Term 1 Week 2 (11/2/2022)
What is On?
Tuesday 15th February - Beginning of school Liturgy via zoom 10am
Wednesday 16th Feb - Zone Swimming- Maclean
Wednesday 23rd Feb - Dio Swimming - Murwillumbah
March
Friday 4th March - Incitāre - Year 6 Event - McAuley Catholic College Hall, Grafton
Monday 21st March - School Photos - More information to come.
Dear Parents and Carers,
It is week 2 and what a week we have had.
All learning spaces are on task building relationships among their communities of learners and working to build vibrant and purposeful learning areas.
Every stage has had a revamp of the learning areas and I am intending to do a video walk through early next week to share with you.
You may have noticed that the Stage 1 investigations space next to Kiss and Drop is changing daily as the team builds a garden area and this is offering the children opportunities to learn about sustainability and recycling. This is in addition to the tinkering focus. ( Busy bees these Stage 1's).
Early Stage 1 are using a dinosaur area and a shop for their dramatic play and investigations time. School was certainly not like this when I started.
Stage 2 are working a little closer to home personalising their books and classroom to represent them. I visited a fabulous drama lesson this week where every student was "being their best self"A lovely way to take ownership of their learning.
Stage 3 had a planning day today and the staff met with the learners to look at the semester's work. The children are excited to have voice and choice in where they study in geography and several staff (myself included) wished they could make the global connections by travelling to the places mentioned. Stage 3 also welcomed new chickens!
All stages are finalising their MAI interviews. This data is sent to the CSO each February and we use this to reflect on our pedagogy in mathematics to support every children, every day growing as a learner.
Outside, have you noticed the boat? Have a look as you drive past. It has had a revamp. Thanks to Mrs Howland for arranging this.
Next Tuesday, the bush playground is having a trim. During the week after this, the children will begin to use the area. Some stages will be allowed to bring a bike to ride while we get started but by later in the term Mr Dougherty is expecting to enjoy mixing with all stages on the area during a lunchbreak.
This is my snapshot for the week that was.
Have a lovely weekend
Ann
Do you have a 2023 kinder at your house?
We are already receiving significant enrolment interest for 2023 Kindergarten class. The criteria from the diocese has changed our policy. Can I ask all St James families who wish to go forward with an enrolment in 2023 to "make haste" and do an online enrolment.
https://enrolment.yamplism.
The criteria is now :-
1. Children who are baptised Catholics 2. Children of baptised Catholics and 3. Siblings 4. Families who have been in catholic schools in other parishes 5. People who support our philosophy and work in community with the school.
While we have never had an issue in the past with having room for all enrolments, in 2022 we have families on waiting lists in 3 of the 4 stages. This includes significant numbers in Kindergarten.
Canteen Update
Louise Birch has extended her personal leave from her position as Canteen Manager and as such we will be advertising the position next week.
The position will be advertised locally. All applications will need to be made through the Catholic Schools Office. We have canvased this position among our part-time staff but this has not been successful. The advertisement will run for 2 weeks and anyone who is interested will require a current Working with Children Check.
At this stage we will not reopen the canteen until the position is filled for the remainder of Term 1 with the possibility of an extension into Term 2.
Sport dates 2022
Carnival Dates 2022
Swimming
-Zone - Maclean, Wednesday 16th Feb
-Dio - Murwillumbah, Wednesday 23rd Feb
-Polding - Sydney - Tuesday 22nd March
Cross Country
-School - Yamba, Thursday 7th April
-Zone - Grafton, Wednesday 4th May
-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
Kiss and Drop
Just a reminder that the Kiss and Drop and parent pick up are a quick process. Please ring the school on 66463266 if you wish to speak with a staff member and we will arrange a call back.
If there are any cars waiting for a spot we do need to keep the lines moving.
Child Protection Policy
Under Child Protection Legislation any parent or community member undertaking volunteer work or working with children must complete a Working With Children Check. Please consult the principal to ascertain that you have a current WWCC before you seek to work with children. All parents must sign in using the " Whose on Location?" in the office or using the QR code. The Child Protection Policy and Procedures 2020 and the DLCSL Code of Conduct is fully implemented across the diocese . Please take time to review this document and this is available at the front office for your review and is avilable upn request through email.
RE News
Beginning of School Liturgy
Our Beginning School Liturgy will be celebrated next Tuesday 15th February at 10am via zoom. Unfortunately, due to Covid-19 regulations, we are unable to have parents and families attend this liturgy on school grounds, however we will be sharing a zoom (via the COMPASS app) for families to access and sharing photos and stories on our Instagram page.
Today your child/ren will bring home a cardboard scallop shell outline for your family to decorate over the weekend. Please write your family surname in large letters on your shell and also include the family members’ names. These scallop shells will be used in our display (near the Kiss & Drop). These must be cut out and returned to school by Monday 14th Feb please.
Why a scallop shell?
The scallop shell is a metaphor, in that its lines represent the different routes travelled by pilgrims around the world, which all lead to one point, the tomb of St James in Santiago de Compostela. Here at St James School, Yamba the scallop shell represents all of our families that make up our school community and the journeys they have travelled to arrive at St James School and join our wonderful learning community.
Sacrament Information
The order of Sacraments in the Lismore Diocese is:
Baptism, Confirmation (Year 3), Reconciliation (Year 4), First Eucharist (Year 4)
If you would like your child to receive these Sacraments, please contact Mrs Howland at school. For your child to receive any of these Sacraments they must first be Baptised. If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact me at school.
Please note the change below:
The order of Sacraments in the Lismore Diocese from 2021 is:
Baptism, Confirmation (Year 3), Reconciliation (Year 4), First Eucharist (Year 4)
Sacraments that were unable to take place in the past 2 years due to Covid restrictions will be included this year.
If you would like your child to receive these Sacraments, please email yamp@lism.catholic.edu.au to advise which Sacraments you would like your child to receive this year. For your child to receive any of these Sacraments they must first be Baptised. If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact me at school.
Renee Howland
Leader of School Evangelisation & Catechesis
LOP News
Yamba Song Videos
Writing a song
The LOP writing challenge in 2021 was to write a song about Yamba. The students listened to the song Old Welcome Feeling by Rob Imeson for inspiration. 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, some students came up with an idea ( based on Yamba ). The students used the app chrome music maker to make a melody that was simple and memorable.
We will showcase the entrants through the school newsletter. Enjoy our first entrant: Pippi Short
Healthy Lunch Box week
Did you know that children consume 30% of their daily food intake at school?
Therefore, the contents of their lunch box are incredibly important to their cognitive and physical health.
Healthy Lunch Box week is an initiative run by Nutrition Australia, which aims to inspire Australian families to produce healthy and creative food ideas for their children’s lunch boxes.
Parents who would like to take part in this initiative, for recipe ideas, see the website for more: https://www.
#CatholicSchools #CatholicEducation #HealthyLunchBoxWeek
Early Stage 1
A wonderful group of 25 children have now started their exciting learning journey at St James! This week we are learning the names of our friends, exploring the spaces inside and outside our room and we are establishing our classroom routines. Art, dress-ups, construction, games, sport, meditation, writing and counting - we have done it all! We might be very tired on Friday after our first full week of school!
Stage 1
We have had an exciting week this week in Stage 1! We started our investigations. Our investigation spaces allow students to explore and discover through play. Our outdoor space has been a highlight for most, with our nursery, painting and tinkering areas. Another popular choice has been the craft tables and our quiet reading area. These areas will continue to be developed and enjoyed by the students throughout the year.
Stage 2 News
In Stage 2 we’ve been happily settling into our space. We are creating routines and expectations as well as discussing how we want our classroom to feel.
We are learning to use new and exciting technology and are looking forward to incorporating this into our learning.
Over the last two weeks we have also become experts on designing and creating book covers. We even learned how to use them to cover our book for the year ahead. We’re very proud of how they turned out!
Most importantly, we’ve been spending time getting acquainted with each other. Teachers have noticed how settled and ready to learn all the children are, and we’re excitedly looking forward to a fantastic year together.
Stage 3
This week we welcomed 4 new chickens to St James, with Stage 3 students caring for them as part of their daily responsibilities. They haven’t started laying just yet, but hopefully towards the end of the term!
We also showed service to the school by having a working bee in the garden directly outside our room. We weeded and raked dead leaf litter, ready for the planting of seedlings in the coming weeks! Plus, we also welcomed new worms to our worm farm! If you’d like to purchase some worm juice (liquid fertiliser) for $2/2L, or a bag of worm castings fertiliser for $2, please place an order via yamp@lism.catholic.edu
