Dear friends of St James Catholic College,

This week I had the pleasure of going to our neighbouring school, Sacred Heart Primary School, Geeveston. Over the 20 years that I have been associated with colleges in the Huon and Channel region, St James Catholic College and Sacred Heart Primary School have always had a very close relationship, and it is wonderful to see that during these two decades, many fine graduates of both both schools have remained in the Valley, contributing and connecting to Catholic education as parents, grandparents and even employees! It is wonderful to see the long term influence that our schools have had on individuals and families in our beautiful part of the world.

In visiting Sacred Heart I was invited to share why their grade sixes should come to St James to continue their Catholic education, and easily, yet far from comprehensively, I listed five things that are just as relevant for all of us as they are to new students potentially coming from Sacred Heart. These points are that St James is:

• A small catholic school: Like Sacred Heart, St James is a community where everyone knows your child’s name and is committed to their personal growth and individual learning achievement.  
• Affordable: Our fees and levies are kept low, and financial needs are treated confidentially. Please arrange a discussion with me and I will endeavour to respond to any financial needs you may have.
• Accessible: Bus services from St James operate across the Huon Valley, with one that takes children all the way from Dover to our door at Cygnet and back each day.
• Supportive: A core teacher in Year 7 is timetabled to your child for Homeroom and a significant number of classes, and they are your first point of contact.
• Engaging: Students experience a wide selection of subjects over the course of Year 7 and 8, enabling them to choose specific ‘elective’ subject areas in Years 9 and 10.

There are many things that go together to make the vibrant catholic community that we are and I hope that each family sees in action these five elements played out in the way we operate.

College Board

The College Board is a wonderful instrument of parent perspective within the college. Over my time back in a second stint at St James, I've had the privilege of meeting formally eight times each year with a wonderful group of intelligent, passionate and student focused parents and grandparents who have given up their time to meet on the College Board. Mary Haverland, our board chair, is highly capable at moderating respectful ideas amongst the group that always give me insightful directions to pursue.

Please consider being part of the Board. The more ideas from a broader range of families the better the outcomes. If you would like to know more please get in touch with Sharlene Duggan at the College Office and she will be able to field your questions and give you dates for the meaning.

Enrolment Term

Over the next eight weeks of this term we will have two main enrollment focuses:

The first is running presently and is for any Year 7 students for 2025. Towards the end of this month we present to the Tasmanian Catholic Education Office the number of applications that we have for Year 7 next year. Based on that number they determine the number of teachers that we have at our disposal to allocate to our secondary classes. Getting an accurate number early not only allows us plenty of time to plan but also allows us to go to the market to attract the best staff for our secondary classes.

Please help us to attract enrolments into Year 7 in 2025. If you know of any families who have children in Year 6 and are contemplating where to send their child next year for secondary school have them get in touch with us directly at the Front Office or alternatively they can look to our website we're not only we have plenty of information about the college but also a portal to book a tour.

In just over a month's time, we will shift our enrolment focus to Kindergarten enrolments for 2025. Again, an early number allows us to plan effectively for the year ahead. At any stage if you know of any families who have children about to begin the wonderful journey of education please have them get in touch with us.

Your help in attracting enrolments and the positive comments you can make about the college help us immensely.

Regards,

Joe Sandric

Principal

Important Dates

SJCC SWIMMING CARNIVAL

Our annual SJCC Swimming Carnival was held on Wednesday 6 March at the Huonville Pool in beautiful weather conditions. It was wonderful to see our Prep to Year 10 students competing in a range of events and having fun on a perfect Autumn day. Congratulations is extended to Lovett House, our winning house team for 2024. Thanks is extended to all staff and families for making the carnival such a success and to our students for their active participation.

Kindergarten had a great day being in charge of the school whilst the carnival was on, having the opportunity to use the quadrangle to ride their bikes!

FOOD STUDIES

This term our Year 7 students have been extending their international cooking skills with Singapore Noodles and Gilgeorie Toast (Korean street food). Most of the students turned up their noses at the idea of cooking cabbage in a toasted sandwich, but of course they loved it and many took the recipe with them!

YEAR 9/10 OUTOOR EDUCATION CAMP

Our Year 9/10 Outdoor Education students have now returned from camp having completed their first adventurous journey as part of the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme. They now look forward to many more outdoor experiences throughout the year, before their end of year camp.

YEAR 1/2 NEWS

In Year 1/2 we have been learning about the five things plants need to survive. During our recent science lesson we made a 'Bean House'. They are hanging in our class window and we are looking forward to watching our beans grow!

YEAR 5 NEWS

We have been busy preparing and undertaking our NAPLAN assessments for the next couple of weeks on our new laptops - even with a late change of rooms due to some drilling and digging outside our classroom. Once completed, the students have then switched their attention to using our wonderful MPC to learn how to play netball and basketball. Ella G and Isla were particularly helpful in coaching our newer players to the game - including Mr Bint - whose knowledge and ability in the game wasn't quite up to speed compared to our little champions in this code. Watch this space for some future Diamonds to emerge!!!

SMS Absence Notifications

The College accepts SMS absentee notifications. Please SMS: 0488 863 246 with your child's name, grade and absent reason. Please save this number in your phone for future reference.

Drink Bottles

Please make sure your child brings a drink bottle to school each day.  

College Facebook Page / Instagram

Join our College Facebook page just click below or type in: @StJamesCatholicCollege in the Facebook search bar.

Have your childs medical details changed?

A gentle reminder to advise the school if your child's medical details have recently changed. Please contact the College office to ensure your childs details are current.

HUON VALLEY CATHOLIC PARISH

CYGNET SEA DRAGONS

Cygnet Sea Dragons are asking for any uniforms to be returned from families no longer playing soccer with the club. Uniforms are urgently required to re-allocate to new joiners. Uniforms can be left at SJCC office for collection.