Week 7, Term 2

PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE

Welcome to the Week 7 newsletter. I hope you all had a great long weekend. Last week, we had the pleasure of watching the Year 5/6 Class lead Assembly. It was wonderful to see them confidently share their learning in all areas. I especially enjoyed how they presented their writing bump it up wall with an Information Report. They had labelled the essential elements, as well as the features that could be added that enhances the quality of the text. They also shared their knowledge about Mary, the Mother of Jesus, some thoughtful prayers and led us in praying the Hail Mary.

Musical Production “The Wizard of Oz” – Change of Date

Planning for the whole school Musical Production has begun. The script has been finalised and the Year 4/5/6 students received a copy today. Casting of the main characters, (Year 4-6 students) will take place towards the end of Term 2. Year 4 students will get the chance to have some minor parts too. Rehearsals will begin during the last two weeks this term on Thursdays. Mrs Judy Lewis will be our Choreographer and Director and Mrs Shona Simpson will be the supporting teacher. The Production will be held at the Jamestown Memorial Halll. The new dates for the Production Performances are;

Matinee – Thursday 5th September (for students from neighbouring schools)
Finale – Friday evening – 6th September

The success of our musical production relies on parent support. Thank you to the costume committee who have been through our extensive collection. Fortunately, we have everything we need, which is fantastic. A letter will be sent to parents closer to the performance outlining costume requirements from home eg. shoes, pants and/or shirts. Thank you to Costume Committee, Shona S, Kerry S, Louise S & Peta C for their work so far.

Backdrop and Props Volunteers Needed

We encourage all families to consider how they can assist with props and set design. If you are interested, please contact the office staff. The school has a large collection of backdrops and props, which can be used and adapted as required. We will require at least 3 helpers.

Staffing Update

Peta Caulfield will finish her position as Admin Officer on Tuesday 25th June after 4.5 years of service to St James. Mrs Caulfield has been a welcoming person in the office and has always been very efficient in the roles she has undertaken. We thank her for her dedication and wish her well for the future.

Position Vacant: Admin Officer

St James School is seeking an Administration Officer, two days per week. The position is for 14 hours per week. We are seeking a person who is highly relational, creative with technology, organised and who can undertake a variety of tasks. Refer to this link for further details.

New Maths Equipment – Thank you Parents and Friends

The school recently purchased a large Maths Resources Kit for each class, which contains just about everything a class would need on a day to day basis. These kits include counters, dominoes, playing cards, plastic coins, number charts, 6 sided dice, 10 sided dice, unifix blocks, number lines, ones, tens, hundreds and thousands MAB blocks, scales and much more. Having these maths resources in each class allows students to work out Maths problems with materials, which helps them internalise the Maths and assist them to work towards solving algorithms. Having these resources in each classroom means that students and teachers do not have to borrow from other classrooms each Maths lesson. The teachers and students can access these maths materials at any time. We are very grateful to the Parents and Friends who have agreed to fund half of the cost of these materials, which will go a long way towards improving Maths learning outcomes for our students.

CATHOLIC IDENTITY

Confirmation

Catholic students in Year 5 and 6 should have received a letter from Fr Harold outlining the process of preparing for the sacrament of Confirmation. The following dates were given in the letter.

Rite of Commitment (*This Sunday 16th June 9am*) - During this liturgy, children and their parents will make a commitment to their preparation program and ask for blessings and prayers of the parish community.

Parent and candidate workshop (Tuesday 2nd July 6pm) - A short workshop for parents and children to help you with your preparation. Practical points before Sacramental celebrations.

Celebration of the Sacrament (Friday 9th August 6pm) - Celebration of your child's Confirmation.

Commissioning of Children (Friday 16th August 9:30am or Sunday 18th August 9am) - Blessing and commissioning of children to go out and live their life with Christ.

Sacred Heart of Jesus

Thanks to the Year 2/3 Class for leading us in this joyful celebration last Friday. It was a great reminder of the unconditional love of God in our lives and in each other.

Young Mary Excursion

Next Wednesday 19th June, the whole school will travel to Gladstone to view a performance on the life of a young Mary Mackillop. After the performance we will spend recess at Trasylva park. A permission note will be sent via Operoo this week.

Staff Retreat

During the last pupil free day, our staff and staff from St Joseph’s School Gladstone and St Joseph’s School Peterborough gathered to undertake learning on the Gospel of Mark. Fr Michael Trainor, who has a Master of Education, and a Doctorate in Theology presented just how relevant the Gospel is to our lives today. He highlighted current issues of loneliness, being overwhelmed, anxiety and disconnection. He also stressed the importance of reading and teaching the Gospels with a lens of Mark's writing for an audience in a Greco-Roman world, living in an urban context, 70 years after the birth of Jesus.

First Communion

We congratulate the children who received their First Holy Communion last week. It was a wonderful celebration with their families. Thank you to Kelly Kelly for organising a lovely cake for the students and to the parents for supplying morning tea.

The Year 4 class also travelled to Bundaleer Forest the week before the retreat. They had a lovely day at the Conservator’s Hut taking time to think about what they need to be healthy in body, mind, and spirit.

Thank you also to the non-Catholic students who showed such love, support, and happiness for their peers on retreat and when celebrating the sacrament. The Holy Spirit is truly working in all of us here at St James.