Principal News 

WEEK 10 - TERM 1

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SCHOOL PHOTOS TUESDAY 5th

WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE?

Dear Families & Friends,

Remarkably next week we will close out our amazing first term. In addition to a full academic program, it’s hard to believe how much we have managed to squeeze into this opening term of the new school year:

• Kaboom
• Bike Ed
• Reconciliation
• Art Club
• Environment Club
• Stretching & Yoga Club
• Running Club
• Multiple liturgies
• Movie Night
• Parent Teacher Interviews
• Swimming Carnival
• Danny Frawley Centre
• Open Days
• St Patrick's Day Celebrations
• RCH Appeal

Whilst most families have now experienced short periods of isolation, it’s important to acknowledge our resilient students, families and staff for their resolve and manner in which they have readily adapted, juggled and bounced back to deliver on this full and highly successful term.  On that note, it is pleasing to see some recent changes to the school operation Covid Guidelines: Students and staff (and parents) who have tested positive for COVID-19, have completed their 7-day isolation period and are subsequently asymptomatic do not need to undertake surveillance testing or isolation for eight weeks.

Thank you!

I once again sincerely thank our students, staff and families for embracing my leadership and continuing to warmly welcome me into this beautiful community of Sacred Heart. Although we have only introduced small snippets of change, be assured we are making great gains and building momentum across key aspects of school improvement, with some notable changes to be introduced in 2023 (e.g. straight classes, revised device program, refurbishments).  I thank you for your patience as we gently and collectively shape a strong agenda, drawing upon the energies and expertise of the staff to implement evidence-based approaches, and all the while, sharpening the wonderful programs and practices currently in place. 

This term, we have:

• successfully rolled out MSL (Literacy approach P-2) 
• focused on a structured, consistent and explicit delivery of literacy instruction based on phonemic awareness and phonics
• appointed a wellbeing leader to support the staff and students with the implementation of the Respectful Relationships program and wellbeing initiatives (i.e. prioritise wellbeing)
• commenced a Master Plan for a proposed building refurbishment
• reviewed all class structures in preparation for 2023 

It's certainly going to be an exciting time to be part of our community as we build upon these initiatives and steadily rollout more changes in the coming months.   

An Understandable Shift

Having engaged with many colleagues and families in recent days, not surprisingly there has been a common theme of fatigue, illness (growing numbers of staff and student absences) and a gentle shift in the behaviour of some children, as families, schools and life in general return to pre-2020 routines. Coupled with the longest opening term in 10 years and much fuller weekends, we simply cannot underestimate the impact this has had on some students as they also navigate a rigorous learning program and the complexities of playground and classroom interactions. 

Whilst it’s important to acknowledge these ebbs and flows (natural highs and lows) of a school community, perhaps the most affirming insights since joining Sacred Heart have come from witnessing the joy of the children as they return to school and the collective support and understanding so generously offered by our families and staff as we readjust, re-engage, reconnect and reset to the norm.  From the school gate, to the playground and classroom, I have admired the exceptional and proactive manner (inc. conversations, care, communication, adjustments, skills, sensitivity) of the staff as they have gently supported and guided the students with this integration and transition back to a full school program. We are pleased this has been acknowledged by our families. 

With Term 2 already in our sights, we look forward to collectively building upon and celebrating more successes and great happenings at our wonderful school, Sacred Heart.  

Focus for Term 2:

Continue to invest in the explicit teaching of the letter and sound patterns of the 44 phonemes in P-2. through the highly successful introduction of MSL (phonological approach to teaching spelling and reading). Through a consistent approach to teaching phonics across our school, particularly in our junior grades we look forward to seeing the ongoing impact excitedly flow through the school in the years to follow (inc. knowledge of students and teachers).

Research shows more children learn to read efficiently when taught via a structured approach based on phonemic awareness (the ability to distinguish distinct sounds in words) and phonics (the relationship between letters and sounds), rather than a whole-language approach to literacy (learning to read through a wide exposure to texts). It's most pleasing to see that the Australian Curriculum is being rewritten to elevate the explicit teaching of phonics above the whole language approach.

MUST READS

The Leaders Corner in the 5/6 News - Well done to our senior leaders, we love the student voice. 

Yr. 3 RECONCILIATION

Congratulations to our Yr.3 students who made their Reconciliation on Wednesday evening. Supported and guided superbly by their teachers (Ms Collins, Ms Tench, Ms Levy, Mrs Murphy, Mrs Fahey and Mr Blake - REL) and families, this was such a lovely celebration for our community. With the church at full capacity, we also sincerely thank Fr. Dean and Fr. James for their faith leadership at Sacred Heart and making this such a special evening for our families. 

First Eucharist 2023

In moving forward, we are pleased to announce our Yr.3 students (Year 4 2023) will now be receiving the First Eucharist as to align with all Catholic schools in the Bayside Mission. Typically at Sacred Heart our Yr.3 students would receive two sacraments (Reconciliation & First Eucharist) in one year and we felt this was an unnecessary load on our students, staff and families. We thank Fr. David for being so understanding with these revised arrangements. 

School Tours - Open Days - Let’s keep spreading the good word

Hats off again to our most impressive student leaders who ran another Open Day tour for prospective families this week. We have one more remaining this term before we close enrolments in the coming weeks. 

• 5th April 12:30pm - 3:30pm

Thank you once again for your advocacy and support with these important sessions. 

Good Friday Royal Children's Hospital Appeal

On Thursday our students dressed with a touch of ‘yellow’ for a special Good Friday RCH fundraiser. In addition we ran a lemonade stall with all sales going towards the appeal. We thank the Beven family for so kindly providing the yummy ‘homemade’ syrup for the lemonade, and well done SRC for running this stall. Proudly we raised $633.50 for this worthy appeal.  

P&F - Movie Night

Many thanks and congratulations to Susie, Kathryn and Kate for coordinating your various teams for the recent and highly successful Movie Night. Our families certainly welcomed this unique opportunity to gather again in this capacity and we all were thrilled by the collective response from our community. The Weather Gods were clearly on our side for the balmy and ‘dry’ evening. This was such a lovely way to kick start our P&F calendar of events. 

P&F and Class Rep News

Certainly not to be outdone, it was lovely to receive a most comprehensive report from our junior school parent coordinator, Zey, earlier in the week. From their first parent gathering, to the allocation of key events, there certainly is a lot going on with our junior school families. Many thanks Zey! 

Staff Special Lunch Treat

We also extend a special thanks to Caroline Tuohey for organising the lovely staff lunch last week on behalf of the P&F. Whilst not expected, this thoughtful and most generous gesture is certainly appreciated by our team. 

Staffing News

Last week, I attended a conference with all Catholic Primary Principals from across Victoria. This was the first time in three years our association has been able to gather in this capacity due to the nature of the past two years. Whilst the quality of the guest speakers were exceptional, this was an invaluable opportunity to gather with colleagues from across the state to discuss various school matters. I sincerely thank Brigid and the team for doing such a wonderful job in my absence, particularly during this challenging covid time. We clearly are in good hands. 

Next week Miss Maloney and Miss Levy will be on leave for a short period as they return to Ireland and the UK respectively. Both members of staff have not been 'home' in three years due to international travel restrictions and we wish them much happiness as they reunite with their families after such an extended period. We are thrilled to announce Miss Rafferty will be returning on Monday after her travels home to Ireland in recent weeks. We've missed her dearly, however, we remain indebted to Mrs Biffin for seamlessly covering these leave entitlements across our school this term.  We are BLESSED!

Sacred Heart Chalk Fest

How beautiful it was to see our juniors embrace the Sandringham Chalk Fest and create their very our own stunning chalk art pieces across our playground this week.  Apologies for the extra uniform washing cycle this week; we couldn't let this opportunity slip by without a bit of mess and fun. Archie's white shirt and chalk are certainly not a great mix. 

Bike Ed Yr.5 & 6 

Well done to our determined 5&6 students for their almighty efforts on the ride to Port Melbourne and back last week as part of the Bike Education program. The staff and parent helpers were so impressed by the manner and persistence/grit of the students as they embraced and welcomed this challenge. What a wonderful achievement and nice ‘life experience' for our senior students.  The feedback from our students, families and staff was incredibly affirming acknowledging these efforts. 

Key Dates and Reminders for Term 2

• Full Winter uniform transition by Week 3
• 25th April - ANZAC Day 
• 26th April - Term 2 commences
• 26th - 29th April - Yr.5&6 Camp
• 6th May - Mother's Day Assembly and Morning Tea
• 10th May - NAPLAN begins
• 13th May - Cross Country
• 20th May - Kids Disco and Confirmation
• 10th June - Grandparent's Day and Special Assembly
• 13th June - Queen's Birthday
• 20th June - School Closure - Whole Staff Berry Street Training 
• 24th June - End of Term and Feast of Sacred Heart

And finally...

Once again, I would like to sincerely thank our dedicated staff (and understanding families) for being so accommodating and adaptable in recent weeks as we have had to unfortunately juggle and manage illness and Covid related absences. This has challenged all schools, and I'm particularly proud we have done our best to manage this internally using all available staffing resources (due to significant staff shortages in our sector) to minimize the disruption for our students.  

In the meantime, let's ensure we rest up and take care in readiness for the final week of a truly wonderful term,

Simon Collis

Principal