St Columba's Primary School

We have had 5 years to look for the right school in Elwood and surrounds and every time we asked friends, neighbours and educators, St Columba’s came up as the perfect school that would have the right culture, curriculum (including International Baccalaureate), teachers and social ethos that we were looking for. We have been there a little while now and the parents and teachers are like family. My daughter loves her teachers and classmates and everyone knows each others names- being a school of about 200. The environment and pedagogical attention she gets in her small class size as well as the excellent teacher to student ratio is second to none. Her young and vibrant teachers are a credit to their profession and they have significantly contributed to her social skills, manners, confidence and accelerated literacy and numeracy skills to the next grade level. We are grateful to be part of the St Columba’s community.

As a member of the St. Columba's community, I can attest to their commitment to fostering an exceptionally inclusive, warm, and holistic school environment. If you're in search of a school where your child will not only be recognised but will also receive the nurturing and education that fosters critical thinking and self-confidence, you've come to the right place. Here, every student, regardless of their grade, and every educator knows your child's name. In my view, this embodies the essence of what every school should aspire to be.

I have been privileged to be a part of the St. Columba's Community for 6 years and can certainly sat that the school definitely lives up to its reputation of being "The Little School With a Big Heart"! The staff are both professional and caring and the focus on well-being is exceptional. It is a warm, inclusive and friendly environment where every child is treated with respect and care.

Our family is incredibly fortunate to be part of the St. Columba’s community since 1973, when I attended prep, followed by my sisters in 1975 and 1989. I have watched the school develop and evolve with great interest over the years, and now as a parent can truly see what a wonderful school St. Columba’s is, through my daughter’s joy and involved learning. I am not sure which one of us is happier; her attending this wonderful school, or me seeing first hand the care, attention and detailed primary education my daughter receives during these very important years.

Without a doubt, St. Columba’s sets the gold standard in school leadership and teaching staff - the teachers are truly amazing! Their dedication is evident in creating and nurturing an environment of kindness, responsibility and leadership, whilst imparting Catholic values across the curriculum. It will be an easy decision for our family to send my niece to St. Columba’s when she is ready for prep in 2023.

Good things do indeed come in small packages.

My twins started at St Columbas this year in Year 3 and it's been an easy transition for all of us. The school has been so welcoming and my boys are very happy now. My boys have used the following words to describe the school; organised, clean and with lots of good kids to play with.
The school has a true interest in the wellbeing of each child and take the time to help develop social, psychological and academic growth.
The staff are educators with a lot of heart.

All of our children attended this school. The attention to the wellbeing and education to the 'whole child' is exceptional. Recent feedback from a teacher at their secondary school. 'we can tell the students who have come from St Columba's, they are kind and care for others'. The Principal and staff teach with passion and creativity. This is an exemplary school.

Having had 3 children attend the primary years at St Columba's I can say that the staff provide an individual and nurturing environment for each student and all have a passion for each student to reach their full potential academically, emotionally, psychologically and physically. The broad range of opportunities offered extend each student in so many ways. As a family we have been privileged to be part of a wonderful community that still exists today even though my children are now at the end of their senior years. St Columba's gave my children the best start and the best opportunity to achieve the optimal outcome for each of them. I highly recommend St Columba's for so may reasons and Daniela has an exceptional innovative and creative vision for the ongoing excellence in every aspect.

Very nurturing school, where all children are known by their peers and the staff. St Columba's has a wonderful community spirit. The children are encouraged to look after all people and the environment. Staff are professional and approachable, and provide a fun environment for learning in many areas.

This small school with a big heart has exceeded our expectations. The community is warm and welcoming, the teachers are outstanding and the class sizes fantastic. They have a strong focus on wellbeing, which we love and our daughter loves going to school everyday. We couldn’t be happier! Also we love that all the teachers know the students names. Highly recommend this school.

We moved from Europe to Melbourne last year and were planning to send our girl to a public school. That was until we visited this school. It is small and the teacher-student ratio is great. Having to learn a new language, attention is important to us. What hold us back at first, was that it's a catholic school and we are not.

We spoke with the principal about it and she explained that the religious aspect is not so much docmatic, but more about caring for yourself as well as for others. They teach the children to approach the world in a humane manner and with an open mind. For example, they are a resource smart school, so they think about their footprint and teaching the children this as well. They organise events to help women living in shelters.

In this day and age when people are very focussed on themselves and their selfies, we think this is a good place for our girl to be and make friends. We were right, she loves it here ;)

What a beautiful, warm and nurturing school. I have one child there and another starting next year. There are small student to teacher ratios, modern classrooms and amazing teachers, principal and parish leadership teams. My child has flourished, while taking on a realistic view of the world and how she can do her part to contribute in a positive way. Plus, the parents are all so supportive and welcoming xxx

I went here from 1984 to 1990! I had some really great memories in my early years and some really terrible memories near the end of the line. For a long time I used to hate this school for their busy body and calling on truancy officers on me when I went through really bad times because at the time, they showed more support for my deadbeat father rather than myself and my mother. Long story short, they adhere to the "Happy Big Family" notion. Anything other than that, they'd rather not know you back then! I hope their nuclear family motto has changed over the decades and that they are more open/understanding to a single parents and only born children who were singled out back in those days. So I am at more peace with the environment now when I visit etc. Not a big fan of the redevelopment but I get why it had to be done, the church looks great once you get over the loss of the iconic red carpet and confession boxes though. If you do send in your children here, remember it's a inclusive environment/community that does it's best to shun out the outside world and it's problems and concept of real world-like reality! So unless you plan on sending your children to a Catholic Secondary College? ! Your child (now teenager!) will enter into a state of shock when entering secondary school, especially a public secondary school where everything they learned is suddenly null & void! So it's important to educate your children before hand they enter secondary college because S. C.won't do that on what really happens on the outside world and all it's dangers/pitfalls and your children will not only grow up stupidly ignorant but will be prey for the tougher state school raised children!