Week 3, Term 4 - 2023
Welcome
Dear St James Community,
On Friday, October 20th, our Year 6 students hosted the annual Mission Fair; an opportunity for us 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 that "Contributed to the needs of God’s people." [Romans 12:13].
Mission Fair
Camps
Years 3 and 4 students attended their camping adventures recently, heading to Camp Good Enough [Yr 3] and Tyalgum Ridge [Yr 4]. 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 and for gifting their personal time for the benefit of our students and their development.
Year 3 & 4 Camp
Exuro - Yr 5
Charlie, Georgie, Gabrielle C, Sunny, Millie, Emily, Jayden, Mila, Isabel, Macy, Edward and Willow from Year 5 attended the Exuro excursion recently; a Catholic Identity gathering of primary school students from the Tweed region. The children engaged in discussions and activities that enriched their faith and spirituality, which they can now use to impact their peers and the Catholic Identity of our school. The word 'exuro' is a Latin word that relates to being enkindled by the fire of the Holy Spirit.
Exuro
Sporting Congratulations
Recently Kiana, Cade, Eden and Ezekiel attended the Polding Athletics Carnival in Sydney. These students represented St James and the Lismore Diocese with pride and great sportsmanship; congratulations. We especially acknowledge Eden who placed 1st in the 11 years Girls 200m and Cade who came 1st in the Senior Boys 800m race; they attended the State Athletics Championships in Sydney on Wednesday 25th October.
Polding Athletics Carnival
2024 Planning
After strong discernment and voice from many perspectives, we have decided that our professional learning in 2024 will occur throughout the year on different days, and we will not be having the Week 1, Term 3 Professional Learning week for staff. We thank everyone who completed the survey and offered their input in this decision. The full 2024 calendar will be published soon.
It is with excitement that we announce that Ms. Lauren Ayres (current Kindergarten Teacher and 2024 Year 3 Teacher) has announced that she is expecting her second child in 2024 - congratulations Lauren! We have advertised a position for the entire year for a new Grade 3 teacher; more information to come!
Term 4 Dates and Events
Please note the upcoming events scheduled for Term 4:
- Tuesday, October 31st: Kindergarten 2024 Transition session
- Wednesday, November 1st: K/1/2 Camp
- Thursday, November 2nd: Pupil Free Day (Students do not attend school)
- Friday, November 3rd: Pupil Free Day (Students do not attend school)
- Tuesday, November 7th: Kindergarten 2024 Transition session
- Tuesday, November 14th - Thursday, November 16th: Term 4 Learning Conferences
- Friday, November 17th: Woodwork & Needlepoint Social Gatherings
- Monday, November 20th - Wednesday, November 22nd: Year 5 Camp
- Thursday, November 23rd: Kindergarten 2024 Transition session
- Saturday, November 25th: Stage 1 Family Mass
- Monday 27th, Wednesday 29th November and Friday, December 1st: Swimming Program
- Tuesday, November 28th: Yr 6 Graduation Mass, 5:30pm @ St Joseph's Church
- Thursday, November 30th: Kindergarten 2024 Transition & K-Y5 step-up session
- Monday 4th, Wednesday 6th and Friday December 8th: Swimming Program
- Tuesday, December 5th: Swimming Carnival [Y2-Y6] @ Murwillumbah Aquatic Centre
- Thursday, December 7th: Christmas Carols
- Monday, December 11th: Yr 6 Celebration Day
- Tuesday, December 12th: Kindergarten Graduation
- Thursday, December 14th: End of Year Liturgy & Yr 6 Dinner Dance
- Friday, December 15th: Final School Assembly, Yr 6 celebration day & final day for 2023
Thumbs-up
- Year 6 students for their work with the Mission Fair.
- Parent Grade representatives for supplying a scrumptious thank you morning tea for staff on World Teacher's Day.
- Everyone involved in the Kindergarten 2024 BBQ.
- Staff and students for their amazing efforts on camp.
- Townsend [Kyrie] and Callard [Carter] Families for helping care for Petunia, Rosalind, Marigold, and Henrietta (our beautiful chickens) over the past two weekends.
To conclude
We commenced our transition program for our 59 kindergarten 2024 students with our welcome BBQ on Wednesday, October 18th. It was a wonderful event where our newest St James students explored their future playspace and classrooms and met their teachers and new friends. It was also a great opportunity for parents and families to start building social relationships which is a wonderful part of the 13-year journey of Catholic Education. We thank Amanda and the Year 5 parents; Peter and Skye Cownie who helped with the organisation, cooking, and serving of the BBQ. The children and their families will now come to school on October 31st, November 7th & November 23rd for three transition sessions. Then, on November 30th they attend a longer orientation session, which is also the day when all other students step up into their 2024 classrooms from 9 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. so that they can interact with their new teachers and explore the next stage of their learning journey.
With blessings,
Nic.
Kinder 2024 Welcome BBQ
FAMILY ARTS OPPORTUNITY
NORPA invites you and your family to Flow, created and performed by Mitch King and Blake Rhodes. Flow is a yarn about Yaegl country and its neighbouring nations, told through dance, poetry, video projection and rap. It is inspired by the first native title claim on a body of water, a tale of one man’s search to discover more about his story and our region’s shared history. This is a free outdoor community event celebrating kinship, culture and connection and is open to all. Tickets can be booked here.
