28 July 2023

Our Mission @ SJM

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

Quote

Prayer 

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 in heaven. Amen

Principal’s Message

Welcome back to Term 3. I do hope you had a chance to relax and recuperate after a busy first 6 months of 2023. We have a lot on this term so please stay tuned via the newsletter, COMPASS and Facebook.

This year NAPLAN will be reported differently to previous years. There will be four levels of achievement: Exceeding, Strong, Developing and Needs Additional Support. As a result of this change, direct comparisons cannot be made to that of previous NAPLAN results.

Our students were dedicated and committed throughout the testing period and I thank them for this. Student’s NAPLAN results will go home on Friday.

As a school we are committed to providing quality educational opportunities for our students. As a school we will analyse the data in the coming weeks and develop a plan on and focus for the remainder of the year and beyond. On first glance I believe we need to focus on Grammar and Punctuation as a priority.

Please remember that NAPLAN is a snapshot of learning from May this year and definitely does not replace the assessment opportunities we have at SJM.

If you have any questions about your child’s NAPLAN results please speak to your teacher or myself.

NAIDOC @ SJM

The theme for 2023 NAIDOC Week is ‘For Our Elders.’ The aim is for all Australian schools to engage meaningfully with this theme. We are immensely aware of the importance of our elders, whether they be from Indigenous or Non – Indigenous heritage. We encourage all our students to show respect for our elders, whether they be teachers, family members or visitors.

An example of this was our visit to Calvary by members of the CREST Crew last week. Our Stage 3 boys performed several songs on the didj. The students completed dot painting activities with the residents as part of NAIDOC Week celebrations.

It was wonderful watching the beautiful and sincere interactions between our students and the residents.

On Friday we look forward to celebrating NAIDOC Week @ SJM. We have lots of activities organised for the children. We have many Aboriginal elders with us on Friday including Aunty Wanda, Uncle Richie & Uncle Gary. We are blessed to have them here with us on this day.

A massive thank you to Mrs Tania Thompson for organising the day.

Kindergarten 2024

I have nearly completed Kindergarten Interviews for 2024. In the coming weeks we will be finalising our Kindergarten Orientation Program. Please stay tuned for that.

Welcome to New Staff

I would like to officially welcome Miss Caitlin Maher to SJM. Caitlin is taking Year 3M for the remainder of the year whilst Mrs Dengate is on Long Service Leave.

I would also like to welcome Miss Georgia Brimble to SJM. Georgia is currently completing an Internship in 1G with Miss Fitzsimmons.

Finally, I would like to share with you that the Catholic Schools Office have allowed SJM to appoint a full time temporary onsite casual for the remainder of the year. I would like to announce Miss Shantelle Janik has been appointed to this role. She will start next week in this role.

Mr Aaron Moon
Principal

Assistant Principal

Welcome back to term 3 – halfway through the year already! We look forward to this term’s excursions, learning, laughter, and fun at St James.

This week the twelfth performance of Aspire was held at the Civic Theatre, where over 160 talented students devised, created, and performed an original piece of theatre over a weeklong season.

ASPIRE’S 2023 production of ‘The Pirate Code’ followed Captain Lucy Dastoor and her swashbuckling crew as they hunted for the lost treasure of Andreas against the backdrop of an over-taxed community under the control of a greedy Governor.

To find it they had to sail through storms, fight off the villainous Cutthroat Crowe and defeat the fabled Kracken as well as proving to everyone around them that women can make some of the best pirates.

The fun-filled adventure was designed to entertain and excite with a host of popular music that punctuated the storyline throughout as well as some sea shanties thrown in for good measure!

The six ensembles provided the audience with another stellar theatrical experience highlighting the talents of students from schools across the Diocese.

We really enjoyed the performance, taking Year 3, 4 5 and 6 to the performance in Newcastle. Some students have mentioned they were going to audition for next year’s production in 2024. Lots of students came ‘Dressed as a pirate’ to really engage in the performance and enjoyed being a ‘part’ of the show. We look forward to inviting all parents, carers, and families to watch our school performance in Term 4 this year based on the music and events of the Decades, written, directed, and performed by each year's group.

UPPER HUNTER CONSERVATORIUM OF MUSIC  

KATE FLANNERY – SINGING TEACHER

Mrs. Flannery from the Upper Hunter Conservatorium of Music is coming to St James, Muswellbrook every Wednesday in Term 3 and 4. With a wide range of performances and successful record of teaching singing to Upper Hunter students, Kate is offering one-to-one singing lessons every Wednesday on site at St James. If your student would be interested in this fantastic opportunity, please contact UHCM for further information on costs and booking in.

Please use the contacts in the flyer to book in and payments for tuition which is done between family and UHCM directly.

BEHAVIOUR EXPECTATIONS AT SJM 

As we move into the term 3 and the second semester, we would like to continue with high expectations of behaviour and reduce any negative behaviours. Please reinforce our four baseline behaviours, so that you can use the same language at home with your child when you are encouraging a renewed strengthening of behaviour for the new term ahead. 

1. Respect yourself, each other, and the environment. 
2. Right place. Right time. Right task. 
3. Think. Act. 
4. Kind words. Kind actions. 

At this stage, our reward at the end of Term 3 is a Movies, munchies and fun day for those students who are displaying the appropriate behaviour this term. Your child will not be eligible for this reward if they receive the following throughout the term: 

1 x Base 4 
2 x Base 3 
3 x Base 2 
9 x Base 1 or a total of 18 demerits.

Please have a chat to your child’s teacher if you require any more information about the behaviour system here at SJM.  

SCHOOL UNIFORM 

The following information about school uniform is straight from our school’s Parent Handbook. Please read it carefully and ensure your child is in the correct uniform each day. Please send in a note to Mr Moon or your child’s teacher if there is a reason that your child is not wearing the correct uniform. At school we are monitoring who is making correct uniform choices and respecting the school’s expectations.

If you require any items to ensure your child is in the correct uniform, please send in a uniform order form to the school’s office, and we will arrange for the item to be sent home with your child or collected from the office. Please note – the uniform shop is not open every day. 

We will be awarding a trophy to the best dressed class each Monday with accumulative points resulting in a reward at the end of the term and mini reward each week for the winning class.

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 fortunate to have equipment for the students to use in the playground. There is no need to bring in toys or sporting equipment to school. We ask that you keep it at home, as we cannot guarantee its safety here at school … you only need 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 have suggestions for any equipment, and we will keep it in mind for our budgeting.

WHOLE DAY ABSENCES FROM SCHOOL 

EVERY DAY IN SCHOOL MEANS SO MUCH MORE

Regular attendance at school is essential for students to achieve quality life outcomes. Everyday counts, as regular attendance helps students:

• Develop a sense of belonging
• Develop and maintain friendships
• Be more engaged at school
• Progress with their learning
• Be more aware of career and life options.

Supporting positive school attendance is a shared responsibility - everyone has a role to play in promoting the regular attendance of students.

It is important that your child is at school as many days as possible. Here is a friendly reminder that you are required to provide a reason for any whole days that your child is absent from school to avoid absence letters going home for explanations.

1. Add an attendance note in Compass app - this avoids the need for unexplained absences later.
2. Email your child’s teacher - as a courtesy to let them know why your child is away and probable date of return.
3. Write a note and send it to school when your child returns to school to explain why they were away.
4. Call the office – this can then be added straight away to your child’s compass notifications and avoids any mistakes or forgotten messages.

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 (within seven days). 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.

School Attendance Rate - The number of full-time days your students have attended as a percentage of the total number of student-days.

School Attendance Level - The proportion of full-time students whose attendance rate is equal to or greater than 90%

NATIONAL CHILD PROTECTION WEEK – 3rd-9th September

National Child Protection Week is a campaign held annually across Australia to raise awareness of child abuse prevention. This year’s campaign will be held between 3-9 September.

Coordinated by the National Association for Prevention of Child abuse and Neglect (NAPCAN (National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect)), National Child Protection Week aims to engage, educate, and empower Australians to understand the complexity of child abuse and neglect, and work together to prevent it. The campaign does this through the sharing of events and resources to encourage communities to engage in conversations around children’s safety and wellbeing.

This year, the theme is ‘Where we start matters.’

Decorate Your Gate

It is back!

In recognition of National Child Protection Week 2023, we are asking our Catholic schools to decorate their gate, fence, or alternative space in-line with the theme, ‘Where we start matters’.

Let us unite as a St James community and show our commitment to protecting and safeguarding children. By participating in Decorate Your Gate for National Child Protection Week, you are making a powerful statement that child protection is a top priority for our Catholic schools and our wider community.

Together, we can transform our communities into beacons of safety and care.

Prizes

Diocesan Catholic schools can win $4,000 for their school community (1x primary prize, 1x secondary prize)

Deadline 8^th September.

GREENPOWER

From 1 July 2023 all CSO (Catholic Schools Office) sites, including 59 schools and 12 St Nicholas Early Education Centres, are powered by Greenpower – 100% clean renewable energy.

Run by the NSW Office of Energy and Climate Change, Greenpower is the only voluntary government accreditation program that guarantees your electricity use is matched with power from renewable electricity sources.

Ray Bowen, Head of Property for the Diocese said, “We chose Greenpower because we wanted a truly renewable resource. The purchase of Greenpower guarantees the electricity is coming from renewable energy sources that meet strict environmental criteria. We can be sure that the grid electricity our business is using has net-zero emissions.”

“Many organisations are working towards this goal, but we understand we’re the first Diocese in the country to be registered as having 100% Greenpower,” Mr. Bowen said.

BREAKFAST CLUB

Our Breakfast Club is back and running every Thursday starting at 8.15am to 8.40am. Toast, cereals, and fruit were enjoyed by many these past two weeks.

Each Thursday we will run Breakfast club with help from Year 6 volunteers Kate Hamilton and Layla Prestia.

Coles, Muswellbrook have agreed to sponsor us with donations for provisions for Breakfast club – many thanks!

MUSHROOM CHALLENGE TERM 3

The Australian Mushroom Growing Association has presented us with a mushroom growing challenge for term 3 and 4.  We have been accepted into the Mushrooms in Schools Program for 2023.

 We are so excited to be on board with their challenge this year and are confident that our K-6 students will love learning about the magic of mushrooms, how they grow, why they are so healthy, and learn great ways to cook with them. They really are a superfood! Check out the recipe and website for more videos, lesson plans and ways to care for our mushrooms.

Boxes of mycelium (mushrooms) and peat were delivered to school for us to take part in the MUSHROOM GROWING CHALLENGE 2023. We prepared the shed for space and tools and the boxes were delivered to each classroom to start the process of growing. Watch the journey with us as we water and tend to our growing crops of mushrooms. Even Mr. Moon has a box to grow! Watch how he progresses.

The website even has recipes you can try out with mushrooms.

MUSHROOM RISOTTO

Ingredients

 250 g cup mushrooms, finely chopped (2 cups)
 2 tbsp butter
 1 onion, diced
 3 cloves garlic, crushed
 2 cups vegetable stock
 ¼ cup dried mushrooms (morel or shitake)
 1 1/2 cups arborio rice
 ½ cup white wine
 ¼ cup parmesan cheese
 Salt and Pepper

Method

1. To make the mushroom stock, place the vegetable stock and dried mushrooms in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to the boil then reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the mushrooms from the stock and set aside.
2. Place butter, garlic, and onion in a large microwave safe dish. Cook for 4 minutes. Add mushrooms; stir to combine then cook for 2 minutes.
3. Add rice and stock. Stir to combine then place the lid on the microwave dish and cook for 8 minutes.
4. Add wine. Stir and cook for a further 10 minutes.
5. Finely chop the reserved morel mushrooms.
6. Stir cheese and chopped morel mushrooms through the risotto. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
7. Serve with extra grated parmesan cheese.

We will keep you posted on how we are ‘growing’!

CANBERRA

Final reminder for Stage 3 going to Canberra in Week 8 Tuesday 4th September to Friday 8^th September.

A note with itinerary and items needed to bring will be brought home this week.

Have a great few weeks,

God bless,

Mrs Helen Feeney
Assistant Principal

Religion

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

Sunday 13 August the St James Parish will be celebrating Confirmation and First Holy Communion of children who would have completed the program. All families and friends are welcome to join in our celebrations. As the children continue to complete Sacramental Lessons in the next couple of weeks, please include these families in your prayers.

SEASON FOR GROWTH ADULT PROGRAM

The Seasons for Growth adult Program is for anyone who is living with the effects of change and loss. Many factors can cause change such as the loss or something you love, family separation and divorce, moving to a new place, impact of illness, migration and family or work-life changes.

If you, or someone you know, are dealing with significant life changes, you are invited to attend the Adult Seminar:

Date: Saturday 2 September, 9am – 12pm
Venue: Toohet Room, 841 Hunter St Newcastle West
RSVP: 27 August

Registration: 

Mrs Jane Jacobs
Religious Education Coordinator

Awards

Class News

ES1

Welcome to Term 3

We are looking forward to another exciting term.

In Religion this term students will be learning about God the Holy Spirit. We will be developing our understanding of the Trinity. Kindergarten will learn through stories, discussion, drawing and creating our ideas. We will be identifying ways the Holy spirit can be seen. Students will be able to recognise the signs and symbols of the Hoy Spirit. We will draw on our own gifts and the gifts of the Holy spirit to strengthen our relationship with God and others.

SJM has started growing mushrooms. This will be an interesting adventure. Stay tuned for kindergarten’s success and discoveries. This ties in with our unit in Science and Technology on Living things. Kindergarten will become living detectives and explore how to care for people, places, the environment and animals.

Mrs Trishelle Threadgate and Miss Shantelle Janik

Stage 1

Hello families of our wonderful Stage 1 students. Welcome to Term 3! Miss Cooper, Miss Becus, Miss Fitzsimmons and Mr Sabotic hope you all had a great, restful break, ready for another successful term. Year 1 and Year 2 have enjoyed their first week back at school after their break, catching up with their friends and teachers. We have enjoyed hearing all about of their fun school holiday adventures.

Thank you to those who met with your child’s teacher at the end of Term 2 for Parent/Teacher Interviews – we thoroughly appreciate the time and effort you consistently make to be involved in your child’s learning. Please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher via their email or the school phone within school hours (9am-3pm) should you wish to discuss anything regarding your child’s schooling.

Stage 1 are excited to begin engaging in the new units we have planned for each key learning area. We are particularly excited to begin learning Geography content in HSIE, as well as Dance in PDHPE. Please see respective grade newsletters for more information regarding what your child is learning at school this term.

We cannot wait to celebrate SJM’s NAIDOC Day this Friday, 28^th July. A sincere thank you goes to Mrs Thompson and the CREST Crew for their incredible effort in organising this wonderful day.

We are looking forward to a happy and successful term and are excited to see what amazing achievements Stage 1 make over the next 10 weeks.

Miss Annerley Fitzsimmons, Mr Bradley Sabotic, Miss Rachel Cooper, Miss Claudia Becus 

Stage 2

Dear parents/carers, 

Welcome back to SJM for Term 3, halfway through the year already! We are looking forward to another wonderful term filled with exciting events and learning.

Stage 2 had a fantastic time at ASPIRE on Wednesday, students were well behaved and enjoyed the “Pirate Code”.

Students have returned with a positive attitude towards their learning working very hard over the past fortnight.

There are no rotations this term, so students will be with their normal class teacher for all subjects. We have begun our Geography unit for the term, where we are looking at The Australian Continent and climate of places. For Creative arts we will be doing Drama, practicing for our upcoming production on the decades. In Science, we are looking at the effects of certain environmental changes on the Earth such as erosion. 

Congratulations to our award winners from Week 10 of Term 2 and the first week of Term 3!

Mr Cody Somerville, Mrs Jane Dengate, Miss Gabrielle Dafter, Mrs Jane Jacobs, Mrs Mary Ballard

Stage 3

Welcome back to school for Term 3, halfway through the year already! We look forward to another wonderful term filled with learning, laughter and fun.

Stage 3 had a fantastic time at ASPIRE on Wednesday, students enjoyed “The Pirate Code” with some students stating that they would like to audition for next year’s production.

Students have returned with a positive attitude towards their learning working extremely well over the past fortnight without any behaviour incidents and low base behaviours. Well done! Week 2 sees our end of term 2 reward for those who have had no Bases adding to 18 points. Well done!

Students have begun learning about “Australia as a Nation” our history unit for the term, where we are looking at the history of how government was formed in Australia, culminating in our trip to Canberra in Week 8 this term. For Creative arts we will be studying Drama techniques such as mime, acting, improvising, singing, and performing. We will begin writing and practicing for our upcoming production on the decades of 2000 and 2010. In Science, we are looking at growth and survival and are taking part in the whole school mushroom growing challenge – that should be fun!

Congratulations to our award winners from Week 10 of Term 2 and the first week of Term 3 – see below.

Miss Isabelle Lamont, Mrs Melissa McLennan, Mrs Lauren Gehrig, Mrs Helen Feeney, Miss Alyssa Pritchard

Sport News

Regional Athletics Carnival

Congratulations to the squad of 38 students who travelled to St Catherines Singleton to participate in the Regional Athletics Carnival.  The following students have been progressed to the Diocesan Carnival to be held on Wednesday 2^nd August at Newcastle. 

Mrs Jane Dengate
Sports Co-ordinator

What’s on in the Library

Book Week Competition

To celebrate Book Week there will be two competitions running, as outlined below. All entries are due by Friday 25^th August.

Infants Classes:

Two of the CBCA Book Week Shortlisted books, My Strange Shrinking Parents and The Best Hiding Place feature a house. Students can design and build a miniature house.

Primary Classes:

Based on A is for Australian Reefs, students create their own mini reef diorama.

Shared Reading:

On Thursday 24th August, students will share a book with a friend, in the courtyard. All students must bring a book from home, to share during this time.

Happy reading

Mrs Lisa Wilson

Community Notices

St. James’ P & F Association

P&F Committee Contacts