7 June 2021

Newsletter Articles

Our Mission @ SJM

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

Prayer Reflection

Prayer for our School

All loving God,
We give you our school,
We give You all the teachers and staff who work here.
We give You all the children who study here.
We pray our school would be a place of great discovery, adventure and creativity.
May it be a place where we love to learn and where we learn to love.
A place where everyone is respected, and all are deeply valued.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen

Principal’s Message

It was great to see so many faces on Friday 28th for our Catholic Schools Week celebrations at SJM.

Thank you for coming along, in numbers, to share this opportunity to come together in a community and celebrate the great things that are happening within Catholic Schools across Australia, especially SJM.

As part of our Catholic Schools Week, we celebrated 200 years of Catholic Education in Australia. We have come a long way since Fr John Therry founded the first Catholic School at Parramatta in 1820.

Did you know?

• Over 200 years, Catholic schools have grown to become the largest provider of schooling in Australia (outside government) with one in five school age students attending a Catholic school.
• This represents 777,000 students in 1,755 schools across the country and employing over 100,000 teachers and staff.
• Nearly 40 per cent of Catholic schools are located outside of metropolitan cities in regional, rural and remote communities.

I worked in Bourke and Cobar from 2002 – 2008. Having seen the remoteness of Australia as a teacher then, I cannot Imagine how the Josephite and Mercy Sisters travelled out to these remote areas in the 1800’s and early 1900’s to teach our youth. I am proud of our history in Catholic Education, yet I am extremely excited for our future. We have a lot to be thankful for that is for sure.

I know that I am incredibly proud and thankful for the staff we currently have at SJM. They really do go above and beyond for your children….. our children.

Please take the time to have a look at some of the photos from the day.

Canberra Excursion – PACER

Students from our school will soon be undertaking an education tour of the national capital. Students will be given the opportunity to participate in a variety of educational programs with a focus on Australia’s history, culture, heritage and democracy.

The Australian Government recognises the importance of all young Australians being able to visit the national capital as part of their Civics and Citizenship education. To assist families in meeting the cost of the excursion the Australian Government is contributing funding of $45.00 per student under the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate program towards those costs. The rebate is paid directly to the school upon completion of the excursion.

The Federal Government has increased this payment for 2021 by 50%. This is a generous increase to the rebate.

As some families have already paid the excursion in full, we have decided that the school will pay for all of the meals for our students on the last night of the excursion.

Resignation – Mr Aldo Rufo

I would like to let you know that Mr Aldo Rufo has resigned from his position as 5/6M classroom teacher.

Mr Rufo will conclude his role at the end of Term 2, Friday 25th June.

I would like to thank Aldo for working as part of the SJM community and wish him all the very best.

Keep Up to Date

Schools are very busy places with lots going on. Unfortunately, at times, our plans change too and we need to let you know. These are the list of key places to find information:

1. Newsletter on Schoolzine
2. Class Newsletters each term
3. School Events Calendar on Schoolzine
4. COMPASS Notifications and emails
5. Facebook.

Please keep up to date with what is happening @ SJM.

Religion

It was wonderful to share our Catholic Schools Week liturgy with families. It is especially wonderful to see all the students reverently listening to all readings and prayers based around the celebration of 200 years of Catholic Education.

SJM Mini Vinnies Lego Masters Competition

Mini Vinnies students created a Lego Masters competition and this allowed students from across the school to show their creative flair with creating an original piece of lego. Students were able to use pieces of lego from different sets but needed to create an original design.

Thank you to our judges Mrs Watt, Mrs Thompson, Mrs Gavin and Mr Moon for taking on the challenging task of selecting one winner. Mrs Ballard and I were extremely proud of all entries and blown away by the creativity of all creation. The winner for each stage were:

Early Stage One winner is Brock Forster
Stage One winner is Darcy Norman
Stage Two winner is Sonny Ward
Stage Three is Cameron Watt

Thank you to Pete’s Pizza from Aberdeen who donated the four gift vouchers for our winners.

Sacramental Program

The St. James’ Parish Sacramental Program is progressing well with students working through the Confirmation module. This week students have looked at the Fruits of the Spirit and brainstormed people who show these in their lives. Can you think of someone in your life that displayed these Fruits of the Spirit?

Please keep the families and the candidates in your prayers as they continue their faith journey.

Mrs Jane Jacobs
Religious Education Coordinator

Office of Safeguarding

The Children and Young Person’s (Care and Protection) Act 1998

Parents need to be aware that as teachers in the state of NSW we are required by law to report certain information to the Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ). Reports to the Child Protection Helpline (Ph. 132 111, 24 hrs/7 days) must be made where we have reasonable grounds to suspect that a child or young person is at risk of significant harm and our concerns are current. Risk of significant harm may occur from a single act or omission or to a series of acts or omissions.

We can get help to determine whether we need to report by using the DCJ online Mandatory Reporters Guide:

We can also contact the Office of Safeguarding (Ph. 4979 1390 Mon-Fri). Information about the roles and functions of the Office of Safeguarding can be found here:

Assistant Principal

Staff Professional Learning day – The Assessment Waterfall

On Monday 31 May, the staff worked together to investigate the many aspects of the assessment waterfall. We understand that knowing each of these aspects will allow us to continue to improve outcomes for the students we work with every day.

Assessment takes many forms and is done throughout the teaching and learning cycle. Teachers refer to three types of assessment:

• Assessment FOR Learning – takes place before learning occurs and helps a teacher determine a student’s interests and their readiness for learning.
• Assessment AS Learning – takes place during the learning and is ongoing. These tasks help provide feedback to students to help them improve and helps the teacher to inform their next options for learning.
• Assessment OF Learning – takes place after the learning. These tasks are summative and assist the teacher to make judgement of a student’s achievement. These tasks also assist the teacher to make appropriate decisions about further learning that needs to take place in the next unit of work.

The Big Ideas and Essential Questions – The big ideas are at the core of teaching and learning and make concepts understandable. They must be woven throughout the teaching and learning cycle. It is critical that teachers and students make the links to real-world relevance so that students not only know what they are learning, but why they are learning it. Essential questions are thought provoking and ask the students to think deeply.

Learning Intentions – come directly from the NSW syllabus documents and help the students answer the question “why are we learning this?” A learning intention is a statement pf what they are learning and why they are learning it. Teachers need to be sure this is clear to all students.

Success Criteria – must be clear and visible in the classroom and easily understood by the students. They paint a picture for the students of what is truly essential learning that will be assessed. Success Criteria start with the statement “I can …”

Winter hygiene

As we come into the colder weather, I thought it might be time to remind everyone of important winter hygiene practices, including nose picking and disposing of tissues into the bin. It would be great if you could work with us, by having a chat with your children about the importance of hygiene and the potential spread of germs if we don’t keep our hands clean. We are encouraging lots of hand washing or use of hand sanitiser here at school, so please build this into your conversation and remind your child that this is an important part of the process to keep everyone well.

Illness and absences

Just a reminder that we ask you to keep your child at home if they are unwell. We have lots of students coming to school with coughs and colds, as well as complaints of tummy aches and headaches. If you know your child is unwell, please do not send them to school. We ask that you keep your child at home until they are well enough to return to school. Our COVID safe practices still require you to have a COVID test done if your child is displaying those COVID type symptoms, and provide us with a copy of the negative result before returning to school. If your child has a tummy bug, we ask that you keep your child at home at least 24 hours after the symptoms have ceased. If your child is absent due to illness, we ask you to add the attendance note via Compass, or call or email the school to let us know so that we can add the attendance note for you.

Life Education Van

A little notice for your diary. We have booked the Life Education Van to visit our school in Term 3 (Thursday 5 August to Wednesday 11 August). Each of our classes will be timetabled to visit Healthy Harold in the van, which will be parked here at school for the week. We will also have a small amount of Healthy Harold merchandise for you to purchase if you are interested. Stay tuned for the details.

Next Pupil Free Day

For your diary – Our next Pupil Free Day will be held on Friday 25th June. Our focus will be the faith formation of our staff. Parents are asked to find alternate care for their child on that date, as all staff will be attending this day.

Shannon Hall
Assistant Principal

Primary Coordinator

GROW YOUR MIND

MINDFULNESS

Mental health and wellbeing is important as it underpins the way children feel about themselves, how they think, learn, and relate to others. With good mental health, research shows children are happier, more confident, more resilient learners and able to build positive relationships.

Good mental health in childhood sets young people up for positive mental health in the future. Mindfulness is a state of being fully awake to life; being aware and undistracted in the present moment and observing life as it unfolds without analysis or judgment. It is about focusing attention on the here and now, rather than thinking about the past or worrying about the future.

There are so many ways to practice mindfulness.

We teach kids to do it with simple breathing techniques, meditation, eating, pausing before reacting, a gratitude practice and more. We teach adults the same and add in: where can you stop rushing? Is it possible to pop your phone away while you are talking to someone?

Mindfulness is one of many ways to look after your mental health. Relax if meditation makes you want to run a mile. Be curious and see what helps you to NOT miss the main event... which is NOW!

A fantastic FREE resource that we use in our classrooms at school is SMILING MINDS. You can download the app and use it with your children at home. There are even a number of sleep meditations that can be used if your child has difficulty falling asleep. I really encourage you to check it out!

Meaningful May

This month's theme is all about finding the joy in life, even when things are difficult. Research has shown that experiencing positive emotions in a 3-to-1 ratio with negative ones leads to a tipping point beyond which we naturally become more resilient to adversity. So let's train our brains to find the joy.

Wellbeing Week

In Week 6, we held Wellbeing Week at St. James’. Statistics show that Week 6 and 7 each term are the weeks where many students and staff are sick and run down.

Check out the amazing timetable of activities that we had happening during Wellbeing Week at SJM!

A special THANK YOU goes to all teachers who offered to run an activity in their classroom during their lunch break.

The students appeared to really enjoy the week. Check out the photos below.

Good for Kids, Good for Life

Pos Ed Book Club

Atomic Habits:
An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones

By: James Clear
A revolutionary system to get 1 per cent better every day

People think when you want to change your life, you need to think big. But world-renowned habits expert James Clear has discovered another way. He knows that real change comes from the compound effect of hundreds of small decisions – doing two push-ups a day, waking up five minutes early, or holding a single short phone call.

He calls them atomic habits.

In this ground-breaking book, Clears reveals exactly how these minuscule changes can grow into such life-altering outcomes. He uncovers a handful of simple life hacks (the forgotten art of Habit Stacking, the unexpected power of the Two Minute Rule, or the trick to entering the Goldilocks Zone), and delves into cutting-edge psychology and neuroscience to explain why they matter. Along the way, he tells inspiring stories of Olympic gold medalists, leading CEOs, and distinguished scientists who have used the science of tiny habits to stay productive, motivated, and happy.

These small changes will have a revolutionary effect on your career, your relationships, and your life.

If a book is not for you, watch the following clip from James Clear on Why habits are the “compound interest” of self-improvement:

Thought of the week:

Choose kindness, always.

Miss Eloise Hand
Primary Coordinator & Lead Teacher of Positive Education

Awards

Class News

ES1

The Athletics Carnival was a great success. The kindergarten students all participated in their age races and played a variety of games. From the parachute many squeals and screams of enjoyment could be heard when running underneath, lifting the parachute and trying to get the ball to bounce, the encouraging words during the sack races and the concentration of the faces while competing in the egg and spoon race, under and over and working together with a partner to complete the three legged races without falling over. Thank you to the Sports Captains and Mrs Dengate for making the day great! If you missed the photos they were on Facebook.

It was so wonderful to see all our families join us to celebrate Catholic Schools Week with visiting our classrooms and seeing all the magnificent work our students have been doing. The students were especially excited to be able to show our visitors our collaborative group work skills. The outside play space was extremely busy. The students played in the fairy garden with tyres, boxes, rocks and pavers. The students carried, rolled and dragged all these items and masking tape was used not only to put the boxes together but to also mending the tree as well.

During this term the students have been looking at a variety of Fairy Tale stories. In Week 10 we will be holding our Fairy Tale dress up day. Costumes can be made from items around your home. Please discuss this with your child so that you are well prepared for Week 10.

It was amazing to have so many families join us for both of these events and we look forward to seeing you soon.

Mrs Donna Smith and Mrs Jane Jacobs

Stage 1

Stage 1 have been enjoying learning new techniques in the Hockey program, the program will continue to end of this term. There was lots of cheering, encouragement and sportsmanship shown at our Athletics Carnival last week, the students had a fantastic day. We enjoyed a visit from Wyniss a music group from Torres Strait, the students experienced some traditional stories and music that have been passed down through the generations. It was lovely to see parents and grandparents at our Open day, the students loved having you visit.

Miss Emma Beletich, Mrs Mary Ballard, Mrs Trishelle Threadgate and Miss Jane Boyle

Stage 2

During well-being week, there were lots of additional activities on offer to keep our students happy and engaged. Some students choose to spend lunchtime with Ms Harris and Mrs Jones. Mrs Jones is 3G’s new class pet, a Spiny Leaf stick insect. Students learnt about stick insects, looked at their eggs and enjoyed some craft. Those students who were feeling very brave tried holding Mrs Jones!

Mrs Marina Norton, Mrs Jane Dengate and Mrs Donna-Maree Watt

Stage 3

The year 5/6 students have been remarkably busy over the past few weeks.

A particular interesting program that the three classes are involved is the St Nicholas Transition Program. This happens every Thursday from 9:15am - 10:45am with the three Year 5/6 classes alternating in participating. The students walk to the preschool where they interact with the pre-schoolers. Activities involve reading books to the pre-schoolers; playing structured games with them; doing artwork and/ or just sit with the little ones and tell stories. This program has been valuable for both our students the for the pre-schoolers. The program has allowed the pre-schoolers and the year 5/6 students to develop a special bond, and both look forward to meet. Certainly, for our students the program has developed a sense of responsibility and caring. The preschool staff have commented on how valuable the program has been.

During Week 6/7 the Year 5/6 classes have been involved with Reconciliation Week activities. The classes have used the opportunity of Reconciliation Week to write poetry about the event. All students, under the guidance of Mrs. Tania Thompson (Aboriginal Education Teacher) were given the task to write a poem entitled “Back to Dreaming”. Some of the poetry was entered a State-wide competition; but it was also used as an assessment task for English. The students really enjoyed the challenge with many of them writing some remarkably interesting, deep, and well-structured poems.

In the classroom students are moving on with their curriculum-

• In Religion-Students have been developing an understanding of the Hebrew Scriptures as stories about God and his relationship with people and its relevance for Christians today
• In English- they have begun the study of a new text, Alice in Wonderland.
• In Maths- they are continuing with aspects of Number and Statistics and Data
• In Science- they have been studying the chemistry as it applies to the State of Matters
• In Geography- the unit is focusing on Diversity and Connections, especially in relation to Australia and the rest of the world
• In PDHPE- the focus in the Movement Strand, has been on learning and practising Athletic skills in preparation for the Athletic Carnival which is being held in Week 7.

Mrs Tania Thompson, Mr Aldo Rufo, Mrs Clare Collett and Miss Lauren Osborne

Learning Support

Reading fluency is the ability to read with speed, accuracy, and proper expression.

It is important that students are reading at an appropriate rate for their age.

Not. So. Slow. That. It. Is. Painful. To. Listen. To.

And not so fast that there are nospacesebetweenwords.

Whether children read haltingly, stumble over words, or read without expression, comprehension suffers.

Better fluency leads to greater understanding.

There are many ways that you can help your child improve their fluency at home.

1. Read aloud to children to provide a model of fluent reading.
2. Have children listen and follow along with audio recordings. 
3. Practice choral reading – where you and your child read the same words at the same time. The goal is for the child to keep up with the adult and mimic natural phrasing, expression and intonation.
4. Practice echo reading – where you read a sentence or page and then the child re-reads the same section trying to copy just as you read it.
5. Teach your child how to track words - When kids are first learning to read, it’s really important for them to touch each word to understand the correspondence between the spoken and written language. Eventually, they’ll be able to tackle larger phrases without reading word by word.
6. Read familiar and favourite books - Parents are often concerned with getting their kids ahead in reading, but when they’re struggling, going back to familiar or easier texts can be really helpful. It builds confidence and consolidates their skills so they can expand upon them.

Library News

National Simultaneous Storytime

National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS) is held annually by the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA). Every year a picture book, written and illustrated by an Australian author and illustrator, is read simultaneously in libraries, schools, pre-schools, childcare centres, family homes, bookshops and many other places around the country. Now in its 21st successful year, it is a colourful, vibrant, fun event that aims to promote the value of reading and literacy, using an Australian children's book that explores age-appropriate themes, and addresses key learning areas of the National Curriculum for Foundation to Year 6.

By facilitating NSS we aim to:

• promote the value of reading and literacy,
• promote the value and fun of books,
• promote an Australian writer and publisher,
• promote storytime activities in libraries and communities around the country,
• and provide opportunities to involve parents, grandparents, the media and others to participate in and enjoy the occasion. (ALIA, 2021)

The book for NSS 2021 was “Give me some Space” by Philip Bunting. The students watched a video of the book being read by an astronaut, Dr Shannon Walker, from the International Space Station. The students thoroughly enjoyed the book and were engaged in accompanying activities. Stage 3 students created some wonderful posters on the planets, which are on display in the library. They are very proud of their efforts.

Scholastic Book Club

PLEASE NOTE: Book Club can not be paid by cash.

Please ensure if paying by cheque or phone orders, that orders are placed in an envelope, correctly filled out and clearly marked with your child’s name and class. There only three methods of payment available now.

1. Phone. Automated free call 1800 557 908. When paying by phone you will receive an 11-digit receipt number. Return to school with completed order form.
2. Cheque made payable to Scholastic Australia. Attach cheque to completed order form and return to school.
3. LOOP Ordering Instructions from Scholastic

a) Simply grab your child's Book Club catalogue and either sign in or register your account
b) Click on ORDER and then select your school and your child's class*
c) Add your child's first name & last initial (so the school knows who the book is for) PLEASE NOTE: Your child's details will never be shared with 3rd parties OR used for marketing purposes - this is for distribution purposes only.
d) Enter the item number from the Book Club catalogue
e) All orders are sent directly to the school for submission to Scholastic. Books will still be delivered to your child's classroom if you order by the close date
f) Afterwards, there's no need to return paper order forms or payment receipt details back to your school!

If you get stuck and need help, simply call our friendly Customer Service team on: 1800 021 233 between the hours of 8am to 5pm. After 5pm, you may email our after-hours LOOP help on Customer_Service@scholastic.com.au

St. James’ P & F Association

Pie Drive

Thank you to all of our community to supported our pie drive. We had a great number of items ordered. Thank you also to our volunteers to helped sort the orders so that they were ready for us to pick up early in the day.

P&F Committee Contacts

Community News