Dear Parents and Carers,

This week as we enter into the cold of winter I just wanted to share a prayer from a book I am currently reading called ‘Wil of God’ (please note Wil is not a spelling error in the title) by Carrie Wilson Link.

Lord, open my eyes to see beauty,

Open my ears to hear truth,

Open my mind to seek wisdom,

Open my mouth to seek kindness

And open my heart to love.

Sacrament of First Reconciliation

Last Thursday evening a number of children in our school and parish received the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We offer them our congratulations and blessings at this time.

We extend our thanks to the Parish team and the staff on Stage 2 for their time and commitment in helping parents to prepare their children.

We once again express our gratitude to Fr Richard who is a wonderful spiritual leader and guide.

Enrolments Period

Enrolment period for Kindergarten 2020 is finishing Friday 31st May. Enrolment forms and information are available from our school website.

Hats Off for June and July

Winter is upon us and hats are put away for the months of June and July (unless we are going to be out in the sun for extended periods of time). There are school beanies available through the clothing pool should your child need a little extra warmth.

Winter Uniform

Just a reminder that the transition period for changing into Winter Uniforms has now passed. Could you please support the school by encouraging your child to come dressed in the correct uniform each day.

We have attached the Winter Uniform Guide as it appears in our School Handbook for your information.

Drive Through

Just a reminder for all drivers of some important rules if you are using this option to drop your children in the mornings:

• Children must exit the vehicle from the left hand side only.
• This drop-off area at the back of the hall (marked by the large yellow cross and no parking) is appropriate for the children who can exit the vehicle independently. Please do not leave your vehicle to assist your child to leave the car. If your child has not yet reached this stage, please park your car in the normal bays and escort them to the safe area between the hall and school.
• Please drive to the front of the zone as far as traffic permits. This will allow for more vehicles to use the zone and in so doing will help to prevent a backlog occurring.

NAPLAN

Thank you to Mrs Wode for coordinating and organising the event for Sacred Heart. As many parents are aware there were extra challenges associated with this year’s administration.  We extend our thanks to the staff involved in this process for their calm and professional management of the changes and associated challenges.

Yours faithfully,

Anne Staines

Principal

Bullying. No Way!

Some of our more senior classes will be given wallet size cards today with strategies and helpline numbers for dealing with bullying. These are from bullyingnoway.gov.au and have been handed out as part of our ongoing awareness raising and fostering of right relationships. One card has content aimed at children and other has tips more for parents and carers.

These strategies fit well with our Rock and Water framework for the older students.

Be You Surveys

Our pre-testing of the surveys did not extend to answering them on iPhones or iPads. Our apologies to those families who attempted to complete the survey on this platform. It does work well on a PC! The Be You Action Team have contacted HeadSpace to let them know of our technical difficulties. Meanwhile the surveys remain active for you to open them on a PC. There have been some really positive and constructive feedback coming through from the data already and we welcome the input of all.

Parenting Ideas Insight Articles  

Three interesting articles attached:

• Managing your child’s anxiety
• Helping children make and keep friends
• Encouraging healthy attitudes towards women

Parenting Ideas Upcoming Webinar - Managing your child’s anxiety

Tuesday 25 June 2019 8:00pm AEST.  This webinar is free for staff and families with the voucher code as part of our school subscription. See how to redeem the voucher below. Webinars can be viewed afterwards if you are unable to attend at the nominated time.

Anxiety is one the biggest problems facing children and young people today, impacting on their learning, happiness and their wellbeing. Research shows that when anxiety goes unmanaged in childhood it will reoccur in adulthood. Fortunately, there’s a lot parents can do to assist kids when they become anxious.

Join Michael Grose in this webinar where he will help parents better understand the nature of anxiety, equip them to recognise it in children, and provide practical tools to help children and young people manage and minimise their anxious states.

How to redeem the voucher

1. Click this link: https://www.parentingideas.com.au/parent-resources/parent-webinars/webinar-managing-your-childs-anxiety
2. Click ‘Add to cart’
3. Click ‘View cart’
4. Enter the voucher code ANXIETY and click ‘Apply Coupon’. Your discount of $37 will be applied to the order. This voucher is valid until 25 July 2019.
5. Click ‘Proceed to checkout’
6. Fill in your account details. These are the details you will use to login to your account and access your parenting material
7. Click ‘Place Order’

Yours Faithfully

Community Council Connections

We held our Term 2 Open Council meeting last week. It was a well attended meeting with good discussions on a range of topics from reports, school finances, uniform, ergonomics, and some great interactive sessions on school curriculum and the Be You program. We also continue to run an ideas collaboration session on ‘Why choose Sacred Heart Primary School?’, something we started last year and will continue to do as part of our agenda to capture new ideas from our community. The ideas gathered will be shared separately to this update, as we reach further into the school and get a wider set of opinions on what makes Sacred Heart so good.

In the Classroom

The Open Council meeting is a great opportunity for parents and carers to understand what your children are learning during the day. At this meeting Anne Staines ran a spatial awareness exercise using shapes and lateral thinking. It was a good way to understand how measurements and mathematics comes to life across the various school years. (It also probably took us longer than the kids!!)

Kerry used scenario based bullying examples to demonstrate how children use the Rock & Water resilience strategies under the Be You program to manage their actions and reactions. It was an interesting reflection for parents to discuss how we can adopt the language at home.

Interim reports were discussed, with parents providing feedback on the new format. Parents felt that more communication prior to the introduction of the new categories would have been helpful along with a definition key.

A question was raised on the ergonomics of using tablet devices in the classrooms. Anne Staines is going to check with the Catholic Education Office on how they are tackling these issues with a view to a health and wellbeing program being put in place to support growing bodies.

In the Community

The Council has approved funding for works to the central courtyard (between front office and the library). This area is to be revamped as an outdoor reflection and learning space. A shade cover will be put in, with ideas for decking and soft furnishings to make it a welcoming place for outdoor learning or lunchtime reading.

The 50th Anniversary committee will meet next week to hold a brainstorming session in the school to make 2020 a truly memorable year for our community future, past and present.

All classes now have a parent rep. Sharon Poole is our executive Parent Rep Coordinator and will continue to provide a conduit between the school executive, council and classrooms. This should help with ensuring every parent and carer has an opportunity to get involved in our school community.

Please do not hesitate to contact the Community Council via the front office if you have feedback or questions regarding any of the above.  We look forward to seeing as many parents and carers as possible at the next open meeting. Watch out for the adverts in the school newsletter.

Sarah Lloyd | Catherine Woods | John Berry | Jac Hrast | Sharon Poole | Josie Lanzetta | Anne Staines | Kerry Wode | Brendan Mitchell

Woden Parish, Pearce - Year 6 and above, Confirmation for 2019

Enrolments Now Open and filling fast!

Essential Program dates are on our website - Enrol NOW at http://www.mhoc.org.au/sacraments/confirmation/   

Confirmation Mass availability is filling fast as enrolments are taken on a first come basis, so please enrol well before the Parent Information Night on Tuesday 29^th May 2019. Any questions regarding the Sacrament, please contact the Parish Office on 6286 1908 or email: wodensouth.sacraments@cg.org.au

Congratulations to the following students celebrating their birthday in May

Karen L, Josephine K, Phoebe O, Levi T, Blake H, Joel S, Ava S, Logan W, Thomas K, Miranda C, Armani S, Finn K, Palak B, Lucy M, Eleanor L, Tom B, Angelo V, Grace M, Gilda R. 

Here are some photos from Saturday Netball. 

Sacred Hearts Cross Country and Run4Fun Colour Explosion is on Friday 24th May 2019 please go to the link for parent/carers information:

Parent information Cross Country and Run4Fun Colour Explosion

Name:  Mrs WODE (Kerry)

Teaching:  Assistant Principal and supporting learning especially in 2 Red.    

My favourite subject is maths and anything that makes me think in different ways.

Before teaching at Sacred Heart, I taught in country NSW including St Joey’s at Oberon and Canberra schools including St Thomas the Apostle at Kambah.

I have 2 children, Michael is at Canberra Uni and Gemma is on a gap year from ANU, currently living in Spain.

I love hot chips covered in sauce or gravy.

I listen to a wide range of music, but am always happy to listen to Keith Urban and ABBA.

If I could have a superpower, I would love to fly, so I could cut out travel time to holiday destinations every weekend.

If I wasn’t teaching, I would be a photographer with the newest drone technology.

My favourite funny quote from a student was from an excursion in my first year of teaching walking through Hyde Park in Sydney. My students were asked by a group of men ‘Who is your teacher?’ One answered ‘Kerry and she’s not married!’ After which we left the area quickly with a strict lecture about stranger danger.

Something that people may not know about me is that I play squash twice a week and love playing card games.

Role:  Teacher Librarian

When I graduated from University, I worked at Mater Dei in Camden NSW, a school for young people with developmental delay and intellectual disability. I worked there for two years.

We then moved back to Canberra in 2002, and I have been teaching at Sacred Heart ever since. I taught as a classroom teacher for ten years. This is my eighth year in the Library. The best thing about the Library is that I get to share my love of books with EVERYONE!

I have three children: Xavier (16), Aly (14) and Olivia (10)

Our much loved miniature schnauzer Salty went to doggy heaven late last year.

Along with pet chickens we also have lots of kangaroos, wombats and echidnas that like to visit us often too.

Chocolate or hot chips? If it’s ok, I’d just rather coffee.

I would love to have the superpower of having multiple ME’s so I could be in lots of different places at once.

If I wasn’t a teacher, I would love to be a flight attendant to travel and explore the world. Or perhaps a florist, being around lots of flowers would make me happy too!

Favourite funny quote from a student: One little person’s eyes nearly popped out of their head when they saw me at the supermarket and said “Mrs Borgia, what are you doing here? Don’t you sleep at school?”

You may not know that I enjoy the AFL and I don’t just have one favourite team – I have THREE – Sydney Swans, GWS and Geelong but also have a soft spot for Collingwood, Hawthorn and Richmond! At least I have a good chance of one team making the Grand Final each year.

Book Covering

Carers/Parents that would like to help cover some new, fabulous readers, particularly for K-2 classes please email Mrs Morella at  Book Covering. Thank you to the few Kindergarten parents that have helped to cover new books.  We have alot of books to cover and they can't be placed into the classrooms until they are covered, please help.

Friday the 17^th May is Walk Safely to School Day. This is a national event run by the Physical Activity Foundation and aims to promote road safety, health, public transport and the environment.

Everyone is encouraged walk or ride to school from our usual meeting points throughout the suburb at 8am. If you would like to know where we meet there is a large map in the Front Office that details the meeting locations and the route we take.

This is a community event and parents are encouraged to get involved and boost their step count and set a good example for their children by participating as well. If you would prefer to walk from somewhere else other than our four meeting points you are more than welcome.

Participants will be greeted with a sticker and some party tunes when they get to school. Your body and the environment will thank you too!

Walk to school map 

Sacred Heart mums got together and cooked up a storm for the parents of sick kids staying at Ronald McDonald house at the Canberra hospital.

Thanks to the efforts of our past and present Environment and Stage 3 Leaders our worm farms are producing some black liquid gold fertiliser. We are collecting our worm wee in 3L milk containers which we have repurposed from the canteen and staffroom. We are selling our produce for $2.50 per bottle while stocks last. 

When applying this black liquid gold fertiliser to your garden remember to dilute the worm wee 1:10L.  This means you are getting 30L of 'A grade' liquid fertilser for less than a cup of coffee. Wow that is good value! All proceeds will go towards other sustainability initiatives within our school.

Hurry while stocks last!