Week 9, Term 4
Welcome
Dear St James Community,
This coming Christmas night we will hear once more the Angel's message to the shepherds, and we experience anew the atmosphere of that holy night when Jesus was born. As we dash around town trying to find that perfect gift for someone, may we remember to spread the spirit of giving to everyone we meet, and on Christmas morning may we remember Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus who celebrated the first Christmas in Bethlehem. May the joy of Christmas and Christ’s love for us gently fill our hearts and homes, so that in this loveliest of seasons we may find many reasons for happiness.
This year, as a school we have ensured that the children’s learning journey, the experiences in Catholic Identity and Faith, and the continuation of teaching and learning have been at the forefront of our time together. We have enjoyed having our community back together this year (without COVID), which has fostered a greater sense of belonging for the children and gifted them with learning opportunities that facilitated academic growth and opportunities to glow. We congratulate everyone for what we have achieved this year.
Our teachers are privileged to know and love our students and to participate in their academic journey; they recognise and applaud just how hard their students try. They celebrate their students’ achievements whether they be great or small and they share with pride the progress they make with their learning. Our staff thank you for entrusting your children to our care.
As we close our year together we express our wishes of farewell to the families who will be moving on from our school and we thank them for the contributions they have made to our community. Particularly, we farewell our Year 6 students who have concluded their primary school years with St James and we thank them for their efforts and best endeavours that have been applied by each of them during their time here. Additionally, we farewell 3 staff members from our team: Mr Sam Kerlin, Mrs Robyn Ryan & Mr Joel Goulding. We thank these staff members for assisting our children with their learning, for gifting our school with their talents, and for all they have achieved with our students and families in their time at St James. We wish all those leaving our school community joy and happiness as they enter new chapters in their lives.
As principal of St James Primary, I consider myself blessed to be leading our awesome school! The conclusion of this year marks the first full cycle of students going through St James from Kindergarten to Year 6 with me, which is such a privilege. I believe we have a unique place for students to learn, where being known and loved are at the core of our school. Thank you St James families for all you do for our school and for your ongoing support of my leadership.
All of the experiences of this year have contributed in some way to ensuring we offer our students the best education available; we have many fond memories from our year together and I look forward to continuing to help us all live, learn and grow in God’s love.
2022 in picture!
Commencing 2023
Please note the following dates for the commencement of the 2023 school year.
- Friday, January 27th: Teachers begin (Pupil Free Day).
- Monday, January 30th & Tuesday, January 31st: Mathematics Assessment Interviews (Y1-Y6).
MAI assessments for current students are booked via Operoo.
- Wednesday, February 1st: First full day of school for Year 1-6 students (8:40 am-3 pm).
- Monday, January 30th - Friday, February 3rd: Beststart Kindergarten Interviews.
Beststart assessments for Kindergarten students booked directly through the office.
- Monday, February 6th: First full day of school for Kindergarten students (8:40am-3pm).
After Kindergarten drop-off our Year 1 families will host a special morning tea for Kindergarten families (Cheers & Tears); this will be held in the MPC at 9 am.
The parent handbook has been updated for 2023; it outliness all known information, dates, and events, along with information on the policies, structures, and operating procedures of the school. The parent handbook is located on the school website and I encourage all families to be familiar with this resource. (https://www.bpplism.catholic.edu.au/communication-reporting).
School Uniform
The holiday break is a typical time when families restock uniforms as children grow and develop, and lose things! To this end, the school uniform requirements are outlined in the parent handbook that is located on the school's website (https://www.bpplism.catholic.edu.au/communication-reporting). I remind everyone of the school's stance on school shoes; for both boys and girls, shoes must be fully black polishable leather (see example photo below); coloured markings, mesh, and/or canvas shoes are not acceptable, so before buying new shoes, please ensure you're familiar with the requirements. The school uniform shop is open next week on Monday (1pm-3.30pm) and Thursday (8.15am-10.15am), and will reopen in Term 1 with special extended hours on Monday 30th & Tuesday 31st January (8am-1pm).
Compass Rollout
As previously communicated we are very excited about our new communication & school management platform called - COMPASS School Manager, which will become our school community communication tool from the start of next year.
The Compass platform includes many different features, you’ll have the ability to:
• Receive notifications about school events, news, and information
• Enter an explanation for absences
• Update your family contact details (mobile phone & email)
• View the school calendar
• Download and view your child’s academic reports
• Book parent-teacher conferences (parent/teacher interviews)
• Pay and provide digital consent for events
• Order lunches from the Canteen - to delete your Flexischools account please follow This link
• Pay school fees
Your login details will arrive via your personal email address registered with us and each parent will receive a username and login. If you share an email address with your significant other, then you will receive two emails with two unique log-ins. Your username and password are
unique to you, families will not share a username and password and will come from an address
noreply@compass.email - you may need to check your junk mailbox.
Therefore, at this stage, no action is required by parents but please keep an eye out for your Compass invite email due to be sent out mid-January 2023.
Thumbs-up
We would like to thank the following people/groups for their support during the year:
- Fr Michael, Fr Wilba, Fr Michael, and Mrs Kathy Twohill for sharing their love of God and the Catholic faith with us.
- Mrs Cree, Mrs Sanderson, and Mrs Cane for their outstanding leadership and support of everyone.
- The School Management Team for assisting with the management of our school.
- The entire School Staff Team for their tireless work and dedication.
- The Grade Parent Representatives (Katrina Renwick, Jasmine Cunningham, Flo Elineau, Casey Snart, Billee Brown, Louise Riddy, Kristy Cherry, Jacinta Neville , Elaine Harriott & Bec Cann) and all Parent Helpers who have actively ensured that our community enjoys celebrating together and providing the best available education for our children.
- The Canteen Conveners and helpers for feeding us and providing scrumptious food.
- All Parents and Friends of our school who have supported and promoted our school; especailly those in the past few weeks who have helped with the covering of our new readers.
- And most importantly the children who enrich our school and make it a beautiful place of learning, joy, and faith.
To conclude
To our departing families and staff, I bid you a fond farewell and for our returning staff, students and families we look forward to strengthening our relationship with you and to journeying together through the 2023 school year. With joy in our hearts, we can all look forward to the next chapter of education for St James Primary and remain confident that our school will continue to be a place where the Gospels come alive and where everyone achieves fullness of life.
In closing, I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, and I pray that our holidays are safe, festive, and joyous.
With blessings,
Nic.
