Term 4 Week 5 (15/11/2024)
What is On?
Monday 18th November - Safe on Social 5:30-7pm- not too late to book in
Tuesday 19th November -S3 Class Mass, in hall 10:15-11am
Thursday 21st November - School Awards Assembly
Friday 29th November - Little J's Graduation
Monday 2nd December - Just a little bit of fun for Christmas, (note the time change)5:30 – 7:00pm
Tuesday 3rd December -ES1 & S1 Class Mass, in hall 10:15 – 11am
Friday 6th December- Year 5 Captain Speeches, 9:30 – 11:00am
END OF YEAR 2024-
Wednesday 11th December 2024 - End of Year Awards at Yamba Bowling Club
Tuesday 17th December - Year 6 Graduation dinner at Yamba Golf Club
Tuesday 17th December - End or Year Mass and Spirit of St James Run
Wednesday 18th December - Last day Term 4
2025
Term 1 2025
Friday 31st January - Staff Administration Day - Pupil free day
Monday 3rd February - Staff Professional Learning Day- First Aid- Pupil Free Day
Tuesday 4th February - First Day for Stage 1 to Stage 3
Thursday 6th February - Swimming Carnival
Monday 10th February - First Day for Early Stage 1
Tuesday 25th February - Zone Swimming Carnival- Maclean
Thursday 10th April - Last Day Term 1 for students
Friday 11th April - Staff Professional Learning Day - On Country - Pupil Free Day
Term 2 2025
Monday 28th April - Staff Professional Learning Day - Learning Collaborative - Pupil Free Day
Tuesday 29th April - First Day Term 2 for Students
Thursday 3rd July - Last Day Term 2 for Students
Friday 4th July - Staff Professional Learning Day - Foundation Day- Pupil Free Day
Term 3 2025
Monday 21st July - First Day Term 3 for Students and Staff
Friday 25th July- Foundation Day - Feast of Saint James
Thursday 25th September - Last Day Term 3 for Students
Friday 26th September - Staff Professional Learning Day - Curriculum - Pupil Free Day
Term 4 2025
Monday 13th October - First Day Term 4 for Students and Staff
Wednesday 17th December - Last Day Term 4 for Students and Staff
Dear Parents and Carers
I feel like I returned to school this week and all the children left!
Between the last of the surfing, swimming and ALF gala day today, the school has been a quiet place... Sort of...
One thing I do know this week, is that I spent a fair bit of my time making sure we had gates open and gates closed, and gates open and gates closed.
We had the Yamba Preschool do their tours of Yamba this week and it was lovely for our students to share the joy of school with the future learners in our community. I think all Early Childhood staff deserve medals for the work they do in both knowing your children and taking them on tour.
We chase hats on heads and water bottles when we go out and about. I am not sure what Early Childhood educators chase but I think it all requires enthusiasm and patience.
This week I reflected that I feel really lucky that when I visit the learning spaces your children are engaged and safe. I "strolled" through Stage 2 yesterday morning (as is my way) and Ms Forde was surprised at my speed!
Allegedly, I often take much longer when I am chatting to the children. That is true, but when you walk into a room and children speak or look at you until you speak to them, it does take a while. Of course, when learning is shared I am a guest for longer again. Once one student wanders over to show their work, others follow. I like it a lot because they are proud of their learning... and so am I.
So now it is Friday once more and the school is about to empty of chatter, laughter and friendships. It will be quiet with only the birdsong and the wind in the hedges to keep me company but that is the best too.
Knowing that all children are reunited with parents and carers, taking part in sport or activities is a great result at the end of a busy week.
Thank you for your continued engagement with our school community and have a lovely weekend with your other communities.
Ann
End of Year gifting
As the end of the year approaches please be aware that the staff at St James are expected to abide by the Gifting and Benefits SOP of the DLCS. This means that they can not accept gifts of substantial value and those gifts they do receive must be entered in a Gifts Register.
The Guidelines allow for Nominal gifts which are defined as:
Nominal value means the amount set by the CSO to guide employees in terms of what would be considered a minor amount. Gifts or hospitality of nominal value Nominal value is set at $50.00. This value will be regularly reviewed by the Catholic Schools Office executive.
The guidelines state that:
5.4 Gifts from the Diocesan Policy
Principals should be mindful of the practice of class parents offering end of year gifts to teachers to ensure that gifts are not extravagant and that there is equity across all staff.
School Awards 2025
We are making changes to our school awards in 2025.
In the past we had a Student of the Week and MJR which are not really current in the school language or assembly timeframes. While we needed to move on, we did not have a structure in place to do so. The work we have been doing (yes get ready for an invitation to get involved) has been on looking at the values of this Catholic school. The staff, parents, as well as the children, have done the ground work with the support of Martin Scroope and Helen Hunter (DLCS) and we are now ready to make some moves.
As a growing Catholic school we need to make sure we have the mix right and we are retiring a couple of awards but ensuring we have enough current and meaningful awards on offer for all children to be celebrated, beginning in 2025.
More information will come in the new year.
The question was asked about sponsorship and as such if any businesses would like to get involved please call the school on 6646 3266 or email: yamp@lism.catholic.edu.au
RE News
St Vincent De Paul Christmas Appeal
We are collecting food items for the St Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal.
Some families in our community are unable to buy special treats to share with their loved ones at Christmas time and rely on Christmas food hampers from St Vincent de Paul. We are asking for any donations of non-perishable food items to help make Christmas Hampers (see below).
Christmas treats for the hampers include: long life custard, long life milk, plum pudding, blocks of chocolate, Christmas cake, bags of lollies, soft drink, cans of beetroot, pineapple, corn, peas or fruit, packets of jelly, popcorn, chips, nuts, corn chips, salsa, Milo, fruit mince pies, icy poles in plastic, biscuits or anything else you might enjoy at Christmas.
We will also be collecting gift cards for our ‘Giving Tree’ on the ‘A Little Bit of Fun for Christmas’ evening, later this term. These will also be distributed by St Vincent De Paul to people in need of support over the holiday season.
Next week, our Mission Reps from Stage 3 will deliver boxes to each stage & to the front office. Thank you for your kindness and generosity.
Renee Howland
Assistant Principal Mission
Sport News
Lunch Timetable
Just a sharing of the plans for the children now that the weather is warming up. These activities will be offered each week until the end of term.
Busways- Apply now for 2025 school bus travel passes
Getting to school by bus in 2025
Will your child be catching the bus to school next year? Applications are now open for a Bus Travel Pass. As it’s a busy time of year, we highly recommend you make this application before the end of the year. It’s also good to check the bus timetable to make your child’s journey to school as easy as possible. Here is how it works:
Bus passes
- All students catching the bus in 2025 will need a school travel pass.
- Under the School Student Transport Scheme (SSTS), eligible students can apply for free or subsided travel between home and school.
- For more information about the School Student Transport Scheme and how to apply for a school travel pass, visit https://apps.transport.nsw.
gov.au/ssts/#/ from a desktop computer.
Bus timetables
Busways is the school bus operator that runs your schools’ bus services. To find your child’s school bus timetable visit the Busways website by using the following steps:
- Go to busways.com.au/nsw
- Click on ‘school services’ in the navigation bar and then proceed to ‘school timetables’
- Enter the school’s name in the field that says ‘enter a school name’
- Select the school’s name and the timetable should open on your device. If you are unable to find or search for the school’s name, use the drop-down menus on the same web page to find the school.
- Once the timetable is opened, you will be able to identify which school bus services are available in your area for your child to use.
Early Stage 1 News
In English, we have been reading the book ‘No! Never!’, learning how authors and illustrators use verbal and non-verbal cues to tell a story - we have been role-playing scenarios to practice these skills! In Maths, we are working really hard to create equal groups and trying different counting strategies to separate and combine quantities. In RE we have been learning about Creation, and we listened to the ‘Noah and the Ark’ scripture story - we created props and worked in small groups to retell this story to the class. Investigations have been a lot of fun this term, with our 2 new areas: Bird Space and Petals & Potions! And lastly, we are so excited at the arrival of our new desks! Ask the students and they will tell you all about the whiteboard top and tote tray drawers!
