17 February 2017

Newsletter Articles

From the Principal

Welcome to the start of a new school year at St James Catholic College. It was wonderful to witness the excitement and enthusiasm of the Prep-Year 10 children as they arrived back at school last Thursday morning and our new Kindergarten students on Friday. I look forward to working with the students and with you throughout the year in my new role as Principal. Today students, staff, Fr Tate and the wider community gathered at St James Catholic Church for the Welcome and Induction Mass.

Congratulations to our student leaders and we look forward to your contributions over the year:

• College Captains: Noah Clifford and Taylah Dillon
• College Mission and Social Justice Captains: Noah Clifford and Taylah Dillon
• College Learning Captains: Will Geeves, Monica Robbie and JinJu Redding
• College Arts Captains: Will Geeves, Monica Robbie and JinJu Redding
• College Sports Captains: Dylan Gane, Luke Ashlin and Alice Burleigh-McCall
• College Aboriginal Culture Captains: Noah Clifford, Taylah Dillon and Jessie Burnett

The full Student Leadership team is: Noah Clifford, Taylah Dillon, Will Geeves, Monica Robbie, JinJu Redding, Dylan Gane, Luke Ashlin, Alice Burleigh-McCall and Jessie Burnett.

I would also like to welcome the new members of staff into our community:

• Miss Amy Westwood – Year 4
• Ms Esther Sulzberger – Year 5
• Mrs Jo Craddock – Year 6
• Ms Nicole Schnitzerling – Science Subject Coordinator
• Mrs Kate Deutscher – English Subject Coordinator
• Ms Christine Galbraith – Mathematics Teacher
• Ms Bronwen Kemmis – Humanities Teacher
• Ms Sadie Chrestman – Drama Teacher
• Mrs Amanda Pearn – Teacher aide

The teaching staff started last week with a series of professional development workshops and personal preparation for the coming year. The workshops focused on teaching reading, curriculum and pedagogical delivery, growth mindset and data literacy. I found the week to be very positive and invigorating. It reinforced to me how lucky we are as a school community to have so many teachers committed to their vocation in working to develop our students to reach their full potential.

The College Leadership Team commenced the week prior to the staff week. Three days were put aside for team formation, goal setting and strategic planning. I am very excited to work with this team, Mr Brett Tanner, Mr Wayne Neilson, Ms Stacey Cooper, Mrs Jo Craddock, Ms Jenny Coulson and Mrs Connie Thomas. The week certainly reinforced to me the expertise and energy that each member brings to our team.

I look forward to meeting with many of our families and I am very excited to be a part of the St James Catholic College community this year. I hope that 2017 will be a very fulfilling year for everyone within our community.

God Bless
Mr Allan Clark - College Principal

General Information

Building developments

The recent holidays saw the continuance of the construction works at the College. The project is now in the final stages of completion. VOS Constructions are ensuring that the final touches in each learning area are being completed. Already, it has been wonderful to see how these new, vibrant and contemporary spaces are providing our dedicated teachers with the resources to effectively assist student learning. The College would like to thank VOS constructions and their subcontractors for all their hard-work during this time, to ensure that students have access to these spaces! A formal opening of these areas will be scheduled soon.

Congratulations

Congratulations to Mrs Jordana Schmidt who has been shortlisted as a semi-finalist in not just one, but two categories in the 2017 Tasmanian Young Achievers Awards. Mrs Schmidt has been shortlisted for the University of Tasmania, Faculty of Education Teaching Excellence award and the Heather & Christopher Chong Community Service & Volunteering award. Good luck!

SMS Absence Notification

The College now 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.

Little Lights – Birth to Four Program

Little Lights Playgroup is held every Tuesday (term-time only) from 9.30am -11am. Everyone is welcome to come along and join the fun. During the session, children will have the opportunity to explore, participate in art experiences, ride bikes and having fun with new friends.

Kindergarten

Kindergarten is off and running to a flying start. All children, Mums and Dads, Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles all bounced through the door with big smiles ready to embark on their huge adventure. This year is very exciting as we begin in a beautiful new classroom. Our room is a bright, colourful space with many new toys and games to explore. This year we look forward to our new playground which should be ready for action very soon. I am looking forward to a wonderful year full of new experiences and loads of fun learning – Louise Rowe, Kindergarten Teacher.

JJAMM

Student leaders, Taylah Dillon and Noah Clifford accompanied by Mr Neilson and Mr Clark travelled to MacKillop Place, North Sydney for the 2017 JJAMM conference. JJAMM which stands for Joseph, Julian and Mary MacKillop is a community of Sisters established in 1866 by Mary MacKillop and Julian Tenison Woods.

The community of Sisters was developed to ensure that the poor and needy children to have access to a quality education. This conference involved 24 Josephite schools from all over Australia and New Zealand, including 5 Josephite schools from Tasmania. Taylah and Noah undertook many activities to develop their leadership skills and to lead in the qualities of St. Joseph, Julian Tenison Woods and St. Mary of the Cross MacKillop.

BYOD Program

A reminder that all students from Years 3-10 are participating in the College Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) program. This means that students must bring along an iPad each day, charged and ready for use. Over the last week, our ICT officer Miss Armstrong has been working with students to ensure that their device is setup on the network correctly. If your child does not have an iPad available to them, please contact Miss Armstrong at the College, and we can provide a device for your child to use.

A copy of the BYOD agreement has been sent home to families earlier this week. Can you please read through the policy with your child/children and sign accordingly. Thank you.

Forms/Policies

Please return and complete the package of forms that were sent home in late 2016. These forms include vital student information including emergency contacts, student and medical details. To help us update our records the office requires these forms returned at your earliest convenience.

Back to School Photos

Below is a gallery of photo our students on their first day of the 2017 school year!

Can you help stock kitchen supplies?

The College is seeking donations of any surplus garden vegetables to be used in Kitchen-Garden classes. The College garden had limited produce this summer, all vegetables will be processed in the kitchen classes.

Schoolzine / SZ App (College App)

Schoolzine is an online communication platform that the College will use to produce and distribute: newsletters, e-forms, absentees, calendar and online parent teacher bookings! The information can be accessed on any device, at any time, but you will need an internet connection! So follow the instructions below and install the app for quick and accurate communications!

College Facebook page

Join our College Facebook page just type in: @StJamesCatholicCollege in the Facebook search bar!

Community Events