Newsletter 12 February 2025
Principal's Message
Last Friday, I was privileged to be invited to the Opening and Blessing of St Josephine Bakhita in Clyde North. It is an absolutely an amazing school where staff and students are so proud to belong. It is the 39th Catholic Primary School in the nation’s fastest growing Diocese in Australia.
St Josephine is the saint of modern-day slavery and human trafficking. St Josephine Bakhita was born into a well-to-do family of the Daju tribe of south-western Sudan. Her father was the brother of the village Chief. He owned a lot of land and had hired servants working for him. At the age of approximately seven years, Josephine was kidnapped by slave traders and consequently endured many years of physical, emotional and spiritual deprivation. Josephine continually searched for meaning in her experiences of life. When Josephine was placed by her mistress into temporary custody of the Canossian Daughters of Charity Religious Order (Canossian Sisters) in Venice, she discovered God for the first time. She gained her freedom while at the Convent and chose a life of service to the Religious Order, taking her vows in December 1896. For the next 42 years of her life, Josephine worked as a cook and a doorkeeper at the convent. She also travelled and visited other convents, telling her story to other sisters and preparing them for work in Africa. She was known for her gentle voice and smile.
St Joephine Bakhita’s vison and mission is as follows~
- Courage: to stand up for what is right, to take risks, and to persevere in the face of challenges
- Humility: to recognise our gifts and talents as blessings from God, and to use them in service to others
- Forgiveness: to let go of grudges, to show mercy, and to seek reconciliation
We had much going on yesterday! Our swimmers showed each other great support and encouragement as they tried out for district swimming. The next event for those who are successful will be next Thursday. I ask that families are patient in waiting for notification of successful students as their race times are reviewed so to be put into the appropriate event. A huge thankyou to Bec in the office for the countless hours of preparation in order to ensure a safe, well run event.
We were also visited by Collingwood Football Club. Our students had the opportunity to chat with and play team building activities, while being a little in awe of Steele Sidebottom, Jamie Elliot, Lachie Shultz, Billy Frampton, Ash Johnston and Ed Allan. We thank them and the Team from AFL Victoria for organising such and engaging event.
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 |
| Thursday | 03/04/2025 | 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
Dear St James families,
What a start we have had to the 2025 academic year! With one of our focuses for 2025 being on whole school planning, our educators have worked collaboratively to make our learning environments safe and predictable. This began with our unit 'Learning to Learn.' Students focused on our school wide expectations: respectful, responsible & safe and worked through what this looks like, feels like and sounds like at St James. I would like to thank families for booking and making time to bring their child/ren to the beginning of year assessments. It was a great opportunity for teaching staff to meet one to one with students from year one to six and to complete the Mathematics Assessment Interview and if time allowed a reading comprehension assessment. Our foundation students are currently completing one to one assessments with our foundation teacher Mrs. Trish Hermann. These assessments provide an indication on where each student is at academically and supports curriculum planning.
Student Progress Meetings: Our Student Progress Meetings (formerly parent teacher interviews) will be held on Tuesday 25th February between 3.40-6.00pm. and Thursday 27th February between 3.00-5.00pm. All students are asked to attend the progress meetings with their parent/s. Students will be given the opportunity to share something they have learnt or are proud of so far this year.
Please log into your PAM account (if you have not already) to make a booking time.
Parent Support Group Meetings: Commencing in week seven our PSG meetings will begin. This is an opportunity for our students who are on NCCD (Nationally Consistent Collection of Data) and require additional support to access the curriculum to meet and discuss term one/two goals. Families will be sent an invite if this applies to their child/ren.
RE News
2025 is a Jubilee Year
In the Catholic Church, a Jubilee is a special year of grace, forgiveness, and reconciliation. Celebrated every 25 years, it's a time for renewal and a deeper connection with God, others, and creation.
The Theme: "Pilgrims of Hope"
Pope Francis has chosen "Pilgrims of Hope" as the theme for the 2025 Jubilee. This theme invites us to:
- Renew our hope: To rediscover our faith and trust in God's plan for humanity.
- Embrace a vision of a better future: To work towards a world where everyone has access to the fruits of the earth and all of creation is respected.
- Recognize ourselves as "pilgrims on earth": To understand our role as stewards of creation and to live in harmony with the planet.
This Jubilee Year is an opportunity for us to deepen our relationship with God, to work for justice and peace, and to embrace a spirit of hope and renewal.
Insert video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yia25rOML2Q
Throughout the year our local parishes and school communities will be hosting events to celebrate the Jubilee year. I will share these details in the newsletter and at assemblies.
Upcoming Jubilee events:
Jubilee of Artists 23rd February
What: St Joseph’s Warragul and St Ita’s Drouin & St Ignatius Neerim South parishes are hosting the Diocesan Jubilee of Artists.
- Artists are invited to submit photographs of up to three art works which speak to the Jubilee theme ‘Pilgrims of Hope’. That is a church which brings about a New Creation where people can live in peace and justice.
- Artists are asked to include a brief profile of themselves and the impulse behind their works.
Why: Our contribution to Pope Francis’ Jubilee of Hope.
- That we may rejoice with gratitude at the creative insights artists bring to human life.
- That sacred art may reveal true beauty, a glimmer of the Spirit of God, which opens the human soul to a sense of the eternal.
Where: Marian Room at St Joseph’s Church, Warragul.
- Jubilee Celebration Mass at St Joseph’s 11 am,
- Bishop Greg’s blessing of the exhibition 12pm,
- shared lunch at Teachers Centre 1pm.
When:
- a) Photo of work(s) [and profile] submitted via email by 4pm Mon 10th Feb,
- b) delivery of work to Marian Room by 2pm Fri 21st Feb,
- c) Exhibition date – Sunday 23rd February 2025
How: Exhibits of paintings, sculpture and other mediums as selected by the Committee need to be delivered to the Marian Room between 10am and 2pm on Thursday 20th Feb and Friday 21st Feb.
The Committee will mount and display one work from each contributor. (easels welcomed)
Adam Wallace Visit
On Monday morning we had the pleasure of being entertained by Adam Wallace. Adam is a wonderful local author who has written many children's books. He has a great sense of humour and kept all our students engaged while modelling how we can develop ideas for writing from simple beginnings. The student were given the opportunity to draw a number of cartoon characters and have their books signed by Adam.
School Photos
School Photo Day is on Monday 31 March 2025.
School Choir
Garden Club
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
This week across the school, students have begun The Resilience Project lessons in class. Hopefully they have come home with some interesting news or stories to share about what they have been doing in class!
If you haven't already had a chance to look at the TRP@home hub shared last week in the newsletter, I encourage you to do so.
The hub also has a terrific video for parents and carers which gives background information on The Resilience Project, sharing the 'Dis' story of Stanzin. Please follow the link below or copy it into a browser to watch and gain an understanding of some of the stories shared with students.
St James Photography Permission 2025
Throughout the year students may be photographed or videoed. Please indicate on the below form your preferences regarding how/when your child can/not be photographed or videoed. This form MUST be completed for each student.
If you wish to discuss this further, please contact Bec Kollaris for a confidential discussion.
Thank you to those families that have already completed the form.
Fee Statements
Fees have now been raised to family accounts and statements and information will be sent home today with children.
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
