Term 1 Week 10 Monday 31st March 2025

Acknowledgement of Country

From the Principal

Key Dates:

TERM 1 2025

Tuesday 1st April- Division Athletics Carnival

Thursday 3rd April- Holy Week Prayer Service @ 2:30pm

Friday 4^th April- St Colman's Cross Country; Farewell for Jane Lee; Easter Raffle and Easter Egg Hunt

Term 1 ends at 2:15

Term 2 2025
Monday 21st April - Easter Monday
Tuesday 22nd April – Student-free day; Structured Literacy
Wednesday 23rd April – Universal Positive Behaviour Support/SWPBS 
Thursday 24th April – Southern Zone collaboration day regarding DOBCEL 10 year Strategic Plan
Friday 25th April- ANZAC Day

Monday 28th April- Students return for Term 2

                                         Miss Stape on Long Service Leave (4 weeks)

Tuesday 29th April- GRIP Leadership Day in Geelong

Thursday 1st May- Warrnambool May Races Public Holiday

Monday 5th May to Friday 9th May- Meals on Wheels

Monday 5th May- Whole-school Wellbeing Day

Tuesday 6th May- CDDSA Cross Country @ Noorat

                                     - Mental Health in Primary Schools (MHiPS) information session @ 2:30pm

Wednesday 7th May- SAC Meeting @ 6:30 in the staffroom

School Closure Days for 2025
28 January – Student-free day; first day of term one
22 April – Student-free day; Structured Literacy
23 April – collaboration with St Mary’s Ararat, St Thomas’ Terang and St Patrick’s Camperdown re:
                       Universal Positive Behaviour Support/SWPBS 
24 April – Southern Zone collaboration day regarding DOBCEL Strategy 2035 - ‘Pursuing fullness of life for all’
8 August – Student-free day
31 October – Student-free day
3 November – Student-free day
19 December – Student-free day; last day of term four

In addition to these days and other Public Holidays, St Colman's takes the Local Government Area recognised holiday of Warrnambool Cup Day, which this year is on Thursday May 1st.

As we journey through Holy Week, our students have been exploring the Stations of the Cross in their classes, reflecting on what they mean in Christian Catholic faith and how they connect to our lives today. The Stations of the Cross remind us of Jesus’ love, sacrifice, and resilience, offering us a moment to pause and reflect on our own challenges and the ways we can show kindness and compassion to others.

This Thursday at 2:15,  our students will come together after recess to present a special Stations of the Cross reflection. Each grade has been learning about the meaning and symbolism of the Stations, and we invite families to join us for this thoughtful and moving presentation.

Mass of the Oils 2025, Chrism Mass

Everyone is welcome to attend the Mass of the Oils this year on Monday, April 14, 2025 at Patrick’s Cathedral Ballarat at 1.00pm. Afternoon tea will follow in the Hall. The Mass will also be live streamed at on the link below.

Our Lady of Mercy Parish News

We welcome Father George to Our Lady of Mercy Parish

Easter Raffle

We urgently require your donations for the Easter Raffle. Please send in your family's donation ASAP. Hampers for the prizes will be made up this Thursday. Families are reminded to sell their tickets and return them bu Thursday also.

Last day of Term- a busy one

St Colman's Cross Country @ 9:30am

First event will start at 9:30 and then all events will follow in this (approximate) order;

• 8 year olds: 3 laps of our oval (10 mins)
• 7 year olds: 2 laps of our oval (5 mins)
• 5/6 year old: 2 laps of our oval (5 mins)
• 9 year old: 2 laps of the block (15 mins)
• 10 year old: 1 lap of the oval plus 3 laps of the block (20 mins)
• 11/12/13 yr olds: 5 laps of the block (30 mins)

Jane's Farewell at 11am

At 11am, we will all gather in the Undercover area to give out medals to all age-group winners from the Cross Country event. 

This will be immediately followed by our Farewell to Jane. We will have a short presentation for Jane and then the adults will share some morning tea. We would love all parents and community members to hang around after the cross country, to join with us in thanking Jane for her service to our school.

Final Assembly and Easter Raffle

At 12:30 we will gather in the Undercover Area for our final assembly for the term. We will announce the House winner of the Cross Country and then draw our Easter Raffle. This will be followed by our Annual Easter Egg Hunt.

Goodness me!!! What a busy day. We will be well and truly ready for the holidays when they commence at 2:15pm.

Pupil-Free Week to Start Term 2

The first week of Term 2 includes two public holidays: Easter Monday and ANZAC Day (Friday). With the support of our governing body, DOBCEL, and our School Advisory Council (SAC), Tuesday, April 22nd, Wednesday, April 23rd, and Thursday, April 24th will be student-free days. On these days, St Colman's staff will participate in collaborative professional learning with colleagues from Southern Zone Catholic primary schools.

The focus for these professional learning days will include:

• Tuesday, April 22nd: Structured Literacy
• Wednesday, April 23rd: Strengthening our universal approach to School-Wide Positive Behaviours
• Thursday, April 24th: Presentation of the DOBCEL Strategy 2035, titled "Pursuing Fullness of Life for All." This comprehensive plan aims to enhance the performance of Catholic schools in the Diocese of Ballarat over the next decade. The strategy will be presented to all staff members of DOBCEL schools by Executive Director, Tom Sexton, throughout Term 2. All schools in the Southern Zone will gather at St Joseph's Primary School, Warrnambool, on April 24th to ensure everyone in the Zone has a clear understanding of this strategy and its vision. This day will be a School Closure Day for all schools in the Southern Zone. The full Executive Summary of the DOBCEL 2035 Strategy is available on the DOBCEL website or hard copies can be obtained from the school office.

School vest for Winter

Last year we introduced a new uniform item; the puffer vest. If you would like to order a school puffer vest for your child please place your order via the link below. They cost $50 each and the cost will be invoiced to your school account. Sizes seem to be fairly accurate, so if you child is regularly a size 10, I would suggest that, or one size up, is the size you need to order. 

If you have difficulty accessing this order form, please ring the office to place your order.

Our first bulk order will be placed on Friday, April 4th, so please place your order by Friday morning at 9am.

Work Experience

This week we welcome back former students Maddie Cameron and Pippa Barr to our school. Maddie and Pipa are both in Year 10 at Mercy Regional College and are completing one week of Work Experience at our school as they try to navigate their career paths for the future. The girls will experience a day in each classroom as well as in assisting in a specialist class. I am sure they will have a great week. I thank Maddie and Pippa in advance for all their help!

Regional Swimming Event

On Wednesday, March 26th, Imogen Barr, Charlotte and Jack Allen represented our school with great determination at the Regional Schools Swimming Event held at Horsham.

Imogen: 4th in backstroke and 1st in breaststroke, 3rd freestyle relay and 3rd medley relay

Charlotte: 3rd freestyle relay

Jack: 2nd in mixed 9/10yo freestyle relay

A huge congratulations to Imogen who has now qualified to compete in the State Swimming Championships.

We are so proud of all three of you and your achievements. Well done!

ANZAC Day

Anzac Day will be held during our extended three-week break. I encourage all of our students to attend the community march on Friday April 25th, starting at 10:00 AM. Our students are asked to gather at 9:50 AM at the old Post Office in their school uniform.

CDDSA Athletics Carnival

On April 1st, our school will be proudly represented at the CDSSA Athletics Carnival in Camperdown by the following talented students. We know that they will showcase their skills with great enthusiasm and dedication.

• Under 9s: Jack Allen and Blair Bassett

• Under 11s: Hayley Hannabury and Archie Dale

• Under 12s: Steff Van Den Huevel and Imogen Barr

We wish them all the best as they compete and represent our school. Have a great day!

School Advisory Council

We are grateful to our SAC members for 2025 for their ongoing support of our school.

Jo Wallis (Chair), Alison Greig, Zion Palmer, Sophie Allen, Rachel Baulch, Danielle Kenny, Georgie Price, Rosie O’Connor (School rep), Janet Cain (Principal).

These people are the voice of the parish and parents in the school. If you have any questions or anything that you would like raised please contact one of these people.

The SAC meets twice a term and we thank these people for agreeing to be a part of this group that provides an essential link between the school and its families.

This year we will hold our meetings Wednesday of week 3 and week 8 each term starting at 6:30pm. Please note that we have cancelled this Wednesday's SAC Meeting as we put all of our efforts into promoting our Open Night/ Bush Dance.

The dates are;

Term 1; Feb 12th 

Term 2; May 7th and June 11th

Term 3; Aug 6th and Sept 10th

Term 4; Oct 22nd and Nov 26th (AGM)

Playgroup at St Colman's

Our fortnightly Playgroup is ready to start again. We look forward to welcoming back our local pre-schoolers every second Friday. Our next session will be Friday 2nd May.

PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD WITH YOUR FRIENDS WHO HAVE PRESCHOOL AGED CHILDREN. EVERYONE IS WELCOME!!!

The ongoing commitment to this project will require support from other members of the school community. If you are willing to help out by going on a roster to help organise Little Colman’s, please contact  the school.

Wellbeing Newsletter by Mrs Marsden

The Yellow Zone

This week, students will explore the emotions linked to the yellow zone. These include frustration, worry, excitement, silliness and loss of control. As a class, students will explore the ways in which our body reacts to these emotions, what may trigger them, and how to make their way back to the green zone. 

In the classroom, students have begun to use a desk strip with the emotions and their associated zones as a way of indicating their current emotional state. This not only encourages students to identify and express their emotions, but also alerts staff to students who may need support or guidance when trying to regulate their emotions. Students move a token or arrow along the strip to indicate the zone that they are in. 

The desk strip is attached below. You may like to display it in your home for your child to indicate their feelings to you and other members of the household. You may prefer to use it to prompt conversations about the learning that is occurring at school, or have your child describe how it is used.

Cyber Games and Chat Rooms

t has come to our attention that children are using online games as a platform to chat with their classmates outside of school hours. While we understand the importance of social connections, we also want to ensure the safety of our students in the digital world. Online gaming environments can sometimes expose children to potential risks, including:

• Interactions with unknown individuals

• Exposure to inappropriate content

• Cyberbullying

• Excessive screen time

We are also deeply concerned about the suitability of some of these games for our young students. While certain games, like Five Nights at Freddy's, might appear harmless, some of the content can be quite frightening and may lead to nightmares or anxiety in children.

We encourage all parents to read the article linked below and have an open conversation with your child about their online activities. Consider setting guidelines for internet use, supervising their online interactions, and educating them about internet safety.

If you have any concerns or questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’re here to support you and your child in navigating the digital landscape safely.

SchoolTV Wellbeing Platform- Internet Addiction

For children and teenagers, there is no doubt that the Internet can be an excellent resource for information, communication and entertainment, but more and more Australian parents are concerned about excessive time online.

Today’s youth are the early settlers in a remarkable new world. Unfortunately, parents feel as though they are shut out of this world, often not knowing, nor understanding, what happens in this online environment.

It is up to parents to monitor, not just what their children do online, but also the length of time they spend online. Many of the online games children play have parental controls. However, parents do not always choose to use them. Banning is not the answer. A better strategy is to give kids access, but be informed, set some rules, monitor and supervise. To ignore this responsibility could create significant psychological and social problems for their children in years to come. 

Please click on the link below for more useful advice from parenting expert, Dr Michael Carr-Gregg

Michael Grose Parenting Toolbox- Raising Well-adjusted Kids in a Digitally-dominant World: A Comprehensive Guide.

Navigating the digital world with your primary schooler? It's a wild ride! Our latest Parenting Toolbox article dives into the crucial balance between tech's benefits and potential pitfalls. Learn how to foster social skills, emotional resilience, and a strong sense of self in your child's formative years.

Our Weekly Award Winners

School Wide Positive Behaviour Support

At St Colman's, we are excited to be using a  positive behaviour acknowledgement system, inspired by the School-wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS) framework. This evidence-based approach helps schools improve social, emotional, behavioural, and academic outcomes for students from Foundation to Year 12. Our new system will focus on promoting and rewarding specific behaviour expectations within our school community.

Here's how it works:

1. Staff members will distribute RAFFLE TICKETS to students demonstrating the targeted positive behaviour.
2. These tickets will be collected in a large jar and counted weekly.
3. Progress will be tracked on a barometer displayed in our school foyer and pictured above.
4. School-wide rewards will be offered at various milestones, with a grand prize when we reach 1000 tickets.

To ensure student engagement, our Student Representative Council will help determine the focus behaviours and rewards for our "BEHAVIOUR BLITZ" initiative. At their most recent meeting the Junior SRC decided on the following rewards;

250 tickets= Movie and popcorn afternoon

500 tickets= Hot chip lunch at Tea Tree Lake

750 tickets= Casual clothes and free time afternoon/ rotation games 

1000 tickets = Day trip to Lake Pertobe.

Second Hand Books

We have received a large donation of second hand children's books. If you would like some books for your children, you are welcome to browse through the boxes in the corridor and take home what you would like.

St. Colman's School is a Child Safe Community

Child Safety Officers

Janet Cain and Rosie O'Connor are our Child Safety Officers.

Contact them on:

Phone: 55992285 or 0490539167

Email: jcain@scmortlake.catholic.edu.au or roconnor@scmortlake.catholic.edu.au

COMMUNITY NEWS

The classic Cluedo board game comes to life on stage, with the mystery of which character, which room and which weapon gradually unfolding inside the impressive Boddy Manor.

Featuring a group of amazing local performers within a brilliantly immersive set, this live mystery comedy will have you laughing and guessing to the end! Tickets available online at: https://www.camperdowntheatrecompany.com.au/current-show

Time to Register for Auskick

Lunch Orders

LUNCH ORDERS are only available twice a week on Monday and Friday.

Menu and 2025 price list below 

Birthday Wishes

Out of School Care

A reminder that during 2025 we have access to Out of School Care, supplied by TheirCare, at Mortlake College. Registration is made via the TheirCare website. https://theircare.com.au/

Search for Mortlake College P-12

AngliCare Energy Assistance

As part of Anglicare Victoria’s FREE Energy Assistance Program, they provide assistance with energy bills to support Victorians to:

• Talk to their energy retailer and get help with debt
• Access extra financial support
• Check they are receiving eligible concessions on their bill
• Find and move to an affordable energy plan
• Understand bills and fix any possible errors
• Support your child's education with free internet at home

They can provide immediate assistance for clients who are struggling to pay for their gas or electricity bills to prevent disconnection to their property!

The follower two flyers provide further details.

NCCD

Please read the attached information sheet for parents regarding NCCD.