Dear Parents and Caregivers,

This year we celebrate 200 Years of Catholic Education in Australia. During the year the rich story of how Catholic Education has grown and developed throughout Australia will be told and celebrated. Last week the official national launch of the Bicentenary was broadcast live to communities throughout Australia. One of the highlights of this launch was the inspiring official song, sung by Fr Robert Galea and students from our neighboring schools, St Brendan’s and NDC, Shepparton. The song, Faith in Our Future and the promotional video can be viewed here.

Last Thursday we had a call from the local police to say the children and staff from TCC needed to quickly evacuate to Sacred Heart School. I would like to acknowledge and congratulate the TCC staff who were able to quickly enact their evacuation procedures to ensure the safety of everyone on site. It was quite incredible to see staff and preschool children from TCC walking down Hogan St so calmly and safely and settle into our Mercy Centre waiting to be picked up. Sacred Heart was very happy to provide the extra help as needed and know parents and carers must have been very proud of the way staff cared for their children in these circumstances. A wonderful effort by everyone involved!

Thank you to all the families who have attended Student Led Conferences last week. It was wonderful to once again have parents back on site. Thank you for following our Covid Safe expectations so this could happen. These meetings are an important opportunity for children to share their learning with their families and teachers and discuss where they may need further support. We know when school and home are closely linked that learners do better at school. If you have yet to meet with your child and their teacher please contact the school so a time can be made. Thank you to teachers for the extra time spent in preparing and meeting with each of the families.

Well done to all the Foundation learners who have settled so well into school routines and to families for supporting this. It’s amazing to see how they have adjusted and the learning that is already happening.

Each Wednesday Foundation teachers have been conducting individual assessments which allows the school to begin to deliver teaching at each point of need and to continually review data and progress. I am very grateful that families were able to support our teachers in bringing their child in for these important interviews. This week Foundation begin school fulltime, however if parents feel that their child is having difficulty with this adjustment please discuss your concerns with their teacher.

Tomorrow looks like it will be perfect weather for our annual Athletics Day. Our house teams, Geary, Frayne and McAuley, have been busy practicing Track and Field ready for the event. This year we ask that each child wears a sunsmart sports T Shirt in their house colours, Blue Frayne, Red Geary, and Gold McAuley [sport uniform]. These shirts will be worn again at various house events. All children must have a school hat, water and snacks. There will be no lunch orders. Marching begins at 9:15am and the day should conclude around 1:30pm. Parents are very welcome to join us at any time during the day but please follow the Covid Safe expectations that will be clearly displayed. Good luck everyone. I’m sure it’s going to be a great day.

At the first School Advisory Council meeting for the year we welcomed Joan Coldwell, Project Officer, School Advisory Councils, CES, who spoke to the members about the Governance structure introduced this year. CES Limited is the new proprietor (owner and operator) of the existing fifty-two schools within the Diocese of Sandhurst. Accordingly, the Board of Directors of CES Limited is the governing authority of Sandhurst Catholic Schools as defined under the CES Limited Constitution. CES Limited is committed to working with school leadership and school communities to build thriving Catholic schools for now and the future. A key dimension of this is the role school advisory councils play in supporting the work of their schools. Each is formed at a school level and provide a voice for the members of the school community and although are advisory by nature, provide input and advice on the processes of school improvement. The Sacred Heart Advisory Council will continue to operate in much the same way as it has done previous to the change in Governance. While CES Ltd now becomes the new employer of Sandhurst schools, taking over many of the responsibilities previously held by our Parish Priests, Fr John Paul will continue to be an integral part of our school, leading us spiritually and remaining on our Advisory Council.

Thank you to all the children who are wearing our lovely school uniform correctly. We are very proud of our school uniform which supports the culture of our school. A full list of the correct uniform is available on the school website but a reminder please that shorts must be plain navy, no logos and a suitable length. For safety reasons the only jewellery to be worn is a watch, earrings, [studs/sleepers only] shoulder length hair must be tied back with navy, gold or white hair accessories only. Make up is not permitted. Navy socks, [no logos] and black shoes, sports shoes and white socks on sports days. Staff are busy teaching and do not need to spend time following up on correct uniform as I know parents do not want to be continually having this conversation with their children. If on occasion your child is not in school uniform please notify the school through the Out of Uniform on the school website. Wearing the school uniform correctly is an expectation of all enrolled at Sacred Heart. Parents and Carers I greatly appreciate your support ensuring that your child comes to school each day wearing the correct uniform.

Congratulations to Charlotte Whitford and Belle Tracey-Glover for receiving the Principal’s Awards in Weeks 4 and 5.

Charlotte has been working particularly hard on growing in resilience. She is also very responsible, and a wonderful friend and role model to others. Charlotte is organised, trustworthy and aims to achieve her best in all areas.

Belle truly displayed our school values when she recently found a large amount of money in the playground. She straight away handed it to a teacher and tried to find the owner but with no luck. She decided that the money should go into the Caritas box to help those most in need. What a wonderful example of honesty, generosity, and sharing Belle.

Well done Charlotte and Belle – you are great examples of the Sacred Heart School Values.

I will be taking some Long Service Leave next week and escaping to Tassie while the borders are open! I know Matt Cameron and the Leadership Team will keep things running very smoothly in my absence.

May the Sacred Heart of Jesus continue to watch over our school community and bless us always.

Pauline Hindson

Principal

School Athletics Sports Day