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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.
The Resilience Project delivers emotionally engaging programs to schools, sports clubs and businesses, providing practical, evidence-based mental health strategies to build resilience and happiness.
Through presentations, school curriculum, events, the TRP App, and Wellbeing Journals, they share the benefits of Gratitude, Empathy and Mindfulness, and easy ways to practise these in everyday life. They also incorporate Emotional Literacy, Connection and Physical Health education and activities as they are foundational contributors to positive mental health.
I have added some statistics below from their webpage
https://theresilienceproject.com.au/university-of-adelaide-research-findings/
and I encourage all families to click on their page and read some of their work.
One brilliant (and entertaining) resource from the Resilience Project is a PODCAST called The Imperfects. I was listening to one of the shows and felt compelled to share it with our community. The guest was Esther Perel and she is a guru on Relationships, more specifically Relational Intelligence.
We are all in relationships, whether it is our family, with our own siblings, our own children or partners. We have relationships in our workplaces and many relationships in our communities. While listening, so much of what Esther had to say I could relate to relationships with many people in my own life and further understand how my mindset is so powerful in the way I perceive and experience other people.
WHY LISTEN? - Esther Perel is THE woman to turn to for relationship advice and her two TED talks have been viewed over sixty million times, she’s written two books that have both been featured on the New York Times Bestseller list, and her intimate podcasts with real people in real counselling sessions have positively changed the relationships of millions of couples.
In this Academy of Imperfection, among other things, Esther tells Ryan and Josh (Hugh was sadly sick) why no relationship or partner is perfect, and to expect anything different is at our own peril.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
LISTEN TO
SEASON 4 EPISODE 42 ESTHER PEREL - HERE
Helping Hands
Columba Community
Take Care
Andrew Greco
Principal
Class Mass Wednesday 22nd March
Mutipurpose Room Columba
Starting 9:15am
3/4 & 5/6 Students
Come see our new Chapel in the MP ROOM
Help Needed
Meals for Families
CAN YOU DONATE A MEAL?
Out of nearly 170 families we have had one family donate...we can do better.
As a Catholic School, the want to help others is ever present.
Today I am asking all families to help out other families if they can.
As we all know, family life can be up and down. There are times when things are great, and times when we need the help of others. The hardest things is asking for that help.
Well I am asking for that help today.
At Columba we have a big freezer ready for these meals. Today I am asking any families who are able to cook a meal that is able to be frozen and re-heated, to please consider this way of helping.
To donate a meal follow these simple steps
- Cook the meal
- Put the meal in a container you do not need back (we have some available from the office)
- Label the meal with the DATE it was cooked and what the food it is
- Bring the meal to administration
- YOU'RE DONE - Columba will put the meal on ice
As a Catholic School our Catholic Social Justice continues to shine through in so many ways and this is just another way I know the Columba community can shine even brighter.
Thank you in advance to all families that are able to donate meals.
"Never see a need without doing something about it."
Mary of the Cross MacKillop
NEXT Assembly
Friday 24th March 2023
2:20 pm
Multi-Purpose Room
with assembly led by
PREP S
Nathan
Callum
Chase
Issy
School Leaders assist our leadership, administration, and student cohorts.
Our 2023 Easter Raffle is officially launched!
Ticket books were sent home last week.
As this is a cash free raffle, all tickets must be purchased through CDF Pay.
To purchase a ticket/s, ANYONE (grandparents, friends, uncles and aunties) can,
log into our CDF pay account here
https://bunyip.cdfpay.org.au/MonitorOnline/app/#!/login
- Click on the amount of tickets you would like to purchase and pay for them.
- In your physical ticket book, fill in the number of tickets you purchased (e.g. I purchased 4 tickets so I filled in 4 physical tickets in the raffle ticket book)
- When you have filled a whole book, send it back to school with your child.
- If you need more books, just ask!
Please send raffle books back asap.
HELP NEEDED
Do you have a current WWCC?
Do you have a spare hour or two every few weeks?
Do you want to make a difference and really help some Columba kids let their light shine?
Perhaps you are a community member, uncle, aunt, older brother, grandfather, grandmother or anyone else who can help us!!!
We are committed to ensuring all students have the ability to learn in a way that suits their needs, some students learn best with hands on learning and we need some help!
Our current project is underway and we are building a book shelf in the senior building, however we have many more ideas and are open to suggestions also, it might be creating gardens, cooking, sewing / knitting, building around our chook pen area etc…
If you think you could help us out please contact me
The next day of Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held on Tuesday 21st March. The conferences will be 10 minutes each. All meetings will be at school in your child's classrooms.
All bookings should be made using our school's online booking system. The link to make a booking is below. The purpose of these meetings is to touch base with parents regarding
- Your child's transition to 2023
- Any new or existing learning behaviours that need to be discussed
- Clarification for parents/teachers on student learning
Bookings are available using the link below
BOOK HERE
Make it an APP!
Below are some instructions on how you can add PAM to your phone, so that it looks like an APP. Please note that Columba now uses only two apps/platforms to communicate with parents- PAM and SZapp
Pupil Free Days - NO STUDENTS 2023
Monday - 24th April
Wednesday - 17th May
Monday - 10th July
Wednesday - 16th August
Thursday - 19th October
Monday - 6th November
2023 Dates
Wednesday 22nd March - Junior & Middle level Mass at Columba, MP Room, 9:15 am
27th - 29th March - 5/6 Camp Forest Edge
Wednesday 29th March - Reconciliation Sacrament Grade 3
Wednesday 5th April - Prep & Senior level Mass at Columba, MP Room, 9.15am
Thursday 6th April - Hot Cross Buns to all kids and Easter Raffle Drawn
Thursday 6th April - Holy Week & Easter Liturgy lead by grade 5-6
Thursday 6th April - End of Term 1 (Early finish 2:15pm)
Friday 7th April - Good Friday
Saturday 8th April - Easter Saturday
Sunday 9th April - Easter Sunday
Monday 10th April - Easter Monday
Monday 24th April - Pupil Free Day
Tuesday 25th April - ANZAC Day Holiday
Wednesday 26th April - First Day Back Term 2
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.
CONVEYANCE ALLOWANCE
Eligibility:
An application on behalf of a student may be submitted if the student is:
- a Victorian resident;
- school aged and enrolled (3) three or more days per week at a school; and
A student who meets the above requirements may be eligible if they:
- attend their nearest appropriate non-government school/campus
- reside 4.8km or more by the shortest practicable route from the school attended
Note: Eligibility is assessed when the School completes your child’s application on the Student Conveyance Allowance System
(SCAS). If approved, the allowance payable is based on the one-way distance to make the journey to and from school.
If you are eligible and wish to apply for this allowance, please click the link to the Conveyance Allowance Application Form, which must be printed and completed and returned to the school office by Friday 10th March, 2023. Late claims cannot be accepted.
Conveyance allowance rates - Money You Get Back
Private car conveyance allowance rates
| Distance (kilometres) | Amount paid annually |
|---|---|
| 4.8 to 10 | $450.18 |
| 10 to 15 | $563.24 |
| 15 to 20 | $675.17 |
| 20 to 25 | $788.33 |
| 25 to 30 | $900.26 |
| 30 to 35 | $1,011.16 |
| >35 | $1,126.37 |
| Additional student | $225.19 |
| Next nearest school (government schools only) | $337.74 |
| Next nearest additional student (government schools only) | $168.82 |
Private bus conveyance allowance rates
| Distance (kilometres) | Amount paid annually |
|---|---|
| 4.8 to 10 | $506.15 |
| 10 to 15 | $619.31 |
| 15 to 20 | $731.24 |
| 20 to 25 | $844.19 |
| 25 to 30 | $956.33 |
| 30 to 35 | $1,069.28 |
| >35 | $1,182.44 |
FORM - Conveyance Allowance - Bus Private travel
FORM - Conveyance Allowance application - Private Car travel only