Term 1 Week 6 Monday 3rd March 2025

Acknowledgement of Country

From the Principal

Key Dates:

TERM 1 2025

Tuesday 4th March - Shrove (Pancake) Tuesday

                                           - Parent Teacher Conversations

Wednesday 5th March- Ash Wednesday mass at 2:30pm

Friday 7th March- F-6 Athletics Carnival @ Terang Rec Reserve

Monday 10th March- Labour Day Public Holiday

12th -24th March -  National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) testing Yr 3 and 5

Wednesday 12th March- Year 3 and 5 Writing NAPLAN

Thursday 13th March- LEHP Visit (Lions Club free vision screening)

Friday 14th March- Year 3 and 5 Reading NAPLAN

Monday 17th March- Year 3 and 5 Conventions of Language NAPLAN

Tuesday 18th March- Year 3 and 5 Numeracy NAPLAN

Wednesday 19th March- Year 3 and 5 NAPLAN Catch-up Sessions

Wednesday 19th March- School Advisory Council Meeting @ 6:30pm

Thursday 20th March- Billy Bush Band Family Night

Wednesday 26h March- School Photos

                                                - Mercy Regional College Open Day

Friday 28th March- Mercy Regional College Taster Day

Tuesday 1st April- Division Athletics Carnival

Friday 4^th April- 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

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.

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, a special time in the Catholic calendar that leads up to Easter. It is a day when we reflect on our actions and think about how we can become closer to God. During Mass on Ash Wednesday, ashes are placed on our foreheads as a reminder of our journey towards Easter and the importance of prayer, fasting, and giving to others.

As a school community we will join with the members of our parish to celebrate Ash Wednesday during Mass at St Colman's Church starting at 2:30. Everyone is welcome to join us.

Pancake Tuesday

Pancake Tuesday, also known as Shrove Day, is celebrated on the day before Ash Wednesday, marking the beginning of Lent. On Shrove Tuesday, people often enjoy pancakes and other rich foods like butter, eggs, and sugar, which they would typically give up during Lent. 

Our Middle Class will be making pancakes during their STEAM lesson to share with everyone.  We will all enjoy a whole school Pancake morning tea at recess time.

Our Lady of Mercy Parish News

We welcome our new Parish Priest, Fr George Kuruvila to our school community. We look forward to working alongside Fr George to further strengthen our connection with the Parish community. Please see below Fr George's letter of introduction.

Greetings to you all!

Hailing from Kerala, South India, I am a member of The Missionary Society of St. Thomas the Apostle (MST). The above-mentioned Missionary society was founded locally in India and has a strength of nearly 400 priests who are engaged in Mission/Pastoral fields around the globe. We have four priests of the MST working at present in the diocese of Ballarat. Kerala has a deep-rooted Catholic tradition tracing back to St. Thomas the Apostle, who arrived on the west coast of India in 52 AD. To this day, the Catholic and Christian presence remains strong, very particularly in Kerala. After completing my high school studies, I joined the Missionary Society of St. Thomas the Apostle to begin my formation for the priesthood. I was ordained in 1995 and started my ministry in northern India, serving in regions in the areas of less Christian presence. In 2000, I embarked on my first overseas mission in Sweden. My assignment in the Arctic Circle was a vastly different experience from anything I had known before. After ten years of Missionary/Pastoral apostolate in Sweden, I returned to India, where I was actively involved in various apostolates. In 2020, I began my second overseas mission in the Diocese of Ballarat. Just two days before international borders closed due to COVID-19, I managed to reach Melbourne. Upon arrival, I underwent 15 days of quarantine and, like so many others, found myself navigating the challenges of pandemic restrictions. Although my mission began under extraordinary circumstances, I gradually adapted as the situation improved, taking up pastoral responsibilities under COVID-normal guidelines. I served across Edenhope, Casterton, Coleraine, Tarrayoukyan, Balmoral, Harrow, Apsley, Minimay, and Goroke as part of the Western Border Parish ministry. Now, I am moving to my new ministry district, which includes Camperdown, Timboon, and Hampden parishes. These encompass Catholic communities in Mortlake, Terang, Simpson, Cobden, Timboon, Camperdown, and Lismore, along with our local schools and nursing homes. I look forward to working with you all, supporting you in your faith journey, and collaborating for the spiritual and pastoral well-being of our parish and school communities. In the coming weeks, I hope to meet each of you personally during your local Masses. No matter where I reside, I assure you of my availability and commitment to serving you. To begin with, I will stay in Camperdown. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to Fr. Neville Stanislaus for his dedicated service as your Parish Priest/Administrator. I wish him every blessing in his new ministry as the Parish Priest of Gariwerd. I look forward to work with Fr Jim McKay who is sharing my ministry in the whole ministry district as visiting priest. Please don’t worry too much about my 20-letter-long last name! In my local language, Malayalam, it simply means “thorn bush land.” You are welcome to call me by my first name—I typically go by Fr George Kuruvila.

Wishing you God’s choicest blessings and a fruitful Lent as we begin this sacred season soon  on Wednesday.

Fr. George Kuruvila Koorumullumpurayidam

NAPLAN 2025

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is a literacy and numeracy assessment that students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 sit each year. It is the only national assessment all Australian students have the opportunity to undertake. Please see attached flyer for more information or follow the link below for an online version. This year, the NAPLAN test window starts on Wednesday 12 March 2025 and finishes on Monday 24 March 2025.

At St Colman's we will conduct these tests on the following days.

Wednesday 12th March- Year 3 and 5 Writing 

Friday 14th March- Year 3 and 5 Reading

Monday 17th March - Year 3 and 5 Language conventions

Tuesday 18th March - Year 3 and 5 Numeracy

Wednesday 19th March - Catch-up Day

Attendance on these days is important, especially  if your child is in Yr 3 and 5 

Swimming Program

Due to circumstances completely out of our control we have had to cancel our last three swimming sessions. Discussions will continue with the Moyne Shire, Mortlake Outdoor Pool and Jayson Lamb's Splash Factory to see if we can reschedule these three lessons.

Division Swimming @ Warrnambool

Well done to our six students who represented St. Colman’s at the Division Swimming Carnival in Warrnambool today. Steff, Imogen, Charlotte, Archie, Sadie and Jack gave it their all and we couldn’t be prouder.

Congratulations to the following students who have qualified for the Regional Swimming Carnival in Horsham due to their wonderful results;

Jack - 2nd freestyle relay

Charlotte - 2nd freestyle relay.

An outstanding effort by our Year 6 student Imogen who was crowned 'Age Champion' on the day after her following achievements.

1st Breaststroke

1st Freestyle

2nd Backstroke

1st Medley relay

2nd Freestyle relay

Hockey Roadshow

Last Monday we welcomed Kim from Hockey Roadshow to our school. Kim conducted an hour long hockey skills session with each of our classes. The children had a wonderful time and learned lots of new skills. Kim reported that our Junior Room was full of children with 'natural hockey ability'. If your child would like to pursue hockey as a sport they are encouraged to attend the Hookin2hockey sessions in Warrnambool. The first TWO sessions are FREE.

Keen to Try Hockey?

If you missed the Come and Try on 22 February, don't worry, you can still try out hockey. Hockey South West offers all new participants with their first two sessions FREE during Term 1. 

9-10am Saturday mornings at Hockey South West, Albert Park, enter off Cramer Street

Use this link to find all the information and complete the free registration https://www.revolutionise.com.au/wndha/events/270943

Email juniors@hockeysouthwest.org.au for further information.

St Colman's Produce Garden

Our school's garden has provided us with an abundance of tomatoes. Our School Captains, Imogen and Charlotte made some tomato passata that the whole school got to sample and enjoy!

Home-made Pasta Sauce

Athletics Carnival

Hot on the heels of our Swimming Carnival, we now launch straight into athletics season with our Athletics Carnival with our peers from St Thomas', Terang, scheduled for Friday, March 7th, at the Terang Recreation Reserve. Everyone is welcome to come along and support our children.

Children will be bussed to Terang at 8:55 am. You are welcome to take your child directly to the Recreation Reserve if you wish, and you can also take your child home at the conclusion of the carnival. However, please ensure that you inform your child's teacher if you do so.

As with all major school events, they cannot run without the help and support of our wonderful parent community. Below is a list of jobs that require parent support.

Thank you to those parents who have already put their hand up to volunteer. There are many opportunities for you to help out also, particularly in the 11:30-2pm time slot. If you are willing to help out in any way, please contact the office as soon as possible. 

Mercy Regional Collage Open Day

Finance Officer Appointment

We are delighted to welcome Mrs Vanessa Binns to St Colman's School community as she has accepted the appointment of Finance Officer at our school. Vanessa, and her husband Tony, have recently moved to the area and Vanessa brings with her over 15 years experience in administration and finance as well as experience working in a Primary School office in her homeland England. Vanessa will start her orientation and handover to the role with Jane in the coming weeks. Please introduce yourself to her when you see her around our school

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.

The dates are;

Term 1; Feb 12th and March 19th

Term 2; May 7th and June 11th

Term 3; Aug 6th and Sept 10th

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

Welcome Picnic, Open School & Bush Dance

Our first school community event of the year will be held on Thursday 20th March starting at 5:00pm.

After the success of our STOMP dance party last year, we have decided to hold another dance night to kick start our year, this year with a Bush Dance theme. We will welcome the Billy Bush Dance team during the day and they will teach the students some dances to perform for you that night and they will also get you up for a boot scoot as well.

More details will come out soon, this is just a 'save the date' for what should be a fun night for our kids and their families.

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 14th March.

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

Positive Affirmations

In looking for ways to keep ourselves in the green zone, we have begun exploring the concept of positive affirmations. Students are working on the understanding that these are positive comments about ourselves that we use to train our brain. Some examples are “I am brave”, “I am strong” and “I can do hard things”. By regularly practising saying these same positive comments to ourselves, we are more likely to strengthen our belief that these are true, leading to a greater level of confidence and a more positive mindset. Such positive thoughts can also help to minimise negative and unwanted thoughts. 

There is evidence and psychology behind this and the impact that it can have on the developing brain. You can learn more about it here. In the coming weeks, you might find more of these affirmations popping up around the school. There is already a wonderful display in the 3/4 classroom. 

Why not try displaying some positive affirmations at home! Display some on the mirror in the bathroom so that family members can be reminded of just how important the person looking back at them really is. 

SchoolTV Wellbeing Platform

Physical Activity & Exercise
“Research shows, regular physical activity and exercise leads to changes in the brain. It improves cognitive function, elevates mood, improves learning and reduces ‘stress chemicals’ like cortisol.”

Dr Michael Carr-Gregg

Physical activity and exercise is not only vital to a child’s overall development but it has so many other benefits. With children spending more time on computers being sedentary, it is even more important to get kids moving more. As well as maintaining a healthy weight, it also improves concentration by helping to establish connections between different parts of the brain. It helps kids develop fundamental movement skills impacting positively on their confidence, self-esteem and ability to develop social skills. On an emotional level, it reduces stress and anxiety while improving posture and sleep. Physical activity and exercise is good for your child’s health, now and in the future. Parents should encourage their kids to move or play sport at every opportunity – in and out of school

Our Weekly Award Winners

Michael Grose Parenting Toolbox- Use These Ten Sentences to Develop Resilience in Your Kids.

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.

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

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.