Week 5, Term 1 - 2023
Welcome
Dear St James Community,
It was an absolute joy to have families and friends gather for our shrove Tuesday - welcome breakfast on February 22nd. The schoolyard was buzzing with conversation, joy, friendship, and scrumptious pancakes (drizzled with delicious maple syrup!)
These moments in the school calendar highlight that we are all so fortunate to call St James our educational home, and we are blessed with amazing staff, supportive parents, and happy kids.
Thank you to Amanda for coordinating things and to our parents who assisted on the day.
Welcome Breakfast
2024 Enrolments
On Wednesday, March 29th, our school will be open for enrolment tours during the day (9am-10:30am & 11:30am-1pm), which will be guided by our capable and excited Year 6 Leaders. Then at 7pm, there will be a Principal’s presentation in the MPC, where again we will proudly share how students who attend St James Primary are known and loved as members of our ‘Family in Christ'. 2024 Kindergarten enrolment packages are available from the school office and the parent prospectus can be viewed on the school website (link below); applications close on April 28th.
3-Way Conferences
At St James Primary we hold 3-Way (Parent Teacher Student) Conferences in Terms 1, 2 & 3, which gives students and families significant opportunities to reflect upon achievements and set new aspirations for future learning. This, along with formal A-E reports, social & emotional tracking, and celebration of learning events, create a cyclic package of communication about student learning and wellbeing with parents and teachers, with the child at the centre of the conversation.
Term 1 Conferences will be held next week: March 6th, 7th & 8th. We thank our staff for their dedication to this process and we thank you, our parents for engaging with your children in their learning - this is one of the most important things you can do to support growth and promote learning as a life-long adventure.
Woodwork & Needlepoint!
Building social capital among parents and adults in our community is something we aspire to do here at St James. As such, we will be starting a new initiative in 2023:
- Woodwork (a social gathering for our Dads - see flyer below)
- Needlepoint (a social gathering for our Mums - see flyer below)
Woodwork will occur once per term in the MPC where Dads are invited to come along to watch sports on three of our screens, play some cards, have a drink or two and enjoy meeting other Dads. Our first Woodwork of 2023 will be on Friday, March 24th (7pm - AFL: Lions V Melbourne, NRL: Storm V West Tigers & Basketball: NBA Playoffs).
Needlepoint will occur once per term where Mums are invited to come along and enjoy the company of other Mums. The first needlepoint will be dinner and drinks at the Pavillions Tavern on Friday, March 17th (6:30pm). For booking purposes please email the school to indicate you intend to come along!
Year 6 Camp
Our Year 6 students will attend their camping experience in Brisbane from March 14th-17th. We wish them all the best as they explore new surroundings and develop relationships with their peers, whilst building personal independence and resilience. We look forward to hearing their tales of adventure and fun upon their return to school. Have fun kids!
Staffing News
I am pleased to announce that a new Indigenous Education Worker has commenced at St James Primary, Amelia Daley. Amelia’s experiences include working as a caseworker supporting indigenous youth and children at the Burran Dalai Aboriginal Organisation and the Ngunya Jarjum Aboriginal Child & Family Network. In these roles, Amelia was mentoring young children, supervising, casework, and family support. Amelia's aims in the role are to support our indigenous children, whilst building strong unity for all; she has already made a terrific impression as our IEW. On behalf of our community, I welcome Amelia to our school.
Mrs Monique Rochester recently commenced her period of Maternity Leave as she prepares for the birth of her 3rd child. We wish Mon all the best and hope that she finds some time for rest before welcoming her new bub into the world. We pray to St Gianna for Mon and her family.
School Fees
Fee payers will receive an emailed Statement in the first few days after the end of each month.
This will detail the opening balance from the previous statement, all invoices raised during the period and payments received. Please check the bpay reference details on your statement as they have changed from last year.
To view the breakdown of your fee billing, open your Compass app. Click on more and then "Open in Browser". Click on your initials in the top right corner and then on Billing.
Upcoming Events
Please note the upcoming events scheduled for Term 1.
- 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)
- Monday mornings: Playgroup has resumed each Monday morning in the Bali Room from 8:45am for preschool children.
I will be away on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of Week 6 (next week); I have a Principal's meeting in Coffs Habour. Karen Sanderson and Kylie Cane, our Assistant Principals will be present to support staff, students, and families.
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. From this overarching plan, we then develop yearly targets. In 2023 our 3 Intended Outcomes are:
Mission: Engage with the Mission of Jesus Christ foundational values, so that all will experience a deeper relationship with God, self, and others.
Learning and Teaching: Facilitate the deliberate and strategic development of teacher practice, so that all students will achieve a minimum of a year’s growth in literacy and numeracy.
Parent Partnerships: Build purposeful and strategic partnerships with families to enhance connections between school and home.
You can help us to achieve our goals by supporting the initiatives and programs that are designed to bring us success.
Thumbs-up
- Parents and students for coming along to our Welcome Breakfast, and especially the parents who assisted on the day.
- Everyone for their support with school photo day.
- Students for their behaviour and engagement with the Ash Wednesday Mass.
- Parent Forum members for their commitment to their role in our school.
To Conclude
We commenced our Lenten journey on February 23rd with Ash Wednesday Mass; Lent is a very special opportunity to grow in our relationship with God and deepen our commitment to a way of life. Lord God, you who breathed the spirit of life within us. Draw out of us the light and life you created. May Lent grant us time to reflect upon our patterns, pray more deeply, and be generous to those in need.
With blessings,
Nic.
Ash Wednesday Mass
