Dear Parents and Carers,

Celebrating Our 50^th Anniversary

With the extraordinary events, both nationally and internationally, the plans for celebrating 50 Years of nurturing heart, minds and spirits at SHPS have been greatly affected. Due to the restrictions to keep people safe, it has meant that the planned events have been postponed or cancelled.

We have been able to go ahead with -

The 50^th Anniversary Yearbook

To celebrate and commemorate the 50^th Anniversary of SHPS a subcommittee of the Anniversary has been organising material to make a Yearbook. This book will contain material that reflects and recalls the past and represent aspects of our school and community.

Marking the Anniversary of the Opening of the School

On Monday 17^th August we will celebrate the 50^th Anniversary of the school’s official opening, 16^th August 1970. We are asking that the children dress with a 70’s theme on the day. Headbands, jeans, bright coloured shirts or skivvy, or for those that have the goods, do the whole 70’s look. More information will be in next week’s newsletter. We are trying to give the children the opportunity for fun and celebrations in these challenging times. Please feel no pressure; just do as little or as much as you can.

I wish to take this opportunity to thank the members of this committee for their enthusiasm and energy in planning several events to celebrate the SHPS Community. They met both as Committee and sub Committees preparing for 2020. It is disappointing that we have not been able to enjoy these events as a community. We are hoping we can celebrate the 50th Anniversary with a dinner in 2021.

100 days of Kindergarten

This Friday we will celebrating 100 days of Kindergarten, an annual event to celebrate achievements of our youngest students in the first 100 days of primary school. It always such a wonderful day with many fun activities for Kindergarten to enjoy. Parents always go to a great deal of trouble to join in the spirit by creating amazing dress-ups for their children.

It is disappointing that once again we have restrictions in place that prevent us from having Mums and Dads gathering with their children and friends to enjoy the beginning of this special day.

School Improvements

Additions to the Reflection Space

Over the holidays the Reflection Space was extended with landscaping works to prepare for the indigenous garden.

The garden between the School the Church

We have a plan to remove the dead and straggly foliage along the garden between the church and school this term. If you feel you would like to help with this please let us know.

The Inner Courtyard

We have the go ahead to start work on the inner courtyard. This will create another area for children to use for learning and play. 

Take care and God bless,

Online Safety

With the amount of time children are spending online at the moment, we have had some reports of unacceptable behaviour by students at Sacred Heart and some concerns from parents about the amount of time being spent online.

There are some valuable resources on the ThinkUKnow website to help families be more aware of the issues and to set boundaries with your child(ren). https://www.thinkuknow.org.au/index.php/for-parents-and-carers

Two really useful pages are:

1. Learning_about_Online_Supervision_ages_5_8.pdf
2. Learning_About_Safer_Gaming.pdf

Yours faithfully,

• Sport’s Uniform Days

  Your child should wear their sport’s uniform on the following days:

  Kinder Tuesday and Friday
  Stage 1 (Years 1 & 2) Tuesday and Thursday
  Stage 2 (Years 3 & 4) Tuesday and Thursday
  Stage 3 (Years 5 & 6) Tuesday and Thursday

• 50th Anniversary Year Books  This year we will be having a Limited Edition 50th Anniversay Year Book. The cost of the book is $30. The cost will be split over Term Three and Term Four school fees for the eldest child of the family. Please contact the office if you have any further enquiries.

• Book Week ( 19^th – 23^rd October) 

  Term 3 is usually when we celebrate the Children’s Book Council Awards (CBCA). Due to the pandemic, Book Week has been moved to next term. However, we will continue to share and explore the shortlisted books during library this Term.  We will celebrate Book Week during Week 2, Term 4, the 19^th-23^rd October. The theme to this year’s Book Week is Curious Creatures, Wild Minds.

• Before School drop-off and the Afternoon pick-up Procedures

  We wish to remind all parents and carers who do the before school drop-off and the after school pick–up of our procedures. These directives are for the wellbeing of all our students and ensure that students are supervised by a teacher on duty at all times.

  * During COVID-19 restrictions, our normal procedures have varied to restrict the number of adults on the school grounds. Please see all COVID variations on our website https://www.sacredhps.act.edu.au/

  Morning Arrival

  Students can be dropped off at the main Drive-Through or on Murphy St from 8.30am when a teacher starts duty. No child should be on the premises before this time as there is no teacher on duty and thus your child is unsupervised. If you need care before 8.30am, please book your child in to our before-school service with YMCA. If it is wet weather, children come to the hall from 8.30am.

  Afternoon Pick-Up Procedures 

  Safety:

• Please teach your child to see the teacher on duty (Kinder Courtyard and Drive-Through) or the front office staff if ever they cannot find the person who is picking them up.
• No child should be walking up to the church carpark or down to Beasley Street. They should be with the teacher at Drive-Through.
• At the moment, parents and carers are asked to wait away from the buildings or outside the gates, if you have parked your car and/or walked up.
• Please have definite plans with your child about wet weather procedures.
• We would also like to remind all parents and carers that students need to stay by your side once they have been collected by you and remain in your duty of care.
• In no instance should a student be playing on any school equipment, or waiting in a place that has no teacher on duty.

  Pick up: Parking is available in the main school carpark, McNeill St and other streets adjacent to Murphy street. We ask that parents do not use the staff carpark off Murphy St as a pickup point. This is a safety issue.

  Drive-Through

  At both pdrive-through areas we ask that parents remain in their vehicle as children wait to get in.  (Some assistance can be given in the new Murphy St point) Please ensure your child knows which Drive-Through area they will be collected from. Have your family name clearly displayed in your windscreen to aid efficiency.  

   

  • Main Drive-Through: Cars come down Hodgson Crescent, turn left into school driveway, queuing around the top near the hall.  Teacher(s) on duty will direct cars to pick-up numbers or waiting bays and send your children to you. Cars must then exit the carpark and turn left onto Hodgson Cres, being careful at the pedestrian crossing.
  • Children going to Drive-Through, exit via the Stage 3 Corridor door and wait quietly on the yellow cross or under the trees near the lower hall doors, with the teacher on duty.
  • In wet weather the children will wait inside the hall.
  • Murphy St Drive-Through: Due to COVID-19 Murphy St (adjacent to the school oval and driveway) is currently a drive-through pick up. Murphy Street.
  • Children line up inside the small gate on the grass. Teacher(s) on duty will direct cars to pick-up numbers and send your children to you.
  • If the weather is wet, we will keep the children in the kinder courtyard and ask parents and carers to wait beside the bollards further up in the old bus bay.

   

  Bus: Limited buses arrive at Hodgson Cres. Children meet the teacher on duty in the Kinder Courtyard, and will walk up to Hodgson Cres with the walkers.

  YMCA ASC: Children exit via the Stage 3 Corridor door or Maker-Space doors and enter the back hall doors to greet YMCA staff. Kinder and Yr 1 children will be met by YMCA staff at their classroom as arranged.

  Walk/ride: Teachers help children to cross the roads around the school. To the south - Beasley St and Hodgson Cres (meet at canteen/bike cage); or to the North - Murphy St and Hodgson Cres (meet in Kinder Courtyard).

  After 3.30: Teachers are on duty until 3.30pm. Children not picked up in these areas by these times will be taken to the Front Office and a phone call made.

• Community Council Connections

  Term 3 here we are! Thank you to the parents who joined us for our Open Council Meeting on Tuesday. From Covid-19 impacts to our 50^th anniversary, the Council agreed to plans to move us forward:

  Covid-19 impacts: The latest information is available from the class PIN note and on the school website. There are still restrictions on the number of visitors allowed at the school, meaning no assemblies with parents or classroom volunteers at this stage. Likewise, camps planned for Stage 2 and 3 remain ‘on hold’ if they are overnight or outside the ACT, the school is exploring alternatives. Likewise, the sports carnivals from Terms 1 and 2 remain unbooked. With no PSSA this year, no parent volunteers allowed and ACT restrictions on oval use, the Council has asked the school to look at options for creating the spirit of the carnivals on school grounds. The school has a ready supply of cleaning products, soap and hand sanitiser, with an additional end of day cleaning adding to the schedule this term.

  Courtyard redesign: Contractor engaged, finances approved and ready to commence this term. In wonderful news, we are ready to start the courtyard redesign creating a new space for children to learn and play. The plan will be put up in the front office area soon, for those who want a sticky-beak!

  

  New garden: Parents and carers using the front of the school for drop off and pickup may have noticed the school holidays handywork of Aaron Fox with our new edible native garden beds. Plants to come. Thanks, Mr Fox!

  

  Indigenous mural: Once Covid-19 restrictions allow, a new mural by a local indigenous artist will commence on the hall wall overlooking the new garden.

  50^th celebrations: The school is considering options for marking the actual anniversary date of 16 August, fitting in with current conditions. The yearbook is in full swing, it will capture memories from our past 50 years, with a concentration on our classes and staff in this our 50^th year.

  YMCA School Holiday program: Awesome news: Holiday Care is confirmed for October school holidays! Check the YMCA website for details. The Harry Potter day was a firm favourite from the July holidays. The program allows you to enroll for days that your children will love.

  2020 is a year of learning…as a Council we have agreed that all Open Meetings from now on will be held online 7-8pm, hopefully this allows more parents and carers the opportunity to join in from wherever they are. Meetings will be held using ZOOM, with details shared the week prior.

  Sarah Lloyd

  John Berry | Catherine Woods | Jac Hrast | Sharon Poole | Catherine West | Josie Lanzetta Brendan Mitchell | Kerry Wood | Fr Richard | Anne Staines

• Parish Mass

  

  Students at Sacred Heart will attend Parish Mass with their class throughout Term 3.

  Mary Help of Christians Parish must follow Archdiocesan protocols for Coronavirus which includes a 100 person limit attending Mass. Therefore only the teachers, students and regular parishioners will be able to attend. We will keep you informed regarding any changes to attendance at Mass.

• First Holy Communion

  

  Please keep the following students in your prayers as they celebrate the sacrament of First Holy Communion over the next few weeks.

  Paige.P, Leila.W, Zoe.C, Ashleigh.O, James.A, Emelyn.C, Molly. F, Olivia.G, Tiana.J, Caitlin.L, Bridget. L, Amy.S, Rebecca.S, Georgia.A, Matilda.W

  As you celebrate your First Holy Communion remember that God’s love will always be there to comfort you, guide you and bless you.

   

Learn to be a chess champion! Coaching for students at Sacred Heart Primary School  is held on Thursdays from 11:00am to 11:45am, starting on 23 July 2020.

Learning and playing chess helps children develop their logical thinking and problem solving skills, improves their concentration and focus, while also being a great source of enjoyment. Activities include group lessons on a demonstration chess board or interactive whiteboard, puzzle solving and fun practice games.

Students earn merit awards by making checkmates, or by displaying skills and positive qualities, which all good chess players strive to develop.

If your child is interested in taking part, you can collect an enrolment form from the school office, or email enrol@sydneyacademyofchess.com.au for a copy. For all enquiries, please contact Sydney Academy of Chess on (02) 9745 1170.

Those parents who are wanting their child/children to have piano lessons, can contact the teachers directly on the following contact numbers;

• Mrs Hildegarde Mendoza Phone: 0417 580 975
• Mrs Pam Cox Phone: 0418 442 203
• Mr Craig Mewett Phone: 0409 151 887 / 6278 7382
• Mr Michael Dooley Phone: 0424987337

Session 6 - Make a choice
Our Peer Support 'Stronger Together' session this week provides for a series of problem solving and decision making activities to analyse how and why we make the choices we do. It considers aspects of safety and a moral sense of purpose about why we should seek to support others, and looks more deeply into how our decisions can have a bigger impact than we first thought.

Say "NO" to bullying!

The New Bins at Sacred Heart are “Bintastic!”

To help with the waste management at Sacred Heart the Sustainability Leaders decided that we needed to re-educate our children and get more students involved with looking after the waste at our school.  The ways in which the leaders decided to move forward with this was a re-education campaign across the school. Bin lessons and videos were created and presented to the school.  Alongside this the school purchased new bins from the money we have already saved from our rubbish collection.  The Stage 2 classes are involved with looking after our daily waste and sorting it into the right bin to stop the contamination of our school hoppers.

The Year 6 Sustainability Leaders and the Sacred Heart staff thank families for their efforts in minimising the waste that comes into our school.  Especially in regards to limiting the amount of plastic food packaging coming into our school or being taken home in lunchboxes. We are also still looking for families to volunteer with dropping down our prepackaged 10c containers down to the recycling depot.

 Ukulele

The students this term have been having a fantastic experiance learning ukulele with Mrs Riley and will continue to do this once a fortnight.

Sacred Heart News ‘Listen to our heart beat!’

In BREAKING NEWS Sacred Heart is starting a Sacred Heart News Channel led by our Year 6 Learning Leaders.  We are beginning small but thinking BIG! This proposal came about from the leaders themselves looking for new ways to try and help keep the community and children up to date with everything going on in the school, as we are unable to host whole school community assemblies due to the COVID 19 crisis. 

The SHPS News “Listen to our heart beat!” will be produced on Fridays and include relevant information for the students from the newsletter and other happenings from around the school.  Classes are also invited to share their learning through this publication, just as they would if they were hosting an assembly.  

The SHPS News will be broadcast across the school on Friday afternoons following our awards celebration which will still acknowledge all the children receiving an award.  Initially we are sharing this with just the student body but plans are in the pipeline to broaden our production to a larger audience.

Congratulations to the following students celebrating their Birthday 

Charlotte R, Aleeia V, Asher M.