Principal News 

WEEK 5 - TERM 4

To subscribe to future Newsletters, please click here 

RELATIONSHIPS ARE EVERYTHING!

Dear Families,

We once again sincerely thank you for your understanding regarding the extended long-weekend to support our important professional learning agenda. The focus for our second of four Berry Street domains (workshops) was relationships; undoubtedly my favourite and most valued domain i.e. it’s all about relationships. 

Can you remember your favourite teachers from primary or secondary school? What was it about them that made being in their classroom enjoyable? Did you feel ‘seen’ and valued in their class? Did you want to reward them with your best work or behaviour? Chances are the teachers you most enjoyed were those who injected their personality, expressed their care and concern for you, and built a classroom culture in which learning was enjoyable and engaging. Research repeatedly shows student-teacher relationships as a critically important element supporting effective teaching and learning. Relationships become the key determinant of student academic engagement and outcomes. 

At Sacred Heart, we prioritize wellbeing, and by forging positive relationships between students and families we believe we can better foster a culture of trust, safety, a sense of belonging and respect. We are hardwired for connection, and emotionally, physically and mentally we depend on these connections with others to grow, develop and maintain our wellbeing.  Friday’s workshop was a wonderful opportunity for our staff to affirm our practices and reinforce the importance we place on relationships. We understand students are constantly seeking relationships with their teachers, and as educators, the power resides in our hands. We control the focus and quality of the relationship, and to that end, we are proud this remains a signature strength at Sacred Heart. Relationships matter!

Art Show 

Parent feedback: 

I just wanted to say how impressive the art show was. The art work

displayed was so bright and cheerful and was so varied in techniques.

Liz did such a great job in making sure every one's art work was

displayed!! Thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the Art Show this year (and

we have been to a few!!).

Well done to the children and Mrs Hyslop!!

Thanks for adding to my day.

Whilst the weather was not ideal last Thursday, this certainly did not detract from the stunning art show (exhibition), showcasing the exceptional student work undertaken in Mrs Hyslop’s weekly classes. As previously mentioned, the quality of these pieces and the exposure and diverse range of techniques and styles is arguably the best I have seen in over 30+ years of education. This does not just happen, and we sincerely thank Mrs Hyslop for her infectious passion and dedication to this invaluable visual arts program - our students simply love her classes and the opportunity to express their talents (some hidden) and creativity.  

We would also like to acknowledge our generous families for their food donations for the successful treats stall managed by our senior students and P&F. In addition, we thank Mrs Collins and the Gardening Club for their healthy contributions from our veggie gardens for the fresh produce stall, raising over $200.  All proceeds will go back to our weekly gardening club program.

Prep Orientation 2022

Congratulations to our new preps for 2023 who completed their second orientation session on Wednesday. We were just thrilled at how well they presented on the day and so comfortably embraced the trial routine. This was our first session where we encouraged parents/carers to ‘drop and go’ to simulate a typical school day. I’m pleased to say this was the first time I’ve witnessed a 100% ‘no fuss’ drop off as the children seamlessly transitioned into the classroom. Warmly welcomed by their beautiful teacher for 2023, Miss Maloney, we should not be surprised by this outcome. We also thank Carol, one of our fabulous LSOs for supporting this transition program and adjustment period. Next week, the students will spend 2+ hours onsite, including some precious playtime on the yard with ‘all’ the students from P-6. 

• Orientation Session #3 – Wednesday 9th November  9:15am - 11:30am 
• New Digital Parent Handbook

Little Hearts Playgroup

Next Session -  18th November

In addition to this final orientation, we still have two more ‘Little Hearts of Sandy’ sessions remaining before we close out the year. What a tremendous success this initiative has been in 2023. 

• 18th November from 10am after assembly
• 2nd December 

This terrific initiative has been such a lovely connection piece and entry point for our families, and we look forward to building upon this in the coming months. Carol Mathias, one of our talented LSOs is an accomplished musician and offered to do some music & songs for the  session, and let's just say it was a raging success. It's worth noting again, our Yr.6 helpers are perhaps enjoying this program more than our pre-schoolers. They have been truly amazing in this space. 

MORE NEW FURNITURE ON THE WAY

Arrival date: 2nd December

Thanks P&F

Device Program 2023

In 2023, Yr.5&6 students will be provided with 1:1 chromebook access. Owned by the school, these devices will be kept at school and asigned to students. In time, the students will be provided with a contract/agreement of sorts to ensure these are used appropriately and well looked after i.e. if  damaged unnecessarily, families will need to pay for the repairs or replacement costs.  

An IT levy will remain in 2023, although this will vary slightly across our school depending upon the device management plan.  At this stage, we will be advising families to purchase a far more cost effective chromebook should a current iPad (Yr.1 - 4) be beyond repair. Typically chromebooks can last 4-5 years without updating. No iPads are required in Prep! 

Please note, our new chromebook program aligns significantly better with the Google educational platform, school functionality and supports the transition to a secondary notebook/laptop program e.g. typing skills and applications.

New Fees 2023

Please note the new fee structure will be sent home today via Operoo. This was prepared in consultation with our MACS business manager and School Advisory Council. A notable difference to the fee structure is the introduction of a tiered family fee to better align with MACS guidelines.  A tiered family fee system and modest rise in levies addresses the gap between the actual and expected ‘Capacity to Contribute.’ The ‘CtC’ measure is used by the Commonwealth  Government to determine the amount that families are expected to be contributing towards their child’s education. These measures also ensure we align with similar schools and can continue to offer the quality programs and educational experiences to enrich our students.

We sincerely thank you in advance for your understanding and ongoing commitment to Sacred Heart. Our aim will always be to provide a great school, affordable and accessible to all families. Any further questions, please not hesitate to contact the office.  A most comprehensive eForm fee letter and attachments will be sent to all families this afternoon. Many thanks to Karen for perparing this information. 

STAFFING NEWS

It is with mixed emotions that we announce Mrs Jen Brown will be leaving our community next year after accepting a fulltime art position. A wonderful and most dedicated educator, Mrs Brown has a passion for art, creativity and wellbeing and such an opportunity was too good to refuse.  We wish her every success and have no doubt her passions will be a gift to her new school community in 2023. In the meantime, we have started our search to find the best replacement  next year - a 'full-time' classroom teacher. 

Class 2023

While we are extremely confident with our plans for 2023 and the alignment of the teaching staff with ‘straight’ grade levels, we will not be releasing these arrangements until later in the term as this can sometimes be subject to late changes. As families would be acutely aware, requests for various grade levels, groupings etc. must be put in writing to the principal and reasoning to be strictly based on educational grounds. To that end, we thank our families who acknowledge and trust the professional judgements of our team. 

P&F NEWS

Annual Masquerade Ball 

26th November 

A must for all families, so lock in the date and start your planning for what is certain to a stunning and fun night in Term 4 for the inaugural Sacred Heart Masquerade Ball.  

MORE SCHOOL TOURS 

Keep spreading the good word families as we had yet more tours this week with prospective families. Your messaging and positive endorsements are clearly working and we cannot thank you enough for this support. Please don't hesitate to redirect to the school website with links to book tours. This has been such a fabulous addition as families can now book tours online. 

DEMENTIA AUSTRALIA 

We wish Ms Matilda Tench our multi-talented middle school teacher every success as she embarks on 24hr charity event in the coming weeks. This is  such a wonderful cause and we hope our families 'RALLY' behind Ms Tench to generate funds for dementia research. 

Attached is the link for the Dementia Australia Charity event on the 18-19th of November. https://www.sandringhamclub.com.au/charity-bookings/

THE LATEST COVID ADVICE

Managing a confirmed case of COVID-19 in schools.

 The Department of Health recommends that a person who tests positive to COVID-19 report that result to their employer, school and household. Where a student or staff member is identified as a positive case, the following steps should be taken:

1. Parents/carers should inform the school by phone or written notification if a student tests positive to COVID-19 (via a PCR or rapid antigen test). Principals should then follow the process put in place by their diocesan education office. 

2. Students who report a positive result are recommended to isolate for a minimum of 5 days and not attend school until their symptoms have resolved. 

Management of suspected cases of COVID-19 in schools.

A ‘suspected’ case means a person who displays any COVID-19 symptoms who has not yet tested positive for COVID-19. The staff member, student or visitor who is symptomatic should be recommended to undergo testing for COVID-19. Parents of students who are symptomatic should be asked to collect their child from school and to keep them home until they are no longer symptomatic.

Little Gems

Running just short of birthday pens on Friday, it was beautiful to see Hamish H offer up his special pen to another student who missed out 'for now' until we replenish our supplies. This random of act of kindness was not lost on the audience on Friday. Well done Hamish! 

Key Dates and Reminders

 (Check Key Dates page for full listing)

• 7th, 8th & 9th Nov - 3/4T, 3/4L & 3/4CM Zoo Snooze
• 11th Nov - Rememberance Day Assembly - Yr.5/6
• 12th Nov - Prep family Mass 5pm
• 25th Nov - Legoland 
• 1st Dec - 1/2 Sleepover. (Year 2's to stay the night)
• 8th Dec - Christmas play & Carols 
• 9th Dec - End of Year Mass
• 12th Dec - Moving Up Day
• 13th Dec - Yr.6 Big Day Out
• 14th Dec - Yr.6 Graduation
• 15th Dec - Students' Last Day
• 16th Dec - Staff Last Day

And finally...

As we steadily wind down our school year, we politely remind all families to please reinforce our uniform policy and expectations. We have noted many students this week coming to school without a hat (sun smart) or wearing sneakers outside dedicated sports days. All students have been reminded today and we will look to reinforce our no hat and no school shoes no play policy next week. 

Thanks for your support,  

Simon Collis

Principal