Dear Families,

Last Monday and this Wednesday, we had a wonderful response to our Open Days. Our Year 6 students are to be congratulated for accompanying our tour groups. Together with myself Mrs Stroud and Miss Maloney they have led groups, whilst sharing their insights about the school and their Sacred Heart journey. We are very proud of our senior students.

Flourishing Learning Improvement Network

On Thursday last week our leadership team, together with over two hundred other leaders in our Southern Region, attended our first Flourishing Learning Improvement Network Day (FLIN) of four in 2026. This year our region is excited to be working with Bron Ryrie Jones. Bron works with schools and systems to realise the potential of explicit, responsive teaching. Gathering and responding to student learning - in real time- is a crucial aspect of explicit teaching. Whilst Sacred Heart is a leading school in our region in regards to our explicit teaching model, there is a great deal to explore and learn from Bron’s work, to make our great school of learning even better.

VCAA Super Stars

The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority is developing English professional learning modules to be used throughout the state. Click on this link and you may see some Sacred Heart staff that you recognise! Being selected to be a part of this project, reflects the strength and collegial recognition of the excellent teaching and learning at Sacred Heart.

Teaching Impact Fellowship

On Monday, Miss Mak Bulte completed her Teaching Impact Fellowship which was a 12-month, fully funded professional learning and leadership program with highly limited places across the state. The program, through the Victorian Academy, empowers graduates of the Teaching Excellence Program to design, implement, and evaluate evidence-informed impact projects that improve teaching practice and student outcomes. Through coaching and collaboration, fellows lead sustainable, strategic, school-based change grounded in student need. As part of this study Miss Bulte has led a whole-school improvement initiative, “Bringing Mathematics Back to the Heart,” aimed at strengthening the quality, consistency, and profile of Mathematics teaching and learning. We congratulate Miss Bulte and look forward to her Maths leadership at Sacred Heart.

P&F

Saturday week ago saw a fabulous turn out for the Welcome Cocktail Party, at The Deck in Brighton. A great night was had by all and we look forward to more events this year. I was so appreciative of the care given to me when I popped in on my way to dinner. Things were just taking off as I left. Thank you to Luisa and Nico for leading this, supported by many from the P & F. Sacred Heart families know how to have fun!

Next week is the Family Camp to Warbarton. If you would like further information please reach out to Luisa and Nico.

MACS Family Survey

We have been asked to let families know that in the next few weeks you will be emailed a survey from MACS. Families will be invited to participate in a survey focused on school choice and their experience as a MACS family. It explores what influences families’ decisions, what they value most, and what supports satisfaction, belonging and confidence at different stages of schooling.

Families who complete the survey will have the option to enter a prize draw to win one of five $100 eGift Cards, redeemable across more than 100 in-store and online brands. Entry to the prize draw is optional and managed separately from survey responses. Full prize draw terms and conditions are available here:

The survey is anonymous (unless families choose to enter the optional prize draw after completing the survey). All responses are confidential and will be used only for the purposes of this research.

Highlights around the school

There have been several visitors to my office sharing their learning celebrations, as well as our triathletes. Congratulations to each of them.

NAPLAN

Please see the Deputy News for important information regarding NAPLAN 2026. A sincere thank you to Miss Mak Bulte and the team for their leadership and organisation in preparing for this assessment period.

School Playground Update

Despite the soggy weather on Monday, work began on our exciting playground update right on schedule. We thank our parish and neighbouring residents for their understanding and support as this project gets underway, and we look forward to its completion over the coming weeks.

We are pleased to share that our beloved climbing structure is staying! We can’t wait to see the finished playground and are excited to watch the progress continue after the long weekend.

We love seeing the creative “other options” some of our children have discovered while the playground is out of action.

Buddies

Our Year 5 and Prep Buddy Program is an integral part of welcoming our youngest students to Sacred Heart. Our Year 5 students take this responsibility seriously, supporting their Prep buddies in the yard as they build new friendships and explore different areas to play. We thank Miss Wood, Miss Porter, Miss Levy,

Dendy Interschool Swimming Carnival

We congratulate our swimmers who proudly represented Sacred Heart at the Oakleigh Pool on Wednesday. The staff in attendance were extremely proud of our students, particularly the way they supported one another and demonstrated outstanding sportsmanship throughout the day. We received a message from a very proud Mr Jaynes during the day; "Ended up 5th in the % shield. Our students were amazing. Lots of encouragement when they weren't in the pool. We're clearly the best behaved in the district!"

The Dendy Swimming Carnival at Oakleigh Recreation Centre on Wednesday 4th of March was a successful day of competition and Sacred Heart spirit. Our students gave their absolute best in every event and represented our school with magnificent behaviour throughout the day. There were plenty of strong performances, with many of our students proudly heading home with a ribbon. Our team finished 5th overall in the percentage shield which is a result we should be proud of. A big thank you to Mrs Tench and Oscar for their support on the day, and to Alex Knight and Sonja Wright for their assistance with lane timing - your help was greatly appreciated.

Mr Jaynes.

Friday 13th March 2026 - Aths Carnival

Next Friday is going to be a terrific day and Mr Jaynes has been working hard preparing our students for the Interhouse Athletics Day, at the Sandringham Athletics Club. We can’t wait to celebrate everyone trying their best and giving all the events a go. Fingers crossed the weather will be kind to us. We thank Mr Jaynes, our Physical Education Teacher for his leadership and organisation.

School Open Days & Tours for Enrolments 2027

Enrolments for Prep 2027 are now open and we encourage all families to submit their applications as soon as possible. The enrolment application is to be completed via our School Website.

Our first two Open Days have been a great success, with strong attendance and wonderful feedback from families about our learning environment and community. We look forward to welcoming more prospective families to our final Open Day on Tuesday, March 10th.

Please head to our School Website to book your preferred tour time. We’re grateful to our families for continuing to share the positive stories of our school within the community. If none of the scheduled times work for you, the office will be happy to organise an alternative time

Take care and wishing God's blessings and peace upon each of you.

Mrs Cathy Ferrari

Photo Day 16th March