Newsletter 11 December 2024

Principal's Message

When Wil was little, we would always visit a Christmas Tree Farm and spend ages looking for and debating which tree was the best.  This year with Mr 16, we opted to visit our local scouts and pick a tree from them. We were so glad that we did! We were greeted with Christmas cheer, warmth and generosity of spirit. Waiting for a fresh batch of trees to be delivered (turns out we opted to shop during their peak time), we heard stories from scouts and their leaders about how proud they were of  their organisation and the sense of beloning they all shared.  They spoke of adventures they have had and things they were looking forward to.  We heard stories of team work and friendship and looking out for your mate.

As our Year 6 students move into their final days of Primary School, this has certainly been reflected in their conversations and conversations with parents.  The vales they carry out with them from St James are those we want for all our children as evident in the chat with the scouts. We want them to be informed, compassionate, proud young people, who value loyalty, look out for their mate and know that their family and God loves them unconditionally.  On behalf of the Yr 6 students and famillies, I thank our community for you unwaivering love, suppoert and guidance as they have been valued part of an amazing faith filled community. We wish our Yr 6s well as their worlds become a little bigger, looking forward to Secondary School.

At our end of year Mass, we will formally farewell -

We will also farewell the following Families -

We thank these families for their support, many of who have been instrumental in School Advisory Committee membership, Parents and Friends and overall champions for the children of St James.  We wish them well, knowing that our door is always open and the kettle always on.

As we move into Christmas, we, the staff of St James, thank you for your support and for partnering with us in the education of your children. 

We wish you a very happy, holly and safe Christmas filled with the company and laughter of loved ones.  Until 2025, stay safe and enjoy any opportunities for rest that you may have.

Take Care, Bec

Upcoming events

 Upcoming Events

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

Dear Families,

We would like to express our sincere gratitude for your generous contributions to our St Vincent de Paul Advent Appeal. Together, we filled two car boots and back seats with essential items to share with local families in need this Christmas. The St Vincent de Paul team has conveyed their deepest thanks to the St James community for your incredible generosity.

A special mention to Mrs Jess Duplock and her wonderful Year 6 students who raised $120 through their 10-cent coin collection. These funds will be used to purchase gift cards for local teenagers, ensuring they have a gift to open this Christmas.

If you are interested in volunteering your time to support the local St Vincent de Paul chapter, please contact Mrs Bertoncello. She will assist you in connecting with our local delegate. Similarly, if you or someone you know requires assistance, please contact 03 9895 5800. Brochures with further information are available in the school foyer.

Thank you once again for your kind and generous hearts. We wish you all a blessed Christmas and a happy New Year.

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/szapp-installation
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