Principal's News
Dear Parents and Carers,
It’s been a positive and purposeful start to Term 3, with students settling back into routines and engaging well in their learning.
Social Media and Children – A Timely Reminder
We would like to remind parents and carers that social media platforms such as Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook have a minimum age requirement of 13 years (in December of this year it will apply to anyone under the age of 16 years). These age limits are in place for important reasons. Children under 13 are still developing the maturity and judgement needed to navigate these platforms safely and responsibly.
Young users can be particularly vulnerable to online risks, including exposure to inappropriate content and contact from individuals who may not have their best interests at heart. By allowing access to these platforms too early, we may be unintentionally putting our children at risk.
At Sacred Heart, we are committed to supporting safe and responsible technology use. Our ICT Policy is based on current expert advice and outlines our expectations for digital behaviour. It is available on our school website or directly via this link: https://www.shcolac.catholic.edu.au/school-polices
Let’s work together to keep our children safe online.
Digital Danger Zones
Steph Ward, Colac’s community engagement police officer, has organised a special workshop on September 3rd called Digital Danger Zones. It is a workshop specifically for parents, providing them with information and strategies around the social media use of adolescents. This is an ongoing societal issue that continues to raise significant concerns. Please see the flyer in today’s newsletter for information and a QR code to book your free ticket. I strongly encourage as many parents as possible to attend this important event.
Parent Insight SRC Survey Invitation
As part of our commitment to continuous school improvement, Sacred Heart will once again be participating in the Insight SRC survey process. This valuable tool gathers feedback from teachers, students, and a random selection of parents to help us better understand our school’s strengths and areas for growth.
If you are selected, you will receive an invitation to complete the survey this week. We strongly encourage you to participate, as your feedback will help guide our planning and review processes leading into 2026.
Sacred Heart Begins the Laudato Si’ Action Planning Journey
In response to the DOBCEL Strategy 2035 and Decree 8 of the Australian Catholic Bishops' Fifth Plenary Council, Sacred Heart committed to the Laudato Si’ Action Planning Journey — a significant step in deepening our Catholic identity and promoting sustainability and ecological conversion.
Last week, staff from Sacred Heart and St Mary’s Colac gathered for the first of two professional development sessions this term. These sessions introduced Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’, explored its seven key goals, and commenced the school’s self-assessment process to guide future actions.
This initiative reflects our school’s dedication to ecological awareness, community engagement, and living out our faith through action. We are also proud to share that Sacred Heart is now formally engaged with Caritas Australia’s Earthcare platform, embedding ecological values more deeply into our school culture.
We look forward to continuing this journey as a school community.
Lorraine Black
Congratulations to Lorraine Black our 'Lollipop lady' who has serviced our school crossing for 40 years. This is an amazing achievement. We would like to thank Lorraine for keeping the students and staff at Sacred Heart safe and we will acknowledge this achievement at our school assembly this Friday.
Basketball Training
A friendly reminder to parents: younger siblings of students participating in basketball training on the school grounds are not supervised during these sessions, as training takes place outside of school hours. For their safety, we kindly request that a parent or guardian supervise younger children when they are on school grounds during this time. Thank you for your understanding and support.
Kind regards,
Karl Dwyer
Principal