Dear Parents and Carers,

A heartfelt thank you to you the amazing community for your support, kindness and prayers over the last few weeks. I have received many beautiful cards from families and individuals. It really made a difference to know I was not alone.

I would also like to acknowledge our wonderful SHPS staff for all they did during my time away from work.

We are truly blessed to belong to such a caring and thoughtful community.

“One thing in life that is permanent is change. Change is the one constant in life.”

(FALLIN 2013)

The constant message family and friends have given over this time has been the importance of self-care. As we head towards the end of another busy time and we are feeling the fatigue of all that has happened. I pass this message onto you and remind you of some steps you could take to take care of you and your family.

• Listen – to your needs and your own advice
• Maintain a healthy routine – diet, activity and sleep
• Focus on the things you can control – versus things you can’t

Sacred Heart Day

Once again, the Sacred Heart Spirit shone through bright and clear as we celebrated our special feast day on Friday. We cannot wait until the bulbs blooming in the spring. Thank you to everyone who contributed to it’s success – no matter the contribution.

To improve the flow of traffic during afternoon pick-up – could I remind everyone how helpful it is to see the family name through the car window especially on rainy winter days when we are trying to keep children and staff safe.

Take care and God bless,

Student Absences

We have a large number of unexplained student absences this term. It is a legal requirement that we account for the whereabouts of each child on school days. We appreciate your support with this. Parents and carers will be sent a printed note today. Please complete the note and return it to school or submit the dates via SZapp.

We are looking to expand the functionality of Compass next term, via the use of a Parent Portal. Stay tuned.

Mums’ Gone Wild

We are so excited to be hosting this community workshop on Sunday. We have a few spots left. Please email the office today if you missed the RSVP date. If child care is your barrier and your child(ren) can quietly manage themselves with limited supervision, please phone the office and talk to Kerry.

Dreaming of Reconnecting?

Are you tired of staying home? Are you sad our 50^th celebrations were postponed? Are you looking for ways to broaden your social connections and contribute to your school community? We have the solution for you. Keep reading.

• 50+1 Community Gala. 19^th November for dinner and dancing. Save the date!
• 2022 Fete. We will be calling for enthusiastic people to form a committee to plan our school fete. No experience needed, but plenty of support offered! Many members of our last committees have graduated so we are on the lookout for new faces. Is it you?
• We are starting to welcome parent helpers back into classrooms. Let a teacher or the canteen know you are available. We miss your time and assistance.

Semester 1 Academic Reporting

Our Semester 1 reports will be sent home with students next Friday. The reports will look different this year as Catholic Education are in a change-over period between technology platforms. Sacred Heart is contributing to the consultation processes to determine how progress and achievement is best reported based on what we know to be important information about a student’s learning and progress.

Sacred Heart has taken the opportunity this semester to share with families, extra teacher and student reflective comments on learning, using the language of the Learning Assets. We encourage parents to use these reflections when discussing reports with your child.

Parents are encouraged to meet with their child’s classroom teacher early in Term 3 should you wish to have a follow-up conversation.

For Kindergarten students:

• Achievement in each subject will be reported using a four-point scale (Exceeding Expectations, Expectations, Meeting Expectations and Working Towards Expectations).

For Year 1 to Year 6 students:

• Academic grades for Religious Education, English, Mathematics, Science, Social Sciences, The Arts, Technologies and Health and Physical Education using a five-point grading scale A-E against the Australian Curriculum Achievement Standards. Please see the table below for an explanation of the grades.

For all students:

• Strand Achievement will be reported in English, Mathematics, Social Sciences, The Arts and Health and Physical Education using a five-point scale (Excellent, High, Sound, Basic, Elementary). Please note that not all strands are formally assessed every semester. The Arts, in particular, will have ‘Not Assessed’ recorded against some strands.
• Engagement with Learning statements, which are taken directly from the Australian Curriculum, will provide specific information about your child’s Critical and Creative Thinking, and Personal and Social Responsibility, using a three-point scale (Beginning, Developing, Consistently).
• Individual student comments will not be included in the Semester 1 Reports as they were in previous years.

Yours faithfully,

The Vinnies Winter Appeal provides emergency relief to people at risk and experiencing homelessness. Your donation and support will help ensure that families at risk of homelessness get the financial and emotional support they need to keep themselves and their children safe.

Particularly in these colder months we ask for:

• Blankets
• Large Jackets
• Large Jumpers
• Warm Gloves and Socks
• Sleeping Bags

These donations then go directly to people in need in your community.

The Sacred Heart Community is encouraged to donate any of the items listed above to help support the Vinnies Winter Appeal. Donations can be handed into the Front Office.

• The next MHOC Youth Group meeting is coming up on Sat 19th June. If you are in Years 5 to 8 please come along from 4.30 to 6pm and Years 9-12 from 7-9pm. Feel free to bring a friend for some games, food and good conversation.  This Youth Group will meet on a fortnightly basis unless otherwise noted.  Please contact Nick Weir via email.

Sacred Heart Feast Day

Friday 11th June was the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Sacred Heart school and Mary Help of Christians parishioners celebrated mass together. Fr. Richard's homily related to the respect, care and love we must show our earth to be stewards of creation. He likened the tulip bulbs we were planting to small hearts and spoke about how we must nurture people around us so we can all grow and blossom. 

At school, the students participated in a lesson on the Catholic Social Teaching for Our Common Home.  The earth and all life on it are part of God's creation. We are called to respect and protect this gift. The students learnt that we are all responsible for taking care of the world we live in and for sharing all the wonders and resources the earth gives us. Pope Francis highlights this in his encyclical, Laudato Si: On the Care for our Common Home.

After lunch, the students participated in activities that created an awareness, understanding and appreciation of our environment. They planted bulbs and annuals out the front of the school as part of the Floriade Community Planting Program. Be sure to keep an eye on the garden out the front over the next few weeks and see how this meaningful action of the students blossoms for the community. 

The students also cleared weeds out of the garden beds next to the stairs leading to the church in preparation for some new landscaping. They engaged in a story to understand the First Nation people's relationship with the land with a focus on the NAIDOC Week theme "Heal Country". The students also learnt about composting and the worm farms we have at school.

A whole school disco was held in the afternoon with lots of great singing and dancing. 

Thank you to all the parents that came and supported the students throughout the activities. A big thank you also to Mrs Kane and her wonderful Canteen helpers for organising the special treat at recess which was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

Playgroup

Mrs Kerry O’Callaghan, Aboriginal Education Specialist from the Catholic Education Office visited Playgroup and shared a great story about collecting and cooking with emu eggs. 

Did you know 1 emu egg is equivalent to 12 chook eggs?

She also brought a real emu egg for us to look at.

Congratulations to the following students celebrating their birthday this week 

Kira K, Matilda H, Keneth SV, Anna D, Mila H, Anna J.