Term 4, Week 9

Friday 2nd December 2016 Dear Parents & Carers,

A Family Prayer for Advent:

God of Love, Your son, Jesus, is your greatest gift to us.

He is a sign of your love. Help us walk in that love during the weeks of Advent,

As we wait and prepare for his coming. We pray in the name of Jesus, our Savior.

Amen. ‘Going Up’ Day Next Tuesday 6th December from 11.00am till 1.00pm we welcome 46 new Prep students to our school. At this time all students will move into their classes for next year with their new teacher. They will stay in next year’s class till 1.00pm. Most of our grade 6 students will attend their secondary school on this day for transition. Your child/ren will be notified of their 2017 Learning Group and class teacher on the morning of ‘Going Up’ day (Tuesday 6th December). I ask that parents respect the decisions that have been made with the class groupings and not request changes. Open Learning Environments As the building works continue teachers are hard at work gaining a deeper understanding of what it looks like to work in an Open Flexible learning space. As part of this we have been unpacking some of the underlying beliefs about learning and teaching at St. Columba’s and how the new learning spaces will support these. As much as the physical changes within the environment are important, it is the culture that they allow us to develop that is the real value in this.

A collaborative environment allows greater interaction between all students and educators helping us to fulfill one of our core beliefs – ‘learning is more effective when teachers have a shared ownership for all student’s learning’. By increasing the number of people involved in a student’s education we increase their support network and are able to draw on the expertise of all teachers.

An Open Flexible learning environment encourages collaboration and interaction between students across learning groups. It, along with a personalised curriculum, enables students greater choice in their learning and supports the development of self-regulation, a critical skill for future success. In addition to this it allows educators greater opportunities to design purposeful learning spaces that support specific skills than would be possible within a four wall classroom. (Shaun Mohr)

DIARY DATES

Tues 6th December

‘Going Up’ day

Wed 7th December

Assembly 2.30pm

Thurs 8th December

Carols & BBQ

Fri 9th December

Keyboard Concert 2pm Gr1/2 Wildlife Park

Tue 13th December

Prep Excursion to Sovereign Hill

Wed 14th December

12.00 Final School Mass Parent Helper Shared

Lunch Student Reports sent home

Thurs 15th December

Graduation Liturgy/ Supper

Fri 16th December

Gr1/2 Major League/Inflatable World Gr5/6 Lake Excursion 3.15 Students finish

Mon 30th January 2017

Staff Resume

Tues 31st & Wed 1st Feb

Student testing days

Thurs 2nd & Fri 3rd Feb

Staff PD days

Mon 6th February

All students start Term 1

Kris Kringle This year we will not be organizing Kris Kringle in Learning Groups with the students. Instead we are encouraging our students to focus on the Christmas message of giving to those in need. Families are encouraged to support our school’s Giving Tree. End of School Mass and Parent Helpers Thank You Lunch On Wednesday 14th December we will celebrate the 2016 school year through Mass. All parents, grandparents and friends are invited to join us in this celebration at 12 noon in the St Columba’s Church. Following Mass will be a Parent Helpers Thank You Lunch. We invite ALL parents (grandparents, friends ….) who have assisted the school and the students in any way this year to come along and share lunch with the staff to thank you for your generosity and support. The lunch will be held in the staff room at 1pm. The school would not be able to function as it does without the help and support of parents and friends of the school. Help is given in so many different ways, and we would like to acknowledge and thank all those who have supported us. Please pass on this invitation to grandparents, and friends who have assisted. Final school Assembly On Wednesday the 7th December, we will hold our final assembly for 2016 at 2.30pm in the Church. It will be led by our School Sports Captains. We hope to see you there. Kim Butler Principal

R E News Advent The Season of Advent marks the beginning of the Church’s Liturgical Year. The 2016/2017 season will follow the Year A readings and are taken from Matthew’s Gospel. As a Catholic School we are a community, which celebrates our Catholic Story and traditions and recognise Christ is at the centre of our lives. The Grade 1/2 Learning Community have prepared the liturgy for the rest of the school community for Week 3 of Advent. Prayer for Advent The third week of Advent is about the joy that is ours because God has entered the world. We light the pink candle to represent the joy we feel for the coming of Jesus. Lord God may we, your people, who look forward to the birthday of Christ experience the joy of salvation and celebrate that feast with love and thanksgiving. We ask this through Christ our Lord. AMEN.

Godly Play in the Parish Godly Play sessions will be taking place at the 10am Sunday Mass starting on December 4th and continuing for the following three weeks of Advent. This will take place in the foyer at St. Columba’s church. Children from the ages of 4-12 years are invited to take part. There will be a cuppa after Mass so please bring a plate to share. Please see the attached flyer for more details.

Mission Efforts During this term in Religious Education lessons, all learning communities have been focusing on learning about missioning to others. The children from the 3/4 learning community are working to promote the mission effort of providing Christmas Hampers for our parishioners who are sick and are unable to attend mass with the parish community. Today the children from the Grade 3/4 learning community have been provided with details outlining this important mission effort. Any donations of items will be gratefully appreciated. These can be left in the Grade 3/4 classrooms until Friday December 9th.

The Giving Tree The children from Mini Vinnie’s are working together to promote the Giving Tree mission effort. We link closely with St. Vincent de Paul Society members to provide presents for children in our area at Christmas time. You will find our Giving Tree in the school office. It now has tags which can be collected and which outline the age and sex of the person receiving the present. We ask that you do not wrap the present. Please feel free to collect a tag and purchase a gift for a child, which could make a huge difference to their Christmas experience.

Visit to Hailey House Our next visit will be on Monday 5th December. This will be our last visit for the year. We will be singing some Christmas carols for the residents. Thanks to Rachel and Jo for practising with the children this week.

St. Vincent De Paul Mass All Mini Vinnie’s members are invited to attend the St. Vincent de Paul Mass on Monday 5th December at 7pm. There is a supper to follow.

An Appeal to Assist the Mothers in East Timor Thank you to those parents who have contributed to this mission effort. It is very much appreciated. Our parish has an appeal to assist mothers in East Timor. The mothers are encouraged to have their babies in the hospital where they have a better chance of survival. To encourage this they are given a basic bundle for their baby containing a metre square rug, knitted jumpers, socks and bonnets and baby singlets. We are asking for donations of baby singlets. These can be new or those that you do not need any longer as your children grow. If you are able to help could you leave the singlets in the school office? End of Year Mass The End of the Year Mass will take place on Wednesday December 14th at 12pm. The staff would like to invite all parent helpers for 2016 to join us for a cuppa in the staffroom and to say thanks for all that you have contributed in our school community this year. Graduation Liturgy Thursday 15th December at 6pm Carols- Important information Our Carols evening will take place next week on Thursday December 8th beginning at 6pm. We are looking forward to coming together as a school community on this special occasion. It is an opportunity for parents to relax and enjoy the evening as our way to thank you all for the wonderful contributions you have made to our school community this year. We will be providing a barbeque cooked by the members of the Ballarat East Rotary Club. We have gathered the information you have provided for us from the Care Monkey app. This will be cooked for you and we will have some of the meat ready at the beginning of the night and the rest will be cooked and ready during the Intermission time.

We are providing the following-

Sausages

Hamburgers

Bread

Onions

Coleslaw

Tomato sauce

Napkins

Gluten free bread, sausages,

Vegie burgers You will need to bring-

Chairs, picnic blankets

Drinks - non alcoholic as this is a family function held in our school grounds. There will be a coffee van supplying coffee, cans of drinks, water etc

Other food items as required for your family Children are to wear casual clothes with a touch of Christmas- eg- Santa hat, tinsel, angel wings. Please do not go to any extra expense.

The children will be involved in the singing and presenting of a variety of Christmas carols. The choir and members of Mini Vinnie’s will take part in singing carols as well. We will have a booklet of the songs for each family so that you can join in with the singing. We are expecting a special visit from Santa sometime in the evening as well. He does have a very busy schedule but he said he would make time for our school community!!

Carols 2016

Learning Community Carols Carols

Preps LG13/14

Christmas Star

Baby Lying in a Manger

Grade 3/4 LG1 & LG2

Jesus Lullaby

Rocking Christmas Medley

Grade 1/2 LG9 & LG10

Little Drummer Boy

Santa Wear your Shorts

Mini Vinnie’s Members

Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer

Parish Musicians

O Come All Ye Faithful

O Holy Night

What Child is This?

Intermission

Intermission

Intermission

Grade 5/6 LG5, 6, 7

Mary’s Boy Child

Aussie Jingle Bells

Grade 1/2 LG11 & LG12

Away in a Manger

Santa Claus is Coming

Grade 3/4 LG3 & LG4

Silent Night

Jingle Bells

Choir

It Feels Like Christmas

Feliz Navidad

We hope you have a wonderful night.

Alison Thorpe REC

Sport News – Nicky Russell

Tennis Victoria will be running two free come-and-try Get Into Cardio Tennis sessions in Ballarat on Tuesday 6th

December at 9:30am (Eastern Oval) & Sunday 11th December at 10:00am (City Oval). Get Into Cardio Tennis is a fun, new, low-impact group activity using a tennis racquet and balls, but it's not tennis as you know it! Suitable for any skill and fitness level it’s a great opportunity for people who have always wanted to or want to get back into the sport of tennis. It is a perfect way to get a bit of extra activity in the day and build your steps up in your free time. For more information or to register for a session simply jump onto www.getintocardiotennis.com.au to book your place today.

Calendar Reminders: Friday 9th 1/2 LC Wildlife Park Excursion Friday 16th 1/2 LC Fun day at Major League/Inflatable World Friday 16th 5/6 LC Lake Wendouree excursion HELPERS WANTED We are looking for some book covering helpers to cover some of our new purchases of take home books. There is no hurry to return these books to us, after the holidays will be fine. If you able to assist please leave your name at the office or email Julie Cooper jcooper@scballarat.catholic.edu.au End of year clean up We are looking for some helpers to assist us in the end of year clean up in the Prep and 1/2 areas. There are a list of jobs in each area. If you have some spare time whether it be 10 mins before/after pick up we would really be grateful for the help. Alternatively see any of our teachers for guidance.

Parents & Friends

5c Challenge Our very popular 5cent challenge has now conclude. Thank you to everyone who donated their 5 cent pieces. We will be announcing our winning house at assembly on Wednesday.

Storage We are looking for someone who would be able to store about 10 boxes of books left over from the Book Sale. If you are able to assist please contact Janet Smith or the school office. Uniform Shop Roster The uniform shop will be open Tuesday 8.30am-9.00am or Thursday 3.00pm-3.30pm. If you are unable to come in during these times please leave an order at the office and it will be filled when the shop is open.

Volunteers for next week are: Tuesday the 6th December: Jane Bowman & Jessica Ryall Thursday the 8th December: Rachael Murnane & Carolyn Mornane

Icy Pole Volunteers for Friday the 9th December are: Carmen McTigue & Eliza Hopkinson

LOST PROPERTY We have a large number of woollen jumpers, rugby tops, tracksuit pants and even school dresses in lost property along with drink bottles and lunch containers. We have set a table up in the office and encourage families to have a look if your child has misplaced anything. Parents are also asked to check that their child is wearing the correct jumper as we have parents looking for lost NAMED jumpers. If you have the wrong jumper please return either to the classroom or office. Please ensure that all uniform items are named so that we can return any found items quickly to your child.

Senior Learning Community News – Grade 5/6

Remember 5/6 Expo 2.45-3.30pm on Monday, 5th December When we went to the Ballarat Art Gallery we had so much fun! We first went upstairs to look at some artworks, then we saw Graham. We saw all of the Archibalds and even got to vote! After that we went with Rebecca who taught us how to draw a face with charcoal. Then we went back to school for more interesting learning. By Gemma

It was early in the morning of Thursday 17th November when 81 5/6 children went to the art gallery to see to Archibald Portraits. The art works were amazing. We had been given an activity book to help us view the artworks and to understand the techniques used by the varying artists. We then did a charcoal drawing of our favourite portrait. We had seen Graham which shows how car accidents happen. After lunch we went walking back to school. By Isabella

Welcome Lucy Lucy is a student teacher from ACU Ballarat and is in her 3rd year of studying primary school teaching. She is currently on placement in LG 7 and has had a great time! Thanks Lucy! Lucy has been a great help! She helped me with my valedictory speech and I’ve learnt lots over the past few weeks. By Tom G Lucy always tries hard in everything she does. She is a fabulous teacher and has helped me so much like with my valedictory speech. I really enjoy having Lucy in the classroom. Thank you Lucy!!! By Georgia D

End of Year Break Up – Lake Wendouree Thank you to the people who have volunteered for our end of year excursion to Lake Wendouree on Friday, 16th of December. Please start thinking about whether you would like to ride, walk or run with a group of students. Also, we may need some people to be responsible for catering. It will be lots of fun!