19 May 2017

From the Principal

What an event! Friday 12 May, saw the 74th May Ball held in the MacKillop Performance Centre.

As a gauge of success we have since Friday night had over 3,500 views on the College Facebook page. A fantastic achievement, however, this is not the full essence of how successful the night was. The most important part of the evening was the community coming together to celebrate not just in Liturgy but in dance.

The evening recognised the importance of not only Mary but the vital role our mothers play in our lives. MC and dance instructor Claire Dawson, encouraged the crowd to join and learn dances with the students. Claire has worked with the students over many weeks, preparing them for the ball this year and she continued the excellent work from many dedicated previous May Ball committee members in teaching students these old-time dances. A great night such as this required many hours of hard work and dedication of the students, staff including Mr Brett Tanner who led the event, Mrs Connie Thomas, Mr Wayne Neilson, Mrs Sharlene Duggan, Mrs Nikki O’Neill and Mrs Louise Shaw. Thank you also for the support and encouragement from our parents and the wider community for making the event so successful and preparing the students for the event. Most importantly this event was for our students and we thank them for their contributions in making the night successful. Looking forward to a fantastic 75th May Ball in 2018.

God bless,

Allan Clark
Principal

Student Medical Detail Update

If your child’s medical information has changed since the beginning of the year (or since you last advised the College) please ensure that you contact the office to update accordingly. In addition, if you have previously supplied an EPI-PEN and/or other medications which may have since expired, please organise a replacement.

Working with Children registration

All volunteers at St James Catholic College must have a current working with children registration. The registration process will require the applicant to:

• Complete an application
• Provide proof of identity
• Pay of a fee ($18.36)
• Undergo a National criminal history assessment and ongoing monitoring

Code Club

Code Club

GYC Open Days 2017

GYC Open Days 2017

YO HO HO Me Hearties!

22 May 2017 is PIRATE DAY ya Landlubbers.

We are putting on our wickedest Pirate gear, and raising booty for CHILDHOOD CANCER. Come to school dressed in your finest Pirate clobber (or jeans and a stripy t-shirt) and bring along a gold coin to add to the loot in the treasure chest. It’s a fun way to raise money for a great charity. For more information please see the Pirate Queen (Mrs Rowe) in Kinder.

Kindergarten Fun

Kids Own Publishing

Year 1 and 2 are thrilled to be the first classes in Tasmania to work with the fabulous Vic Ryles from "Kids Own Publishing"! We are super excited to begin publishing our very own books and sharing them around the Country! In the photos below you can see the "Kids Own Book Cubby" this contains books published by students from all over the Country - once published the books will be added to the collection!

Kids Own Publishing

Port Arthur Excursion

On Monday, Year Five headed to Port Arthur for a hands-on history experience. This trip was to continue our learning about the lives of convicts and the development of Australian colonies in the 1800s. We had a fast moving, information packed day which included: an educational harbour cruise, a guided educational walk, exploration of the Separate Prison, punishment cell, Commandant's house, church and the grounds. We ended our time at Port Arthur with a convict brick making lesson and students were able to take their miniature sized convict brick home with them. A quick stop at the Eaglehawk Neck Dogline was then followed by the long bus ride home.

Thank you to the wonderful parents of our students who had them at school bright and early ready to leave at 7:30am and were back again to collect them at 5:30pm. Well done to the Year Five students who followed instructions beautifully and who made the day enjoyable for their teachers as well. Ms. Cooper and Ms. Sulzberger.

Report from Lewis Direen

We went to Port Arthur and it was a long trip. It took two hours. When we got there, we rushed to the boat and then we went with Claire and she told us some stuff about Port Arthur. She was talking about the cricket pitch and she talked about Shane Warne and I said Ricky Ponting played there as well.

Then we started talking about the Penitentiary Precinct being a flour place. Convicts ran in a thing like a hamster wheel for 8 hours each. She said it would be tough to be in it for so long. Then we went to the punishment cell we were told that they had to be silent but not just silent, they had to be full body silent. They had to wear special shoes to keep quiet and then we looked in some of the cells and then we went in the dark room. Will and I went in first and it was not that dark but if you were in the dark for a long time it would be terrifying. Then we made some bricks. Claire showed us some of the convict bricks and taught us how to make them. Mine had a fingerprint on it and it was such a great day. Thank you for reading my writing about Port Arthur. I hope you enjoyed it.

Community Notices

Positive parenting from boys to men of honour

Hockey Tasmania Flyer

Kids Night Out Flyer