknowledgement of Country

St Colman’s acknowledges the Girai wurung people as the traditional owners of the land on which our school stands and we respectfully recognise elders both past and present.

Our Prayer this Week

Last week the church celebrated the feast day of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop. 

Let us pray.

God, through the intercession of Mary MacKillop,
 We pray that the fire of your compassion will ignite many hearts.
May Mary’s attentiveness to your dream inspire us.
May her energy to overcome injustice empower us.
May we, like her, make manifest your Presence in our troubled world.
We pray that the beacon of her holiness shine as a blessing for the universal Church and our world.
We make this prayer in Jesus’ name.

Amen.

From the Principal

Dear Families,

Thanks to everyone who enabled our Circuit Breaker Weekend to happen. Hopefully everyone has managed to shake any bugs and is feeling rested as we embark on the second half of this term. 

It was a privilege to take the children on a history excursion last week. Personally, I was at Tower Hill and was very impressed by the inquisitive nature of all the children and their willingness to try something new. We are lucky to have such great resources such as Tower Hill and Flagstaff Hill not too far from school. 

Don't forget to check out what is happening for Book Week- it's going to be great! 

Kind regards, 

Stacey

Kaboom!

This Thursday we will all be heading over to St Thomas' to participate in Kaboom Sports. There are no words to describe this energetic, tabloid sports experience adequately so please check out their social media sites. 

All students are asked to wear their sports uniform on Thursday and pack their lunch. 

A permission for this event will be circulated on PAM.

History Excursion

A great day was had by everyone last Thursday as we embarked on our history excursions. 

The Junior and Middle students had a wonderful day immersing themselves in old time activities at Flagstaff Hill! Through their current inquiry unit on history, they have been learning about how people lived in times gone by. The students were given the opportunity to explore Flagstaff Hill, dress up and have a lesson in the old school house and take part in traditional scone making!

The Senior students had a wonderful day in the sunshine at Tower Hill. Through inquiry, the students have been learning about colonisation, particularly the way in which it impacted the environment. The students looked at traditional artefacts (ncluding a rock that was tested to be 37 000 years old), went on a walk to sample plant food and had a go at boomerang throwing! 

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Rugby Jumper Orders

It has been decided by the School Advisory Council that we add a Rugby Jumper to our uniform. The Rugby Jumper will be navy blue with a white collar and with the St Colman's yellow logo on the front. This jumper can be worn any day of the week and will take the place of the woollen school jumper and the polar fleece jumper, which will be phased out. If you would like to order a jumper, you must do so by completing the following survey by next Tuesday, 16th August.

Book Week Next Week

This year Book Week will be celebrated during week 7, August 22-25.

Dress Up Day- Thursday 25/8 9am

Dress up day will be Thursday 25th August with the parade being held at 9am. Visitors are welcome. The parade will take place outside. Children will be invited to talk about their character. To assist with this, a form will be sent home for children to fill in with their family. 

On this day children are invited to dress up as their favourite book character or as the theme for Book Week, which is 'Dreaming with Eyes Open'.  It is important to remember that this is not meant to cause stress in families but that it is an opportunity to celebrate books and the joy that they bring.

When selecting a costume, please remember that some children may be scared by things that other children enjoy including characters from scary movies or tv shows (such as Pennywise). We want to ensure that our Book Week celebration is enjoyable for everyone. 

Children will then engage in a number of activities connected to the nominated books.  The best book borrower in Grade 5 will also be awarded and the winners of the colouring competition announced. 

Book Fair

The book fair books will be on display towards the end of this week. Throughout the week, students will develop a 'wish list'. Children are made aware that this does not mean that they will necessarily get these books, but it is a guide to help them in their decision making. Books will then be on sale after the parade or on the Friday. 

All books must be paid for at the time of collection either via card or cash. Unfortunately, it is not possible to put these books on school accounts. 

Nominated Books

The books that have been nominated for the awards will also be on display at school and on the facebook page. Families may wish to select a book to pay for and donate to the school. 

Enrolments Close September 9th

Enrolments for the 2023 school year are now open. New and existing families are invited to obtain an enrolment form from the school office or kindergartens to indicate your intention to send your child to St Colman's next year.  

Tours can be made by contacting the office. 

Please consider sharing our social media posts.  

Footy Tipping Competition

The regular home and away season is drawing to a close. There are still many questions to be answered- will Carlton stay in the 8 or will the Bulldogs rightfully take their place, will St Kilda ever kick straight, can Collingwood secure a top 4 finish and, of course, who will take out the St Colman's Footy Tipping Competition. 

It is going to be close, with only 3 points separating the top 5. The competition is also fierce amongst our junior tippers with Nat, Kate and Arlo vying for the lead. 

A big congratulations to NT Anderson, the only person to tip 9 this round. Very impressive! 

Good luck to all our tipsters in the final round. 

Fast recovery from high stress situations

Thanks to Clare for providing this article from Andrew Fuller in regard to anxiety and recovery.

If you'd like to read more check out his website https://andrewfuller.com.au/

Free opportunity

Key Dates for the Diary

Term 3

18th August- Kaboom Sports at St Thomas'

25th August- Book Week Dress Up Day 

25th August- SAC Meeting

26th August- 3/4 Rookies Basketball

2nd September- Father's Day Breakfast

8th September- School Closure: Liturgy (Religious Education) 

9th September- Enrolments Close

12th September- MRC Discovery Day 

16th September- Last day of term 

Our Lady of Mercy Parish News

Are you headed to the Folkie?

MRC Care Raffle

COVID Reminders

A few reminders:

* Masks are highly encouraged but not mandated.  They are required on the bus. 

* Positive cases must isolate for 7 days and report these cases to school.

* Positive cases do not need to test again for 4 weeks. 

* RATs are still available and are to be used when someone has Covid symptoms. 

* Close contacts can attend school if they test negative on a RAT each school day. Close contacts must wear a mask indoors. 

Rapid Antigen Tests.

The Victorian Government is continuing to provide Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs) in Term 3 and again in Term 4 to schools. Household contacts are required to test negative using a rapid antigen test on at least 5 out of 7 if they are attending or working at a school onsite.

Schools will be able to provide these RATs to parents/carers, staff or students on request, as the previous settings that required weekly or daily testing of students and staff have ceased. 

Staff and students are only required to test for COVID when symptomatic or if they are a close contact of a confirmed case. Individuals who have tested positive are not required to test for 4 weeks (note this has been 12 weeks during last term). If you require RATs please contact the school. 

Face Masks.

We have been asked to remind staff, students and families that the current advice from the Victorian government is that it is recommended face masks are worn in indoor settings (except for close contacts, who must wear a mask indoors unless an exception applies). Everyone including students aged 8 years and above must wear a face mask when travelling on public transport, taxis or ride share vehicles.

COVID-19 reporting to the school community.

Principals must notify staff and the school community through a daily email (where applicable) when a student(s) or staff member(s) have returned a positive COVID-19 test result and had attended the school.

The following still apply:

Managing a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19 

As soon as a staff member or student becomes aware of being a suspected case - that is symptomatic (fever, cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, loss of smell or taste):

• The suspected case is required to leave the school site, or be isolated on-site until they are able to leave.
• The suspected case is required to be tested with a rapid antigen test (if at home). A positive test result must be reported to the Department of Health.
• Positive cases must be isolated for 7 days.
• Positive cases can exit isolation after 7 days without testing. 

Close Contacts

A close contact (a person who has spent more than four hours with someone who has COVID 19 inside a house, accommodation or care facility) is no longer required to isolate as long as they follow the additional safety measures:

• Notify the school if returning within the 7 day period.
• Undertake RAT testing on school days within the 7 day period (unless the 12 week exemption applies)
• Wear a mask indoors if an adult or a student Yr 3-6.
• Not visit hospitals or care facilities.
• Avoid contact with people at higher risk of infection.
• If symptomatic take a RAT or PCR test.