Week 11, Term 1 - 2024
- Welcome
- School Reviews
- Staffing news
- Catholic Education Week
- St James Feast Day
- Parent Forum
- Tiny Towns
- Anzac Day March
- Term 2 chicken care
- Mother's Day Breakfast - advanced notice
- School Improvement Goals: Fortnightly update
- Term 2 Calendar
- Thumbs-up
- To conclude
- Upcoming events
- Parenting support & learning
- Other information
Welcome
Dear St James Community,
Today we held our whole school retreat, Yandihndi. Our theme, accompany, go with, take along ignites faith through student discipleship and spiritual formation.
This year's retreat theme was service, which is considered an integral part of the Christian life in the Catholic tradition, reflecting the love of God and neighbour and contributing to the building of God's kingdom on earth.
Throughout 2024 I pray that we serve one another through word, deed and example as expressed at Yandihndi.
Yandihndi - 2024
School Reviews
Schools undergo periodic review processes for us to celebrate achievements and look to future growth options, which is an integral aspect of school improvement. St James will complete the 3-year cyclic reviews in Term 2, 2024.
- Catholic Mission Review: Thursday, May 9th.
- School Improvement Review: Tuesday, May 14th, Wednesday, May 15th & Thursday, May 16th.
On these occasions, a panel of knowledgeable others will attend our school to explore all we do at St James, which forms the basis of a report that will offer affirmations, commendations and recommendations. Staff, students and parents will be given opportunities to meet with the panel to offer their thoughts, celebrations and insights.
Parents who wish to join the conversation are invited to email the school with their intention to attend one or both of the reviews [bpp@lism.catholic.edu.au]. The dates and times are:
- Catholic Mission Review: Thursday, May 9th @ 12noon in the MPC.
- School Improvement Review: Tuesday, May 14th @ 2:30pm-3pm in the MPC.
We are looking forward to celebrating and improving our beautiful school.
Staffing news
I am pleased to announce the following staff appointments:
- Year 3 [Terms 2, 3 & 4]: Mrs. Carrie Pearson.
Carrie is an experienced teacher who has consistently worked across various schools on the Gold Coast. Carrie has experiences with flexible learning, student goal setting and supporting children's wellbeing.
- Stage 3 Learning Support and Visual Art [Terms 2 & 3]: Mrs. Robyn Ryan.
Robyn is known to the community of St James, having worked at the school in different fill-in roles over the years. Robyn is the creator of our beautiful Yandihndi mosaic, as such, her artistic abilities are wonderful!
- Year 1 [Term 3]: Mrs. Katrina Byrne.
Katrina has various teaching experiences in southern NSW in flexible learning schools. Katrina recently moved to the beautiful Northern Rivers region where she has become a wonderful casual teacher for St James.
We welcome Carrie, Robyn and Katrina to our school community and we look forward to them enriching our students' learning and wellbeing.
Catholic Education Week
This week our school joined with more than 45 schools across the Lismore Diocese to celebrate Catholic Education Week (CEW). This year’s theme is “Innovation and Faith’.
For many of the great innovators throughout history, their faith motivated them to explore and understand the wonders of the universe. Our Catholic schools walk alongside clergy, parishioners and families to prepare and nurture our future innovators and faith leaders on their journey.
As part of our celebration of Catholic Education Week all students participated in our Yandihndi retreat and we completed our 2025 Kindergarten enrolment application process.
Thank you for your ongoing support of St James Primary and Catholic Education.
St James Feast Day
St James Primary School is turning 30 in 2024!
Friday, May 3rd [Week 1, Term 2] is the Feast of St James and in essence, this celebration captures all the goodness, faith, learning, and joy that encompasses our school for those who call St James Primary their educational home. We hope you can join in the prayerfulness, joy, and celebration of the day.
To commemorate St. James’ 30th Birthday, we are offering a unique opportunity for our families to be a part of history. By purchasing a personalised paver, your names will be laid in our Prayer Garden and forever remembered as part of our Family in Christ.
Parent Forum
We sincerely thank all parents for engaging in our Parent Forum future vote. We had 102 parents vote (well above the Diocesan average – go team St James!). The vote was in favour of the School Community Group (49 votes), with 36 voting for the he School Community Forum and 17 being undecided.
To this end, we will adopt the School Community Group model from the beginning of Term 2, 2024. This model is outlined in the image.
We will have 1 meeting per Term that is open to all parents and friends of our school.
- Term 1: N/A
- Term 2: Tuesday, May 7th (7pm)
- Term 3: Tuesday, July 30th (7pm) - Tentative Time
- Term 4: Tuesday, October 22nd (7pm) - Tentative Time
In closing off this chapter of the parent forum at St James, I would like to sincerely thank the many parents who tirelessly worked to promote and support our school over many years. Espeacially I thank the outgoing (and final Forum execuitive) of Jacinta Neville (President), Casey Snart (Vice President) & Katrina Renwick (Treasurer), and all 2023 Grade Parent Representatives who were the final representatives of this model. I look forward to the next chapter of parent partnerships at St James, where together we can continue to flourish.
Tiny Towns
I want to take a moment to express my deepest gratitude for the unwavering support and exceptional partnership that St Joseph's College provided to us for this project.
It has been truly heartwarming to witness the dedication and commitment of Kim Banko and the entire cohort of students who tirelessly and enthusiastically created the Tiny Towns.
This new space will provide engaging learning experiences for the St James children, and endless hours of joy and laughter.
Please see below the photos and a thank you letter that was sent to the College on behalf of our school community.
Thank you!
Tiny Towns
Anzac Day March
All St James Primary students have the opportunity to participate in the Anzac Day March (Thursday 25th April - Week 2 of the school holidays) co-ordinated by the RSL Tweed Heads & Coolangatta Sub-Branch.
Students will gather at the Coral Street end of Jack Evans Boat Harbour, Tweed Heads, wearing their full school uniform, including their hat. We are requested to be in position by 10:15am am so we ask that all students be dropped off and left with St James staff by 10.00am. It will take us about 15 minutes to organise students into heights and lines. The march is set to start at 10:30am, with the ceremony at the Epitaph starting at 11am. Families can share a light refreshment by the RSL Tweed Heads & Coolangatta Sub-Branch at the conclusion of the ceremony at the Twin Towns club.
Thank you in advance for supporting your child's participation in this march to honour the spirit of soldiers past and present.
Term 2 chicken care
Our school chickens (Rosalind, Henrietta, Marigold & Petunia) need care during the Term 2 weekends and the end of Term 2 holidays. So, we invite families to go on the roster as explained below.
Term 2 weekend roster:
- Attend school on Saturday and Sunday and feed the chickens food scraps from home and give them some seed (provided). Check the eggs and take them home to enjoy some yummy scrambled, poached, or fried eggs!
July holiday roster:
- Attend school for a period of days during the July holiday break (according to the roster) and feed the chickens food scraps from home and give them some seed (provided). Check their water and feeder. Check the eggs and take them home to enjoy some yummy scrambled, poached, or fried eggs!
Families who join the roster will have access to the school with a key for the side gate and an outline of what to do. If you'd like to join the upcoming Term 2 roster, please email the school by Wednesday, May 1st (bpp@lism.catholic.edu.au). In advance, thank you for helping us take care of our little chicks!
Mother's Day Breakfast - advanced notice
We look forward to hosting our Mothers and families for breakfast for Mother's Day on Friday, May 10th.
School Improvement Goals: Fortnightly update
Short Term Goals
Our recent short-term goal was "Together, students, families and staff will reflect upon the events of Holy Week; remembering the Paschal Mystery of Jesus Christ [His life, death & resurrection], so that we can build a stronger connection with our Catholic Faith." Our beautfiul Holy Week and Easter liturgies facilitated this goal is a very special way.
Our new short-term goal for the start of Term 2 is "Students will reconnect with their peers and teachers, and maintain a high standard of school attendance."
Long Term Goals
One of the longer-term goals is to build partnerships with our community, and in the past weeks, we've progressed this by tightening our communication structures. We are aiming for a 100% readership of the school newsletter; currently, it is read by 64.89% of families. We will continue to build this number and promote school-home communication practices.
Term 2 Calendar
Please note the following events/dates scheduled for Term 2.
- April 29th: First day of Term 2 for students.
- May 3rd: St James Feast Day.
- May 9th: Mother's Day Stall. - (If you are able to assist with helping please email bpp@lism.catholic.edu.au)
- May 9th: Catholic School Mission Review.
- May 10th: Mother's Day Breakfast - (Dad volunteers if you are able to assist with helping please email bpp@lism.catholic.edu.au)
- May 10th: Zone Cross Country.
- May 14th-16th: School Review.
- May 20th-23rd: Year 6 Camp.
- May 24th: Mr. McTaggart commences 6 weeks leave.
- May 28th: Proclaim Lismore (Pupil Free Day).
- June 2nd: First Holy Communion.
- June 4th-6th: Term 2 Learning Conferences.
- June 12th & 13th: Murwillumbah Eisteddfod.
- June 14th: Atheltics Carnival.
- June 17th-20: Murwillumbah Eisteddfod.
- June 28th: Atheltics Carnival Back-up Date.
- July 3rd: 100 days of Kindergarten Celebration.
- July 4th: PiTW Championships Day/Final Day of Term 2.
- July 5th: Pupil Free Day.
Thumbs-up
- All students and families for respectfully engaging in our recent Holy Week and Easter Liturgies.
- Thumbs up to Jacinta, Rachel, and Sophie for the help with wrapping our Easter eggs and to Jacinta, Casey, and Katrina for assisting with the Easter Raffle.
- All students for bringing their beautful smiles (and pristine uniforms) to the school photo day.
- All students and families for their beautiful participation in our school retreat.
- All Students/Staff/Parents for their support and work during Term 1.
- The Fyfe and Smith families for caring for our chickens over the past two weekends.
To conclude
On Tuesday, April 2nd students celebrated the resruection of Jesus at our Easter liturgy. We affirm the Resurrection as a central tenet of our faith, professing belief in the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Resurrection serves as a profound reminder of God's power, love, and the ultimate fulfillment of His salvation, inviting us to live in joyful anticipation of the fullness of life in communion with God.
In closing Term 1, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to all students, staff, and parents for their support and efforts throughout our time together. I pray that you have a restful, safe and enjoyale holiday break; we recommence school on Monday, April 29th.
With blessings,
Nic.
Term 1 Memories
Upcoming events
Please note the following upcoming events......
Parenting support & learning
Please note the following parenting supporting & learning items.....
Expect your child to be at school every day.
Setting the expectation for your child to be at school every day is a fundamental aspect of fostering a positive attitude toward education and establishing good attendance habits.
Clearly communicate to your child that attending school regularly is a top priority. If your child faces challenges related to attendance, such as reluctance or anxiety about going to school, address these issues promptly. Open communication with the school can help identify and resolve any underlying concerns.
You can seek advice free from NSW ParentLine 1300 1300 52.
Other information
Please note the following additional information.....
