Week 3, Term 2

Welcome to the Week 3 Newsletter. I hope everyone had a lovely Mother's Day and all mums were showered with love by their families.

Today marks the start of Catholic Education Week, which is a time for our school and all other Catholic schools to celebrate what makes us unique. To kick off the week, we held a prayer service and Open Morning for both existing and new families. For further information, please refer to the Catholic Identity section.

In other news, we recently had a new irrigation system installed in several areas including the lawn between the new building and the sandpit, the Little Oval, and the lawn between the Sports Shed and the Playgrounds. As we prepare for the grand opening and blessing of our new classrooms and amenities, we will have new roll out lawn laid out around the new building later this week. We look forward to the completion of these projects and the positive impact they will have on our school community.

Catholic Education Week

This week, we celebrate Catholic Education Week (CEW). Catholic Education Week is a great opportunity to highlight all the wonderful things that are happening in every one of our Catholic Schools across South Australia. This year, the week will be based around our Diocesan theme, Called to Community, as well as Raising Hearts and Minds with God for Social Justice. Throughout this week, students will be engaging in a variety of activities to celebrate being a part of our Catholic School community.

What’s happening in Week 3?

Monday: Opening Prayer and Open Morning 9am – 11am

New and Existing families are welcome to join us to open Catholic Education Week in a prayer service outside the learning centre, and then visit the classrooms in the morning.

Tuesday: Simultaneous Prayer Service 9am

All students across the Port Pirie Diocese will be participating in a prayer at the same time, on the same day.

Wednesday: Wear Blue for St. Vincent De Paul Society

Students are invited to wear blue casual clothes for a gold coin donation to support the St. Vincent De Paul Society.

Thursday: Port Pirie Switches Off from 11am

At school, each class will be going without power for part of the day.

Friday: Walk to School Day

Students are invited to meet at 8:15am at the Jamestown Memorial Park on Friday morning and participate in the Walk Safely to School Day.

Students will also be participating in planting a tree as part of the Port Pirie Diocese, as well as our call to look after God’s creation and to nurture it.

This year, CEW coincides with Laudato Si Week. Keep an eye out in next week's newsletter for more information about this.

A prayer for Catholic Education Week

Loving God,

Guide us to know life in its fullness, to raise our hearts and minds to know God’s love.

Raise our hearts and minds to be inspired by Jesus, the Catholic faith and tradition.

Raise our hearts to be loving, compassionate and respectful.

Raise our minds to be inquisitive, capable and seek truth.

May we be aware of listening to the stirring of our hearts to prompt action.

Guide us to respond to the needs of others and all of God’s creation.

In all our thoughts, words and actions, help us raise our hearts and minds in creating a world you desire. Loving God, hear our prayer. Amen

Altar Servers

In Week 2, students who have already been trained to altar serve at mass met with Fr Harold to learn more about their role in the church and learn more about how they can assist the parish priest during mass. The students found this insightful and were able to share with Fr Harold some of the things they enjoy about their role as Altar Servers in their local parish. Thank you Fr Harold for spending the time with Altar Servers.

Mini Vinnies

Last week on Thursday at lunch time, we had our first session for Mini Vinnies. All students were invited to come along and learn a bit more about what Mini Vinnies is all about and how they can help others! At the end of the session, some students created posters for our ‘Wear Blue for the Vinnies Winter Appeal’, which is happening this Wednesday during Catholic Education Week. These have been placed around the school.

Working Bee - Sunday 21st May

On Sunday, May 21st, a working bee is scheduled from 10am to 12pm to prepare the school for the opening and blessing of the new building, which is on the following day. To spruce up the school grounds, we need volunteers to assist with various tasks, such as, pressure washing outdoor tables and chairs, dusting window ledges and eaves and spreading bark chips in the garden beds.

Additionally, we will be topping up the playgrounds with bark chips. Please bring your own blower vacs, pressure washers, rakes and wheelbarrows. All families are welcome to participate in this community event, as many hands make light work.

Congratulations to Amber and Ben on the safe arrival of their little boy, Axel Haze Hopgood, born on Tuesday the 2nd of May. We share in your joy and excitement as you welcome this precious addition to your family.

We are also delighted to hear that Michael and Kelly have welcomed a new baby girl into their family. Owen and Isla must be thrilled to have a new sister. Congratulations on the safe arrival of Anna Penelope MacPherson last Tuesday. Wishing you all the best.

The P&F are thrilled to witness the installation of the new playground during the holidays and we hope that the children are enjoying it. We want to express our gratitude to all the parents, grandparents and friends who generously donated their time, skills and hard work to make this project possible. Every contribution has brought us closer to our goal of providing excellent resources for our children and we are thankful for all of you.

Despite being only halfway through the year, we have already achieved so much. Our next event is catering for the opening of the new building and amenities and we extend our appreciation to the parents who are working or providing food for this occasion.

Furthermore, we are exploring ideas for fundraising for our next big project. If you have any suggestions or interest in participating, please join us for our next meeting on Tuesday, May 30th, at 6:30pm. Thank you all for your ongoing support.

Best regards, Bridget Lange President of the P&F.

Blessing & Opening of New Building

The Blessing and Opening will be taking place next Monday 22nd May at 11:30am, at the start of Week 4. All parents are invited to attend. There will be a number of important guests present including the Bishop of the Port Pirie Diocese, Karol Kulczycki, who will lead the Blessing Liturgy and Ms Nichii Mardon, Director of Catholic Education Port Pirie Diocese who will lead the Opening of the new facilities. Other important guests include;

• Outgoing Chairman of the South Australian Commission for Catholic Schools, Professor Denis Ralph
• Penny Pratt – Member for Frome - MP
• Liz Keogh - Deputy Director of Catholic Education Port Pirie Diocese
• Sr. Brigette Sipa – Sister of St. Joseph – Head of Order
• Sr. Kerry Keenan – Sister of St. Joseph
• Sr. Sue McGovern – Sister of St. Joseph
• Sr. Caroline Duggan – Sister of St. Joseph
• Sr. Marie Hennekam – Sister of St. Joseph
• Michael Preece - Previous St. James Principal

Tuck Shop Orders Week 4

Due to the Blessing and Opening of the new Building, Week 4 Tuck Shop orders will be available on Tuesday 23rd May instead of on the usual Monday order day.

Year 3/4 Camp

The students and staff in the Year 3/4 Class are excited about the upcoming camp to Glenhaven Adventure Park, which is located near Stockport. It is an overnight camp on Thursday 25th and Friday 26th May. Students will take part in activities, such as, bush skills, archery, tower challenge and the giant swing. All information was sent out to the parents of the Year 3/4 students via our online parent permission app, Operoo. We look forward to hearing about their tales of adventure.

Book Club Orders

Book Club Magazines were sent out last week to every student. Orders are due at the end of Week 3, Friday 19th May. Please place all orders through LOOP.

School Closure Day

Our next School Closure Day is on the last day of Term 2, Friday 7^th July. Our staff will be taking part in training. Please mark this in your diaries.

Winter Uniform

Beginning today all students will be expected to wear the winter uniform. Please make sure that your child’s hat and jumpers are named and we ask that you take the time to check your child’s winter uniform for sizing and place orders through the Flexi Schools App. Uniform orders are collated on Wednesday’s and sent home on Thursday’s.

SAPSASA

Congratulations to Ethan McC and Hugh S who competed in the SAPSASA Cross Country in Wilmington in Week 1 of this term, and have qualified to compete in the Adelaide Oakbank Cross Country in June. We wish these students the best of luck.

Well done to Sadie R, Pippa C and Harriet S who have been selected to compete in the North Eastern SAPSASA Hockey team. Due to the low number of students registering this year, these girls will be joining together with other girls from another region to compete in Adelaide later this term. All the best girls!

In the 5/6 Class, during Inquiry, we are doing food groups. In groups, we have made a business where we are going to sell food and a drink to the students and staff at school. We are raising money for our camp in Term 4. We have costed the price of each item, created a logo, digital advertisement and much more! 

Here is what we are serving this Term! An order form will come out each week for you to order lunch for our child!  

No School Buses

The community school has informed us that there will be no buses running on Monday 22^nd May as they will be having a closure day.

Safety Notice

The safety of every student in our district is important. I remind all drivers that when a school bus has its lights flashing, is pulled over and students are entering or exiting the bus, passing vehicles must reduce their speed to 25km/h when passing the bus.

In 2023 St James will be offering mid year enrolments. If your child turns 5 before 31st October 2023, they can start school at St James in Term 3, 2023 and the school fees are free. Children starting in Reception mid-year will have a minimum of 6 terms in Reception. Interest and enrolments are also open for the beginning of 2024. Please contact the school and register your interest and book a discovery school tour. Children who turn 5 on or before 30th April can begin school in Term 1 of 2024.