Week 3, Term 4
Welcome
Dear St James Community,
I happily returned to school at the start of week 2 after my 5 week long service leave. My time away gifted me with a wonderful family holiday and an opportunity to renew. I sincerely thank Rhonda Cree, who was Acting-Principal and Karen Sanderson, our Assistant Principal for their efforts; I know they aptly fulfilled the many duties with grace, dignity and care.
It's good to be back!
It has been a very busy few weeks here at St James Primary with numerous activities keeping us engaged and active, which is tremendous for the children's learning and their overall sense of joy and wellbeing. Within the newsletter, you'll find some anecdotes on these many happenings!
Staffing - announcements
As you know Mrs Rhonda Cree decided that she will retire this year from her tremendous career in education. The original plan was for Rhonda to finish at the end of Term 4, however, due to her retirement plans and the sale/purchasing of property, which also includes a move north-west, it is necessary for Rhonda to finish on Tuesday, November 1st.
On behalf of the school community, I express our heartfelt thanks and gratitude to Rhonda for her decades of tireless work for our school. Rhonda has held many roles, including classroom teacher, Leader of Catechesis, Acting-Principal and more recently as our Assistant Principal over the past 5 years. Rhonda's dedication to children's learning, well-being and growth has seen many initiatives and programs evolve in our school, which have aided many, many students, families and staff. Rhonda's legacy is one of care, compassion and learning for all, which are indeed now woven into the fabric of St James Primary.
Thank you Rhonda for your loyalty, service, dedication, child-centredness and joy that you have gifted us all; you'll certainly be missed, but we send with you our love and best wishes for a happy, healthy and joy-filled retirement.
I encourage all families to attend a special farewell gathering for Rhonda on Tuesday, 1st November, 2pm where we will honour Rhonda and gift her with a fun and prayerful farewell.
Also, on Friday 21st October, our beloved Mrs O'Gorman, Kindergarten teacher departed to prepare for the birth of her first child, due in December. We thank Elaine for her work over the 2022 school year; Elaine is a beautiful teacher who brings love and joy to the classroom every day. We look forward to hearing the happy news in the weeks ahead.
Camps
Years 3, 4 and 5 have been on their camping adventures this week, heading to Camp Good Enough, Tyalgum and Burleigh Heads respectively. From all accounts, the children thoroughly enjoyed their experiences and they behaved tremendously; well-done kids! Thank you to all staff involved in the organisation.
Year 3, 4 & 5 Camps
Mission Fair
On Friday, October 21st, our Year 6 students hosted the annual Mission Fair; an opportunity for us all to share in the joy of building the Common Good and supporting the Dignity of Humanity. All students engaged in a mini-fair style session, with funds raised going to the local, national and global mission appeals. We congratulate the Year 6 students on their efforts as they created a tremendous event and "Contributed to the needs of God’s people, and welcomed strangers into their homes." [Romans 12:13].
2022 Mission Fair
Staffing 2023
It was my plan to announce our staffing/grade appointments to our community this week, but due to some final amendments to our structures, I will announce the full staffing schedule in the coming weeks. For now I can inform you on the following:
- Kindergarten Teachers: Miss Matilda Regan, Miss Holly Veitch & Miss Maddy Smith
- Mrs Barone and Mrs Johns will move to part-time in 2023 (3 days per week), along with Mrs Fitzhugh, Mrs Kuhn, Mrs Ricketts & Miss Ryan who are currently part-time.
- Mrs Rochester will only be with us for a short period in Term 1, departing mid-Term for a period of maternity leave to welcome her 3rd child into her family.
- Mr Sam Kerlin is returning to Victoria to be closer to family and to take up a Deputy Principal position.
Swimming Program - 2023
Due to the Banora Oasis pools not reopening we have been working hard at finding alternative ways of operating a water safety, swimming program and carnival for our students that are aligned with the NSW PDHPE curriculum outcomes. The School Culture and Extra-Curricula Team (Mrs Maxworthy, Mr Holmes, Mrs Rochester, Mr Keating & Mrs Cree) have explored many options; the chosen one is outlined below:
- Kindergarten - Year 3 swimming program at Laurie Lawrance pool: November 28th, 30th & December 2nd, 5th, 7th & 9th.
- Year 4-6 Beach safety and water safety program: November 28th & December 2nd, 5th & 9th
- Year 2-6 Swimming Carnival at Murwillumbah Aquatic Centre: December 6th
We believe this alternative approach will provide our younger children with opportunities to explore water safety in a pool setting and our older children with vital skills and experiences in a more open-water setting. The children in Years 4-6 will travel by bus to Greenmount Beach and have high levels of supervision with adult-to-student ratios as they engage in the activities. The children will not go deep into the beach water. Students will be bused to Murwillumbah for the carnival and parents are welcome to attend. Operoo information and permission will be forwarded to parents soon.
Term 4 Dates and Events
Please note the upcoming events scheduled for Term 4:
- Wednesday 2nd November: Kinder / Year 1 / Year 2 Camp Day
- Thursday 3rd & Friday 4th November: Pupil Free Days
- Thursday 10th, 17th & 24th November: Kindergarten 2023 Transition sessions
- Monday 28th, Wednesday 30th November & Friday 2nd December: Swimming program [K-3]
- Monday 28th November & Friday 2nd December: Swimming program [4-6]
- Tuesday 29th November: Yr 6 Graduation Mass, 6pm St Joseph's Church, Tweed Heads
- Thursday 1st December 1st: Kindergarten 2023 Transition & K-5 step-up 2023 class
- Monday 5th, Wednesday 7th & Friday 9th December: Swimming program [K-3]
- Monday 5th & Friday 9th December: Swimming program [4-6]
- Tuesday 6th December: Swimming Carnival [Y2-Y6] @ Murwillumbah Aquatic Cnt
- Thursday 8th December: Christmas carols, 6.30pm
- Wednesday 14th December: Kindergarten Graduation, 9am MPC
- Thursday 15th December: Celebration of Learning & End of Year Liturgy, 11.30am Doyle Cnt
- Thursday 15th December: Year 6 Dinner Dance, 6pm MPC
- Friday 16th December: Final School Assembly / Last day for 2022
Thumbs-up
- Year 6 students for their work with the Mission Fair.
- Parent representatives for supplying a scrumptious thank you morning tea for staff on World Teacher's Day.
- Everyone involved in the Kindergarten 2023 BBQ.
- Staff and students for their amazing efforts on camp.
- Mrs Cree for being Acting Principal whilst I was away.
To conclude
We commenced our transition program for our 56 kindergarten 2023 students with our welcome BBQ. It was a wonderful event where our newest St James students could explore their future playspace and classrooms and meet their teachers informally. It was also a good opportunity for parents and families to start building social relationships as they will travel together for the 13-year journey of Catholic education from 2023-2035! We thank Amanda and the Year 5 parents; Janita Thomson, Elaine Harriott, Erin Navin, Bridgette & Russell Kennedy who aided with the organisation, cooking and serving of the BBQ. The children and their families will now come to school on November 10th, 17th and 24th for three transition sessions, and again on December 1st for a longer session, which is also the session where all other students step up into their 2023 classrooms for the morning.