27 June 2022

Newsletter Articles

Our Mission @ SJM

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

Quote

Pope Francis on Solidarity:

"Life is a journey. When we stop, things don't go right."

"We must always walk in the presence of the Lord, in the light of the Lord, always trying to live in an irreprehensible way."

Principal’s Message

As we head towards another round of school holidays, it is wonderful to welcome you all back into the school for Parent Teacher Interviews this week. Thank you for taking the time to liaise with your child’s classroom teacher to see where your children are at within the school – academically, socially, emotionally, and spiritually.

Staffing @ SJM

As you may be aware, the teacher shortage is widespread and affecting the whole state, including SJM. We are acutely aware of the importance of having classroom teachers in classes. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. This term especially, we have had issues recruiting staff to replace Mrs Watt.

As a result:

• We appointed Miss Gabrielle Dafter – 2 days per week on 4G
• Miss Hand moved to 4G, 3 days per week.
    O Replacing Miss Hand’s roles:
      o Mrs Gavin took on RFF 1 day per week
      o Mrs Thompson took on RFF 1 day per week
      o Mrs Hall took on exec release 1 day per week
      o I took on RFF 1 day per fortnight.

This was for the everyday running of the classes. These teachers have also taken classes when casuals are unavailable and for that I am appreciative of them. Their own roles have suffered because of this, but as I stated above, our aim has been and will continue to be ensuring there is quality learning taking place in classrooms.

Next term Miss Dafter will take 4G for the entire term and all teachers will return to their normal roles.

I would like to add that the Catholic Schools Office have acknowledged the sacrifices the school have made in Term 2 in regard to our SJM specialist roles and have given us approval to employ an additional teacher in Term 3 to assist with these specialist roles. These include:

• Pedagogical Mentor
• Gifted Education Mentor
• Learning Support Teacher
• Aboriginal Education Teacher

We are very grateful to the Catholic Schools Office and thank them for their generous support of SJM.

I would like to announce two teachers will be working in this role next term – Mrs Alyssa Pritchard (Monday – Thursday) and Mrs Grace Hurn (Thursday). We welcome Alyssa and Grace back to SJM. I am sure you will welcome them in due course too.

If you have any questions, please contact me here at school.

Miss Eloise Hand

I would like to announce the lovely news that Miss Eloise Hand and her partner Matt are expecting a beautiful baby. We are so happy for them both and wish them a smooth pregnancy.

Eloise will be taking leave from Term 4. We are happy to announce that Mrs Alyssa Pritchard and Mrs Grace Hurn have been appointed to replace Eloise in her roles in Term 4.

Canteen Refurbishment

As you may be aware SJM’s canteen is getting a massive facelift. This work is being undertaken by the CSO Major Maintenance Budget, which in turn is funded by the Diocesan and Family Building Levy.

This work will begin in the school holidays and is planned to take a month. Compton Projects have been appointed as the contractor for this project.

The canteen will see a full refurbishment, including all new appliances. This will be an amazing asset for our school and will be utilised by the school and the incoming St Nick’s OOSH (a starting date TBC).

Please note, at this stage the canteen will reopen on Friday 5th August. If anything changes, I will inform you ASAP.

COVID-19 Cases @ SJM

We do ask that you continue to inform us if your child has COVID-19. We still need to keep a record at the school level, in case a cluster forms within our school.

End of Term

As another term closes, I would like to thank you for your continued support of SJM. Highlights of the term include:

• Muswellbrook ANZAC Day Commemorations
• Upper Hunter Science & Engineering Challenge
• Athletics Skills with Dennis Pitt
• Mother’s Day Celebrations
• Maths Olympiad
• NAPLAN for Years 3 & 5
• Stage 1 excursions to Baiame Cave
• Class Masses with Fr Victor
• Picnic Lunch & Liturgy as part of Catholic Schools Week
• Muswellbrook community Reconciliation Flag Raising Ceremony
• Infants and Primary Athletics Carnival
• Interrelate classes for Stage 3
• Regional Athletics Carnival

… as well as the great teaching and learning happening in the classes every day.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday. I know I am taking my family down to Bega to visit family. I am hoping to see whales at Eden and snow on Brown Mountain.

Also, keep an eye for the next Facebook competition. It looks to be a good one.

Cheers

Mr Aaron Moon
Principal

Religion

What a wonderful weekend celebration was had on Saturday night at the Children’s Mass at the St James’ Church. Thank you to the families that came and celebrated with our parish community. We look forward to celebrating next term with the parish community at the next Children’s Mass.

The six students completing the Sacramental program, celebrated the Sacrament of Reconciliation with Fr Victor last Wednesday evening. Please keep Amelia, Logan, Ryder, Daniel, Kai and Jahli in your thoughts and prayers as they prepared for their Confirmation and First Holy Communion.

I wish everyone a safe and happy holiday relaxing at home or travelling and I look forward to seeing you refreshed as we head into Term 3.

Mrs Jane Jacobs
Religious Education Coordinator

Assistant Principal

SEMESTER 1 REPORTS AND PARENT TEACHER INTERVIEWS

Semester 1 reports were available on Compass on Friday 24 June (last week). Those parents who have booked an interview time with teachers, are asked to check their allocated time, as interviews take place this week. Please note – interviews with Miss Osborne took place in Week 9, as Miss Osborne is on leave this week. Please email the school (admin@muswellbrook.catholic.edu.au) if you need to check your interview time. Don’t forget – interviews are 10 minutes in duration, and you are asked to be a couple of minutes early to ensure we all stay on time throughout the week.

Location of interviews:

KM with Mrs Jacobs – KM classroom
KG with Mrs Smith – KG classroom
1G with Miss Fitzsimmons – 1G classroom
1M with Mrs Ballard – Interview Room
2G with Mrs Baker – 2G classroom
2M with Mrs Threadgate – 2M classroom
3G with Miss Beletich – 3G classroom
3/4M with Mrs Dengate – Interview Room
4G with Miss Hand and Miss Dafter – 4G classroom
5/6M with Mrs Harrod and Mrs McLennan – Old Hall
5/6J with Mrs Collett – 5/6J classroom

Please note the following:

• If your interview is before or after school, you can come straight into the school playground and wait outside the classroom and there is no need to sign in
• If your interview is during school hours, you will need to visit the front office first, and you will need to sign in before being directed to the location.
• If your interview is in the Interview Room, please come to the front office and you will be directed from there
• If your interview is in the Old Hall, please come to the front office and you will be directed from there

CYBER AWARENESS

As we use an increasing number of portable devices such as laptops, iPads etc. We can also use our devices, as well as the internet, to do may tasks such as online banking, shopping etc. to make our lives easier, so it is important that we all learn how to protect our personal and sensitive information. The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) suggests the following:

• Update your devices regularly
• Activate multifactor authentication
• Back up your devices
• Set secure passphrases

You can download the guide to personal Cybersafety here. It is especially important for you to help your child to ensure their devices and profiles are always kept secure and safe.

WE NEED YOUR MAGAZINES

We would love any old magazines that you have at home. Please be mindful that they must be appropriate for use in a primary school. All old magazines will be used in classrooms as part of our learning and are usually cut up until we cannot get any more letters or pictures from them. Any old magazines can be left at the front office, or your child can hand them to Mrs Hall.

MUD KITCHEN – WE NEED YOUR HELP

Our very popular mud kitchen needs some new supplies. If you can help with any of the following (used items are perfectly fine!) that would be wonderful.

• tins
• bakeware
• metal spoons etc
• pots and pans

Please drop items off at the office or ask your child to being them to Mrs Hall.

NEW K-2 ENGLISH SYLLABUS

In New South Wales schools, students learn to use the NSW Foundation Style writing font. The following is an overview of lower case and capital or upper-case letters and numbers in the NSW Foundation Style.

Tips to help your child develop fine motor skills for successful handwriting

In order to support handwriting development, teachers engage students in a range of fine motor activities to strengthen hand muscles.

Encourage your child to develop fine motor skills by:

• using their fingers to draw and build in sand
• using a range of pencils, crayons and markers to draw and make patterns
• using play dough and clay to create shapes and patterns
• drawing patterns in the air
• playing with pegs and helping to hang out washing
• playing games that involve tweezers or tongs
• threading activities such as beads and string
• craft activities involving cutting and sticking.

Starting to form letters

In the early years, students develop basic skills of writing, including correct pencil grip, good posture and handwriting movements, using a thicker pencil.

Teachers support students to learn correct letter formation by building skills in a sequence, including:

• drawing a range of shapes such as straight lines and circles
• exploring patterns such as a soft wave or pointed peaks
• having students write over a highlighted letter, with a dot to show where to start
• writing the letter using a letter outline with a starting dot
• writing the letter using a starting dot on a line
• writing the letter in dotted lines.

Structuring a handwriting activity

Posture

Having a rhyme to start the lesson can be a fun way to encourage students to engage the correct posture and position.

The following is a suggestion:
1 2 3 4
Are my feet flat on the floor?
5 6 7 8
My chair is in, my back is straight!

Pencil grip

We encourage students in the early years to use a thicker pencil and the tripod grip.

Ways to encourage the tripod grip may be to put a dot or sticker on the pencil to make sure fingers are in the right position.

PERMISSION FOR SCHOOL EVENTS USING COMPASS

We have now moved to our upgraded Compass system. Permission for all school-based excursions will now be given online. When we post an excursion, you will receive an email that includes a link to the event. It is important that you give that permission as soon as possible so that we don’t need to keep emailing you reminders. If there is a payment for that excursion, you will also pay for this online when you give permission. This will be done with a credit card. The person in your household who was nominated the fee payer (also known as the ‘debtor’) will be the one who needs to give permission and pay for the excursion, so please check with all members of your household before contacting the school to say that you haven’t received the information about an excursion. We have been made aware by some families that these messages are not getting through to all carers in the family, so if you need to add an additional carer to the list of people who get these messages, you will need to complete the process included in this attachment that was sent to all families at the end of last term. Please note – the completed form must be sent back to cso.sassupport@mn.catholic.edu.au for them to process.

TOYS AND SPORTS EQUIPMENT AT SCHOOL

We ask that you speak with your child about keeping their toys and sports equipment at home. We are really lucky here at SJM to have so much equipment for the students to use in the playground. There is no need to be bringing toys of sporting equipment to school. We ask that you keep it at home, as we cannot guarantee its safety here at school … you only have to look at the roof tops to see how much equipment ends up on the roof and we are unable to get it down easily. I would encourage you to contact the school if you believe we are lacking any equipment, and we will keep it in mind for our budgeting.

WHOLE DAY ABSENCES FROM SCHOOL

It is really important that your child is at school as many days as possible. Just a friendly reminder that you are required to provide a reason for any whole days that your child is absent from school.

This can be done in a number of ways:

1. Add an attendance note in Compass app
2. Email your child’s teacher
3. Write a note and send it to school when your child returns to school
4. Call the office

If you are choosing to let us know of the absence using the Compass app, we ask that you add absences for whole days into Compass as soon as you can. You can even do this on the day that they are away. If your child is arriving to school late, or leaving school early, please do not add this as an attendance note in Compass. Late arrivals and early departures are added using the Compass Kiosk in the front office. See the message below for any absences related to COVID. Our final note about absences is about the use of the reason NATURAL DISASTER. Having an extra day at home to recover from a big weekend is not a natural disaster. We should only be using this reason if there is actually a natural disaster occurring for your family … fire, flood, earthquake, cyclone etc.

ABSENCES DUE TO COVID

Just a reminder that you are asked to contact the school to let us know when your child is absent because of COVID. We are legally required to ensure our class rolls are up to date, and we can only do this if you let us know why your child is away. If your child is absent because they have tested positive to COVID, and you have let the school know via email or phone call, there is no need for you to use the Compass app to add an attendance note. We will do this for you to ensure we are using the correct roll marking code.

GOING AWAY ON HOLIDAYS?

If you are planning an extended holiday during the year (more than 10 school days), you are required to apply for the leave and have it approved by the principal. You will need to contact the office for the appropriate form to be sent home. The approval of this leave usually isn’t an issue, but we need to follow the process and keep your approval on file. Once the leave is approved, we then supply you with a certificate for that leave, that you can produce if asked why your child is not at school. If your holiday is less than 10 school days, please just email your child's teacher to let them know when you will be away.

LABELLING ALL SCHOOL ITEMS

Don’t forget to label everything! This is the only way that lost items will be returned to your child. Now is a great time to make sure all school items have your child’s name in permanent marker or a label that will not peel off easily. Don’t forget to show your child their labelled items … this will help them when they come to ask us for help finding lost items.

SCHOOL HATS

Please ensure your child comes to school with a school hat every day. We do not have spare hats at school for students to use. Any student who does not have a hat will be asked to sit on the verandah for lunch breaks. Labelled school hats will be returned to your child if they are found in the playground. We ask that you regularly check your child’s hat for their name, as the name wears off easily when they are used every day.

WINTER UNIFORM

We have now moved into the cooler weather, so we ask that all students wear their winter uniform. We understand that some items are in short supply in the uniform shop, so we understand that some students may be missing some items until they return to stock. Where possible, please ensure your child is wearing their full winter uniform, and not a mix between summer and winter uniforms. In case you need a reminder, this is straight from our Parent Handbook.

Mrs Shannon Hall
Assistant Principal

Primary Coordinator

PDH / POSITIVE EDUCATION

Firstly, I would just like to say THANK YOU to Mrs Renee Gavin for stepping in and taking the Wellbeing/ PDH RFF lessons with all Primary students this term. I know the students have really valued their time with Mrs Gavin and have particularly enjoyed their focus on Emotional Regulation.

I am looking forward to returning to my Wellbeing role in full capacity next term – I have a few exciting things planned for the students, K – 6.

I hope you all enjoy a restful holiday break.

ASPIRE

On Friday 29th July (Term 3, Week 2), students from Year 3 to Year 6 will be attending a performance by ASPIRE at the Civic Theatre, Newcastle.

The performance, called ‘The Cost of Wishes’, provides opportunities for students from across our Maitland-Newcastle Catholic Schools Diocese, with a passion for performing arts, to grow, perform and shine. These talented singers, dancers, musicians and actors have been rehearsing for months. St James’ is excited to support the ASPIRE performers and the excursion provides a unique and entertaining cultural experience for our students.

Cost: St James’ will cover the costs associated with this excursion.

Lunch and Afternoon Tea: On arrival in Newcastle, we will have an early lunch, then afternoon tea after the performance. In a labelled lunchbox, students will need to have their lunch (i.e., sandwich) packed, along with a variety of snacks for afternoon tea. Students will also need to bring a labelled water bottle. Could all items please be placed into a small labelled carry bag which can be carried by each child and stored safely by the staff on arrival at the theatre.

If you are happy for your child to attend this excursion, please complete the online consent form on COMPASS by Friday 22nd July (Term 3, Week 1).

If you have any questions regarding this excursion, please contact Miss Hand via the school office or by email eloise.hand@mn.catholic.edu.au .

JUMP ROPE FOR HEART

Jump Rope for Heart is one of Australia’s best loved physical activity and fundraising programs. It’s designed to get students skipping to good health, while raising funds to help the Heart Foundation fight heart disease.

That’s important because:

• one in four 5 to 12-year-olds are either overweight or obese
• 80% of students are not getting the recommended amount of daily physical activity
• physical activity makes you less likely to have a heart attack and can help prevent and manage over 20 chronic diseases including some cancers, type 2 diabetes and depression
• Heart disease is Australia’s biggest killer

The program will be most successful if you can help:

• By registering your child
• Get your child skipping
• Encourage them to sign up to fundraise online

Important Details:

We will be officially starting the Jump Rope for Heart program on Monday, Week 3 (August 1st) and it will run until Friday, Week 8 (9th September). On the last day, we will be holding a Whole School Jump Off! Details about what this will look like will come later.

How do I get started?

1. Register your child online. Visit www.jumprope.org.au/parents
2. Set your fundraising goal Show everyone what you’re aiming to raise. Most people start with a $200 goal which you’ll easily achieve with a little help from family and friends.
3. Make the first donation It helps get things moving and sets the bar for friends, family, co-workers and neighbours (trust us, it works!).
4. Share your child’s page with friends and family and ask them to donate to support your child’s effort. Every dollar you raise will help fund vital research, support and programs that help save lives. Social media, email and SMS are a great way to get the word out there!
5. Log your child’s skipping activity so they track their progress and earn virtual badges.

More information regarding our schools Jump Rope for Heart program will be coming to you via Compass and Facebook in Week 1 of Term 3.

Contact Miss Hand eloise.hand@mn.catholic.edu.au in the meantime if you have any questions about SJMs participation.

SPELLING AND MATH BEES – TERM 3

In exciting news - school, regional and dio MATH and SPELLING BEES are back!

Some important dates are listed below:

SJMs SCHOOL MATH BEE: Monday 15th August (Week 5)
SJMs SCHOOL SPELLING BEE: Monday 22nd August (Week 6)

Time and attendance of these are still TBC.

UPPER HUNTER MATH AND SPELLING BEE: Wednesday 7th September (Week 8) - St Joseph's, Denman

DIO MATH AND SPELLING BEE: Thursday 22nd September (Week 10) - St Catherine's, Singleton

Teachers will be running their class bees during the first 4/5 weeks of Term 3. If you child has made it into the school final, you will be notified the week prior.

We look forward to seeing the return of these competitions after a couple of disrupted years.

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK:

Choose kindness, always.

Miss Eloise Hand
Primary Coordinator &
Lead Teacher of Positive Education

Awards

Class News

ES1

The Kindergarten students and the teachers are eagerly awaiting to celebrate our Fairy Tale Dress up day on Wednesday. Please don’t go to any expense of buying a costume. They are welcome to wear costumes that they already have at home. There are lots of costumes that do not require you to spend any money.

Our Sport sessions (athletics skills) will be concluding this Friday with Dennis. The students have learnt new skills during their sport time and have enjoyed the fast-paced activities that Dennis provides. Next term our Sport day will return to Wednesday.

A special congratulations to all students who have made the End of term reward. The Kinder students are really looking forward to having a go on the Obstacool course.

The Kindergarten teachers wish all families a safe and happy holiday, spent with families and friends.

Mrs Donna Smith and Mrs Jane Jacobs

Stage 1

Stage one has been working diligently to the end of Term 2, we cannot believe we are almost halfway through the school year! Over the last two weeks students have been exploring the art of persuasion, skilfully constructing a persuasive text. Students have also learnt about volume and capacity engaging in firsthand experiments to learn how to measure the volume of containers and the importance of this information. Students continue to don their historical caps taking a step back in time to examine old video games and communication devices. Students were not very impressed with the first T. Vs invented.

We have been busily preparing for the Children’s parish mass on Saturday the 25th learning the songs that will be sung on the night. Students have also been examining the Old Testament and exploring historical figures such as Moses. In the lead up to the final week of school students are excitedly awaiting their end of term reward, which is obstacle course. We would like to congratulate all students who have worked very hard this term to consistently follow our school’s baseline behaviours and have made it to reward. Students are also eagerly anticipating our NAIDOC Week celebration on the last day of term, participating in authentic cultural experiences.

Miss Annerley Fitzsimmons, Mrs Mary Ballard, Mrs Trishelle Threadgate and Miss Jane Boyle

Stage 2

Stage 2 participated enthusiastically at the Athletics Carnival. They were all able to support their house team and show the skills they have developed during sport this term. The children are enjoying creating a toy and assessing its practicality and safety at home as part of their science unit this term. In Mathematics the children have been looking at the capacity and mass of a variety of objects over the past weeks. They are beginning to develop efficiency in converting these weights and have thoroughly enjoyed the hands on activities to support their knowledge growth.

Miss Emma Beletich, Mrs Jane Dengate, Miss Eloise Hand and Miss Gabrielle Dafter

Stage 3

Stage 3 have been engaged in a range of learning activities in the past fortnight. Students have been participating in a 3 session ‘Interrelate Program’ delivered each Wednesday. Students have learnt much about themselves, their responsibilities and the importance of cyber safety in a world where technology is an integral part.

Stage 3 have also constructed some innovative and creative shelters in science. Students needed to consider the properties of the various materials and their suitability for the task. We have been impressed with all of their works!

As we approach the end of Term, we would like to wish everyone a safe and relaxing holiday.

Mrs Rebecca Harrod, Mrs Melissa McLennan, Mrs Clare Collett and Miss Lauren Osborne
Teacher

Sport

School Athletics Carnival

The school athletics carnival was run over 2 days. Thank you to the parents who assisted with the running of the 2 carnivals, you help is much appreciated

Congratulations to the students for their enthusiasm on the day.

The champions are:

Jnr Girl Addison Ballantyne Kookaburras
Jnr Boys Kai Thompson Eagles and Logan McFawn Kookaburras
11yr Girl Ellie Brochtrup Pheasants
11yr Boy Lachlan Fulloon Rosellas
Snr Girl Abbie Wright Kookaburras
Snr Boy Elijah Bristow Pheasants
The winning house was Pheasants.

Congratulations to the following students who attended the Regional Athletics Carnival at Scone on Friday 24th June.

Mrs Jane Dengate
Sports Co-ordinator

St. James’ P & F Association

P&F Committee Contacts