Week 3, Term 1 - 2023
Welcome
Dear St James Community,
On Monday 6th February, we welcomed our 57 new Kindergarten students to St James Primary; they have transitioned to school confidently and happily, and they are now settling into their new surroundings and routines of school. We pray that their 13-year journey of Catholic Education is filled with safety, faith, joy and learning and that during their time at St James they live, learn and grow in God’s love always.
Lord,
We entrust our children into your care, and as we do, may they grow in confidence and independence. May joy abound in their hearts and may they be filled with wonder, awe and excitement. Help them make friends and grow as people of kindness and faith.
Amen.
Kindergarten - 2023
Year 6 Leaders
On Tuesday, February 2nd our Year 6 students were inducted as leaders through our house system: Ryland - Learning for life; MacKillop - Seeds of justice; Hanly - Strength and gentleness & Polding - Stewards of creation. We congratulate our Year 6 students on achieving this milestone and we look forward to seeing the energy, input and role modeling that they will present to the school in various ways during the year ahead. Congratualtions kids!
Zone Swimming
We congratulate Zoe A, Harley B, Chelsea G, Hazel L, Mia S, Cruz S and Ted E from Year 3, Rykar B, Lucia D, Sabrina D, and Jake M from Year 4, Charlie A, Savanna C, Billy D, Millie F, Emily G, Lukis M, Jackson N, William R, Pippa S, Kayla W, Ava W, and Layla W from Year 5, and Gabriella D, Thomas M, Liam M, Leena N, Ruby R, Audrey S, Cormac T and Zane Z from Year 6 who represented St James Primary at the Zone Swimming event on February 14th. We extend further congratulations to Charlie A, Jackson N, Liam M, Cormac T, Zane Z and Thomas M who will move on to the Diocesan Swimming event on March 3rd - good luck!
Zone swimming
Welcome to grade meetings
Thank you for coming along to our recent welcome-to-grade parent meetings. Our teachers held two sessions in an attempt to provide opportunities for all families, however, if you missed the sessions, they were recorded and can be viewed via the link below. We hope this additional form of communication and welcome has assisted with the smooth transition to your child's 2023 grade.
Parent Forum
St James Primary is fortunate to have a very active and supportive parent body; something I am most grateful for! We have several parents who join the parent forum as official parent representatives for each grade. Their role is to promote events, liaise with classroom teachers regarding events and support as required, attend forum meetings to be a collective voice for parents, and build the social capital of their Grade parent group. Our parent representatives for 2023 are:
- Kindergarten: Erin W (Nathan) and Angela S (Brooklyn)
- Year 1: Jess B (Evelyn), Janine D (Matteo) and Chantel W (Charlotte)
- Year 2: Shannon T (Hudson), Anika W (Coen) Jamie M (Pippa) and Flo E (Olivia)
- Year 3: Casey S - Forum VP (Tully), Katrina R - Forum Treasurer (Sophie), Bec D (Cooper) and Lucy D (Beau)
- Year 4: Lauren N (Maggie)
- Year 5: Jacinta N - Forum President (Macy) and Linda D (Archer)
- Year 6: Elaine H (Mitchell) and Kris B (Charlie)
The first meeting of the forum is scheduled for Thursday 23rd February at 3.30pm and our first community event is the welcome breakfast (Tuesday 21st February - pancake day!). A full list of planned community/parent events will be published after the forum has held its first meeting and an invitation to volunteer for events will be distributed soon. Parent involvement focuses on school-based activities such as attending events or volunteering, but it also encompasses supporting children's learning at home and school. So, I cordially invite you to be an active member of our school by being involved in all the community and learning opportunities that are available at St James, and in doing so, we truly are a 'Family in Christ.'
Upcoming events/Term calendar
Our Welcome Breakfast will be on Tuesday 21st February which is Shrove Tuesday [pancake day]; breakfast (pancakes) will be served from 7:30am and in advance, we thank our parent volunteers for their assistance. The following day is the start of Lent, which will include an Ash Wednesday Mass (11.30am) in the MPC; parents are most welcome to attend as we commence the liturgical season of Lent.
Our Parent-Teacher-Student 3-way Conferences are set for Monday 6th, Tuesday 7th and Wednesday 8th March. A Compass booking invitation will be provided soon. Our teachers are looking forward to sharing students' glows, grows and goals with families.
Please note the following events/dates scheduled for the remainder of Term 1.
- School photos (February 20th)
- Pancake Breakfast (February 21st)
- Ash Wednesday (February 22nd)
- Year 6 camp (March 14th-17th)
- Cross Country (March 24th)
- Celebration of Learning – Holy Week Liturgy & Easter raffle [final day of Term 1] (April 6th)
- Good Friday public holiday (April 7th)
Thumbs-up
- All Kindergarten students for starting school positively and with loads of joy!
- To our year 6 students for already being awesome leaders and role models of our school.
- To students for the care and welcome that they have offered our new school students.
- All students for continuing to start the year with kindness to one another!
To conclude
Today, Friday 17th February, we held the 2023 ‘Show Your Colours Day’ with students celebrating their sense of belonging and connectedness to our beautiful school, and particularly their house team (Hanly, Ryland, Polding & MacKillop). This year’s ‘Festival of Colour’ included learning about the characters behind the House names, singing and colourful activities.....it was a fun-filled and joyful day of celebration and belonging!
It was wonderful to see our 'true colours' shining through today - well done kids!
With blessings,
Nic.
Show your colours day
Safety advice for parents - ThinkUKnow program
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) are urging families to be proactive this school year and update the privacy settings on children’s devices to help prevent predators from contacting them online.
The AFP-led ThinkUKnow program – Australia’s first and only nationally delivered, law enforcement-led online safety program – has produced guides for parents and carers.
- Gaming devices and what you need to know
- Parent and carer social media starter kit
For more information, visit this website.