This Week's Updates

Dear Families,

Welcome to the final week of term and the last day for our wonderful Year 6 students. This group of students hold a special place in my heart because they commenced their first day in Prep on the same day I first commenced at St James.  It has been an honour to watch them flourish and grow into the wonderful, kind, strong, thoughtful, considerate and intelligent Year Six students that are stepping into the next phase of life today. Though we will miss each of them, we are so excited for them as they embark on their next chapter. Today we see them off with our Moving on Assembly where the school congregates to fare them well.

Last Thursday evening was also a special celebration with our Year Six Students and their families. The atmosphere was warm, friendly and celebratory as parents and students arrived and viewed the students’ memory books.  The official part of the evening was both prayerful and reflective. Thank you to our many families who have contributed greatly over the duration of their child's time at St James. Your contribution to our community has been most valued and appreciated.

We also farewell the following students who are moving on from St James at the end of this term; Machaela & Hannah Janes, Stefan Nedza and James Luo. We wish them all the best in their future education.

Tomorrow we will just have Years Prep - 5 for the final day of school with the usual finish time of 3.20pm.

We are very excited to welcome you into our new building next year which will be operational from the 28th January.  Our classrooms impacted by the recent flooding will be renovated and ready for the students to return at the beginning of Term One.

Friday’s Move Up Day was a great success with students gathering in their 2025 classes with their 2025 teachers. Following discussion at our School Advisory Committee, we decided to send home a copy of class lists to parents on Friday. We also sent home booking details for 2025 Assessment Days  which need to be booked with your child’s 2025 teacher and some items to be brought to school in the first week back next year.

I’d like to thank our entire St James community for the support you have provided us as a staff and one another to achieve all that we have this year.

Year Six Leaders 2025

All of our Year Six students are leaders of our St James community and will be provided with various opportunities to display their leadership throughout the year.

Last week we presented our Year Five students with their 2025 Year Six Rugby Top and announced some formal leadership roles. Here are these roles.

Entertainment Fundraiser is Closing

After very low sales for the last few years, P&F Committee have decided that we will close our Entertainment Fundraiser. 

Our page link will be active until the end of December if you want to purchase any memberships for Christmas gifts. 

https://subscribe.entertainment.com.au/fundraiser/186265m

Note: All previously purchased memberships are still valid until their expiry date.  

Thanks to those families who’ve supported this fundraiser over the many years it has run. You can still buy memberships in the future, by going to the Entertainment website, or finding another local group to support. 

Choir Visit to Vermont Aged Care

Our school choir recently had the wonderful opportunity to visit Vermont Aged Care to perform for the residents. After two previous attempts were delayed due to weather and illness, we were pleased that the visit finally took place.

On the day of our visit, 33 talented choir members sang a beautiful range of songs they have been practicing throughout the year, including some special Christmas carols. The  residents really enjoyed the performance, clapping along and singing with the students.

It was a heartwarming experience for everyone, and we’re proud of the choir for sharing their music and spreading joy to the community. A big thank you to the parents who came along to assist with the excursion – your support made the day even more special.

We look forward to more visits like this in the future.

Building Update

We expect to move into our new Administration Building in the final week of the school holidays so that it will be in use at the start of the new school year. The signage was installed last Friday.

We are hopeful that our flood damaged prep - Year 2 classrooms will be refurbished in time for the new school year. We will keep families informed as to when we might require some help and support to move back into and set up the rooms for learning.

Holiday Farm Duty

Thank you to all the families that have volunteered to help over the holiday period on the farm, it is greatly appreciated. All slots have been filled.

Lost Property

Please take some time this week to check our lost property area and reclaim your child's belongings as any unnamed  school uniform items left at the end of the term will be kindly donated to our second hand uniform shop.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and we hope that you all enjoy the holidays with your families.

Take care and remember "Jesus is the reason for the season!"

Dave