Newsletter 07 August 2024
Principal's Message
This week we have begun our Foundation Transition process for 2025. It is lovely to be able to meet with future students and their families as they begin their Primary School journey. For parents, there are many mixed emotions, especially as for some, they are returning to Primary School as a parent for the first time.
Our Education Support Team ~ Helen Donohoe, Sarah Rovatsos, Charly Rushton, Natalie Colvin, Zac McMenamin and Emmi Webber do an amazing job supporting our students. Their work spans from classroom support to language and social skill groups and everything in between. We are confident that our children are incredibly supported and this is achieved through our teaching and ESO teams working together. They also share in depth knowledge of student learning with teachers who are then able to take this information and use this with other information they have gathered to plan for student's needs. While the ESO team is so vital to our school, can I please remind parents that your child's classroom teacher is always your first port of call.
On Friday we celebrate the Feast Day of St Mary McKillop of the Cross, Australia's first and only Saint. St Mary played a pivotal role in the establishment of Catholic Education in Australia and New Zealand. She was an incredibly strong, courageous and determined woman, who for that time in Australia was met with much controversy. The Feast Day honouring Mary is particularly timely here at St James as our Year Six students are preparing to celebrate their Confirmation. Part of this preparation is to choose a Saint who inspires them and take their name in recognition of this inspiration. I can't help but think that in Mary's unwavering attitude of respect and forgiveness and her willingness to advocate for the disadvantaged and most vulnerable that she is a fitting person of inspiration for us all.
Andrew Chinn will be visiting St James in the coming weeks. We use many of Andrew's songs in our Liturgies and assemblies. He has written a song, which has been made into a picture story book: Beneath a Cross of Stars, the link can be found at MAry MacKillop . Andrew is quoted for having made this statement about St Mary : “A pilgrimage in honour of Mary MacKillop can be a life’s journey. From our largest cities in Australia and New Zealand, to the smallest of country towns, you can walk the paths where she once trod as she fulfilled her dream and the work of God in establishing Catholic Education in these two countries. If we think of the life of Christ as a song, then surely Mary MacKillop played a significant role in the writing of our verse here in Australasia.” Andrew Chinn
Our Parents and Friends Group continue to do an amazing job supporting our school. It is through their work that our community is strengthened and improvements made to resourcing and the physical environment. But, they can't do this alone. Please reach out to the team to offer your support if you can.
Our P&F Team team - Tarryn (Paddy, Billy and Eddie), Abby (Sophie), Emma (Jack and Tom), Tara (Sienna and Scarlett), Sarra (Meredith and Isaac), Carli (Piper and Jack), Brodie (Felix), Nuay (Tim and Hope), Tracey (Ava and Max) and Dannielle (Lydia and Grace). As the saying goes.... MANY HANDS MAKE LIGHT WORK! Please reach out when you can and keep an eye on their information in the newsletter.
Kind regards, Bec Kollaris
Deputy Principal's Message
Hello St James Families,
Curriculum 2025 - In 2025, St James will be rolling out the new Victorian Curriculum in Mathematics and English. This process takes time and lots of work. Currently all our staff are working collaboratively with the new curriculum to ensure that the roll-out is as seamless as possible. As a staff we are looking forward to using this curriculum to provide engaging units of learning for our students.
Swimming - This week we have seen our Foundation, Year One and Two students attend their first week of a two week swimming program. We have a very confident group of swimmers at St James! Each day we have seen happy students who settled very quickly into the routine of getting themselves ready to swim, participate in the lessons and then organise themselves to get ready and back on the bus. All our students were engaged in the lessons, respectful of the swimming instructors and swam to the best of their abilities. We are very proud of them all. A big thank you to all the parents who attended; this provides your child and the teaching staff with a great deal of support. Also a big thank you to the staff who attend so willingly. It has been a successful week and I am sure next week will be the same as we do it all again!
Kind regards, Kathy Zandona
Religious Education News
Andrew Chinn Concert
On Tuesday 27th August Australian religious songwriter and singer, Andrew Chinn, will be visiting our school to share his songs with our children. Andrew’s songs, such as “These Hands”, “Rainbow”, “An African Blessing” and “Rise Up!” are used in classrooms and liturgies around Australia, New Zealand, USA and Canada. The concert will take place in the hall, at 2:15 pm . We look forward to seeing you there.
About Andrew Chinn
Andrew Chinn was a teacher for 20 years in Catholic schools in Sydney and taught all grades from kindergarten to Year 6. He has been song writing since 1993 and has released 14 albums, 6 picture books, and 5 DVDs. His music is used in schools across Australia, New Zealand, USA and Canada and he has visited more than 1100 different schools around those countries. His best-known songs are These Hands, Rainbow, An African Blessing, and Rise Up! Andrew’s music is available on Spotify and Apple Music.
Tasty Tuesday
Parents & Friends News
Every Day Counts
School Fees
Term 3 Fee statements have been issued.
If you have not made any contribution towards your school fee account or contacted the office to put a payment arrangement in place, please ensure you do this as a matter of priority. It is an expectation that fee accounts are finalised by the end of each year.
Direct debit arrangements can be set up at any time, please contact the school office for a direct debit form.
If you are experiencing financial hardship and wish to have a confidential discussion, please contact Bec Kollaris.
Important Information
This year St James will be using two main platforms of communication with our families - PAM and Schoolzine.
To ensure that you keep up to date with what is happening with your children and within the school please ensure that you have access to these platforms and are familiar with their uses.
If you require assistance with accessing or setting up these platforms, please do not hesitate to contact the school office.
From time to time it will also be necessary for emails and text messages to be sent.
Schoolzine App Installation Instructions:
This is an app that you have on your phone and allows for easy reading of the newsletter, as it customises to the screen and translates into many languages if required.
Please click the link below for the instructions on installing the app on your phone.
https://www.schoolzine.com/
As part of the installation, you will be required to enter the following 4 digit passcode -
3675
Please do not hesitate to contact the school office if you have any questions or queries.
Accessing PAM Instructions:
Please use the below link to access your PAM account.
https://pam.stjamesnng.catholic.edu.au
The user name is the email you have provided to the school and if you have not logged on previously, you will be able to set a password.
If you require your password to be reset, please contact the school office.
Lamont Book Fair
DS Sports
From the Community
