ISSUE 38: 22nd November, 2024

Principal Message

Gospel Reflection

This Sunday, we celebrate Christ the King, a reminder that His kingdom is one of truth, love, and service. In the Gospel (John 18:33-37), Jesus says, "My kingdom is not from this world," inviting us to reflect on what guides our lives—faith and love, or worldly distractions.  As we prepare for Advent, may we strive to build God’s kingdom through acts of kindness, forgiveness, and care in our homes and community.

What’s on Next Week (Week  8 )

Coming up in Term 4, Week 9

Dear Parents, Guardians, Staff & Students,

Weekly Update

Congratulations to our Volleyball teams for competing in the State Finals in Melbourne today!

On Wednesday, we welcomed our 2025 Foundation students and their Year Five buddies at a successful Buddy BBQ. It was wonderful to see so many families helping our newest students feel part of our school community.

Congratulations to Chloe Watson (front cover), Vincent Dichiera (back cover), Audrey Allan, and Rosie Cavallo (inside) for having their artwork featured in the 2024 School Magazine! All entries were fantastic and will be displayed at the front of the school. The chosen images will be seen in the magazine.

My New Gallery

Prev

Showing images 1 - 8 of 26

Next

2025 Class Staffing

We have finalised staffing for Sacred Heart in 2025.  Please see below our placements:

Student class allocations will be shared with parents on Monday, 3rd December.

2025 Student Leadership

• School Captain Speeches & Voting: Monday, 25th November, 9:00 am.
• House Captain Speeches & Voting: Friday, 30th November.
  Good luck to all students participating!

Year 5 Visit to St Joseph’s College Mercy Campus

Our Year Five students will visit St Joseph’s College Mercy Campus on Tuesday, from 11:30 am until the end of the day. Students should wear their sports uniform, and a BBQ lunch will be provided. Teachers will accompany them for the day.

Sacrament of Reconciliation

On Wednesday, many of our Year Two students will celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation at the church at 5:30 pm, 6:00 pm, or 6:30 pm. We wish them all the best on this important faith journey.

Program Support Group (PSG) Meetings

PSG Meetings will be held in the Boardroom on Tuesday and Thursday. These meetings are vital for planning Term One 2025 goals for students requiring additional support. Thank you to parents and staff for their input and collaboration to enhance student learning outcomes. Please check PAM for meeting time.

Boys T20 Cricket Blast

Best of luck to our Boys T20 team competing in the School Sports Victoria State Finals in Melbourne this Friday. We’ll be cheering you on!

School Bands

Our School Band will be performing to the school this Friday afternoon at 2.20pm in the Stadium.  This is not an Assembly, just an opportunity for the bands to perform.

2024 Prep Transition

We’re excited to welcome our new Prep students!

• Session 4: Tuesday, 3rd December, 8:30 am–1:30 pm
• Parent Information Session: 9:00–10:00 am

Parent Code of Conduct

The updated Parent Code of Conduct will be distributed via SIMON and must be reviewed and acknowledged before the start of the new school year. This annual process ensures we maintain a respectful and collaborative school community.

First Day for Students in 2025

Students will return to school on Thursday, 30th January, 2025.

Administration News

A reminder to families who have not yet signed their School Fee Calculation Sheet: This document outlines your 2025 school fees and payment schedule. It is different from the Docusign form and is a legal requirement. Please visit the office and see Mary to complete this as soon as possible.

Thank you for staying updated!

God Bless,

Mark Gibson

Religious Education

Sacrament of Reconciliation (Year 2 & Above)

Celebration of Sacrament - Wednesday 27th November 5.30pm, 6pm or 6.30pm

Missions:

On Tuesday, Fr Michael McKinnon visited Sacred Heart, sharing his work in Yanaoka, Peru, and showing photos of the poor communities in the Andes. Students asked thoughtful questions, learning more about the projects our Mission Month fundraising supports.

We presented Fr Mick with a cheque for over $9000 (around $27,000 in Peruvian currency), which will greatly help these communities. Thank you to all families for your generosity, and special congratulations to Sophie Peters and Regan Boord, who raised an incredible $1036!

Learning and Teaching

OUTSTANDING LITERACY RESULTS

Our recent DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) and spelling testing results demonstrate the extraordinary rate of progress and achievement our students, who have had the benefit of our Structured Literacy Program, are making. The percentage of students at Sacred Heart who are at or above the expected level, in those year levels, far exceeds the average. We are extremely proud of our students and their incredible teachers. 

THE RESILIENCE PROJECT

We are very pleased to announce that we will be implementing the evidence based program  The Resilience Project (TRP) in 2025 at Sacred Heart.  With a significant increase in wellbeing referrals, TRP has been selected as our whole school approach for developing students' resilience, sense of gratitude, empathy, mindfulness and emotional literacy.  TRP will integrate with current programs to be the basis of our Social and Emotional Learning Curriculum.We have been incredibly fortunate to have received a grant from Ski For Life, who have generously funded the first year of implementing TRP in our school.

A brief introduction to Ski For Life, for those who haven't heard about this extraordinary charity/event:

Ski for Life events have been held over the long weekend in March for over a decade. Starting at Murray Bridge and finishing at Renmark, Ski For Life is a water-skiing relay held over 3 days.  Ski for Life Inc is an incorporated body whose members are committed to raising awareness and promoting mental health, wellbeing and suicide prevention.  This fundraising event enables Ski for Life to provide grants to groups undertaking projects which align with their mission.

Schools TV

In this edition of SchoolTV - School Transitions

Whether it is starting school for the first time, moving up to a higher grade or embarking on a journey through secondary school, there is no doubt that any school transition is a very exciting time for children and parents. It means your children are growing up!

However, transitioning is an ongoing process. It can continue long after students have entered their new environment and may encounter difficulties at a number of different stages. These stressors may appear as anxiety and frustration and result in negative or disruptive behaviours. Such behaviours can become problematic making the transitioning process even more difficult for children and parents.

In this edition of SchoolTV, parents will learn practical strategies to assist your child during the transition process and reduce stress and anxiety levels.

We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this edition of SchoolTV and we always welcome your feedback. If you have any concerns about your child, please contact the school counsellor for further information or seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to the School Transitions edition of SchoolTV

Performing Arts - Band Assembly!

We would like to invite Parents and friends to join us next Friday November 29th, there will be a concert featuring all the school bands and instrumental groups. This will run from 2:15pm in the stadium. All groups are really looking forward to sharing their music with the school community. The lineup will feature.

• Year 4 band. (Girls)
• Year 4 band (Boys)
• Year 5 Percussion Group
• Year 5 Folk Group
• Year 5 Rock band
• Year 6 Rock band

Foundation News

Mrs P’s last day of teaching at Sacred Heart was today. We are very sad to see her go, however we are excited for her next journey. The teachers and students at Sacred Heart would like to thank Mrs P for all of her effort over the last 14 years. Mrs P will be moving to Melbourne with her husband to be with her family. 

Congratulations to Cooinda for completing the very first school assembly today. We are all proud of their efforts and preparation to host.

This week we have learnt a new sound /ea/. Foundation students now know two ways to spell the long vowel e sound /ea/ and /ee/. There is no rule for which one we need to use, we just need to know them. Students have been practising reading and writing words and sentences with this new sound. We have also learnt about adverbs and have been orally expanding sentences by adding an adverb.

In Maths we have begun to learn about clock time. Students have been working on identifying the o’clock time and creating it on an analogue. Next week we work on identifying half past times.

Year One News

The Year One students have been working very hard completing a range of curriculum based tasks on Seesaw, to show their learning throughout Semester 2. Please have a look at their portfolio as it reflects their report. 

The students thoroughly enjoyed listening to Father Mick’s presentation about his missionary time in Peru. 

It has been wonderful to see the engagement levels high throughout our science topic, ‘How do people use their senses to understand the world around them?’ The students are learning about the identification of light, sound and heat energy, and how they are sensed and produced. They have completed tasks using their senses to explore the properties of familiar objects identifying similarities and differences. 

During Mathematics, we have been focusing on chance using the language: won’t happen, might happen and will certainly happen. Students explored this topic through a variety of questions and hands-on activities which were linked to their prior learning  in Pattern and Number.

The Year One fun day will be on Monday 9th December. Families will receive a letter with more information.

Prev

Showing images 1 - 8 of 15

Next

Year Two News

For the next two weeks, the Year 2 students will be selling icy poles for 50c on Monday, Tuesday and Thursdays. With the money raised we will select some tags from the Christmas Giving Tree at the SH Church and buy presents for the needy children in our community. We will go over to the church as a year level and select these tags, then the children will be responsible for wrapping and delivering the presents back to the church.  Year 2 children will be rostered on for one session each of selling the icy poles and are very much looking forward to this Social Justice initiative.

The Year Two Fun Day is fast approaching! A letter with all the details will be sent out early in the week and parents will need to approve the activity and give your child’s swimming ability on PAM. 

Barramunga Year Two students were excited to welcome Fr Mick to our classroom and to finally meet him. Fr Mick is currently in Australia from the remote community of Yanaoka, Peru. On behalf of our Sacred Heart School, Eli and Sevanna were given the opportunity to present Fr Mick with a cheque for over $9000. Fr Mick was incredibly grateful and said that this money we have raised will be put towards continuing the project of supplying the elderly and the children with a healthy meal each day.

Year Three News

This week, Year Three students thoroughly enjoyed listening to Father Mick’s presentation about his missionary time in Peru!

A reminder to Year Three families to bring in any little supplies for their students' Stop Motion project.

Have a great weekend!

Year Four News

No news this week.

Year Five News

Students thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to spend more time with their 2025 buddies at the Buddy BBQ! Thank you to our families for coming to this event and supporting your child. It was great to see new families and those who have been here for a while interacting and getting to know each other! 

Students are reminded that our School Captain speeches will be happening on Monday morning with voting to take place straight after. On Friday of Week 8, students will present their House Captain speeches to their respective houses. We wish our students the best of luck and are so proud of the leaders we know you will be as we transition into 2025. 

On Tuesday our students will attend St Joseph’s College for their STEM day. A note has been sent home about this. Lunch will be provided for students with the day commencing at 11:30. We will return to school at 2:15.

Year Six News

Graduation Dinner

 The student dinner will take place on Tuesday 10th December at Willow and Ivie from 6pm to 8:30pm. The cost per student is $40 which is payable via CDF pay.

Student Awards

Congratulations to Hannah Cirillo, Sidney Ryan and Adaline Miller for receiving the thumbs up Ray White Award. 

Library News

This week sees the end of borrowing for 2024. All books are due back on the 29th of November. I will send out printed lists of items on loan next week so families know what books need to be found and returned in Week 9. 

A reminder that Book Club Issue 8 orders close next Tuesday. These orders should be delivered by the end of Week 10.

First Aid

As the end of the year approaches we need to think about updating Asthma, Allergy and Anaphylaxis Action Plans. Asthma Australia recommends all students with Asthma provide schools with an updated Asthma Action Plan at least annually. ASCIA recommends that a student’s ASCIA Anaphylaxis and Severe Allergy plan should be updated every 12-18 months, when they are reviewed by their doctor and receive a new adrenaline injector prescription. 

If your child has an Action Plan that has not been updated in the last 12-18 months, please consider arranging an appointment with their GP to organise this as soon as possible. 

If your child is in Grade 6, please consider that when they attend high school, these Action Plans are still required to be provided to their school. 

I would love to use these Asthma Action Plans here at school as it provides more information relevant to us here in the education setting.

It looks like the one below - Please encourage them to use this one. If needed, I have an abundance of hard copies here at school, you are welcome to take to your appointments.

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

In the mornings, the Olive Grove gate will remain closed, so students and visitors can only enter through the 12th Street or Tamarisk Grove gates. After school, only the Olive Grove gate near the Art House will be open and supervised by a staff member. This change aims to enhance student and traffic safety.

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