22 August 2022

Newsletter Articles

Our Mission @ SJM

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

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Principal’s Message

It was great to have everyone back within the gates for our Book Week Parade last week. We have a great school community and days like last Friday really highlight how special SJM is. Thank you for being a part of it and making our school a great place to be a part of.

Thank you to Mrs Wilson for organising a lovely day.

Term 2 End of Term Reward

Our Term 2 End of term Reward has been set down for Thursday 1st September. We have had a few false starts due to the weathers. Fingers crossed that we can go ahead next week.

Father’s Day @ SJM

We are excited to welcome our fathers, grandfathers and significant men in the lives of our children as we celebrate Father’s Day at SJM on Friday 1st September.

A part of this day is the prestigious paper plane challenge. A note will be placed on compass about this and paper plane templates will be sent home with the children this week. This year we will be flying ‘The Buzz’ plane.

We ask that you book using the Humanitix link below.

Mental Health – It’s OK To Not Be Ok

Did you know that:

• Mental illness is very common. One in five (20%) Australians aged 16-85 experience a mental illness in any year.
• 54% of people with mental illness do not access any treatment.
• Every day, at least six Australians die from suicide and a further thirty people will attempt to take their own life.
• Depression has high lifetime prevalence - one in seven Australians will experience depression in their lifetime.

Here at SJM we are conscious of ensuring our students have the tools to look after their own and others wellbeing. We support the Where There’s A Will Foundation in the Upper Hunter because, as they say, it takes a village to raise a child.

But can I ask…… how are you? Are you ok?

Why do I ask you may wonder? Well in the holidays I, myself, was diagnosed with depression. Yes, Mr Moon. I had a few people that cared for me greatly ask me if I was ok. At first I said that I was fine….. in reality I wasn’t…. and they knew that.

I have since learnt that our emotions tell ourselves and others that we are not ok. I didn’t recognise it in myself, I thought I would get over it. I am so lucky to have people around me who asked.

I:

• Felt like I wasn’t coping in life
• Was overly self-critical. The inner voice was really being a mongrel to me.
• Found it incredibly hard to sleep
• I felt I was worthless in my life – as a principal and in general
• Withdrew to the lounge. I didn’t catch up with mates or play golf.

I can honestly say I did not consider suicide, but I have a better understanding how the black dog takes hold. And when it takes hold, it really does take hold. I know how empty my cup was.

I am not sharing this for sympathy, I am sharing this to continue to develop understanding around depression. Many people I have shared this with were surprised that someone so out there and confident can suffer depression. Yes! It can happen to anyone.

This is your chance to check in on yourself, a family member or a mate. I really encourage you to do so. If it wasn’t for a few close friends who asked me how I was it could’ve gone on undiagnosed for longer, and I would hate to think where that would’ve taken me.

Since acknowledging things haven’t been right, I have seen a psychologist and my doctor and I am working through everything with them. I am on medication and am changing my lifestyle, including diet and exercise. I am doing everything I can to be the best me I can be…. For myself, my family, my school and my friends.

So please if you need anything please reach out to a family member or friend. You can even reach out to agencies like Beyond Blue from the link below. In the future I may be taking short periods of Long Service Leave. This is self-care time for me and time to fill my cup ready to be the best me I can be to the world. I am sure you understand this.

Thanks and have a good week.

Mr Aaron Moon
Principal

Religion

Mini Vinnies

The Mini Vinnies students returned to school on Thursday 11 August to participate in Sleepout without Sleeping. During the evening the students completed a variety of activities.

COST OF LIVING ACTIVTY - give students $538.00 (the average Newstart payment) and ask them to work in group to decide how much they would spend on rent, electricity, food and transport for a fortnight.

CARDBOARD STRUCTURED ACTIVITY – to create a cardboard structure for them to ‘live in’ for the night.

WHAT CAN YOU TAKE ACTIVITY - You need to leave in a hurry and you can only take a backpack what in your room would you take with you and you only have a time limit of 10 minutes.

OUTSIDE IN MAKESHIFT BEDS – the students returned to their cardboard structures to try resting and reflecting on the activities that have been completed.

A huge thank you to Mrs Ballard who cooked the delicious Chicken and Corn soup that warm our bellies for the night.

The students of SJM continued to support the Mini Vinnies by wearing their PJ’s and beanies to school the next day. The Mini Vinnies students would like to thank all our school community for their generous donations. Our efforts have raised $285 for our local Mini Vinnies community.

Father’s Day Liturgy

On Friday 2 September our SJM community will come together to celebrate our wonderful fathers and other special men in our lives who are like fathers to our students. Kindergarten will be leading our liturgy in the school hall at 12.30pm.

May your light continue to shine brightly

Mrs Jane Jacobs
Religious Education Coordinator

Assistant Principal (Acting) and Lead Teacher of Positive Education

SJM Math’s Bee

Congratulations to all of our SJM Math’s Bee finalists today. It was extremely competitive, and each student should be incredibly proud of their achievements. The character strengths of bravery, perseverance and humility were definitely on display this morning.

Here are the final results for each stage:

ES1 WINNER: Savannah Borg (KG)
ES1 RUNNER UP: Arlo Gallagher (KG)

S1 WINNER: Hayden Clerke (2M)
S1 RUNNER UP: Aadhav Vivek Ananth (2M)

S2 WINNER: Riley Brett (3G)
S2 RUNNER UP: Archie Medhurst (4G)

S3 WINNER: Chase Dellar (5/6M)
S3 RUNNER UP: Isaac Gilchrist (5/6M)

The WINNER of each stage will be invited to attend and compete at the Regional Math’s Bee competition at Denman on Wednesday 7th September. Details will be sent home to parents this week.

SJM Spelling Bee

The following students were the finalists in today’s SJM Spelling Bee Competition:

The final results of these will be shared via Facebook. Congratulations to all students involved the schools Spelling and Math’s Bee finals.

JUMP ROPE FOR HEART

We have been skipping, skipping, skipping! It has been so wonderful to see the students so enthusiastic about this program. Jump Rope for Heart will continue until Friday, Week 8 (9th September). On the last day, we will be holding a Whole School Jump Off!

It’s not too late to register your child!

1. Register your child online. Visit the link below
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.

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

WELLBEING WEEK TIMETABLE

It's WELLBEING WEEK this week @ SJM!

We are looking forward to a week of fun lunchtime activities and no homework or meetings!

Please use this week to take 5 - enjoy some family time, get outdoors or just switch off where you can.

On Thursday, we will be brightening our week! Students can come dressed in a bright T-shirt, jumper, pair of socks or hat.

We are looking forward to a wonderful week!

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.

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.

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK:

Choose kindness, always.

Miss Eloise Hand
Assistant Principal (Acting) and Lead Teacher of Positive Education

Awards

Class News

ES1

Musica Viva is coming to St James’ this term, and the excitement is building! We are to be entertained by ‘Rhythm Works’, a dynamic percussion duo who show students how to create visual images through music – with lizards, waterfalls, road trains, and carnivals. In this high energy show, the children will be introduced to a range of instruments from African djembes, marimbas, electronic loop machines, Boomwhackers, and wearable instruments made out of PVC pipe! Some lucky children will be given the chance to perform on these instruments to create their own musical imagery, with opportunities to re-create the experience back in the home or classroom. If your child starts hunting around the house for buckets and poly pipe, they are just trying to create their own instrument!

Mrs Donna Smith and Mrs Jane Jacobs

Stage 1

The students have been very engaged in Science and Technology. We are using a program called Scratch. Each student starts and account, this is good practice for remembering passwords and becoming familiar with cyber safety. Scratch promotes computational thinking and problem-solving skills; creative teaching and learning; self-expression and collaboration; and equity in computing. The students input commands and the character will follow these commands.

In Geography this term the students are learning about people and places. They have been exploring Australia and the world. Stage 1 used Google Earth to find their house, they had to note down the Latitude and Longitude of their address. The students also played a game called Shipwreck to learn about which way is North, East, South and West.

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

Stage 2

Stage 2 have had a wonderful fortnight. We have had the opportunity to hold our St Mary McKillop Feast Day celebrations putting on a prayer in the courtyard with many Stages 2 students reading the prayers. The teachers are very proud of how all of the Stage 2 students conducted themselves with reverence and respect when leading the school in prayer.

We have had a lot of fun over the last two weeks as well! Pyjama day was an enormous success raising money for our Mini Vinnie's, students and staff came dressed in their Oodie’s and Ugg boots looking extremely comfortable. The Book Week Parade was enjoyed by all and showed how creative Stage 2 are. There were many wonderful costumes and we enjoyed hearing about which books and dreams the students were inspired by.

The Maths Bee was another big event we participated in and would like to congratulate all of Stage 2 for their willingness to have a go! Our class Maths Bees were hotly contested, and the teachers were very impressed with the skills the students displayed. Well done to those students who made it to the Stage Maths Bee. They represented their classes well and used their character strengths of perseverance and bravery when competing.

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

Stage 3

In English, Stage 3 students have been brushing up on their persuasive writing and presenting speeches to classes. Students have been building upon their knowledge of sentences – simple, compound and complex. It is lovely to see all students writing progressing and the students confidence grow when presenting their speeches.

During mathematic lesson students have been working hard and challenging themselves to solve algebra questions. Students have needed to identify and use inverse operations to assist with the solution of number sentences to help solve algebra questions. The stage 3 classrooms were filled with smiles as students identified and recorded the coordinates of given points in all four quadrants on a Cartesian plane. Students were able to plot and label points using given coordinates, in all four quadrants of the Cartesian plane to make pictures.

Stage 3 have had many laughs whilst participating in our music lessons. Students have been exploring the first learning sequence based on a Chameleon, Chameleon, uses some particularly interesting sounds. We are all looking forward to our upcoming Music of Viva performance later in the term.

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

Art Club

We are thrilled to announce that the St James Art Club is running this term! Students from Years 3-6 are invited to join Miss Beletich and Mrs Gavin each week to experiment with art materials and create incredible artworks. It does not matter your skill level, we have opportunities for students to participate in activities for everyone’s capability. We are also planning a special art installation in the Courtyard which students can be involved in if they attend Art Club.

Our first week of Art Club was a huge success, with students already developing and showing off their skills. We cannot wait to see what is created next!

Students in Years 3, 5 and 6 are invited to Art Club on Tuesdays at Lunch 2 in the old Bounce Back room. Students in Year 4 are invited to Art Club on Thursdays at Lunch 2 in the old Bounce Back room. We would love to see everyone there!

Miss Beletich and Mrs Gavin

Library News

Book Week Parade

Congratulations to the students, parents and staff of St James’, who put such a wonderful effort into dressing up for our Book Week Parade. The costumes represented the theme for Book Week, ‘Dreaming with eyes open…’. Students can dream about being a book character, use their imagination to dream into a good book (that takes them to wonderful places) or follow their dreams in the future.

Whilst all children were winners on the day, Mrs Douglas, our judge, awarded prizes to 2 students from each class.

Thank you to Mrs Douglas for being our judge, Mr Moon for being our photographer, Mrs Marco for the music, Mrs Gehrig, Mrs Collett & stage 3 for organising the seating.

Happy Book Week everyone!

BOOK WEEK PARADE PRIZE WINNERS

Premier’s Reading Challenge

Congratulations to Halle Partridge, Amelia Paynter, Logan McFawn, Harrison Musca and Lily Musca who successfully completed the NSW 2022 Premier’s Reading Challenge. It is wonderful to see your enthusiasm and dedication towards reading.

Mrs Lisa Wilson
Teacher Librarian
Mrs Nadene Douglas
Library Assistant

Parents wishing to volunteer in school activities will need a Working With Children Check. Here is a great resource for up to date details and information to get you started. Call the office for more information regarding our procedures.

National Child Protection Week 4 – 10 September 2022

National Child Protection Week will continue to embrace the overarching message that ‘Every child, in every community, needs a fair go’.

In particular, this year we will be shining a light on children growing up safe and supported.

Children and young people thrive when they grow up safe, connected and supported in their family, community and culture.

They have the right to grow up in environments that support them according to their needs, now and into the future.

This year let’s talk about how we create a supportive environment for every child.

National Child Protection Week will be looking at what works to keep children safe and supported… what children are telling us… what families are telling us… what the evidence is telling us… and how to translate this knowledge into action.

We know that too many children are not growing up safe and supported and that Child Protection systems are overloaded. There are many opportunities to change the trajectory for these children.

We can stop child abuse and neglect – and reduce its impact – by working together to make sure every child in every community has a fair go.

For more information visit the link below.

St. James’ P & F Association

P&F Committee Contacts