15 September 2017

Newsletter Articles

From the Principal

Upcoming Parent Teacher Conferences

Preparations are well underway for the upcoming Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences being held on Wednesday 27 September 2017 between 3:30pm-5:30pm.

The Term 3 Parent/Student/Teacher Learning Conferences will be held on 27 September 2017 and will involve students participating in a discussion about reviewing their learning goals with their parents/guardians and their homeroom/class teachers. These sessions will focus on meeting with specialist subject teachers to discuss progress.

Each conference is scheduled for 15 minutes and I ask that in fairness to all, you adhere to this time. If more time is required 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.

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 below and copy of the booking instructions can be found here:

Subject Selection Evening

The 2018 Year 9/10 Subject Selection Evening will be held on Wednesday 27 September 2017 between 5:30-6:30pm in the College Library. Current Year 8 and Year 9 students and their parents are strongly encouraged to use this opportunity to discuss with teachers the options available and the potential future pathways for studies at College, including post Year 10 traineeships and apprenticeships.

Parent involvement is crucial to student learning and development. This list is based on research examining the benefits of parent involvement:

• leads to improved educational performance
• fosters better student classroom behaviour
• increases positive decision making experiences including greater feelings of ownership and are more committed to supporting the school's mission
• increases support of schools
• improves school attendance
• creates a better understanding for roles and relationships between and among the parent-student-school triad
• improves student emotional well-being

Attending the Parent/Student/Teacher conferences is one of many different ways to help develop your child’s learning.

“Education cannot be neutral. It is either positive or negative; either it enriches or it impoverishes; either it enables a person to grow or it lessens, even corrupts him. The mission of schools is to develop a sense of truth, of what is good and beautiful. And this occurs through a rich path made up of many ingredients.”

-Pope Francis in an Address to
Italian Educators May 10, 2014

General Information

Congratulations

Last weekend Lachlan Kemmis-Cole competed at the Tasmanian State Gymnastics Championships at Level 4. With some tough competition, he achieved 1st on Pommel, 1st on Rings, 2nd on Parallel Bars and 3rd on High Bar to place 2nd overall. Well done on a fantastic effort!

Fair Information

2017 School Fees and Levies

Thank you to everyone who has settled or has arrangements in place for 2017 School Fees and Levies. There is no doubt that families place a high priority on obtaining a quality education for their children and many families make sacrifices to meet their financial obligations to the College. If you require a confidential conversation with the College Business Manager: Mrs Kelly Du Bois please contact her via the College Office (03) 6295 1541 to arrange an appointment.

Canteen Volunteers

The Canteen needs volunteers!

If you can assist please contact the College office outlining your availability.

To work as a volunteer with vulnerable people, including children anywhere in Tasmania each volunteer requires a current Working With Vulnerable People (WWVP) Registration. To apply for registration please visit the link below.

and complete the online application process.

Wanted: 8 or 12 ply wool

There is a small group of students gathering at lunch time on Tuesday's in the Library that are learning to knit, crochet and sew under the guidance of Mrs Carter and Mrs Thomas. Our aim is to make squares to form blankets and then we will decide who we give them too. The College Library is also seeking donations of Lego for lunchtime activities. If you have any of the resources requested above that you can donate to the group, it would be greatly appreciated. Donations can be left in the College Library.

Little Lights – Birth to Four Program

Kindergarten Enrolments

SMS Absence Notification

The College accepts SMS absentee notifications. Please SMS: 0488 863 246 with your child's name, year and reason for absence. Please save this number in your phone for future reference.

Contact/Medical Details Update

If any student contact and/or medical details have changed since the return of the 2017 forms in Term 1, please contact the College office to update. If you have previously supplied the College with an Epi-Pen and/or other medication; which may have since expired, a replacement is required.

College Uniform Shop

The College Uniform Shop has moved now located within the College the shop is open (term-time only):

• Monday’s 2.30pm until 3.30pm
• Wednesday’s 2.30pm until 3.30pm

Orders can be placed via phone or email. Ordered items can then be collected from the College Office or sent home with students.

Woolworths Earn and Learn 2017

The College is participating in the 2017 Woolworths Earn and Learn program. Anyone from our College community who normally shops at Woolworths can collect stickers. Please continue to support local businesses as you have always done. The stickers can be placed in the collection box at the College or in the labelled box at your local Woolworths. The College can use the stickers to redeem a range of educational equipment and resources from major educational supplier Modern Teaching Aids. Thank you for your support and start collecting.

JB HI-FI Information

Looking to buy an iPad or MacBook? The College has access to the JB HI-FI Bring Your Own Device Portal. The portal provides parents with discounted Apple products and accessories. This is a private arrangement between JB Hi-Fi and the buyer. Parents/Students are under no obligation to use this service and the College receives no commercial gain from JB Hi-Fi. For more information visit the link below and enter the school code: STJCS2017.

National Disability Insurance Scheme Sessions at SJCC

What’s been happening at SJCC?

Lady Nelson Excursion

On Monday 4 September, the Year 3 and 4 classes attended an excursion on The Lady Nelson Ship. This concluded our History Unit on The First Fleet. Students have experienced a sail on board a tall ship through life as a convict. Students also had the opportunity to explore The Tasmanian Maritime Museum.

Student reports: On Monday 4 September the Year 3 and 4 students went on an excursion. We went to Mures, the Maritime Museum and on The Lady Nelson. The two classes split up into two groups. Group one would be going to the Maritime Museum and Mures and the other group would be going on The Lady Nelson I was in group one so I went to the Maritime Museum first. At the Maritime Museum, we learnt how to use the signals and bells. We learnt that if you tapering the bell eight times it means that it is time to swap duties and we also learnt how to do SOS save our souls with a light you do three dashes for the s three slashes for the o and three dashes again for the last. After the signals, we moved onto whaling and how there were so much whales in the Derwent River and how they used Harpoons. Next we went on The Lady Nelson it was very windy and wet we went on a rough ride up to the Tasman Bridge I saw one of the support pillars from when the bridge broke on the way back we got to go down in the cabin and see how the conditions were. I had a great day. By Jesse Cowen

On the 4 September Year 4 went on an excursion to Hobart. When we got to Hobart we got split up into two groups. My group went to the Maritime Museum first. John, our tour man, talked to us about whaling, the First Fleet, figureheads and Trim (Matthew Flinders Cat).

When we finished the tour, we went to Mures for ice-cream. They were delicious!! Then we got on the Lady Nelson. I didn't like it much! We sailed from the dock to the Tasman Bridge and then turned around.

After we got off the boat we went to one of the buildings and ate our lunch. I think the excursion was the best! Although I didn't like the boat much. I think I will go on it again. By Maiya Jones.

Walk for Daniel

Last week students from Primary classes attended a child-safety awareness day hosted by Bruce and Denise Morcombe representing the Morcombe Foundation and the ThinkUKnow Child Cyber Safety program. The day which hosted schools from the Huon Valley aimed to educate children on how to stay safe in a physical and online environment. The event culminated in a Walk through Huonville with over 500 participants.

Mitre 10 Huonville Donation

A big THANK YOU to Mitre 10 at Huonville for the donation of materials to construct a gaming table for the First Lego League competition. Mitre 10 have kindly donated timber, paint and all the materials required for us to construct an official gaming table to enable St James to enter our first ever team in this robotics competition for 2018.

FIRST® LEGO® League is a competition catering for upper-primary and lower-secondary school students. Every year, teams of up to 10 students build, program and compete with a robot, while also learning about a modern problem in science and engineering and developing solutions for it. Tournaments are run with the feel of a sporting event, and teams compete like crazy while having the time of their lives. What FIRST® LEGO® League teams accomplish is nothing short of amazing. Its fun. It’s exciting. And the skills they learn will last a lifetime. This is our first step in the process of putting our team together. First Lego League Team Coordinator Christine Galbraith.

Coil Pot fun

In year 9/10 Art we are creating coil pots using wonderful creativity and an organic process. Beginning with a circular slab we then build our coils in many different ways and layer them around the pot to create a cylindrical vessel of our choice. We were familiar with basic coil pot construction before we started (using coils of regular size and shape) however, this new technique allows us to include spirals, braids and ball shapes in amongst our regular coils to add interest to our designs. The whole process is nice and organic and we can make it up as we go along. Mel Lunden Art/Photography Teacher

Community Notices

The John Wallis Memorial Lecture 2017 given by FR FRANK MOLONEY SDB

“THE WORD OF GOD IN THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH” HAVE WE FAILED?

A priceless opportunity to re-examine our Christian life in the light of the Scriptures and help us to envisage the future of the Church.

When: Thursday, 21st September 2017, 7.00 pm
Where: Guilford Young College, Chapel, Hobart Campus - Lecture followed by supper
RSVP: By 14 September 2017 Contact: Eva on 0417734503 or eva.dunn@gmail.com
Donation: $10 (with Concession: $5)