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Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome to all students, staff and families to the beginning or our school year together. I hope that you had a relaxing holiday with family and friends. Thank you for the warm welcome I have received from all the families and students. It certainly has been lovely getting to know the community of such a beautiful school. I look forward to getting to know you all over the coming months. To all our new families of St James', welcome and we hope you enjoy your time here. We pride ourselves on the education provided as well as professional work of all our staff. I wish to welcome our new staff to St James'- Donna Gibson (English as a Second Dialect/ Language teacher, Claire McWilliam- Pastoral Care Worker. Kim Carr is on leave for Weeks 1-8 Term 1. Welcome to Ebony Hanley who will be replacing her during this time.
Welcome our new Learning Support Assistants:
• Alaska Doney
• Dominika Daley
• Lucia Parkes
• Olivia Hughes
• Nicola Herzberg
• Joanna Smith
Welcome to all our returning staff. The staff have worked very hard during the holidays to ensure that each class has had a smooth start to school for 2024. Much appreciation to all staff for their preparation and time. Please take the time to attend the meet and greets next week with your child’s teacher. Booking on Compass will be open on Monday.
Kindergarten have settled very well into the routines of school. The students are enjoying time with their buddies and learning lots of exciting new things. As a community we continue to support Kinder in this very important milestone of their learning journey. Well done Kinder on a wonderful first full week of school!
Thank you to our dedicated P&F for the organisation of the upcoming ‘Welcome Picnic’ next Thursday. Please come along to support this event. A great chance to meet the families and staff. A flyer has been posted on Compass today.
Included in this Newsletter is the Uniform Requirements. Please take the time to read the dress requirements of students in the St James community. Please ensure that your child is wearing the correct items of Uniform each day.
Have a wonderful fortnight,
Mrs Sonya Boslem
Principal
Shrove Tuesday: in preparation for our Ash Wednesday Liturgies, Father Joseph will hold a service at school in which he will prepare the ashes and explain to the children their symbolism. At this service he will also give everyone a special blessing for Lent.
Kinder, Year 1 & Year 2 Liturgies will be held as a grade in their classrooms.
Years 3-6 Liturgy: 2:10pm in the hall. Please come and join us if you are able to.
What is lent all about? Why 40 days?
Lent: A Springtime for the Spirit
Ash Wednesday brings us the invitation to “Repent and believe in the Good News”. This day is always a sober reminder that life has two sides to it, the carefree side, and the dark and painful side, which we are all too familiar with in our own lives. Lent is not meant to be a time of punishment, but a gift from God – an opportunity to return to God and, and with Him to look at both the sunny and cloudy sides of our world and ourselves.
Lent derives from the Old English word Lencten, which means the season of spring. In the Northern hemisphere Lent fall in the season of Spring, so it is often hard for us to relate Lent to Spring. Lent issues a renewed invitation to us believers to awaken to the Paschal Mystery which brings hope to the world. The Paschal Mystery of Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection for us will bring springtime to our weary spirits.
How can we make Lent real?
The Lenten practices of prayer, almsgiving, and fasting foster one purpose: that we might open ourselves to God, and to pray that love will flourish in our hearts.
Visit the link below for an explanation of the significance of this season of prayer, fasting, and giving, and how you can make the most of this time of repentance and renewal.
https://bustedhalo.com/video/watch-lent-3-minutes
Invite Us Deeper
Almighty and ever living God,
you invite us deeper into your world, your people, your Lent.
May this time be one of outward focus;
seeking you in those we often ignore.
Help us live a Lent focused on freedom, generosity, and encounter.
Give us hearts hungry to serve you
and those who need what we have to give.
- Author Unknown
Sacramental Program
The Parish Sacramental Program begins for 2024 with the Enrolment Mass this Saturday 10th February at 5:30pm. Reconciliation is the first Sacrament that the children will prepare for. Please pray for all our children as they prepare for their full initiation into our faith community.
RECONCILIATION PROGRAM: (Term 1: Tuesday, 30 January - Friday, 12 April)
- Enrolment Mass: Saturday 10th February St Philip’s Kotara @ 5:30pm. Please bring your enrolment form or send them to Mrs Miller through the office or email.
- Lessons:
- Online lessons: complete at home during 18th February- 3rd March
- Face to face lessons: take place at school
Kotara : Monday 4th March @ 5:00pm
Tuesday 5th March @ 3:30pm
Adamstown : Monday 4th March @ 3.30 pm
Cardiff : Wednesday 6th March @ 3:30pm
Ceremony: Thursday 21st March, St Philip’s Kotara @ 6:00pm.
Patricia Miller
Religious Coordinator
We will start our year by looking at the pillar of RESPECTFUL. For Weeks 2 & 3, all classes will be focusing on the expectation of listening to others. We will focus on:
- Listen when someone is speaking
- Look at the person who is speaking to you
- Think about what the speaker has said
We all know how important it is to listen to others. Using turn taking when talking so others get to voice their opinion. It is a sign of respect to listen to others when they are talking rather than talking over them. Listen to their peers in the playground to avoid misunderstandings. When we listen to others, we can avoid unnecessary conflict. A focus for Kiara stickers across these two weeks will be “listen to others”.
A very warm welcome back to all our families and students! Returning to school is always an exciting time but can sometimes include feelings of nerves. This is totally understandable; our staff are here to help should students be feeling a little down or unsure in the mornings at drop off time. Parents, please reach out if you need us.
Congratulations to the Year 6 buddies, it has been a pleasure to watch you guide your Kindergarten friend around our school. Apart from all growing an inch (or more) over the school holidays, you have grown in school spirit and confidently demonstrated our value of ‘Hospitality’.
A few messages from me below:
All things ASPIRE
Families may have read the Compass push yesterday about the ASPIRE opportunities for students. They were an ASPIRE Song Writing Competition, Voiceworx, Aspire Concert Band and a Choreographic workshop. Attachments for these have been included in this newsletter.
SPECIAL REPORT: The Wellbeing Barometer 2024SWAP IT!
SWAP IT is an evidence-based and award-winning program that has been implemented in more than 500 schools. It’s all about encouraging your school community to make small and achievable swaps in the lunchbox, from sometimes foods to everyday foods. These small changes, sustained over time, can lead to big improvements in student health, wellbeing, and learning! Fortnightly messages with creative ideas for a healthy lifestyle will be in our school newsletter.
Parent/Teacher Meet and Greet Conferences
We invite you to attend our Parent/Teacher Meet and Greet conferences for Semester One. The purpose of these meetings is to give families the opportunity to discuss with their child's teacher/s how best their child learns.
This is also a good opportunity to meet the staff of St James and to build a supportive relationship with your child's teacher/s for 2024. The conferences will be 10 minutes in length and held in your child's classroom during Week 4 of Term 1. Starting from Monday 19th February and ending on Friday 23rd February. Teachers will indicate their availability.
All bookings can be made via Compass on Monday afternoon, the 12th February. Bookings will then close to parents on Friday, the 16th February at 9am.
If I haven’t had the chance to say hello to you during drop offs and pick-ups, please know that I am only a visit, call, email away.
Here’s to a happy, productive, and enjoyable year ahead!
Mrs Debra Petersen
Assistant Principal
Student Wellbeing- The MAT Life Skills Program at St James
Our school is committed to enhancing student wellbeing through a series of targeted initiatives that will be implemented throughout 2024. These strategies will aim to empower our students with essential life skills, enabling them to navigate challenging situations with resilience and adaptability when they arise.
As a result, St. James has partnered with the TESSA Inc. and will be running the MAT program (Therapeutic Martial Arts Program) in Term 1 for Years 4 and 5 as well as some selected students in Years 2 and 3. The MAT life skills program has been adopted Australia wide with a reach of 20 000 students, so we are very excited to offer this wellbeing program at St. James this year.
The MAT life skills program will begin on Thursday for these group of students. It combines the philosophy of Martial Arts training with the principles of mental/ physical wellbeing to:
- Help young people recognise their emotions and respond to them appropriately.
- Support students to become strong, resilient, confident and adaptable.
- Develop strategies for good communication.
- Enable students to make good decisions and respond to conflict for positive outcomes.
- Foster leadership
We will keep our parent community updated with the strategies taught during these sessions via our school newsletter so that you are able to continue at home should you feel the need. Our teachers will also be present during the sessions so they can continue to adopt in their day to day classrooms and share strategies with other teachers in each grade.
For further information regarding TESSA Inc please view https://tessainc.org.au/ We have also attached a flyer about the MAT program below.
Should you have any questions regarding the program please contact myself at Joseph.hamilton@mn.catholic.edu.au or Cate Larke (Learning Support) at Cate.Larke@mn.catholic.edu.au
| Saturday 10th February |
Commencement of Sacramental Program Parish Mass 5:30pm |
| Monday 12th February |
Regional Swimming Carnival P & F Meeting 7pm School Band Commences (Darren Ward Music) |
| Wednesday 14th February |
Ash Wednesday Years 3-6 Combined Liturgy 2:10pm |
| Thursday 15th February |
Welcome Picnic 5pm - 8pm Regional Cricket Trials |
| Friday 16th February |
Parish Mass - Year 5 & Year 1 9:15am |
|
Monday 19th February to Friday 23rd February |
Parent Meet and Greet |
| Friday 23rd February |
Opening School Mass 9:15am |
| Tuesday 27th February |
Diocesan Swimming Carnival |
| Friday 1st March |
Parish Mass - Year 4 9:15am |
| Monday 4th March |
Reconciliation Lesson 5:00pm |
| Tuesday 5th March |
Reconciliation Lesson 3:30pm |
| Friday 8th March |
Parish Mass - Year 3 9:15am |
| Monday 11th March |
Hunter Water Show - Kinder, Year 1, Year 2 |
| Tuesday 12th March |
Diocesan AFL |
| 13th - 22nd March |
Naplan |
| Thursday 14th March |
School Photo Day |
| Friday 15th March |
Parish Mass - Year 2 9:15am |
| Thursday 21st March |
1st Reconciliation Ceremony 6:00pm |
| Friday 22nd March |
Parish Mass - Year 6 & Kindergarten 9:15am |
| Tuesday 26th March |
Diocesan Winter Sport Trials |
| Thursday 28th March |
Holy Week Liturgy 11:30am |
| Friday 5th April |
School Cross Country |
| Tuesday 9th April |
Polding AFL |
| Thursday 11th - Friday 12th April |
NSWPSSA Swimming |
| Friday 12th April |
Pupil Free Day - End of Term 1 |
Pathway Gate
- The pathway gate will open automatically at 8:00am (to coincide with Kiss & Drop times) and will stay open until 9:00am. The gate will close automatically at 9:00am. However, supervision of students commences at 8:20am, there are no teachers on duty before this time.
- Will reopen automatically at 2:45pm and will stay open until 3:05pm
- Should you need to enter/leave the school, please use the intercom system on the gate.
Driveway Gate
- This entry is restricted to staff, deliveries and special circumstances (ie sickbay pickups)
- The staff carpark is for staff only
Kiss and Drop Gate
- The pathway gate will open automatically at 8:00am (to coincide with Kiss & Drop times) and will stay open until 9:00am. The gate will close automatically at 9:00am. However, supervision of students commences at 8:20am, there are no teachers on duty before this time.
- All children arriving at school after 8:50am (official school start time) must be accompanied by an adult and walked down the PATHWAY GATE to be signed in at Admin as a late arrival. There is no intercom on this gate and therefore no means to enter once the gate is closed.
Car Park
The school uses a “kiss and drop zone” from 8:00am till 8.50am each morning. The following procedures need to be adhered to:
- Drivers at St James Primary School may stop to drop off children, however No Parking rules apply:
- Maximum stop time is 2 minutes.
- Move your vehicle as soon as your child has safely exited the vehicle and has commenced walking across the grassed area towards the path.
- Driver must remain in or within 3m of the vehicle
- Vehicle must not be left unattended.
- Stop within the designated signposted area
Additional safety tips for school zones:
- Children must exit the vehicle from the passenger side ONLY of the car.
- Safety door, if students are required to leave through the right-hand side door, parents must escort the child behind the car to safety.
- Make sure the hand brake is applied when the vehicle is stationary.
- No overtaking or double parking.
- Kiss and drop is single file.
- Three vehicle limit in drop off area.
Safety Tips
- Stay buckled up until the vehicle has stopped in the ‘Drop-off’ area.
- Make sure your school bag and other items are in a safe position, eg. on the floor.
- Be ready to get out of the car with your belongings when the car has stopped and you have unbuckled your seatbelt.
- Always get in and out of the backseat of the vehicle through the safety door - the rear footpath-side door, if possible.
Afternoon pick-up utilises the same area as a car park. The school has some simple rules regarding the car park, which we ask everyone to follow.
- Always collect your child from the supervising teachers and escort them safely to your car.
- Enter the school car park before 2.50pm. The car park gate will be closed after this time, until all “Church Crossing” children have been safely escorted across the road. Teachers will then open the carpark chain to allow safe exit.
- Always reverse park so as to drive forward when exiting the car park – this applies also to the Church car park.
- Cars are not permitted to vacate the school car park in the afternoon until ALL ‘walkers’ lines’ have crossed the road.
Afternoon Pick Up Areas
Students line up in the COLA in the following order
|
St Nicks OOSH |
OOSH staff collect students from the COLA. |
|
Bus - 778 |
Teacher walks the students to bus stop on the hall side of Vista Pde. |
|
Crossing |
Crossing duty - Teachers will walk the students across the road and into the Church yard. Students are to wait with the teacher to be collected. Students and families are asked to be respectful in the Church grounds. Crossing Princeton – Teacher takes students to the corner of Princeton Ave and Vista Pde. Students are to wait with the teacher to be collected. |
|
Princeton Ave |
Teachers walk students toward the along the walking track and sit under the tree before entering Visa Parade. Students are to wait with the teacher to be collected. |
|
Bike Riders |
Students line up at the back of their appropraite line with bikes and make their way to the end of the dismissal line that they need to be on. |
|
Hall Pick Up |
Teachers walk the students to the front steps of the Hall. Children are to sit on the steps of the hall and wait until a parent/carer collects them from the bottom of the steps. |
|
Late Bus 776 3:15pm 773 3:25pm |
Students catching buses are walked across the crossing to the bus stop by a teacher. The teacher remains with the students until all students have boarded the bus.
|
For duty of care and child protection issues, students are asked to:
- Wait with the teacher on duty.
- Notify the school of any change to their afternoon arrangements.
Leaving the School Grounds
Pupils are not permitted to leave the playground during school hours unless they are supervised or have the written permission of their parents and/or the approval of the Principal. At times, staff will undertake local walking activities with the students. Permission to leave the grounds for these activities are covered separately with a signed Local Excursion Note at the commencement of each school year.
BOOK CLUB NEWS
This is our first newsletter for the year and for the benefit of new families to our school, St James’ participates in the Scholastic Book Club. This means that the children will take home a book brochure twice a term; parents can view the brochure with the children and order books through the ‘LOOP’ app or online at www.scholastic.com.au/LOOP
For each issue there will be a date by which the orders have to be entered, I will let you know this via this newsletter/Compass.
The purpose of this program is to promote reading amongst the children. The added advantage of the school being part of this program is that we earn commission from the orders, which help purchase books/resources for the school. We hope that you will support the children and the school in this Book Club venture.
The first issue of Book Club went home this week. The due date for orders is Friday 16th February. All orders must be placed through LOOP online; no orders are to be sent into the school. Below is a link explaining how to use LOOP.
· Value Books in Issue 1:
o #011 Who Pooed in My Loo? $3
o #201 The Thunder Egg $3
o #303 Crash Landing $3
o #401 10 Minutes of Danger $3
o Back Page - Great offers for ‘First in a Series’
Also, a couple of great Starting/Back to School books: #016 – How to Start School in 6 Easy Steps $10
#019 – The Crayons Go Back to School $18
#105 – The Wild Guide to Starting School $10
If anyone has questions or concerns about the ordering process, please do not hesitate to contact me at: sueanne.churches@mn.catholic.edu.au
Sue-Anne Churches
Library Assistant and Book Club Co-ordinator
Polding Selections- Basketball
Emerson D, Genevieve L and Evie M travelled to Coffs Harbour today to represent the Maitland-Newcastle Diocese at the Polding Basketball Selections. We are very proud of the girls for making it through to this elite level. We look forward to hearing about their experience on Monday.
Regional Swimming Carnival
We have 39 children representing St James at the Regional Swimming Carnival on Monday (12th of February.) The carnival will be held at Mayfield Swimming Pool. Good luck to all our talented swimmers.
Pathway Sporting Selections- Year 5 and Year 6
School, Regional and Diocesan selections will continue this term for various sports including cricket, soccer, netball, hockey, rugby league and AFL. Information about the trials is sent out to parents of Year 5 and Year 6 students through compass.
St James’ Kotara Cross Country Carnival
Our school cross country carnival will be held this term on the 5th of April (week 10). More information will be sent out later in the term. Classes will incorporate cross country training into their weekly sport/fitness lessons.
Tegan Fry
Sports Organiser
Complaints and Grievances
The CSO has formal written protocols in place to address complaints and grievances. These protocols are in line with the Diocesan Complaints Resolution Policy, developed to provide a consistent approach for all diocesan schools. This policy aims to address the concerns of parents and carers and the wider community. These concerns may include children’s learning, behaviour and welfare, school organisation and management, student health and safety issues.
To lodge a complaint with the Catholic Schools Office please click here.
You can access the Catholic Schools Office Complaints and Resolutions Policy and resources here.
School Fees
We have now commenced the billing process for the 2024 School Fees which will be an ongoing process in February. Fees will be emailed at the beginning of March and then you will receive your statement by an email monthly directly from the Catholic Schools Office. Please note:
- 2024 School Fees are invoiced for the full school year. School Fees for Year 6 will also include their Canberra Excursion and Sport Shirt.
- If paying fees by instalment, your weekly, fortnight or monthly frequency needs to commence in March, and fees are to paid in full by 30 November
2024. - If paying fees ‘in full’ as one payment, please finalise prior to 30 June 2024.
- Our preferred method of payment is either BPay or direct debit. It is preferred if payments were not made via the Compass app due to high fees.
- For Fee Payers wishing to establish a new Direct Debit, please complete the form on the Catholic Development Fund
website www.CDFmn.com.au. - For those families experiencing financial hardship, or wishing to discuss other payment arrangements, please contact the school office to arrange an
appointment with the Principal.
If you are a Healthcare/Pension Card holder, the following 2024 Fee HCC Discount Application Form is required to be completed and returned to school with a copy of your Health Care/Pension Card for a discount on your Tuition fees. Can you please return as soon as possible.
Compass Attendance Notes
Please be aware that adding attendance notes in Compass is for 'Whole Day' absences.
If you are bringing your child to school late due to an appointment etc, you will receive the text message. Please disregard this if the child is with you. Then upon bringing them into the office, you will need to sign them in through the Compass Kiosk. This then adjusts the class roll in real time.
If you are collecting your child early, please DO NOT add a note in advance, can you please sign out through the Compass Kiosk. Can you please come to the office and we will call the class/es for your child to meet you at the office.
Medication
If your child will requires scheduled medication to be administered at school, can you please notify the school office once you are aware as there is paperwork that will need to be completed prior.
Lost Property
Can you please ensure all items that are bought to school are clearly labelled e.g drink bottles, lunch box, jumper, jacket. If they are returned to the office, we are then able to return to your child's class for them. All other items will be placed in the wire baskets in the passive play area.
Volunteer
Please see the below link if you would like to register to volunteer at St James. Our school is always in need of volunteers in our school canteen or for many other school activities. We will let you know once we receive your clearance from your registration, this must be received prior to volunteering.
Volunteer Registration Form
Thank you and kind regards
Carolyn Hanley
As you may be aware St Pius X High School, Adamstown will become Trinity Catholic College from the commencement of the 2025 school year.
Planning for the launch of Trinity Catholic College has continued, following feedback and consultation about the new name from the school and wider community across 2022 and 2023.
St Pius has now shared its new motto and crest for the school with the community. As a pathway primary school for St Pius, Adamstown we wanted to share this information with you.
There is a video and more information available on the St Pius website here.
Canteen
There has been Food Safety Changes for all school canteens. If you are a volunteer in the school canteen, can you please follow the below link to ensure compliance of the new NSW Government Food Authority Standard 3.2.2A.
https://www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au/retail/school-canteens
A reminder to please update your child's class on Flexischools to ensure their order goes to the correct classroom. There have been a couple of new items added to the menu including Margarita Pizza (Mon & Wed) and yoghurts.
