Dear friends of St James Catholic College,

Thank you so much stuff students and families for the wonderful Term 2 and in fact the whole of the first semester of 2024. I wish all are safe and relaxing break and look forward to seeing all of you back for semester 2 - Term 3, 2024.

THANK YOU, STAFF

Over the course of this term I have been so impressed by the quality of our staff here at St James. There are many aspects to this pride but in particular I'd like to focus on the resilience that we have. A few years ago now we created a staff charter and it has been so awesome to see that lived over the course of Term 2. There have been many staff absences due to leave and illness. Some of our teacher assistants have been doing their internship as they work towards being fully competent and registered teachers; some staff have been on personal leave, others have been on long service leave and of course colds, flu and COVID have depleted us over this term. I counted one day in week 7 where we had up to 14 staff away.

Through it all the staff have been resilient and shown grit and gone on with their job whilst covering for others. From taking up the slack in answering phones to following up on behaviour issues by contacting parents, I'm so proud to be part of the St James community that backs each other in.

Thank you so much staff. You make the educational context here at St James rich, engaging and challenging for our students and support your colleagues in the process.

At St James Catholic College we place great value on the wellbeing of staff. As a staff we wish to, as the evangelist John proclaims, have life to the full; to flourish in our vocation and assist our colleagues to do so.  A staff wellbeing strategy aims to identify what it looks like to be flourishing and to identify when one, or one’s colleague, is not.  From there, the strategy identifies three tiers of initiatives to assist staff to flourish and the strategies and interventions we have as a college to assist.

STAFF CHARTER, 2021+

In 2021 as a staff we have worked on the creation of a Staff Charter as part of our RULER training.  As a staff we have agreed that:

As a staff we want to feel: 

• Balanced in work and life
• Valued and Appreciated
• Safe and Calm
• Respected and Listened to
• Part of a Community

In order to have these feelings consistently, we will:   

• Show strong leadership that protects, nourishes and supports consistent, transparent and early interventions
• Be inclusive and welcoming
• Check in with each other
• Be collegial
• Fulfil our roles and responsibilities professionally 

We will prevent and manage conflict by:

• Having professional conversations
• Working on the basis to trust (people trying their hardest) 
• Modelling behaviours and values that we wish to experience
• Being an active listener and respecting the decisions that are made
• Never see a need without doing something about it

GETTING READY TO FLY AWAY

This year I have had the pleasure of teaching the year 10s for Religious Education. Of course, I've got to know them over the four years that I've been at St James but there is nothing better for a teacher to actually get to know students as learners. Mrs Radnidge and I have been so impressed by the standard of work that they've produced for us over the course of the year so far.

Therefore, it's with a little bit of sadness over the course of this term that I see them all out to various senior secondary colleges to taste what it's going to be like for them in 2025 and beyond. One of the great advantages for our Year 10 families is that I have been able to broker a deal with our two senior secondary colleges, St Aloysius and Guilford Young, for them to cap fees for our families in Year 11 and 12 at the rate that they were paying their fees here at St James College. For a full fee-paying family that saving over the two years of senior secondary will be about $6,500.

I'd like to publicly thank the principles of St Aloysius and Guilford Young, Mr Paul Reidy and Mrs Jo Legosz, for honoring a commitment that was begun by their predecessors.

What a bonus for families in making a commitment to a regional Catholic College like St James to know that the senior secondary options available to them are affordable due to that commitment.

SATIS, WHAT IS IT?

Working with the board over the course of this year we have been developing a strategy by which our secondary students are able to access cultural and sporting opportunities that are open to others in other independent and Catholic schools. Thanks to the board's support I have been able to secure membership of AHISA. AHISA or the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia, is the professional association for Principals of independent schools across Australia. Members’ schools include day and boarding, and are of religious and non-denominational affiliations. All schools whose principals belong to AHISA are concerned with maintaining high standards of professional practice. 

This membership will be as a school to be part of SATIS. The Sports Association of Tasmanian Independent Schools (SATIS) is a group of sixteen schools in Tasmania formed by AHISA Tasmania to conduct sporting competitions for member schools. NSATIS and SSATIS are regional bodies which organise and conduct competitions in their respective regions. This will enable us to access places for our students in midweek competitions ranging from debating through to touch football. As well as this our secondary students will be able to participate, from 2025, in the three big independent schools competitions of cross country, swimming and athletics. 

Also with the support of the board we have purchased over the course of this year two minivans to assist in the transportation of students to and from these commitments. I'd particularly like to thank the Catholic Education Office of Tasmania who have been instrumental in assisting us in the financing for these two vans.

As the year progresses I will have more information to pass on to families about this great initiative. Again I thank the board members for their assistance and support in this most vital initiative.

WHAT’S A LMS?

With the student free day on the first day of next term, staff apart from other curriculum initiatives we'll be working on the rollout of our learning management system, LMS, for 2025. Again I thank the Catholic Education Office Tasmania, particularly the ICT team for not only scoping out the way that this would happen but by also providing particular support to our staff on how to achieve this important curriculum initiative.

At my previous college I was able to work with the leadership team to implement the same learning management system and I know first-hand the difference that it makes to the teaching and learning environment. I look forward to working with the staff here at St James in implementing the LMS and for students and families to have a platform by which to work collaboratively with our staff on the best outcomes for our students.

SCHOOL CLOSURE 

From time to time, due to extreme weather or other unforeseen circumstances, school may need to be cancelled for the day.  Please be aware of how this happened and how it is communicated:

In a nutshell, Mrs Elizabeth Radnidge and Mr Joe Sandric call the weather/incident by 7am, Joe makes the decision then contacts other colleges in our region, Mr Brett Tanner contacts staff via email and text by 7.15am, Mrs Sharlene Duggan contacts families via compass and text by 7.15am and Joe contacts buses.

Regards,

Joe Sandric

Principal

Important Dates

22 July 2024	STUDENT FREE DAY
23 July 2024	Term 3 commences for Students
29 July 2024	Yr 9 takara nipaluna
2 August 2024	Yr 9/10 Theatre Royal Visit

2024_T3_Little_Lights_Calendar_2_.pdf

2024_T3_Little_Lights_Calendar_2 pdf 6.02 MB

Volleyball Schools Cup

Contact and communication during the school day

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Move well, Eat Well.