21 June 2024

Our Mission @ SJM

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

Quote

"Faith is unseen but felt, faith is strength when we feel we have none, faith is hope when all seems lost." — Catherine Pulsifer

Principal’s Message

This week I have had the pleasure to read all of the student reports that will be going home to you next week. I must admit I get ovewehlemed looking at mountains of paper……. Yes, I am old and I like hard copy…..lol. However, once I get started I just love reading how the students are engaged within school and are learning, laughing and having fun.

Reports aren’t just an opportunity for praise, they are also an opportunity for student growth.

I encourage you to read your child’s report with them. Go through it and celebrate the great work they have done. I ask you to discuss the areas of improvement with them. This could be an area to set goals with your child. I know the teacher’s work with the children to set goals also. This could be a discussion point in your Parent Teacher Interviews in Week 10.

Courtyard Renovation

This week you have been sent information regarding the upcoming Courtyard Project. We are very excited that this project will be starting these holidays. The contractors that completed the Denman Memorial Park have been awarded this job, so we are very excited here at SJM.

With excitement comes trepidation as it means a lot of change, especially with our morning routine.

Please take notice of the following that is an excerpt from the letter from 20^th June:

Morning Routine

• There are no students allowed onsite prior to 8:30am. This is a non-negotiable.
• All students will walk to the St James’ School Hall via the concrete path at the ‘Kiss & Drop’ zone.
  • Parents are welcome in the Hall of a morning.
• The bikes and walkers gate at the front of the school will be closed until 8:30am.
  • Once open, the students will park their bikes at the ‘Mud Kitchen’ and then walk through the office and up to Mr Moon to get to the Hall.
• Mr Moon will be on duty @ 8:30am to ensure the safe crossing of students across the staff carpark.
• With increased traffic flow and builders on site, there is no safe place for students. Therefore no students are to be onsite until 8:30am.

We know that some people drop their child off earlier than 8:30am, unfortunately this cannot happen for the remainder of the year. We are giving you adequate notice now so you can change your morning routine if needed.

School Hours Routine

• Eating Zone
  • Infants Eating – Current Primary Eating Area
  • Primary Eating – Verandah of Hall
• Playground areas open at both lunches
  • St James’ School Hall
  • MacKillop Oval
  • Basketball Court
  • Skellatar Oval

We will also be moving our teepees, lego table, basketballs and tonka trucks to MacKillop Oval for the students to utilise. We will also be providing additional sport equipment for the students to utilise.

Afternoon Routine

• Dismissal each afternoon will take place in the St James’ School Hall.
• We will change the end of day bell time to 2:50pm to ensure adequate time to meet in the Hall.
• The afternoon routine will remain the same.

End of Term Reward

We are excited for our End of Term Reward – Movies Maltesers and M&Ms. The reward will take place on Wednesday 3^rd July.

Each class will host a movie on the Wednesday morning and the children can decide what movie they watch. A note indicating whether your child is eligible or ineligible will be sent home before the day.

A reminder that we are changing our School Behaviour System. This term children that are ineligible for the reward will:

• Watch 2 x Pixar short movies (approx. 10 minutes)
• Complete gardening with Mrs Thompson and Aunty Wanda

School Resumes and Key Dates for Next term

• Monday 22^nd July
  • School resumes for all students
• Thursday 25^th July
  • St James’ Feast Day Mass @ 10am
  • CPR Training for students in Stage 3
• Friday 26^th July
  • SJM NAIDOC Day
• Tuesday 30^th July
  • P & F Meeting @ 5:30pm
• Wednesday 7^th August
  • Diocesan Athletics Carnival

Mr Aaron Moon
Principal

Assistant Principal

SEMESTER 1 REPORTS AND PARENT TEACHER INTERVIEWS

Formal school reports are provided twice a year to communicate with parents and carers student achievements. The purpose of school reports is to communicate to parents and carers about their child/ren’s progress and areas for further development. The teachers use a variety of formative and summative assessments and data to determine the common A-E grading for students in Years 1-6 (Kindergarten students have a different report format). Some of the assessments that teachers use to determine grades may include:

• Standardised testing (NAPLAN, PAT) 
• Diagnostic reading assessments  
• Teacher created assessments 
• Checklists 
• Class observations and anecdotal records 
• Book work/work samples
• Class participation and verbal answers

The Common Grade Scale shown below is used to report student achievement in both primary and junior secondary years in all NSW schools. The Common Grade Scale describes performance at each of five grade levels.

A-The student has an extensive knowledge and understanding of the content and can readily apply this knowledge. In addition, the student has achieved a very high level of competence in the processes and skills and can apply these skills to new situations.

B-The student has a thorough knowledge and understanding of the content and a high level of competence in the processes and skills. In addition, the student is able to apply this knowledge and these skills to most situations.

C-The student has a sound knowledge and understanding of the main areas of content and has achieved an adequate level of competence in the processes and skills.

D-The student has a basic knowledge and understanding of the content and has achieved a limited level of competence in the processes and skills.

E-The student has an elementary knowledge and understanding in few areas of the content and has achieved very limited competence in some of the processes and skills.

It is important to note that teachers use their current assessments and data to determine grades. It is not uncommon for students to achieve a grade either above or below what they had achieved on their previous school report, as the content and skills of what they are learning this year is different to last year. Fluctuating between two grades is not uncommon.

Semester 1 reports will be available on Compass on Friday 28 June (Week 9).  Those parents who would like to meet with their child’s teacher regarding progress please go to Compass for bookings. These bookings will remain open until Wednesday June. Parent Teacher interviews will take over across Week 10.

LABELLING ALL SCHOOL ITEMS 

Don’t forget to label everything! This is the only way that lost items will be returned to your child. Now is a great time to make sure all school items have your child’s name in permanent marker or a label that will not peel off easily. Don’t forget to show your child their labelled items … this will help them when they come to ask us for help finding lost items. 

SCHOOL HATS 

Please ensure your child comes to school with a school hat every day. We do not have spare hats at school for students to use. Any student who does not have a hat will be asked to sit on the verandah for lunch breaks. Labelled school hats will be returned to your child if they are found in the playground. We ask that you regularly check your child’s hat for their name, as the name wears off easily when they are used every day. 

Mrs Jane Jacobs

Acting Assistant Principal

Religion

As the year quickly goes by, we are in the 11^th Week in Ordinary Time. It has been wonderful to see students engaging with the new Religion Units in their classrooms and the insights they have been sharing with their teachers. From conversations and provocations students have been seeing and reflecting on the importance of having faith and sharing the gifts that God has blessed us with.

Several of our students are continuing to progress through preparation to receive their Sacraments. These students have now moved on to Confirmation and a date for Reconciliation to be finalised. Please continue to keep these students in your thoughts and prayers as they continue through this important journey.

On Friday 21^st June we have also had the opportunity for Stage 3 to celebrate Mass with Fr Victor. It has been wonderful for students to share their understanding of the Gospel and what this means to them.

Mrs Lauren Gehrig
Acting Religious Education Coordinator

Office Of Safeguarding

Merit Awards

Class News

ES1

As much as we love extra-curricular activities, we have enjoyed spending the last two weeks in the classroom with no disruptions. The children are progressing so well with their knowledge of sounds, and they are beginning to read sentences. It is such an exciting time of the year in Kindergarten!

Our Science unit this term is all about weather. The students have been observing daily and seasonal changes in the school environment, made easy by the changes from Autumn to Winter. We have some interesting discussions each morning as the children decide what the weather is doing and how come it can be different according to where they live. We have also been discussing how the weather affects humans and other living things and how we must take the weather into consideration when we dress each morning. After viewing many types of weather reports, the students will design and present a weather report of their own as a culminating activity.

Mrs Donna Smith (KG) and Mrs Trishelle Threadgate (KM)

Stage 1

Hello to all our wonderful stage 1 families! The past fortnight has been a big week full of colour and teamwork amongst our Stage One friends. Year 2 have worked tirelessly, along with their Year 2 teachers and our GEM, Mr Bradley Sabotic, on COGAT. Students completed all three days without stress, ensuring they tried their best! Thursday saw students wear a multitude of different colours for POS Ed day. Friday then saw students from Year 2 participate in the primary Athletics Carnival. It was fantastic to see the sportsmanship and effort displayed by students on the day.

In science, students will start to build their sustainable farms using recycled materials. Each class has been looking at the process of plant growth, leading into our knowledge of farms and sustainable agriculture. Students across Stage One have worked hard to grow: beans (2G), carrots (2M), lettuce (1M) and peas (1G). Students will now use recycled materials to construct their own farms. We ask if recycled materials could still be sent into classrooms leading up until Tuesday of Week Eight. Recycled materials could include, but not limited to paper towel rolls, empty/cleaned butter containers, empty cardboard boxes (no staples) and tissue boxes. We ask that no recycled materials contain/or once contained alcohol and nuts or were used in unhygienic instances (toilet rolls). Continuing with science, students have loved having Aunty Wanda visit the classroom, leading discussion on the use of sustainable agriculture in Aboriginal communities, and their use of plants and trees. 

In creative arts, students have continued exploring the musical concepts; beat, pitch, dynamics, tone colour, structure and duration. Students will now take this knowledge when exploring how we can change the nursery rhymes ‘Baa Baa Black Sheep’ and ‘Row, row, row your boat’. We saw the power a small change can make when we explored the different versions of Taylor Swifts, ‘Shake it off’.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher. We look forward to an exciting term!

Kind Regards,

Mrs Baker & Mrs Ballard (1G), Mr Sabotic & Mrs Whithead (1M), Miss Cooper (2M), Miss Becus (2G)

Stage 2

Stage 2 have been enjoying their History unit, ‘First Contacts’, in which they have been learning about the beginnings of settlement in Australia. The students have been particularly interested in the conditions the convicts lived in on their way to Australia and have been developing their understanding of how Indigenous communities were impacted when the First Fleet arrived. 

Year 4 participated in a variety of tabloid activities on Positive Threads Day, the afternoon was one of fun and positive energy. 

Congratulations to all the students who competed in the Athletics Carnival. It was wonderful to see our Stage 2 students participate with zest, perseverance and enthusiasm on the day. The team spirit and support the students displayed to their peers was uplifting. 

Miss Maher (3M), Miss Fitzsimmons (3G), Miss Dafter (4G), Mrs Jane Jacobs & Mrs Mary Ballard (4M)

Stage 3

Students have had the opportunity to attend Middle Schools Day at St Joseph’s Aberdeen last week. Stage 3 were able to participate in a range of fun and engaging activities in the high school setting as well as learning to navigate where to go in a much bigger space! Students experienced Japanese lessons, Art, Religion lessons, TAS, the school farm feeding llamas. The students enjoyed a sausage sizzle at lunchtime. It was a great learning experience and hopefully helps with the transition to stage 4.  

Year 5 will have their mine tour on next Monday. It is a unique experience where the students get to observe mine operations up close. Students will investigate the scientific factors of open cut mining and the rehabilitation of mined land. Students will have the opportunity to see the mine in action and ask questions of the specialised staff present. 

32 students from Stage 3 will be participating in the Science and Engineering Challenge on Tuesday. The Science and Engineering Challenge is a day-long hands-on event designed to provide primary school students with a positive experience of science and engineering. These Discovery Days aim to involve students in meaningful, hands-on experiences that challenge them to make a difference in the world. Students will participate in 2 x 90 minute challenge-type activities and also have the opportunity to watch a multimedia presentation and take part in an exciting science show. 

Mrs Gehrig (5G), Miss Brimble (5M), Miss Lamont (6G), Mrs McLennan (6M)

Community Notices

St. James’ P & F Association

P&F Committee Contacts