ISSUE 18: 7th June, 2024

Principal Message

Gospel Reflection

As we come together for the 10th Sunday in Ordinary Time, we reflect on the theme of faith and trust in God. In the Gospel, we see Jesus responding to those who question and doubt, teaching us about the importance of maintaining faith even in challenging circumstances. For parents and members of the Sacred Heart Primary School community, this message encourages us to cultivate a strong and resilient faith within our families. Let us take this opportunity to discuss with our children the value of trusting in God’s plan and remaining steadfast in our beliefs. By fostering a spirit of faith and trust, we can help our children navigate life's uncertainties with confidence and hope, grounded in the assurance of God's unwavering love and guidance.

What’s on Next Week (Term 2 Week 9)

Coming Up in Week 10

Dear Parents, Guardians, Staff & Students,

After a busy few weeks, we've enjoyed a quieter week. We hope all students have a great four day weekend and  enjoy the opportunity to relax and recharge before the final three weeks of the term.

King’s Birthday Long Weekend

The school will be closed on Monday for the King’s Birthday public holiday. 

School Sports Victoria (SSV) Division Netball & Soccer

We wish our boys and girls Netball & boys Soccer teams all the best at Wednesday’s Division games. Netball will occur from Mildura Sporting Precinct from 10am to 1.00pm and Soccer is being held at the Aerodrome Ovals Soccer Fields from 9.40am - 1.00pm

Parish Mass (Waminda & Barramunga)

Waminda & Barramunga classes will attend this week’s Parish Mass at Sacred Heart Church on Thursday 13th at 9:30 am.  

School Sports Victoria (SSV) Division Football & Hockey

We wish our boys' and girls' Football and boys Hockey teams the best of luck at Friday’s Division games. Football matches will begin at 9.45am at Mildura Sporting Precinct, and Hockey games will start at 10am at the Sunraysia Hockey Association field at the Aero Ovals.

School Assembly (Illawarra)

Year Four Illawarra will host our Assembly at 2:30pm on Friday 14th June. Following the assembly, Illawarra 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.

Semester One School Reports 

Our teachers are currently busy writing reports.  These reports will be released via SIMON on Monday 21st June to view prior to Parent Teacher Meetings and Program Support Group (PSG) meetings.

Parent Teacher & Program Support Group (PSG) Meetings 

Parent-Teacher meetings are being held on Tuesday 25th & Wednesday 26th June beginning at 2.30pm.  Parents are encouraged to book a meeting via PAM to discuss your child’s report and learning.  Please contact the school office if you have any questions.  Bookings will be closed off on Monday 24th June at 12pm.

God Bless!

Mr Mark Gibson

2024 Dates of Interest

Religious Education

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

Social Justice

After seeing the pile of Lost Property grow beyond belief throughout this term, I decided to take it all home to wash, dry, fold and sort into sizes.

After handing back to the children all the jumpers/jackets that were named, I now have approx 35 jumpers and 15 jackets left in our classroom.

My plan is to have these jumpers/jackets on a trestle table outside Barramunga before and after school next week. If your child has lost an item of clothing or you feel they just need another jumper/jacket, please come past the table and take the size you are after. You don't need to ask me, as I'll just be grateful to see these items going to someone who wants/needs them.  

This is also a plea to parents to please name their child's jumper, jacket, hat, tracksuit pants so that in future Lost Property is easier to sort and quicker to return to the owner. 

Thanks in anticipation

Mrs Chris Carmichael

Learning and Teaching

With the school holidays rapidly approaching it may be a good time to book hearing and vision assessments for your child/children. Children are eligible for a free vision check annually.

Foundation News

This week the Prep students have been learning about numbers that are one less and one more than a given number, writing sentences and grouping animals based on similar external features. We have been exploring the scripture story about Creation and we have started our own illustration book. The sounds you will need to be continually practising at home are: m, s, t, a, p, i, n, f, r, o, c, h, d, e, g, l, k, u  and the tricky words: I, the, my, a, is, his, has, as. Now that we are learning and having to remember more sounds it is really important that the students can recognise and know each letter/sound automatically. Continue using the fluency charts at home to build on automaticity.

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Reminders:

• All children should have headphones at school (named)
• School starts at 8:45am each day. If you are at school after 8:45am you must sign your child in at the office. 
• Your child’s library bag needs to be at school every day - kept in their school bag.
• Sports days are Thursday and Friday - sport uniform is needed.
• Practise the sounds caterpillars and snakes and fluency chart each night.
• Read and record ‘Enhanced Comprehension’ and ‘Reader’ in the reading diary each night.
• Library books are to be returned to school on Mondays.
• Sounds to continue practising with your child/ren at home: s, a, t, p, i, n, m, r, f, o, r, c, h, e, g, l

Have a well-deserved long weekend… we will see you all on Tuesday!

Year One News

The Year One students have had a wonderful week of learning. A focus on expanding sentences, building fluency when reading and money in Maths. The engagement during our money unit has been fantastic, with the students loving learning about Australian coin features and their values.  

Can you please save any 1.25- 2 litre drink containers for our science unit project over the next week or two. We would like absolutely any please - students will be using these to make something very exciting for their science unit. Please ensure that they are washed out and if the labels were off, that would be wonderful. 

Enjoy your LONG weekend.

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Year Two News

The Year 2 children have had a great time learning all about measurement! They have measured the length of various things in the classroom and in the yard, using 30 cm rulers, metre rulers and metre- lengths of string! We concluded our lessons on measurement with a fun beanbag task on the netball courts!

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We have also been very busy making utensils out of natural materials as part of our Science unit on ‘Materials and Their Purposes’. After discussing the materials of indigenous utensils such as baskets and plates, the children were asked to design and then make a utensil with a partner that had a purpose. They have worked very hard and will be excited to share their creation on Seesaw in the following weeks.

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As there was no school on Friday this week, the EVEN group for Show and Tell will have their turn in Week 9. The topic is “Mystery Bag” - children place an object inside a bag and give three clues to the class who then try to guess what they brought along.

Year Three News

Year Three have had a great time learning about health this week. We have explored different food labels and the ingredients in foods! We will continue our health lessons until the remainder of the Term.

Thanks to the families who have already supported their child in conducting the ‘Changing Communities’ homework interview. We will be discussing these in class from week 9 onwards. For the remainder of the term, we encourage your child to read each night, and to practise their times tables. It is a Year Three standard that children learn the 2 ,3 ,5 and 10 times tables.

This week, we've observed that some students are bringing fidgets and toys to school. These items can cause distractions for students during learning activities. Unless specifically approved by their classroom teacher, we kindly request that students refrain from bringing these items to school and keep them at home. However, some students, as outlined in their individualised learning plans, may still utilise specific fidgets and other learning aids as necessary during school hours.

Narooma reminder: 

We will be hosting the whole school assembly in the last week of this Term! We are very excited to share some of our learning with you! Could you please let me know as soon as possible if your child will be away. At the conclusion of our assembly we will be having a small afternoon tea in the Narooma classroom, further information about this will be emailed home closer to the time. Thank you for your support - Sarah.

Year Four News

Year Four have continued their learning in Health around the five food groups and healthy eating. This week they will be creating a healthy eating plate that they will share with you on Seesaw. In other learning areas, in History, we have been learning about early explorers and the effect their journeys had on our world. Through this learning, students have been writing some wonderful Single Paragraph Outlines that have demonstrated their understanding. In Maths, we have been focusing on chance and data representation. 

Well done to Myalla on their learning  presentations at last week’s assembly. Particularly we say well done to the students in the Middle Unit Band who made their first public performance. What an awesome job they did! A big thank you to Mr Barbary for his support and for facilitating this wonderful opportunity. We look forward to the learnings Illawarra will share at next week’s assembly.

Enjoy your Long Weekend!

Natalee, Jaimi & Cathryn

Year Five News

The Grade Five students have continued to practice their sentence level writing activities this week. We have focussed heavily on complex sentences and the use of commas and coordinating conjunctions. We are noticing students transferring these skills into other subject areas such as their Integrated and Science projects! 

We encourage students to continue their practice of times tables recall at home. You may like to ‘test’  your child as most love this competitive aspect in class. This will really help students with their multiplication and division problems during our maths lessons! 

We have some reminders for the final weeks of Term Two: 

Week 9

• Monday   – King’s birthday public holiday
  
• Wednesday   - Inter School soccer and netball
• Friday   – Inter School hockey and football

Week 10

• Wednesday   - Year 5/6 Eisteddfod

• Friday   -  Sacred Heart Feast Day

Year Six News

This week, students in Yongana participated in hands-on learning during Science.

During writing time, students have created some amazing informative texts. They have researched, planned, drafted, edited and published their piece of writing. We are very proud of the work our students have produced and they way they engaged so enthusiastically when working on this.

Reminders:

•   Monday – King’s birthday public holiday
•   Wednesday - Interschool soccer and netball
•   Friday – Interschool hockey and football

Library News

BOOK FAIR

Orders from our Book Fair have not arrived yet. As soon as they are shipped to school they will be delivered to students. Apologies for the delay!

Examples of great reading caught on camera in the library this last week.

Student 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