Message From Our 

Principal

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Just when we thought the term was off to a flying start and we were looking forward to the first uninterrupted school year since 2019 the weather gods threw it all at us last week. Due to the unpredictable nature of the weather and the dangerous flood conditions it was decided to close the school until the situation improved. This decision was made in consultation with Catholic Education Sandhurst and local emergency services. The last week has again been a challenging time for so many in our community. The school buildings and surrounds were not impacted directly by flood waters but felt in so many other ways by the community. Fortunately, everyone is safe and that is our most important priority. Many within our school community will need ongoing help and support. We are here to help in whatever way we can. Sarah Langley, our school Pastoral Wellbeing worker, is also available to families and can be contacted through our office.

Thank you to our wonderful staff who made up and delivered care packages to the Ballantyne Centre last week. They also took down sports equipment and spent time with the families. Other staff volunteered in the mammoth cleanup. On Monday the whole school gathered together for a prayer, “Reaching Out and Serving Others”.  We prayed for our families, our community and those who helped others in a time of need. We reminded each other that, “We are God’s Hands” when faced with sad and challenging events. These are some of Year 2s responses to the prayer.

The recent rains have brought the mozzies out! We would recommend applying insect repellent on your child each morning and perhaps wearing long shirts/pants until the situation improves.

Unfortunately, our swimming program at Aquamoves was once again cancelled. This will not be able to be rescheduled in the weeks ahead. If possible, we are hoping to run a water safety program later in the term.

The 5/6 Canberra trip scheduled this week was also cancelled. However, the good news is that our 5/6 staff were somehow able to reschedule this for week 7. Thank you to Fords Bus and our very persistent 5/6 team for all the time spent reorganising this and making it possible. Thank you also to the parent helpers who had their plans changed at such short notice. Fingers crossed you will all get to Canberra on November 14th without any more hitches!

F-2 Twisted Science Incursion has been rescheduled to November 11th. Camps and excursion money not used due to flood related cancellations will be rebated or reimbursed to families leaving the school.

There are some staff changes for 2023 and I’m sorry to say that Debbie Turvey and Reilly Young will be leaving Sacred Heart at the end of the year.   

After five years at Sacred Heart Debbie Turvey is retiring. During her time here, Debbie has held many roles including classroom teacher, Learning Diversity Leader, Religious Education Leader and has been part of our Leadership Team, to name a few. Debbie will be greatly missed but will still be very much part of our SH parish community. 

After almost two years at SH, Reilly has decided to relocate to Queensland.  We will have an opportunity to officially farewell Debbie and Reilly later in the year.

I am very pleased to announce the appointment of our new teaching staff for 2023. Brooke Cimera, Kathryn Reid and Sonia Lagozzino. We look forward to welcoming our new staff to Sacred Heart in 2023.

Congratulations to Danni Do-Le who has qualified to compete at the Victorian State Athletics in Melbourne in the high jump event. Well done and we wish you all the best. 

Last night the School Advisory Council met and discussed various agenda items. We reviewed how we operate and respond in an emergency, reviewing the lessons learned from our recent flood events. The 2023 fee structure was endorsed. SAC members will be available to meet parents at our information evening on November 15th and at a morning tea planned for December 2nd.

We are currently seeking nominations for our School Advisory Board [SAC] 2023. Becoming a member of the SAC is an excellent way for parents to become involved in the life of the school. There is further information regarding the SAC in this newsletter and Kylee Dewis, [Chair], members of the SAC or myself are available for further information. Nominations to be received by November 15th 2022. The next SAC meeting will be the final one for the year and new members will be invited along.

I will be on leave for the coming week and Dom Poppa will be available as needed. 

Don’t forget next Tuesday, Nov 1st will be a public holiday.

May the Sacred Heart of Jesus continue to watch over our school community and bless us always.

Pauline Hindson 

Principal