Newsletter 5 March 2025
Principal's Message
Dear Families,
What an amazing event our Athletics Day was! The spirit of sportsmanship and genuine support for one another was commented on by several of our staff and families. Our children took up challenges and showed great determination and resilience. Thank you once again to our wonderful parent helpers, without you, we are unable to run such events and provide our children with such wonderful and diverse experiences.
Ribbons for field events and the overall winner will be presented at assembly on Friday.
Assembly will be held at the Flag Poles this week.
Thank you to the P&F for providing yummy pancakes for our children yesterday. The tradition of pancakes is significant as we enter what was traditionally a time of fasting. The Christian festival of Shrove Tuesday falls on the Tuesday before the beginning of Lent, a period of around six weeks leading up to Easter. Shrove Tuesday / Mardi Gras / Fat Tuesday was the time when all rich foods were used to make a feast and 'use up' these rich foods before beginning Lent. The day originates from the feast of Passover when Jews were in slavery in Egypt and Moses led them out into the wilderness.
And so, Today marks the beginning of our Lenten Journey to Easter. Below is a reflection from Pope Francis
The rite of the imposition of ashes on the foreheads of the faithful – which takes place during the liturgy at the beginning of Lent – marks the beginning of our “return journey” to God, Pope Francis said during his homily for the Mass of Ash Wednesday. The Holy Father explains that the imposition of ashes is an exhortation both to return to the truth about ourselves, and to return to God and to our brothers and sisters.
The Lord is God, we are the work of His hands
The ashes, he said, remind us of who we are, recalling the “essential truth of our lives: that the Lord alone is God and we are the work of His hands.” Lent, then, becomes a time to remember that we rely on God, and at the same time "set out on the path of charity, prayer, and fasting".
Kind regards, Bec Kollaris
Upcoming events
| Wednesday | 05/03/2025 | Ash Wednesday Mass (2.15pm) |
| Monday | 10/03/2025 | Labour Day Holiday |
| Friday | 21/03/2025 | Harmony Day (students to wear a splash of orange) Whole School Mass (no morning tea) |
| 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
Dear St James Families,
Please note next week the grade three and five students from st James will be completing NAPLAN testing.
Please see below Timetable for this year.
As a school we use student data to drive our planning to improve student outcomes and will therefore support our students by:
- revising curriculum content taught in literacy and numeracy
- share example NAPLAN questions
- discuss strategies needed to understand the formatting of NAPLAN questions
- discuss how to answer multiple choice questions
- practice answering questions using a Chromebook
- minimise student anxiety by maintaining school routines
- support students to do their best
If you have any questions or concerns about your child/ren sitting NAPLAN please do not hesitate to contact me.
Kind regards, Kathy Zandona
Naplan 2025 Timetable
| Date: | Wednesday 12 March 2025 | Thursday 13 March 2025 | Friday 14 March 2025 | Wednesday 19 March 2025 | Thursday 20 March 2025 | ||
| Time: | 9.15am | 9.15am | 11.45am | 9.15am | 11.45am | 9.00am | 9.00am |
| Test: | Writing | Reading | Writing Catch Up Session | Language Conventions | Numeracy | Numeracy, Reading & Language Conventions Catch Up Session | Numeracy, Reading & Language Conventions Catch Up Session |
| Year Level: | 3 and 5 | 3 and 5 | 3 and 5 | 3 and 5 | 3 and 5 | 3 and 5 | 3 and 5 |
RE News
Ash Wednesday (5th March 2025)
This Lent, we are called to Unite Against Poverty through Caritas Australia’s Project Compassion. By taking home a Project Compassion donation box or envelope, you’ll be answering the Gospels’ call to care for our global family and walk alongside the most vulnerable.
Your generous support this Lenten Season will enable Caritas Australia to provide life-changing support to communities facing poverty, food insecurity, lack of education, and water shortages, while building resilience against future challenges. Together, through faith and action, we can bring hope and opportunity to those most in need.
Our school fundraiser: Students will have now bought home their Project Compassion boxes. We ask students to collect as many coins as they can to contribute to their class coin line and the class with the longest coin line will win a hot chip lunch at the end of Term. We look forward to working together as a school community to support those in need and will continue to share Project Compassion updates in the coming weeks.
First Eucharist Families
Just a reminder that our Parent/Child workshop of First Communion is THIS WEDNESDAY 5th March at 5:30pm at Columba Catholic Primary School, Bunyip.
It will be hosted in the Learning Centre (5/6M classroom) so please enter via gate 2 upon arrival.
If you can't make it on Wednesday the session will be repeated on Thursday night at St John the Baptist Church in Koo Wee Rup.
Other dates to note:
Parent/Child Workshop
5 March, Columba, Bunyip at 5.30pm
6 March, St John’s, Koo Wee Rup at 5.30pm
Sacrament of First Eucharist
Saturday 29 March, St James, Nar Nar Goon at 5.00pm
Sunday 30 March, St John’s., Koo Wee Rup at 9.30am
Sunday 30 March, St Joseph’s, Iona at 11.00am
World Day of Prayer
The World Day of Prayer is a global ecumenical movement led by Christian women who welcome you to join in prayer and action for peace and justice. Through preparation and participation in the worship service, we can come to know how our sisters of other countries, languages and cultures understand the Biblical passages in their context. We can hear their concerns and needs and can feel ourselves in solidarity with them as we pray with and for them. In this way, it is possible to enrich our Christian faith as it grows deeper and broader in an international, ecumenical expression.
Friday 7th March 10:30am
St Joseph’s Iona 1215 Bunyip River Road
All Welcome
School Photos
School Photo Day is on Monday 31 March 2025.
Scholastic Book Club
Issue 2 orders will close on 24 March 2025.
Please note all orders must be completed online through the LOOP ordering service.
St James Parents & Friends Committee
Important Information
Both the PAM and Schoolzine Calendars have been updated with new information.
To access the Schoolzine calendar through the app you will be prompted to enter a password - James4011
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.
Communion Dresses
We have had a wonderful donation of two communion dresses from a parishoner of St James.
The dresses are both size 10.
If you are interested in viewing these dresses please contact the office.
