Principal News 

TERM 1 - WEEK 5

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CAMPS 2024

*Updated Key Dates T1-T4 2024

Dear Families and Friends,

It's hard to believe that we've successfully navigated through the 'hump week' in the first term of 2024, coinciding with our Preps completing their first full week of school. These remarkable students, guided by their amazing teachers, Miss Maloney and Miss Wood, have left an incredible impression with their seamless transition to school life. Notably, their teachers have wasted no time and have already commenced implementing our comprehensive 'Structured Literacy' program, highlighting their eagerness to embrace new learning early in their school journey. While such rollouts are typically gradual, considering the cognitive load, these junior superstars are ready and eager, and we simply couldn't hold them back!

It's safe to say that a highlight of this week was the delightful visit from all 44 Preps, accompanied by their very proud teachers, to share their incredible writing samples with me. Our most junior students had been actively engaged in constructing sentences as part of the TWR method (evidence-based) for teaching writing. This method emphasises explicit, carefully sequenced instruction, progressing from sentences to compositions.

I found myself nearly falling off my seat as the students confidently identified the 'who' (noun/subject) and 'doing' (verb) components in their sentences. The smiles on their faces perfectly captured their sense of pride in their efforts.

This week, we were thrilled to welcome prospective families for student-led Open Day tours for 2025/26. A special thank you to our current and past families for your positive 'word of mouth' as many families echoed these endorsements. Our outstanding senior students thoroughly enjoyed showcasing 'their' school, adding authenticity to the Open Day process. Families consistently mentioned the student leaders and the remarkable sense of calm in classrooms, where students were highly focused on their learning. While avoiding the spotlight on any specific class, they couldn't help but observe the impressive engagement of our Year 5s, 4s, and 3s. Walking down the entire corridor, they noticed classroom doors wide open, and all students diligently on task. For the record, this is the typical tone for our students. This orderliness is not by chance but a result of our journey at Sacred Heart, emphasising consistent delivery patterns across classrooms and embedding explicit instruction methods from Prep to Year 6, thereby creating optimal conditions for learning. Once again, congratulations to our students and dedicated staff for their whole-hearted commitment to these exemplary practices and expectations.

Although new to our teaching staff this year, it's hard not to again acknowledge Mrs McGrath, Miss Bulte, Mrs Maddocks, Miss Bull and Miss Wood. What an incredible impression these educators have had on our students and it's only Week 5. Not surprisingly they have embraced and already influenced our positive tone and direction as a school. 

CELEBRATING BEST PRACTICE 

On Wednesday, three members of our leadership team – Sarah Rafferty, Kate Stroud, and Dara Blake were invited to present to over 60 Catholic schools and 250 peers in our region. The presentation aimed to celebrate the collective efforts of our staff in the positive and remarkable transformation of our teaching and learning practices. Guided by research and evidence, and with a significant investment from our dedicated staff, we have witnessed a profound shift in how things are done at Sacred Heart. I was so proud to see our team being recognized in this capacity.

During the presentation, the leaders highlighted the 'buy-in' from our teachers, the engagement of our students, and the trust from our families who have wholeheartedly embraced this direction. Importantly, these acknowledgments underscored the significance of the collaborative effort that has contributed to the success we celebrated on the day.

Some key take aways from the presentation. 

At Sacred Heart:

1. All our practices are evidence based and guided by Cognitive Science and the Science of Reading. 
2. We have a rigourous and high impact professional learning agenda to improve student outcomes. 
3. The growth of our staff knowledge (how, why and what we teach) has exceeded expectations. 
4. We have embedded a 100% Structured Literacy Approach inc. structured synthetic phonics, MSL, Heggerty, TWR, Morphology and Spelling Mastery.
5. Now we know better, we do better. Ultimately we want the best for our students.
6. We now proudly look at our school through two lenses, that drives student and staff learning.
7. Timetables ensure accountability to the curriculum including a daily 2 hour literacy and 1 hour numeracy block. 
8. Our leadership roles are clear and purposeful.
9. We are commited to a shared vision for excellence.
10. The buy-in from all staff has defined this journey of change.  
11. Our new Sacred Heart Playbook reinforces the non-negotiable practices to be implemented and expected in all classrooms. 
12. Strong relationships underpin all we do and these are evident in our actions and behaviours. 

And finally, we received a couple of emails this week that hopefully speak to the above:

"I am reaching out to you since our school's Primary Head of Literacy has identified your school as having outstanding practice in the area of English Instruction.

Our College is currently undergoing a review of our Primary School structure and practices, and my team (Head of Literacy, Head of Numeracy, and I) would like to connect with Victorian schools that exemplify 'best practice.'

Could you please pass my contact details on to relevant personnel responsible for curriculum design and/or oversight at your school? I would very much like to have a conversation and possibly arrange a meeting/visit."

Dear Sarah, Kate, Dara and Simon

Thanks to you all for your input today and sharing your story with other schools. There was a lot of feedback relating to how helpful it was to hear from schools doing this work. Your team came across as very united towards the one goal (love the mantra!) and you made it seem possible for other schools by talking about how you started small and then expanded practice from there.

I think you’ll have a number of visitors coming through soon!

From all at the Southern Regional Office, we’d like to extend our gratitude to you.

SWIMMING CARNIVAL

Well done to our swimming team, who recently took part in the Dendy Swimming Carnival. We are incredibly proud of our team for competing against 12 schools in the network, including many State squad swimmers.

It's fantastic to see Micaela and Alexia progress to Beachside. We also extend congratulations to the following students for their achievements in their respective events.:

• 9/10 Girls – Backstroke – Lily Becket – 3rd
• 11 Girls – Backstroke – Micaela Pacquola – 1st
• 9/10 Girls – Breaststroke – Alexia Pigott – 3rd
• 11 Boys – Breaststroke – Owen Molony – 3rd
• 11 Girls – Freestyle Relay – 3rd

CANBERRA HERE WE COME

As many families are aware, our Year 6 students will soon embark on a trip to Canberra, arguably the highlight of their final year at Sacred Heart. Since its introduction in 2022, this specific camping experience has remained the pinnacle of our program for the senior students. However, we've become increasingly aware of the rising costs associated with offering such enriching experiences for students, particularly considering the pressures on both our families and school finances, such as staffing expenses.

This year, the school has taken proactive steps to subsidise a percentage of these costs, aiming to alleviate some 'cost of living' pressures on our families and ensure that every child can participate without financial constraints. Additionally, we want to commend and sincerely thank our incredible Year 6 students and their teachers, who are actively engaged in a series of fundraising activities. Their efforts are aimed at contributing to easing the financial burden currently absorbed by the school, demonstrating a collective commitment to make this experience accessible for all.

On that note, it has been phenomenal to see our students participate in a daily running sessions prior to school and late in the afternoon as they look to collectively run the total distance to Canberra, 800+kms. Much credit must be given to Miss McKay  for inspiring the students on this 'running' journey. We also thank Miss Healey, Miss Tench, Mr Blake and parents for joining the students each morning. What a team we have at Sacred Heart! 

WE ARE IN A PICKLE...

Mr. Brown rolled out some new sports equipment this week, and our students absolutely loved the pickleball sets. So much so that Nash stated he wanted to even start Sacred Heart's very own Pickleball Club.

KARATE INCURSION

Never a dull moment at Sacred Heart, as this week we had a karate incursion with All Stars Defence one of our before school providers. Needless to say the children loved it!

Staffing News

We are thrilled to announce that two more of staff will commence MSL training later this month. Miss Maloney and Mrs Pennington are next in line as we hope to steadily work our way through our staff with this invaluable training and qualification. 4 staff down.... to go. 

KEEP SPREADING THE GOOD WORD 

OPEN DAYS 2024 

A School of choice for our families

We strongly encourage our families to spread the positive news and share the wonderful experiences within our beautiful school community with their networks as we ready for our two Prep classes for 2025. 

If families wish to arrange a tour outside of these sessions, kindly contact the office at 9598 9322, and we would be delighted to guide you through our amazing school. We also have a tour booking link on the school website. 

No need to book for these dates:

Open Day Schedule:

• Monday, March 4th, 9:30 am - 3:15pm
• Tuesday 12th March, 9:30am - 3:00pm

Little Hearts of Sandy Playgroup

Family and friends are most welcome to attend our Little Hearts Playgroup. Please note, there is no age limit on toddlers or pre-schoolers. We typically have about20 pre-schoolers (inc. 2025 & 2026 Preps) and toddlers and it has been fabulous to see lots of new faces at these sessions. We'd love to see you there! 

• 22nd March
• 19th April
• 31st May
• 21st June
• 26th July
• 30th August
• 18th October
• 22nd November
• 6th December

P&F NEWS

We are so grateful to our generous and hard working P&F who recently donated $3500 towards the purcahsing class sets of novels for the Yr.3-6 students. This ongoing level of support is never taken for granted and always appreciated by our staff, and most importantly the students. 

LITTLE GEMS

Every day, in 'all' our classrooms, students engage in reading fluency practice. They read the same script daily within a set time frame, aiming to enhance their word count throughout the week. Multiple exposures and repetition are integral to this improvement strategy. Thank you, Sophie and Lewis, for dropping by my office; you were amazing. It is also worth noting the students practise their number fluency daily across all levels. Building these rituals into our structured weekly program has so very important for our learners. 

IRREGULAR WORDS IN Yr.1

Midway through reading a book to her class, a hand popped up in Miss Prosser's class. "Excuse Miss Prosser, that's an irregular word." In addition to teaching our students 'regular' words (those in which every letter represents its most common sound), we also expose the students to irregular words. These do not fit the typical letter-sound correspondence that students have learned. Great work Ashton! 

We greatly appreciate the ongoing commitment of our parents who generously volunteer their time to coach, manage, and support our children in their sporting endeavors. Our school courts are consistently booked for numerous basketball and netball training sessions, with activities scheduled five mornings and afternoons every week.

Welcome Charlie to Prep. It was lovely to see our newest member of the community drop in and visit his proud sister Grace this week for some show and tell.  Congratulations Emily and Adam on the happy and joyous arrival of your beautiful boy. 

And finally....

On Monday morning, as I sat quietly at my desk reviewing the calendar for the week ahead, my initial thoughts were that we were in for a quiet week at Sacred Heart. However, fast forward to Friday afternoon, and something tells me that my contemplations were very wrong.

Counting my blessings,

Simon Collis

Principal

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