2 November 2020

Newsletter Articles

Our Mission @ SJM

St James’ Primary School community excel in education through living and learning in Christ.

Principal’s Message

How glorious has the rain been? Rain really does refresh and renew, not just the grass and the paddocks, but sometimes our minds and hearts. I know I have loved sitting outside just watching and listening to the rain.

As you would know, one of our key focuses this year at SJM has been to improve student writing, especially in relation to writing persuasive and narrative texts. As part of this focus, we have been part of a professional learning program called ‘Leading Learning Collaborative.’ Facilitated by Lyn Sharrat our focus has been on leadership, collaborative learning, and student achievement.

Shared knowledge between educators generates shared success in schools. As a school we have placed high importance of coming together to boost student achievement and build teacher capacity to learn, teach and lead. During professional learning, our staff have uncovered 14 essential parameters to guide our school forward to become a powerful collaborative learning culture. As a school we need to know the ‘FACES’ of every child in the school, not just in our own classroom. This is important as a school community to ensure continuous improvement.

Last Thursday, the executive and myself presented to Lyn, other schools, as well as members of the Catholic Schools Office, our Leading, Learning, Collaborative journey so far. We shared our success, of which there are many. We also shared our future, how we ensure collaborative practices remain at SJM to ensure continuous improvement.

This has been an incredible team effort by all of our teaching staff. Thank you to all and I believe it is fair to say…. WATCH THIS SPACE.

Year 5 Leadership Interviews – The Process from Here

Last week Mrs Hall and I interviewed thirty-two students who have nominated for a student leadership position at SJM in 2021.

We asked them two questions:

• Why would you be a good leader at SJM?
• Which of your character strengths will you use as a leader at SJM and how?

We were very impressed will all of these students’ responses. In particular, the following responses were recorded about character strengths:

• Honesty – “If you lie, you’ll never succeed at anything.”
• Leadership
  - “As a leader I show others the way.”
  - “I want to lead with a positive example.”
• Fairness – “Treat others as you want to be treated.”
• Kindness – “I want to help all students feel comfortable at school.”
• Bravery – “As a leader I sometimes have to do things that I’m not good at or not used to.”
• Social Intelligence – “As a leader I want to connect with other people and work as a team.”

Pretty impressive, huh?!

From here we will be conducting interviews in Week 7:

• School Captains – Tuesday 24th November
• Sports Captains – Wednesday 25th November

At this stage I cannot confirm how parents will be able to be a part of these days. At this stage we will prepare for a ZOOM or Microsoft Teams event, however, we may even have permission to have parents onsite by this stage. I will keep you in the loop.

I would like to thank our Year 5 students for their efforts so far and look forward to their speeches in Week 7.

Changes to Kindergarten Transition & Year 6 Graduation Mass

We are pleased to announce that we been about to change our plans for Kindergarten Transition and the Year 6 Graduation Mass because of the easing of COVID-19 restrictions.

Transition

It is great that we can offer face-to-face Kindergarten transition this term. These will take place with our Kindergarten Teachers, Mrs Donna Smitha and Mrs Jane Jacobs on Monday 16th November and Thursday 19th November.

We cannot wait to welcome these students to SJM. It should be a fun few days!

Graduation Mass

We are also able to celebrate a special Year 6 Graduation Mass with Fr Victor and two parents from each family. This will take place on Tuesday 8th December.

This, too, is great news that will allow us to celebrate the students and their achievements as they graduate from SJM.

Teaching Positions

I would like to announce that Mrs Clare Collett and Mrs Trishelle Threadgate have been appointed to the two temporary teaching positions at SJM in 2021. We are excited to have you as part of our school community gain next year.

It is with sadness that we farewell Miss Elissa Pryke. Elissa has accepted a teaching position in Newcastle, which is closer to home. We thank Elissa for the valuable contributions she has made at SJM this year and wish her all the best in the next chapter of her teaching career.

Cheers
Arron Moon
Principal

Quote

The Beatitudes

Blessed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5: 3-12

Religion

All Saints

The Communion of Saints includes each of us who are pilgrims on the way on earth; it includes those undergoing purification and who are helped by our prayers; and it includes those who enjoy the glory of God and who intercede for us. So, those of us who are on the way, despite how imperfect we may be, all have the opportunity to attain heaven: and anyone in heaven is a saint.

We often think of saints as being perfect, and so we think that, for us, it is just about unobtainable.

However, what we honour in the Saints is often only the final chapter in their history, and we forget that they too were human. Thomas doubted; Peter denied; Paul persecuted; Augustine prayed, “Lord make me chaste, but not yet.’ Magdalene was a prostitute; Oliver Plunkett, the latest Irish Saint, was overbearing, arrogant, and temperamental; the good thief spent his life hurting others, until the final moment.

Our Saints are a mixed bag of weak, human, and vulnerable men and women, who had to confront and overcome all the things we do ourselves. So, let’s be careful when tempted to criticise someone, because we may be talking about a Saint. Each of the Beatitudes – which are a blueprint for living the Christian life – involves a choice, a choice for ourselves, not for what we want others to be, rather what we want ourselves to be. Blessed are those who choose to be simple in the midst of plenty; blessed are those who choose to be peaceful in a warring world; blessed are those who choose to be gentle in an aggressive culture; those who choose to be merciful in an uncaring time; those who choose to be just in an unjust land; those who choose to be detached in a consumer oriented society.

A man once said, ‘When I was young, my prayer was, “Lord, give me the energy to change the world,” When I reached middle-age and realised that half my life had gone without me changing a single thing, my prayer became, “Lord, give me the Grace to just change my family and friends,” Now I am old, I’ve begun to see how foolish I’ve been and my prayer is, “Lord, give me the Grace to change myself,” If only I’d prayed this right from the start, I wouldn’t have wasted my life.’

If we prayer this prayer, then like the wise old man, we’ll be able to look at the final chapter of our own history and, like those who are canonised, become one with them in heaven.

What does the Communion of Saints mean to you?

Sunday Gospel reflection is taken from St Vincent de Paul Society Spiritual Reflection guide written be Greg Ryan

The SJM Staff Retreat on Friday 23 October, allowed all staff to stop and acknowledge Pope Francis’ latest encyclical Laudato Si. Laudato Si was published in 2015 and is Pope Francis’ call for an integral ecology. His message was set within the context of the creation story from Genesis, an ancient story that reminds us of our responsibility and place in creation as stewards of the earth. Pope Francis reminds us that the earth is our common home, a home shared by humans and all the creatures of the world, a home for the future generations. We are called to care and protect this vital resource. Humanity has made incredible advances in science and technology and Pope Francis acknowledges this growth, however he signifies an imbalance in our relationship with creation and this imbalance has made it difficult to hear the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor. During this time the SJM Staff were given time to read, reflect and listen to the heartbeat of creation.

What a wonderful day our St. James’ community had last Friday with celebrating the wonderful crazy socks that we have. Socktober is an annual event that raises funds for Catholic Mission. Sonja Krivacic, Community Engagement Innovator at Catholic Mission, says Socktober allows students, parents and teachers to put mission into action. “Mission and social justice are about overcoming inequality. The Socktober initiative builds brides between students in Australia and their peers around the world,’ says Ms Krivacic. The Mini Vinnies students are encouraged by all families and friends who continue to donate to Catholic Mission.

During 2020, our St James’ community has not been able to experience our Community and Mission Day fundraising activities. These activities raised vital funds for Catholic Mission, Caritas Australia and other community needs. The Mini Vinnies students have come up with some fund-raising ideas that will continue to raise funds for the important work that these agencies undertake. Some activities that will be happening are selling Zooper Doopers, our Christmas Hampers and a raffle to be Principal for a day!

May your lamp burn brighter and stronger

Mrs Jane Jacobs
Religious Education Coordinator

Assistant Principal

Wandering around the classrooms over the past couple of weeks has been such a pleasure. It has been wonderful watching the students engaging in their learning. The look of joy on the faces when they achieve something that is a little difficult brings me so much joy. Keep up the great work everyone!

Tell Them From Me Survey

Thank you to all of the parents who took the time to answer the questions in our recent survey. The survey has now closed and we are waiting for the results. We hope to share these results with you shortly. Once we have the results, the school’s executive will use your feedback, as well as the feedback from students and teachers to help us plan for 2021 and beyond.

Learning Walks and Talks

As part of our continuous journey of improvement, we are always looking for ways that we can work with our students and teachers to find new ways to assist students to achieve their goals and outcomes for their grade of learning. This term, the school’s executive (Mr Moon, Mrs Hall, Mrs Jacobs and Miss Hand) have started Learning Walks and Talks. This process involves each of us walking into a classroom and picking a student to sit with while they are learning. We aim to see what they know and understand about their learning. During the process, we ask the student the following questions.

• What are you learning? Why?
• How are you doing?
• How do you know how you are doing?
• How can you improve?
• Where do you go for help?

After we leave the room, we have a quick chat about what we observed. All of these observations are collated and we start to work out a plan for making things better. We are looking forward to continuing this until the end of the year, as it is great to sit with students and talk to them about their learning … they are always insightful and engaging conversations.

NURTURING YOUNG MINDS

This week we look at a chapter from the book “Nurturing Young Minds” about sleep habits.

Does your child have difficulty sleeping? Are you wondering whether your child is sleep deprived? There are a couple of questions that you can reflect on to help you find out.

• Question 1 – Does your child have big weekend sleep-ins?
• Question 2 – Are they difficult to wake up and get out of bed on school mornings?

If you answer yes to one or both of these questions, then you most likely have a sleep deprived child on your hands. The big weekend sleep-ins represent ‘catch up sleep’ from insufficient sleep during the week. Difficulties getting out of bed on school mornings represent a lack of sleep, and possibly the start of a late body clock (which is often connected with teenagers who want to stay up late).

Adequate, good quality sleep is one of the pillars upon which health is optimised in childhood. Additionally, good quality sleep is an important buffer against mood and learning problems. As our 24/7 world becomes busier, and increasingly electronically connected, our opportunity to sleep decreases, and so sleep deprivation is becoming more common. The effects of sleep deprivation go way beyond simple tiredness, resulting in multiple physical and mental health problems. This long list of flow-on effects from sleep deprivation includes:

• Impaired classroom learning
• Mood and behavioural disturbances
• Increased risk-taking behaviours
• Emotional fragility
• Poor choices
• Reduced performance in things they love to do
• Lowered self-esteem
• Poor coping with stress
• Reduced school attendance
• Elevated risk of anxiety and depression

If I had the power and magical cleverness to do it, this is what I would do … I would lengthen our current 24 hour day by three or four hours. We could all enjoy a 27 hour day. This would allow busy kids to comfortably fit in all their daily activities and still have time to sleep. Seeing this is not possible, here are some real-world solutions for parents.

Have a chat to your child about the power of a good sleep routine. Often sleep is a low-priority activity and is not valued by most children. Therefore, just having a chat can help create the increased opportunity for an increased amount of sleep time. Don’t have this chat late at night when everyone’s emotions are running high.

Establish a pre-sleep routine. Suggest a couple of routine relaxing activities in the thirty minutes before bedtime. Going to bed immediately after undertaking brain-alerting activities means that the brain is not in the mood for sleep, and so thoughts race through the brain after the lights go out. Sleep is then hard to achieve and this may induce further worry and anxiety. A warm bath before bed might help relax your child, or the reading of a book or have you tried listing to quiet music? Whatever you choose to do, always do it in the same order, as these pre-sleep routines tell the brain that sleep is coming soon.

Retrain the brain. This one is pretty simple, but not always easy. You need to make sure bed time and lights out occur at the same time each night.

Avoid having digital devices in the bedroom. The best way to address this is to have a talk with your child about night time electronic screen use. This is likely to be an unpopular conversation, however, it is an important conversation to have. Electronic screen time is very hard to change, as the devices are great fun and extremely addictive.

As sleep slowly improves, you will hopefully see better moods, increased energy levels, and sleep-ins will lessen in duration. Using the above strategies long-term builds resilient sleep, which is not then compromised when the inevitable next stress comes along.

GOOD HAND HYGIENE

We are continuing to focus on good hand washing here at school. We include the poster that is displayed at each of our hand washing sinks. It would be appreciated if you could discuss the importance of good hand hygiene with your family.

BIKES AND WALKERS

With the increased number of families using the bikes and walkers line, we have increased the number of teachers on that duty so that we can keep an eye on the students and who they are walking or riding with. These teachers have noticed an increased number of younger students walking away from the school grounds by themselves. We ask that all infants’ students are walking or riding with either an older sibling or adult. These younger students are not to be walking or riding by themselves to meet you up the path or around the corner. We ask that you meet your child at the bikes and walkers gate and escort them up the path. We will keep them safe with us at the gate until you can make your way to us. We ask this to keep all members of our community safe.

ABSENCES FROM SCHOOL

Thank you to everyone who has been following the guidelines to ‘stay away if you’re unwell’. It is important that you listen to your child if they tell you that they are feeling unwell. If you decide to keep your child at home, you need to explain your child’s absence to the school. This can be done via the school’s Compass app, a note to the teacher, or a phone call to the school office. Please explain the absence as soon as you can so that we can keep our records up to date. This is a legal requirement, and we must follow up any unexplained absences.

Please note – when using the Compass parent portal to explain an absence, please do not add an absence note if you are collecting your child early from school. You will be signing your child out at the front office, so there is no need to add an attendance note on the app as well. The Compass parent portal should only be used to explain whole day absences. Finally, please do not use the option for “Natural disaster” when explaining your child’s absence. The natural disaster reason can only be used for fires, floods and the like. Sleeping in or missing the bus is not a natural disaster!

It is a condition of enrolment that you send your child to school every day. A small number of absences may be justified. If your child has a record of continued poor attendance, we will contact you to check on your child’s wellbeing, and we may even send home a note asking that we work together to ensure attendance at school improves. The Catholic Schools Office will get involved if your child’s attendance record doesn’t improve.

We are here to help, so please contact the school if you are having difficulties getting your child to attend school every day.

Shannon Hall
Assistant Principal

Primary Coordinator

Welcome back to our final term of 2020. What a year we have had so far!

Dates to Remember:

• Wednesday 4th November – ‘Colour Your Threads for Pos Ed’
• Week 5 – Wellbeing Week

Colour Your Threads for Pos Ed

Pos. Ed Book Club:

What’s next on my list? There are far too many!

The latest book I have purchased is ‘The Happiest Man on Earth’ by Eddie Jaku. Judging by the reviews, it looks like a fabulous and inspirational read!

Life can be beautiful if you make it beautiful. It is up to you.

Eddie Jaku always considered himself a German first, a Jew second. He was proud of his country. But all of that changed in November 1938, when he was beaten, arrested and taken to a concentration camp.

Over the next seven years, Eddie faced unimaginable horrors every day, first in Buchenwald, then in Auschwitz, then on a Nazi death march. He lost family, friends, his country.

Because he survived, Eddie made the vow to smile every day. He pays tribute to those who were lost by telling his story, sharing his wisdom and living his best possible life. He now believes he is the 'happiest man on earth'.

Published as Eddie turns 100, this is a powerful, heartbreaking and ultimately hopeful memoir of how happiness can be found even in the darkest of times.

About the Author

Eddie Jaku OAM, was born Abraham Jakubowicz in Germany in 1920. In World War 2, Eddie was imprisoned in Buchenwald and Auschwitz concentration camps. In 1945, he was sent on a 'death march' but escaped. Finally, he was rescued by Allied soldiers. In 1950 he moved with family to Australia where he has lived since. Eddie has volunteered at the Sydney Jewish Museum since its inception in 1992. Edie has been married to Flore for 74 years. They have two sons, grandchildren and great grandchildren. In 2020 Eddie celebrates his 100th birthday.

If you have read anything lately that you think would feature well in our Pos Ed Book Club, I would love to hear about it. Please send me an email at eloise.hand@mn.catholic.edu.au.

Strengths Spotlight #10: HOPE

(from the Institute of Positive Education)

• Optimism, future-mindedness, and future orientation
• Being optimistic and having confidence something can be done to create a brighter future

Hope is a strength which is closely related to other strengths of Transcendence, including Gratitude and Spirituality. These strengths are about connecting to something bigger than ourselves.

What does a focus on Hope look like in your world today? Can you ask the other members of your household to look out for and share examples of hope and optimism?

Some suggested Hope activities

• Read a hopeful story book, or watch a Youtube video of someone else reading one.
• Share excitement with people in your life about things you are looking forward to.
• Draw a picture of what hope feels like.
• Write a list of things they feel hopeful for, and identify ways they might achieve these things.
• Write down something challenging, and some hopeful things about the situation.
• Identify a previous challenge and how you overcame it.
• Identify the use of hope and optimism around you.

Try These Three Things

Children's Book
Wisp: A Story of Hope, Zara Fraillon
Practice
Best Possible Self  meditation and visualisation exercise
Movie
Hook  (1991)

New Ways November

Covid is restricting our lives, but we can find new ways to keep making progress. Trying out new things can actually boost our well-being. When we open up to new ideas, it helps us stay curious and engaged. It can also bring a sense of accomplishment and help to boost our self-confidence and resilience. There are so many ways to learn new things and this month we're encouraging everyone to find new and creative ways to overcome our frustrating situations.

Swap It Lunch Program Tip

Quote of the Week:

“Self-care is giving the world the best you instead of what’s left of you” - Unknown

Stay safe, calm and kind,

Miss Eloise Hand
Primary Coordinator & Lead Teacher of Positive Education

Awards

Class News

ES1

Kindergarten have, over the past week, had their first experience of participating in our whole-school assessment program. They are to be commended on both the maturity which they have shown in their approach to these tasks and the persistence they displayed in completing the work.

Kindergarten have also begun to learn our selected dance routines in preparation for sharing these with you soon. We are having a lot of fun mastering the moves and are excited to see what the other classes present.

In Mathematics, we are looking at the ways in which data is collected and recorded. Kindergarten students are encouraged to collect data on topics of interest at home e.g. How many different types of bugs are there in my garden? What is the most popular food in my family?

Mrs Donna Smith and Mrs Marina Norton

Stage 1

In Health this term, Stage 1 will be covering a unit called Safe Decisions, Healthy Choices. Students will recognise the actions they need to take to keep themselves safe and promote their health in a variety of contexts. They will recognise the factors that influence their decisions and how they change over time.

In Physical Education this term, students will be learning about Movement Exploration. They will participate in a range of activities to build specific fundamental movement skills in both locomotor and non-locomotor areas. They will develop in the areas such as body awareness, balance, patterns of movement (travelling) and jumping/rolling. They will perform skills and sequences and participate in activities with an awareness of safe practices.

In Mathematics, Year 1 have been learning about 3D objects. They have been able to identify and name 3D objects including cones, cubes, cylinders, spheres, and prisms. Year 1 have also been learning about 2D shapes. They are able to identify and name two-dimensional shapes presented in different orientations according to their number of sides, including using the terms, triangle, pentagon, hexagon and octagon Year 1 are learning to distinguish between objects, which are 'three-dimensional' (3D), and shapes, which are 'two-dimensional' (2D), and describe the differences informally.

In Mathematics Year 2 are reviewing a variety of strategies explicitly taught last term, to solve further addition and subtraction problems. Subtraction will be a focus area.

In Geography, Year 2 have started creating their world globe using paper mache. We look forward to the end result.

A reminder that there will be an extra Sport day on Friday’s this term where we will all be learning amazing skills in soccer.

We hope everyone has enjoyed the rain.

Be kind to yourself and to others,

Miss Eloise Hand, Miss Emma Beletich, Miss Elissa Pryke and Miss Jane Boyle

Stage 2

Stage Two are powering through the term. They have worked exceptionally hard to master the Nutbush for their Dance Performance and the teachers couldn’t be prouder. It has been a magnificent effort to bring all three Stage 2 classes together to practise and perform the dance. We are sure you’ll agree that this has been a massive effort.

We are continuing to work through our PD/H/PE unit on growth and change and we thank you for your support at home to discuss these lessons with your children.

In Science we have been enjoying taking part in some experiments around making things move. We cannot wait to see is any children make their boat transportation designs at home in the coming weeks. All classes are very engaged with the hands-on Science and Technology lessons that have taken place so far this term.

Finally, we have been taking part in some whole school assessments. The children are to be commended on their behaviour and perseverance during these times. Congratulations Stage 2. We are proud of you!

Mrs Trishelle Threadgate, Mrs Jane Dengate and Mrs Donna-Maree Watt

Stage 3

Stage 3 have been working diligently these last few weeks with an exciting term ahead of us. In Religion students have been exploring the unit ‘Beliefs’ and delving into what it means in our Catholic faith. Students have had the opportunity to design a school crest and motto incorporating a range of Catholic symbols, it has been wonderful to see the creativity of students shine through.

Students have also continued to develop their persuasive writing skills and refined their ability to identify and incorporate verbs, modality, emotive language, and rhetorical questions into their writing. We have read some very convincing arguments!

In PDH we have been looking at the unit ‘Safe Me, Safe You’ and the ways we can look after our own personal safety. Students were able to identify potential hazards of a variety of different environments and ways that we can minimise these risks.

Mrs Jane Jacobs, Mrs Rebecca Harrod, Mrs Clare Collett and Miss Lauren Osborne

Public Speaking

The St James Public Speaking Competition looked very different this year. Instead of competing against students from other classes, each child competed in an internal class competition. The standard of speeches was very high this year, and we congratulate the following runners-up and winners.

Library News

Book Week

Whilst COVID-!9 changed the format of our Book Character Parade, the students still had fun dressing up as their favourite character and parading around the courtyard. Congratulations to the students, parents and teachers of St James’, who put such a wonderful effort into making costumes and dressing up for our Book Week Parade.

All students who entered the parade had their name put in a draw. Congratulations to the following students who won a prize:

Happy Reading!

Lisa Wilson
Teacher Librarian
Nadene Douglas
Library Assistant

Let’s Yabber

Our St James’ NAIDOC is fast approaching & the final preparations are well underway. This will be held on Thursday 12th November-Week 5. Each year we celebrate, along with the rest of the nation, the world’s oldest living culture. This year the students will be immersed in a day of activities based on the theme ‘Always Was, Always Will Be’.

*Students are encouraged to come out of uniform on the day dressed in clothing representing the colours of the Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander flag or indigenous designs. Joggers will be an essential footwear for the day.

Unfortunately we are unable to invite our parents, friends and members of our local Aboriginal community to participate with us this year due to our Covid-19 restrictions. Thankfully, due to the wonders of modern technology, we will be able to have some special guests in classrooms and hopefully share parts of the day with you.

Our Bush Tucker lunch orders have gone home with each student and were due today, Monday 2nd November. If for some reason your child did not receive theirs and would like to place an order please contact me ASAP via tania.thompson@mn.catholic.edu.au.

Looking forward to sharing our NAIDOC with you

Mrs Tania Thompson
Aboriginal Education Teacher

St. James’ P & F Association

P&F Committee Contacts