Dear Community,

Tomorrow is a significant day for our school community: the Sacred Heart Feast Day. This day, deeply rooted in our school's history, is a time for us to come together and celebrate the love and compassion of Jesus Christ, symbolised by his Sacred Heart. We have planned activities to make this day even more special for our students.

For our primary school community, this feast day is an opportunity to reflect on the values of love, kindness, and compassion central to our faith and teachings. It is a time for us to come together in prayer, celebrate with special activities, and strengthen the bonds within our school community. This day helps our children understand the importance of caring for others and living out the teachings of Jesus in their everyday lives.

Our celebration will begin with a Mass at 9:30am, during which parents and families are welcome to join us. Following the Mass, students will engage in various fun and meaningful activities to enrich their understanding of this day. Students are asked to wear sports uniform.

We will enjoy a sausage sizzle lunch, providing a fantastic fellowship and community spirit opportunity.

Hoping you can join us for Mass tomorrow at 9:30.

Vinnies CEO Sleepout

This year, I am participating in the Vinnies CEO Sleepout for the seventh time. This event, held on Thursday, 20 June, at Parliament House, is a powerful initiative to combat homelessness in our community. It's one of the coldest and darkest nights of the year in Canberra, symbolising the harsh reality of homelessness in our region. Over the years, I have raised over $70,000 for this vital cause.

My participation in the CEO Sleepout stems from a deep commitment to helping those less fortunate. On the night I can bring a sleeping bag, clothes and a pillow- that’s it! I’m given a couple of pieces of cardboard, a cup of soup and a cup of tea and find a place to rest for the night (not much sleep happens!) As a Vinnies Night Patrol leader, I witness firsthand the profound impact that homelessness has on individuals and families in our region, and this is just one small way I can raise awareness of homelessness. The funds from this event go directly to vital services the St. Vincent de Paul Society provides, including crisis accommodation, food, healthcare, Night Patrol vans and support programs to help individuals rebuild their lives.

To further support this cause, Sacred Heart School will host a 'Pyjama Day' next Friday. We encourage all students and community members to wear their pyjamas to school and bring a gold coin donation. All proceeds will support the Vinnies CEO Sleepout and the fight against homelessness.

Feel free to throw in a few dollars …or pass on to friends or family… https://www.ceosleepout.org.au/fundraisers/david-austin/canberra

Thank you for your continued generosity and commitment to making a positive difference in our community.

Enrolment reminder

The enrolment period for Catholic schools has ended, and I am currently interviewing new families. We have a very healthy enrolment for Kindergarten next year, and I encourage you to pass on to friends and families that it is not too late. Offers are sent at the end of June, and following this date, there are no guarantees, as Catholic Education will determine the number of classes per school. Your enrolment form must be lodged as soon as possible if it has not already been filled out. There are no guarantees, including siblings, if forms are not returned by 19 June. Please spread the word!

Disco

Our student disco last Friday evening was a fantastic success! With over 80% of our students in attendance, the hall was filled with energy, excitement, Taylor Swift songs and plenty of dancing. A huge thank you to the parents who volunteered their time to assist and the staff members who also attended, ensuring the evening ran smoothly.

I must also mention a humorous note: I was informed in the staffroom that day that all staff members dress up for the disco. Feeling the spirit, I wore a costume, discovering I might have been 'led down the garden path!' Nevertheless, it was great fun and added to the joy of the evening. (I do love a dress-up though!)

Thank you all for making it such a memorable event for our students.

Congratulations!

Congratulations to our many students who represented Sacred Heart at the Woden/Weston Cross Country Carnival on Tuesday at Stromlo. Our students showcased exceptional determination, sportsmanship, and school spirit throughout the event. Thanks also to Mrs Riley for supervising and cheering. Well done to all our participants for their outstanding efforts and for making our school proud!

In faith and partnership,

David Austin

Principal

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 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. 
• Always turn left when leaving from drive-through onto Hodgson Cres to ease congestion on the street and into our car park. 
• Park facing uphill on Murphy St, thus keeping cars on one side of the road. Otherwise park in adjacent streets and walk to the Murphy St gates.
• 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!

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

Road Safety Considerations.

1. Murphy St Pick Up -  Please respect our neighbours by avoiding parking in their driveways, and walking through and littering their gardens. Also it is illegal to park within 10m of an intersection, so please be careful along McNeil Pl.

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

1. 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. 

Wet Weather Arrangements

 Morning

• If it is quite wet or actually raining in the morning, please drop your child to the hall from 8.30am.
• Children will put their bags in their class line, then join in quiet games or conversations with their friends. 
• We will have the morning assembly in the hall.

If your child is anxious with this change, please bring them up to the teacher on duty. We make alternative arrangements if the noisy hall overwhelms a child.

Afternoon

Please discuss your family plans with your child, so that they are aware of wet weather arrangements. We ask families to take extra care in the rain. Don’t rush, we will keep your child dry and safe with us until you arrive!

• If the ground is wet, normal arrangements apply. 
• If it is actually raining the following safety arrangements will be in place. 

Drive-through - students line up in the hall with the duty teacher. We will assist your child to the car as you pull into pick-up points 1-3.

Murphy St - students will meet the teacher in the shelter of the kinder courtyard. An extra teacher wearing an orange vest, will be outside the courtyard gate further up the hill than the normal black gates. Parents can pull up to the kerb and we will help your child to come to your car.

Walkers/bus/bikes will operate as normal, with the teacher carrying an umbrella.

Parking - parents are invited to park and come to the kinder courtyard or awnings around the front of the school as normal. Please do not park and leave your car alongside the kindergarten kerb on Murphy St, as this is the wet-weather pickup area.

Uniform

Students are looking fabulous in their winter uniforms. We thank families for being mindful of our uniform policy. Our clothing pool has many pre-loved items at heavily discounted prices, so please see us if you need extra pieces.

A reminder that boys and girls wear navy trousers with our daily uniform.These are formal style trousers, not made of stretch material. The other option is our tunic with tights. We have a navy school beanie as part of our uniform, and encourage hair ties, gloves and scarves to be in school colours. On cold days any coat/puffer of choice can be worn.

Navy tracksuit pants and sneakers are worn with the red school jumper on class sport’s days.

Our uniform policy can be found on our school website. https://shpspearce.schoolzineplus.com/_file/media/4672/uniform_2022.pdf

Safeguarding Processes and Working with Vulnerable Children 

As a school we are a regulated entity. All staff, relief staff, pre-service teachers and contractors engaged in the building during school hours must have a valid WWVP registration.

Parents, carers and volunteers assisting with school activities also have a duty to care for our vulnerable children and are bound by a number of CECG and ACT requirements.

In a nutshell, examples of compliance are:

1. A parent helping regularly during the year (more than 7 days) would need a WWVP registration. Please bring your card to our office so we can add your details to our WWVP register. You then carry your card with you when helping in the classrooms, canteen and events. We will ask you to sign our yearly ‘Classroom Assistance Agreement’ and to sign in when you enter the building or attend the event.
2. If you occasionally help out at carnivals or in classrooms (less than 7 days) you do not need a WWVP registration. You do need to sign our ‘Volunteer Declaration Form’ for each activity.  We ask you to be aware of our ‘Volunteers Code of Conduct. Please also sign in when you enter the building or attend the event.
3. If you want to attend mass with your child’s class, come to the Mother’s Day breakfast, watch at a carnival or visit classrooms for learning journeys (often with other parents or relatives) you do not need a WWVP or a Volunteer form. Please sign the visitor or RSVP sheet if there is one provided. 

Please refer to our Safeguarding and WWVP policy for full details. This policy is on our website https://sacredhps.act.edu.au/policies-forms. 

Tournament of the Minds (TOMs)

Students in Years 3-6 are invited to consider nominating for TOMs. TOMs is an external team competition for highly able and motivated students to enrich and extend their learning and collaboration skills. Many interested students have already been attending Think Club at lunch time this term. Formal nomination forms will be available after the 17th June. Please visit the Tournament of Minds website for an overview of the competition and speak to Mrs Wode or Mrs Filardo if you want further information about the competition. 

Heartsong School Choir

Our choir is free to join, but needs a note signed by parents. The note is available from the music room or by speaking to Mrs Riley. The choir rehearses at 8.30am every Wednesday and performs at various school and community events during the year.

Yours in the virtue of Respect,

2024 Term 2

The Community Council met last Thursday. Council welcomed two new members - Jess Del Rio and Emmy Yager. Council also acknowledged Danielle Hartnett's contributions as she steps down.

Two of our Year 6 leaders, Elsie and Lily, impressed the council with their presentation on behalf of the student body, highlighting happenings around the school and bringing forward ideas for improvement. 

Mr Austin provided a Principal's report including an update on 2025 enrolments.

Mrs Wode provided an update on preparations for the Twilight Fair - be sure to keep Friday 8 November free. 

And finally Mrs Wode ran a shortened version of Spelling Mastery for parents to get a better understanding of the new program rolling out across Stage 2 and 3.

 The next open meeting is scheduled for 6pm Thursday 22 August (Week 5 Term 3).

Come and join us at Playgroup on:

Tuesday 9-11am

Thursday 9-11am

Friday 9-11am

Follow us on Instagram @littleheartsplaygroup 

Friday Playgroup have been enjoying story time in the library.

South Weston Cross Country.

Congratulations to the team of 43 Sacred Heart Cross Country runners who competed at the South Weston Cross Country on Tuesday. We are extremely proud of the way you competed and represented our school. In each age group there were over 60 runners from across our region. Whilst we are waiting for official confirmation of results, we know that a number of students came in the top 10 of their age group which is an amazing achievement. Thank you to Mrs Riley who managed the team on the day, as well as Mr Austin and the parents who took time out of their day to support their children in their running.

Sacred Heart enjoyed the musical talents and storytelling of Tjupurru from Digeribone performance last Friday.

At last Friday's assembly the Choir performed and showcased what they have been learning.