Principal News 

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CAMPS 2024

Dear Families and Friends,

Welcome back to our final term of 2024 – it’s hard to believe we’ve reached this point already! We hope everyone had a restful and enjoyable break and is feeling refreshed for the months ahead. This term promises to be even busier, with the building program picking up pace and the full academic and assessment schedule in full swing over the coming weeks.

Term 4 is always an exciting and rewarding time as we reflect on the growth our students have achieved through months of hard work and dedication to our targeted programs and approaches to teaching and learning. It's also a time of transition, as we gently prepare students at all levels to move up a year. In particular, we are thrilled to welcome our two new Prep classes and their families for 2025, who will begin their orientation to school life here at Sacred Heart in the coming weeks. The end of the year will be upon us before we know it, so let's ensure we enjoy this ride to the finish line, in particular for our Yr.6 students and departing families. This can sometimes be an emotionally bumpy ride as our most senior students and some long-standing families close out their journey at Sacred Heart. 

With clear access to the full site over the past two weeks, we are pleased to share that the much-anticipated building project is progressing well. Stage 1 is expected to be completed just before the school year ends, positioning us for a fresh start in 2025. At this point, we have yet to determine whether we will move back into the newly refurbished learning areas later this term or wait until next year i.e. exact handover date to be determined.

The progress on the new classrooms is especially exciting, and it's already clear how transformative these spaces will be for our learning environment. While there has been a slight delay with the administration building, we’re happy to report that it is still coming along nicely. With the removal of several walls, the space is shaping up beautifully—particularly the kitchen area and professional learning space, which will be doubling in size. With many months of the staff being tightly squeezed into a coverted store room, we can’t wait to enjoy the upgrade!

Please refer to the Term 4 Overviews for all classroom and specialist teachers.

A sneaky highlight on my travels!

The work below is one of many samples of work done by our prep students. No surprises I was completely blown away as I noted 44 similiar samples on desk tops this week. This sample is completely without teacher support i.e. independent.  

The below article re-affirms we are proudly well ahead of the curve at Sacred Heart.

2024 Class Placements

In the coming weeks, we will invest significant time in finalising the classes for 2025, carefully considering the social, emotional, behavioural, and academic needs of the children. Teacher judgement, along with an intimate understanding of what is best for each child, cohort, and the most effective and balanced classroom dynamics, will guide these decisions. While friendship groups are important, our priority is to ensure the best possible learning environment for all students.

Teachers will ask students to name five friends they work well with for the following year, and students will be encouraged to consider classmates from other classes in this process. The aim is for each child to have at least one nominated friend.

All 'educational' requests from parents must be submitted in writing to the Principal (not the classroom teacher) no later than Wednesday, 6th November. Finalised class lists will be confirmed after the 'Moving Up' day in late Term 4, on Friday, 13th December.

School Uniform Reminder

Just a gentle reminder, we are now transitioning into full summer uniform. Hats are required in line with our "no hat, no play" policy, and these must be the official navy blue school hat.

We will also be enforcing our shoe policy. All students are required to wear black shoes (including black sneakers with no visible branding e.g. white Nike logo) as part of the school uniform. If an alternative shoe needs to be worn (e.g., while waiting for a new pair to be purchased), a letter or email must be sent to the classroom teacher explaining the situation.

Congratulations Father Martin

We are delighted to acknowledge over the term break Fr. Martin was formally appointed Parish Priest of the now-combined parishes of Sandringham, Hampton East, and Hampton—the Parish of Holy Spirit & St. Francis. We look forward to continuing to build and strengthen our relationship with Fr. Martin and the parish in the years to follow.

Prep Story Time

What a gorgeous and perfect introduction to the camp program for our precious Preps, who enjoyed their story time onsite on Thursday. Dressed for the occasion, our youngest students had a wonderful time with stories, games, dinner, and a quick movie before heading home for the evening. We thank our amazing Prep teachers, Miss Maloney and Miss Wood, for their efforts in setting the tone (the room looked incredible) and making this such a special experience for their students. What a year they are having creating these memories! We also sincerely thank Miss Donnelly and Miss Prosser for supporting the children and their team on the night. A special call out to Adele and the Charcoal Chicken team for providing the treats. 

Yr.3 Scienceworks

We are once again indebted to our dedicated staff for supporting and caring for our students during their firts overnight school camping experience. Our Year 3 students had a truly wonderful time during their 'offsite' school camp, which is part of a program that gradually increases in days and nights away as they progress through school. This gentle introduction was such a success thanks to the students' positive behavior and the care of our staff.

We sincerely thank the Year 3 team—Miss Bulte and Mrs. McGrath—for preparing the students so well, and we also extend our gratitude to the support staff: Miss McKay, Ms. Tench, and Mrs. Stroud, for attending overnight. We are truly fortunate, and we congratulate the students for their exemplary behaviour. You continue to shine!

STAFFING NEWS

This term, we are delighted to welcome the most impressive Jane Bertacco to our Learning Support Officer (LSO) team. Her passion and energy (already noted by staff) for literacy intervention, particularly through the Multisensory Structured Language (MSL) approach, will greatly enrich our resources and more importantly our students. We also warmly welcome back Miss Maloney, Mrs. McGrath, and Mrs. Pennington from their leave. It’s wonderful to have the full team back and settled for our final term.

We are also thrilled to announce that we have filled the Japanese specialist position for next year with Mrs. Evans in light of Mrs Bunn's retirement from teaching. She is a perfect fit for this important role, having spent over 15 years in Japan as a teacher and interpreter. With a wealth of knowledge, experience and expertise, Mrs. Evans has exciting plans for our Japanese program and has been instrumental in coordinating exchange programs, cultural days, and numerous festivities to promote this beautiful language and culture. We are most grateful and excited that she has embraced this opportunity to build upon the wonderful work of Mrs. Bunn.

Sadly, as communicated earlier this week via Operoo, we will soon be bidding farewell to Simon Brown, who has accepted a position with the Department of Education as a regional representative for Respectful Relationships—an area he is deeply passionate about. While this move has come sooner than expected, opportunities like this are rare, and it aligns with Simon’s desire to have a broader impact, particularly in student wellbeing. We sincerely thank Simon for his leadership, adaptability, and the collegial support he has shown over the years at Sacred Heart. We wish him all the best as he embarks on this exciting new chapter. Simon’s last day will be October 25th, and we hope his remaining weeks will be filled with treasured memories. In the interim, we are pleased to announce that Mrs. Rebecca Beresford will take on the PE role for the remainder of the term. Rebecca is a regular on staff covering classes across the school and knows our students exceptionally well. In the meantime, this position is currently being advertised. 

As also communicated recently, I have been meeting with all staff for their formal Annual Review Meetings (ARMs). These are affirming discussions that focus on achievements, students, aspirations, future goals and intentions. This year, we are also in a leadership cycle, meaning allleadership positions, including the Deputy Principal role, have been re-advertised internally as part of the contractual process. For the Deputy Principal position, approval from a MACS (Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools) panel is required, especially as the role includes acting principal duties when necessary. This is a three-year position, and we are hopeful of finalising all leadership roles in the coming weeks to assist with our planning and staffing arrangements for 2025.

❤️LITTLE HEARTS PLAYGROUP💙

 A huge thank you to our families for spreading the word—just as one parent said, "Build it, and they will come."

Next Session: 18th October, 10am

It's also worth noting that our enrolments for 2026 are filling up quickly, with several tours already completed or scheduled, and enrolment papers coming in. Please ensure prospective families and friends are aware we anticipate a large ennrolment numbers and a likely early cut off date. 

🔨Building Update🔨

This week's progress:

Storm water upgrade✅

New roofing to the corridor area started ✅

Heating and cooling✅

New external doors to playground✅

Walls demolished in the staffroom✅

90% plaster completed in the classrooms✅

Window and door frames installed✅

Steps and ramp to school entry finished ex. rails✅

Electrical upgrade 90%✅

95% steel works complete✅

MELBOURNE CUP SPECIAL VISIT

FRIDAY 25th OCTOBER 

Thanks to Phil Gleeson (Jack & Will), we are thrilled to announce that we have been selected to be part of the Lexus Melbourne Cup Tour—an incredibly unique experience.

The Lexus Melbourne Cup Tour will visit Sacred Heart on the 25th of October, from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. This rare opportunity allows us to see a significant piece of Australian history: the iconic silverware, The Melbourne Cup, that 'stops a nation' as it travels across the country on its way to this iconic day. 

To add to the excitement, we are planning some small themed activities for the day. More details will follow closer to the day e.g. Crazy or Fancy Hat Day. We are super excited about this rare opportunity and visit to Sacred Heart. Parents are most welcome to attend. 

ANNUAL CLASH OF THE COURTS IS BACK

Ladies of Sacred Heart - it’s time to dust off your Netball shoes as we need you!

Player Registrations open next week.

• Round Robin Netball Tournament across two different competitions: The two competitions will enable a range of netball skills to be on display, from those who are still donning a netball bib each week to those who haven’t played at all before - All welcome.  

• Family-Friendly event - would love to see a large contingent from Sacred Heart cheering on their school

• All while raising much-needed funds for TeamSports4All (https://teamsports4all.com.au)

Keep up to date via Instagram @clashofthecourts 

LITTLE GEMS💎

It was wonderful to see these superstars showcase their very special 'Little Blue Mindfulness Journals.' These little books are used by the children to draw or write, helping them settle into class—whether in the morning, during transitions, or after break times. They have been an invaluable introduction tool in 2024 for our Preps in their first year of school.

How good is this team? No, they were not late for work, just getting in the theme for storytime. 

And finally...

Congratulations to our students and staff on a perfect start to the final term of 2024!

I’m immensely proud of our community and the way everyone has re-settled without missing a beat in our learning programs, maintaining high expectations and investing in extra-curricular activities.

Let’s be sure to embrace and enjoy this journey to the finish line in the best school in the bayside.

Simon C