30 August 2024

Our Mission @ SJM

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

Quote

It is not easy to follow the Lord, understanding His way of acting and making His criteria and example our own. Yet, the more we are near Him, the more we experience the beauty of having Him as our Friend. We come to realize that He alone has the "words of eternal life."
- Pope Francis-

Assistant Principal

Thank you to the students and staff of KG and KM for a wonderful celebration of our SJM Dad’s and those male role models who play an important role in a child’s life. I hope that you have a happy, relaxed, fun filled Father’s Day.

National child Protection Week

National child Protection Week will take place between 1 – 7 September 2024.

This year, the theme is: ‘Every conversation matters.’

WHAT PART CAN YOU PLAY?

We can all play a part by creating stronger, safer neighbourhoods. This can be achieved by talking to your neighbours, checking in with friends, being a good role model, supporting and being kind to parents rather than judging or being competitive, offering to assist where possible, and speaking up if you see something that is unsafe.

It is important that we listen to, and value, what children have to say. Where possible, include their voices in decision-making and be advocates for their best interest. 

By speaking regularly with children about their personal safety and how they can protect themselves, as well as “tuning in” to their worries, children are more likely to trust us and feel comfortable to talk with us when something big is going on.

Make your influence positive; start a conversation today with your colleagues and families about listening to and valuing the voice of children and young people.

Decorate Your Space: National Child Protection Week 2024

We have been invited to decorate our space that uniquely reflects our commitment to children’s safety and wellbeing in line with the theme of National Child Protection Week ‘Every conversation matters’. Our space will be in the SJM Hall foyer.

Electricity Safety Week

The aim of Electricity Safety Week is to teach children to stay safe around electricity both at home and outdoors. The annual interactive program shows young people how electricity works, how to use it and how to stay safe around it.

There are home activities that can be completed. Find out more about Electricity Safety Week https://www.ausgrid.com.au/Your-safety/Learn-about-electricity/Electrical-Safety-Week

There is a social stories booklet to help students with learning challenges to understand electricity safety behaviours and a quick game of Snakes and Ladders.

Ausgrid-ESW-Worksheet-Snakes-and-Ladders.pdf

Summer Uniform Transition

SJM will start a transition from Winter Uniform to Summer Uniform on Monday 2 September. We ask that students wear full Summer or full Winter uniform not a mixture of both.

Mrs Jane Jacobs
Acting Assistant Principal

Religion

As we come into week 6 we take a moment for our wellbeing and remember the many blessings and gifts we are given. As Pope Francis shares in his quote below:

It is not easy to follow the Lord, understanding His way of acting and making His criteria and example our own. Yet, the more we are near Him, the more we experience the beauty of having Him as our Friend. We come to realize that He alone has the "words of eternal life."

- Pope Francis-

We also celebrated the Assumption of Mary on the 14^th August. This day commemorates the belief that Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ died and her body was “assumed” into heaven. As Catholics we profess our faith in the Apostles Creed where we say the “Resurrection of the body” and in “life everlasting”. This is the meaning of life’s journey and like Mary meeting in heaven one day.

After our Earthquake last week we give thanks for our supportive school community and the way in which students, staff, parents and the community supported each other to ensure everyone’s safety. This is something to be thankful for this wellbeing week.

Socktober

On another note we also have Socktober right around the corner and the opportunity to give back to another community less fortunate than ourselves. This year Socktober aims to shine a light on the communities within Mongolia. Its people are known for their warmth, resilience, and deep connection to their land and traditions. From the bustling capital of Ulaanbaatar to the serene expanse of the Gobi Desert, Mongolia offers a blend of ancient heritage and modern development. On Tuesday 17^th September a number of student representatives will attend the launch of Catholic Missions Socktober at McDonald Jones Stadium. The theme this year is ‘Go and Invite Everyone to the Banquet.’ May we continue to do this as a school and wider community reaching out to others in need.

Mrs Lauren Gehrig
Acting Religious Education Coordinator

Merit Awards

What’s On @ SJM

Class News

ES1

Wow what an amazing group of children. Brave, resilient, curious and kind.

We are so proud of how quickly, calmly, and sensibly Kindergarten managed with the earthquake on Friday. They showed amazing resilience and supported each other through a very scary event. We learnt lots about our planet. Some children may be experiencing some stress and have lots of question. There is plenty of information on the internet, please talk openly and honestly with your children this may reduce the fear if there is understanding. If you have any concerns or your child is concerned, please reach out.

I would like to share some funny moments that occurred on Friday to lighten the mood. We should find the positives in life. KM were having a movement break at the time of the earthquake. We were jumping like Kangaroos. While under the table one child asked, “Did we cause that”. KG wanted to know if the Ogre from the story they have been reading was coming.

Thank you for your support
Mrs Donna Smith (KG) and Mrs Trishelle Threadgate (KM)

Stage 1

Dear Stage 1 Families,

We are so excited to be halfway through term 3! How time flies when you’re learning, laughing, and having fun at SJM!

Firstly, we would like to praise our Stage 1 students for their maturity and resilience during our evacuation process last Friday. We have begun week 6 with a newfound curiosity for tectonic plates and natural disasters! Thank you also, the parents and carers, for collecting your children from school and adapting to our changes so well. We appreciated your cooperation in keeping our children safe and calm on Friday.

Year 2 are very excited for our excursion to the Baiame Caves on Friday! Please refer to the note Miss Cooper and Miss Becus sent home regarding important points for the day.

Both Year 1 and Year 2 have completed their learning on Persuasive Texts and are moving onto Imaginative texts for the remainder of the term. You can assist your child’s learning by encouraging them to read fictional stories at home or creating stories with them to write.

We are continuing to expand our knowledge in science, by exploring the use of Makey Makey boards. Students are enjoying this hands-on approach to learning about digital technologies.

We are excited for Wellbeing Week this week! Students will have the opportunity to participate in activities that enhance their wellbeing during lunch times. They are also challenged with identifying which character strength their teacher has dressed as that day. Mostly, Stage 1 are excited for no homework during Wellbeing Week! Please remind your children to fill up their bucket every now and then – you can’t pour from an empty one.

We look forward to the next two weeks of learning and fun in Stage 1.

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

Stage 2

Welcome to week 6, this week is Wellbeing Week at SJM meaning there is no homework, YAY! Wellbeing Week celebrates the wholistic nature of learning and provides students with activities at lunch time to support their mindfulness.

We wanted to say a big well done to those students who represented year 3 and year 4 at the stage finals in public speaking last Thursday. A special congratulations and good luck to Madisson Mills and Ruby Tilse as they represent SJM at Regional public speaking this week. We would also like to say well done to everyone in stage 2. All students over the past 2 weeks have been writing and presenting speeches. The growth from the start of public speaking to the end was phenomenal, well done all!

Sunday, two weeks ago students in stage 2 celebrated their First Communion and their Confirmation into the Catholic Church. It was a beautiful service and fabulous to see so many students from SJM making their confirmation. Sophie Lane and Peyton Smith were among the students who celebrated their faith.

Over the last two weeks students in Year 3 have been studying the Great Bear by Libby Gleeson. Students have engaged with literacy techniques including repetition, onomatopoeia, and verb/noun groups. Students have also examined how the illustrations tell the story of a bear trapped in the beginning of the story to finding her freedom in the stars. This relates to the Greek Mythology and the constellation of the Great Bear. Students are working towards completing a persuasive text about why animals should not be caged. Stay tuned to see how students develop this argument further.

In Year 4 they are studying the famous bush Ranger Ned Kelly and are learning to identify and describe the difference between authority and genre. The perspective of the character in the text is of course Ned Kelly and how he views his deeds or acts of service is explored. Students then contrast this to how the police or public may have viewed Ned Kelly. Students will then have to decide and persuade their audience to agree with their opinion, was Ned Kelly completing good deeds or breaking the law.

Wishing everyone a Happy Father’s Day this Sunday!

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

Stage 3

Stage 3 have been participating in Sports Fun with our friends from St Joseph’s Aberdeen. We have been participating in many different sports including netball, touch football, soccer and league tag. All students have been actively participating and have represented St James’ Primary School with pride.

In Visual Art students have been exploring colour. Students have been mixing and adjusting colours to both represent themselves and their family. Within each class we are working to create artwork that links with Songlines. Songlines are a route of travel through a landscape during the Dreamtime, depicted within Indigenous culture.  

We also wish our Stage 3 Fathers and Father figures a beautiful Father’s Day. It was fantastic to celebrate Father’s Day on Thursday, the 29^th of August. We enjoyed picnics on Mackillop Oval, and we saw close competition between epically engineered paper planes!

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

Learning Support

LITERACY AND NUMERACY WEEK

In Week 7, we will be celebrating Literacy and Numeracy Week here at St James. Letters and numbers are the foundational elements of our students’ educational experiences. Literacy and Numeracy Week allows us to celebrate literacy and numeracy, their significance in today’s world and encourages skill development in reading, writing, digital literacy and numeracy.

Play is a crucial element for children to learn and develop these skills.

This week why not try some of these fun ways to enhance literacy and numeracy skills at home.

• Read and share stories.
• Play boardgames together that use dice and counting or letters to form words e.g. snakes and ladders or Scrabble.
• Get your child to write out your shopping list and birthday cards.
• Play “I Spy” or “Simon Says”.
• Go for a walk and go on a number hunt (mailboxes are great, you can find numbers, add them, subtract them, find the number the comes next or the number before or something a little trickier, multiply them).
• Use a word processing program to create your own story.
• Use a phonics or maths app to support skill development, for example; Matific and Lexia.

Have a great Literacy and Numeracy Week everyone and have fun making literacy and numeracy part of your everyday life.

The Learning Support Team

Aspire 2025

Community Notices

St. James’ P & F Association

P&F Committee Contacts