Week 5, Term 1
Welcome
Dear St James Community,
It was with great sadness that we have all viewed images and heard stories about how Northern New South Wales has been declared a catastrophe from the recent weather event. Unfortunately, some of our own school families have been impacted greatly by the floods; we are coordinating support and we hold them in our hearts and prayers.
We are grateful that all in the St James community is safe and that we've been able to provide continuity of learning for our students and open our school so that children can have routine and structure and be supervised in a safe and managed way.
Many are asking: How can I help? We have been informed that money is what's needed at this time, so we have planned a number of events for the remainder of Term 1 to raise funds.
- Project Compassion funds this year will go to the Ukraine conflict and the flood victims, as decided by our Year 6 leaders and Mini-Vinnie students. Students can donate money into the classroom project compassion box at any time and the events outlined below will support fundraising efforts; in turn, providing money for Ukraine and those impacted by the floods:
1. Friday, March 11th: Mufti Day (Gold coin donation).
2. Friday, March 18th: Harmony Day Treasure Hunt (Gold coin donation).
3. Friday, March 25th: Purchase the colouring of hair in house colours (Gold coin donation).
4. Friday, April 1st: Shopping Spree (Gold coin donation).
5. Friday, April 8th: Proposed fundraising linked to the Easter Raffle.
- Also each Wednesday on March 9th, 16th, 23rd, 30th and April 6th our student Mini-Vinnie's team will be holding smaller fundraising events whereby students can raise more money. Next Wednesday's event is a cupcake stall for sale at various prices. The mini-Vinnies' team will advertise their events weekly.
If families wish to donate further, please do so through Bishop Greg's Diocese of Lismore 2022 Flood Appeal (https://www.lismorediocese.
BSB: 037-889
Account No: 1061 5829 Account Name: DOL Flood Appeal
During times of crisis and emergency, it is important that children are given age-appropriate messages, and routines remain as normal as possible so they can process things and move to a level of understanding and hopefulness. Further information is attached, which provides advice on managing this critical event with children.
I invite you to join in solidarity and pray for those in need:
May the Lord show you the greatness of his goodness. May the Lord bless you abundantly with rest for the heart, power for virtue, wisdom for life, and patience in suffering. May the Lord bless you with joyful hope, so that we may serve our neighbours according to your will. Amen.
Missing lunches
From time to time children come to school without food due to things going wrong somewhere in the chain! Of course, when this happens we ensure that the children don't go hungry, but to streamline this process we will in the future ring parents to give the option of food being delivered to school by a carer or we'll provide them with a sandwich (jam, vegemite or cheese costing $2) and/or some morning tea (costing $1).
Upcoming events
Please note the upcoming events scheduled for Term 1. Now that things are settled in the COVID arena, we can confirm that these activities will proceed:
- March 7th, 9th & 10th: 3-way Conferences held face-to-face at school.
- Friday, March 11th: Mufti Day. Gold coin donation
- Friday, March 18th: Harmony Day Treasure Hunt (Gold coin donation).
- Friday, March 25th: School Cross Country, with parents & friends present (hair spray fundraiser - Gold coin donation).
- Friday, April 1st: Shopping Spree (Gold coin donation).
- April 8th: Celebration of Learning for Term 1 (including Holy Week Liturgy & Easter Raffle), with parents & friends present.
- Monday mornings: Playgroup has resumed each Monday morning in the Bali Room from 8:45am.
Parent Forum
To enhance parental engagement in our school, we have 10 parents who will act as Grade Parent Representatives in 2022; their role is to support the work of the classroom and promote school-home/home-school partnerships. Our 2022 Parent Representatives are listed below and we sincerely thank each of them for their commitment and support:
- Kindergarten: Jasmine Cunningham and Katrina Renwick
- Year 1: Florent Elineau
- Year 2: Michelle Hill and Casey Snart
- Year 3: Fernanda Czajkowskyj and Kristy Cherry
- Year 4: Jacinta Neville
- Year 5: Elaine Harriott
- Year 6: Bec Cann
The first meeting of the forum will be held on Tuesday, March 22nd and at this meeting a President, Vice-President and Treasurer will be elected to the executive of the forum.
Whole School Excursion - Frozen!
School Improvement
St James Primary is on a continuous journey of school improvement, whereby we analyse our current realities and look towards an ideal future state for our students. A pathway is created every 3 years to get us from here to there! Our current school improvement plan (the pathway) is illustrated below and we look forward to working with families in 2022 as we edge closer to these important outcomes.
Thumbs-up
- Parents for coming along to our Welcome Breakfast, and especially the parents who assisted on the day;
- Everyone for their support with school photo day;
- All families for their support this week;
- The wonderful support and trust all families have given the school during the COVID journey.
To conclude
We commenced our Lenten journey on March 2nd with Grade liturgies on Ash Wednesday; Lent is a very special opportunity to grow in our relationship with God and to deepen our commitment to a way of life. In our busy world, Lent provides us with time to reflect upon our patterns, to pray more deeply and to be generous to those in need.
With blessings,
Nic.
