Prep Transition

Enrolment Paperwork

To enrol your child for their Prep year, please visit or contact the school office between 9:00am and 4:00pm

to collect enrolment forms or have them emailed to you Ph: (03) 56295933 or office@bunyip.catholic.edu.au

You can also download and submit on-line forms.

ENROLMENT FORM - DOWNLOAD Columba Catholic Primary School Application for Enrolment Form

Columba focuses on Prep enrolments between February and June each year. Children must meet the required age of turning five by the 30th of April in the Prep year.

Enrolling in Foundation/Prep Age Requirements

ALL prep enrolments close the day prior to the King's Birthday Long Weekend.

The process for enrolment is as follows

Enrolments open on the second Monday of February.
Enrolment forms should be completed and sent to our office. A paper copy can also be collected and delivered to the office if this is your preference.
Once your enrolment form has been submitted, we will add your child to our 'Submitted Enrolment Form List'
Prep Enrolments for the next year close prior to the King's Birthday Long Weekend
All Enrolments will be considered and a letter of offer will be sent to families based on the school's priority of enrolment.
An offer of invitation to attend an interview will be sent prior to new families prior to a letter fo offer. All new families must attend the interview.
Once you have had your interview, you will receive final communications outlining your enrolment for 2025. which will include the information on the Prep Transition processes.
If successful, Columba will send you a letter of offer, which must be signed and sent back to school within 7 days of receiving it. Once sent back, your enrolment will be secured pending your interview with the principal and prep teachers.

Priority of Enrolment

Firstly, thank you for your interest in our school. We realise the responsibly we have in helping educate children over their 7 years of primary schooling and are very grateful that you would be willing to entrust us to care for you child during many of their formative years.

As the town of Bunyip continues to grow, so do our enrolments. It means that we must now look to our enrolment policy which is developed by our governing body DOSCEL (Diocese of Catholic Education Sale Limited) and agreed on by surrounding Catholic Schools.

Part of this includes.

Zoning agreements between neighbouring Catholic Schools
Priority to baptised children in the zoned areas.

Therefore our priority for an offer of enrolment will be;

All current families are offered a prep enrolment for 2025.

(letter of offer sent by June June 14^th)

All Bunyip families whose child is baptised will be offered enrolment for 2025.

(letter of offer sent by June June 14^th)

All Longwarry & Garfield* families (*please check our zone map) who’s child is baptised, will be offered enrolment for 2025.

(letter of offer sent by June June 14^th)

Once we have sent a letter of offer to the families who meet the above criteria, we will then assess all other requests for enrolment. We cannot do this until our enrolments close on the King’s Birthday Holiday. We will then prioritise the following.

Bunyip families
Longwarry and Garfield* families (*please check our zone map).

The families who are successful with their enrolment will be sent a letter of offer no later than

Friday 21^st June

All families that are not offered prep enrolment for 2025, will be contacted through email and offered a place on the waiting list. This notification will be received no late than

Friday 21^st June

If there are any enrolment places remaining, we will then consider enrolments from outside our zone.

The only way we can accept an enrolment from outside of our Parish Boundary is if Columba has written permission (email) from the principal at the Catholic School within your parish boundary. For Drouin it would be St. Ita’s Catholic Primary School and for some of our Garfield and beyond families (Melbourne way) it will be St. James Nar Nar Goon.

Columba Enrolment Policy

All families that do not secure a prep enrolment for 2025 will be offered a place on our waiting list. Often for different reasons, families are unable to go through with the enrolment of their child and subsequently, students who are on the waiting list can secure the enrolment. This can occur any time between July and December.

Please know that if we had it our way, we would take all children into our Columba family. Unfortunately this is not possible however we hope that by outlining the process, all families understand that we are working to do the best we can for everyone.

Parish Boundary Map

Please note anyone living on Melbourne side of 13 mile rd In Garfield must enrol at St James Nar Nar Goon.

Any family with a Drouin address must enrol at St. Ita's Primary School Drouin.

Columba is no longer able to service non Catholic Longwarry families. Only Catholic baptised children residing in Longwarry will be considered.

To be considered for a Prep enrolment at Columba Catholic Primary School, your address must be within the parish boundary shown below.

School Tours and Open Days

Columba will have a Learning Expo in Term 1 each each year. The Expo allows all community members to visit the school. The 2024 Expo will be on Wednesday 27th March staring 4:30pm

Please see tour dates and times

Please contact administration on 03 56295933 for enquires.

or use our contact form

Prep Transition 2024-25

Columba offers in coming Prep students a comprehensive transition to their primary school life, through an extensive Prep Orientation Program held between October and December. Parents will be provided with information regarding all areas of the school including uniform, school times and learning expectations. All dates and times will be communicated to families prior to transition.