Message From Our 

Principal

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

What a wonderful Semester Sacred Heart School community have enjoyed. 

Last Sunday we had a beautiful celebration with our fourteen Sacramental children, their families and the parish community. After several weeks of preparation these children received the Sacrament of Confirmation and First Communion.  Congratulations everyone! This was a very special day for you and your families and one I hope you will remember for years to come. A special thank you to Bishop Shane and Fr John Paul for leading us in the lovely Mass and to Debbie Turvey for coordinating the program and ensuring it was a memorable day for all. A very big thank you also to the staff and school families who came along to celebrate with and support our children. The celebrations continued on Monday when our Sacramental children and those who participated in Sunday’s Mass joined staff for morning tea and enjoyed Sandra’s amazing cake. Thank you everyone.

On Friday, we will celebrate the Feast of the Sacred Heart. This special Feast Day reminds us of Christ’s great love for us all. The heart is the centre of a person, the place from where choices are made, choices which affect those around them. No matter who Jesus met, the poor, sick, the troubled, those of different race, he always showed a great love and compassion towards them. As a Sacred Heart community, we strive to be more like Jesus, loving those we meet every day.  It means showing tolerance, forgiving, sharing what we have with those who don’t, helping others when they need it most. Being inspired by Christ.

We will celebrate together with Mass at 9:15am. Families are most welcome to join us. Following the Mass we will do some investigating about our Founders’ - the Sisters of Mercy, our history and the Mercy Values. We are very grateful to Sr Pam Barlow, a Mercy Sister for sharing her valuable knowledge with us. A very important part of our Feast Day is the act of giving generously to those in need. We have been collecting items for our Winter Appeal which will be donated to our local St Vinnies on Friday and I sincerely thank families for all the generous donations received.

Lord, Open our eyes that we may see the needs of people. Move our hands so that we can feed the hungry. Touch our hearts that they may bring warmth to those who are sad.  Let us share our time and possessions with those in need.  May we all be a source of support and encouragement for each other as we strive to build a more loving world. Amen

Semester 1 Summative Reports are now available on PAM. It really has been a pleasure reading the reports and seeing the learning and many achievements that have taken place over the first half of the year. Well done to the students for all their efforts. Parents you should be very proud!  Thank you to the teachers for the time spent ensuring each report provided personal, valuable feedback. Please take the time to read and reflect on the report together with your child as this is an integral part of their development as a learner. Learning Conversations will take place Week 2, Term 3 but if you wish to discuss anything prior to that, please contact your child’s teacher.

Last week our School Advisory Council met and discussed the new Child Safe Standards that come into effect on July 1st, possible future improvements to the playground and policies regarding complaint procedures. Julie Murrell, mother of Oliver Titchmarsh in Yr 1 accepted a nomination to join the SAC and will become a new member. I thank Julie for accepting the nomination and look forward to working with her along with the other members of our SAC school.   

Sacred Heart School always values feedback and we are committed to making our school a safe, happy learning space for all. Sacred Heart has policies and procedures in place and available on our website. If at any time you should have a grievance these policies can be found under the Parent Information tab on our website. They outline the correct procedures and expectations around, not only raising concerns but how they will be appropriately addressed and responded to. Good communication with home and school is vital and always valued at SH School.

Recently Rachel Doller, local artist led 5/6s in a workshop experience. Thank you, Matt Hooper, for providing this opportunity which was quite inspirational and thoroughly enjoyed by everyone. The Art work our students are able to produce at our school never ceases to amaze me.

Congratulations to Sidney Nihill, Madison Worm and Isabella Cameron who qualified for District Cross Country last week. What a wonderful achievement to be competing at this level! Well done and thank you for representing your school so well.

As the Covid restrictions have eased, parents are once again most welcome to come into school for drop off or pick up. If you are collecting your child through the day, please come to the office so they can be signed in/out. Volunteers and helpers are a very important part of our school community and are once again most welcome. In order to be a volunteer/helper we ask that you complete the online Induction [available on our website] and have a current Working with Children Check. There are many ways to help support our wonderful school and build connections.

It's been a very busy term both inside and outside our school. We have once again been able to welcome visitors, enjoy excursions, incursions, sports days and Open Days to name a few. Each time our children represent their school so beautifully, which is frequently acknowledged by others. Well done everyone. The coming semester already has lots of upcoming dates so please check this newsletter and mark them on your calendar.

As we near the end of this first semester, I extend my thanks to all children, parents and families for the learning, discussion, engagement and cooperation that has been demonstrated throughout the past two terms. We particularly thank all our staff who continually give so tirelessly and generously of their time and effort in ensuring the best educational outcomes for your children.

A reminder that Friday 24th June is the last day of term and the children will be dismissed at 2:30pm.  I hope you all have a relaxing holiday break with your families and look forward to seeing everyone back at school on Monday 11th July ready for the new term.

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

Pauline Hindson 

Principal