ISSUE 5: 23rd February, 2024

Principal Message

Gospel Reflection

On this Second Sunday of Lent, let's contemplate the theme of faith and trust. As we accompany our children on their academic and personal journeys, encourage them to embrace challenges with unwavering trust in their abilities and in the support of our community. Just as Abraham trusted in God's plan, may our students find strength and resilience in their pursuits, knowing that growth often flourishes in moments of faith and perseverance.

Dear Parents, Guardians, Staff & Students,

Evacuation Drill

Our first Evacuation Procedure of the year will take place on Monday at approximately 12.40pm. It's important for all students, visitors, and staff to grasp the correct drill process and expectations in case of an emergency.

Parish Mass Kyema

Parish Masses commence this week, starting with Kyema's attendance on Wednesday morning at 9:30 am in the church. It's a chance for each class and their teacher to participate together, alongside other Parish members, and parents are warmly invited to join.

School Advisory Council Meeting

Our first SAC Meeting for 2024 will take place this Tuesday evening, starting at 5:15pm. We extend our gratitude to our 2024 parent representatives: Racheal Fyfe, Melissa Waters, Warren Henderson, Ben Tallent, Ben Chatfield and Katie McCoy

Foundation Parent Information Session

An important Information session for all Foundation parents is scheduled for this Thursday afternoon at 3:30pm in Cooinda. The meeting will be led by Mrs. O’Callaghan, Miss Moore and Mrs. Christine Sherry.  All Foundation parents are encouraged to attend.

School Assembly Yongana

Year Six Yongana will host our Assembly at 2:30pm on Friday. Following the assembly, Yongana parents are welcome to join an afternoon tea in their child's classroom, offering an opportunity to view student learning and to mingle and meet other parents.

School Sports Victoria (SSV) Division Tennis

Best wishes to Mackie Barber, Thomas Colbert, Braxton Ficarra, and Ethan Madden-Hickey as they participate in Thursday’s Division Tennis event at the Mildura Lawn Tennis Courts.

Foundation Rest Day

To assist our Foundation students with their transition, rest days are included in the program.  Next Wednesday will be a Foundation Rest day.  This will be the final rest day before students attend school on all days.

Dogs Connect

There was a note sent home earlier in the week with our new students regarding our school's well-being dog, Coco and her presence in the yard and our classrooms. This note will give us an indication of whether or not your child/ren is/are familiar with dogs and/or has/have a fear, as Coco works in various classrooms throughout the year. Upon receipt of the filled-out forms, we will schedule familiarisation sessions for your child/ren if needed. Some families will be notified of this also. Please complete this form and return to the school office by Wednesday 28th February.

SHPS Family Footy Tipping 2024

The AFL footy season isn’t far away!  Our Family Footy Tipping competition is on again.  Join the fun!  See the note for all details

God Bless!

Mr Mark Gibson

Congratulations to our very own Mr Carmichael on being inducted into the Mallee Sports Academy Hall of fame. What a wonderful achievement, congratulations! 

Religious Education

2024 Sacramental Dates

Sacrament of Confirmation (Year 3 & Above) 

Parent Information Session - Wednesday, 27th March

Celebration of Sacrament - Friday 17th, Saturday 18th & Sunday 19th May

Sacrament of First Eucharist (Year 4 & Above)

Parent Information Session - Wednesday, 28th August

Celebration of Sacrament - Friday 25th, Saturday 26th & Sunday 27th October

Sacrament of Reconciliation (Year 2 & Above)

Parent Information Session - Wednesday, 16th October

Celebration of Sacrament - Wednesday 27th November

ALTAR SERVERS GUILD

The parish is founding an Altar Servers Guild to provide practical training and ongoing formation to Guild members. The Guild will meet weekly during school terms. If you are interested in joining the Guild and becoming an altar server visit www.sunraysiacatholic.org/altar-servers or call the parish office on 5021 2872.

Learning and Teaching

Students are strongly encouraged to bring a small fruit snack to school everyday for their brain food. Breaks are an essential part of learning and both students and teachers benefit from short breaks throughout the day. Students who are not hungry and are hydrated perform better in the classroom, are less disruptive and have higher levels of engagement and concentration.  Incorporating a healthy snack break into one of your daily brain breaks is a great way to reset students’ focus as well as increase their fruit and veg intake. Examples of brain foods might be cut up fruit or vegetables or whole fruits. It is important that the student is able to peel/ eat the fruit independently and eat it within 10 minutes.

Learning Diversity

As assessments are beginning to be completed, intervention groups will be established in the coming weeks. Parents will be informed of students who will be participating in interventions once this has been finalised. We aim to ensure interventions are the right fit for students and their learning needs.

Foundation News

This week in Prep we have been working hard on saying and ordering the days of the week, identifying our emotions, working out words that rhyme, how many syllables in words and the SATPINM sounds. We went on a hunt around the school for things that begin with the letter ‘s’.

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The Foundation Information Session will be held on Thursday 29th February @ 3.30pm in Coonda. This is an important meeting to attend to gain insight into how reading is taught at Sacred Heart and the expectations of home reading.

Some reminders:

- Each morning the students need to do their jobs before finding something to do. They need to bring into the classroom from their bag their drink bottle, lunch container, snack container and brainfood container. 

- The school library books are borrowed on Wednesday and returned on the following Monday. If your child does not bring back their books or does not have their library bag on library day they will not be able to borrow new books. Currently, with Foundation rest days being in our library we are trying really hard to fit in another session where possible.

- Your child’s library bag needs to be at school every day - kept in their school bag.

- Remember to use 2 small containers for recess and lunch so that they fit into our fridge boxes. The time frame the students have to eat their lunch and snack is short so packing a sandwich and one other thing is often enough and then 2-3 snacks for recess. Please be mindful of students with allergies to nuts.

- Brainfood needs to be a small fruit or vegetable which can be eaten in 5 minutes - cut up and in a small container.

- Sports days are Thursday and Friday - sports uniform is to be worn on these days.

Foundation Rest Days: 

Students will have the following days/dates as a rest day from school:

Friday 9th February

Wednesday 14th February

Wednesday 21st February

Wednesday 28th February

Monday 11th March

Year One News

A warm and wonderful week is over and we are very appreciative of your support in organising our students on Monday for school photos. 

Thank you for continuing to support your child with preparation for their Show and Tell experience. This week our students enjoyed sharing their personal strengths. Next week’s topic is: What are living and non-living things? Students are asked to explain or compare items/objects that are living and non-living and describe their features. 

Year One students continue to enhance their knowledge of digraphs this week building on their understanding of ck, sh, wh, as well as developing an understanding of nouns and expanding sentences. In Numeracy, students have been focusing on Place Value and Number by understanding two-digit numbers as being comprised of tens and ones as well as the importance of grouping in tens.
You may see some bright and persuasive posters around the school as the Year One students have created wonderful posters promoting healthy eating. They have been exploring how eating healthy foods can influence health and wellbeing during our Health lesson. 

We have begun uploading some work samples to Seesaw. If you do not have access to your child’s 2024 account please let your classroom teacher know via email ASAP. 

Year Two News

Year 2 children have begun bringing home their “Enhanced Comprehension” packs for reading with parents. These packs have been developed by speech therapists and include a quality picture storybook and question page both enclosed inside a plastic envelope. Please ensure that these stay together in the envelope. Enhanced Comprehension packs go home each Monday and are returned on Fridays. If children forget to bring their pack back, they are unable to borrow a new one.  Take home readers from the classroom are borrowed and returned every day along with reading diaries. This book is for the children to read to you, the Enhanced Comprehension books are for you to read TO the children. Library books are returned and borrowed on Fridays. 

Year 2 children will bring home their workbook and writing book on Friday which will need to be covered with CLEAR contact. These two books will need to be returned on Monday as we will be using them. Please see your child’s teacher if you have any questions.

Show and Tell will be the ‘odd’  week group and the topic is “Something from your bedroom” (ie: toy, teddy, PJ’s, cushion, photo frame etc)

We have begun uploading some work samples to Seesaw. If you do not have access to your child’s 2024 account please let your classroom teacher know via email ASAP.

 Reminders:

• A reminder for any students who still need to bring in a labelled pair of headphones to do so as soon as possible. 
• Sport Days are Monday - Waminda; Barramunga Tuesday and both classes on Friday.
• Our Library day is Friday. Please ensure your child has a library bag to protect the books as they go between school and home.
• Students need their hats for outdoor play.
• Students need a water bottle each day.

Year Three News

Thank you for all of your support so far this Term. In our History lessons the students have enjoyed learning about how and why people remember the past. The children are also really excited to learn about how the sun’s energy affects us here on Earth in science. The Year Three students are continually enhancing their vocabulary, spelling and sentence knowledge through our structured literacy program. 

Recently in our new spelling program SpellEx, we have been focusing on understanding our expert words, such as phonemes and graphemes. In numeracy we have been learning about the multiplication symbol and how this relates to the language of rows and groups. 

Please make sure your child brings their hat to school, otherwise they will be asked to play in the shade.

Don’t forget to check your SeeSaw account and notify us if you’re unable to access your child’s work that has been posted.

Thank you!

Year Four News

Thank you for all of your support so far this Term. Year Four children have settled in wonderfully to the beginning of the year and we have been thoroughly enjoying getting to know them over the first few weeks of Term.  We welcome Fifita Fangaloka to Sacred Heart and in particular to Myalla .

Students have been learning about the Earth’s Changing Surface in Science. They have completed a task on Seesaw to reflect their learning so check it out! They have also completed a task related to their learning in Maths so far this term. Please notify us if you’re unable to access your child’s work that has been posted.

 Reminders:

• A reminder for any students who still need to bring in a labelled pair of headphones to do so as soon as possible. 
• Sport Days are Monday -all Year 4. Then; Kyema-Thursday,  Myalla- Wednesday and Illawarra- Tuesday
• Our Library day is Wednesday. Please ensure your child has a library bag to protect the books as they go between school and home.
• Students need their hats for outdoor play.
• Students need a water bottle each day.
• Jewellery should be limited to stud earrings, and only a Religious medal/ cross as a necklace. There should be no bracelets or rings.
• Nail polish should not be worn.

Year Five News

We welcome back Mrs Danielle Gunn this week from maternity leave. She will be Eumeralla’s teacher on Wednesday, Thursday & Friday and we farewell Mrs Georgina Whitehouse who is preparing for the birth of her first child. Thank you for everything you have done in establishing the Grade Five’s in Eumeralla! 

The Grade Five’s have settled in wonderfully to the beginning of the year and we have been thoroughly enjoying getting to know them over the first few weeks of Term. 

 Reminders:

• A reminder for any students who still need to bring in a labelled pair of headphones to do so as soon as possible. 
• Sport Days are Monday & Wednesday, and our Library day is Tuesday. 
• Students will need their hats for outdoor play

Year Six News

Next Friday, Yongana will be hosting our School assembly. We look forward to seeing you there.

Year 6 have engaged in some great learning experiences during their Specialists lessons this week.

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Library

It has been pleasing to see the classes getting into some good routines in the library, of returning books, borrowing suitable reading material and settling into quiet reading for enjoyment.

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Scholastic Book Club News:

The issue #1 orders were distributed to the students on Tuesday. SHPS wishes to thank everyone for their support; almost $73.50 was raised in rewards for the school library to purchase new books for students to enjoy. 

Occasionally, some orders may be on backorder. If this is the case, students usually receive some stickers with a note from Scholastic. 

If you have questions or issues with Book Club, please don't hesitate to contact me rather than directly messaging Scholastic.

Mrs Irvin at mirvin@shmildura.catholic.edu.au

Camp Australia

A Word from our After School Care Provider - Camp Australia

Students of The Week

Note - Assemblies are now held fortnightly, Students of the week will be presented at these.

No Awards this week

Ray White Awards

No Awards this week 

Parent Information

Arriving and Leaving Safely

Kiss & Go

To help keep everyone safe during drop-off and pick-up please take note of the following rules at Kiss and Go and the School Crossing that should be followed both in the morning (8:10-8:45am) and afternoon (3pm-3:30pm):

• Stay in your vehicle unless you need to assist younger students with their seat belts.
• Aim to keep your car in the Kiss & Go area for a maximum of two minutes to allow others to use the space too.
• Access the Kiss & Go only from Olive Grove, not 12th Street.
• Please refrain from dropping off students outside of cars in Olive Grove.
• Avoid performing U-turns within the Kiss & Go area.
• For your safety, use the school crossing if you need to cross 12th Street.


Thanks for helping us keep our school safe for everyone!

Pick Up and Drop Off Points

These designated areas serve as convenient points for collecting or dropping off children at the school if you are walking in with them. Please ensure you find a suitable and permissible parking spot for your car in order to use these locations.

Riding Scooters & Bikes

Certain students walk, ride bikes, or scooters to school and are requested to use either the 12th Street entrance or the Tamarisk Grove entrance at the rear of the oval. Riding into or through the school grounds is not permitted.

Collect Children from School Grounds

Feel free to come into school to pick up your child directly from their classroom. It's an excellent opportunity to meet other parents, have casual conversations with teachers, and ensure your child is organised at the end of the day. If you choose this option, please park appropriately and be outside the classroom by the 3.10 bell; otherwise, your child will be directed to the supervised Kiss and Go area. Students and young siblings should refrain from using the playground equipment.

School Crossings

Students walking home are advised to use the school crossings on Twelfth Street, Walnut Avenue and Eleventh Street to safely avoid heavily trafficked roads. All crossings are supervised by a School Crossing Supervisor, and it's crucial to follow their directions.  We also encourage parents to model expected behaviours by using the School Crossings also.

Buses

Several of our students catch buses home from the St. Joseph’s bus stop on 11th Street. Each day a teacher gathers these children together and accompanies them to the bus stop to supervise until they are all safely on the bus.

Drop Off Times

Preferred 'Drop Off' Time: 8.25 - 8.45 am. For safety reasons, please refrain from dropping off students before 8.19 am, as there is no supervision provided.  Our gates open at this time.

Pick Up Times

Recommended 'Pick Up' Time: 3.10 - 3.25 PM. While we understand occasional delays, if regular or extending beyond 3.30 PM, please consider enrolling your child/ren in After School Care.

Walking or Riding Home

If your children walk or ride home or to your workplace after school, please submit written permission authorising them to leave unaccompanied. They must exit through the main 12th Street gate or accompany the 11th Street bus group through Tamarisk Grove.

Alternative Pick Up Places

For safety, we strongly advise against arrangements where children wait unsupervised at public pick-up locations like Walnut Avenue or St Joseph’s College.

EATING AND DRINKING AT SCHOOL

Healthy Eating

To sustain learning and promote healthy eating we encourage students to bring to school predominantly healthy food choices.

Brainfood

Students have a brain food break during the morning to keep children’s brains fuelled for learning. We ask that families send an extra fresh fruit or vegetable snack for children to have during this time. When sending the snack, please pack it separately from your child’s lunch in a small, named container so it can be placed on their desk each morning.

Lunch Snack

The main meal of the school day; a sandwich or roll, a salad or a slice of quiche. A healthy ‘treat’ may also be appropriate here that is healthy and gives long-term energy.  Lunch is eaten usually in the classroom from 11:25am-11:40am.

Recess Snack

We encourage parents to pack fresh fruit or vegetables in your child’s recess snack box.  You may like to pack one or two other snack items for them at this time.  This snack is eaten at 1:40pm.

Packing Food

 The school has a bank of refrigerators for the storage of students’’ food. For the ease of packing and unloading the fridges, we ask that parents provide separate, small, well-labelled containers or zip-lock bags for their child’s recess snack and lunch. Insulated ‘puffy’ lunchboxes and ice-blocks are not required.

School Canteen

Our School Canteen operates on a Wednesday and Friday and provides a range of lunch options at low cost.    The current menu and prices can be accessed through and ordered via the CDFpay website https://shmildura.cdfpay.org.au

OFFICE INFORMATION

Office Hours

Office hours will run from 8:20am to 4:00pm every day. Phone calls can be made starting at 8:00 am.

Change of Personal Details

If there are any changes to your contact details (address/phone number/emergency contacts), kindly inform the office by calling 50231204, emailing office@shmildura.catholic.edu.au, or visiting the office in person.

Simon Everywhere and Parent Access Module (PAM)

Simon Everywhere is an App for smart phones that allows parents to access all information relating to their child/ren such as reports, attendance and much more. It also allows you to update medical information, give permission for excursions, access teacher emails and also receive notifications from the school.

For parents familiar with PAM, the new App works mostly the same as PAM and you can still access PAM through the web site: pam.shmildura.catholic.edu.au, however the app has additional functionality such as Push notifications and the ability to sign in without having to enter your username and password each time.

1. Go to the App Store or Google Play Store and search Simon Everywhere
2. Download and open the App and Allow Notifications
3. Enter your name and phone number and press verify, you will receive a code via SMS
4. Click on 'Add School'
5. Select Sacred Heart Primary School, Mildura - Parent Access
6. Enter your PAM username and password. If you do not know your credentials, please call the school.

7. Click on the Home icon.
   

Simon everywhere works best when notifications are turned on. You can check the notifications setting on your phone to be sure by going to the Settings – Notifications – Then find the Simon Everywhere App.

Sickness at School

Children with severe colds, flus, or other debilitating illnesses must stay at home. Do not send the child if they have:

• Fever: Children with a fever over 38 degrees should stay home.
• Prescribed antibiotics: Keep a child at home for at least 24 hours if prescribed antibiotics for an acute illness.
• Diarrhea: Children with watery stool should return only after being symptom-free for at least 24 hours.
• Vomiting: Children who are vomiting should stay home until at least 24 hours after it has stopped.

After School Care

After School Care is available for Sacred Heart students and is located on our school grounds.  Camp Australia run this program for students from Sacred Heart Primary School and St Paul's Primary School.  The program runs from the Art House building which is located on Olive Grove.

Sacred Heart families can make use of the Camp Australia After-School Care Program that is held on the grounds of Sacred Heart.  The service is available from 3:10pm through to 6pm on school days.  A healthy snack is provided to children.  Registration needs to be done through the Camp Australia website www.campaustralia.com.au .  Further information can be obtained by calling 1300 105 343.  Each day the office will print out a list of students attending Out of Hours School Care and notify the students at the end of the day via the announcements.

Marking Child’s Absence 

1. Log into the App - SimonEverywhere or login via PAM (type pam.shmildura.catholic.edu.au in your address bar).
2. You can either log by clicking on the large blue calendar section that says Parent Notified Absences or you can click on the 3 menu lines at the top right-hand side of your screen. NOTE: On your phone it will appear below your child/ren’s name.
3. You will then need to click the blue + Add Absence button circled below
4. Then select your child, and in reason

If your family is going on an extended family holiday. Please contact the school to inquire about an Student Absence Learning Plan.

School Day

• 8:19 am - Gates open & students can access Courtyard
• 8:34 am - Access Courtyard and play on Oval (classrooms opening optional for teachers)
• 8.49 am - School day begins - classroom open
• 8:55 am - School starts.
• 9.55 am - Brain Break
• 10:55 am - Lunch Play
• 11.25 am - Lunch Eat
• 1.40 pm - Recess 
• 2.10 pm - Recess Finishes
• 3.10 pm - School finishes

Sports Uniform Days

Prep:  

• Cooinda (Mrs O’Callaghan) - Thursday & Friday  
• Wahroonga (Miss Moore) - Thursday & Friday  

Year One: 

• Bundaleer (Mrs Coffey & Mrs Priestley) - Tuesday & Wednesday 
• Karinya (Mrs Groves) - Tuesday & Wednesday 

Year Two:

• Barramunga (Mrs Carmichael) - Tuesday & Friday
• Waminda (Mrs Collins) - Monday & Friday

Year Three:

• Narooma (Mrs Beckwith) - Monday & Tuesday
• Dourim (Mrs Kotsiakos & Mrs Irvin) - Monday & Thursday

Year Four:

• Illawarra (Mrs Willersdorf) - Monday & Tuesday 
• Myalla (Mrs Rowles) - Monday & Wednesday
• Kyema (Mrs Johnson) - Monday & Thursday 

Year Five:  

• Minga (Mrs Deacon) - Monday & Wednesday 
• Eumeralla (Mrs Gunn & Mrs Pacher) - Monday & Wednesday

Year Six:  

• Amaroo (Mrs Campbell) - Tuesday & Friday 
• Yongana (Mrs Zaxos) - Monday & Friday
• Mootwingee (Mrs Thompson) - Thursday & Friday

Term Dates