St James Learning and Teaching
Curriculum / Classroom News
MATHS
Australian Mathematics Competition 2023
Congratulations to the 75 students from Years 3-6 who completed the Australian Mathematics Competition earlier this year. We are very proud of their achievements and for giving a very challenging online competition their best efforts. This year over 170 000 students from across Australia participated in the competition which many of you may remember entering in your own schooling days as it has been running since 1978!
A big congratulations to Tai in Year 3 who achieved a Distinction.
Our wonderful mathematicians who entered this year are:
Year 3: Olivia, Sebastian, Scarlett, Bobby. Alba, Lila, Charlie E, Charlie F, Maddie, Elly, Ruby, Hope, Tai, Skye, Jade, Annie, Zac
Year 4: Vivienne, Madison, Mikayla, Olivia, Lucia, Peyton, Anita, Poppy, Arran, Holly, Mila, Tia, Nicholas, Sienna, Iris
Year 5: Zavier, Camille, Harry, Delilah, Nicholas, Audrey, Evangeline, Oliver, Radha, Ptolemy, Ethan, Ruby, Megan, Catherine, Jasmine, Valentina, Evie, Tilayo, Ava T
Year 6: Lucy, Violet, Zoe, Erin, Jennifer, Lenni, Talia, Jessica, Charles, Angus, Lyla, Scarlett, Nieve, Jack, Kristian, Aurelia, Sophie, Zara, Katie, Sibh
We are thrilled with the participation of all our students at St James in their maths learning year!
Bridie Slater and Jess Conway
Maths Leaders
LITERACY
What a busy term it has been in Literary at St James! Thank you to all our Parent Helpers who have helped to facilitate our afternoon 1-1 Reading Program.
Shared Stories
A big Congratulations to Mrs Ferrari and all the children who contributed to Shared Stories this year. The published master pieces have now been disrupted. It was lovely to see our St James students' creativity and imagination on full display in the publication. Well Done to all involved.
CAN HARD WORK CONQUER TALENT?
Lenni G - Year 6
GOING FOR GOAL SEASONS
Valentina RD - Year 5 Year 1CJ
RED THE OCEAN
Alba D - Year 3 Zoe D - Year 6
BULLSEYE
Jennifer F - Year 6
INSPIRE WHAT COULD I BE?
Tilayo S - Year 5 Erin F - Year 6
Scarlett C - Year 3
Scarlett C - Year 3
AT THE SOCCER AT SCHOOL
Hugo J- Prep Harper F - Prep
THE BALLET SHOES
Ava N - Year 5
Ava N - Year 5
School Holidays!
School holidays are just around the corner. Keeping children’s reading up during this time can be hard. However, if you are looking for ways to get your child reading for pleasure and developing their literacy skills these school holidays, look no further than these websites.
Junior Students:
Between the Lions: A reading website with read-along folktales and fables, clever song videos of letter sounds, and many more stories to capture kids’ attention.
Between the Lions Early Reading | PBS LearningMedia
Storyline Online: Books on video and lessons aimed at strengthening comprehension and verbal and written skills for English-language learners.
Senior Students:
Harry Potter Club: Any kids who love Harry Potter will adore this website.
Kids News: Here, your child can select a news topic that interests them from space to animals to weather and a whole lot more!
Any Year Level:
Oxford Owl: This website provides you with access to over 250 children’s audio books!
Great Picture Books and Short Novels for your Summer
HOLIDAY SORTED!
Jimmy Rees & Briony Stewart
Parents attempting to pack children, pets and mountains of gear in the car to set off on an Easter holiday only to be informed that someone has forgotten an essential toy, or needs the toilet again, or wants more snacks, will smile (or perhaps sob) in recognition at the latest picture book by Jimmy Rees — who readers both younger and older may recognise from ABC Kids’ Giggle and Hoot, and from his viral videos on YouTube and TikTok. The book’s story about a family trying, failing and eventually succeeding in getting on the road is enhanced by clever, funny illustrations by award-winning Fremantle kids’ author and illustrator Briony Stewart. For ages two-plus.
MAPS FOR PENGUINS
Tracey Turner & Hui Skipp
Little animal lovers, budding zoologists and armchair travellers of all ages will enjoy this information-packed picture book charting the remarkable journeys undertaken by ten animals throughout various parts of the globe. Among their number are emperor penguins, which travel up to 160km to their rookeries from their colonies by the sea in Antarctica; monarch butterflies, which make one of the world’s longest insect migrations across North America; and the flocks of swallows that make a round trip of 20,000km between the UK and South Africa. Also depicted are species that prefer to stay closer to home, including ring-tailed lemurs living in a protected nature reserve in Madagascar. For ages four-and-up.
UNCLE XBOX
Jared Thomas
If you’re hoping to keep the kids away from their devices over the break, this chapter book by Nukunu author Jared Thomas — whose critically acclaimed previous titles include My Spare Heart and Calypso Summer — might be just the ticket. It’s a First Nations coming-of-age tale centred on 11-year-old Dusty, who loves online gaming with his stepdad, Marcus. But when Marcus moves out, taking the Xbox with him, Dusty resolves to save up for a replacement console. That’s until his Uncle Rick (“the coolest”) steps in to show him that nature is “where the real fun is”, teaching him about surfing, his culture and connection to Country. It’s recommended for ages seven to 12.
A MESSAGE THROUGH TIME
Anna Ciddor
Street vendors selling grilled sparrows and medicinal horse saliva are among the sights that await the protagonists of this time-slip middle-grade novel when they travel back to the Ancient Roman era. A stand-alone companion to Melbourne author Anna Cidor’s 2021 award-winner The Boy Who Stepped Through Time, it follows 11-year-old Felix who discovers a message in a bottle while on holiday in France, sending him and his 15-year-old stepsister Zoe some 1700 years into the past. When they manage to return to their own time, they realise they’ve accidentally brought back a 12-year-old Roman girl and must work out how to reunite her with her family. Aimed at readers aged eight to 13.
THE TRUTH DETECTIVE
Tim Harford & Ollie Mann
British journalist Tim Harford is known for his ability to explain complex subjects to adults — via books such as The Undercover Economist and podcasts such as Cautionary Tales — and his first children’s book is aimed at helping inquiring young minds navigate the world of data, numbers and fake news. Illustrated by Ollie Mann, it promises to help readers “figure out what is TRUE and what is NOT — like a detective”, using examples including a 100-year-old hoax involving photographs of fairies, a TV show that pitted cow poo against beauty bloggers, and the story of how Florence Nightingale used pie charts to change the world for the better. For ages 10-12.
SELFIE
Allayne L. Webster
The very modern dilemmas of social media, along with the more timeless trials of adolescent friendship, are at the heart of the latest young-adult novel by South Australian author Allayne L. Webster. Its narrator is Year Eight student Tully Sinclair, who feels as though she’s “entered the Upside Down on Stranger Things, or been snorted up an alien’s nostril, or something” when she is befriended by Dene Walker, her high school’s very own social-media star, who has 1.5 million followers and a life that’s been charted online by her blogger mother since before she was born. However, as Tully learns, being drawn into Dene’s world isn’t without its downsides. For ages 12-plus.
Remember when you are listening to your child read, ask the following questions or use some of these helpful prompts.
- PAUSE, PROMPT, PRAISE
- Can you get out the first sound(s)?
- Does the picture give you a clue?
- Can you blend the sounds together?
- Have you seen that word before?
- Can you break it into parts?
- Does that look right?
- Does that sound right?
- Does it make sense?
- Do you need to re-read?
- TRY THAT AGAIN
Mandi Joplin
Junior Literacy Leader
Wellbeing
Advent:
There is a beautiful prayer in the Rite of Welcome that is often celebrated around Christmas time:
Gracious God, so many journeys of faith, all of them unfinished, intertwine today.
We thank you for the new life you bring us. As we walk our pilgrim way together,
make us a strength for each other and a sign of faithfulness to all we meet. Through
Christ our Lord. Amen
I think this sums us up perfectly. Perhaps the most important lesson from it is that we are all UNFINISHED. Each of us have strengths and weaknesses. But as the prayer says “make us a strength for each other and a sign of faithfulness”.
Advent is about preparing ourselves and it involves waiting and longing for the Lord’s coming. But you might ask, why do we need to think about that when Jesus has already come?
Yes he has come and is with us in our hearts and walking beside us. But he also said he will “come again”. Now this coming is that moment of our death but also there is a time when he will come again in bodily form to judge the living and the dead. We need to be ready for those two moments of his coming.
So what do we need for the Lord’s arrival. Mainly a heart full of love for him and for our neighbour. Which isn’t as easy as it sounds is it? We struggle sometimes with our kids and our partners and family members and when we turn on the News we see lots of evidence of hatred and wars. The world needs our witness of faith and love. We are all responsible.
This is how we can be responsible by:
longing, - for Jesus to come. Because his coming will correct and stop all evil, first in our hearts then in the world.
preparing for his coming, - by prayer and fasting (especially before the feasting)
rejoicing, - joy and wonder in the incredible gift of Jesus
repentance, - getting myself ready for his coming. Letting go of our behaviour that is not inline with God's plan for our lives.
When we do all these things, we have oil in our lamps and are ready for Jesus’ coming. We are bringing the light into a world filled with darkness.
We are not just waiting passively or totally oblivious to the purpose of life. We are living a life of purpose and longing, hearts full of love and praying for ourselves and others to be ready for the moment of Jesus calling us to account for the way we lived.
Have a Blessed Advent season. Be ready!
Corey Payton
Chaplain at St James
Library
What an amazing Year it has been in the library!
Thank you to each and everyone of you who have contributed and joined us in the library this year. We have significantly expand our library collection with the gracious donations from our school community. We look forward to lots more exciting events and opportunities to explore the creativity of books in 2024!
Returning Books
This is the last call to return your library books. Over the Summer we will be auditing and stocking shelves. This week your child will ocme hoe with a list of outstanding books. Please drop any books to Ange in the Library ASAP.
Thank you
Mandi and Ange in the Library