Principal's News

The Main Event - Urgent message

The Major school fundraiser is to be held on Saturday 24th August.

At last night’s Parents Association meeting we discussed the arrangement for the organisation  for the main event and are putting out a call for parents to assist.

We require a team of people to collectively manage the event.  They will receive advice and support from previous organisers.  At St James we have a wonderful way of pulling together and this message is an appeal to every parent to assist our school in striving for excellence in everything that we do.

If you can assist in anyway please do so by Monday 20th May.  You can contact

Jane Kanizay (jane@kanizay.com)

Carmelina Corio or myself  (info@stjamesbrighton.catholic.edu.au)

5th Sunday of Easter -(this week's reading)

‘I give you a new commandment – love one another.’

Jesus emphasised the commandment to love to his disciples. There was to be a temporary separation in his death, but in their love for one another the disciples were still be able to experience Jesus in their midst.

Moreover, they are to love as Jesus loves, not selectively, but with a love that extends to all people. This kind of love will be a sign that they are truly his disciples and that he is still living in them.

May we be ready to receive the abundant love Jesus gives us; then may we let this flow out to others. Lord, help me to see how you live in me as I seek to put your love into action.

Sheelagh

I enjoy eulogies.  Last Monday I celebrated the life of my Aunty Sheelagh with her many grandchildren and great grandchildren.  A young girl who witnessed the generosity and modelling of her parents, to create that same sense of tenacity and warmth for others in her 92 years of life.  The reflections of Sheelagh, a beautiful lady who lived through the depression, WW2, the struggle of rural life, time of not much, bearing eight children, sickness, losing her husband of 22 years in a sudden tragic accident, and raising a family on her own, speak volumes of courage and faith.  A teacher, mother, listener, encourager, strong supporter of Catholic education, strong supporter of family life and a faith that she called on many times. A legacy that is left and entrenched on her broad family. We have much to learn from the strength and persistence of our older relatives.  Sheelagh is one and you will probably have your own. There is a wake up call and a return for the world where the integrity of each person is valued. We can benefit from people like Sheelagh and your own strong family characters of the past.

NAPLAN

This week is the national  NAPLAN testing period, with our Year 3 and Year 5 students sitting Numeracy, Language Conventions, Writing and Reading assessment tasks.  There has been again a great deal of media coverage of this once a year event especially with those schools who elected to engage in the assessments online.  Some schools across our nation had a ‘hiccup’ with sitting the test due to technology difficulties. This thankfully for our community was not an issue and our Year 3 and 5 children negotiated the assessment requirements.  We believe that this national test is only one way of assessing our students. At St James we use a variety of data sets to inform our teaching. A comprehensive assessment schedule provides our teachers with a sound context of where our students are on the learning journey.  

A few weeks ago I was reading an article by Michael Fullan a credentialed educationalist who has been a Dean and Professor in educational institutions across the world .  Fullan challenges what is considered by some as the moral imperative of education i.e., that academic achievement is the end goal and the frenzied approach today to increasing achievement scores.

Achievement is important and we do wish to excel and improve the knowledge and skills of our students.  This is but one of the purposes of education. Fullan suggests that the moral imperative of education should be refined.

‘High expectations for students in both academic performance and in connectedness to life’.  

The two dimensions of being good at school and being good at life would be integrated and would feed on each other.  In other words there would be greater and more widespread academic achievement along with greater wellbeing with a dual definition of this moral imperative.  NAPLAN is important as is the balanced approach to allowing our students to develop skills to navigate their way through a world that has changed a great deal in the past decade/s.  Stress and anxiety across all levels of society is on the increase. We do notice it in our families and society. How do we move through this time? Is it a strong focus on a score or a rounded balance approach for the complete flourishing of our children? The world of the future requires us to always seek improvement in results and also to  engage with our world through the development of character, citizenship, collaboration, communication, creativity and critical thinking. It’s been a big week.

Catholic Education Today

During the week I received correspondence from Michael Elliot who is a member of the Planning and Events section of Catholic Education Melbourne.  They are currently preparing content for the term 2 edition of Catholic Education Today with a feature story on new / refurbished spaces in schools. They have chosen 6 schools to be featured across 3 pages in the article and the planning department put our school forward.  We have been invited to present our learning spaces which is pleasing. You may see the following in the edition later this term which is available to all Catholic school families in the archdiocese.

Catholic Education Today

St James Brighton are approaching the final stages of creating our ‘School in the Sky’ with 14 learning spaces and an Airbridge.  This is an exciting period for the school as we have transformed a mediocre and traditional building into a state of the art educational centre. The  collaborative educational facility consultation period plan with parents, staff, students and architects Baldasso Cortese, commenced in August 2017. A collective decision was made  to follow a Type D typology learning environment which ensured that the learning spaces encompassed a learning village and a focus on visibility, spacious and uncluttered spaces and designed for communities of teachers and students.  The introduction of natural light, withdrawal and reflective spaces, a range of integrated furniture and technology, supports our vision to bring all in the educational journey into a collaborative academic learning community with connectedness and support for each other.  The context of space is so important. Learners often cannot recall their learnings if they can’t recall where that space of acquired knowledge, skills and attitude occurred.

The opportunity for teachers and learners to observe each other in an environment of ‘buzz’ and connection gives leverage to our vision of engaging a shared pedagogy coupled with a stimulating educational environment.

Photos by Ned and Reuben - Year 6 leaders

Fees

A reminder that school fees are due.  If you have not informed Imelda of your fee plan please do so.  School fees charged to families is the private income that supplements the funding we receive from both the Federal and State Government. School budgets are based on the collection of private income.

Unallocated fee payment

An amount of $1,861.67 was deposited to the school general account on 1 April.  Please contact Imelda in the office if you know who deposited this amount.

Mothers Day

Congratulations and thank you to to Donette, Jo and Sarah for the joyful Mothers Day luncheon held at the Elwood bathers recently.  Ange, Imelda and I were amused with the link that has been provided in the newsletter today. Mother's Day is an important day in the year and judging by the link it was a great celebratory time.

High School Musical

Our kind neighbours next door, Star of the Sea, have invited our Year 3- 6 children to their musical, High School Musical on Wednesday 21st August at 12.30pm.  

There are a good number of ex St James girls performing and it will be a great opportunity to see the production which is based on an original Disney movie.

First Eucharist

The series of masses for children who will celebrate First Eucharist commence this weekend at 6pm Saturday and Sunday 9am.  We wish all children in Year 3 and their parents the best as they move through the masses that Fr Martin has prepared. This is an important time as they continue their faith journey and continued initiation into the Catholic faith.  Martin does bring us a theology that is is engaging and brings us to a understanding of the Christ message that is relevant for today. Tonight the ‘Preps in pyjamas’ is on and touches on how story is a large part of our family and faith life.

Thank You 

La Union Standard Academy, a secondary school in the northern Philippines, would like to thank St James Primary School for their generous donation of 20 iPads. Imelda travelled to the Philippines earlier this year and distributed iPads which were previously used by St James students. Like most local schools in the Philippines, La Union Standard Academy runs on a limited budget with basic facilities and relies on their donations to ensure that they can continue to provide their community with an institution committed to providing the youth with an education that will prepare them for life possibilities and transformation. These iPads will allow the students to incorporate technology into their learning that they would otherwise not have access to. 

School Closure

A reminder that Monday 27 May will be a pupil free day. OSHClub is now taking bookings, but will only open if they receive the required numbers.

Brendan