Principal's Post
Dear Families,
As we approach the liturgical season of Advent, I remind everyone that our whole school theme of HOPE permeates all Integrated Inquiry learning which also encompasses Religious Education.
We are all certainly hoping for a relaxing, mandatory mask free, Christmas holiday season.
As a Catholic community, we give hope to one another and this year will once again be working in partnership with St Vincent de Paul and putting together hampers to assist families in need. We understand that this year in particular has been difficult for many families so please only donate if you are able to.
Last Thursday most of our Year Six students celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation in our St John's church. Bishop Les Tomlinson confirmed the students and Father Dispin concelebrated Mass with all of us. Both celebrations were intimate, COVID safe opportunities for our families to gather together. Thank you to all of those involved in preparing for this celebration, especially the Year Six teachers, Veronica Brightwell, Josh Crowe, and Kath Verstraete and our Education in Faith Leader, Monica De Leo.
We wish Miss Kayleigh Fitzgerald best wishes for her wedding this coming weekend.
Kayleigh will be away until Tuesday 7 December. Mrs Bernadette Bowman will work with Anne Hayes to teach 3F during Kayleigh's leave.
Advent - A time for giving...
Advent is a time for reaching out and giving! The St James School Family is aiming to make a difference to other, local families who are not traveling as well at this point in time. You're invited to contribute to hampers our Parish St Vincent De Paul group put together, by sending along a food item or gift card, with your child(ren) and we'll pop all contributions in baskets that will be in the school foyer.
Below is a list of the food items that are included in a Christmas hamper.
Tin of leg ham 454gm.
2 tins of vegetables each 425gm
Packet of shortbread biscuits
Christmas pudding 400gm
Fruit cake or Christmas cake 700gm
Long life custard carton 1 liter
2 small packets jelly crystals
Packet of Shapes biscuits
Packet of lollies (not chocolate please)
2 tins fruit 425 gm
If any families wish to donate gift cards, Big W, Kmart or Target cards are recommended to give families the widest options to choose a gift.
All contributions will be collected from school on the morning of FRIDAY 10 December.
Classroom K.Ks...
Starting next week each child will draw out the name of another child in their classroom to have as their 'K.K'. At St James we adopt the ancient German custom of Kris Kindle. The word means 'Christchild'. It is a way of showing others the 'Face of Jesus'. We encourage them to do lots of special things for their 'Kris Kindle' (acts of kindness, thoughtfulness or notes with messages) without letting on who they are. In the last week, each class will have a party and reveal who that special person has been. They can make their 'Kris Kindle' a gift, special card or if you choose to, you can buy a small gift (up to $5). The focus is for the children to give of themselves during this Advent season.
School Sport Victoria Representatives
Congratulations to James Matthews and Jack Zammit on their selection in their respective School Sport Victoria representative teams.
Yesterday, Jack played for the Vic Metro footy team at Trevor Barker oval in Sandringham.
This week James is playing for the Vic Metro cricket team in a tournament in Shepparton.
Next week Jack is playing for Vic Metro in a Soccer tournament in Sydney.
Student of the Week
I wanted to clarify our process regarding Student of the Week over the past two years. When the students are on site for regular classes, we present certificates on most Fridays and publish the student's photo in the newsletter.
During Remote Learning we announced the Students of the Week at Monday's pre recorded assembly and published the names and reasons for the awards in the newsletter. No certificates were presented during this time. Printing a copy of the newsletter page could act as a momento or memory if you wish.
We announce these awards as part of our overall method to provide positive feedback to students for their efforts. There many ways in which we provide feedback to students and this is just one of them.
Concert Production 2022
Next Monday is our recording day for the very modified concert production.
During Remote Learning we made the decision that we wanted to provide our students with the experience of learning a dance routine, wearing a costume and performing for an audience. The audience will be families who decide to purchase a copy of the recording. We specifically wanted parents to have the option of seeing their children on stage and purchasing the recording achieves this aim.
Because of time restrictions due to COVID and us wanting to maintain a focus on academic learning each class' performance is for a much shorter time period than our concert productions in the past.
Keep an eye out for an email and/or flyer advertising how parents may purchase the recording. The cost of the recording comes straight from the company. We do not add any profit margin for the school.
School Advisory Council
Our final meeting for the year is on tomorrow night. We have a few members moving on which creates opportunities for other members of our community to join the School Advisory Council.
Any interested parents can email me by this Friday 26 November please.
Prep - Year 4 Swimming Program
Today was the first day of the program and the children have returned from the pool with big smiles. Aim for early nights, for lots of energy to make the most of the program.
Don't forget about the Clothed Swim Day this Thursday. Lots of opportunities for learning!
Parish Raffle Tickets
Please keep returning your raffle tickets. Remember that every ticket you sell results in one dollar coming into our P & F fund raising efforts.
As a thank you, all families who return their books by Thursday 2nd December will go into the draw for a $50 Nero's take away voucher donated by the parish.
We currently have approximately half of all books returned and need all books back by Friday 3 December please.
COVID Safety
As our students return in greater numbers this week, I want to reassure all families that we will continue our many COVID safe practices including the following:
- all staff are fully vaccinated
- ventilation is a priority with windows and doors open
- hand sanitiser is readily available
- regular hand washing is encouraged
- students in Years 3 - 6 are instructed to wear masks and we encourage students in Prep - Yr 2 to wear them as well. Wearing masks has proven to stop the spread of the virus
- social distancing remains a priority when possible
- all visitors to the school grounds (including contractors, cleaners, external service providers, volunteers, parent helpers, etc) will need to be fully vaccinated
- any students who display COVID symptoms are required to stay home and strongly advised to get a test
- please contact the school office and myself as soon as you discover that a family member has been classified as a close contact. Students in this circumstance are required to get a test and isolate for at least 7 days and possibly a week, depending on the situation
Have you completed your family's Operoo info?
Please sign up to this today or you may find that you miss important information regarding students' extracurricular events and permission forms.
Operoo website: www.operoo.com. There is also a parent introduction page here: https://www.operoo.com/intro-for-parents/.
Reminders:
- There is quite a bit of lost property that has accumulated over remote learning, along with many unnamed school jackets. Please remind your child to check the tubs if you are missing any item.
- All students should be wearing the correct summer uniform. We understand that some families have not been able to get to shoe shops recently so runners may need to be worn if shoes do not fit. All students not wearing the correct uniform must have a note/email from their parents to their class teacher
Catholic Secondary School Enrolment Applications
The following dates will be used by catholic secondary schools for Year 5 students in 2022 who will be enrolling in Year 7 for 2024. These are:
- 28 January 2022 – Applications will open for Year 5 students commencing Year 7 in 2024.
- 19 August 2022 – Applications will close.
- 21 October 2022 – Offers will be posted to prospective Year 7 applicants.
- 11 November 2022 – Final date for parents/carers to accept an offer made by a school.
Have a great week,
Dave