Term 3 Week 8 (12/9/2025)
What is On?
Wednesday 17th September- Netball School Cup Finals- Lismore
Friday 19th September- Touch Football Gala Day S2 & S3
Monday 22nd September - Public Speaking Finals in Coffs
Tuesday 23rd September - Book Parade
Wednesday 24th September- DIO Netball & Football Finals - Grafton
Thursday 25th September - Last Day Term 3 for Students
Friday 26th September - Staff Professional Learning Day - Curriculum - Pupil Free Day
Term 4 2025
Monday 13th October - First Day Term 4 for Students and Staff
Monday 3rd – Friday 7th November - Stage 3 Camp- Canberra
Tuesday 2nd December - Just a little bit of fun for Xmas
End of Year Final Awards Assembly - Thursday 11th December - Yamba Bowling Club 10:00 – 11:00am
Tuesday 16th December - Graduation Dinner
Wednesday 17th December - Last Day Term 4 for Students and Staff
Jake and Lily ran very well...
Check out instagram for the shots of the children cheering.
Late breaking news!
Jake is off to PSSA! His permission has already come through.
Dear Parents and Carers
Thank you to all our students and families for the amazing work at the Public Speaking and the Colour Run this week. These programs take a village to both run and support. Thanks "village" for all you do to support and encourage engagement in all areas of the curriculum at Saint James.
If you read on you will see some of the reports for the week that was, in these great events. Our goal remains to be more than any label as a school. Saint James is... not just keen on... but also wants children to thrive in ...
I feel like it is a prompt for the Public Speaking competition.
This is the last week of Prac for Miss Bridges in Stage 2- she finishes early next week. What a treasure to have in Stage 2 and I know teaching as a profession is better for Chelsea working in it.
We still have our Notre Dame prac students with us and once the term ends they all return to their lives in university, the school and staffroom will be so quiet!
Yesterday, was a strange day at Saint James... we had some work being done and the fire hydrant pipe was nicked. The resulting flood in the sand pit and down the playground was monumental. The point of the story? In trying to keep a small kindy enrolling student busy while his family did the tour, I enlisted the support of our captains, Sarai and Austin. They were amazing and it is nice to congratulate them for their leadership.
If you are connected to a student who is aspiring to this role, encourage them. The role allows for such growth in confidence, community spirit and poise. Thanks guys
Have a lovely weekend.
Ann
RE News
Pastoral Care News
Parent Resources
We have a collection of parent resources and books that are available for loan via our school library. Please click on the link below to view the available titles. If you would like to loan one, please contact Renee.
https://tinyurl.com/2xua3zjn
Sport News
Tennis
Well done to Jake, Jarrah, Maeve and Hope who represented St James at the Dudley Jones Tennis Tournament in Grafton last Friday. The team played some great Tennis against schools from across the Clarence Valley and showed great sportsmanship throughout the day. They finished in 3rd place overall, only missing the final by one point, a great effort. Well done!
Netball
Our mixed Netball team have been training hard for the Netball NSW Schools Cup Regional Finals in Lismore next Wednesday. The team won their way through from the Clarence finals earlier in Term 2 and are looking forward to challenging themselves against the best schools from across the Far North Coast region. It is a great effort for our team to reach this level and we look forward to hearing how they go on Wednesday.
Athletics
Good luck to Jake and Lily who are competing at the Polding Athletics Carnival in Newcastle today. Lily is in the 10yr girls 100m and Jake the Senior Boys 1500m. We are looking forward to cheering them on from school via the livestream of the carnival. Good luck!
Public Speaking
On Tuesday we held our school Public Speaking Competition and what a day it was! Students wowed us with their confidence and creativity, tackling a range of topics with passion and humour. It was great to see so many brave voices stepping up to participate in our school finals. A huge congratulations to all of our finalists and especially to our winners; Slater (Year 6), Poppy (Year 5), Molly (Year 4) and Anthony (Year 3). These four students will represent our school at the Clarence Coffs Public Speaking Finals, held in Week 10.
Colour Fun Run - Thank you
THANK YOU- for supporting our Colour Fun Run!
What an unforgettable day! A massive thank you to our wonderful families for showing up with such incredible spirit – whether you were cheering on the sidelines, running the BBQ and canteen, blasting colour, or being our slime extraordinaires – you helped make the day truly special.
The energy, laughter, and school spirit were infectious. Seeing our students’ faces light up as they ran through bursts of colour was a celebration we’ll all remember!
As the fundraiser officially wrapped up on Wednesday night, prize ordering is now open for 7 days only and will close on Thursday 18th September. Please log in to www.myprofilepage.com.au during this time to order prizes to the value of your child’s donations.
We are so grateful for your generosity and support. Our Stage 3 Colour Fun Run fundraiser was a huge success thanks to the teamwork of our families, students, staff, and wider community.
Check out some of the colourful action shots below!
Kind regards,
Tash Hancock
Stage 3 News
It’s hard to believe we are already approaching the end of another fantastic term! While our students have been busy with some wonderful learning experiences (see below), they have also enjoyed so many exciting opportunities. This term, Stage 3 students connected with Country through outdoor learning experiences, took part in the Public Speaking Competition, competed in the Zone Netball and Soccer Knockout, attended DIO and Polding Athletics, and even traveled to Sydney for the Paul Kelly Cup State AFL Finals. They also celebrated at the School Disco, showcased their handball skills at the Fathers’ Day Breakfast, celebrated achievements at our awards assembly, as student completed her sacraments, competed in the Tennis Carnival, rocked out on the Radio, continued singing and practicing for our choir, and enjoyed the Meerkat production, had a Colour Fun Run and have also had Miss Newman from the University of Notre Dame completing her final practicum and doing some wonderful work with all of the students.
And there’s still more to look forward to! In the next couple of weeks, our students will participate in the Schools Cup Netball Finals, Touch Football Gala Day and join in the excitement of our School Book Parade. It has truly been an action-packed term full of learning, fun, and unforgettable memories!
English
This term in English, Stage 3 students have been diving deep into the world of language and literature through our unit based on Rabbit, Soldier, Angel, Thief by Katrina Nannestad, with the support text The Feather by Margaret Wild.
Our focus has been on the powerful ways authors use imagery, connotation, and symbolism to shape meaning and stir emotion. Students have been:
Identifying imagery in texts and experimenting with sensory details to make their own writing come alive.
Exploring connotation, discovering how word choices can change the mood of a story (e.g. slim vs skinny).
Unpacking symbolism, learning how objects and images can represent deeper ideas, like a heart symbolising love or a storm symbolising anger.
Applying these skills in their own writing to create rich, meaningful narratives that go beyond simple description.
We have loved seeing students grow as creative writers, reflecting not only on what words say but also on what they make us feel and imagine. To showcase their learning, students will be crafting short stories and picture book pages that combine all these techniques – and we can’t wait to see the results!
Maths
In this term’s Mathematics, Stage 3 have been exploring the big idea that what needs to be measured determines the unit of measurement. Over this 2-week unit, students have had the opportunity to:
Identify and name prisms and pyramids by exploring their properties through models, sketches, and diagrams.
Record and calculate volume using decimal representations with formal units of litres and millilitres.
Investigate the volume of irregular solids through displacement activities.
Through these hands-on experiences, students have been developing their understanding and fluency in mathematics by connecting concepts, choosing and applying techniques to solve problems, and clearly communicating their reasoning.
Families can support learning at home by encouraging children to explore everyday measurement, such as calculating volumes in cooking, measuring liquids, or investigating objects around the home.
Birthdays
Mack 20/9, Magnus 23/9
Attendance
