Dear Friends of St James Catholic College,

Thank you so much staff, students and families for the wonderful Term 2 and in fact the whole of the first semester of 2025. I wish all a safe and relaxing break and look forward to seeing all of you back for Semester 2, Term 3 2025.

THANK YOU, STAFF

Over the course of this term I have been so impressed by the quality of our staff here at St James. There are many aspects to this pride but in particular, I'd like to focus on the resilience that we have. A few years ago now we created a staff charter and it has been so awesome to see that lived over the course of Term 2. 

This term we worked on the document to refine it and you can see the result below:

Staff Wellbeing Charter 2025 refresh

As a staff we want to feel: 

• Balanced in work and life
• Valued and Appreciated
• Safe and Calm
• Respected and Heard
• Part of a Community
• A sense of achievement

In order to have these feelings consistently, we will:   

• Be inclusive and welcoming
• Check in with each other
• Be collegial and support new staff
• Fulfil our roles and responsibilities professionally 
• Work as a team in the best interest of others
• Make time for professional conversations
• Develop and maintain professional boundaries 

We will prevent and manage conflict by:

• Having professional conversations
• Working on the basis of trust (people trying their hardest) 
• Modelling behaviours and values that we wish to experience
• Being an active listener and respecting the decisions that are made
• Help and support colleagues
• Speak professionally with each other

Through it all the staff have been resilient and shown grit, supporting our students not only in their learning goals, but in their wellbeing too, and of course supporting each other in professional and collegial ways. Our staff often pick up many extra and unexpected tasks, and I'm so proud to be part of the St James community that backs each other each and every day.

Thank you so much staff. You make the educational context here at St James rich, engaging and challenging for our students and you support your colleagues in the process.

THE NEXT STEPS FOR OUR YEAR 10s

This year I have had the pleasure of teaching Year 10 for Religious Education. Of course, I've got to know them over the four years that I've been at St James but there is nothing better for a teacher to actually get to know students as learners. I have been so impressed by the standard of work that they've produced for us over the course of the year so far.

Therefore, it's with a little bit of sadness over the course of this term that I see them all out to various senior secondary colleges for a taster of what it's going to be like for them in 2026 and beyond. 

One of the great advantages for our Year 10 families is that I have been able to broker a deal with our two senior secondary colleges, Saint Aloysius and Guilford Young College, they will cap fees for our families in Year 11 and 12 at the rate that they were paying for fees here at St James College. For a full fee-paying family that saving over the two years of senior secondary will be about $6,500.

I'd like to publicly thank the principles of Saint Aloysius and Guilford Young, Mr. Paul Reidy and Mrs. Jo Legosz, for honoring a commitment that began with their predecessors.

What a bonus for families in making a commitment to a regional Catholic College like St James to know that the senior secondary options available to them are affordable due to that commitment.

SCHOOL CLOSURE 

From time to time, due to extreme weather or other unforeseen circumstances, school may need to be cancelled for the day.  Please be aware of how this happened and how it is communicated:

In a nutshell, Mrs Elizabeth Radnidge and Mr Joe Sandric call the weather/incident by 7am, Joe makes the decision then contacts other colleges in our region, Mr Brett Tanner contacts staff via email and text by 7.15am, Mrs Sharlene Duggan contacts families via compass and text by 7.15am and Joe contacts buses.

OVAL WORKS

You would know that last year we can up with concept drawings for the re-fresh of our oval.  If you have not seen them, please come past the Front Office and have a look at them in the Pin Up Board near the Entrance.

Next term, we will be working with key CET staff to scope out the work with a plan to begin the works in Term 4, 2025.  Exiting!

Joe Sandric

Principal