Principal's Post

Dear Families,

A Poem to Illustrate the Partnership we Share

I have shared this poem with parents previously to illustrate the partnership we share. 

I read it recently and wondered whether I had shared it with our St James community.

I think it sums up our partnership perfectly.

Two Sculptors

I dreamed I stood in a studio and watched two sculptors there,

The clay they used was a young child's mind,

And they fashioned it with care.

One was a teacher; the tools she used were books, music and art.

One, a parent who worked with a guiding hand and a gentle loving heart.

Day after day, the teacher toiled with touch that was deft and sure,

While the parent laboured by her side and polished and smoothed it over.

And when at last their task was done.

They were proud of what they had wrought.

For the things they had moulded into the child could neither be sold or bought.

And each agreed they would have failed

If they had worked alone, for behind the parent stood the school,

And behind the teacher, the home.

Students Well Settled Back into School Life

We have made many observations of our students settling back into life at school and appreciating the simple things in life. Many students appear happy enjoying each other's company and there is a lot of laughter and merriment in the playground areas. I would say that there is a definite positive attitude and sense of gratitude among everyone here onsite at St James, students and staff alike.

Teachers have met with and contacted parents to support various students if the need has arisen. Because we are not scheduling specific Learning Conferences, please feel free to contact your child's class teacher if you have any concerns regarding their academic needs or wellbeing.

Sports Day

Congratulations to Durkin who won the House Sports held on Friday 30 October! The day was a huge success, despite  parents not being able to attend due to COVID restrictions. 

Thanks to Claire Feild and her team of support staff who coordinated the event. Our Year Six displayed outstanding leadership skills in leading many of the activities.

A detailed report on the Sports and photos are on the Spotlight on Learning page.

Swimming Program

Please note that our 2020 Swimming Program has been cancelled. Parents will receive a rebate for this amount.

I urge all families to equip your children with water safety strategies and skills before summer commences and they use pools or enter rivers, lakes or the beach.

Board Shorts

Our Education Board met on Wednesday 28 October. Here is a summary of items we discussed 

• How St James is responding and to COVID regulations at school
• Our reporting format for December 2021
• Parish Sacramental proposals for 2021
• Reviewed policies- Standard Collection Notice, Student Wellbeing, Student Anti-bullying
• Parents and Friends 2021 plans and the generous community support of the, "Pay it Forward" initiative which has already benefited a number of families

Ratified policies can be found on our website and are always accessible for you. In particular, the definition for Bullying invited discussion and it was agreed to bring your attention to a term that we can all use too broadly: Bullying is defined as an ongoing misuse of power in social relationships (by an individual or group) involving repeated verbal, physical, or social behaviour that causes physical and/or psychological harm towards one or more persons. Conflicts or fights between equals and single incidents are not defined as bullying. (CEVN) The policy is below and can also be found on our website.

This year, Lisa Sully is the only Board member moving on as part of our three year cyclical rotation. Lisa has been a very active Board member who represents a variety of parent views in meetings. Thank you Lisa for your time and contributions over the past three years. Any community members wishing to join the Education Board in place of Lisa please send in an expression of interest to our Chairperson, Lisa Licciardi via our school office by Monday 23 November.

Staffing Update

We said farewell to Molly Masters on Friday as she commenced her maternity leave and today we welcomed Julianne Bogemann to 5M for the remainder of the year.

We have appointed Tracey O Connor to teach Performing Arts next year. Tracey has been teaching some Performing Arts lessons with Judith Siva throughout 2020 as well as working in Year 5 on a Thursday.

School Fees

All school accounts should now have been finalized unless you are paying by monthly instalments or you have spoken to Dave. 

In short:

• A reminder to send back any medication your child may need - eg ventolin, panadol etc
• We will acknowledge Remembrance Day on Wednesday at 11:00am - an important time to stop and remember.
• This week It’s NAIDOC Week. This year’s theme is, ‘Always Was, Always Will Be’. It recognises the continuous connection that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have with this land, and that the nation’s story began at the dawn of time and not after European contact. On our Closure Day, planned for Friday 20 November, the staff will have opportunity to learn more about our Indigenous Spirituality.
• Stay tuned for the launch of our Art Show this week. As you know, we place a high value on The Arts at St James. It is important for the children to think creatively and believe in their creativity. By Friday, we will sending home access to our virtual show. Sit back and enjoy - I'm sure you'll be enormously proud of your children. In the afternoon, classes will have an opportunity to enjoy the visual displays from each area, CAPTURING an array of skills, talent and amazing creations. We'll forward some pictures of these as well. Special thanks goes to Mrs. Anne Gleeson, for her impeccable planning, commitment to excellence and all the extra time and energy she has given to ensure this is a brilliant celebration of The Arts. Accolades to the supportive Art Show committee, whose generosity helped to make it happen too.

Prep 2021 Transition

We received some fantastic news last week regarding transition. Our 2021 Preps are able to come onsite in groups of 10 and are not to mix with other current students while they are here.

Consequently, we have organised two transition sessions for this year and will be treating the first week of 2021 as a transition time for our new Preps.

Our new little gems will be coming onsite on Friday 20 November (our school closure day) and on Wednesday 16 December (the day after classes conclude for 2020 students).

Last week we sent out the second of our parent transition recordings.

Assembly link from this morning

We were not able to livestream our assembly this morning. Consequently, we held it via the PA system and did not film it.

Lest we forget, as we remember all those who have lost their lives in war on Wednesday,

Dave