27 July 2022

Newsletter Articles

Our Mission @ SJM

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

Quote

O glorious St. James, because of your fervor and generosity Jesus chose you to witness his glory on the Mount and his agony in the garden. Obtain for us strength and consolation in the unending struggles of this life. Help us to follow Christ constantly and generously, to be victors over all our difficulties, and to receive the crown of glory I heaven. Amen

Religion

What a wonderful celebration was had on Friday night at the St James’ church when Amelia, Logan, Ryder, Daniel, Kai and Jahli completed the Sacramental Program and were confirmed by Fr Greg and participated in their first Holy Communion. Thank you to our school community who continued to keep these students and their families in your prayers as they prepared to take this next step on their faith journey. Monday 25 July is the Feast of our saint, St James. It was wonderful that staff, students and families were able to celebrate with our parish community at the church on Sunday with morning tea. We will be celebrating the feast of St James on Wednesday 27 July in the school hall.

Feast of Saint James, Apostle 25 July

St James was the son of Zebedee and the brother of John the apostle. He was a fisherman from Galilee who become known as James ‘the Greater’ to distinguish him from the other apostle James ‘the Less’, son of Alpheus. Jesus called James and John the ‘sons of thunder’, most likely in reference to their quick tempers. Along with Peter, James and John were among Jesus’ closest friends and they were chosen to be witnesses to the Transfiguration and his agony in the garden. After Christ’s death, James became the first apostle to be martyred when he was put to the sword by King Herod Agrippa I.

News from the Parish

REDISCOVERING JOY- FINDING WONDER AND JOY INTHE WORD OF GOD.

Join us for a Day with Sr Mary Coloe, current Associate Professor of New Testament studies within the University of Divinity Melbourne.

In a retreat style and setting, Sr Mary will help us examine how rich and life-giving Scripture can be, revealing a God whose story intends to renew our lives and calls us to actively engage with the world. Date: 15 August 2022 Time: 9.00am - 3.00pm (arrive from 8.30am) Venue: Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley Cost: $30 To register go to:

Mrs Jane Jacobs
Religious Education Coordinator

Assistant Principal

Welcome back to Term 3. I hope that you enjoyed the holidays and that you have all managed to return to some routine now that we are back at school. I will be taking some leave this term, but I know that you will all look after those teachers who step up and take on some of my jobs. Please look after each other, and I look forward to seeing you all again in Week 10.

SPORTS DAYS

Term 2 saw lots of changes to the day that your child was asked to wear sports uniform. We are hoping that we get a little more consistency this term. Please be assured that we don’t get upset if your child has worn the incorrect uniform. We are just happy to see them at school! We do start asking questions if we see students wearing their sports uniform every day of the week.

For most weeks, we will have sports uniform on the following days:

Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2: wear their sports uniform on Wednesday
Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6: wear their sports uniform on Thursday

We note that some weeks your child may be asked to wear their sports uniform twice. Please keep an eye out for messages from your child’s teacher, as well as any messages on Facebook or Compass that give you these details.

NO CANTEEN

Don’t forget that we have no canteen for at least the first two weeks. Stay tuned for a re-opening date.

HOW TO BE AN UPSTANDER (NOT A BYSTANDER)

Don’t be an audience

If your child sees or hears inappropriate or hurtful conversations or online posts, it’s important that he or she doesn’t encourage the person by staring or laughing or that they become a participant by replying to or forwarding a post or message. Focus on the importance of your child removing themselves from the situation and asking a trusted adult to intervene.

Support

Once the incident is over, encourage your child to offer support wherever possible. He or she could say, for example, “What can I do to help?” or “Who which adult can we go to for help?”

Report the incident at school

If there is a situation at school, stress to your child the importance of telling the class teacher and asking for help.

Report the incident at home

If you believe your child does have the maturity to use social media, still supervise their behaviour by ensuring they use their device in a public space and that they allow you to access their accounts.

BE YOUR CHILD’S NO.1 ROLE MODEL

Model this in your interactions with others.

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.

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 well and truly 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

ASPIRE

This Friday, 29th July students from Year 3 to Year 6 will be attending a performance by ASPIRE at the Civic Theatre, Newcastle.

All Compass consent forms were due last Friday, 22nd July.

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.

IMPORTANT DETAILS

Dress code: All students are required to wear their full school winter uniform. In case of wet weather, the students may need a labelled raincoat.

Transport: Students will be travelling by coach to and from Newcastle, under the supervision of their classroom teachers and Learning Support personnel. All students need to be at school by 7.30am. Coaches will be boarded from 7.40am and the last coach will depart the school grounds by 8.00am.

It is anticipated that coaches will return to school between 4.00 pm and 4.30 pm. If delayed, we will send a message via Compass and post on the school Facebook page.

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 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

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.

PC 2 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

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.

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK:

Choose kindness, always.

Miss Eloise Hand
Primary Coordinator & Lead Teacher of Positive Education

Awards

Class News

ES1

Welcome back to Term 3, the best term of the year! The students have made such a lot of progress this year and they are now on the cusp of writing independently. It is a very exciting time for both students and teachers! In our English lessons this term, the students will be looking closely at the illustrations in picture books. The students will learn that images are used for a purpose – so the students will be encouraged to understand the purpose – and to recognise the different styles and techniques used by illustrators and graphic artists to achieve that purpose. There will be lots of talk about how the illustrators have shown emotion, how they have shown movement and how they have shown magic, as this is our theme this term. There will be lots of magic in the air in Kindergarten!

Mrs Donna Smith and Mrs Jane Jacobs

Stage 1

Welcome back to Term 3

In English we are working on writing, this has been our focus for a while, and it is great to see our skills are improving. The students are always keen to tell and write a story. We always give attention to using a capital letter at the start of a sentence, people's names and when using I and learning to use punctuation. In term 3 we will be learning about informative texts and narrative writing, we will also have speeches and the Spelling bee, so start practicing.

We are looking forward to dance in Sport and in Creative Arts. The students will be exploring different ways to move their bodies and listening to move their body in time with the music. This will be working towards our end of year whole school performance, which we have missed for the last two years. We will also have a visit from Musica Viva to explore moving to music and using different items to make music.

Looking forward to another busy, fun filled, learning adventure.

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

Stage 2

Welcome back to Term 3, halfway through the year already! We are looking forward to another wonderful term filled with exciting events and learning. Stage 2 has two excursions coming up, so please make sure that you are checking Compass regularly for the relevant information.

Stage 2 has had a busy Week 1, with the students showing zest for our Drama unit. The students have already shown they have wonderful acting skills, as they have been asked to only use movement to convey scenarios. All of the classes had a lot of fun with this! We have also begun our Geography unit for the term, where we have looked at the Australian climate and discussed why the weather is not the same across the country. The students have had some wonderful discussions about this. We are looking forward to learning more in this area.

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

Stage 3

We hope you’ve all had a restful break and are looking forward to another busy, yet enjoyable term. In English we will be working on our public speaking skills from preparing the perfect speech to presenting it to a large audience. In Mathematics we will continue with multiplication and division challenge questions, whilst in Science, we will be starting our Geography unit where “Our Earth” is the focus. In Religion, we will move to studying the Sacraments in greater depth and in Sport we will commence Fun Sports which will be run every Thursday for the duration of the term. We will welcome year 10 students from St Josephs who will be supporting the students on this day.

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

Library News

Library Borrowing

Kinder: Tuesday
Year 2: Tuesday
Wednesday: 4G and Stage 3
Thursday: Year 1, 3G and 3/4M

Book Week 2022

The theme for this year's CBCA Book Week is, 'Dreaming with eyes open...' The Book Character Parade will be held on Friday 19th August at 9.15am. Students will dress as, 'what they dream to be in the future' or ‘a book character they dream to be.’ Further details will be provided closer to the date.

Premier’s Reading Challenge

The Premier’s Reading Challenge will finish on Thursday 18th August. All record sheets must be returned to the library prior to this date please.

Please feel free to contact the library if any problems/concerns arise during the year.

lisa.wilson@mn.catholic.edu.au or 65433094

Happy Reading!

Mrs Lisa Wilson
Teacher Librarian
Mrs Nadene Douglas
Library Assistant

St. James’ P & F Association

P&F Committee Contacts

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