Newsletter 04 December 2024
Principal's Message
Dear Families,
What a great success UP Day was on Monday. All of our students transitioned to their new classes and openly and excitedly made welcome our new students across all levels. Yet another wonderful example of our school wide expectations in action.
In our first week of Advent, I am moved by Pope Francis' message which resonates with our current Religion Inquiry "Gifts we give, Gifts we receive". Pope Francis urges us in this time of preparation for the birth of Jesus to have "a light heart, a wakeful heart, a free heart", a heart that actively seeks patience, helps our neighbour and looks for the good and love in the world. This sentiment is also echoed in Bishop Greg's Advent message for us.
We look forward to celebrating Christmas with you all tomorrow. Given the weather forecast, please stay alert to emails for updates regarding arrangements for tomorrows Carols.
Kind regards,
Bec Kollaris
Upcoming events
Term 4 2024 - Upcoming Events
| Date | Event | |
| Thursday | 05/12/2024 | Carols on the Green |
| Thursday | 12/12/2024 | Grade 6 Graduation |
| Friday | 13/12/2024 | End of Year Mass and Yr 6 Guard of Honour This is a great way to celebrate the end of year for our leaving families and we welcome all families to attend. |
Education Fees - Final Statements
Final Education Fee Statements for 2024 will be sent out this week.
Please check your fee statement and address any outstanding fees if you do not already have a payment arrangement in place. If you need to make any changes to an existing arrangement, please contact Meg in the school office.
If you wish to have a confidential discussion regarding your school fees, please contact Bec Kollaris.
RE News
CAROLS ON THE GREEN
Carols on the Green will be held on Thursday 5 December from 4pm - 5.30pm.
Students can wear free dress with a Christmas Theme.
Please return your raffle tickets by 9am tomorrow. Raffle tickets will also be available to purchase on the night, and will be drawn at the conclusion of the Carols.
In Religious Education this Term we have been exploring the gifts we receive and the gifts we give. In our classrooms we have discussed some of the best gifts we have ever received and what makes them special. We have also explored the personal gifts and talents entrusted to us by God.
As we head into the Christmas season we have also been focusing on the gift of charity and how we can use our gifts to improve the lives of others.
1 John 3:17-18 NRSV How does God's love abide in anyone who has the world's goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help? Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.
Christmas is a time to be very thankful for what you have, and then to think about what other people may need. Remember to share your love, your time and your gifts with others.
I am proud to say that as a school we have a strong heart for service which is shown through our fundraisers.
As the school year closes we are collecting for St Vincent de Paul who are providing Christmas hampers for many families in our local community who are doing it tough this holiday season.
The collection of these items will end on Thursday December 5th and passed on to a St Vincent de Paul representative at our Carols on the Green night.
We thank you greatly for your contributions so far and look forward to seeing what the St James community can provide that evening to support our local families.
Christmas Masses
Parents & Friends News
2025 School Bus Information
Families will be receiving travel offers from the 27/11/2024 from the Student Travel Asistance Portal for bus travel in 2025. Families have until 14/12/2024 to accept these travel offers.
We encourage families to:
- review bus travel offers in the Student Travel Assistance Portal
- check all traveller details are correct
- if families have changed address or school and their travel offer is incorrect, they will need to decline their travel offer, update their address in their profile (if required) and then submit a new travel application
- accept offers prior to the expiry date.
Families requiring assistance with STAP (including requests to change thier allocated bus service/stop) can email: schoolbus@education .vic.gov.au or phone: 1800 338 663.
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.
DS Sports
