PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE

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

At the conclusion of Term 1, our staff were fortunate enough to attend professional development workshops facilitated by Hayley Smith from Berry Street Education Model.

The heart of this session focused on the Body, providing research and classroom strategies related to understanding stress responses, identifying emotions and feelings, regulating movement, mindfulness practices, ready-to-learn plans, brain breaks, positive primers, lesson transition routines, and the integration of consistent, predictable routines in the classroom.

This Professional Development workshop is the first of four sessions that will take place this year and next. We worked with the staff from St. Xavier's, Gunnedah and St. Francis Xavier's, Narrabri schools to complete this workshop. This was an excellent opportunity to collaborate with our neighbouring Catholic schools.

This professional learning opportunity was a positive experience for our staff. The learnings from this workshop will further enhance our staff's ability to implement the Living Well, Learning Well Framework within our school. We look forward to applyi some of the key takeaways over the coming weeks.

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.

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. Kiarah and Jacob, 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, leaders, for taking on these important roles in a reverent manner.

I received many positive comments regarding the Sacred Heart children's respectful manner during the service and how they presented themselves. Many were in awe of how Sacred Heart School truly respected the ANZAC tradition—well done, Sacred Heart!

Here are some photos taken throughout the day:

Boggabri Drovers Campfire

To conclude the holidays, Boggabri hosted its annual Drovers 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."

A huge thank you to our PTF Committee members Aidan Rodstrom, Megan Guest, Sophie Rodstrom, Andrew Guest and some of our students, who volunteered their time on Saturday to cook and serve at the Lions Club BBQ lunch for our visitors.

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

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!

Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any further questions or concerns.

Warm regards,

Claire Ryan

Principal