Principal News 

 LOCK’EM IN

Principal For The Day

Met with cheers from the students—though perhaps not so much from the staff—our Principal for the Day, Mr. Lachie Butlin, announced at the weekly assembly that Friday would involve no work, extended breaks, and movie time! For any concerns, feel free to reach out to him directly at lbutlinprincipal@shs.catholic.edu.au. 🎉 

IT DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER

Dear Families and Friends,

We could not have asked for a better start to the week as our Preps, Year 1s, 2s, and 3s moved into their beautifully refurbished classrooms. While there are still some finishing touches needed—such as mounting new screens and delivery of portable cabinets and shelving—the fact that we’ve reached this stage and have our students occupying these spaces before the year ends is truly remarkable.

Our students and staff have been exceptional during Stage 1 of our building program, adapting seamlessly to temporary learning spaces over the past 10 months. Their dedication to teaching and learning has been nothing short of flawless, and they are so deserving of this celebration and the opportunity to enjoy these classrooms ahead of schedule. We thank our builders for pushing hard in recent weeks to make this happen, and our exhausted staff for moving all furniture last Friday.

Please note that we have not yet moved into the two new Prep classrooms for 2025, as ramping is still required to gain occupancy for these spaces. However, we are confident that these rooms will be ready for the new school year.

In the coming weeks, our builders will shift their focus to the items listed below. We remain optimistic that this ahead-of-schedule program will allow us to open these key areas early in Term 1, 2025.

Still to be completed:

• Three classrooms at the end of the corridor
• Ramping access to new Prep rooms.
• STEM area
• Mounting new digital screens
• Leadership offices, parent room, and breakout areas for external specialists
• Administration building, including the new entry
• Breezeways
• Front landscaping - P&F and Working Bee
• Corridor refurbishment
• Resolution of defects
• Stairwell to Yr.6 area
• Signage

Despite these ongoing works, it’s so positive to share that we hosted six school tours on Tuesday, welcoming families eager to join our amazing community in the years ahead. This enthusiasm reinforces the wonderful direction and reputation of our school, and we’re excited to see our community continue to grow.

With approximately a third of the building program to go, we sincerely appreciate your patience and understanding as we move into Stage 2 and some students being displaced in the early parts of Term 1, 2025. In addition, please be aware that all defects from Stage 1A will be attended to while students are off-site in the coming weeks. In the meantime, we warmly welcome families to drop by and see these fresh, light-filled learning spaces and the students & staff in action. Monday was truly a special day, surpassing our expectations, and we are so grateful for the support that made it possible. 

Check out Yr.2 on Friday

School Closure and Planning 2025

We sincerely thank you for your understanding regarding the school closure last Friday. It was an invaluable day as we:

• dedicated our time to reviewing and celebrating all data sets, 
• assessing the Annual Action Plan, and 
• beginning curriculum planning for 2025. 

Importantly, we conducted a thorough student handover, ensuring that each student’s transition to their new teacher for the upcoming year is as seamless as possible. This day was both productive and purposeful, setting a strong foundation as we welcome our new staff for the next school year. We are deeply grateful to our various leaders for facilitating this important planning day, which helped us gently prepare for the year ahead. 

Thank you again for your support and understanding at this tricky time of the year to accomodate this closure. 

🎄CHRISTMAS CAROLS 🎄

What a spectacular afternoon we shared on Wednesday for our Christmas Carols! Under a brilliant blue sky, our students sang and performed beautifully in front of a full community audience. No surprises our Preps had an encore performance to close out our evening.

A very special thank you to Mr. Coutts for his exceptional preparation and dedication, even singing on the evening himself (he is pretty impressive).

We are immensely proud of our students and staff for bringing this special event together under such unique circumstances i.e. building program. This was a fitting finale to a year of transformation and change—truly exceeding all our expectations.

Thank you to everyone who joined us in celebrating this joyous occasion. A reminder that Fr. Martin is opening up a special family mass on Christmas Eve at 5:30pm - perfect timing!

Buddy Time

It was absolutely delightful to visit the temporary Year 5 classroom this week and witness the precious interactions between our Prep students and their Year 5 buddies as they created nativity scenes together.

This moment was truly priceless, showcasing the beauty of connection and collaboration. It’s these treasured memories that reinforce the importance of this invaluable program, fostering relationships across year levels.

Thank you teachers for making this such a special experience!

Departing Families 2024

To the following families, as you prepare to leave Sacred Heart Primary School, we want to extend our heartfelt thanks for the time, energy, and considerable support you have contributed to our community. Whether through your involvement in events, your partnership in education, or the friendships you’ve shared, your influence has enriched our school in countless ways over many years.

We wish you every blessing and success in the next chapter of your journey and hope you carry fond memories of Sacred Heart with you always. You will forever remain a valued part of our extended school family.

Branson, Couglan, Corsaro, Fourniotis, Hawkins, Hogan, Luckie, Luczak, McPherson, Monaghan, Morley, Nicolin, Ryan, Stalph, Stilianos, Sutherland, Thomson and Welch 

KEY DATES 2025

While our best intention are to have all the attached dates confirmed, please note additional items will be added throughout the year and there may be the odd change due unforseeable clashes.  

P&F News

As we approach the end of another busy and rewarding school year, I want to extend our sincere gratitude for the incredible support our P&F have provided throughout the year.

Their generosity and efforts have had a truly positive impact on our school community, especially in a year where the building program posed unique challenges for hosting traditional community events. From fundraising initiatives to organising key events, the P&F's contributions have continued to enhance the students' experiences but also strengthened the bonds within our school family.

A special thank you goes to our executive team—Ashlee, Francesca, and Sam—for their leadership, as well as to all parent class representatives who have worked tirelessly to ensure every class and teacher felt supported and connected. These partnerships are invaluable, and we are excited to build upon them as Stage 1 and Stage 2 of our building program are officially handed over early in the new school year. We eagerly anticipate a more settled year ahead, reconnecting authentically in our stunning new facilities.

In the coming weeks, we will begin allocating the generous P&F funds to exciting projects, including the redevelopment of the quiet area, front landscaping, new art room furniture, and updates to the adventure playground. More details will be shared soon!

IMPORTANT UNIFORM UPDATE

In recent weeks we have had some families inquire about some alternate uniform options. In consultation with leadership, P&F and the Uniform Shop, we have decided that the Skort (a cross between a skirt and shorts) will not be part of our uniform in 2025. As we focus on streamlining our uniform policy, we aim to address variations that have arisen over time. For instance, only black shoes, including non-clearly identifiable black sneakers, will be acceptable with the regular school uniform (no visible white/coloured branding). Additionally, sports socks must align with the uniform guidelines and not be black or branded.

At Sacred Heart, our uniform is a symbol of our identity and plays an essential role in fostering a sense of belonging among our students. It promotes equality by ensuring all students are on an equal footing and instills pride and discipline as they represent our school. By simplifying and unifying our uniform, we create a consistent and focused environment that reflects who we are as a Sacred Heart community.

Your support in reinforcing these expectations is greatly appreciated as we prepare to transition into the new school year. Let’s start day one of 2025 on the same page with this shared expectation!

🔨Building Progress Stage 1A🔨

New tile capping to roof ✅

New external doors to playground✅

Window and door frames installed✅

Handrails 100%✅

Internal Painting✅

Carpet 95%✅

Pin boards 100%✅

Whiteboards 100%✅

Bleaches 100%✅

Lighting 100%✅

Ceiling Tiles 100%✅

❤️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."

It's also worth noting that our enrolments for 2026 are filling up quickly, with several tours already completed or scheduled, and enrolment papers are coming in. 

Please ensure prospective families and friends are aware we anticipate large ennrolment numbers and a likely early cut off date. We had 6 tours on Monday this week for 2026.

LITTLE GEMS💎

While only working two days a week in Year 5, it’s clear how remarkable Miss Levy is in action. Her gentle yet commanding presence and beautiful manner (student focus on teacher only) in the classroom is exemplary, and her approach is the very essence of explicit teaching and best practice in action.

During my rounds this week, I had the pleasure of seeing Miss Donnelly in action during her Thursday’s leadership day, taking additional exemplar Maths lessons across the junior school. Her teaching practice is so highly regarded by our staff and families that I may have suggested to the builders we consider adding a crèche to accommodate her impending baby in the new year! Miss Donnelly’s absence in 2025 will certainly be felt, as her leadership, dedication and quality of teaching have left a lasting impact on our school community and most importantly her students - they have flourished .

A sneaky peek at two of our wonderful new teachers, Miss Moloney & Miss Porter joining the Sacred Heart team in 2025—we can't wait to welcome them officially! 🌟 We definitely hit that Irish pot of gold again.

We have been truly blessed to have Mrs. Beresford as part of our school community this year, serving as a regular relief teacher across all grade levels. This term, she has taken on the role of our specialist PE teacher, and in doing so, has provided our students with the opportunity to engage in a variety of sports, including rugby, basketball, and more recently, soccer. We are incredibly grateful for Mrs. Beresford—she’s simply amazing!

And finally...

Wishing you a wonderful weekend, families. Not long now families!

Let the countdown begin.

Warm regards,

Simon C & Lachie B

Principals