Newsletter 15 May 2024
Principal's Message
What a wonderful celebration of our mums and special people last week. We are truly blessed as a community to have these amazing people in our lives. Thankyou to our chefs who cooked up a storm and to everyone who was able to come and celebrate with us. Our Mass was a prayerful celebration and our children participated with deep respect and reverence.
Mrs Veldman has kicked our sustainability initiatives into high gear making genuine links with our Catholic Education Week "see, I am making all things new" Revelation 21:5. If you have a moment, please drop past to have a look at the garden and compost.
Our school, along with the 45 Catholic schools in the Diocese of Sale, will celebrate Catholic Education Week from 17 May to 24 May. The theme for this year’s celebrations is, A New Dialogue of Love, Hope and Joy, inspired by the Scripture passage, ‘See, I am Making All Things New’ (Rev. 21:5). This theme symbolises an optimistic and hope-filled perspective on the world and a renewed approach to fostering positive change. The theme emphasises the belief that transformation and renewal are possible in all aspects of life through individual choices. By following the life and teachings of Jesus, and embracing principles of compassion, peace, goodness, and justice, individuals can contribute to a more hopeful and joyful world, sowing seeds of positivity and hope.
Through this theme, Catholic schools aim to inspire young people to reflect on the Christian message and to showcase their efforts in contributing to creating a better world. The hope is for staff, students, families, and parishes to embrace this meaningful time and for schools to celebrate their distinctive mission and share features that are special about their schools.
Members of staff will be attending a Leadership Eucharist and Awards ceremony to celebrate and recognise outstanding service and excellence of staff and students in Catholic education in our Diocese at presentations during Catholic Education Week. Our school will also hold a number of activities including
- Following in the steps of St James as we pilgrimage together from Nar Nar Goon Town center to St James on Monday morning
- Shared Masses and morning teas at St John's, Columba and St James
- Open day Tuesday
Families are most welcome to join us at any or all of these events.
Kind Regards, Bec Kollaris
From the Deputy Principal
Religious Education News
Walk To School Day
To launch our Catholic Education Week celebrations, we are walking in the footsteps of St James with shell in hand to school on Monday May 20.
Families are invited to meet Mrs Kollaris and Mrs Zandona in the carpark of the NNG hotel, where each child will be given a scallop shell.
St James and his pilgrims always carried a scallop shell with them when on pilgrimage. This identified them to local villagers and was also a sign that they would likely be in need of sustenance, however only what could be taken in the shell. While we make this direct link to the Charism of our Patron Saint, it also combines with national Walk to School Day.
As we continue our Pilgrimage throughout Catholic Education Week, the scallop shells will also be worn to our three shared Masses.
If any parents or carers are able to volunteer their time to walk with our students, please complete the following link:
Parents and Friends News
Just a reminder for our meeting on Wednesday 22/5/24 at 2.15pm, all welcome to attend.
We would like to thank Karen Lawlor for all of her hard work and dedication to the P&F and our St James community! Karen has been on the committee for many, many years. She has given up so much of her time and energy, contributing to so many projects and events, making a huge difference to our little school! Karen has been a beacon of light to the P&F group, leading as an executive member as our secretary and going above and beyond for our school each year. Karen has stepped down from P&F to focus on her family and other commitments and we can’t thank her enough for her contribution.
St James Parents & Friends Committee
From Year 6 JD
Fun Food Friday
PTV Update
Buses replace trains
Buses replace trains on sections of the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines in May and June.
Find everything needed to plan your journey, including disruption and station closure information, pedestrian access changes and more at ptv.vic.gov.au/cranpak
Concussion Procedures Update
As you are aware there has been a lot of information in the media and through external sporting groups regarding concussion and head injuries.
St James has a strict policy around knocks to the head and head injuries which has been previously communicated to families.
We would like to stress again that any knock to the head or head injury will prompt a phone call home to advise. If it is felt that the student requires medical attention or monitoring, staff will request that the student be picked up.
If a student has a concussion or suspected concussion, where the injury happened outside of school, parents should inform the school as a matter of priority.
School Fees
Term 2 Fee Statements were issued to all family accounts last week. Please ensure you check junk/spam folder if you haven't received your statement and contact the school office if you require a copy.
Please note that Term 1 fees are now overdue and payable.
Direct Debit arrangements can be established at any time. Alternatively, payments can be made via bank transfer (account details are listed on the statement) or via EFTPOS in the school office.
If you have an existing Direct Debit arrangement in place, please refer to your Fee Statement and check whether your current arrangement needs to be increased in order to settle your account by the end of the school year.
If you require a confidential conversation regarding your school fees, please make contact with Bec Kollaris.
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.