31 March 2017

From the Principal

Father,
May everything we do
begin with your inspiration
and continue with your saving help.
Let our work always find its origin in you
and through you reach completion.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen

As you read this newsletter you will find articles outlining some of the wonderful things happening here at St James Catholic College. There has been visits to TMAG, STEM Day, Channel Heritage excursions and Huon Channel Swimming – to name a few! Thank you to the staff and students for their engagement in these great learning opportunities and events.

Thank you

Congratulations and thank you to Mr Olaf Weerts, Ms Christine Galbraith, Mrs Allison Ford and the wonderful Maths, Science and support staff (including students!) who helped make the STEM Day a great success. See the article below for a detailed account of the event!

The school office will be closed for term break from:

FRIDAY 14 APRIL - FRIDAY 28 APRIL 2017

Important Safety Recalls – EpiPens

Bus Safety

To ensure that students are put on the correct bus in the afternoon, you must notify the office through a phone call when they are catching a different bus than they typically would. For more complicated bus arrangements, please still select one bus as their normal bus and then call the office with changes to this schedule. It is vital that all staff, including relief teachers or teachers covering a class that is not their own, are notified of changes to students' bus schedules via afternoon notices from the office.

A call to the office regarding bus schedule changes/complicated arrangements is the most reliable, and therefore required way of notifying staff.

May Ball 2017

When: 12 May 2017, 6.30pm-9.30pm
Where: MacKillop Performance Centre (Gym)
Who: All Kinder to Year 10 students and their families

During the month of May Catholics around the world traditionally honour Our Blessed Mother Mary with special devotional services. The May Crowning of Mary has been practised around the world for hundreds of years and has been honoured here at St James Catholic College for over 70 years. In honouring Mary, we also honour all other mothers and women in our community. With this in mind, all proceeds from this year’s May Ball celebration will be donated to the McGrath Foundation which aims to make life that little bit easier for individuals and families experiencing breast cancer.

May Ball 2017 planning has begun!

Responding to community feedback from last year’s parent, staff and student survey regarding the May Ball, the working group has begun planning for this year’s event. The goal is to continue the fantastic legacy of the last 70 years and to respond to the needs of our current school community.

The current May Ball working group is made up of the following volunteers who are not only staff members, but are also parents of current or former St James Catholic College students. In fact, some were former students of St James themselves. The members are: Sharlene Duggan, Nikki O’Neill, Louise Shaw and Connie Thomas. In addition, we have Year 10 students working with the group, plus Allan Clark (Principal) and Brett Tanner (Deputy Principal).

As reported last year, the May Ball survey of parents, students and staff indicated the significant majority of our St James Catholic College community felt the following:

The Positives

• The Tradition of the Event
• Dressing up
• Socialising and having fun as a community
• Dancing
• The whole College coming together (Not separate Primary/Secondary venues)

The Negatives

• Old music – needs some updating
• The potential costs and perceived pressures of providing suitable dresses/clothing
• No Supper this year! Need to provide an adequate supper in future

Other constructive suggestions that were mentioned in the survey, or arose during the discussion of the working group, were:

• Review seating arrangements in MPC. For example, use some tiered seating in the MPC /plus use stage for additional seating
• More of the dancing to be done together so less sitting around. For example, all primary students together or all secondary students together to keep it flowing
• The Crowning of Mary Liturgy with all the community together in the MacKillop Performance Centre. (This would replicate how it was done in the beginning)
• Mary to be 'centre stage' - a focal point
• Canteen open for tea and coffee for parents
• Photos and supper in the new Kent Learning Centre
• Keep some of the older music; however, try and modernise it
• Look for ways to ease the pressure on families of providing dresses. For example, provide opportunities to pass on, swap, purchase from other families used dresses. Setting clear boundaries/expectations for families to work with-in.

Therefore, in short, this year’s event will be celebrated all together, incorporating many of the suggestions outlined above. The working group will continue to work with the students to plan all the details to ensure that we continue to build on such a unique and well-regarded community celebration. Brett Tanner (On behalf of the May Ball working group)

Change of School Time

Starting Term 2 the first bell will go at 8:40am. At this time, all students will move to their classroom to prepare for the day. Year 7-10 students will begin homeroom time and the K-6 students will enter the classrooms to prepare for the day.

Sacramental Program

Parents wishing to have their children participate in the 2017 Sacramental Program please contact Mrs Connie Thomas at the College for further information on how to be involved.

Parent /Teacher Learning Conferences will be held 10-12 April 2017

The Learning Conferences involve students participating in a discussion about their learning with their parents/guardians and their homeroom/class teachers. Students from P-10 will be issued an Interim Report at this conference. Whilst meeting with specialist subject teachers is not part of this initial process; however, this can be organised later if it is deemed necessary.

The Conference allows for homeroom/class teachers to discuss progress in key learning areas, as well as work habits, such as organisation. Goals will be developed and set so that students can work towards achieving them during the remainder of the year. Please note that this conference will facilitate the construction of their Personalised Learning Plan (PLP). A similar process in the middle of the year will allow for reviewing how progress is going towards their goals.

Each conference is scheduled for 15 minutes and I ask that in fairness to all, you stick to this time. If you need more time, teachers will be happy to make follow up appointments. This process is a very positive way of building relationships and ensuring commitment to the individualised learning outcomes your son or daughter requires.

It is an expectation that learning conferences are conducted for every student from Prep to Year 10 and that the student is present for all or part of the conference. Appointments can be made ONLINE or by contacting the College office. The online booking process is done through a system called Session Keeper. The site address is found below, a copy of the instructions can be found here:

If you do not wish to use the online booking system, please email or phone the office to slot in your preferred time. The confirmation of your booking will be sent by return email or phone.

General Notices

College Book Fair

The 2017 SJCC Book Fair will be held from: Thursday 23 March to Thursday 6 April 2017.

There will be a variety of books and items available for purchase. Students will be given the opportunity to view the books and items in Library lessons. They will be able to make a wish list or purchase items. Parents are welcome to view items and may come in the mornings or afternoons or by appointment (contact College office 62 951 541).

For those students that received a voucher on prize day last year, they may choose to spend the voucher at this book fair. Vouchers need to be spent in one order and unfortunately change cannot be given. Your children benefit from the sales as the Library will receive a percentage of sales. There are lots of goodies that would make excellent presents. Hope to see you.

Connie Thomas - Library Technician

Book Fair 2017

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.

Huon & Channel Swimming Carnival

On Tuesday 21 March, the primary representative team participated in the Huon & Channel Swimming Carnival. A big thank you to Ms Katny who spent many hours ensuring the day was well organised for our students. Our students were a credit to the college and represented us well both in the water and out. Their attitude to the day and the support they showed for their teammates was admirable. A special mention to some of the students who achieved a place in a 50m or 22m event: Isobel Leckie, Harry Brereton, Alex Sandric, Jesse Cowen, Bailey Harris, Lochlan Turnbull, Noah Bendall, Lewis Direen, Lachlan Kemmis-Cole. A very special mention to Maiya Jones and Kallen Lovell who displayed resilience and persistence when participating in challenging events.

Well done to all students who were selected for the team. The team included the following students:

• Kallen Lovell
• Jesse Cowen
• Lochlan Turnbull
• Noah Bendall
• Maiya Jones
• Mia Clifford
• Indiana Coulson
• Harry Brereton
• Alex Sandric
• Bailey Harris
• Lewis Direen
• Isobel Leckie
• Hannah Wallis
• Charlotte Direen
• Thomas Clark
• Jaclyn Thorpe
• Heidi Lovell

The day ended with an impromptu game with Cygnet Primary students. This game was completely student organised and our students were inclusive, fair and respectful.

Good luck to our team as they head to the Catholic Swimming Carnival on Friday. Ms Cooper.

Huon & Channel Swimming Carnival

Kitchen Garden Recipes

Year 9 visit the Channel Heritage Centre

On Monday, 20/3/17 Grade nine students took part in an excursion to the Channel Heritage Centre and Snug Bushfire memorial. This experience proved a valuable resource for their term 1 'Life Stories' English Unit. Students were treated to the wonderful expertise and enthusiasm of the centre's volunteers as they took a trip through the history of Huon and Channel region, with an emphasis on the 1967 Tasmanian Bush fires.

STEM Day

The first STEM Day was held today at St James Catholic College on Thursday involving 70 Year 6 students from St James Catholic College, Cygnet Primary as well as Sacred Heart Catholic School, Geeveston. STEM which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics is a global movement to encourage students to apply their learning from the classroom into real life problems to prepare them for the growth areas for the future. STEM learning requires critical thinking, engaging and relevant learning experiences and perseverance; all skills needed for 21st century learners.

We ran four different activities which included programming with the Lego EV3 Mindstorms Robots, building a balloon powered car, working with electronic bricks to investigate circuits and building strong structures to support weights. WOW! What a day. I think I speak for all the students as well as the teachers that it was a great day. Students got to make some new friends from their community, had LOTS of fun and were challenged at each event to 'think outside the box' to work out ways to make their projects work.

Thanks must also go to the Year 6 students, who got involved and had a great time, as well as the fifteen Year 9 students who stepped into leadership roles and facilitated the events. Thank you also to the staff from St James who were involved in the planning, presentation and support for the day.

Christine Galbraith and Olaf Weerts

TMAG Excursion

uesday, March 28 saw all the year 9 students and some of the year ten Aboriginal students, including our three Aboriginal cultural captains, Taylah Dillon, Noah Clifford and Jesse Burnett, attend the TMAG/Catholic education 2017 Aboriginal program, kanalaritja.

kanalaritja: An Unbroken String – is a beautiful shell necklace exhibition and a testament to one of the oldest continuous cultural practices of Tasmanian Aborigines that, like the Community, has endured, survived.

Shell stringing is one of the only practices that not only withstood the impacts of colonisation but adapted and evolved to include intricate and delicate patterns of numerous shell types and most recently the inclusion of other natural materials such as kelp, furs and echidna quills.

The students learnt from TMAG’s fantastic Aboriginal Learning Facilitator, Mr Teangi Brown, whose Grandmother, “Granny Brown”, was one of the Tasmanian Aboriginal women who helped keep this cultural practice alive. Teangi shared many personal stories from his life growing up on Cape Barron Island, and his deep understanding of the significance of the precious cultural practice of shell stringing was evident in his presentation.

All students were a credit to the St James Catholic College Community. Their interest levels and behaviour were commented on by many TMAG staff.

Primary Years Book Drive

Primary Years Book Drive

MAT Poster Competition 2017

Design a poster to answer the question “What does infinity look like?” Your poster can include words, images and/or symbols. Posters can be hand-drawn or digital, as long as the poster design and thinking is yours, and you use and acknowledge appropriately any information and images copied from the internet or books.

Entries must be sent to the Mathematical Association of Tasmania by 3pm on Thursday 13th April via email (nathan.peterson@soc.tas.edu.au) or via mail (PO Box 5096, UTAS LPO, TAS, 7005). Entries will be judged during the MAT Annual Conference (12th - 13th May 2017); the judges’ decision is final. Winning posters may be published online (with permission).

2017 MAT Poster Competition - What does infinity look like?

Community Notices:

Asthma Back to School Information

Student Banking

YOU+ME=community festival

Box Car Challenge