Principal News 

Dear Families,

A warm and heartfelt welcome back to all our students, families, and staff as we begin Term Four, my favourite term!  I hope the school holiday break offered your family a restful pace, precious time together, and a chance to recharge.

Greeting the children at the school gates this week, I’m sure they’ve all grown a little taller! It was wonderful to see their confidence and the joyful reunions with friends. The energy and laughter across the playground were a lovely reminder of what makes our Sacred Heart community so special.

Term Four is always a vibrant and bustling season in the life of our school. Beyond our ongoing focus on explicit learning and teaching in the classroom, the coming weeks will be filled with opportunities to gather, celebrate, and reflect as a community of faith. From upcoming sporting events and Sacred Heart’s Got Talent, to our carols, end-of-year liturgy and graduation celebrations, there is so much to look forward to.

As we juggle Melbourne Spring weather, the students may wear their full Summer or Winter uniform for the next two weeks. From Monday 19th October everyone needs to be in their Summer uniform. Hats are compulsory for each lunch and recess time from now onwards. 

Today we wish all our Beachside athletes the very best as they represent our distrct at Duncan MacKinnon athletics track today. We congratulate; Amelia, Ari, Edie, Elwood, Evie, Isabelle, Ivan, Jake, Liam, Lucy, Madeline, Maya, Milo, Nate, Rio, Ruben, Ryder, Simon, Stevie, Taj, Tao and Thomas. To be competing at this level is a wonderful achievement. 

We have some special visitors arriving in our STEM room on Monday. The children will be able to meet them on Tuesday and Zac, our technician, is going to set up the cameras so that we can watch and learn, from these newly hatched chicks.  We can't wait! 

Next Wednesday evening we welcome our 2027 Prep families to Sacred Heart from 6:30pm - 7:30pm in the STEM room. This is always an exciting evening, with a few nerves,  as we begin to work in partnership with our new and existing families. The evening will be led by our very experienced and amazing: Miss Wood and Miss Porter. Following on from this, we welcome our 2027 Preps to three orientation sessions over the next few weeks. Popping in and out of Prep now, it is hard to believe how young and new to Sacred Heart they were back in January. Each of them has grown in height, wisdom and confidence, as the year has progessed! 

Class Placement Process for 2027 

In the coming weeks, we will invest significant time in finalising class placements for 2027. This process involves careful consideration of each child’s social, emotional, behavioural, and academic needs. Teacher judgement, combined with a deep understanding of what is best for each student and cohort, will guide these decisions to ensure balanced and effective classroom dynamics. While friendship groups are taken into account, our foremost priority is to create the best possible learning environment for all students.

As part of this process, teachers will ask students to nominate five classmates they work well with for the following year. Students will be encouraged to consider peers from other classes to support positive connections across the cohort. Every effort will be made to ensure that each child has at least one of their nominated friends in their 2027 class.

Parents who wish to make an educational request regarding their child’s placement are asked to submit this in writing to:  principal@shsandringham.catholic.edu.au 

(not to the classroom teacher or admin email account) by no later than Friday 30th October. 

Finalised classes will be confirmed following the ‘Moving Up Day’ in Week 10, on Monday , 7th December.

Sacred Heart's Got Talent 

This year our talent show will look a bit diferent. All the students will have the opportunity to participate in Sacred Heart's Got Talent. This will be done within each year level, over the next fortnight.  Each year level will then choose two items to represent them, in our showcase Sacred Heart's Got Talent assembly on Monday 6th November. Parents are most welcome and encouraged to join us for this performance. Sacred Heart's Got Talent provides opportunities for the students to work creatively, collaboratively, go out of their comfort zone, be resilient, experience being a respectful and supportive audience, and enact student agency.  Please see the following guidelines:

Items may be no longer than 2 minutes 

Clean lyrics 

Must only be in one performance - individual or group 

No rude jokes, songs etc. 

Appropriate costumes 

No make up 

Performance items may include: singing, dancing, aerobics, skipping, magic, comedy… 

Our School Captains; Geneva, Mila, Octavio and Simon, will work alongside the staff and students to support Sacred Heart's Got Talent and will host the assembly on Monday 6th November. It has been a privilege to work with these students this year, and when we met on Tuesday, I was filled with pride as I listened to them collaborate with each other and myself, as we planned for this community event. 

We continue to keep Mary, Molly and family in our prayers and thoughts, and thank you for your support for the Whole school Funky Feet Friday Fundraiser on 16th October. Funky Feet Friday (socks instead of beanies due to the better weather)  to raise funds for brain cancer research. This cause is especially close to our hearts as we show our support for our dear friend and colleague, Mary B, and her daughter, Molly.

We are incredibly proud of Pippa (former student), who was selected to represent Victoria in the School Sport Victoria (SSV) 12 & Under Netball Team at the School Sport Australia (SSA) National Netball Championships in Darwin in September. 

From her proud Mum, Helen:

"The team enjoyed an outstanding tournament, winning gold and remaining undefeated throughout the six-day competition against every state and territory.  It was an incredible experience for Pippa and a wonderful opportunity to learn, grow and create lifelong memories both on and off the court.

A heartfelt thank you to Sacred Heart for supporting Pippa's sporting journey from the very beginning. Her love of netball was nurtured during her time at the school, and we are so grateful for the encouragement and opportunities she received along the way."

We thank Mataya for sharing her creativity and artistic talents with us, with her kind donation. It brings joy and colour to our office area.

Celebrate Learning and Monkey Bar Skills! 

Already our superstars are shining with their learning. It was also great preparing for assembly with our hosts today, Lachie and Ned. In Mrs Pennington's absence I met with the choir as we began our prepartion of Carols on Wednesday 9th December. 

Update from Peta from the parish 

Last Sunday the three combined Churches who make up the Parish of the Holy Spirit and St Francis came together as one, to mark the special celebration of St Francis' 800th Birthday, and also draw the East Timor raffle.  About 140 people gathered in the Mary McKillop Hall  and had a most enjoyable time. An amazing birthday cake was made by a parishioner, along with 3D printed arches, animals, etc, and the younger attendees assisted Fr Martin cut the cake. A hearty afternoon tea was enjoyed by all, and it was wonderful that a number of Residents of Fernhill Mercy were able to attend.

Thank you to the many families who bought raffle tickets and donated to this worthy cause.

We raised approximately $4,615.00

1st: Lewis Moses IHOM church - $800 Westfield voucher.

2nd: Milo Stynes Yr 6 Sacred Heart School- Peter Cartwright Painting

3rd: Judy O’Brien - Painted Fiddle by Bernadette O’Neill

4th: Tiffany Podlena- Yr 5 Sacred Heart school - Sir Edmund Hillary Triptych

5th: Fr Martin Tanti - Wildflower Painting by Joan Wiltshire

6th: Ammie Doherty - Handmade Quilt by Margaret Palmer

7th: Bernadette O’Neill- Dominique Portet Rose Wine

You may also notice a very happy Father Martin holding the Parish of the Holy Spirit and St Francis newest member; Sir Richard. The children were delighted to meet this beautiful puppy during the week. 

Fishing Rods 

If we have any budding fisherchildren , who would like to collect a fishing rod from the office, please feel free to do so.  Each year, Fisheries Victoria donate fishing rods to Year Five students, across Victoria.  We have some left over, waiting for a new home. 

Upcoming Term 4 Dates 

Take care and wishing God's blessings and peace upon each of you. 

Mrs Cathy Ferrari