Newsletter 19 March 2025
Principal's Message
Over the last two weeks staff have been involved in Professional Learning around Catholic Identity the 2025 theme "Pilgrims of Hope". We were introducted to Luce, the Vatican's official mascot. Luce means light and she is the mascot of hope and light as we journey together as Pilgrims of Hope. She represents Pilgrims and is inspired by St James' journey along the Camino. Her yellow jacket represents the clothes Pilgrims would wear and also represents the colour of the Vatican Flag, her boots are muddy and symbolise travel. Her eyes are blue with shiny scallop shells and she wears a Rosary and carries a staff as St James did. Students will carry Luce with them as they begin their Pilgrimage from Nar Nar Goon town centre to school on Friday. She will also journey with students during Catholic Education Week. Please keep a look out for students wearing their lanyards on Friday.
"Let us get up, therefore, and set out as pilgrims of hope, becuase, just as Mary did with Saint Elizabeth, we too can bring news of joy, generate new life and be artisans of brother hood and peace" Pope Francis March 2024
Next week, 6JD welcomes Mr Matthew Sanderson. Matthew is a pre-service teacher who is excited to be joing our team for the last two weeks of term. In an era of teacher shortages, this form of support for teachers in training is vital. Please make him feel welcome.
Have a great week, Bec Kollaris
Upcoming events
| Friday | 21/03/2025 | Walk to School Day (meet at the NNG Hotel for 8.20am departure) Harmony Day (students to wear a splash of orange) Whole School Mass (no morning tea) |
| Monday | 31/03/2025 | School Photos Prayers and Picnics (3.30pm - 4.30pm) |
| Friday | 04/04/2025 | Whole School Cross Country Event Last Day of Term 1 |
| Tuesday | 22/04/2025 | Term 2 Commences |
| Friday | 25/04/2025 | Anzac Day |
| Friday | 09/05/2025 | Mother's Day Breakfast |
| Monday | 12/05/2025 | District Cross Country |
RE News
Second Week of Lent (week beginning Monday 17 March)
Toefuata'iga - (Toy-foo-ah-tah-ing-ah) is a 13-year-old primary school student from Samoa. Samoa may be a country surrounded by water, but access to clean drinking water is scarce in some areas, with many families facing extreme hardship as a result.
Toefuata’iga’s school community struggled without reliable access to clean water, which impacted students’ education and hygiene. Teachers often had to leave the school to fetch water from nearby homes, disrupting lessons and adding strain to the community. When the water ran out at the school, students were sent home which meant they missed out on valuable learning time.
Thanks to the support of Caritas Australia in partnership with Caritas Samoa, Toefuata’iga’s school now has a 10,000 L water tank through a Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) program. Teachers and students are now able to focus on education and improved hygiene.
“Now that we have the water tank, things are so much better, we can stay at school all day, and I get to spend more time learning and playing with my friends. I’m happy that we don’t have to go home early anymore.” – said Toefuata'iga.
This transformative story is just one example of how Caritas Australia’s Project Compassion creates waves of change around the world.
Watch Toefuata'iga’s story here.
Will you stand with students like Toefuata'iga this Lent?
Our school fundraiser: Students will have now bought home their Project Compassion boxes. We ask students to collect as many coins as they can to contribute to their class coin line and the class with the longest coin line will win a hot chip lunch at the end of Term. We look forward to working together as a school community to support those in need and will continue to share Project Compassion updates in the coming weeks.
Return Date: Can all students please return their Project Compassion boxes to their classroom teachers by Friday 28th March to participate in the coin line during assembly that afternoon.
Sacrament Dates 2025
Sacrament of First Communion
| Date | Place | Time |
| Saturday 29 March 2025 | St James Nar Nar Goon | 5.00pm |
| Sunday 30 March 2025 | St John's Koo Wee Rup | 9.30am |
| Sunday 30 March 2025 | St Joseph's Iona | 11.00am |
Sacrament of Confirmation
Commitment Mass
| Date | Place | Time |
| Saturday 3 May 2025 | St James Nar Nar Goon | 5.00pm |
| Sunday 4 May 2025 | St John's Koo Wee Rup | 9.30am |
| Sunday 4 May 2025 | St Joseph's Iona | 11.00am |
Parent/Child Workshop
| Date | Place | Time |
| Wednesday 14 May 2025 | Columba PS Bunyip | 5.30pm |
| Thursday 15 May 2025 | St John's PS Koo Wee Rup | 5.30pm |
Sacrament of Confirmation
| Date | Place | Time |
| Wednesday 4 June 2025 | St John's Koo Wee Rup | 5.00pm |
Sacrament of Reconciliation
Commitment Mass
| Date | Place | Time |
| Saturday 18 October 2025 | St James Nar Nar Goon | 5.00pm |
| Sunday 19 October 2025 | St John's Koo Wee Rup | 9.30am |
| Sunday 19 October 2025 | St Joseph's Iona | 11.00am |
Parent/Child Workshop
| Date | Place | Time |
| Wednesday 29 October 2025 | St James PS Nar Nar Goon | 5.30pm |
| Thursday 30 October 2025 | St John's PS Koo Wee Rup | 5.30pm |
Sacrament of Confirmation
| Date | Place | Time |
| Thursday 13 November 2025 | St John's Koo Wee Rup | 5.30pm |
Wellbeing Leader
Pakenham Art Show
The 2/3 class would like to thank Mrs Simone Crowley for supporting us to facilitate personal entries in the Pakenham Art Show - the students were so excited to receive their ribbons of acknowledgement of their hard work.'
School Photos
School Photo Day is on Monday 31 March 2025.
Lost Property
Each day a number of items are brought to the office as "lost property". If names are on items they are returned to the child, however there is a large amount that do not have names or have names of past students. This is a timely reminder to ensure that you are naming all your children's garments.
A lost property box has been put in the Admin Foyer. Parents are welcome to check this at any time. At the end of each term, this box will be emptied and items donated to the second hand uniform shop.
Scholastic Book Club
Issue 2 orders will close on 24 March 2025.
Please note all orders must be completed online through the LOOP ordering service.
St James Parents & Friends Committe
Important Information
Both the PAM and Schoolzine Calendars have been updated with new information.
To access the Schoolzine calendar through the app you will be prompted to enter a password - James4011
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.