Newsletter 16 October 2024
Principal's Message
Dear Families,
Upcoming Events.... exciting things are happening
We are very excited to be gearing up for our St James STARS afternoon. Please encourage your child/ren to enter one or more of the following categories- Baking, Lego, Art or Performance. Amazing raffle prizes have been sourced and these tickets have gone home with additional books available in the office.
On Sunday we are lucky to have been invited to Averley's playground launch. If you are available, call down and see us and enjoy the activities Averley are providing for us.
Emergency Management
On Thursday we will be having an evacuation drill. The purpose of these emergency management drills is to, as far as practical, ensure a calm, safe and timely response to any emergency, be that an evacuation, lock down, lock out or off site evacuation. From this point forward, our main evacuation point and shelter in place will be the hall. The hall provides us with a consistent, familiar, fully contained space which also provides us with access to water and toilets. Our off site evacuation point is the Nar Nar Goon Hotel, and we thank them for supporting us with this process. Staff are fully aware of their responsibilities and duty of care during emergency management. Our Incident Management Team consists of myself, Kathy, Bec Roche and Meg Watts. Communication during any event will come from this team.
To ensure our shelter in place is fit for purpose, the gas services will be decommissioned by the provider elgas, this week and replaced with alternative cooking, heating and cooling appliances over the Christmas holidays.
Please refer to the information below regarding our mandated responsibilities as a Bushfire at Risk Register (BARR) school.
2025 Planning
Based on a review of the Victorian Curriculum, school based curriculum planning and sequencing and feedback from students, parents and staff, we have tweaked our single subjects. In 2025 we will be offering Digi Tech, Visual Arts, Performing Arts, Japanese and Physical Education. Our future curriculum planning has a greater emphasis on Science, Technology and the revised Victorian Mathematics curriculum.
We are also in the phase of planning for class and staff structures. It is with some sadness that I share with you the transfer of Meg Watts to Columba, Bunyip. Meg has been a student, parent and much valued member of staff, with Meg's mother Jo, also having been a teacher here. We wish Meg well and support her decision to accept the move to a bigger school. Tanya Shave is also returning to her other school. Tanya has made a huge impact on our school and the teaching and resourcing of our Digi Tech curriculum. Thankfully, both Meg and Tanya are valued members of our Parish and broader community, so this is not farewell but a "see yah soon"!
It is that time of year where class structures need to be finalised. If you are aware of any families wishing to enrol at St James in any year level, please encourage them to contact the office asap.
Thank you to the families who have returned their World Teacher's Day page. We would love to see many more roll into the office.
Thank you also to the parents who were able to come to assembly last Friday, it was great to see so many parents there! Please note that there will be no assembly on October 25 due to our community STARS afternoon.
GOOD LUCK! To Amayah and Tom representing our school at Regional Athletics on Monday! We look forward to celebrating their successes with them.
Supporting future Educators-At St James and as a Catholic educational parish organisation, we are VERY excited to welcome three pre-service teachers who will be working under the very passionate and expert guidance of Julieanne, Loren and Shivonne. This is in addition to our employment of aspiring and pre-service teachers as Education Support Officers. This is a mark of our relentless support and sponsorship of future teachers, which is especially important in these unprecedented times of teacher shortages. These university placements will commence next week, please join with our staff in making them welcome.
Have a great week and enjoy this glorious weather! Bec
Term 4 2024 - Upcoming Events
| Date | Event | |
| Monday | 07/10/2024 | School Closure Day |
| Saturday | 19/10/2024 | Reconciliation Commitment Mass |
| Wednesday | 23/10/2024 | Reconciliation Workshop |
| Thursday | 24/10/2024 | Reconciliation Workshop |
| Friday | 25/10/2024 | St James STARS |
| Monday | 04/11/2024 | School Closure Day |
| Thursday | 05/12/2024 | Carols on the Green |
| Thursday | 12/12/2024 | Grade 6 Graduation |
| Friday | 13/12/2024 | End of Year Mass and Yr 6 Guard of Honour |
RE News
Pope Francis' Message for World Mission Sunday 2024
“Go and invite everyone to the banquet" (Matthew 20:9)
Pope Francis' message of inclusion raises the question of what unites us all and presents a valuable opportunity for growth and unity, as it requires everyone to open their hearts and minds to each other.
Guided by the Gospel, we can find answers to creating ways of inclusion and dialogue.
The Gospel is made to gather and not divide, to invite and not to exclude. This is the message Pope Francis shares, reminding everyone of the importance of sharing the Gospel and, above all, reaching out to all by inviting them to be part of the celebration we call “life,” as we all have a seat at the table.
At St James during Mission Month we will be:
Kicking goals for good
By supporting Catholic Mission Australia's 'Socktober' promotion.
Make your own sockball and be part of the journey!
The iconic symbol of Socktober is a tattered, recycled ball made of socks, t-shirts and plastic bags tied with string, representing the essence of the event.
Decades ago, a young boy named jorge Mario Bergoglio played with a similar ball on the streets of Buenos Aires. He later became Pope Francis, but he always cherished sport and had a special connection with children from impoverished communities through this shared experience.
Items Needed
To support the creation of 'sockballs' to be used at our fundraising Kick Off day (Friday October 18 - Term 4 Week 2) we are asking for help collecting:
| Plastic Bags | Packaging Paper |
| Bubble Wrap | String |
The tutorial below will help you see how we will be creating the 'sockballs' in our classrooms with these materials.
These items do not need to be purchased. We simply ask that if you have any spare bags/packaging going in the bin that you drop them off for our use instead.
Thankyou to the staff and families who have already been bringing donations in. It is greatly appreciated and we look forward to making our sockballs together next week after Mission Day Mass
Reconciliation
Emergency Management
As we approach warmer weather, we would like to share with you the arrangements in place for days that are rated Catastrophic.
St James is listed on the Bush Fire at Risk Register (BARR). This means that on days that are rated as Catastrophic the school will be required to close.
Where possible DOSCEL will notify St James Principal 4 - 7 days prior, to enable parents/carers and the community to be forewarned, however this may not always be possible.
Once the decision to close the school is made, it will not be altered, regardless of any changes in the weather forecast. This will assist in limiting confusion and help families plan for how their children will be cared for when the school is closed.
When the school is closed in response to bushfire or grassfire risk, no one, including staff, contractors and other users will be permitted on site.
In the event that the school is required to close for a period of time, Leadership and staff will consult and communicate with families on how student learning will continue.
School Fee Accounts
Final Fee Statements for 2024 have been issued to all families today. Please check your emails (including spam/junk email) for these statements.
As we approach the end of the year, we ask that all fee accounts are finalised. If you already have a payment arrangement in place, this arrangement will continue.
We ask that any outstanding fee balances are addressed as a matter of priority. If you have any concerns with the payment of your fees, please contact Bec Kollaris for a confidential conversation.
Parents & Friends News
STARS of St James
For catering purposes please complete the below link with how many family members will be attending on the night.
The P & F are also seeking parent helpers for the night. If you are able to assist please also indicate in the link below.
Every Day Counts
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
