Principal's News 

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

This year we welcomed many new families to St James.  I am sure by now you will have noticed the warmth and welcome that the St James community is known for.  This is  because of everyone's openness to greeting all newcomers with a spirit of acceptance.

This is part of our identity and distinctiveness as a Catholic school where our differences are valued and celebrated.  There is an openness to otherness and an opportunity to interact, dialogue and accept.

The image provided in the newsletter is indicative of this.  It also shows Christ as the welcoming and unifying power of this / our  gathering of students, parents and teachers at St James.

It is now early February and we are about to complete Week 2 of the school year.  It is pleasing to witness the smooth transition all children have made to the school year. There will be some apprehension for some as we transition back.  We are particularly pleased with the calm and bubbly nature of our new Prep children under the loving eye of Miss Holly Capomolla and Miss Aoife Tierney.  These children had quite a disruptive year in kindergarten last year and we believe that the opportunity to create two smaller classes will assist them greatly in the transition to primary education.  Judging by their laughter and interaction so far,  the play and formal learning combination will advance their individual and collective abilities.  They are sure to have a wonderful year with their two passionate teachers.

In time, once COVID restrictions are lifted, we will be able to allow parents to enter the school and see first hand the dynamic learning spaces and your children moving and interacting with their teachers and other children.  Last year parents were able to see through our remote learning process the teachers craft of engaging children in the learning process at home.  Throughout this year we hope to be able to provide "learning walks" so that you can see first hand the professional work of our teachers and the children's learning.

Faith in the Future - Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools

On January 1 the governance of Catholic school changed.  All Catholic schools in Melbourne are now under the governance structure of MACS. The new arrangements with Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) will provide a strong foundation for our shared mission well into the future.

The new governance arrangements will shape the work of MACS and create new processes, policies and procedures to enhance the way we work together as one of the largest education organisations in Australia. 

In the shadow of the isolation of 2020, through MACs we have the opportunity to reframe and rebuild the relationships in Catholic schools with a focus on mission in a spirit of hope.

Diverse and holistic support for students

This year we are continuing to build on our repertoire of learning support structures at St James. Bronwyn Northcott, an Occupational Therapist will support our children and teachers and will commence in the coming weeks.

Occupational Therapy helps with social skills, emotional literacy, behaviour management, fine and gross motor development, mental health and confidence in children's own identity and independent self-care skills and upskilling staff in all of these areas. OTs in mainstream schools have previously been overlooked in Australia, where in the US, Canada and the UK this has been common practice for truly inclusive education for many years. So much of what OTs do can be beneficial to the whole student cohort. OTs in mainstream schools exist in the Queensland Department of Education in many mainstream schools, and Victoria is seeing a recent increase for OTs working in the mental health and wellbeing roles in schools.  We look forward to the professional support that Bronwyn can bring to St James.

We also welcome Adele McGaffin, a Speech Pathologist from Communicate Speech Pathology who has already commenced working with St James this week. 

Adele will work collaboratively with Karlee Agnew (Learning Diversity) and Olivia Quinlan (Literacy / Learning & Teaching) to provide a bespoke and individualised programs for students at St James. The program will include any combination of screenings, 1:1 assessment, 1:1 therapy, small group therapy, large group therapy and teacher training. Adele will also be able to liaise with teaching and support staff in regards to students’ needs as well as writing goals for Personalised Learning Plans.

We are very excited to welcome Bronwyn and Adele to the St James team. They will add to our strong educational learning teams, including Learning Diversity (Karlee Agnew), Literacy (Olivia Quinlan), Learning & Teaching (Olivia Quinlan) and Wellbeing Teams (Georgia McNamara, Karlee Agnew, Maureen Flanagan and Brendan Flanagan). 

Thankyou

In late January we were saddened with the sudden loss of Andrew Jewiit.  Can I thank the many parents who provided meals, love and support to Deb, Reuben and Sam.  Deb is appreciative of the wonderful support extended by our school community.

St James Blue Courts - Star Music Festival Rehearsal

In the coming fortnight, Star of the Sea will be using our blue courts for preparation for their Music Festival.  The Star students will be utilising the courts on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday mornings from 8.30 - 10.30am.  Our young ones will be able to see and learn the choreography of the Star students.

School celebrations / Religious Education

On Friday 12th Feb @ 10am all children will be involved in an Opening School Paraliturgy with Year 5 to lead with Fr David.  At this stage we will be celebrating the paraliturgy outside.  Further details and links to the eventual streaming will be shared next week.

All classes have completed their prayer symbol for the Student Representatives to present at the beginning of the paraliturgy.

Tuesday 16th Feb - Shrove Tuesday.  Parents will cook and distribute the  pancakes for the students in the new garden area.

Wednesday 17th Feb - Ash Wednesday Paraliturgy.  Year 3/4C will lead (students will be sprinkled on the head with the ashes).

School Lunch Orders

Thanks to the strong partnership that we share with our good friends next door,  Star of the Sea,  we will be recommencing lunch orders for our children on Monday 8th February. I met with Gus, Fadwa and Nadia from H and H Canteens last week to discuss the arrangement for the year.  A menu list is included in this newsletter.  The system will remain the same with children having their order placed on a brown paper bag.  Class lunch orders will be delivered to the Star canteen at 9.15am and lunches will return at 1.20pm.  The senior students will be the messengers.

I have included an introduction from H and H Canteens

"Dear parents, We are the newly established operators of Star of the Sea College Nagle Café where we service staff and students of all year levels. We are very excited to deliver a new range of healthy and delicious food from our café. We cater to dietary requirements and our café is nut-free. We look forward to seeing you throughout the year. 

Thank you,

Gus, Fadwa & Nadia from Nagle café."

Meet the Teacher - EARLY SCHOOL CLOSURE THURSDAY 11 FEBRUARY 1pm

OSHClub will be running on this day. Please book in your children to secure your place.

Booking details will be provided next week.  

CSEF Application

The Camp, Sports and Excursion Fund is provided by the Victorian Government to assist eligible families to cover the costs of school trips, camps and sporting activities.

If you applied for the CSEF at St James last year, you do not need to complete an application form unless there has been a change in your family circumstances. You only need to complete an application form if any of the following changes have occurred: 

• new student enrolments; your child has started or changed schools in 2020 or you did not apply in 2019.
• changed family circumstances; such as a change of custody, change of name, concession card number, or new siblings commencing at the school in 2020.

Faith in our Future.

Brendan Flanagan

Principal