23 May 2025

Our Mission @ SJM

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

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Principal’s Message

Conference 

Last week, I had the privilege of attending the Association of Catholic School Principals (ACSP) Biennial Conference, held in our own diocese at Pokolbin. The event brought together over 350 principals from across New South Wales for three days of enriching professional learning and connection.

Attendees engaged with a number of leading educational speakers who shared insights into current and future-focused practices. Equally valuable was the collegiality and shared dialogue among peers, which reinforced our shared commitment to Catholic education and strong school leadership.

The conference theme, Living Waters: Leading with Hope, Inspiring Faith Communities, resonated deeply with the challenges and opportunities we face in nurturing not only the intellect but also the spiritual, social, and emotional wellbeing of our young people. In this, we recognize that principals are crucial to the success of our future.

School Improvement for 2025

Strengthening Our Vision and Mission at SJM

This year, as part of our School Improvement Plan, we have established two key goals:

1. Strengthening our ties to our dual charism and our community, with a deeper understanding of our Vision and Mission for all stakeholders.
2. Embedding behaviour practices to enhance our safe and supportive learning environment, through Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L).

Our first priority was to review our current Vision and Mission statements, which have been in place for over 10 years. To ensure they reflect our evolving identity and aspirations, we sought input from students, staff, parents, and the parish community.

After careful discernment and consideration of our values and charisms that guide us each day at SJM, we are pleased to share with you our draft Vision statement:

“Inspired by Christ, we learn and serve with compassion.”

This statement summarises our commitment to fostering a Christ-centered learning environment where compassion guides our actions and interactions.

We value your feedback and would love to know your thoughts on this draft Vision. Please email any comments you have to me directly

Thank you for your continued support as we work together to strengthen our school community and uphold our shared values.

Comms Team - Promotional Videos

We are deeply grateful to the Diocesan Communications Team for their expertise and dedication in producing our new promotional videos which will showcase the spirit of our school.

A heartfelt thank you goes to the parents who generously volunteered their time on Wednesday to participate in filming. Their involvement added a personal touch that truly reflects the warmth and unity of our community.

We would also like to extend our appreciation to the Year 2 students who were filmed for the videos. Their enthusiasm and genuine smiles brought an authentic energy that highlights the joy of learning at SJM.

These videos will serve as a vibrant testament to the collaborative spirit and commitment of our school community. We look forward to sharing them with you soon.

Catholic Schools & Wellbeing Week - Next Week

This year SJM celebrates Catholic Schools Week and Wellbeing Week simultaneously.

Under the theme One Call, One Mission, the school reflects on its shared commitment to faith, service, and education. This theme underscores the unity of purpose among students, staff, and families in fostering a nurturing and faith-filled environment.

Concurrently, Wellbeing Week offers a dedicated time for the school community to pause, reset, and prioritise mental health. With no homework or meetings, the week encourages families to engage in activities that promote relaxation and connection.

Mr Aaron Moon
Principal

Assistant Principal

TOYS AT SCHOOL 

Just a reminder that students are not permitted to bring toys to school. We have had a few reported incidents of toys starting to appear in classrooms and in the playground. Although it is fun to play with toys at school, it is not fun when that toy is broken or lost, so please check your child’s bag regularly to ensure they are not packing extra items to play with.  

 LABELLING ALL SCHOOL ITEMS 

Last week we had quite a few lunchboxes, Tupperware, drink bottles, jumpers, jackets and hats that were not labelled and in the lost property box. Please ensure that everything is labelled with your child’s name in permanent marker or a label that will not peel off easily. This is the only way that lost items will be returned to your child. Do not forget to show your child their labelled items, as this will help them find lost items in the lost property box, the playground or classrooms.

MINI VINNIES 2025

With a delay into Term 2 the students of the SJM Mini Vinnies group started off with acknowledging the Mini Vinnies Pledge and receiving their badges. This year is the largest Mini Vinnies group at SJM and Mrs Ballard and I look forward to working with the students on a variety of topics and fundraisers to supporting not only our local community but those in need throughout Australia. Mrs Ballard and I would like to thank all the parents and friends who were able to attend our Monday morning assembly to support their child.

May your light continue to shine

Mrs Jane Jacobs
Assistant Principal

Religion

As we all have seen the Catholic Church has entered a new chapter with the election of a new pope. After a conclave marked by prayer and reflection, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost has been chosen as the successor to Pope taking the name Pope Leo XIV. This historic moment is significant for Catholics around the world and offers an opportunity for renewed faith and unity. Students and families are encouraged to learn more about the papacy and the role of the pope in global and spiritual leadership.

I have also had the opportunity to visit KM and see some of the wonderful Religion work they have been doing. Students were learning about Jesus and pondering the question “What is a miracle?”. I have attached some pictures below with their responses and illustrations. As you can see from the pictures there were many different miracles performed by Jesus. Well Done KM!

We have several important events coming up including the commencement of sacramental program at St James’ Church next Wednesday. We have a few students taking part in these sacraments and we wish them every blessing as they continue their own faith journeys.

Stage 2 and 3 participated in a Mass with Fr Victor on Friday in St James’ Hall. It was great to have him back and hold Mass with us. This allows the students to ask questions around the Gospel readings and the content they are learning in class.

Please ensure you check our upcoming events especially for Catholic Schools Week. St James’ has lots of fun activities coming up.

Mrs Lauren Gehrig
Religious Education Coordinator

Merit Awards

Class News

ES1

Dear Families,

This fortnight we celebrated Mother’s Day with a lovely Mother’s Day liturgy run by Stage One. Then, after a shared lunch we headed into our classrooms for biscuit icing and decorating. We had lots of fun using our fine motor skills to ice the biscuits, with some children even choosing to make smiley faces out of their smarties and marshmallows.

In English, we have also learnt four new sounds (p, f, r and i) and we have been working hard to recognise and blend these sounds to create words. Blending is a tricky skill but is an essential one as the children progress to becoming beginner readers. To help your child hear all the sounds in a word, it is helpful to elongate or draw out the sounds in the word. For example, rather than saying s/a/t you might say sssss/aaaaa/tttt. This week, we will also have a visit from Musica Viva, as our focus for Creative Arts this term is Music. We look forward to watching and listening to their performance!

Mrs Smith (KG) & Miss Maher (KM)

Stage 1

Stage 1 have had a busy two weeks. The children were so excited to have so many of you at our Mother’s Day celebrations.  They enjoyed showing everyone how much they love and appreciate you.    

We had a great time participating and listening to the Musica Viva performance ‘Music in My Suitcase’. There was lots of singing and movement throughout the concert. They even made up a song on the spot using words Ayla taught them in Chinese, a great experience for everyone.

Within the classroom, students have been exploring and learning within all KLA’s, relating their new knowledge to personal experiences. In science, students have been exploring which materials bend, stretch and twist using multiple hands-on materials. We continued to stretch our knowledge all the way to history, as we continue to look at celebrations different people celebrate throughout the year, and the materials used to acknowledge each celebration.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher

Kind Regards,
Mrs Mitchell (1G), Mr Sabotic (1M), Mrs Ballard/Miss Pritchard (2G) & Mrs Threadgate (2M)

Stage 2

Years 3 and 4 have had an action-packed two weeks, with lots of events and learning taking place! 

Friday of Week 3 saw us attend the ‘Musica Viva’ performance by the Mara Band, who presented ‘Music in My Suitcase’. Here, students were able to implement the learning they have been engaging in class about tradition Turkish and Kurdish music, as well as learn many other songs that Mara sang in a different language. The plethora of instruments, harmonies, and entertaining actions that The Mara Band was nothing short of impressive, and had us all tapping our feet, clapping our hands, and up dancing. Thank you to Mrs Gavin for organizing this special visit to our school! 

For Sport, Stage 2 have been busy preparing for our upcoming Athletics carnival. Students have been refining their long jump, shot put, and running skills ahead of the big day. Unfortunately, our carnival has been postponed due to wet weather, however Stage 2 are still looking forward to trying their best on the day.  

Year 4 participated in mandatory CogAT testing on Thursday of Week 4. This saw students take part in the whole-day computer assessments, run by our Gifted Education Mentor, Mr. Nigel Richardson. We are proud of Year 4’s efforts and look forward to using the results to better target students’ learning to their individual skills.  

As we are heading into the busiest parts of the term, we ask that you please ensure you are checking COMPASS and Facebook updates for what events are happening at school. As always, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s classroom teacher.  

Mrs Sylvester (3G), Mrs McLennan (3M), Mrs Gavin/Mrs Jacobs (4G) & Miss Cooper (4M)

Stage 3

Students in Year 5 had the opportunity to go to Mount Pleasant Coal mine on Tuesday, the 13^th of May. Students were lucky enough to stand inside a brand-new scoop, and had an up close look at the pit. Here we listened to talks on rehabilitation of the land, and the different types of coal we can find (shiny coal is the best coal). A big thank you to Mount Pleasant for having us there!

During Music this term we are learning about musical concepts through recognising the features within music.  It has been fun exploring the different concepts, even learning a new language! We enjoyed a visit from Musica Viva, it was great to see the students get involved with the performance.

All Stage 3 students have received a project flyer earlier in Week 2 outlining an at-home project for students to complete, showing their knowledge in this area. The video will be due on the 29^th of May and can either be brought in on a USB or emailed to your child’s classroom teacher.

Mr Sweeney (5G), Miss Becus (5M), Mrs Gehrig/Mrs Somerville (6G) & Miss Dafter (6M)

What’s on in the Library

Please encourage your children to return their library books, on their borrowing days.

Tuesday: Kinder and Year 1
Wednesday: Years 2, 3 and 4
Thursday: Years 5 and 6

St Nick’s Visits

This week we have had children from St Nick’s, visiting the library. Mrs Wilson would like to thank the Year 4 and 5 students, who have shared picture books with the little ones.

New Resources

New resources have been purchased for the library and will be displayed for a couple of weeks for perusal.

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

lisa.wilson@mn.catholic.edu.au  or 65 43 3094.

Happy Reading!
Lisa Wilson
Teacher Librarian

Nadene Douglas
Library Assistant

Community Notices