Faith & Wellbeing
St Vincent De Paul Christmas Appeal
As we approach the season of Advent we remember the meaning behind this important celebration within the Catholic Church. Advent is a period of waiting and preparing for the birth of Jesus, beginning 4 Sundays before Christmas.
The word Advent comes from the Latin advenio, "to come to," and refers to the coming of Christ. First a foremost it is a celebration of Christ's birth at Christmas; but secondly, to the coming of Christ in our lives through grace and the Sacrament of Holy Communion; and finally, to His second coming at the end of time.
Again this year, St James will be supporting the St Vincent De Paul Gardenvale Conference with their Annual Christmas Hamper collection. Yesterday Lois White spoke to the students about the hampers and how it helps the families in our community.
In each classroom there are a number of hampers to be filled with donated goods. Classroom teachers will be discussing what each class will be bringing in and this information will be shared with families via either the classroom teacher or the parent reps for each class.
We will be having a special Assembly in the Pop-Up Church on Thursday 6th of December to hand over the Hampers to be delivered to the families in our community.
Year 1 Mass
This Sunday the 11th of November, the Year 1 students will be celebrating their Class Mass in the Pop-Up Church and 9am. Students have special roles during the Mass and we look forward to seeing all students and their families.
Year 6 Graduation Mass
This years Graduation Mass will be held on Wednesday 18th of December at St Joan of Arc Church, 118 New St, Brighton at 6pm.
Parish Bulletin
WELLBEING
Dear Parents and Guardians,
As stated in the last newsletter, I would like to remind our community of some of the rules we have in regards to before and after school play to ensure our beautiful children are kept safe. Our Staff Wellbeing Team are concerned about the amount of children playing unsupervised before 8.40am. Please be aware that there isn’t a Staff member watching your child until this time so it is really important that no children are left at school prior to this.
With the current ‘Down Ball craze,’ particularly in our middle years classes, we also need to watch that students are not playing this game unsupervised before 8.40am or after 3.45pm. When playing Down Ball, the students often accidentally hit the ball out of school grounds and onto the St James Close. This week our students have been reminded that when this happens they must ask teacher to get it for them, or their parent supervising if out of the 8.45am - 3.45pm bracket.
For the past few years we have asked that when arriving at school, our students take their bags to their classroom, check to see they are set up for the day and then they can go outside. During the play between 8.40 and 8.55am students are free to play Down Ball or chat to their friends. We ask that the students refrain from Football or Soccer to keep the elderly and small children walking through the grounds safe.
At 8.55am students should make their way back to their classroom immediately. We have a few students who have been at school early but arriving in class after the bell. Please be aware this is reflected on their attendance so it is important to discuss with your child that they head into class when hearing the music.
Thanks for your ongoing support in keeping our children safe. We really appreciate it.
Warmest Regards,
Stacey Clingan (Nelson)
Student Wellbeing Leader