Message From Our 

Principal

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Last week Dom and I were very privileged to participate in an Assembly run by the F/1s during which they presented a Principal and Assistant Principal awards to each of us. Not only was it fun and very reaffirming for both Dom and myself but it was also a wonderful teaching moment for our children. Your children’s teachers had been busy with lots of different things, yet they took the time to model and teach the importance of saying thank you. Being grateful and thankful is a wonderful quality we can model to our children and it was so beautifully done in the F/1 area last week. Thank you to the teachers for taking the time and thank you to the children for your lovely, kind and thoughtful words.

Congratulations to all our children who will be receiving their Sacrament of Reconciliation tonight. This is a very happy time for them and we thank all the families for supporting the children at home with the program and the Year 3/4 teachers for their support at school. A particular thank you to Debbie Turvey for coordinating the program and ensuring all the children are prepared for their first reconciliation. Please pray for the children receiving this Sacrament for the first time, that they may always find peace in the word sorry and know God’s loving forgiveness.

Our next Children’s Mass is on Sunday, September 11 at 10:30am. This Mass will be a Thanksgiving Mass to celebrate our children who have recently received their Sacraments.  All families are very welcome to join us for the Children’s Mass.

Yesterday forty of our students from 3-6 participated in Sandhurst Arts on Show [SAoS] and they, along with students from other Sandhurst schools were sensational. They danced and sang and performed for the audience with such enthusiasm and enjoyment. Sandhurst schools value and promote the enormous talent and expertise in our young people and SAoS is another wonderful opportunity for our students to build confidence, resilience, teamwork and to celebrate their artistic gifts. Engagement in the Arts is known to have strong positive academic and social outcomes and so importantly at this present time, huge benefits to wellbeing. Congratulations to all the children who participated yesterday and a very big thank you to Karen Nihill for her time and preparation over the past months and to her and Melissa Cassetta for ensuring everyone had a wonderful time at the concert.

Still on the benefits of the Arts - our School Production is only eight more sleeps!!! Everyone has been rehearsing with gusto and we are looking forward to sharing the many talents of all at Sacred Heart during the 12pm matinee and the 6.30pm evening show. Every student from each class will participate in the concert and is required at both performances. Thank you to the many parents who have helped out in many ways and to all staff for ensuring this is a memorable experience for everyone. We know the audience is going to love the performances!

We are looking forward to next Friday when Sacred Heart celebrates Fathers’ Day with the Bloke's Breakfast, followed by our special Fathers’ Day Mass. We warmly welcome dads, grandfathers, and all father figures to come along from 7:15am on and enjoy an egg and bacon sandwich with your children before heading off to work or staying for Mass which begins at 9.15am.

Friday September 9th Sacred Heart staff will participate in a Professional Learning day on Respectful Relationships. The Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships (RRRR) Education is a core component of the Victorian Curriculum and is all about embedding a culture of respect and equality across the entire school community. This is a school closure day and children are not required at school on this day.

Well done to our Year 3/4s who took part in our community One Tree Per Child Project recently. They volunteered their time to their local community and planted indigenous trees at Lake Bartlett.  We will enjoy watching these trees grow and see the benefits they bring to our local environment in the coming years. Thank you to the staff who also went along.

5/6 Unit have been investigating Australia as a Nation [History and Geography] and have become keenly interested in learning more about Mungo man and Mungo lady. Jim Bowler's [Geologist who discovered Mungo man and Mungo lady] daughter Jenny will be coming from Melbourne to look at the amazing learning that has taken place in this area over the term.  And if he is feeling well enough, there may be a zoom with Jim himself from his nursing home. Jenny Bowler has worked closely with 5/6 staff who have provided valuable feedback and suggestions for her website. There will be a Learning Walk at 1:15pm for anyone interested in seeing the wonderful learning that has taken place in that area throughout the term. Thank you to the 5/6 team for opening this world up to the children who have responded with such enthusiasm.

Remember as part of our Sun Smart Policy a school uniform hat must be worn when outside from the start of September until the end of April and ask that everyone has their uniform hat ready to wear next week.

I’d like to wish all our dads, grandfathers and all the special men in the children’s lives a Happy Fathers’ Day. I’m sure your children will go all out to make Sunday very special for you. Happy Fathers’ Day.

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

Pauline Hindson 

Principal