Faith & Wellbeing
WELLBEING
Hello Everyone, and welcome back to school.
I am the Student Wellbeing Leader at St James and I love my job! I am available to the students on most days in the “Well Done Office” which I share with the Learning Support Officers(LSO’s).
We can’t expect everything to go well for everyone all the time, so I am here to assist the students and parents should they need someone to talk to or assist with regulation.
Throughout the year I frequently have visitors who need to talk about playground issues, a bad morning or something that is troubling them. I even help the teachers when they need support around how to support students in their class. All classroom’s have a star system that students can use when they wish to come to the office for some Wellbeing care. Along with the Wellbeing Team (Brendan Flanagan, Karlee Agnew, Maureen Flanaganand myself) we have been working hard over the last few months to make St James the best Wellbeing School it can be. We will very soon be expanding our team to include Allied Health providers who will attend St James to work with our students onsite. This is a great service and opportunity for us all to work together to ensure our students are receiving the best possible care.
Return To School
Returning to school is a time full of emotions. Excitement and happiness as well as frustration, scared and anxiety. Transitioning to a new classroom, teacher, routines and even for some a new school can take time to adjust. During this time of adjustment and new routines we need to be mindful of our organisation and preparation, making sure we are prepared for new experiences can take a lot of work. Having a morning routine for the school days helps our children to begin the day in a calm and positive way. The most useful way to get out the door and on time to school is to set up a morning routine. Please see the following article to assist with the “how and why” a morning routine can be established.
2021 Safer Internet Day
Tuesday 9th February is Safer Internet Day. The eSafety Commissioner (eSafety) encourages students, families, schools and communities to ‘start the chat’ about online safety through provision of a range of resources and activities. All classes will be participating in activities prompting the safe use of the internet, there is also a parent webinar available as per below.
Parent Webinar
· New webinars for parents/carers are being offered each Term. Term 1 Webinar: eSafety’s parent guide to cyberbullying and online drama.
Kind Regards,
Mrs Georgia McNamara
Student Wellbeing Leader
gmcnamara@stjamesbrighton.catholic.edu.au
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
Diversity
I BIG warm welcome back to all our families as we begin our 2021 school year.
This term our big concept is ‘Diversity’. Students will be exploring what this means in our current context and how we can make connections to our Catholic Faith and Traditions.
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There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
St James Religious Education Inquiry Unit provocation for Term 1
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Important Dates
Please see below for upcoming events
Friday 12th Feb 10am - Opening School Paraliturgy (If weather permits this will be help outside the front of the school and parents are more than welcome to attend)
Tuesday 16th Feb - Pancake Tuesday
(Students will be able to enjoy pancakes that our wonderful parents committee will prepare)
Wednesday 17th Feb - Ash Wednesday Paraliturgy & Project Compassion
Monday 29th March - Thursday 1st of April - Holy Week Paraliturgy (A timeable will come out closer to the date letting you know which classes are on which day)
Sacraments
As many of you are aware, last year St James became part of the Bayside Catholic Mission along with 5 other schools in the Bayside area; St Joan of Arc, St Mary’s, Sacred Heart, Stella Maris and St Joseph’s. Our Parish Priest are Fr David Cartwright, Fr Dean Mathieson and Fr James Baptist. This also means that there is a change in the year levels that receive Sacraments.
Year 3 - Reconciliation
Year 4 - Eucharist
Year 6 - Confirmation
As you can appreciate, the planning of Sacraments for 2021 will take some time and careful preparation. All students in 3-6 will complete the following Sacraments in 2021;
Year 3 - Reconciliation
Year 4 - Reconciliation and Holy Eucharist
Year 5 - Reconciliation
Year 6 - Confirmation
We have been informed that our Parish Priests would like our Year 4 students to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Eucharist before the end of term 1. Class teachers will send further information out to all Year 4 families by the end of next week to confirmation dates and details.
At this stage we do not have dates for Year 3, 5 & 6 Sacraments and will share these dates with you as soon as they become available.
For Parish Newsletters, please refer to the new Parish Website
https://www.baysidecatholicmission.org/
Emma Herbert
RE, STEM & Sustainability Leader
eherbert@stjamesbrighton.catholic.edu.au