Newsletter 19 February 2025
Principal's Message
On Friday and Saturday, I joined 220 delegates of our Clergy, Educators, Parishioners and Catholic Organisations such as St John of God Hospital for the Diocesan Assembly. The Assembly is pivotal and exciting in the continuing improvement and recontextualization of our Diocese. Many years ago, the motto for our schools in Sale was “In joyful hope”, it was with this spirit and mindset that the delegates whole heartedly approached the assembly. It is an exciting time where we look to a peace filled and accepting future where our youth are pivotal, Parish-School partnerships are essential and different Religions encouraged to speak to each other in respectful, honest and open dialogue~ learning about and appreciating each other as Jesus desired and instructed us to be.
“The purpose of the Synod, and therefore of this consultation, is not to produce documents, but to plant dreams, draw forth prophecies and visions, allow hope to flourish, inspire trust, bind up wounds, weave together relationships, awaken a dawn of hope, learn from one another, and create a bright resourcefulness that will enlighten minds, warm hearts, give strength to our hands.”
Pope Francis – December 11, 2023
Further information can be found on the Diocese of Sale website.
Our students continue to settle in beautifully and staff are focused on a feeling of calmness, connection and wellbeing. Our children are truly a credit to their parents and an absolute gift to us as their educators.
Please ensure you have completed all of the necessary PAM requirements for Athletics next week. Again, if you are able to help, please let the office know as many hands make light work and are crucial to these events.
Thank you to Sally for ensuring all school fee statements were sent out. Please note that there was a typographical error in the Year 4/5 and 5/6 statements. It indicated that the YEAR 5/6 camp was to Melbourne, however the destination is Forest Edge in Neerim South. Please note the amount for the camp is correct.
Can I please ask parents to stress the importance of children not sharing food. Due to food allergies and the impact of peer pressure on student confidence, we do not wish children sharing food.
The leadership team will be at a conference this Friday, Alicia McGeorge is your point of contact for this day.
Have a great week,
Bec
Upcoming events
| Wednesday | 19/02/2025 | Foundation Rest Day #3 Sacramental Parent Information Session - St James |
| Thursday | 20/02/2025 | District Swimming Event |
| Tuesday | 25/02/2025 | Student Progress Meetings (3.40pm - 6pm) |
| Wednesday | 26/02/2025 | Foundation Rest Day #4 |
| Thursday | 27/02/2025 | Student Progress Meetings (3pm - 6pm) |
| Friday | 28/02/2025 | Whole School Athletics Day |
| Monday | 10/03/2025 | Labour Day Holiday |
| Friday | 21/03/2025 | Harmony Day (students to wear a splash of orange) |
| 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 |
From the Deputy Principal
Please see the below information regarding the upcoming Naplan assessments. Further information will be provided in next week's newsletter.
RE News
School Photos
School Photo Day is on Monday 31 March 2025.
Class Newsletters
Dear Families,
Class newsletters are available to be viewed in your PAM account under knowledge bank. These newsletters are accessible to families to provide an overview of what learning will be happening in each class. If you have multiple students at St James you will note that the newsletters contain similar information. As was mentioned in last weeks newsletter our staff are working closely this year to collaboratively plan learning tasks for our students.
From 2/3 LB
From the Art Room
ART SMOCKS
Foundation and new students joining us
As part of our art program, students will be participating in creative and hands-on projects that may involve paints, markers, or other materials.
To help protect their clothing, we kindly ask that each child bring an art smock or old shirt during these activities.
An old adult-sized shirt works great, or you can purchase a specific art smock. Please make sure that the smock is labelled with your child’s name.
Thank you for your support in keeping our young artists comfortable and clean!
Warm regards, Nicole McCormack – St James Art Teacher
Wellbeing Leader
Over the past two weeks, students have been introduced to and have participated in GEM chats within their classrooms.
GEM chats (Gratitude, Empathy and Mindfulness Chats) are questions and prompts designed to start a conversation or encourage students to reflect on their GEM + Emotional Literacy habits.
GEM chats are not only for school use, they can be used at home too! They provide a great opportunity to strengthen connections and promote conversation at home.
Each week we will feature a new GEM chat in the newsletter for your family to share together.
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
From the Community
