2025 Term 3 Week 7 Newsletter

Principal's Message

Dear Sacred Heart Community,

This Friday, we warmly invite all families to join us for our Father’s Day Breakfast, Open Classrooms, and Father’s Day Mass. The morning begins with a delicious breakfast from 8:00am – bacon and egg rolls – perfect for a quick stop on your way to work. Classrooms will be open from 8.30am, offering a glimpse into the great learning happening across our school. At 9:30am, we will gather in the Church for a special Mass to honour the fathers, grandfathers, and father figures in our lives. We would appreciate some helpers before (7am) and after (9am) to help with setup and pack up. See further details below. 

Father’s Day is a great opportunity to reflect on the vital role fathers and father figures play in our families, our school, and our wider community. Their presence, guidance and love shape the lives of our children in profound ways. At Sacred Heart, we are blessed to witness the many ways fathers contribute – from morning drop-offs to helping at working bees, volunteering, and simply being present. We thank you and celebrate you.

To all fathers and father figures – Happy Father’s Day for this Sunday. May you have a great sleep in and are showered with breakfast in bed!

 A Young Saint for Our Time – Carlo Acutis

This Sunday also marks a momentous occasion in the life of the Church: Carlo Acutis, a 15-year-old Italian boy, will be officially canonised as a saint. Carlo, who passed away in 2006 from leukemia, was known for his deep devotion to the Eucharist and his remarkable use of technology to share his faith. He created a website documenting Eucharistic miracles around the world, inspiring countless people with his passion and holiness.

Last month, I had the privilege of visiting Carlo’s tomb in Assisi, Italy – a deeply moving experience. His parents, still alive today, continue to share his story and legacy. Carlo reminds us that sainthood is not reserved for the distant past or for adults alone. It is a call for all of us – young and old – to live lives of love, faith, and service.

Just last Friday, Archbishop Christopher Prowse spoke about Carlo during our Confirmation Mass here at Sacred Heart. His words reminded us that we are all called to be saints – to live with purpose, compassion, and a heart open to God. The Archbishop also reminded us all that he is the first saint in the era of technology- in fact, he will be the patron saint of the internet!

As we celebrate Carlo’s canonisation, let us be inspired by his example and remember that holiness is possible in everyday life – in our classrooms, our homes, and our hearts.

Farewell to Janica Morella

This week, we also say a heartfelt farewell to Janica Morella, who after more than a decade of dedicated service at Sacred Heart, will be taking up a promoted position at St Gregory’s Queanbeyan. Janica has been an outstanding teacher, a pillar of support to staff and students alike, and a beloved presence in our school community. Her farewell assembly last week was a testament to the deep affection and respect she has earned over the years.

Janica’s departure is a big loss for Sacred Heart, but we are excited for her next chapter and wish her every success and blessing in her new role.

 In faith and partnership,

David Austin

Principal

Assistant Principal

Child Safe Standards and Processes

Sacred Heart remains committed to upholding the ACT Child Safe Standards. As part of this commitment staff will be undertaking an audit of current processes over the coming weeks. 

We ask parents and carers to be be aware of: 

• Documents on our website which outline our current Safeguarding and WWVP processes for all adults working with vulnerable people (our students) and our Code of Conduct for Volunteers. 
• If you are helping in classrooms, as you sign in our office, staff will be ensuring you have signed our Classroom Assistance Agreement for 2025.
• We will be reviewing the WWVP records we have on file for adults working and volunteering in our school.

Road Safety - Modelling how we want our community to practise road safety

40 km/h zones are in place on all roads around schools. Murphy St and Hodgson Cres are especially busy with traffic and pedestrians between 8.30-9.00am and 3.00-3.30pm. If our community respects these speed limits, then hopefully we can slow down all the traffic on these roads. 

Current congestion and danger spots:

• We are seeing increased congestion on Murphy St and a number of drivers breaking the road rules. See below for an explanation.
• We are seeing children cross the line of traffic on their own in the school car park in the mornings and have had some near misses with moving cars. Please drop your child to the 3 drive-through zones and ask them to walk up the path beside the hall. Or park down the hill and accompany them to the path. 
• We have two school crossings on Hodgson St. In the interest of safety and being great role models for young people, we ask parents and students to make use of these, rather than walk across the road at other places along Hodgson St. 

Murphy St park-and-pickup and our school drive-through are very busy at 3.15pm. Teachers are on duty in these areas until 3.30pm. To alleviate congestion and make it safer for everyone please consider arriving a few minutes later at 3.15pm. Just let your child know if you plan to do this!

Road Safety Considerations.

1. Murphy St Pick Up

• • It is illegal to park within 10m of an intersection. This applies to the T-intersection where McNeil Pl joins on Murphy St. See the picture below. We also ask that you avoid parking in the driveway area outside our black gates. Your attention to these points while improver the visibility of all drivers and the safety of our young people. 
  • Park facing uphill on Murphy St, thus keeping cars on one side of the road only. Otherwise park in adjacent streets and walk to the Murphy St gates.
  • Please also respect our neighbours by avoiding parking in their driveways, and walking through and littering their gardens.

Image from ROAD TRANSPORT (ROAD RULES) REGULATION 2017 - REG 170

2. Drive Through - There is No Right Turn from the school driveway onto Hodgson Cres. We ask parents and carers to respect this directive for the safety of all and the quick flow of traffic. 

Thanks for your cooperation and respect for the safety of all.

Yours in working together

Kerry Wode

Reminders

Community Council Update

Thank you to all the parents and community members who attended our recent open Community Council meeting. Your presence and engagement are what make our school community so strong and vibrant.

A key focus of the evening was a presentation by Kerry Wode on the school’s most recent NAPLAN results. I’d like to extend a sincere thank you to Kerry for the time and effort she put into preparing and delivering such a comprehensive and insightful presentation. It was encouraging to see the clear growth in student outcomes, which reflects the targeted interventions being implemented by the school in partnership with the Catholic Schools Office.

The data presented showed that Sacred Heart is performing very well when measured against state benchmarks. Importantly, we are likely only beginning to see the full impact of the learning strategies that have been introduced. This is a testament to the dedication of our teaching staff and leadership team, and it reinforces our shared commitment to improving learning outcomes for all students.

We also appreciated the presentation from Matthew Maloney, who outlined the school’s plans for supporting and developing teaching staff. His overview of the professional learning strategy—focused on modern, evidence-based teaching models and mutual learning—highlighted the school’s commitment to fostering a culture of continuous improvement and collaboration. These plans are designed to ensure that our educators are well-equipped to meet the evolving needs of our students.

The meeting also included discussion around ongoing traffic management measures near the school. This remains a priority for the Council, and we appreciate the community’s continued input and support as we work with relevant authorities to ensure the safety of our students.

Thank you again to everyone who attended and contributed to the discussion. Your involvement is invaluable.

Matt Croger - Community Council Chair

Father's Day

Families are invited to celebrate Father’s Day with us on Friday 5th September

7.00am-  set up. Helpers needed. Please email the office if you are available or offer on the day.

8.00- 8.45am - breakfast in the hall. Please drop your child’s school bag to their class line on the blacktop

8.30am - Open classrooms - Your child/ren can take family members around the school to showcase the work they have been doing

8.55 - Morning assembly with awards on the playground. Some helpers also needed to help pack up in the hall

9.30-10.20am - Mass hosted by Year 2. Please join us in the church to pray for all our fathers. Children are welcome to sit with their family members. Please bring your child back to their class before you leave the church.

Library

Today I have sent out some reminders for overdue library books.  If your child receives this reminder, could you please help them to look for the book at home. However, if you believe that your child has returned the book, could you please let me know. On occasions, the library system misses returning books and they are reshelved but remain as borrowed by your child. Thank you for your assistance.   

Trish Iles - Librarian

Around the School

As part of our Novel unit on The Iron Man, Year 3 students showcased their creativity by crafting models of the iconic character using recycled materials. 

Prev

Showing images 1 - 8 of 25

Next

Tournament of the Minds

Congratulations to our 3 Tournament of the Minds Teams. After a huge weekend of performing, and six weeks of preparation they brought your best. They were unlucky to miss out on a place in the finals this year. The calibre of competition in the ACT is always top class. Team work, collaboration and outside the box thinking was evident everyday.

Mary Help of Christians, South Woden

Please see in the bulletin details for:

• Our Mt Taylor Pilgrimage – Parish & Youth event,

• St Thomas School have a Family Bush Dance fundraiser coming up and

• Envelopes have been placed out at the entrances of the church for the start of our annual Clergy Retirement Foundation appeal to support our 24 retired priests in the Archdiocese.

Birthdays

Congratulations to the following students celebrating their birthday this week.

Thomas P, Ameya Y, Rylan G.

Awards

 Awards will be presented during the Friday morning assembly at 8:55am.

Community Notices