Learning and Teaching News
Curriculum updates in Religious Education, English, Mathematics and People, Place & Purpose
English
BOOK WEEK CELEBRATIONS
We will be celebrating Book Week with the theme ‘Symphony of Stories’ in week 7 (24th-28th of August). Each year since 1945 the CBCA (Children's Book Council of Australia) has brought children and books together across Australia through Children's Book Week. This year also marks the milestone 80th anniversary of the Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Awards.
At Sacred Heart we will be celebrating Book Week through the following events:
Book Week Parade
We will commence book week with our much loved day of dressing up as a character from one of our favourite books and participate in a whole school parade. This will happen on Wednesday the 26th of August. We encourage costumes to be connected to books. The parade will commence at 8:50am and parents are invited to stay and watch. Check out this link if you are stuck for ideas! Winners for ‘best costume/costumes’ from each class will be announced in the afternoon of this day.
Nominated Books:
During Book Week, classes will read the nominated books, and complete a craft activity linked to the story. These activities will be displayed around the school to honour the wonderful work of authors and illustrators.
Cosy Reading Afternoon:
Also Wednesday the 26th of August, students can bring in their favourite book, cosy dressing gown, hoodie or blanket, slippers or teddy and curl up and read. With a crackling camp fire displayed on classroom whiteboards, it will be a lovely, cosy experience. Students will receive a lollypop during this time. Please see your child’s classroom teacher if you do not give permission for this.
Design a Bookmark:
Students are invited to enter a competition to design a bookmark that reflects the theme Symphony of Stories. There will be a winner chosen from each year level. The competition will close on Wednesday the 26th of August and winners will be announced in the afternoon. This is not compulsory.
Performance
On Tuesday the 1st of September, Perform Education will be presenting a performance focusing on the CBCA nominated books for Years Prep - 6. Unfortunately due to space limitations parents will not be able to attend.
Mary MacKillop Feast Day
Today, our school community came together to celebrate the Feast of Saint Mary MacKillop with a beautiful parish Mass, giving thanks for Australia's first saint and her enduring legacy of faith, service and education.
We were privileged to welcome Sr Lorraine, a Josephite Sister who taught at Sacred Heart until 2019, to celebrate Mass and share the homily. Sr Lorraine invited students to follow Saint Mary MacKillop on an "adventure of love with God," reminding them that, like Mary, they can become saints by listening to God's voice, showing kindness, sharing their gifts with others and trusting that God is always beside them.
Inspired by Mary MacKillop's words, "I'm a teacher, let's start today!" students then took part in a whole-school learning experience that brought her mission to life. Older students partnered with younger students to share a skill, game or activity, generously passing on their knowledge through experiences such as reading together, creating origami, teaching games, dancing, making paper planes and much more.
It was wonderful to see students learning from one another with such enthusiasm, patience and kindness.
The morning concluded with a shared morning tea, celebrating the strong sense of community that Mary MacKillop inspired and continues to inspire within Sacred Heart today.
NAPLAN
We are delighted to share our 2026 NAPLAN results, which reflect the strong learning growth and achievement of our Year 3 and Year 5 students. These results are a testament to the dedication of our students, the expertise of our teachers and leaders, and the ongoing partnership we share with our families.
At Sacred Heart, our commitment to evidence-informed teaching and purposeful learning continues to support students in achieving success across all areas of the curriculum. The infographic below highlights the percentage of students who achieved in the Strong and Exceeding proficiency levels across each NAPLAN assessment domain.
Learning and Teaching Team:
Sue Burke
English Leader
sburke@shnewport.catholic.edu.au
Kim Dalmau
Mathematics Leader
kdalmau@shnewport.catholic.edu.au
Cath Palmer
Deputy Principal
Catholic Identity & Pedagogy