TERM 1

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Dear Families and Friends,

As we look to strengthen our partnerships, it was wonderful to see so many parents pop into the classrooms for the informal parent/teacher meetings to discuss how the students are settling into the new school year. Our records show this has been the biggest response for such an exchange (nearly 100% attendance), and we cannot thank you enough for this noted commitment.

Having now caught up with all teachers and many families, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive regarding the value of these exchanges. Many parents cited their happy and settled child/ren, our structured and explicit approaches to curriculum delivery, the increased focus on key disciplines and the wonderful presentation of the learning spaces.

Acknowledged by all, there is a tremendous sense of purpose, calm and order across all pockets of school and this can largely be attributed to the considerable investment by our classroom teachers. Collectively we are incredibly proud of these achievements and again I cannot thank them enough for their efforts as we shift up another gear with our academic rigour in 2023.

Over the coming days and weeks, we warmly welcome all families to drop by the classrooms to see the children and staff in action. The morning sessions are often the best time as the children have structured Literacy and numeracy typically in the first three hours of the day. The new Spelling Mastery program is timetabled throughout the day as this is a grouped (point of need) approach in 3-6.

We also welcome our families to make a time with the various curriculum leaders across the school should you wish to learn more about our largely explicit teaching practices, programs and approaches.

Curriculum Leaders:

Teaching & Learning Leader - Miss Sarah Rafferty
Literacy P-2 and MSL/Intervention - Mrs Kate Stroud
Literacy 3-6 - Mrs Brigid Pennington
Numeracy & RE - Mr Dara Blake
Wellbeing - Mr Simon Brown

This week, I was thrilled to meet with some valued colleagues to establish a professional learning collective for like-minded schools. Our aim is to pool resources and share best practices, experiences and ideas, ultimately building the capacity of our staff across these schools. This is a unique opportunity to showcase some of the great work we are doing at Sacred Heart and learn from others within this collective. Our initial focus will be Literacy, and we look forward to keeping you posted on this mutually beneficial professional development program.

An absolute must

Please make sure you read the various pages from our leaders. Each fortnight, our leaders are requested to share the fantastic happenings across their respective levels or domain. These pages showcase, celebrate, inform and include tips and ideas for our families. We love your work leaders and welcome feedback from our families.

Wellbeing Sprints

Wellbeing remains our #1 priority and ultimately drives all that we do at Sacred Heart. When a child’s wellbeing (physical, social and emotional) is supported, nurtured and in a ‘good space,’ we see the best personal and academic outcomes.

On Monday, we started our first wellbeing sprints for the year. This was an opportunity for classroom teachers to share student observations and specific wellbeing matters with Mr Brown, Mrs Pennington and myself. Our shared purpose is to better support, track and monitor (keep on the radar) the wellbeing of all students across the school.

Please note, this will be maintained throughout the year as we look to catch-up with all staff each term. Thanks Mr Brown for driving this worthwhile approach.

Mission Statements & Mottos

Last week, classes presented a stunning Motto and Mission Statement at assembly. This was certainly another one of those proud moments as the children, in consultation with their teacher, devised a Motto and Mission Statement specifically for their class. The aim of this ‘anchor’ and aspirational piece is to articulate a shared mission for the year, in hope these words are lived and evidenced through their actions, attitudes and behaviours.

From our beautiful Preps, to our superb Yr.6 statements, this was a stunning representations of their intentions for 2023. Congratulations teachers for embracing and making this your own - I loved it! Let’s look forward to seeing these come to life in the months to follow.

Below is a small sample of some of the Mission Statements and Mottos. In time, duplicates will be displayed in the foyer area for our families to view.

In addition, what a superb and insightful process Mrs Collins' class went through to settle on their Mission Statement as highlighted through these images on butcher paper. What a great example of student voice and ownership.

Similarly, in Yr.5B, Mr Blake said to his students as they were about to do an assessment task, “What did we all agree upon when we do an assessment task?” How affirming to hear some of their responses:

Give it a go before I ask for help.
Do our best.
Stay focused only on my work
Do not distract others.
Remain quiet, as everyone has the right to learn.

Well done 5B.

PAY IT FORWARD

And again, we just love the messaging coming out of our classrooms. As you enter Yr.5, you are greeted by some large lettering across the door, Pay it Forward. Most would know, Mr Blake and Mr Brown both have strong and passionate wellbeing backgrounds and always lead by example. We have no doubt his message would be actively promoted and celebrated by their students.

What does Pay it Forward it mean ?

To repay someone for a good deed or act of kindness by doing a good deed or act of kindness for someone else. I will take the support I have had and try to pay it forward whenever I can.

Student Voice & Leadership

These amazing student leaders dropped by my office on Friday to propose a stunning idea that I simply couldn't refuse. Please see the email below.

Quote Tree

Hello, we are the Art and Respectful Relationship captains and teams (Bella, Keira, Levi, Aylah & Eliza). As you may already know, the captains have been working on ideas to improve the school. We have had an idea to make a special Quote Tree in the breeze way. Preps to 2 will write a word that makes them feel powerful, safe or happy on a flower. 3 to 6 will write their favorite quote on a leaf. The flowers with the word will go under the tree on grass and the leaves with the quotes will go on the branches. The Art Team will make the tree mural, the flowers and the leaves. We are doing this to try and improve how we view the world and as a pretty way to enter the school building.

Thanks, the Respectful Relationships and Art Captains and Team.

KABOOM

We simply could not have imagined a more perfect day with blue skies, the sun beaming and so many smiles from the students as they enthusiastically embraced all that Kaboom had to offer. We would like to acknowledge the impressive senior students for leading each activity throughout the day. The program is largely student-led as the students excitedly rotate through a range of activities. Well done again Yr.6, you were superstars and it was joy to see you in action.

What BOTJOY will you show today?

BOTJOY, by Gary Hirsch is a global art movement designed to spread joy, courage, love and gratitude throughout the world, one 'BOT' at a time. Each design is unique and reflects our uniqueness as people and a trait we would like to pass onto someone else, such as courage, joy, love and gratitude. We dearly thank our truly amazing art teacher, Ms Hyslop for once again inspiring creativity with this whole school art project.

SUSAN MCLEAN - CYBER SAFETY INFORMATION EVENING

Many thanks to the families who attended the outstanding and most informative cyber safety presentation from Susan Mclean. The feedback on the evening and the gate the following day was incredibly positive and affirmed the value of this evening. As stated on the evening, we 'all' have a responsibilty to support, educate and influence our children as they navigate an ever complex and easily accessible online environment. Susan reinforced the importance of closely monitoring online use and providing clear and consistent boundaries when on a device e.g. create a charging hub, restrict hours and don't allow devices in the bedrooms or bathroom. We request our families (primary age) restrict acccess to such applications as Instagram, TiK Tok, Snap Chat etc... These are NOT age appropriate (13+) and require the falsifying of age to subscribe.

We will continue to support and reinforce these expectations at school and encourage our students to notify staff, peers and parents when they may feel unsafe or experience unsavoury material online.

COLOUR RUN 24th February 12-2pm

Was Mr Blake in sales or a motivational speaker before taking on his true calling as an inspiring educator? Watching him in action promoting the upcoming Colour Run has been such a joy at our weekly assembly on Friday. With his energy and enthusiasm, it's easy to see why we’ve had a significant spike in donations and registrations for this much anticipated event. Just for the record, Mr Blake is also a personal trainer, so the motivational charged presentation should come as no surprise.

A gentle reminder, all children will need to provide an old or cheap white t-shirt, and optional sunnies on the day. Parental support and involvement will always be welcomed as our course will safely navigate the surrounding streets. We are indebted to Pam Moore for assisting greatly in driving this brilliant event. Her enthusiasm and clear passion to promote active kids, has been most apparent.

Use the link below to kindly donate.

Help support our school

Sacred Heart Parish School Colour Run

We also thank the following sponsors within our community for jumping on board for this fundraiser.

P&F NEWS

Many thanks to our parents who put themselves forward for some the vacated P&F roles. This pivotal parental arm in our community generates significant funds and importantly promotes community involvement. Without this level of generous support, we would simply be unable to provide certain programs and resources for our students. It's been fabulous to already see families volunteering for the proposed school fete in Term 4. Planning is key, and we can't wait to see this event get off the ground for the first time at Sacred Heart.

LOCK’EM IN - KEY DATES

Colour Run 24th February
Cocktail Party 25th February

Please note we have more 2023 dates in the 'Key Dates' page and school website Google calendar. This is live and updated regularly.

LITTLE GEMS

There was hive of activity in our Year 3 classrooms on Thursday morning as Mrs Tucker and Miss Healy welcomed their families in to view their child's work. What a beautiful way to start the school year for these families.

I just love dropping into the classrooms and watching these evolve with beautiful student work as the term progresses. Check out these stunning arks from the Yr.2D and Yr.2P.

It's also pretty special to capture the teachers in action and the students so focused on their learning in these breakout groups around the bean-shaped tables.

What a beautiful surprise to have these photos hit my inbox this week from the Gleeson familiy after recently relocating to NZ for work. We dearly miss Will and Jack, although it looks like they have found their feet, just for now.

After a rendition of Rip Tide at assembly last year, it appears by popular demand, Kit was back for an encore performance during Miss Robertson's amazing music class. This time, he had a backing choir as all his peers joined in. We just love this!

With the RE and Wellbeing Leaders in Yr.5, it should come as no surprise to see these displays adorn the walls of their classroom.

What a lovely surprise to see Elle G's (Yr.1) aunty visit on Friday morning to talk about her role as a paramedic. Michaela also gave the children some basic first aid tips and emergency advice. Please make sure you read about all the incredible happenings in the Junior School News, prepared by Miss Maloney.

And finally...

Whilst we continue to celebrate an incredibly settled start across all grade levels, this week, I would like to spot light our amazing Preps and Yr.6 students for setting the tone as our bookends (P&6).

I have always been of the firm belief, if your bookends are in order, you're in good shape and in for an awesome year.

Thanks students, staff and families for making Sacred Heart the best place to be,

Simon Collis

Principal

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