VICE PRINCIPAL

HEART WEEK

Week 6 of Term 1 is Heart Week. This is a week dedicated to the holistic development of our students across a variety of Pillars. Heart Week provides all our students the opportunity to experience a rich, broad range of learning opportunities and activities on and off campus. A brief overview of the week is presented below:  

• Year 7: Camp - orienteering, rock climbing, abseiling, archery, rock climbing
• Year 8: Positive psychology, cybersafety, strengths, Christian service, first aid
• Year 9: Health and wellbeing, leadership, team work, mission, understanding self.
• Year 10: Self-discovery, health and wellbeing, careers advice and information.
• Year 11: Health and wellbeing, academic success, College Charism
• Year 12: Retreat - deepening of faith dimensions of the student's experience.

The Assistant Deputy Principals (ADPs) for each year level will provide parents with more detailed information relating to the activities and experiences for their year level. Please contact the relevant ADP if you have any questions about the activities that your child will experience during Heart Week.

UNIFORM

The College has reviewed and refined the 2023 Uniform Guidelines. Families are requested to carefully read all aspects of the Uniform Guidelines so that they are clear about the expectations of the College as we work to achieve the College motto of Always Striving Upwards. 

Parents are reminded that students must wear sport shoes when wearing their Sport and/or House Uniform. These sport shoes must be an athletic and foot/ankle supporting shoe (flat sole shoes are not appropriate) rather than incorrect shoes branded as a “lifestyle shoe”.  Please refer to the Sacred Heart College Uniform requirements for a list of unacceptable sports shoes (please note the list is not exhaustive).

COMMUNICATION AND CONTACT

The flowchart outlining the process for concerns is available below. It can also be found under the Contacts page of the College website.

The key points of this document are outlined below:

• For matters of academic concern, we ask that parents/caregivers and students approach the classroom teacher in the first instance.
• For matters of pastoral concern, we ask that parents and students approach the PCG teacher in the first instance.

This initial dialogue with classroom and PCG teachers is essential to open and respectful communication between all parties doing their best for each other. The College is committed to following this process as it ensures that the people most impacted by the process are central in the discussions.

HEALTH AND WELLBEING

Sacred Heart’s genuine commitment to the health and wellbeing of our students will be further reflected on Thursday 16 March whenthe College has organised for Mr Paul Dillon, Director and Founder of Drug and Alcohol Research and Training Australia (DARTA), to speak with Years 10-12 students in the RNDM Theatre. 

Paul will speak about topics such as: teens, parties and alcohol; adolescents and 'risk taking'; and information about drugs. We hope this presentation provides students with the crucial information they need to safely navigate themselves, and their peers, through the myriad of drug and alcohol situations ahead of them in the years to come. 

Further information about Paul is available below:

Paul Dillon is passionate about ensuring that the community has access to accurate and up-to-date alcohol and other drug information. He has been working in the area of drug education for more than 25 years. He continues to work with many school communities across the country to ensure that they have access to good quality information and best practice drug education. 

With a broad knowledge of a range of content areas, he regularly provides media comment and is regarded as a key social commentator in Australia, appearing on a wide range of television programs including Sunrise, TODAY and The Project discussing topical issues. 

He also had a regular spot on a national radio program on Triple J for seven years where he dealt with current youth drug issues. Paul also has a blog where he discusses topical issues of the day, as well as addressing some of the questions and queries he is regularly asked by those attending his presentations.

The College considers this presentation absolutely essential for all students and therefore we expect full student attendance. All students are expected to listen respectfully to the speaker and to actively engage in all sessions, showing self-respect and respect for other students and staff. Please contact me as soon as possible if you have any concerns about this presentation.

We encourage parents/caregivers to use this opportunity as a conversation starter with their child to discuss their own understanding of the safety skills required to stay safe, happy and healthy in social situations now and in the future. More information for parents/caregivers seeking further details about Paul Dillon or how to have positive conversations about drugs and alcohol with their teenagers, can be found below.

https://darta.net.au/biographical-information/

https://positivechoices.org.au/parents/

https://kidshelpline.com.au/parents/issues/teens-using-drugs-and-alcohol

Mr Lucio Cicchini

Vice Principal