Term 4 Week 6 (12/11/2021)
Reminder - Canteen is closed for the remainder of 2021
What is On?
Monday 15th November - Bike Event- Stage 3 students (bikes only)
Tuesday 16th November - Bike Event- Stage 2 students
Wednesday 17th November -Bike Event- Stage 1 students
Thursday 18th November- Bike Event - Kinders (ES1)
Tuesday 14th December- End of year Awards Assemblies for each stage
Tuesday 14th December- Year 6 Graduation dinner (Tavern booked but restricted numbers)
Wednesday 15th December - Last Day School term 4 for students
2022
First Day for S1-S3 Student 2022 - Februrary 1st.
First Day for ES1 ( Kindy ) - February 7th. ( Beststart is in the week before)
Sports Dates 2022:
Carnival Dates 2022
Swimming
-School - Yamba, Friday 4th Feb
-Zone - Maclean, Wednesday 16th Feb
-Dio - Murwillumbah, Wednesday 23rd Feb
-Polding - Sydney - Tuesday 22nd March
Cross Country
-School - Yamba, Thursday 7th April
-Zone - Grafton, TBC
-Dio - Grafton, Tuesday 24th May
-Polding - Tuesday 7th June
Athletics
-School - Yamba, Friday 24th June
-Zone - Coffs Harbour, Wednesday 20th July
-Dio - Lismore, Friday 12th August
-Polding - Newcastle, Friday 9th September
NEW communication and finance package.
The Compass app and computer portal will now form the major communication platform between home and school, allowing parents/guardians to:
1. Book Parent Partnership Meetings and any future meetings.
2. Offer explanations for late arrivals or absences.
3. Update your family contact details.
4. Download and view your child's semester reports.
5. View a news feed of school announcements, alerts and updates.
6. Provide consent for events, and pay for excursions and school fees
7. Make Canteen orders
Next week. we will give you instructions on user names and passwords for access and then you can download the app . Compass will be accessible on your desktop as well as on app. You will need to ensure a high level of security around your Compass app, as you would your personal banking apps.
When searching for our school, type in ‘Yamba’ then select Saint James . For further information and support regarding the use of Compass, please visit the following:
https://www.compass.education/guide.
Please note, Compass will replace Skoolbag as of 01/01/2022.
It is essential that all families are connected to the Compass app for any direct News Feed messages from 01/01/2022.
We expect to push a test on 28/01/2022 in preparation for the 01/02/2022 start date.
What will it look like?
Canteen- orders will be done through the app- no paperbags lunch orders anymore and the menu will be set. Chn can bring a small amount of change for Recess.
School Fees- bpay or through the app. This will show you your balances at all times. Detailed Statements will no longer be provided by St James, but CSO will provide an abridged statement. These will not have the amount of detail we would have provided to you. All transactions details however, will be visible in the app.
Excursions- permissions will be through the app and staff can manage at a stage level. All monies must be paid through compass pay.
Absences notified- through the app
Newsletter- you guessed it... the link is through the app.
The ONLY remaining external apps will be-
Seesaw for the children to use for uploads but not parent communication. ( under the education guidelines we have issues with the necessary retention of all communications which Seesaw can not provide)
Instagram account for celebrations.
At the end of Week 9, I will run a report and provide icypoles for the children who have their families connected.
( Yep, this is an incentive NOT a bribe!)
Dear Parents and Carers
At Saint James we have always worked with our learners and families to recognise that learning looks different for all students and we celebrate all successes and growth. As we come to the end of the year we are completing our responsibilities to finailise data to support our Reporting to Parents and our diocesan data obligations.
If you have any quieries please contact me.
Ann
BICYCLE HELMET ALERT
It has been brought to our attention that some St James' students are riding their bikes to school without wearing their helmets correctly. Bicycle riders are required by law to wear an approved bicycle helmet. A bicycle helmet that is not correctly fitted and fastened does not provide enough protection in a crash. In NSW there are no exemptions from wearing an approved bicycle helmet.
Bike Event
School Fun Bike Event
This event was postponed once again in Week 2 this term due to wet weather. It will now take place next week on school grounds, including the new bush bike track at the back of the school. Students are able to wear mufti clothes with joggers and bring their bikes or scooters, helmets on their scheduled day(see below) to participate in this fun event.
Monday, 15th Nov- Stage 3 students (bikes only)
Tuesday, 16th Nov- Stage 2 students
Wednesday, 17th Nov- Stage 1 students
Thursday, 18th Nov- Kinders(ES1)
Please email permission again for your child to participate in this bike event @
Christine Jeffrey
CROSS YOUR FINGERS!
RE News
Mini Vinnies Christmas Appeal
Mini Vinnies is 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 the St James families to donate any of the following non perishable food items to help make Christmas Hampers. Each classroom has a box to fill please.
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.
Thank you for your kindness and generosity.
At St James the staff and students are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to engage in Christian meditation daily (following Lismore Diocesan guidelines). Our meditation practice is a different form of prayer - a way to deepen our personal relationship with God. It is a way of finding stillness underneath the mental noise. Meditation calls us to enter within, to move to a realm of silence, to let go of thinking and imagining and to experience true peace at the core of our very being.
Renee Howland
Leader of SEACs
LOP News
LOP Writing Challenge 2021 K-6
Writing a song
The LOP writing challenge for 2021 is to write a song about Yamba. When children learn how to write songs, they are learning how language works and how to experiment with different rhythmical and rhyming structures. To begin you may like to come up with an idea (based on Yamba). Make a list of some of the words you associate with your idea. Choose a melody to start with, such as a nursery rhyme, as they are simple and memorable. You may wish to write a verse or two ( just like writing a poem ) and then bring it to me for feedback. You may wish to write the whole song and hand it in. Either way is acceptable . All entrants will be invited to attend a special day to share and enjoy the songs you have written.
Have a listen to the songs about Yamba below ( YOUTUBE LINKS attached ) for inspiration.
Rob Imeson
John Williamson
Camel Train lyrics
Every Christmas holidays my father drove a camel train
It was called a camel train, he wouldn't stop for no-one
Oh we wanna wee wee
We want him to pull over
He wouldn't stop until we got to Yamba
How much further now dad, how much more to go?
JUST HANG ON KIDS, HAVE A SLEEP, THIS ROAD IS ROUGH AND SLOW-OW
Most of it was gravel rrrrr rrrrr rrrrr rrrr rrrrr rrrrr rrrrr
No matter how much we moaned he kept on through the mountains
The old family car winding, grinding through the dust
We always got car sick, BOO, STICK IT OUT THE WINDOW
He wouldn't stop until we got to Yamba
How much longer now dad, how much more to go?
JUST HANG ON KIDS, PLAY A GAME, I SPY WITH MY LITTLE...
Most of it was gravel rrrrr rrrrr rrrrr rrrr rrrrr rrrrr rrrrr
I spy with my little eye something beginning with s... h... sh...
SHUT UP!
Nowadays there's no chance of driving like a camel train
Roadhouses jump out and pull you off the road
Oh we wanna wee wee
We want a smurf and icecream
It always takes us days to get to Yamba
How much further now dad, how much more to go?
JUST EAT UP YOUR LOLLIES, YOU KIDS HAVE MADE US SLOW!
(Mumbling and grumbling to each other)
Now I won't stop until we get to Yamba
Every Christmas holidays my father drove a camel train
It was called a camel train, he wouldn't stop for no-one
Oh we wanna wee wee
We want him to pull over
He wouldn't stop until we got to Yamba
No, he wouldn't stop until we got to Yamba
Have fun and enjoy writing.
Lisa Dougherty
LOP
Little J's
Little J’s - Week 6
This week in Little J’s we celebrated numbers! We thought about the numbers that are important to us and we noticed numbers in our environment. Today we drew numbers with chalk, we built numbers using stones on the light table and we traced numbers on the ipads. I hope parents find the snakes and Ladders game in their child’s bag and send us a photo of the game being played. We also warmly welcomed Anthony to his first Little J’s! Thank you parents for returning the Best Start Interview notes. I will be in touch with you about your scheduled time. A reminder that next Friday, 19th November, is the last Little J’s session.
Early Stage 1
Kindergarten have been very busy planning and designing their own bird feeder. As a part of our Science & Technology unit on ‘Materials’ we have been exploring the observable properties of materials and have investigated how the properties of materials determine their use in design solutions. Students have said -
“A bird feeder would need to be waterproof because it's outside” - Declan
“It could be made from wood or pine cones, so that birds think it's a branch”- Jackson
“It could be bright and colourful so birds are attracted to it” - Hope
Stay tuned for our final results next week, when our products are constructed!
Stage 1
We have completed our poetry unit this week and everyone has published their very own poems for the class poetry book.
We are beginning to explore persuasive texts. We are using fractured fairy tales to investigate how the reader is convinced that a character is either good or bad. Then explore the language that is used to convince us as readers.
Stage 2
Stage 3
ssshhhhh!
Check instagram on Monday for a good news item.
Birthdays
Mrs Frazer - 16th November, Mrs Ferguson - 19th November, Isabella McEwen - 23rd November, Jack Fahey - 25th November, Cruz Walters - 26th November, Ekam Khabra - 27th November