Principal News 

TERM 2

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Dear Families and Friends,

What a simply spectacular morning we had on Friday, starting with the very special Mother's Day assembly celebration in front of a capacity audience in the McKillop Hall.   We congratulate our precious Prep - Yr.2 students for 'covering our community in sunshine' with their stunning song. 

After the assembly, we continued the festivities by having our families visit the classrooms before closing with a special morning tea in the library - thanks Karen. 

We couldn't have envisioned a more perfect way to conclude our week and, most importantly, acknowledge our incredible mothers and women in our lives. 

The photo below just about sums up the day as our amazing Miss Rafferty still managed to present the full Heggerty phonics program with a toddler (sibling of Ryder) balanced on her lap. Once again, her class were completely unfazed and did not miss one instruction or cue.  

The day was filled with memorable moments, including heartfelt presentations of special booklets, engaging art activities, and even a captivating MSL & Heggerty sessions in all our junior classes. Our parents were left in awe by these exceptional experiences, and they truly deserved every bit of it. Thanks teachers for going above and beyond, yet again. 

The past few weeks have been exceptional at Sacred Heart, with a wide range of exciting events and achievements to celebrate. From our adventurous Year 5 campers, Confirmation retreaters and cross country athletes, to the wonderful Mother's Day festivities, our school community has so much to be proud of. Despite the many celebrations, our academic program has remained a top priority, and I am so pleased to recognize the hard work and dedication of our students and staff in upholding its rigorous standards. They have truly excelled during this period and I congratulate them on their outstanding efforts. 

This term has witnessed a significant increase in school tours and a surge of applications for the 2024 school year, accompanied by the endorsements of our current families. It is important to highlight and express gratitude for the remarkable progress and investments our staff have made in our teaching and learning practices, which have contributed to this positive trend and notable interest from prospective families. While I apologize for the recurring theme from previous newsletters, I believe it is important to recognize and celebrate the remarkable growth of our learning community. 

Throughout 2023, we have amplified our dedication and commitment to achieving excellence in the core areas of Literacy and Numeracy. The results of our endeavors have been recognized and appreciated by our current families, as evidenced above by the growing interest from potential new families, particularly in relation to Prep applications for 2024 (now confirmed our two Prep classes for next year). We extend our sincere gratitude to our existing families for actively promoting our shared vision. We highly value this partnership with our families and acknowledge that there is a strong connection between the school community and improved academic and well-being outcomes for our students.

We Are More Than Just Bricks & Mortar

This week, as I conducted school tours, it became more evident that many families were not solely concerned with the physical appearance of the school (bricks and mortar), but rather with the essence of what transpires within the fabric - the teaching and learning practices. Before showcasing the classrooms to visiting families, I had the confidence to anticipate and explain the "best" approaches and practices to teaching and learning they would see consistently applied in a clear, explicit, and predictable manner across all our classrooms.  It came as no surprise to see our exceptional staff and highly engaged students in action, all on the same page - a collective objective since I commenced at Sacred Heart in 2022.

For instance, we have established well-structured literacy and numeracy sessions at regular intervals for students from Grades P - 6, so much so this is literally timetabled and delivered to the ‘minute' in our P-2 structured literacy blocks (inc. MSL, Heggerty, TWR). While in our Yr. 3-6 classes, they implement daily sessions in Spelling Mastery, TWR and a newly introduced morphology content. 

Although we acknowledge the inclusion of specialized programs and additional activities in our school's flexible environment, our staff members have shown unwavering dedication in ensuring that daily literacy and numeracy is non-negotiable throughout the entire school. The transformation we have witnessed in the past 12 months has been truly remarkable, and I cannot express enough appreciation for the commitment demonstrated by our staff. More importantly, our students have embraced and responded without fault, seamlessly adapting to the higher expectations and thriving in every corner of the school.

On that note,  it was pretty special to drop into Yr.2P & Yr.2D on Wednesday afternoon (3:10pm), in the last block of the day, and witness the teachers still delivering their literacy lesson (delayed due to the specialist program earlier in the day).   Completely engaged in their learning, the children were constructing sentences and identifying proper nouns in their focus recounts. Using the evidence-based, The Writing Revolution, this method of teaching rests on explicit, carefully sequenced instruction, building from sentences to compositions. 

We believe our evidence informed approach ensures all students are given the best possible opportunity to grasp vital knowledge and skills in these areas.

It would be remiss of me not to mention that our knowledge rich curriculum (inc. RE, Science, History, Geography, Civic & Citizenship) and access to Music, Japanese and the Arts ensure students are exposed to all learning domains to not only understand the complex world around them, but begin to discover their passions and interests that can be further explored in secondary schooling.

Our PE and sports programs ensure a connection to fit and healthy living and our Respectful Relationships program and Berry Street (both evidence-based practices) teach important social and emotional wellbeing and how to regulate ourselves using the language of the zones of regulation setting our children up for future success at school and life. 

At Sacred Heart, working hand-in-hand with our academic program, we prioritize the well-being within our school community, fostering positive relationships with our students, families, and colleagues. This approach is at the heart of everything we do, and it is a key factor that drives the success of our school community.

CAMP RUMBUG

We would like to extend our gratitude once again to Miss McKay, Ms Tench, Mr Blake, and Mr Smedley for generously volunteering their time to support the Year 5 students during their camp last week. Despite the colder and wet weather, it was an absolutely fantastic outdoor experience for our students. 

From engaging in mudslides and canoeing to participating in remarkably high tree climbing and exhilarating giant swings, the students had an incredible time during their three-day, two-night excursion. It comes as no surprise that their behavior, encouragement of one another, and overall demeanor throughout the trip were exceptional, as acknowledged by Mr. Blake. Well done, Year 5! We are pretty confident these wonderful students are now eagerly awaiting the upcoming Canberra trip in 2024.

MOTHER'S DAY STALL

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the P&F mothers in our wonderful community who planned (passionate shoppers: Nat & Marielle) and ran the special Mother's Day stall on Wednesday. The event was a huge success, and the children were thrilled to have the opportunity to do something truly special for their beloved mothers.

It was quite amusing to witness some covert transactions at the gate as the children reminded their parents about the event. One parent even inquired about the possibility of paying with a credit card. This serves as a reminder that we are moving towards a cashless society, and I guess there is no harm in asking. 

CROSS COUNTRY

What a brilliant achievement from our students at the recent Dendy Cross Country. The following superstars have qualified for the next stage - Beachside Division Cross Country on Tuesday 30th: 

• 9/10 Girls - Lucinda Millken
• 12/13 Boys - Benji Simpson, Harry Hopgood & Eden Molony
• 12/13 Girls - Milly Surkitt & Bonnie Lagan

MERCY HEALTH AGED-CARE FERNHILL

INTER-GENERATIONAL PROGRAM 

Many thanks to Mr Blake for coordinating our first official visit to Fernhill this weekend with your Yr.5s. This outstanding initiative was so welcomed by the aged residents and staff at Fernhill. We look forward to maintaining this wonderful social and community program as the benefits for 'all' are immeasurable. 

CONFIRMATION RETREAT

Our Yr.6 students had a beautiful day on Thursday for their Confirmation retreat in preparation for receiving the sacrament in the coming weeks. They visited St Patrick's Cathedral and surrounding gardens where they opened special handwritten letters from their parents who identified where they see the Gifts of the Holy Spirit in their child. What an treasured experience for these students. Nice work Mr Blake for organising this day for our senior students. 

STAFF NEWS

Congratulations to Kate Stroud who officially received her accreditation as an MSL teacher.  We are so proud of Kate's influence on our children and staff, and cannot thank her enough for all she does in supporting our families in this capacity. Her literacy leadership in the junior school has seen a most significant shift in how we now do things at Sacred Heart. 

On the upcoming Monday, I will not be available as I will be attending a conference sponsored by the Principals' Network in the Northern Territory. This conference presents a valuable opportunity for me to explore various communities in the top end and collaborate with NT Catholic Ed in order to gain deeper insights into Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander matters within our sector. Given my previous four years of experience working in the NT, I am very much looking forward to visiting the Tiwi Islands and engaging with school communities in the nearby regions.

Professional Learning

This week, the staff engaged in Literacy peer observation; perhaps some of the most impressive learning I have seen since joining Sacred Heart. 

One of our main goals at Sacred Heart is to enhance student learning for every student. Peer observation is proven to have a positive impact on student achievement. When teachers improve the quality of their instruction, students are more likely to be engaged in their learning and achieve better outcomes. By working together to improve teaching practices, the teachers at Sacred Heart aim to help create a learning environment that is conducive to student success. 

By engaging in this process, 

 “Our Senior school teachers understand where their students are coming from and the Junior school teachers see what their students are aspiring to” (Rafferty, 2023).

CLUB NEWS

EBA FOR SCHOOLS

New Enterprise Bargaining Agreement in Catholic Schools

Some parents may be aware a new Enterprise Bargaining Agreement for staff is currently being finalized for Catholic Schools. The new agreement will see a shift in the way some schools operate in relation to some current staffing entitlements, in particular, requirements around work loads, school directed activities (e.g. camps, parent teacher interviews, meetings) and events that may have typically fallen outside a 38 hr week.  

Key changes include:

• Reduction in face-to-face teaching time by 60 mins per week in 2023 and a further 30 minutes in 2024. *Please note all staff at Sacred Heart are currently operating within the proposed 2024 guidelines. No adjustments required. 
• Reduction of length of after school meetings. Max. 2 x meetings, no longer than 1 hr/meeting.
• Introduction of Time in Lieu (TIL) for all directed work activities outside of regular work hours of 38 hrs. 
• Increased entitlements for paid parental leave, including partner leave.

Time in Lieu (TIL) is a significant change, as schools can have a number of evening and weekend commitments that have typically been seen as opportunities to strengthen/maintain family, school and parish relationships. TIL will now accrue for events such as: Parent/Teacher Interviews (Term 1 & 3), camps, parent information nights, family faith nights, sacramental masses, school productions and meetings that may exceed the newly proposed maximum 2hr/week. For these times that teachers are required to work outside their usual hours, they accrue 1:1 time in lieu. However, time in lieu does not apply to the principal or deputy principal i.e. they cannot claim TIL. 

Whilst the finer details have yet to be confirmed, the new TIL arrangements will impact our school camping program. Schools will likely need to offset associated costs of TIL entitlements as staff accrue time supporting and supervising students on camp outside the typical working hours. Please be assured we hope to work through these arrangements to continue to provide these rich opportunities for our students, in addition to supporting our most dedicated staff. 

At Sacred Heart, whilst we will aim to maintain as many events as possible, some things may have to be adapted, changed or removed from our calendar altogether. All time in lieu must be ‘student-free and non-work’ related. To support schools to acquit some of this time in lieu, Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) have proposed certain days where schools will be closed e.g. Monday, prior to the Melbourne Cup and end of year last day for students and staff. Please note, all MACS schools will finish on the 15th December. 

These days will enable our schools time to acquit some time accrued from throughout the year. We (MACS) are still in negotiation with IEU (Independent Education Union) in relation to staff attendance and school camps as the accrued time while on camp will most definitely impact schools and their capacity to acquit this time. I thank you in advance for your understanding, and in particular our staff who have been quite exceptional in this space ensuring our strong professional culture, opportunities for students and families has not been impacted throughout this period of negotiation. 

LITTLE HEARTS PLAYGROUP

Next Sessions:

• 26th May 10am
• 2nd June 10am

Family and friends are most welcome to attend. No age limit on toddlers or pre-schoolers. 

LOCK’EM IN

• Mother’s Day Stall 10th&11th May
• Mother’s Day Assembly 12th @ 9am. Visit classrooms after assembly.
• P&F Mother’s Lunch 20th May
• Principal’s Network Conference 22nd - 26th May
• Confirmation 25th May
• Little Hearts Playgroup 26th May
• Kids Disco P&F 2nd June
• School Closure - Berry Street Training 9th June
• Public Holiday 12th June
• Book Fair 13th - 16th June
• Soccer, Netball & Football Lightning Premiership 14th, 15th & 16th June
• Grandparent’s Day - 16th June
• End of Term  23rd June

LITTLE GEMS

Never to miss an opportunity, Bunn Sensei had the Grade 5 students make special Mother’s Day bookmarks in Japanese. They did a wonderful job writing them in English, Romaji, Kanji & Hiragana.

I think you can see why I so often say we have the best Art teacher in town. Ms Hyslop's inspiring classes are reflected in the STUNNING art pieces across our school. Just for the record these are displayed on the days she does not work i.e. Ms Hyslop comes in to work to hang. 

There is no WONDER why the Yr.5 students like their fantastic teachers so much? Mr Brown was pretty proud of his creative efforts this week as the children finished the final pieces of his (their) class display. I must say, it looks impressive! 

The children who do not attend the inter-school netball and football in a particular week, instead stay at school and do Fitness Club with Miss McKay. You can only imagine my answer when the students asked if I would join in.

We can't wait to welcome our chickens from Henny Penny Hatching program. The Junior students are getting exciting to learn more about lifecycles in real life.

And finally...

Despite being another exhaustive week at the best school in the bayside, we continue to have an abundance of reasons to celebrate and be grateful for at Sacred Heart. Looking forward to building on these accomplishments and watching our community flourish in the months follow.

Have gorgeous and well-deserved Mother's Day,

Simon Collis

Principal

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