Message from the School Principal

Dear Families & Friends,

A very warm welcome back to school for the start of Term 3. As always, our school is a busy place with significant whole school events such as the Sacred Heart Athletics Day in the first week, excursions and incursions, our upcoming Grandparents Day and much more! Our children have settled back in well to their learning, with a key whole school focus in Faith Life Inquiry on Term 3 Interconnections & Relationships. Through Seesaw communication, each year level will be communicating with you the age appropriate foci for the students. As adults, the staff have worked together to reflect on ways to strengthen, maintain and rebuild right relationships with God, self and others which serves to deepen and enrich our faith as Catholic educators.

I wish you all a wonderful term ahead. As you can see in this fortnight's newsletter, there is much to look forward to.

Baby News

We are delighted to share with you the news that one of our Year 1 educators, Nicole, is expecting a baby in December. We are so very happy for Nicole and Matt and join in their excitement as they eagerly await the arrival of their little bundle of joy! 

Indigenous Perspectives 

Student voice and agency are integral to creating a student-centered learning environment that supports the holistic development of learners, prepares them for future challenges, and nurtures responsible and active citizens. By valuing student input and encouraging their active participation, educators and schools can transform the learning experience into a more meaningful and impactful journey for every student.

At Sacred Heart, one of the ways in which we provide opportunities for student voice and agency is through the Year 6 Student Leadership Portfolios of Student Wellbeing, Social Justice, Sustainability and Indigenous Perspectives. This term, the Indigenous Perspectives group will be raising awareness and deepening knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people, their history, stories, culture and traditions. The students will be meeting with myself and Kate Williams shortly to investigate what this might look like this term. 

Stay tuned for more updates over the coming weeks.

School Signage

This week our new school signage was installed on the eastern wall of the school facing Melbourne Road and Steele St. The new signage includes our school name, location and a replacement of the logo that had faded and warped over time. This work completes our building project which saw the addition of the third floor learning spaces and planning spaces for educators. 

Annual Report to the School Community 2022

Each year, schools are required to complete and make available to the school and broader community an annual report entitled "Annual Report to the School Community". The Sacred Heart report can be found on our school website or by clicking on the following link.

World Youth Day Pilgrimage

Over the last few months, over 500 pilgrims across Melbourne have been preparing for a pilgrimage to Lisbon, Portugal. One of our Year 2 educators, Vivian Do, will be joining the pilgrimage with other young Catholic people from all over the world. Vivian will also be participating in an extension of the program with other Catholic educators, starting in Rome to develop leadership identity through self reflection and spiritual discernment and in Assisi for a retreat experience.

As a school community, we are very proud of Vivian on being selected for this outstanding opportunity and we know that she will bring back with her a wealth of knowledge and skills that will benefit the children, families and colleagues she works with at Sacred Heart. We look forward to all that Vivian will share with us on her return. 

Together we offer the following prayer for Vivian as she begins her journey:-

We pray that the joy and the light of Christ burns brightly in our WYD pilgrims on pilgrimage and when they return home. 

Heavenly Father, You called Mary and opened her heart to say ‘yes’ to the mission you asked of her. 

Filled with the Holy Spirit, She rose and set out in haste to visit her cousin Elizabeth to share the Good News. 

Help our pilgrims as they go on pilgrimage to World Youth Day in Lisbon. Be their companion and strength on their journey,

Open their hearts to the prompting of your Spirit,

And lead them to a deep and abiding encounter with your Son.

Like Mary, may they return from World Youth Day, filled with your Spirit and ready to proclaim the Good News in the parishes, schools, and local communities of Melbourne.

Amen

Beanies

Our new Sacred Heart beanies are just the thing to keep Hunter and Isaac warm on this chilly winter morning. We think they look pretty cute! Beanies are available to be ordered online at our uniform supplier, PSW in Port Melbourne.

Parents are asked to ensure students are wearing the correct uniform to school each day. This also includes appropriate footwear and jackets.

We thank you for your support in maintaining this school wide expectation.

This term we welcome Bec McEwan and Batoul Naim who are both completing their Education Support Officer course. Bec and Batoul are completing their placement at Sacred Heart one day per week each. They are working closely with our amazing Learning Support Officers and learning the intricacies of working in the classroom and supporting our students.

School Advisory Council

The Sacred Heart School Advisory Council (SAC) has established an email address for families wishing to contact the council’s parent representatives directly. We would like to encourage all caregivers to please use the SAC email should you wish to share ideas, voice any concerns, or provide feedback on matters related to Sacred Heart. All emails will be handled in confidence. To contact the parent representatives directly please email: sac@shnewport.catholic.edu.au

Chair: Hamish George

Bus Safety & Seatbelts

With recent accidents involving buses, sadly leading to serious injuries and loss of life, our school seeks to reassure parents/carers that we only book buses that have enough seatbelts for each person travelling on the bus. 

Supervising teachers remind children to put their seatbelts on and check to ensure this has occurred. 

The safety and wellbeing of our students is a priority when planning camps, excursions, interschool sports etc and will remain so. 

Have a wonderful weekend,

Kaylene Carlin

SCHOOL PRINCIPAL