Week 1, Term 4

Welcome to the first newsletter for the term. It is hard to believe that the final term is already upon us. Term 4 is always a busy term, with many sporting activities, camps and excursions, the swimming program and the end of year celebrations. Please check the “Important Dates” section of the newsletter and add these to your family’s calendar. 

Today we had two new students join our St James School community, Talyn in Year 3 and his brother Xavier in Year 4. They have moved to Jamestown with their family from Adelaide. We would like to extend a warm St James welcome to them and their family and hope their time in Jamestown and at our school is a rewarding and enriching experience.

Last term, on Tuesday 19th September, all students attended a play performed by a visiting performer called, “Pick a Peck of Pickled Poems.” The students thoroughly enjoyed the performance, especially the use of puppets and the funny rhyming poetry throughout the play. 

The Student Representative Council ran a “Wheels Day” late last term. Students had the opportunity to show of their wheels during a morning parade and to use their wheels at recess and lunch. It was great to see a variety of wheels including roller blades, scooters, roller skates and bikes of all shapes and sizes. Many of the students commented on how it was the BEST DAY at school ever and hope that it happens again soon. Thank you to the Student Representative Council for organising the day.

Junior Jimmies starts again this Wednesday and will be offered weekly until Week 7.

WHAT IS JUNIOR JIMMIES? Junior Jimmies is a transition program designed specifically for kindergarten students moving into Reception the following year. With a focus on early literacy skills, school routines, oral language development, social skills, and familiarising children with the school setting, Junior Jimmies is here to make the transition to school seamless and exciting.

Junior Jimmies runs over Terms 3 & 4, offering an extended transition to school program that ensures children feel confident and prepared for school. Beginning with 2.5-hour sessions at school, our program gradually increases to a full-day experience, allowing children to grow their confidence in their new school environment.

Session Times - Starting 30th August (Wednesday’s fortnightly Term 3 and weekly in Term 4 on Wednesday’s for a total of 10 sessions)

• The first 8 sessions with be run for 2.5 hours (8:55 – 11:20am)
• Session 9 - 22nd November will run until the end of lunch (1:45pm)
• The final session - 29th November will run for a full day.

Junior Jimmies will be led by an experienced educator who understands the unique needs of young learners. Our educators will create a nurturing and stimulating environment that fosters growth and development.

Who will be leading Junior Jimmies – Mrs Ellie Stacey

Where: Sessions will be held in our General-Purpose Learning spaces.  There will be some interaction with the current Reception class and specialist teachers throughout the program.

We believe in providing equal opportunities for all children, regardless of their background and that is why we offer our transition program for FREE!

Taryn Brumfitt "Embrace Kids" Movie Screening and Q&A

Yesterday, we had the privilege of hosting the 2023 Australian of the Year, Taryn Brumfitt, as a guest speaker for our community at the Maple and Pine Centre, Bundaleer. As part of the day the “Embrace Kids” documentary (that Taryn produced and stars in) was screened followed with a Q & A session with her. We enjoyed a morning of learning how to help children embrace themselves as awesome, unique people and at the same time remembering to try and love ourselves no matter our size, shape, gender or ability. Her passion for this topic was infectious and we all took so much away from it. 

Her big messages were to ‘Delete, Unfollow, Repeat’. If you are going to use social media or watch You Tube (she suggests we hold our kids off for as long as we can), you should only follow pages that make you feel good, not pages that cause you to compare yourself to others. She highlighted to the children that their self-worth is not tied to how their body looks.

Taryn also spoke about the immense importance of not talking about our own bodies in a bad or disparaging way in front of our children and of course never, ever passing judgement on their bodies.

The event was made possible through a grant that the Parents and Friends successfully applied for, called, Parents in Education.  The school also contributed funds from a one off government Wellbeing Boost grant, which made it possible to host the event for free.

A big thank you goes to the Parents and Friends Committee, who also contributed funds and their time to help host the event. A very special thank you must go to Billie Thomas who spent Saturday cooking nibbles for the guests. Thanks to Bek Sweet and Bel Heness for helping her. Thanks also to our Parents and Friends Committee who helped on the day including Bridget, Billie, Bel, Tash, Jodie, Bek, Debbie and Jemma.

Lastly, thank you to the families that came and supported the event we put on for the school.

CFS Catering

The Parent and Friends Catering Committee catered for a CFS Training Weekend on 23rd and 24th September. Thank you to the families who donated items towards this event and a big thank you to the parents who cooked and prepared the meals. 

Hots Shots Tennis Carnival - Year 3-6

All Year 3-6 students will head down to the Jamestown Tennis Club tomorrow, Tuesday 17th October for a tennis carnival. Students will be playing against students from other schools in the area. Students are asked to bring snacks, recess and plenty of water. Lunch orders were made available at the end of last term. If your child did not order lunch, please ensure they also bring a packed lunch with them. Please see the consent form on Operoo for more information.

SAPSASA Tennis Carnival – 18th October

Two students from St James School will represent North Eastern at the SAPSASA Tennis Carnival this Wednesday, 18th October. We wish Ethan and Hugh S all the best.