Week 1, Term 3
Welcome
Welcome to Term 3! We hope everyone enjoyed a relaxing and enjoyable holiday break and are ready for the learning, spirituality and joy that awaits us throughout Term 3. It was wonderful to have our students return to school on Monday filled with enthusiasm and energy; we have had a terrific start to the term and all students have engaged positively throughout the week.
Please note the following events/dates that are planned for Term 3, with some adjustments due to the current COVID situation, some events will be confirmed closer to the date (based on COVID restrictions).
- NADIOC Week Celebration: Friday, July 16th.
- Trivia Night: Saturday, July 31st.
- Mary MacKillop Feast: Monday, August 9th [Sunday, August 8th is the feast day].
- Grandparents Day: Friday, August 20th [Cancelled].
- Book Week Dress-up Day: Friday, August 20th.
- R U OK Day: Friday, August 27th.
- 3-Way Conferences: Tuesday, August 31st & Wednesday, September 1st [Please note that these may be zoomed].
- Father’s Day Breakfast & Guernsey Day: Friday, September 3rd [To be confirmed].
- Musical spectacular: Thursday, September 16th [To be confirmed].
- Pupil Free Day: Friday, September 17th (Last day of Term 3).
- Kindergarten Springloaded: Every Friday from 20th August to 10th September.
- Year 1/2 Springloaded (Gymnastics): Every Friday from 23rd July to 13th August.
- Year 5/6 Springloaded: Every Friday from 20th August to 10th September.
We are looking forward to living, learning and growing together in God's love.
COVID Guidelines
The COVID situation that developed over the holiday break has meant some COVID management changes at St James Primary, please note the following:
- No non-essential visitors are permitted in schools. Parents should:
Maintain physical distancing by avoiding gathering outside of school gates and remain outside of school grounds (note this includes no visitors to School Assembly).
- Follow mask-wearing requirements and sign in using the service NSW QR code if you enter the office and Who's on Location (WOL) if required/approved to enter further than the office.
- If your child has cold or flu symptoms, please follow the health advice, get tested and stay at home while unwell. Students who are unwell and attend school will be sent home with the request to get tested.
Term 2 - Celebration of Learning Day
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On Friday, June 25th we held our Term 2 celebration of learning day. This event focused on our Play is the Way methodology and many parents and friends enjoyed playing the games and learning more about the life rafts with our students. It was a great way to end our Term and share all we've learned about Play is the Way and how this helps us to be more resilient and empathic people of good character and decency. The inaugural 'Play is the Way Championship' winner was Ryland House, but as I reminded our students on the day, we don't come to school to be better than others, we come to school to better ourselves!
Public Speaking Finals
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We congratulate all students who participated in the St James Primary stage based public speaking event; it was wonderful to have many students take to centre stage and present to their audience peers. Two students from each stage were then selected as the finalists and they will represent St James at the Tweed Heads Public Speaking event (postponed until further notice); we wish them all the best!
- ES1: Oscar Neville and Hannah Ward
- S1: Vincent Pommer and Violet Pommer
-S2: Blake Halloran and Macy Neville
-S3: Ajay Arun and Hailey Pickett
On the final day of Term 2, these students presented their speeches to the entire school community and they did an amazing job!
A new sign for St James!
Recently we commissioned artist Alexandra Condon (an alumnus of St James!) to complete an artwork for our school that will become a new front entry sign; welcoming everyone and showcasing the joy and community that is our educational home. We are very grateful to Alexandra for supporting us with this project and for creating such a phenomenal piece of work. The sign will be installed soon.
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A warm welcome
We have welcomed some new students recently to St James, and we hope they settle well into their new educational home and quickly make many new friends. I have been very impressed with the lovely welcome that our current students have offered; this is a great example of 'treating others the way you'd like to be treated.' At the start of Term 3, we have also welcomed Mrs Quinton back to St James and she'll be teaching Science and Technology with Mrs Robinson. We currently have 392 students at the school, which is very close to capacity!
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Recent Parent Surveys
In Term 2 we surveyed parents on two important matters; thank you to the many parents who completed them. An update on these are below.
1. School-Home Communication: 21 parents completed this survey. As a direct result of the survey, we have returned to using the Grade Letters each week, which seem to be an effective way to support classroom-home communication. Our staff is currently discerning how best to use SeeSaw as this tool can be effective in providing evidence of learning for families, but it is our desire to reduce the amount of information on SeeSaw. Our staff will work through this during Term 3 and roll out the platform more effectively and efficiently into the future. The survey information also said that families enjoy seeing photos of students at school; these will be put onto the Facebook page (with parental permissions) and through SeeSaw.
2. Homework: (138 parents completed this survey) The information gleaned from parents is that reading is a vital aspect of homework, but there was a mixed reaction on how, when and what homework should be. As such, we have 6 staff who have formed a discernment team and they are currently investigating what best practice is, what the research says and what our families have told us. Once they have completed their work they will return their finding and recommendations to staff, who will then make a decision on the future homework policy of the school.
I thank all families who engaged in these surveys as the information provided is helping shape the future direction of our school. I will provide updates in due course, but should you wish to discuss either matter, please contact your child's teachers or me.
Thumbs-up
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- All students, parents and staff for returning to school positively.
- Our maintenance crew for their work during the holidays.
- Our students for being so welcoming to our new students who have recently joined our school.
- Alexandra Condon for completing such a beautiful piece of artwork for St James.
To conclude
Lord, as we prepare for the coming of a new Term make us ready, attentive and available to hear you. May all our encounters, reflections and challenges be placed in your hands and may the work we do and the way we do it, bring new hope, new life and courage to all we come in contact with this term.
St James - Pray for us.
Mary our good Mother - Pray for us.
And let us always remember- to pray for one another.
Amen.
With blessings,
Nic.