Principal News 

TERM 1 - WEEK 7

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CAMPS 2024

*Updated Key Dates T1-T4 2024

Dear Families and Friends,

The timing of the long weekend and school closure couldn't have been more perfect. It provided a wonderful opportunity for our students and staff (and hopefully families) to reset, refresh, and rebound after what has been a truly remarkable and fast-paced start to the new school year. This scheduled break has proven to be a godsend for many over recent years, as all too often, we find ourselves hitting the ground running from the first day of the school year and suddenly 'hitting the wall.'

We extend our sincere thanks to our families for their understanding and trust in supporting this mini break at the half-term. We acknowledge the necessity of taking a breather before the final sprint in the closing weeks of Term 1, which includes significant events such as NAPLAN, Athletics Day, Canberra Camp, Reconciliation, Family Picnic, Stations of The Cross, Easter Bonnet Parade, and the grand finale, our Colour Run. Your support is invaluable as we navigate through this exciting and event-packed period. All the while, as we look to step up yet another gear with our academic program. 

Refurbishment Update - Tender Outcome

Last Thursday, I met with MACS personnel and our architects to reveal the successful tender for our upcoming refurbishment program, set to commence in Term 2. From initially considering 7 prospective building companies, we are thrilled to report that we have now narrowed down the selection to 2. These companies have submitted highly competitive tender packages, which is particularly pleasing as they encompass all additional tender items. These additional items were nominated with the understanding that they might be removed if the tender submission exceeded our financial capacity to fund.

Given the closely aligned tender figures, our next steps involve diligent collaboration with MACS and the architects to determine the best option for our program. We anticipate that this decision-making process will take several weeks before it is officially approved by the Executive Director of MACS. According to our indicative timeline, the project is expected to kick off midway through Term 2. Consequently, we do not plan to relocate the students prior to this timeframe (e.g. end of T.1 as initially planned), aiming to keep both students and staff settled for as long as practical. Your continued patience and support during this phase is greatly appreciated before the 'excitement' and transformation begins.

Open Days

On Tuesday, we wrapped up our final Open Day for 2024. Alongside several tours conducted in recent weeks and a few more scheduled in the coming days for families unable to attend on those designated days, we will comfortably fill two 'capped' Prep classes for the upcoming school year. Our aim over the coming weeks is to promptly notify all families regarding these offers, to hopefully provide assurance for their school of choice in 2025 by April. In the meantime, we strongly encourage families to complete any outstanding application papers as soon as possible to avoid unnecessary disappointment or to contact the school for a tour prior to April.

Once again, we sincerely thank our current and past families for endorsing our wonderful school. This word of mouth has generated great interest in our broader community and continues to contribute to our positive enrolment trend.

"We have heard  amazing things about your school and what you are doing, and we couldn't wait to see it in action. We dearly hope we are not too late and can secure a place for next year."

Perhaps one of the most affirming aspects of our tours has been witnessing how much 'homework' (research) families have been doing prior to these visits. Many have consistently referred to our practices, such as the Structured Literacy approach, explicit teaching methods, tight and predictable learning routines within the core curriculum areas, and our strong community. They often highlight these as points of distinction from neighboring schools, and we are pleased our messaging and practices are resonating with prospective families. 

A sneaky peak of what some families witnessed on Tuesday:

• Preps identifying nouns, verbs and adjectives through the The Writing Revolution (TWR) method - explicit teaching
• Yr.1s sourcing their latest take home decodable readers
• Visual timetables
• Heggerty - Phonemic Awareness - direct instruction
• Mini whiteboards - immediate feedback
• Spelling Mastery lessons - direct instruction
• Yr.2 TWR lesson - explicit teaching
• Specialist classes in action: PE, Visual Arts, Music & Japanese

NAPLAN

This week, our Year 3 and Year 5 students commenced their NAPLAN assessments, and we are so pleased with how smoothly they have engaged with these mandatory national requirements. As a school, we utilise this data in conjunction with other sources gathered throughout the year to monitor student performance and evaluate the effectiveness and impact of our targeted teaching and learning practices. This includes identifying what strategies are proving successful and where adjustments may be needed for improvement. We are so blessed to have such supportive staff with this process, settling the students beautifully prior to, and throughout these assessment tasks - keeping it real and calm. 

Staff Conference 

This year, our annual conference centered around the theme of student and personal wellbeing. As part of this focus, all staff successfully completed their CPR accreditation and Level 2 first aid refresher requirements. Mr. Brown led a comprehensive audit and review of the 11 Child Safety Standards, which is an annual requirement. This process provided a valuable opportunity to acknowledge our strengths in this area and identify areas for improvement, ensuring these standards are fully addressed within our community.

Additionally, all staff fulfilled their Mandatory Reporting and Reportable Conduct obligations. I am pleased to report that our staff members are well-informed and compliant with their reporting and legal obligations and requirements. This commitment is crucial in ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our students, which remains our top priority.  

We were delighted to have Fr. Martin join our staff during this conference period. He conducted a personal faith development session on Friday with our team, and we noted his enthusiasm and strong desire to connect with our staff and community (students and families). It has been most refreshing since his appointment as Parish Priest, and we look forward to building upon this relationship in the coming months.  

Upcoming Principals' VACPSP Conference - 19th - 22nd March

Next week, I will be attending the Victorian Association of Catholic Primary School Principals Conference.

The 2024 Conference theme is WITH STRENGTH, aiming to inspire Principals to think with strength, engage with strength, and lead with strength. In a post-pandemic world, marked by global unrest, teacher shortages, and evolving social, ecclesial, and educational contexts and challenges, Principals are challenged to dig deeper than ever before for the strength to lead their communities. I am looking forward to this opportunity to gather with over 300 colleagues in this capacity.

I want to express my gratitude to our community for their understanding during my absence, particularly during this busy period, including NAPLAN, Canberra Camp, and the Year 3 Reconciliation. While the timing is not ideal, I have the utmost trust that our community is in the best hands in my absence, supported by our amazing leadership team. Please note Mrs Pennington will be undertaking MSL training along with Miss Maloney during the week, so Miss Rafferty, Mrs Stroud and Mr Blake will largely lead the school throughout the week.  I have no doubt our leaders will love the gate greetings each day as much as I do. 

ATHLETICS DAY 2024

Bathed in a sea of colors on a glorious, sunny Friday, we came together to celebrate our annual athletics carnival. It was a fabulous day for our students, who loved the variety of both traditional and modified track and field activities. From long jump and the rush of the 100m sprints to the fun bean bag throwing, our students actively embraced every opportunity to participate. Their unwavering enthusiasm and impeccable behavior throughout the day made it such a success for our community. Yet again, our students truly shone!

We extend our sincere appreciation to Mr. Brown for his exceptional coordination of the carnival, as well as to our dedicated staff—who tirelessly remained on their feet all day—and the invaluable support of parent helpers and volunteers. The turnout was truly remarkable, and we are grateful for the overwhelming participation.

Additionally, we extend our gratitude to the students from St. Bede's for their valued assistance and energy throughout the day. This is lovely connection we have formed with a secondary feeder college. 

St Patrick's Day

Due to the sports carnival scheduled for Friday, we celebrated a special St. Patrick's Day liturgy on Thursday, led by Mr. Blake and our Year 6 RE leaders. Once again, we express our thanks to Mr. Blake for passionately sharing and highlighting the significance of this special day and the patron saint of his homeland, Saint Patrick.

Sandy Saints Clinic

It was fabulous, although not surprising, to see so many students participate in two after-school basketball clinics run by the Sandy Saints, our affiliated club. Currently, we have approximately 80% of the student population actively participating in competitive basketball each week. Welcome to the basketball institution at Sacred Heart.

KEEP SPREADING THE GOOD WORD 

Although our Open Days have officially finished for 2024, we still encourage our families to keep spreading the good words about our fabulous school and community. We warmly welcome school tours throughout the year and have even already started to build a healthy enrolment list for 2026. 

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

Dad's & Kid's Camping Trip 16th & 17th 

A big thank you to Anthony McNabe and Michael Schuh for coordinating the Dad's & Kid's Camping Trip scheduled for this weekend. This is such a fantastic and enjoyable opportunity for our community, and we're incredibly grateful for the efforts of our most active and social Dad's Club. Your dedication to organising such events continues to greatly enhance the sense of community and creates so many memorable experiences for all involved. If you haven't yet joined the Dad's Club via the WhatsApp group please reach out to Anthony at the earlist convenience. 

SAVE THE DATE...lock thess dates in your diary...

LITTLE GEMS

Congratulations to Maddie R-N (Yr.5) who recently competed at VIC State Athletics Championships and achieved both a PB and podium finish for high jump.

Maddie was the 3rd highest jumper for U11 in Victoria. What a fabulous achievement!

We also congratulate, Amelia S in Yr. 3 who placed 10th in the State 400M and Jakob T for placing 6th in the U.10 hurdles. Once again, this is phenomenal achievement considering these students are competiting against the best junior athletes in the state. 

Japanese News

These two fab students showcased their impressive hiragana work this week. Not bad for Lenny, on the right, who has only been introduced to Japanese this year. 

And finally....

From the joy of showcasing our students in action during our third and final Open Day, observing our exceptional teachers in their element, to the remarkable enthusiasm and manner of our students as they concluded the week with our outstanding athletics carnival, I am forever grateful to be a part of this community, undoubtedly the best in the bayside,

Simon Collis

Principal

PS - Wishing our Yr.6 Canberra travellers the happiest of travels and times next week as they head off on this wonderful camping experience in their final year at Sacred Heart. 

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