31 August 2018

Newsletter Articles

From the Principal

This year’s Children’s Book Council of Australia’s Book Week theme was “Find Your Treasure”. The annual Book Parade was held last Wednesday and many different book characters take over the school. We had lots of "Where's Wally's" and even a "Golden Ticket" from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory to find! Barney, Edwina the Emu and even Gandalf appeared for a brief visit. It was great to see many creative and interesting costumes. Thanks to the parents and grandparents for helping students create these wonderful costumes.

One of the main parts of Book Week is to promote literature and reading. The College was fortunate enough to have a guest author visit as part of our Book Week celebrations. Alyssa Bermudez the illustrator of Lucia the Luchadora visited our Primary students on Friday. Alyssa shared her experiences with the students and demonstrated the different ways to design and refine illustrations to match a story. We were very fortunate to have Alyssa visit and share her time with us.

Fathers and special male role models are an important part of children’s lives. On Sunday, we celebrate Father’s Day.

“I ask that you have the grace to be very close to your children, letting them grow, but being by their side. They need you, your presence, to be there, your love!” said Pope Francis in March.

So hopefully you and your family can spend some time with that special male role model in their lives. Thanks to the College P&F team who this week held a Fathers’ Day stall with some great gifts on offer.

God Bless, Allan Clark- Principal

General Notices

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. School Fees are now due and if you do not have a payment arrangement in place or are experiencing financial difficulty which is impacting your ability to pay, you are required to contact the College Business Manager. The College appreciates the sacrifices our families make for quality education and is here to support our families with these financial commitments, all conversations and payment arrangements are held in the strictest confidence. For a confidential discussion please contact Kelly Du Bois (Business Manager) via 62 951 541 or email: kelly.dubois@catholic.tas.edu.au

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

College Facebook page

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

Grocery Raffle

Vinnies Winter Appeal

Happening at SJCC

Upcoming Events:

Baptism and Confirmation

Congratulations to Emily Holland who on the weekend received the Sacrament of Baptism.

Our Confirmation candidates have been busy preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation, this includes working with members from our College Community including Fr Deva, Ms Cane as well as Mr Wigan and Mrs Thomas.

Great Maritimes for SJCC VET D&T Students – Quiz Answers

VET Hospitality

On Tuesday 14 August, the VET Hospitality students attended another Masterclass at GYC in Hobart. The task given was to complete a main meal consisting of Peppered Steak with Hollandaise Sauce and French Fries. Teacher and chef, Mr Stephen Lunn kept a close eye on the students and they all performed extremely well.

United Nations Youth Competition

Monica Robbie and Jin Ju Redding recently competed in the United Nations Youth competition (Evatt competition). Monica and Jin Ju represented Equatorial Guinea in a mock Security Council meeting. The girls debated the ethical and practical implications of using genome research and DNA manipulation as a tool of war. The girls represented the College well, competing ably against students from all over Tasmania and in Years 10, 11 and 12.

National Science Week

Last week was National Science week and St James celebrated in a number of ways. The secondary science laboratory was open at lunch for the primary students to participate in some hands-on activities including hearing their hearts and investigating what materials conduct electricity. The Years 5, 6 and 7 had a visit from 3 Young Scientists from the University of Tasmania that demonstrated what scientific research they are undergoing at the university. The secondary school participated in the Education Perfect Science Competition. As a school, we were ranked 1st in Tasmania, 305th Globally (out of 1426 schools) and 198th in Australia (out of 1006) schools. Congratulations to Isabelle Menzies for earning a Bronze award and Mia Radnidge earned a Credit award. The week culminated with the Year 7 and 8s visiting the Festival of Bright Ideas in Hobart.

Festival of Bright Ideas

On Friday 17th of August our Year 7 and 8 students were invited to attend this annual STEM event – The Festival of Bright Ideas. This community-focused event is an interactive experience which aims to cater for all ages and interests. The event aims to ignite and inspire an interest in STEM through hands on activities. Our students had a great time making the most of opportunities provided to them to talk to researchers, scientists and presenters and even getting involved in the stage performances.

Outdoor Education Classes

The Outdoor Education class have recently completed their CPR assessments to achieve competency in the Provide First Aid certificate.

Sport Science

The Year 9/10 Sport Science class have participating in training programs at the Huon Valley PCYC.

Treasure Tokens

Following on from the Book Week theme, "Find your Treasure", Mrs Thomas has hidden tokens in some library books. If you are lucky enough to find one you will be rewarded with something from the treasure chest. This is to encourage students to read books and have some fun along the way. Maisie and Evie were the first to find a token and claim a reward.

BYOD 2019

The College is currently undertaking planning for 2019, part of this process involves the review of the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) program. Students in Years 3-10 will continue to require an iPad to be brought to school, each day, charged and ready for use.

In 2019, the minimum requirement for a student iPad is an iPad Air or newer. Older devices will not be an acceptable option. If you do need to purchase a new iPad, the 2018 (9.7inch) iPad is the recommended option.

If an outright purchase of the iPad creates financial hardship for any families, there is an opportunity to pay a device levy of $120 per year to the College. If you wish to access this option, please contact our Business Manager, Mrs Kelly Du Bois on 62951 541 or email: kelly.dubois@catholic.tas.edu.au before Wednesday 5 September 2018.

Looking to purchase a new iPad?

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: STJCS2018.

From the Sports Desk

Community Notices