22 June 2018

Newsletter Articles

From the Principal

Last week, I attended the Association of Josephite Affiliated Secondary Schools (AJASS) National Conference in Adelaide. St James Catholic College is a Josephite school and proudly continues the Josephite traditions. Mary MacKillop’s story is a true inspiration of humility, courage and spirituality. As a Josephite College it is important for us to continue to learn and be guided by her example and her relationship with God.

Mid Year Reporting

This year, the College mid-year report timeline has changed. Reports will be issued to families on Monday 23 July 2018 (first day of Term 3). Learning Conferences will be held in Week 2 on Tuesday 31 July / Wednesday 1 August 2018 from 3:30pm-5:30pm each conference is scheduled for 15 minutes, so if you could stick to this time it would be greatly appreciated. If you need more time, teachers will be happy to make follow up appointments. This process is a 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. To book click on the link below or contact the College office via phone: (03) 62951 541 or email: stjames@catholic.tas.edu.au

Year 9/10 Exams

The exams in the MPC offer our students the opportunity to experience the formal assessment used in Year 11 and beyond. Students will not only gain experience in learning how to set up a study timetable, developing study techniques and planning for revision, but also the physical experience of being in a large hall with a large number of students. This is something that can be distracting or be intimidating if you have never experienced it before.

College Advisory Board

Thank you to our outgoing College Advisory Board members Mrs Kate Reed and Mrs Pauline O’Neill, for their dedication and commitment to the College over the past six years, especially during the College redevelopment. They certainly have left a lasting legacy.

The College is currently finalising the appointment of the new Advisory Board members, and these will be announced shortly. Thank you to those in our community who indicated their interest in serving on the Board.

God Bless,
Allan Clark
Principal

General Notices

Student Free Day – Friday 6 July 2018

SMS Absence Notification

The College 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.

School Fees

Thank you to those families who have made fee payment arrangements and/or paid upfront for 2018. Fees are now due and if you do not have a payment arrangement in place you are required to contact the College Business Manager Kelly Du Bois for a confidential discussion.

Student Medical Detail Update

Please consider if your child's medical information has changed. If you haven't yet advised the school office, please do so. If you have previously supplied an epi-pen or other medication which may have since expired, please organise a replacement.

Little Lights – Birth to Four Program

Kindergarten Enrolments for 2019

May Ball Photos - orders closing soon.

This year, May Ball photos can be viewed online and ordered through the College Office. For instructions and a copy of the order form, click the link below. Alternatively, hard copy order forms are available from the office

GYC Year 11/12 Information 2019

Please see below links to the 2019 course handbook and a PDF version of the powerpoint presentation used at this last week’s Year 10 parent information evenings.

College Facebook page

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

Happening at SJCC

ROLL UP, ROLL UP, THE CIRCUS IS IN KINDER!

This week, the Kindergarten children have been learning to juggle, walk on stilts, and jump through pretend fire hoops. We have been learning all about putting on a great circus show. We have made tickets and practised our writing, and we have been talking all about positional language using pictures of circus clowns. Words such as above, below, between, under and over have not tricked us at all! We are very smart cookies in Kindergarten.

Year 8 Maths and HASS project

The Year 8 students are creating their own pop-up food businesses in a joint assignment in Maths and HASS. In class, the students have been studying Economics and Business and the application of Maths skills in financial situations. In order to put their skills into practice, the students have had to identify a product, develop a business plan, calculate costs and market their products. The pop-up feast will run during lunch on Wednesday 27 June, with food items including biscuits, pancakes, hot dogs and milkshakes on sale with competitive prices ranging from 50c to a $5 meal deal. All profits will be donated to St Vincent de Paul.

Industry Visit

Last week the Year 9/10 Hospitality students had the opportunity to visit some local Huon Valley industries. The first stop was Willie Smith's Apple Shed. The tour began at the cidery where students observed the productions processes required to create cider, which included sourcing produce from orchard to packaging of the cider. The students gained insight into the history of the shed and the apple industry in the Huon Valley, as well as the commercial operations of the kitchen and the restaurant.

The students then visited the Tas-Saff saffron farm where they were treated to a tasting of saffron tea and saffron honeycomb. Students learnt about the different uses of saffron and how it is grown, picked and bottled. At the end of the session, each student received a 10mg bottle of saffron, which we are sure will be put to good use!

The last stop was at Fat Pig Farm. Here we donned gumboots after enjoying a refreshing rhubarb cordial drink. At the farm/restaurant, all the food is made from ingredients grown on the property so the menu varies according to what is available from the garden. As part of the tour, the students harvested their own carrots from the ground, washed and ate them. The leftover green leaves were then fed to the little piglets. The little piglets were hesitant of the students at first, but eventually, they all got to interact and have some fun.

The students then returned to the restaurant where the owner Matthew Evans explained how the restaurant operates. The students were treated to a tasting of home-cured hams, vegetables, salads and biscuits. It was fantastic to see, meet and listen to a past student of the College, who is working as an apprentice chef at the restaurant.

It is with immense gratitude the College would like to acknowledge and thank Cara and Jimmy at Willie Smith’s Apple Shed, Nikki Noonan at Tas-Saff and Sadie and Matthew at Fat Pig Farm for giving us such an opportunity to see the workings of their establishments. Thank you for being so hospitable and welcoming to our students.

VET Hospitality Masterclass and Industry Tours

On Tuesday 19 June, the VET Hospitality class travelled to Hobart for an industry visit and Masterclass at Guilford Young College. Our first stop was the MACq 01 Hotel. The tour guide – a past student from the College has been working in the hospitality industry for many years now and he was very happy and proud to be able to conduct the tour for our students. We visited various rooms and restaurants and were given much information into the planning and development of this establishment.

The Henry Jones Art Hotel was our second tour, which was also very interesting. We saw different rooms, restaurants and many artworks on display. Our tour guides, Chris and Sammi were most informative and helpful.

The afternoon session was the Masterclass cooking session at Guilford Young College, with renowned Chef and teacher Mr Stephen Lunn. Spring rolls were on the menu and the students certainly showed their great cooking skills. The spring rolls tasted fantastic!

From the Sports Desk

STCPSSA Cross Country

On Friday 8 June, a group of students from Years 3-6 attended the Rokeby Police Academy to represent our school in the Southern Tasmanian Catholic Primary Schools Sports Association (STCPPSA) cross country race against other Catholic schools. It was a fun day filled with great competition. The day started with the Year Four group running first. Darcy Direen had a great race and came first, which was great for our school. Following, the Year Four girls ran with Anikah Jones placing tenth overall. In Year Five, Hunter Thorpe pushed himself the whole way and placed fifth. Harry Brereton did a spectacular job in the Year Six race, placing first and keeping his winning streak continuing from Year Three. It was an amazing job from all the participants that represented our school throughout the whole running carnival. Later this year Hunter, Harry, Anikah and Darcy will continue to Simmons Plains to represent our school at the next level. Written by Bailey Harris and Harry Brereton. 

Thank you to the house leaders Miles Tolhurst, Ryan Clark, Claire Blacklow, Ellie Gregory, Maya Bligh and especially Duncan Flakemore who put in a long day helping out. Special thanks also to Mr Burnett and the College P&F for who helped with setup and the BBQ

Community Notices