Principal News 

TERM 4 - WEEK 5

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Dear Families & Friends,

Just when we thought the previous fortnight couldn't get any busier, we managed to roll out a fire truck (including a very wet Miss Donnelly), conducted two amazing Prep orientation sessions, hosted a Year 3 camp, organized a Year 2 sleepover, and ran a Kanga cricket carnival for Year 5 and 6, all while maintaining a full academic program. 

Once again, I take my hat off to our highly dedicated staff who continue to so generously offer their time (outside hours), going well above and beyond to ensure our students and families are provided with these rich and most memorable experiences at Sacred Heart. In particular, we cannot underestimate the staff responsibility required and trust from families with the breadth of activities, such as camps and sleepovers. Thank you staff and families! 

Fittingly, as we approach the 'long weekend' during the Melbourne Cup period, this extended break in the middle of Term 4 offers a valuable opportunity for both our students and staff to take a breath and recharge before the final dash to December 15. In the past few days and in the weeks ahead, all students in Prep to Year 6 will be undergoing comprehensive formal assessments. This period is designed to help our staff collect data and observe the expected growth in students' achievements, particularly in the critical academic areas of literacy and numeracy. 

In addition, our scheduled school closure late in November is set aside to review our whole school data sets and establish our teaching and learning goals for 2024, targetting specific curriculum areas and practices.

Considering the academic pillars of our school, it's important to restate that we have been focusing largely on Literacy and Numeracy for the past 18 months. During this time, we have enhanced our practices by exclusively implementing explicit teaching methods and evidence-based approaches for these subjects. This includes a stronger emphasis on the consistent and daily delivery of a structured literacy and numeracy program, incorporating MSL, Heggerty, Spelling Mastery, fluency, and mental computation skills. We eagerly anticipate sharing and celebrating the outcomes of these efforts and reflecting on the significant investment our staff have made in their teaching and learning practices at Sacred Heart.

Prep Orientation

Two down, and one to go! Congratulations to Miss Maloney and Miss Wood for your exceptional efforts during the recent Prep orientation program. Your dedication and hard work have truly paid off for our new students and their families, as they had such a smooth and welcoming transition over these two sessions. We couldn't have hoped for a better outcome.

Thank you once again for going above and beyond to create a warm, positive, and nurturing environment for our soon-to-be junior students, setting the tone for what is sure to be an amazing journey ahead at Sacred Heart.

Additionally, we'd like to express our thanks to Mrs. Stroud, Mrs. Pennington, and Miss Rafferty, who have also provided valuable support to the teachers, students, and families during these sessions. Along with the observations and discussions at the local kinders and insights from our team over these two sessions, we anticipate finalising the two classes for 2024 during the upcoming third session.

Tours 2025 & 2026

We are thrilled to acknowledge that we continue to receive a steady stream of school tours for prospective students looking to join our Prep classes in 2025 and 2026. While this indicates a strong interest, it's important to note that we won't be officially offering places until the year before the intake.

It's wonderful to see families actively doing their research, and we extend our thanks to our parent community for spreading the positive word about our school. In the meantime, if you have a sibling who will be starting in those years, it would be greatly appreciated if you could notify Karen at your earliest convenience. This will assist us in our planning and forecasting for the upcoming years.

Year 3 Ranch Camp

These photos have, not surprisingly, captured yet another incredible outdoor camping experience for our students in the bayside. As mentioned several times in this newsletter, we are truly grateful to our staff for their coordination and support during these overnight experiences. For many of our students, this is their first significant time away from their families, and we acknowledge the trust our families place in us, which is matched only by the responsibility placed on our staff. Managing nerves, excitement, mixed emotions, sleep disruptions, and unfamiliar routines is a significant undertaking for our team.

Since joining Sacred Heart in 2021, I have noticed the responsiveness and eagerness of our entire staff in seeking opportunities to participate in our camping program. Having worked in education for 34 years, I must say that this level of enthusiasm and dedication to supporting the students and attending camps is the best I have ever seen. In my capacity, I simply could not ask for more. 

To Miss Healey, Ms. Tench, Miss Rafferty, Hanna (student teacher) and Mr. T, we extend our sincere thanks once again for your exceptional care of our students. Most importantly, the students were outstanding during these two days, making this time away a truly memorable and joyful experience for our staff.

Year 1 & Year 2 Sleepover

From games to a 'silent disco,' a special charcoal chicken treat, a movie, and a sleepover for our Year 2 students, there's no denying that our juniors had a wonderful experience on Thursday evening while staying back at school. This special program serves as a fantastic stepping stone for our offsite camping program. We would like to express our gratitude to our dedicated staff, including Miss Donnelly, Miss Prosser, Miss Maloney, and Mrs. Harper, for generously supporting our students during this mini adventure.

Prep Subordinating Conjunctions

Above, you'll find a screenshot taken from Miss Maloney's board. Take a closer look at the concept our youngest students are currently focusing on. The progress we're making in all classrooms with The Writing Revolution (TWR) is truly exceptional. Below, you can see some samples of work that our students have completed entirely independently. Miss Maloney was so impressed that she requested I visit the classroom to review this remarkable writing.

Fluency in Prep

A picture tells a thousand stories. Last Friday, these fabulous Preps visited my office to showcase their fluency skills. I must say, we shared a few laughs before the boys mastered the text. It's easy to see why Miss Maloney is beaming with pride, as her students are flourishing under her care and guidance. Every day, all classes practice their fluency during their Literacy Block using set, familiar text. Through daily repetition, this practice greatly assists in developing their reading fluency. We are seeing so many great gains since introducing this daily routine across the school. 

Year 2 Literacy

Not to be outdone, our amazing Year 2 students have also been focusing on their TWR skills. And just like our Preps, the samples below have been completed entirely independently.

Staffing News

We extend our congratulations to Miss Sarah Rafferty, who has completed her Masters in Educational Leadership, and Mr. Dara Blake, who has successfully finished his Masters in Student Wellbeing, by submitting their final thesis assignments over the weekend. This is a remarkable achievement, especially considering that both of these dedicated staff members have maintained full-time teaching and leadership responsibilities throughout their period of study. It goes without saying that they have sacrificed many hours during the work week, in addition to attending numerous lectures and classes over the weekend, to ensure that they meet the rigorous requirements of their studies.

We are incredibly proud of this accomplishment and are confident that it will serve them well in their future leadership aspirations. Furthermore, we believe that their achievement will bring invaluable benefits to our students, families, and staff in the years to come.

New in 2024

We're thrilled to introduce our new navy fleece zip tops for the students. You can find samples of these in the Uniform Shop, and for your convenience, there are also samples available located in the walkway near the office and library area. Please note that the sizing tends to run on the smaller side, starting from size 4. These zip tops are available for online orders now, and we anticipate delivery by the end of the term. While the samples on display do not feature our school emblem, the final products for students will include our school emblem. We've had many inquiries about these zip tops, and we're excited to announce that they're finally here! Additionally, we still have jumpers available for purchase at a reduced price, which students are still permitted to wear.

Many thanks to Tarn and Amanda for organising this great new addition. 

P&F News

We sincerely thank our P&F for sponsoring the upcoming Sex Ed Program for our Yr.4-6 students and families. Acknowledging the added costs for our families, the P&F have generously committed to fully fund this most important educational program for 2023. This certainly helps alleviate some increasing schooling costs for our families. 

Clash of the Courts

Well done to our superstar mums! Due to the increasing numbers, our mothers have had to relocate their training sessions to the Thomas Street Netball Courts instead of Sacred Heart. With approximately 50 at the training session last Sunday, our mums are all gearing up for the upcoming annual Clash of Courts. We cannot wait to see the mums' in action in the coming weeks. A big thank you to Amanda Molony for her coordination in uniting our community for this worthy cause.

Little Hearts of Sandy Playgroup

Family and friends are most welcome to attend. No age limit on toddlers or pre-schoolers. Last session we had over 20 pre-schoolers (inc. 2024 & 2025 Preps) and toddlers and it has been fabulous to see lots of new faces at these sessions. Thanks again to our talented LSO and musician, Carol for entertaining the children and families throughout the morning. We love these sessions! 

Only two more to go:

• 24th Nov. 10am
• 8th Dec. 10am

Extra Curricula 

In addition to before school Fitness, Art and Gardening Club on offer this term, we are thrilled to now offer Karate (Tuesday) and Robotics (Wednesday - started last week) classes throughout the week. We are so pleased the positive numbers and expressions of interest for these respective new offerings at Sacred Heart.  The two new programs and options for our families have a tremendous hit. 

2024 Class Placements

In the coming days, we will look to invest a significant amount of time to settle on the classes for 2024, taking into account the social, emotional, behavioural and academic distribution of the children. Friendship groups are important, however our focus must be to ensure the best possible learning environment for all students. Teachers will begin asking students to name 5 friends they work well with for the following year. They will also be reminded to consider students from the other class in this process, with the aim being for each child to have at least 1 nominated friend. All ‘educational’ requests from parents must be put in writing to the Principal by no later than Tuesday 7th November. Classes for next year will be confirmed after the 'Moving Up' day late in Term 4. 

Before Care Program 2024 and After Care change from November onwards

After our recent survey to all current parents and Prep families joining us in 2024, we take great pleasure in advising The Village OSHC are able to offer Before Care on a Wednesday and Thursday in 2024.  If demand grows, we hope to be able to offer more mornings.

This commitment by the school and The Village OSHC is based on the responses we received. It is very important for families to honour what they have indicated in the survey.  The Aftercare program will reduce to Mon-Thurs, due to lack of interest on Fridays (effective from now).

LITTLE GEMS

Art Work - Sacred Heart Gallery

We had two visiting families noticed the artwork throughout the school, and both commented that it felt like walking through a gallery and I think we can see why. The work is exquisite.

Our beautiful Preps making Japanese Festival kites with Bunn Sensei.

Thank you, Sam and Levi, for sharing your valuable insights on how our First Nations People manage and rejuvenate the land. Your explanation was superb. Clearly never too old to drop passed my office for a sticker. 

And finally....

A special shout-out to our Year 5 students for their outstanding job with the readings at Mass this week in honor of All Souls Day. They were exceptional!

Wishing our students, staff, and families a restful and well-deserved mini break over the Melbourne Cup period. 

We can't wait to see you on Wednesday as we prepare for the final sprint to the end of the year.

Simon Collis

Principal

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