Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome back to Term 2!

I hope each family had a restful break. I'm sure the children are now ready for the busy term ahead, which will be filled with many wonderful learning opportunities.

STAFF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Over the past two days, our staff was fortunate enough to attend professional development workshops facilitated by Dr Lyn Sharratt. Lyn is a highly accomplished practitioner, researcher, author, and presenter from Canada who has worked alongside our diocese for the past eight years.

The heart of these sessions was the in-depth exploration of the Instruction Waterfall Chart, a crucial tool in our professional development journey.

Opportunities were provided for Learning Walks and Talks around St Xavier's School, Gunnedah, to observe aspects of the Assessment Waterfall Chart in action.

This professional learning opportunity was a positive experience for our staff. It enabled us to co-reflect on our current practice aligned to the Assessment Waterfall Chart and co-plan for future improvements in our school.

HOLIDAY HIGHLIGHTS

These holidays have proven to be busy for our school and the wider Boggabri community. I want to express my heartfelt thanks to all of our students and families who represented Sacred Heart School during many of these events.

Gunnedah Show

The students of Sacred Heart created a masterpiece display for the Gunnedah Show that beautifully represented the theme 'Paddock to Plate'.

Many of our students also entered writing samples and other creations, taking out a range of prizes. I am proud of each child who entered and did their very best.

Thank you to the members of our PTF who donated their valuable time early in the morning to empty the bins at the Gunnedah Show. Your efforts contributed an $800 donation from the Gunnedah Show Society to our school.

New Flag Pole

When you enter our school grounds, you will notice a new flagpole erected to fly our Australian Flag. A huge thank you to Nat Groves and his helpers for taking away the old, broken flagpole and installing the new one in its place. This was a time-consuming task, and we were grateful to have this project completed in time to fly our flags for ANZAC Day. We will be endeavouring to purchase a third flagpole to fly the Torres Strait Islander flag in the future.

ANZAC Day Dawn Service and Commemorative March

I attended the Dawn Service in Baan Baa on ANZAC Day and the March in Boggabri. Standing in Baan Baa, listening to the speakers at the Dawn Service, and watching the sun rise over the hills was a moving experience. I enjoyed being immersed in such a tight-knit community where I could meet locals and converse with them after the service.

Thank you to the students of Sacred Heart who attended the ANZAC Day march. I was proud of how you presented yourselves in your full school uniform and marched respectfully. Grace and Emily, as leaders of our school, recited the King's Prayer and laid a wreath on behalf of our school during the commemorative service. Thank you, ladies, for the reverent manner in which you took on these important roles.

I received many positive comments regarding the Sacred Heart children's respectful manner during the service and how they presented themselves. Cr Tiemens, the Mayor of Narrabri, mentioned that he was impressed with how the students dressed beautifully in their winter uniforms and marched respectfully with their teachers. He was in awe of how Sacred Heart School truly respected the ANZAC tradition—well done, Sacred Heart!

Please take a moment to watch this video that highlights memories from 2024 ANZAC Day.

Boggabri Drover's Campfire

To conclude the holidays, Boggabri hosted its annual Drover's Campfire. This community event brings people from all over our countryside to our wonderful town of Boggabri. I was excited to be able to attend many times over the weekend to experience all that our community has to offer. It is moments like this event that we can truly experience the town's catchphrase of being "the little town with the big heart."

Thank you to our PTF Committee members Sophie Rodstrom and Megan Guest and some of our students, who volunteered their time one morning to work with the Lion's Club cooking the breakfast BBQ for our visitors.

It was great to see so many of our students representing Sacred Heart School during the opening ceremony of the Drover's Campfire singing the Australian National Anthem. We are proud of all the students who participated and sang beautifully alongside the Boggabri Public School children.

Lastly, I want to extend a special thank you to Kate, Georgie, Andy, Tina, and Megan for their selfless dedication over the weekend. Their commitment to running the coffee van and providing hundreds of warm drinks and delicious sweet treats for the visitors at the Drover's Campfire was truly commendable. Grace, Ellie, Elsie and Ivy also contributed significantly, demonstrating their excellent hospitality skills. We are immensely grateful for your time, support, and generous monetary donations that will greatly benefit our Year 6 fundraising for the school.

Catholic Schools NSW Message Stick

Next week, we will receive the Catholic Schools NSW Message Stick at our school. This is an exciting opportunity for the Armidale Diocese as we will be hosting the 2024 Catholic Schools NSW (CSNSW) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Conference “Spirit On Conference: Learning Together, Then, Now & Always” in Tamworth on 22nd - 24th October. The Message Stick will continue to travel across all 24 schools in our Diocese, spreading the message of coming together, learning together and celebrating together in a monumental educational event.

We would love to share this special moment with our school and broader communities. Please feel free to attend the following events in the coming week:

You can view further details about this special occasion in the Upcoming Events section of the newsletter.

I am so grateful and fortunate to lead in such a wonderful school community. I am genuinely looking forward to the term ahead.

Wishing everyone a productive and rewarding Week 1!

Warm regards,

Claire Ryan

Principal

Community News

PIANO FOR SALE