ISSUE 31: 29th October, 2021

Principal / Executive Leadership Team

 Dear Lord, 

Use my eyes to see new friends. 

Open my ears to hear my teacher. 

Open my mind to learn new things. 

Let my heart remember you are near when I am afraid. 

Help me to love others like you do. 

I want to shine your light so brightly in my school. 

Amen

Dear Sacred Heart Parents and Guardians,

We have had a fantastic first major Mission Month major activity today with our ‘Duct Tape the Teacher to the Wall’.  The students thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to tape Mrs Taylor, Mr O’Callaghan and myself to the wall.  As you can see in the pictures below it was a great event.

COVIDSafe Update

It has been great to have the students and staff back onsite this week.   Our students and staff need to be commended for their cooperation in following COVIDSafe measures. From 1st November many operational requirements are easing which will mean school will appear to be more normal for students. Below is a summary of important considerations and changes that will minimise risk and help protect our community: 

• Visitors to school including parents are required to follow vaccination requirements and other health and safety controls such as mask wearing and physical distancing 
• Assemblies can occur but are exclusive to staff and students only.  Parents of students receiving awards or presenting will be invited but will need to sit in seats outside the stadium
• Parents who come onto school grounds for drop off or pick and don’t enter school buildings are not required to QR Check In.
• All parents who enter school buildings when on school site are required to complete QR check in.
• If you or your child develop any symptoms such as fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose or shortness of breath you should get tested and remain at home, even if symptoms are mild
• Students will no longer be restricted to play in certain areas of the school grounds and will now be able to recommence interventions
• If students become unwell with any COVID-19 symptoms while at school will need to return home and we encourage them to get tested.

Other COVIDSafe measures including ventilation of indoor spaces, adult density limits, social distancing, increased cleaning, the regular use of hand sanitiser/soap, increased use of outdoor spaces for learning and the wearing of masks are continuing. 

World Teachers’ Day

“It takes a big heart to help shape little minds.” (unknown)

Today we celebrate World Teachers’ Day to recognise and celebrate teachers’ incredible contributions to their students and school communities. It has never been more important to celebrate World Teachers' Day, to celebrate the outstanding efforts of teachers in our schools, across Australia and the world during this pandemic.

So much has been asked of teachers through the pandemic.  We are aware of the considerable time and effort behind the scenes to adapt to new and changing learning environments and to support students and families through the unfamiliar. 

We wish all our teachers all the best for today.  If you get a chance please say a thank you to your child’s teacher for the fantastic work they do.  It will inspire them to get through these challenging times.

School Advisory Council (SAC) Annual General Meeting (AGM)

Next Wednesday, 3rd November the SHPS School Advisory Council (SAC) Annual General Meetings (AGM) will take place at 6.00pm. This meeting will be held in the school stadium.  Parents who attend will need to QR Scan at the Office and show evidence of vaccination.

At our AGM we have a guest speaker Dr Leah Wiseman who is a parent at Sacred Heart and is currently the Director of Mental Health at Albury Wodonga Health and is also working at Lime Therapy.  Leah will be talking to those who attend around the theme ‘Reconnection After COVID’.   This is very relevant as we strive to make our school community stronger after a few disrupted years.  We hope that we have many from our community in attendance.  Pizza and drinks will be provided after the meeting.

Pupil Free Day Date Change

Our Pupil Free Day that was scheduled to occur on Friday 5th November has been cancelled.  This day has been moved to Wednesday 15th December.  This will mean that the last day for students in 2021 will now be Tuesday 14th December.  

School Closure Day - Melbourne Cup Holiday

Sacred Heart will be closed on Tuesday 2 November for Melbourne Cup Day.  

2021 School Fees

Thank you to everyone who has paid their school fees. Reminder to the families who opted for payment by term or year that these accounts should have been paid in full by the end of Term 3.  

2022 Fee Commitment Packs

Thank you to parents who have returned their 2022 Fee Commitment (blue) forms back to the Office promptly.  If you haven’t yet returned these please complete and return back to the Office no later than 3rd November. 

Once we have received your form a follow up Payment Option (white) form was/will be sent home.  This needs to be returned back to the Office ASAP.

If you have any queries please don’t hesitate to contact the Office.

2022 Prep Transition Program

Prep transition programs can go ahead from 1st November.  Due to the shortened timeline and with consideration of current government and educational authority restrictions we have an updated Prep 2022 Transition Program below.  In recent communication we found out that it is not a requirement for parents to be vaccinated for this purpose but it is strongly recommended.

Buddy BBQ

The families of the 2022 Prep and their Buddies are invited to come to the school for a sausage sizzle and a play on Wednesday 17th November from 5:00pm-6:00pm.  Parents will need to complete QR coding and show vaccination evidence..

Chris Robarts

Our Catholic Education Ballarat Education Consultant, Mr Chris Robarts, finished in his role last Friday.  Mr Robarts has been a great support of Sacred Heart School over many years, including when he was Principal from 1989-1996.  We thank Mr Robarts for his passion for Catholic Education, and in particular for his support of Sacred Heart School.  Best wishes, Chris!

Mission Month

We have two major Mission fundraising events being held this Thursday & Friday.  We look forward to both of these events being very worthwhile fundraising events that will go towards projects in Peru, along with being a boost for our students after returning to normal learning.  

On Thursday, we have the following:

• Hot Dogs & Ice Cream for lunch
• Book Week Dress Up or Casual Clothes
• Movie Day - classes will be watching an age appropriate movie at a time that suits
• Families will pay for their lunch via CDF Pay
• Any students not wanting a hot dog for lunch will need to bring a packed lunch from home
  

On Friday, the Whole School Colour Run is being held.  This will take place on the school oval from 11.30am to 1.30pm.  Cost will be $5 per student or $10 per family.  This will also be set up on CDF Pay for families.  Students are expected to wear a white T-shirt and clothes/shoes that are appropriate to get colours on.  Students have the option of bringing their sports uniform to school to change into following the Colour Run as water will be part of the obstacle course, however this is not compulsory.  

Assemblies 

Assemblies will resume this Friday and will be held in the Stadium at 2.30pm.  The focus for this week’s Assembly will be on Athletics Presentations.  Parents of students receiving classroom or athletics awards will be invited but will need to sit in seats outside the stadium.

Class Placement Survey

Thank you to those families who have completed the Class Placement Survey, which will provide valuable information as teachers begin to place students in the class groups for the 2022 school year.   

Squid Games

We have noticed at school some students have been recreating games featured in the dark and gory hit show the Squid Games.  We are discouraging these games coming into school.  We are providing information below for parents as students may have accidentally come across this content at home or are being exposed through other platforms such as YouTube.  We hope this is helpful.

• Squid Game shows the need to check what your child is watching

God bless!

Mark Gibson

Religious Education News

First Eucharist

Congratulations to many of our Year Four students who have celebrated First Eucharist over the last week.  Thanks to all families for making these memorable occasions.  The last of the First Eucharist masses is being held tonight.

Learning & Teaching News

OLT - Online Training - Online Training is a platform that was established in 2008 to provide flexible short courses for people who support children and young people with special educational needs. Our staff have access to these short courses via the Catholic Education Commission Victoria. 

The platform offers courses for parents under also, under  COURSES 

                                                                                                                                  ↓

                                                                                                                   Open resources

                                                                                                                                  ↓

OLT offers free short eLearning courses that are available to parents. On offer currently are - ADHD for Parents & Autism for Parents. Click on the link below to access the website and the course(s) that interest you. If you have any questions please contact Mrs Deacon.

Prep Unit News

Another busy week in Prep this week! Please remember to be reading every night with your child and practising their tricky words in the back of the reading diary - this is an important part of the children’s learning as it is a time they get to practise strategies they have learnt at school. Also, that show and tell needs to be something small enough to fit in our show and tell baskets.

On Monday, Denise Pragt, the School Nurse, will be visiting the Preps. You still have until Monday to return the School Nurse envelope. Just a reminder it is an optional service, however if you do not wish for Denise to see your child you need to complete and sign the first page of the documents in the envelope and return it to school.

For Mission Month, the Prep Unit is going to be holding a ‘Guess the lollies in the Jar’. Students are able to purchase a guess for 50 cents, or 3 for $1. Winners will be announced on Friday the 12th of November. All proceeds will be going to the overseas Missions.

Junior Unit News

Our second full week for the term and it did not disappoint! What a joy it is to see the smiling faces, hear the rich classroom discussion and share in the school atmosphere. We truly are blessed. 

This week we began planning dates for our Year 1 stay back and Year 2 Sleepover.

Year 2 Sleepover is Thursday 11th November- Friday 12th November. 

Year 1 Stayback is Thursday 18th November.

More information will follow shortly.

Barramunga will FINALLY host their class assembly on Friday 12.11.21 and they are very excited about it, although this will be done virtually.

In the classrooms this week Year One children are working on spelling choices for the trigraphs:  are, ere, air as well as reading, writing and spelling contraction words. Year Two students continue to focus on reading comprehension skills, recognition of punctuation as well as fluency. 

For Mission Month, the Junior Unit are holding a ‘Guess the lollies in the Jar’ competition. Students are able to purchase a guess for .50 cents. Winners will be announced on Friday the 12th of November. All proceeds will be going to the overseas Missions.

Each Monday, Tuesday and Thursday icy poles will be sold for .50cents with these funds also going towards Mission efforts.

BRAVO Mrs Taylor! We appreciate you (duct taping) ‘taking’ time out of your day to get ‘stuck’ into Mission efforts. We are looking forward to seeing photos from this experience and thank you for graciously accepting the challenge.

Middle Unit News

We are so pleased to be back at school! During the week we have been reinforcing our class and school expectations. Things such as listening skills, wearing the correct uniform and showing respect to all have been discussed. We encouraged you to reinforce these topics at home. We are also reminding students to continue their nightly reading. Students are also expected to have their library bag at school everyday. 

For Mission Month, the Middle Unit is going to be holding a Lucky Square Fundraiser. Students are able to purchase a square for 50 cents, or 3 for $1. There are 500 squares and three of these lucky numbers will be winners! Students will be able to see what squares are already chosen before making their selection. Winners will be announced on Friday the 12th of November. All proceeds will be going to the overseas Missions.

Senior Unit News

Nothing to report this week.

Student Leadership News

The SLT are currently planning for the Colour Run which is taking place on Friday 5th November. Please see information regarding this event in Principal & Leadership News.

Library News

Scholastic Book Club Issue #7 is on its way and will hopefully arrive early next week. Gift orders will be left at the office and parents contacted to collect these. Other orders will be given to students at school. We hope all orders arrive in time but it may be possible that some are on backorder. If this is the case they will be delivered as soon as possible. 

Children are only able to borrow during their class visits at the moment, as the library is currently closed at lunchtimes. Therefore, please ensure all students bring library bags and books to school every day, as library days may change due to various school activities. At this stage, next week’s library timetable is as follows:

Monday - Year 2, Year 6, Year 5, Bundaleer

Wednesday -

Thursday - Karinya, Eumeralla, Preps, Yongana, Amaroo

Friday - Barramunga, Minga

Student of the Week Awards