1 November 2023

Our Mission @ SJM

St James’ Primary School community excel in education through living and learning in Christ.

Quote

The mission of every Christian – to spread the light and tell the world of God’s love.

Pope Francis

Principal’s Message

Busy Few Weeks @ SJM

It is fair to say that the last few weeks have been quite intense for our community.

Annual School Visit

On Monday 23^rd October saw the Chief Operating Officer, Head of Schools and all Heads of departments visit SJM as part of the new process known as an Annual School Visit. We shared our successes and our goals for the future. We:

• Were congratulated on the wider SJM community.
• Were congratulated on our continued enrolment growth over the last five years.
• Were congratulated on receiving funding for Stage 1 of the Courtyard renovation.
• Acknowledge the financial support of the Diocesan Office re: Major Maintenance. We have been successful in receiving approximately $2 000 000 across the last five years for maintenance. This includes stormwater remediation, classrooms refurbishment etc.
• Thanked the Diocesan Team for their support in Staffing this year and in the future especially with the Path to Permanency program and the Regional Casual.
• Spoke about our aim to future proof the school in I.T

School Concert – Reminiscing Through the Decades

What a great night was had by all at our School Concert last Wednesday. Whether you were alive when the moon landing took place, when Red Symons controlled the Gong or when Trump ruled the world……. I think it is fair to say you had a great time and surely a belly laugh.

A massive thank you to all the students and teachers that put in 100% effort for the show.

Leading Learning Collaborative – Collaborative Inquiry

As you may know, over the last three years we have been working with Dr Lyn Sharratt around the LLC journey. We are focused on putting faces to the data so that all staff share responsibility for all of our students, not just their class.

We have been using the Collaborative Inquiry Approach @ SJM.  Collaborative inquiry is an embedded professional learning process in a school, where continuous teacher inquiry is transformed into high-impact classroom practice (Sharratt2019).

On Monday we shared a video, put together by our Pedagogical Mentors Mrs Jane Jacobs and Mrs Lauren Gehrig, with Lyn and our peers. We are proud of our achievements so far and know we have more work to go.

However we would like to share the video we presented on Monday to you. Take a listen to the children engage in their learning. It really is inspiring to watch and listen to.

St James' Muswellbrook LLC Term 4 2023 - CI Presentation.mp4

Kinder Orientation

We are excited to welcome 48 Kindergarten students next week. They, along with their families start their educational journey @ SJM. Welcome.

Grandparents Day

Our SJM Grandparents are extremely important as members of our community, and it was wonderful to see so many grandparents supporting their grandchildren. We are grateful for the guidance, love and the lessons that they share with us each and every day. We especially remember all those grandparents who are not longer with us in our prayers and the sharing their stories are one of our favourite memories. 

Mr Aaron Moon
Principal

Assistant Principal

TWISTIES CUP

Stage 2 and 3

Stage 2 and 3 organised their teams and played a round robin set of matches. The results are finally in....drum roll please... The winners of the first round of the S2 and S3 Twisties Cup are...

THE GOANNAS. Congratulations.

Lachlan, Hayden, Oliver, Abi,
Tanner, Mitchell, Sonny, Kieran
Goannas – the winning team for round 1.

Despite a few yellow cards, reds and fouls the majority of games were played with respect for others and players showed resilience in the face of adversity and when coming back to win, lose or draw. Students are now encouraged to remember how important fair play is to a match, going in too hard on a tackle, ensuring there are the correct amount on your team and not letting your side down.

GRANDPARENTS’ DAY

It was wonderful having so many Grandparents and parents here with us on Monday to celebrate with our community. We love having you here with us. We loved sharing what is happening in our classrooms and showcasing what our young people can achieve. Stage 1 and 2 shared their art, writing and singing sentiments about their special relationship with their grandparents. It was a catchy song which summed up well how we all feel about our families.

If you have any questions regarding your child’s progress academically or socially, please contact your child’s classroom teacher first. Either by email or phone call to book an appointment.  Teachers are the ones that work with them every day and can support them in the classroom and playground.

ATTENDANCE

Don’t forget that we are back to using Compass to record absences for your child. We encourage you to log into your parent portal and log the reason for absence as soon as you can. You only have 7 days to explain their absence, and then it becomes unexplained.

SEMESTER 2 REPORTS

The Semester 2 Reports for our students are currently being finalised by the Catholic Schools Office. These reports will be based on your child’s engagement in our learning during Semester 2. Stay tuned for details regarding dates these reports will be sent home.

ASSESSMENTS FOR YEAR 2 TO YEAR 6

Each year, we use the ACER PAT online tests for assessment of Reading, Spelling and Mathematics. The results from these tests form part of the data that we use to help guide us in the decisions we make for teaching your children. These online tests have been taking place over the last couple of weeks for all students in Year 2 to Year 6. They only take up to a maximum of 60 minutes to complete (many take a lot less time) and are facilitated by classroom teachers and learning support teacher. We use the data collected to help us assess learning needs, growth and to plan for next steps in student’s learning.

REMINDERS FOR ALL

UNIFORM

All children are expected to always wear school correct uniform. Uniform inspections will be conducted by executives on a regular basis. Students not in uniform without a note from parents or carers will be issued a warning note – sent home via Compass. Continual breaches of uniform policy may result in further consequences.

Uniform shop is open at regular times during the week for trying on and purchasing items. Uniforms can also be ordered via form at the front office. Uniforms ordered through the office will not be filled on the same day.

Teachers are to be aware, that the winter shirts are to be tucked in and the tie done up correctly. Jackets are encouraged for outside use and the school jumper for inside use. No hat means No Play. Students are to be seated on the verandah outside the front office.

Hair: 

Hair accessories are to be in school colours only (maroon, navy, gold or white).  Long hair should be worn securely tied back to avoid falling into eyes.  Hair dye and designs cut into short hair are not appropriate for school. Boys should have collar length hair if short. If long, it needs to be tied back appropriately. Students are not permitted to have hair tattoos.

Jewellery:

For safety purposes it is preferred that no jewellery be worn. However, one set of plain studs or small sleepers can be worn in pierced ears.  A necklace with religious value may be worn underneath the school uniform and a watch and a signet ring are permissible. No other jewellery is allowed. Nail polish is not to be worn. A warning will be given and if the breach is repeated the polish will be removed by a staff member. Temporary tattoos must be placed out of site and no face or body piercing is permissible.

God bless you and your family,
Helen Feeney
Assistant Principal

Religion

Grandparents’ Day

Grandparents’ celebration at SJM was fantastic. Thank you to Year 4 and the Stage One students and teachers who presented our prayer and shared wonderful drawings, persuasive texts, poems and why their Grandparent is simply the best. Thank you to all grandparents who came to SJM to support their grandchildren will love, laughter, smiles and cuddles.

Here are some drawings from Year 4 about their grandparents.

SOCKTOBER LAUNCH: CATHOLIC MISSIONS

Last Friday our SJM community participated in Socktober. Each class was given some materials to use to create their own socktober ball. The classes were given some activities that they could participate in to try out their Socktober soccer balls. These were piggy in the middle, Tunnel ball, goal shooting and volleyball style of games. Thank you to the staff who also wore crazy socks and participated in activities with students. As you can see from our photos some Socktober balls survived well and others didn’t.  Here are a few photos that highlight our day.    

May your light continue to shine brightly

Mrs Jane Jacobs
Religious Education Coordinator

Awards

Class News

ES1

What a huge fortnight we have had! Starting with our trip to the zoo and including drama night and Socktober, the children have been very busy. We had a wonderful day at Hunter Valley Zoo and the children’s behaviour was outstanding! There was so much to see and so many zookeeper talks to attend that we almost had to run to fit everything in. Mrs Smith and Mrs Threadgate are very grateful to our parent helpers for giving up their valuable time to accompany us on the day.

We hope you enjoyed the drama night as much as we did, although the zooper dooper at the conclusion of the performance seems to have been the highlight for many! The children were so brave as they faced such a massive crowd. The time spent traipsing up to the hall daily, certainly paid off.

Mrs Donna Smith and Mrs Trishelle Threadgate

Stage 1

Wow, what a fantastic Concert Night performance from our Year 1 and 2 students and the entire SJM community. The children were amazing and showed great confidence, skill and enthusiasm throughout their items. A huge thank you to Miss Fitzsimmons, Mr Sabotic, Mrs Whitehead, Miss Cooper, Miss Becus, Mrs Hand, Mrs Dunn, Mrs Hocking and Mrs Wicks for all their organisation and support of our practice sessions and on the night. We would also like to say a huge thank you to all parents who supported their child in the lead up to the concert and of course on the evening. We really hope you enjoyed the concert, and I am sure you were as proud as we were.

We also took part in Socktober day on Friday October 27th. Students certainly got into the spirit by wearing a range of really cool and colourful socks. They were also very generous in their donations and thoroughly enjoyed participating in the various activities and learning more about Socktober.  

Year 1 and Year 2 would also like to thank all grandparents and families who were able to come along and celebrate “Grandparent’s Day” on Monday. If you were unable to join us on the day, hopefully you were able to view some of the day on our various communication platforms. Students worked on some items to show or give to Grandparents and enjoyed working on some tasks and sharing their work during our open classrooms.  

Stage 1 has been certainly busy in their learning also. Our Religious Education Units on “Remembering The Holy Family (Year 1)” and “ Mary and the Saints” Year 2” have been a wonderful opportunity for students to learn more about each area. Their connections to the unit content, contributions to class discussions and wide range of learning response opportunities have certainly been a positive learning highlight. Year 1 has been working extremely hard learning about persuasive texts and thoroughly enjoyed the class text “Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late.” We had some very creative and persuasive reasons why Pigeon should stay up late. Students also showed a wonderful connection to their grandparents in the creation of their writing pieces on “Why my Grandparents are the best!”  Year 2 have been also really enjoying their study of some classic fairytales and some modern remakes of these classic pieces of literature. They have been working extremely hard to look at similarities and differences, character traits and the structure of these imaginative texts. Stage 1 has also been learning about “Features of Places,” in our Geography unit. Students have been very interested and connected to exploring features of local places, environments and buildings and are currently working on creating maps of our school and various features. Our Stage 1 school excursion/s have also provided a great real-life experience for students to make connections in our Science and Technology unit, “Living Things.” Students have shown great curiosity and thinking skills when exploring concepts around features of living things and their habitats.  

As always, please do not hesitate to reach out to your child’s classroom teacher for any questions you may have regarding your child’s learning. Thank you for your ongoing communication and cooperation.

Kind Regards,
Miss Fitzsimmons(1G), Mr Sabotic-Mrs Whithead (1M), Miss Cooper (2M), Miss Becus (2G)

Stage 2

The last fortnight has been extremely busy. Stage 2 worked very hard practicing for the St James’ Drama Production, and we are so very proud of each student and their efforts. We hope you all enjoyed the play, and we would like to thank you all for assisting students with their costumes and props. All staff and students deserve a pat on the back for working tirelessly to make it come together.

Socktober 2023 was a hit. The students loved wearing their crazy socks to school and competing in the annual sock ball kick off. Students had to make a ball out of socks, material, rubber bands and a plastic bag to use in the kick off.

Thank you to all who purchased from this year's Scholastic Book Fair. The students were very excited to complete their wish lists, with 4G being able to assist Year 2 with theirs.

Dates to remember:

• Thursday November 2^nd - Mission Day

Mr Cody Somerville, Mrs Jane Dengate, Miss Gabrielle Dafter, Mrs Jane Jacobs, Mrs Mary Ballard

Stage 3

We are incredibly proud of our stage 3 students and their commitment and dedication to our ‘Reminiscing on the Decades’ drama performance. Students worked hard to memorise their dialogue and parts in the performance delivering them with conviction and a sense of zest. What a wonderful way to showcase your creativity!

Congratulations to 6G who won the best kept mushrooms prize. 6G grew whoppers! They were prize winning size by the end of term 3. Well done to the nurturers and growers who worked together to win the best class prize. We are starting a chicken project this term so hopefully Stage 3 will have some prize-winning chickens and eggs to look after. All students in Stage 3 grew successfully and harvested their produce, learning how things grow in the right conditions.

A huge congratulations to Oliver Partridge in 6G for making the PSSA Golf Team which will be competing in Perth next month. We are incredibly proud of your achievements thus far. We wish you all the best in the upcoming rounds and can’t wait to hear about it, but most importantly have fun!

We can’t wait to continue to share the many exciting things happening in Stage 3 this term!

Miss Isabelle Lamont, Mrs Melissa McLennan, Mrs Lauren Gehrig, Mrs Helen Feeney, Miss Alyssa Pritchard

Leader of Wellbeing

Last night I attended the Educators Wellbeing Network meeting. It is inspiring to see so many passionate teachers and members of our community talk about how we can help our children, staff and families in our community. We talked about how the Hunter Valley is leading the way in improving and embedding Mental health and wellbeing into schools and the community. Where There’s a Will has be supporting schools in this journey.

Each term these teachers meet and showcase ways they are teaching children in local schools that wellbeing is not just meditating or mindfulness (both important and great ways to look after your mental health) but also the connection of with community, building relationships, engaging with family and friends and supporting the community through tough times.  I witnessed this in the recent fires in the areas. People offering beds, shelter, land for animals, supplying food and water for volunteers.

I want to congratulate you as part of this community. Let’s keep it going, let’s embed that sense of community back into our lives.

I hope you're have a splendid day,

Mrs Trishelle Threadgate
Leader of Wellbeing

What’s on in the Library

Book Fair

Thank you to the families who supported our annual Scholastic Book Fair. Funds raised will help purchase new resources for our school. Here are some resources purchased already. Thanks to Cassie Green (grandmother of Annalee Mills) for your kind donation of a book to our collection. Greatly appreciated!

Please feel free to contact the library if any problems/concerns arise during the year.
lisa.wilson@mn.catholic.edu.au  or 65433094

Happy Reading!

Lisa Wilson
Teacher Librarian

Nadene Douglas
Library Assistant

Community Notices

St. James’ P & F Association

P&F Committee Contacts