Newsletter 27 March 2024
Principal's Message
Listening to our students is very important to every staff member at St James. Great examples of this student voice can be seen in our child friendly version of our Child Safety Policy, installation of the Ga Ga pit, 10c can collection as part of our Catholic Social Teaching and this week's casual clothes day.
I was lucky enough to be presented with a speech as a way of pitching the idea for a casual clothes day. With permission, Josh is happy for me to share his speech:
I strongly believe we should get a free dress day. We need one because we can give a gold
coin donation to charity. We want to express our feelings and we have been working very hard
all term.
Firstly we will give a gold coin donation for charity when we wear free dress. We can get them
more food which means less people die from hunger. They can have a fried egg or pancake
which is delicious!Secondly we want to express our feelings. We want to wear the clothes that pile up in our
wardrobe. Our parents rush to do the washing for uniforms the next day.
Lastly we have worked hard all term and we want to have a little fun. We can have a parade at
the end of term as a reward!
In conclusion, I believe we all deserve a free dress day every term. So all the kids would want a
free dress day.
We agreed to have the free dress as thank you to students for their fundraising efforts this term, no gold coin for this one.
Our Athletics Day was again a huge success despite the challenges of the weather. Once again, we had supportive team spirit, wonderful parent helpers and an amazing staff group encouraging our children. Thank you to everyone who made this day great.
Families have two options to access dates for school events, either through the PAM Calendar or through the Schoolzine App Calendar. Dates are entered as they come to hand. Unfortunately we have to wait for information such as dates for District and Division Sporting events from the District Coordinator. We endeavour to keep the calendar as up to date as we possibly can, so please ensure you are checking it regularly.
I hope you enjoy the following reflection from Jim Quilligan. Jim is an amazing educator and I have been fortunate to work with him. He is a man of deep faith, wisdom and insight.
This term has flown by. On behalf of the Staff, I wish you a very happy, holy and safe Easter. We will see you all back on Tuesday April 16.
Kind Regards, Bec Kollaris
Deputy Principal's message
Dear St James Families,
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our families, and staff for their hard work during Term One. We have had Student Progress Meetings earlier in the term and over the past few weeks, Parent Support Group (PSG) meetings. These meetings take time to plan and organise and they do not occur without the support of our families. It is said that it takes a village to raise a child; these meetings are evidence of this. The more support we have from families and the input from students with regards to their learning, the more successful we are. So a big thank you.
This term our students focused on Learning to Learn to ensure that our students were set up with our whole school expectations of Safe, Respectful and Responsible. We followed on with a unit on Design and Technology where students investigated the meaning of Design and Technology in their world, and the effect that this has on our world.
During Term Two our students will investigate Earth and Space. Staff are currently planning this unit of work that I am sure will invite student participation, discussion and investigation.
I wish everyone a blessed and Holy Easter and we look forward to working with you in Term Two.
Kind regards, Kathy Zandona
Religious Education
Kind Regards, Julie Veldman
Baby News!
Grade 6 JD news
School Advisory Committee
The relationship between the parish and the school in the provision of Catholic education is crucial to the faith development and learning outcomes of students, the enlivening of parish life and the development of community.
The Bishop and the Board of DOSCEL support the establishment of an Advisory Committee for schools which encourages partnership and participation of school, parish and the wider community in the life of the school.
The purposes of the School Advisory Committee are to:
- act as an advisory body to the Principal on matters concerning education in the school
- provide a link between the parish priests, Principal, teachers and parishioners in relation to the provision of Catholic education in the parish communities
- promote community development by fostering strong inter-relationships between the parishes and the school.
The responsibilities of the School Advisory Committee are to:
1. promote the Catholic ethos of the school
2. provide feedback on and review of school policies
3. plan for the future of the school and its ability to accommodate future enrolments
4. provide advice on the appropriate provision of faith development and Religious Education programs
5. promote child safety in the school
Two Parent Representatives are required and must be current parents of children attending St James.
The AGM will take place on Wednesday April 17 at 4.45pm in the staffroom.
Please complete the attached nomination form and return to: principal@stjamesnng.catholic.edu.au by Wednesday 10 April 2024.
School Photos
Our school photos will be taken by Advanced Life on Wednesday 24 April 2024. Please use the below information to order your photos.
Please note: if your child/ren are absent on photo day, Advanced Life run a school holiday studio for parents. Please use email info@advancedlifevic.com.au to make a booking.
Pakenham Show
Parents and Friends News
Care Freezer
Our Care Freezer provides help/support for any of our school families in times of need, such as accident/illness etc.
To help get our freezer started for this year we are aksing as many families as we can to provide a meal that can be kept in the freezer until needed.
If you are able to provide a meal please ensure that the date, name of meal and ingredients used are included. Meals can be given to the school office.
Some ideas of meals that freeze well - casseroles, home made sausgae rolls, quiche, lasagne or soup - just to name a few!
This has been a great tradition of St James to be able to help our families in times of need.
2025 Enrolments
If you know of a family wishing to enrol at St James or if you have a sibling that will be attending next year, please contact the school office for an enrolment pack.
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
Community News
