ISSUE 20: 21st June, 2024

Principal Message

Gospel Reflection

As we reflect on the 12th Sunday of Ordinary Time, we are reminded of the story where Jesus calms the storm (Mark 4:35-41). This powerful narrative teaches us about faith and trust in the Lord, even during the most turbulent times. Just as Jesus brought peace to the chaotic waters, we are encouraged to find calm and reassurance in our faith amidst life's challenges. Let us instill this sense of trust and peace in our children, encouraging them to lean on their faith in times of uncertainty and to be a source of calm and support for others. As we continue to navigate the school year, may we all find strength and serenity in God's presence.

What’s on Next Week (Term 2 Week 11)

Coming Up in Week 1, Term 3

Dear Parents, Guardians, Staff & Students,

 Thank you to all staff, students, and families for your hard work and dedication throughout Term Two. It has been a busy term filled with many achievements. We wish everyone a safe, happy, and relaxing two-week break and look forward to seeing you in Term Three. Rest, relax, and rejuvenate!

Well done to our Junior, Middle, and Senior Unit choirs who competed at the Mildura Eisteddfod this week. All groups performed excellently, with our Junior and Middle choirs both finishing in second place. A big thank you to Mr. Barbary for preparing the students for this event. Congratulations also to all students who have participated in various Mildura Eisteddfod events over the past two weeks. Many students have proudly let staff know of their achievements.

Today was a brilliant day as we celebrated our Sacred Heart Feast Day. The day began with a reflective Eucharist, followed by lunch and fun activities in family groups. Our community generously donated food, clothing, bedding, and cash to support St Vincent De Paul’s essential work—a top effort by all families.

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Semester One School Reports 

School Reports are now available on SIMON/PAM ahead of Parent Teacher Meetings and PSG meetings. To view your child’s report, log into your PAM account, click on your child’s profile, and select Assessment Reports.

NAIDOC Day

We will celebrate NAIDOC Day on Wednesday, a significant event for learning, celebrating, and acknowledging the rich history, culture, and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We are excited to welcome Phillip Green to Sacred Heart to perform for our students. Phillip's experiences with Indigenous communities in North and Central America, New Zealand, and Australia have inspired him to create a cultural show that connects students with the survival technologies of Australia’s First People.

Next week, students will participate in activities related to the 2024 NAIDOC theme, 'Keep the Fire Burning,' fostering a deeper appreciation of the wisdom and contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander elders. We encourage everyone to show support by wearing casual clothing in NAIDOC colors (red, black, and yellow) or designs on the day. 

Parent Teacher & Program Support Group (PSG) Meetings 

Parent-Teacher & PSG 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.

Year 6 Enright Campus

Our Year Six classes will visit the SJC Enright Campus this Thursday. Students should arrive at 8:30am and will enjoy a BBQ lunch. The day concludes at 3:20pm, with parents responsible for drop-off and pick-up. SJC staff will supervise the students throughout the day.

School Assembly Narooma

Year Four Kyema will host our Assembly at 1:30pm on Friday. Following the assembly, Narooma 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.

Pupil Free Day - 1st Week Term 3

On Friday, July 19th, the school will be closed for staff to participate in professional learning on Structured Literacy. We wanted to give advance notice since this falls in the first week of Term 3.

End of Term Arrangements

Please note that students will finish early at 2:10 pm on Friday. Lunch will be at 12:30 pm, and Assembly will start at 1:30 pm. Our next newsletter will be sent home on July 12th, with students returning to school on Monday, July 15th.

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

Learning and Teaching

Victorian State Government Announcement - Making Best Practice Common Practice

It was very affirming to read this week that the Allan Labor Government has announced it will embed evidence-based best practice for Literacy in all Victorian classrooms by 2025. At Sacred Heart we have already committed to this approach and our teachers have been working extremely hard in embedding the Structured Literacy Methodology (including structured synthetic phonics, phonemic awareness and oral language). We are continually growing in our professional capabilities in this area and are being supported by experts in the field from the DOBCEL Structured Literacy Project, Breanna Wade, Emma Rutherford and Holly Southwell.

See link below to view Premier Allan's announcement.

See below link to view Tom Sexton's (DOBCEL Chair) response to this announcement, stating DOBCEL Primary Schools are well advanced in the best practice approach.

Reports

End of Semester 1 Reports are now available on PAM for parents to view. We commend teachers for their dedication in creating such accurate summaries of students’ learning journeys at this point. We very much encourage you to read this report with your child and discuss some goals moving forward. Parent Teacher Interviews will be held next week for parents to discuss their child’s progress.

Foundation News

This week the Foundation students have been learning how to order the numbers from 0-20. Here is an interactive ordering game that we have enjoyed using this week

We have finished making our own Creation Story booklet in Religion and look forward to recording them for you to listen to on Seesaw. In literacy we have learnt the new sounds j and w. 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, b, j, w  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. 

We are looking forward to the NAIDOC celebrations next week. Check out our Aboriginal dot painting artwork in the classroom!

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Year One News

The Sacred Heart Feast day was a beautiful day full of family group activities. The students actively participated in a variety of enjoyable experiences throughout the day. Our Feast Day hamburgers and ice creams were also a huge hit! 

This term during Earth and Space Sciences, the students have been investigating observable changes that occur in the sky and on the land. We have seen some beautiful photos that students have shared of sunsets and sunrises. The Year Ones have built an understanding of the Sun’s path in the sky and the appearance of the Moon and stars at night. They have also learnt how to identify daily and seasonal changes in the weather. Throughout the last part of the term the students have been focusing on Biological Sciences. They have been involved in some really thoughtful and deep discussions about how living things live in different places that suit their needs. They have designed their birdfeeder and will create it using plastic recyclable bottles to encourage birds to their local habitat. This topic has linked really well with Religion as we have discussed and learnt about the parable of the mustard seed. 

“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” 

“Great things grow from small beginnings.”

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Year Two News

Our Feast Day was an enjoyable day for all. We had lots of fun in our Family Groups and especially enjoyed the hamburger and ice cream treats! We are grateful for our friends and teachers at Sacred Heart and made some coasters in art to remind us of our school values that Jesus taught us.

As a conclusion to our Chemical Science Unit this term, we will be having an immersion session on Thursday where we will do the following experiments: a wiggly worm, a mini tornado and some shaving cream painting. We can’t tell you anymore about this as it’s a surprise for the children however each child will need A PLASTIC WATER BOTTLE. 

Our final Show and Tell for the term is the ‘ODD” group’s   “When I Grow Up”. Children are asked to share what they aspire to be when they grow up, why and how will this happen? They might like to bring an item to complement their choice.

Year Three News

What a busy but fun week we’ve had in Year Three! Today we celebrated our Feast Day with Mass and enjoyed hamburgers and ice creams.

Year Three students enjoyed participating in the Family Group activities as well!

This week we have only a couple of reminders..

Please ensure that all library books are returned next week. Students will be able to borrow a couple of extra books for the holidays if they don't have any overdue books. 

Students will be presenting their interview homework next week, please send this along to school if you haven’t yet been able to. 

Next week it will be an early finish time of 2.10 and Narooma will be presenting the assembly.

Narooma families are welcome to come back to the classroom and share some afternoon tea.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Sarah, Emma and Maree.

Year Four News

What a big week we’ve had, culminating in our wonderful Sacred Heart Feast Day Celebration today. After celebrating at Mass we enjoyed yummy hamburgers then had a wonderful time in our Family Groups rotating through different activities. We were also treated to an ice cream to top off the day. Thank you to all our families who donated items or money for those less fortunate than ourselves.

On Thursday, there were many Year Four students who sang their hearts out at the Eisteddfod. What a great achievement their second place was. Congrats also to those Year Four students who have participated in the Eisteddfod in other sections. We have obviously got many talented students in our cohort!

Wednesday saw the Maths Extension group sharing games they created with the rest of the Year Four students. Thank you to Miss Price for her guidance to this group of students. At the end of the session, the students were asked to provide feedback. Some of the responses were “ Max and Hugh’s game was good because it was challenging-(Dawson) I like Ava and Rosie C’s because it was like monopoly and snakes and Ladders in the same game.”- (Ollie)  “I really liked how when we were struggling they helped us.” (Imogen J) “ I like how all of them were Math related but then they had a twist in them.”(Maddie)

Included below are some photos of the students enjoying playing the games.

As we come to the end of the term please check with your child if they have all their school supplied stationary or whether somethings need replacing to begin Semester Two. We ask that in the next week, each child bring a bag for the end of term tub clean out.

A reminder that claw clips are not part of our school uniform.

Next week will also be a busy one before we have our well deserved holidays. We begin the week on Monday with the Message Stick celebration as part of NAIDOC Week. We look forward to Officer Joe Clarke’s visit on Tuesday where he will be speaking about bullying and cyberbullying.  Wednesday we will be participating in many activities to celebrate NAIDOC Day. We look forward to listening to Phillip Green and experiencing his cultural show.

Lots to look forward to, have a great week!

Natalee, Jaimi & Cathryn

Year Five News

We have had a wonderful week of learning in Grade Five with students spending time completing their Natural Disaster projects, something that has taken all term to research and present! We look forward to sharing these on Seesaw soon. 

Eumeralla would like to share a special thanks to Rachael Fyfe, who came in and shared her incredible story. Rachael was there when the Boxing Day Tsunami hit Indonesia and shared her experience with the students. The students were so engaged and in awe of the pictures shared with them. Thank you.

We are sending home a letter regarding a Grade Five “farewell party” to celebrate and wish our student Margot all the best as her family moves interstate.  Margot’s last day will be on Friday of week 11. We are asking students to bring a small plate to share for morning tea. This will form part of a day of fun where we can celebrate the term together. 

Year Six News

St Joseph’s College Information

On Tuesday, June 25th all year Six students will spend the day at St Joseph’s College. Students are to arrive at 8:30am for an 8:50am start. Students will enter via the Twelfth Street gates where they will be directed to a meeting point. A BBQ lunch will be provided. Students are welcome to bring their own snack and lunch if they wish. The school day will conclude at 3:20pm. Students wear casual clothes that are appropriate for playing sport.

 If you intend to send your child to St Joseph’s College in 2025, please ensure you complete the enrolments form as soon as possible if you haven’t done so already.

Library News

Nothing to report this week 

Performing Arts News

We are thrilled to share the fantastic achievements of our school choirs at the 45th Mildura Eisteddfod over the past two days. Competing against a range of talented choirs, our Senior School Choir, Middle School Choir, and Junior School Choir performed exceptionally well, showcasing their musical prowess and exemplary behaviour.

The Senior School Choir delivered a lovely performance, earning a commendable score of 74. Their lovely high notes and tone demonstrated their developing musical skills. Although they did not place, their performance was met with appreciation from the adjudicator, who praised their vocal control and the complexity of their repertoire. 

Our Middle School Choir achieved an outstanding 2nd place finish with a remarkable score of 90. Their strong, cohesive harmonies and beautifully executed high notes impressed the adjudicator and audience alike. The choir's ability to blend their voices seamlessly resulted in a rich and resonant sound that set them apart. 

Not to be outdone, the Junior School Choir also secured 2nd place with an impressive score of 88. Their performance was characterised by their great rhythm, reflecting their hard work and talent. The adjudicator was particularly taken with the choir's energy and enthusiasm, which shone brightly in their singing..

We extend our heartfelt congratulations to all the choir members for their incredible performances and brilliant behaviour. Special thanks go to Corey Barbary, Carole Cook and Meg Sulivan  for their dedication and guidance as choir directors and accompanists.

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