Earlier this term we held a mufti day to raise funds for our annual Easter Basket project to support the elderly within our local community.

Congratulations Chenoa Metua our 2018 Pasifika Academic Award recipient.

We took the chance over the summer holidays to travel to and stay in Germany for two months on exchange.

At the start of March we welcomed Jana Kieseyer and Helena Heuermann.

Orders are due at the office by Friday 6 April.

Term One is coming to an end and the school year has begun to heat up. Many students are really starting to feel the pressure of finding the time to successfully juggle the workload required to complete internal assessments, fulfill extracurricular requirements, be a contributing family member around the household and in the community and spend time with friends.

Just over one week to go until the Fair. Please see attached an update from the Parents' Association, regarding the Fair.

Earlier in the year the College acknowledged the passing of Mrs Sue Hanna who had served as the Principal's Secretary for over 30 years before her retirement in 2016. Mrs Hanna's service was exemplary, and we express our condolences to her family. Here follows the tribute given by Miss Wilson at the service for Mrs Hanna, published here with her permission and our thanks.

The Sports Council AGM was held on 19 February with the key executive roles being filled: Pete Turner as Chairman, Fiona Smith as Secretary and Dougal McGowan as Treasurer.

On February 23, Columba College held our annual school sports day at the Dunedin Caledonian Grounds.

The Columba College English Department runs a Creative Writing Group as an extension activity.

Columba College combined with John McGlashan College to host the 2018 Summer Sports Exchange with St Andrews College from Christchurch.

Columba College debating continues to thrive at an unprecedented level which is only becoming only more obvious following the recent Otago-Southland 2018 Debating regionals.

Last week we celebrated the academic success of our 2017 academic blue recipients. 76 current students and recent graduates received an academic blue in recognition of their hard work and achievement in gaining excellence in NCEA level 1, 2 or 3.

A massive effort was made by Year 8 during Week 7 this term to bring food items for the hamper which is donated to Presbyterian Support Services each week from Columba College.

This exhibition provides an opportunity for secondary students to gain an understanding of what is required to achieve Excellence at Level 3. Brittany Bancroft and Lucy Beres (Year 13, 2017) have both had their Design folios selected for this prestigious exhibition.

Columba College entered two teams into the Kids Lit Quiz this year on 12 March - one from Year 7 and one from Year 8.

Introducing Year 10 student, Olivia Charles, our official school photographer for 2018.

Miss Eason, Mrs Cockroft and Miss Spencer's class all enjoyed spending time at the Museum.

Three of our Year 7 students, Mary Mengel, Clara Ballantyne and Alice Johnston took the stage at the Regent Theatre on March 16, dancing with the Royal New Zealand Ballet as extras in The Piano.

Learning about Climate Change and Evolution.

Recently Years 3 and 4 enjoyed a wonderful morning at the Edgar Centre participating in a Have A Go Day.

The head prefects came to introduce themselves to the Junior School children. They enjoyed meeting Lydia, Mikayla and Jaime.

Columba College rowers raced at the SISS regatta in Twizel gaining some fantastic results.

We arrived at Manapouri after a long bus ride from Dunedin for the hour-long boat ride across the lake. Everyone loved the boat trip and almost everybody was up on the top deck.

Mardi Gras or 'Fat' Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday is celebrated worldwide.

The date of Chinese New Year is based on the Chinese lunar calendar.

Columba College was represented at this competition by a very strong field of competitors.

On Friday 2 March, ten Year 12 students took part in the first session of the 2018 Healthy Harbour Watchers group.

Mrs Bishop’s Year 12 Physical Education Class taught our Year 4's a range of skills for a specific sport.

Last year we applied to the Otago Community Trust for funding to replace our classroom data projectors.

Columba College takes its Enviroschool responsibilities seriously. We are an enviromentally friendly school.

Columba students performed well in the Otago Secondary Schools Triathlon Champs in Wanaka recently.

On 14 February the Junior School families gathered together for a take away dinner evening.