Message From Our
Principal
Dear Parents & Caregivers,
I hope everyone enjoyed a little more freedom last weekend and was able to take some time to enjoy meeting up with friends and family again.
We are all very much looking forward to everyone returning and Tuesday will be an exciting time as many of our students reunite with their friends and teachers and our school begins to return to being the vibrant learning community we know.
Parents and carers have been incredibly supportive of remote learning over the past several weeks and I sincerely thank you all for that. I know many will join me in looking forward to the return to the school routine and classroom-based teaching.
The period of remote learning, while challenging in some ways, has strengthened the sense of partnership we have with our parents in the education process.
I am very proud of our team here at Sacred Heart who have done an enormous amount of work to keep students progressing with their learning and now preparing for their return.
Our teachers are also very aware that some students will need extra support when they return and we will monitor each child’s progress closely.
Sacred Heart will operate within the Victorian Government’s recommended COVID-19 safety guidelines around hygiene practices, extra cleaning and restricted access to the school site.
I also remind any parents and guardians who are experiencing financial hardship as a result of COVID-19 to please contact me to discuss fee relief arrangements.
To support staff to prepare for the return to school, Monday May 25th will be a student-free day. There will be no face-to face teaching, remote learning or school supervision on this day. Students from F-2 will return to face to face teaching on Tuesday May 26th while 3-6 will continue with remote learning. On Tuesday June 9th we will be very excited to welcome all students from F-6 back to Sacred Heart. A letter detailing all the arrangements will be sent to parents today.
As our school moved to remote learning, our usual ways of working and engaging with students have looked different in Term 2. Included in this change has been how we assess and report on student learning. Our school, teachers, students and families have all had to adapt, change and respond to the landscape – sometimes on a daily basis. There have been countless positive opportunities and new learning, but there have also been challenges and we have each responded as best we can. In that context, our Semester 1 report will look different from usual in line with the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA), Victorian Department of Education and Training, and Catholic Education Commission of Victoria Ltd (CECV) guidelines. I would ask you to appreciate that the content on which we can report on is reduced, as the usual assessments undertaken in the everyday classroom have not been possible this term. Progression Points will not be provided until further teacher observation and assessment can be done on individual students. The ‘Personal and Social Capabilities ‘of the curriculum and how students adjusted to the changes of the term will be considered as will previous areas taught.
Every August, our school is required to complete the ‘National Consistent Collection of Data’ survey (NCCD), indicating the number of students who have a physical, social/emotional, sensory or learning disability or difficulty that impacts on their ability to access the curriculum and environment. The Government then provides funding for schools to provide additional support, Learning Inclusion staff, training, resources and environmental adjustments, to meet the needs of our diverse learners in our quest to ensure that all our students can flourish. Please find attached the NCCD Parent Information sheet which gives more details.
Please do not hesitate to contact Pauline Hindson, Debbie Turvey or your classroom teachers at the school office on 58241841 if you require further information.
Australia celebrates National Reconciliation Week [NRW] from 27 May to 3 June every year. These dates commemorate two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey – the 1967 Referendum acknowledging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and the High Court Mabo decision, respectively. NRW is preceded by National Sorry Day on May 26th and quite coincidentally this year’s theme for National Reconciliation Week 2020 is ‘In This Together.’ So many times recently we have been reminded of how important it is for us all to join together for everyone’s benefit. It reminds us whether in a crisis or in reconciliation we are all ‘In This Together.’ NRW is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.
May the Sacred Heart of Jesus continue to watch over our school community and bless us always.
Pauline Hindson
Principal