14 August 2025

Our Mission @ SJM

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

Quote

Pope Leo XIV

“Wherever we are, let us try not to miss any opportunity to love. This is the vigilance that Jesus asks of us: to get used to being attentive, available, and sensitive to one another, as He is with us at every moment.” #Angelus

Principal’s Message

Dear Families,

Term 3 is buzzing along beautifully! The children have settled back into school life with enthusiasm and are working hard in their classrooms. It’s wonderful to see their focus and energy as they engage in learning and grow together.

Public Speaking

One highlight this term has been Public Speaking. Students have been preparing and presenting speeches in class, showcasing their confidence and creativity. Did you catch Samuella’s amazing speech on our Facebook page? It was a standout moment! A special shout-out to Lila in Year 1, whose grit and determination in presenting her speech was truly inspiring. Well done to all our young speakers!

Keep an eye out for more details on our School Final next week.

Draft Vision & Mission

We’re also excited to share our Draft Vision and Mission. Please take a moment to read Lauren’s REC news further in this newsletter, where you’ll find our proposed new Vision and Mission. We’re proud of this work and would love to hear your thoughts.

Year 5 – Burn Bright

Today, our Year 5 students are participating in Burn Bright, joining other students from across the Upper Hunter. Burn Bright is a dynamic leadership and wellbeing experience that encourages students to build confidence, connect with others, and explore their potential. This initiative is supported by Where There’s a Will, a local foundation committed to improving mental health and wellbeing in our region. We’re grateful for their partnership and the opportunities they provide our students.

Please Support Our Hundred Club

Don’t forget to support and share our SJM Hundred Club fundraiser! We still have 78 tickets to sell. Please share this far and wide. Every contribution helps us enhance the learning environment and experiences for our students.

School TV – Confidence and Motivation

SchoolTV is an online resource designed to support parents and carers in navigating the modern-day challenges of raising children. It offers credible information from leading experts, along with practical strategies to help families foster resilience, emotional intelligence, and positive mental health.

In this edition of SchoolTV, we explore the theme of Confidence & Motivation, two essential ingredients for a young person’s wellbeing and success.

This latest edition provides valuable insights into how we can help children develop a growth mindset, build self-belief, and stay motivated through life’s ups and downs. It also includes tips on encouraging autonomy and supporting kids when they face setbacks.

We encourage you to take a moment to explore the resources and reflect on how you can support your child’s development.

Click here to view the Confidence & Motivation edition of SchoolTV - https://muswellbrook.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/confidence-motivation-au

As always, thank you for your continued support and partnership in your child’s education.

Mr Aaron Moon

Assistant Principal

Our classrooms have been buzzing with creativity and curiosity. From hands-on science experiments to engaging Lego Robotics, students are showing great enthusiasm and progress. A special shout-out to our Year 4 students for their impressive work artwork with Aunty Wanda. Students created an artwork and learnt about some language features as well.  

SJM Curriculum Review 

This week, SJM took part in our annual curriculum review with the Catholic Schools Office. It is called a Curriculum Focus Day, and it is an opportunity for our school to look at our policies and procedures and ensure we are staying updated with the CSO requirements. Each term, we look at the units of work being taught in classrooms for each of the key learning areas, as well as our school’s assessment and reporting processes. We also look at the timetable for each class to ensure we are teaching the correct number of hours and minutes for each of these key learning areas. Even though we look at each key learning area each term, each year the CSO chooses two key learning areas that we are asked to submit evidence for to show that we are compliant in all these areas. This year, they have chosen Mathematics for Stage 3 and Creative Arts for Stage 1. We had all our evidence submitted and teachers shared our achievements with our colleagues at the CSO and other Upper Hunter Schools. 

School uniform

With chilly mornings still upon us, we kindly remind families that winter uniform is still required. Please ensure students are dressed warmly, especially for our cool early morning starts.

Mass Celebrating Diverse Learning

Please join Bishop Michael Kennedy and the Federation of P&F Associations for the 26th Annual Mass Celebrating Diverse Learning. 

The Mass will be a celebration of inclusion and diversity, where everyone’s unique, God-given gifts will be honoured. All members of our community are welcome, with movement and noise embraced as part of our shared experience. After Mass, please stay and join us for supper, where you will have the opportunity to connect with friends, old and new.

 WEDNESDAY 3 SEPTEMBER, 5PM 

SACRED HEART CATHEDRAL, HAMILTON

Mass | 5pm- 6.00pm, 

Supper | 6.00pm-7.00pm
RSVP not required, for more information or specific requirements contact Lizzie Watkin to discuss your needs at lizzie.watkin@mn.catholic.edu.au

Mrs Jane Jacobs

Religion

On August 15th, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a solemn holy day that holds deep significance in our Catholic tradition. This feast commemorates the belief that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was taken body and soul into heaven at the end of her earthly life.

The Assumption is not only a celebration of Mary’s unique role in salvation history but also a powerful reminder of the hope we share as followers of Christ. Mary’s Assumption reflects the promise of eternal life and the dignity of the human person. Her journey reminds us that our lives are sacred and that we, too, are called to be united with God.

In our classrooms and communities, this feast invites us to reflect on Mary’s faith, humility, and unwavering trust in God. She is a model of discipleship, showing us how to say “yes” to God even when the path is uncertain. As we honour her Assumption, we are encouraged to deepen our own relationship with God and to live with hope, compassion, and courage.

Let us take time this week to pray together, asking Mary to intercede for us and guide us in our journey of faith. May her Assumption inspire us to live with hearts open to God’s love and grace.

Last week, we gathered to celebrate the feast day of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, Australia’s first canonised saint and a remarkable woman of faith and service. Our Stage 3 students led a beautiful liturgy, with Year 4 students offering a thoughtful and reverent reflection on St Mary MacKillop’s life and legacy through a dramatisation.

Through prayer, scripture, and reflection, we honoured her incredible contribution to the Church, the wider world, and especially to the education of young people experiencing poverty. Her example continues to inspire us to live with compassion, courage, and a deep commitment to justice.

This year, our staff has been engaged in a thoughtful review of our school’s Vision and Mission Statements. These statements serve as a vital reflection of our school’s identity, purpose, and aspirations.

As part of this process, we have been intentional in recognising and incorporating the unique dual charism of our school: Josephite and Mercy. These rich traditions bring distinct values that continue to shape our culture, guide our actions, and inspire our commitment to faith, learning, and service.

We are pleased to share with you the draft Vision and Mission Statements, collaboratively developed by staff and students over the past two terms. We look forward to your feedback as we continue to refine and affirm the direction of our school community. A link has gone out via Compass for community feedback.

Mrs Lauren Gehrig
Religious Education Coordinator

Merit Awards

Class News

ES1

We’ve had a wonderful fortnight of learning and exploring in Kindergarten! Here’s what we’ve been up to:

Mathematics
Our focus has been on counting on when adding. The children are learning to start with the bigger number and count forward to find the total—an important strategy for building number sense.

Geography
We’ve been exploring places around our school and identifying what makes them special. The children have enjoyed creating simple maps and learning how we can care for the places we love.

 English
This week we introduced digraphs, focusing on /ck/ and /sh/. The children are learning how two letters can work together to make one sound, and they’ve had fun finding these sounds in words during reading and writing activities.

Thank you for your continued support at home. It’s wonderful to see our young learners growing every day!

Mrs Smith (KG) & Miss Maher (KM)

Stage 1

We’ve had a creative and productive couple of weeks in Stage 1!

In Maths, we’ve been working on addition and subtraction strategies. Students have been learning to combine and separate whole numbers using a variety of hands-on activities and problem-solving techniques.

In Creative Arts, we began our Seasons unit by creating delightful winter snowmen artworks. The students explored seasonal elements and expressed their understanding through mixed media and imaginative design.

Our main focus however, has been on honing our public speaking skills. Students practiced voice projection, expression, and clarity, while participating in our class finals. We’re proud of everyone’s efforts and we are excited to support our class winners as they move on to the upcoming School Public Speaking Finals!

Kind Regards,

Mrs Mitchell (1G), Mr Sabotic (1M), Mrs Ballard/Mrs Marco (2G) & Mrs Threadgate (2M)

Stage 2

Stage 2 students have had a vibrant and engaging few weeks! In English, they’ve been developing their confidence and communication skills through public speaking, preparing for the upcoming School Public Speaking Finals to be held in the hall on Friday, 22nd August. We can’t wait to see them shine!

In Mathematics, students have been exploring the concept of mass, using hands-on activities to compare and measure different objects. Science has been equally exciting, with students learning all about the Earth’s surface, especially how mountains are formed. Their curiosity and enthusiasm have been fantastic to see!

We’ve also had a splash of colour and fun with Crazy Pants Day and Crazy Shirt Day, the students looked amazing and brought lots of smiles to the school!

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

Stage 3

It has been a massive fortnight for Stage 3!
Another wonderful NAIDOC Day was celebrated. Students participated in many activities throughout the day including Boomerang throwing and Indigenous games, we would like to thank Mrs Thompson and Aunty Wanda for their organisation of the day.

Most of Year 6 attended the Science and Engineering Challenge for 2025. They were split into 7 groups and each worked on a different activity using teamwork and determination. This is what they had to say about it:

Yellow group: “this is kinda hard getting all the lights to light up together”

Pink group: “the lady said we SMASHED it!!

Silver group: “It’s like coding and it’s really fun and a little bit hard”

Orange group: “we are building a plane. Then we are going to launch it to fly”

Our excursion to ASPIRE ‘The Rise of Bozz’ was awesome! Another excellent performance, it even included one of our own Jax Eade! Congratulations on your ASPIRE debut Jax! We were all excited to watch you shine.

Our August Wacky Wednesdays have started. It was great to see some crazy bottoms & shirts!

Shoutout to the hard work our students are putting in for this term already. They have been learning about The Stolen Generations in History, thank you to Aunty Wanda for being a guest speaker within the classrooms, and Forces in Science. We encourage them to keep working towards their goals.

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

Community Notices