2 June 2017

Newsletter Articles

From the Principal

Dear Parents, Carers and Community members,

COUNTED

This week marks the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Referendum. It certainly was a significant moment in our nation’s history towards reconciliation with our First Nations people. Approximately 91% of Australians said “Yes”. A figure which would be hard to repeat in any referendum today. It showed a promising step towards inclusion and while there is still a way to go it certainly was a moment to celebrate.

Visiting Australia in the 1980’s Saint John Paul said of the First Nations people: “You are part of Australia and Australia is part of you. And the Church herself in Australia will not be fully the Church that Jesus wants her to be until you have made your contribution to her life and until that contribution has been joyfully received by others.”

St James Catholic College is in a unique position as having one of the highest Indigenous number of students of Catholic schools in Tasmania. We are proud of how this culture has enriched our community as we journey together with reconciliation in the way Jesus showed us.

It was timely that our college welcomed Senator Catryna Bilyk who presented the College with new Australian, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags. The senator was impressed not only by our student’s behaviour but also their knowledge of the meanings behind each flag.

There have been many wonderful activities happening at the College,

Here are just a few:

• Pirate Day was not only fun, it raised awareness for an important issue, we sent off our donation to the Kid’s Cancer Project to help support cancer research.
• The Year 1 and 2 students participated in National Simultaneous Storytime.
• Year 6 and 7 took part in the Parliament Alive outreach program.
• Year 7 explored the environmental impacts of plastic bags.
• The VET film (produced in 2016) has been released on the National MySkills website.
• Code Club is off to a flying start.
• The Sacramental program is underway.

You can read further details about these activities in this newsletter.

Staffing

The College would like to welcome Bridgette Davies as the new Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden – Garden Specialist. Bridgette will be working at the College on Friday’s leading the Primary SAKG sessions and maintaining the garden.

The Kindergarten students have welcomed two new staff members to their classroom this week. Rebecca MacKay who is currently a student at UTAS will be spending time in the Kindergarten area over the next few weeks, in addition, Shelley Griggs will be supporting Mrs Louise Rowe, while Mrs Louise Shaw is on long service leave.

Finally, this week we have had Reuben Oates (Local Indigenous Artist) working with the Primary students to create magnificent Indigenous artworks for our new Indigenous garden, which will be ready by 9 June. I wish them all a warm welcome to our community.

Official Opening of New Areas

Preparations are currently underway for the official opening of the newly redeveloped areas. The opening will be on 9 June 2017, at 11am with special guests: Senator the Hon Eric Abetz (who is officially opening the new areas) and our Archbishop Most Rev Julian Porteous (who is blessing the facilities). In addition, many staff members from Catholic Education Tasmania, VOS constructions and sub-contractors will be in attendance. It will be a wonderful occasion to acknowledge and thank the Australian Government for their contributions and Catholic Education Tasmania for their major financial support in funding this project.

God bless,
Allan Clark - Principal

General Information

Working with Vulnerable People registration

All volunteers at St James Catholic College must have a current working with vulnerable people registration.

The registration process will require the applicant to:

• Completion an application
• Provision of proof of identity
• Payment of a fee ($18.36)
• National criminal history assessment and ongoing monitoring conducted

To apply for registration, please visit:

Sacraments

A small group of students at St James Catholic College are preparing for the Sacrament of Reconciliation, under the guidance of Mrs Karen Newbon and Mrs Connie Thomas.

They are:

Year 3:

• Darcy Direen,
• Jack Hunter

Year 4

• Lochlan Turnbull,
• Maiya Jones,
• Travis Walter,
• Hamish Innes

Year 5

• Jack Walter
• Jack Wallace
• Charlotte Direen

Can we please keep these student’s in our prayers.

Connie Thomas Chaplain/Liturgy & Ministry

Congratulations

Congratulations to Mrs Jordana Schmidt on receiving a scholarship from the International Association of Genocide Scholars. Mrs Schmidt will travel and partake in the association's National Conference held later this year in Brisbane. The scholarship was highly competitive with only an 11% success rate. Well done on a fantastic achievement!

Wanted: Materials for Science Activities:

The Science department is currently seeking donations of the following items needed to help with student assessment activities: 2Litre + ice-cream containers, 1Litre + yoghurt containers, marbles, ping-pong balls, small plastic tubing (roughly 1cm diameter) or any other materials that can be used to make a simple machine contraption, thank you for your support all donations can be left at the office.

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.

Join our Facebook Community!

Just type @StJamesCatholicCollege in the search bar and hit “like”.

Classroom News

YO HO HO a Pirate’s life for me!

Last Friday, the Primary classes were taken over by fierce pirates! These young pirates did not mess around, in their finest pirate gear they gathered together and decided to put their treasure to a great cause, fundraising for Childhood Cancer. Pirate Day is a collaboration between the Kid’s Cancer project and The Adventurers, with the goal of raising funds to support childhood cancer research. Thank you to all the staff particularly our fierce Captain Mrs Rowe for steering the ship, our supportive parents and of course our excellent students for all their wonderful efforts in supporting this worthy cause!

Pirate Catapults

Pirates have been a focus in Kindergarten lately, but after our "water bomb cannonball catapult" didn't work properly on our pirate ship, we decided to figure out why it was a failure. After some research on the computer, we decided to make other types of catapults. So, with some paddle pop sticks, plastic spoons and rubber bands, we made the most awesome, working catapults. The children had competitions to see who could make a pompom fly the greatest distance, and who could perfect accuracy with their shots but aiming for a target. A wonderful way to learn both mathematics and science.

Catapults

Pyjama Day and National Simultaneous Storytime

Year One/Two are such hard workers that they receive whole class rewards for their brilliant behaviour and positive attitudes. On Wednesday 24 May, they enjoyed their chosen reward of a day in their pyjamas! They were the cosiest students in the whole school, though they didn't get to be couch potatoes as some of them had hoped.

Luckily this day coincided with National Simultaneous Storytime. They snuggled down and listened to the story 'The Cow Tripped Over the Moon' by Tony Wilson and Laura Wood at the same time as over 500 thousand children all over Australia. It is a wonderful rhyming book and they recommend reading it whilst dressed in pyjamas.

Pyjama day and National Simultaneous Storytime

Year 6 and 7 Parliament Alive

On Wednesday 17 May, the heavy burden on governing our country fell on the shoulders of SJCC Year 6 and 7 students. Based on the enthusiasm of their participation and thought put into the decisions made, I am pleased to say that the future of democracy is in good hands.

Parliament Alive is an outreach program run by the Parliamentary Education Office in Canberra that has been taking the experience of Parliament on the road to schools across Australia. The program fits beautifully into our studies of Civics and Citizenship by providing a hands-on and engaging session where students play the roles of parliamentarians and parliamentary officials.

Our interactive experience began from the moment we stepped into our redesigned classroom. Seats were arranged to look like a parliamentary chamber and students became MPs in either the Government, Opposition or as Independents. Props and scripts were provided as a framework to help students step into their roles.

Following the opening ceremony where many of the historical connections our system has to the Westminster system were noted, students were presented with the idea for a bill, “Internet service should be provided free of charge on all public transport”. The ensuing debate was lively. Speeches were planned and made, adjournments were necessary, amendments made and finally, the bill was voted on and passed.

What made this experience such a powerful tool for learning was the opportunity for each student to glimpse the perspective of another person and to recognise their own voices and opinions. With the topic of internet access so close to many student’s hearts, the debate was passionate and engaging. It was also interesting to note the interest with which students analysed the vote count and began to strategize on numbers needed to pass a bill.

Well done to all students who participate fantastically, with special note to some of our leading parliamentarians; Keely Brereton as Prime Minister, Michael Fyfe as the Opposition Leader, Elijah Cowen as the House Speaker, Meghan Bennett as the Clerk, Josh Pearn as the Serjeant-at-Arms and a wonderful speech from Opposition backbencher Patrick Robbie.

Year 7 Science

The Year 7 Science students have been looking at the environmental impact of our resource choices. They have calculated their ecological footprint and looked at ways this can be reduced. This week we looked at Plastic. I set the students a challenge. Create a short video to educate and influence people about the effects of plastic. Here is a small representation of the amazing work submitted. Well done year 7. Nicole Schnitzerling – Science Teacher.

Year 10 T-shirts

In religion, as part of their social justice unit, the Year 10 students have created t-shirts based on the beatitudes!

Beatitudes T-shirts

STCCTTC VET film

St James Catholic College is one of the eight schools that form the Southern Tasmanian Catholic Colleges Trade Training Centre (STCCTTC) which provides vocation, education and training (VET) opportunities within the school’s program. The College offers year 9/10 students the opportunity to enrol in nationally accredited courses in Hospitality, Agrifoods, Engineering and Construction.

In 2016, the STCCTTC VET film was filmed to promote the great work being done in our schools and to also promote VET in school’s program. Last week, the film was published on the national my skills site, in the film, you will see some of our past students from Year 10 being interviewed. The film illustrates the importance of linking VET training in schools and pathway planning for future careers opportunities as many VET units being offered, present skills transfer across several different work sectors.

Flag Presentation

St James Catholic College had a very special visit on Monday, from Senator Catryna Bilyk, who gladly presented the students with new Australian, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags. Students enthusiastically answered a range of questions about the flags describing the meaning of the colours and symbols to the Senator and other students present.

Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Recipe

Community Notices