ISSUE 36: 3rd December, 2021

Principal / Executive Leadership Team

Dear Parents, Guardians, Staff & Students,

The theme for the second week of Advent is peace. Too often our understanding of the word “peace” is limited to worldly peace – the absence of war. But the word peace – as proclaimed by the angels to the shepherds at the birth of Jesus – has a much more spiritual significance.  It has been a busy few weeks - let’s take the time to appreciate and enjoy the special school events that are planned for Week 10.

Work Experience Student

We welcome Emily Cheek this week who is a past student at Sacred Heart and is currently in Year 10 at St Joseph’s College.  Emily will be doing a work experience with us on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and has been timetabled to help in various classrooms across the week. 

School Concert Viewing

We are providing an opportunity for parents, students and grandparents etc. to have a viewing of the School Concert on a cinema screen this Monday from 6:15pm-7:15pm.  This will be held on the school oval.   Families are invited to enjoy a picnic from 5:15pm. Families can bring fold out chairs or a picnic rug.   This will be a great opportunity for members of our community to gather together and mingle after limited opportunities across 2021.  Those that attend must QR code check-in and show evidence of vaccination.  Entry can be via the Twelfth Street gate or Tamarisk Grove.  We have included a little teaser for people to look at: https://youtu.be/wl7IngHdvrw 

Class Allocation

A letter indicating your child’s classroom teacher for 2022 has been sent home with students today. Thank you to staff, particularly our Unit Leaders, who have worked to ensure that learning groups are harmonious and sensitive to the learning and social needs of students.  We also thank parents for the input they have given.  

 Whole School Transition

Our Whole School Transition Day (2022 Classes) is being held on Tuesday.  All students (including new Preps) will work with their 2022 teacher in their 2022 classroom until lunch time.  Students will return to their 2021 classroom for the last hour of the day.  An information session is being held in the Stadium for 2022 Prep parents at 9am.  Year Six students will attend their 2022 secondary school. 

Year 6 Graduation Dinner

We wish our Year Six students all the best for their Graduation Dinner which is being held at Willow & Ivie this Wednesday at 6pm.  Have a great night!

Year One Fun Day

The Year One Fun Day is being held this Wednesday.  Students will enjoy a swim at the Wave Pool. 

End of Year Graduation Mass

Our End of Year/Graduation Mass will be held at the Sacred Heart church on Thursday, 9th December beginning at 11.30am.  Parents attending this celebration will be required to check in and provide vaccination status.

Senior Unit Fun Day

The Senior Unit Fun Day is happening this Friday.  Students are going to the Merbein Pool between 10am & 1.30pm. 

Assembly

Thank you to the Cooinda for hosting today’s Assembly.  Leadership will host this Friday’s Assembly with the focus on Special Presentations.  Our final Assembly for 2021 will be held this Friday at the earlier time of 2.20pm in the Stadium.  Term Four Principal Awards will be presented along with Maths Olympiad, SHEC, WIGGS, Hammertons Prep Books and Student Leadership presentations. All visitors to school grounds must comply with vaccination requirements, density limits, face mask requirements, QR code check-ins and practise respiratory etiquette and good hand hygiene.  

School Reports

School Reports will be made available to parents via PAM this Friday.

2022 Staffing

Our school is very committed to ensuring extra support is being put in place for students to support them academically and socially/emotionally after a very interrupted two years.  We have now finalised staffing and have this outlined below. We have great stability with our staffing with only Sarah Beggs not returning next year.  We acknowledge and thank Sarah and her contribution to the Sacred Heart community.

End of term

Please note that classes conclude for all students on Tuesday 14th December at the normal time of 3.10pm. Staff finish on Friday 17th December.

School Advisory Council

Our final School Advisory Council (SAC) meeting will be held on Tuesday at 5:15pm in the staffroom.  This meeting will be attended by our new and past members of the SAC.  After the meeting we will be going to dinner.

School and House Captains

On Tuesday  we announced to the students at school the School and House Captains for 2022.  Unfortunately not all students can be successful but we do have lots of opportunities for students in Year 6 to contribute their leadership next year.  We congratulate the following students who were voted in as our 2022 Captains:

School Captains: Thomas O’Callaghan and Alice Siale

Murray House Captain: Alby Woollard and Isla Keyte

Mallee House Captain: Nate Wade and Harper Roberts

Hattah House Captain:  Lachlan Farley and Eva Touhey

Kulkyne House Captain:  Aidan Njegovan and Maya DeRosa

Hemp Uniform

Our SAC has in 2021 has been having discussions in regards to if it is practical to introduce a  hemp-based school shirt at Sacred Heart. Hemp uniforms can provide great benefits to students, one being that it is very beneficial for students who have eczema or skin conditions.  Attached is information on other benefits of a hemp uniform:  Why Wear Hemp?

SAC decided at this stage to not shift our uniform over from polyester to hemp mainly due to the additional cost.  Currently new polyester shirts from Totally Workwear cost $25.  If we were to switch over to hemp the cost would be $33.50

As there is minimal difference between the two shirts and to gauge the interest of using hemp we are looking at offering parents the opportunity to place an order at the Office to purchase a plain pale blue hemp polo shirt.  These orders would be due by Friday 10th December.  We will then place a bulk order from our approved supplier Hemp Clothing Australia.   The school will then arrange for the shirts to have the school emblem embroidered on the shirt from Totally Workwear.  The total cost of these shirts will be $33.50. These shirts would be ready for the start of the 2022 school year. 

Important End of Year Dates

School Concert Viewing & Picnic - Monday 6th December

Whole School Transition (2022 Classes) - Tuesday 7th December

Year Six Transition Day (2022 Year 7) - Tuesday 7th December

Graduation Dinner - Wednesday 8th December @ 6pm

Year One Fun Day - Wednesday 8th December

End of Year/Graduation Mass - Thursday 9th December @ 11.30am

Senior Unit Fun Day - Friday 10th December

Final School Assembly (Special Presentations) - Friday 10th December

Year Two Fun Day - Monday 13th December

Middle Unit Fun Day - Tuesday 14th December

Prep Unit Fun Day - Tuesday 14th December

Last Day for Students Tuesday 14th December (3.10pm finish)

Staff Finish - Friday 17th December

2022 Dates

Staff Return - Friday 28th January

Students Return - Monday 31st January

Get to Know You Interviews - 8th & 9th February

Beginning of School Year Mass - Thursday 10th February

Have a great week everyone and God Bless!

Mark Gibson

Religious Education News

End of Year & Graduation Mass

Our End of Year/Graduation Mass will be held at the Sacred Heart church on Thursday, 9th December beginning at 11.30am.  Parents attending this celebration will be required to check in and provide vaccination status.

General News

Thank you to those families who have returned their Fee Payment Option form.  If you have not received yours please contact the office immediately.

Learning Diversity News

Side By Side Psychology - Kate French, Clinical Psychologist, will be running an online program for one week, for parents of children who are presenting with some anxiety if you are looking for support or may be waiting on some intervention elsewhere.

Prep Unit News

Well done to both prep classes on their fabulous performance for the last two assemblies about our buddies. All of the prep students have loved the friendship they have received from their buddy and wish them all the best as they move on to High School.

Please ensure that you have given permission on SIMON to ensure your child is able to attend their Fun Day on Tuesday 14th December.

Junior Unit News

Thank you families for returning all the home reading books. We are grateful for your timely support in making the transition towards the end of year smooth. 

After several orientations, our children have met with their 2022 class teacher and are looking forward to Tuesday's transition. 

Please ensure that you have given permission on SIMON to ensure your child/ren are able to attend their Fun Day's in the coming weeks. 

8th December Year 1- Year One Fun Day 

13th December Year 2
We are all very excited about these special days. Children are able to wear casual clothes on this day and are encouraged to wear their tie dye shirt if they wish to. 

We hope to see you on Monday night for a picnic on the oval to watch our Christmas Concert.

Middle Unit News

Middle Unit Fun Day

On Tuesday the 14th of December the Middle Unit will be celebrating the end of the year with a visit to the Irymple Swimming Pool on Fifteenth Street. This is the final day of term. We will bus down to the Pool at 10:00am, and will return by 1:00pm. 

Children will have their own recess at the pool. We will be providing a lunch of hot chips while we are at the pool. If your child does not wish to have this please send along a packed lunch. When we return to school children will also have an icy pole. 

The students will need to come to school in casual clothes with sneakers. Children can wear their bathers underneath their casual clothes. Please ensure your child has the following things in a backpack or swimming bag and they are clearly labeled.

• A towel
• A pair of thongs
• A rashie top
• A water bottle
• A hat
• A plastic bag to put wet clothes in
• A change of underwear 

The school will apply sunscreen for all children, however if your child is sensitive to sunscreen, please supply this. 

Please ensure you have responded with permission on PAM for this excursion as soon as possible.

Plastic Bags

As the end of the year fast approaches, classrooms will begin cleaning up. We will begin sending work and books home next week. We are asking children to please bring in a plastic shopping bag to assist students in transporting their belongings home. 

Kickball Competition

This term the Middle Unit students have been battling it out in a Kickball Competition! We have had lots of fun learning the rules to this game and scoring some very high results! This week we have reached the Grand Final. In Year Three, the two teams competing are Kit Kats and Mars Bars. In Year Four we have Milky Ways and Crunchies. Congratulations not only to the teams that made the Grand Final but all children in every team who have played hard and had fun.

Masks

Just a reminder that students are still required to wear a mask indoors. We do ask that children please bring their own mask from home as we only have a limited number at school.

Senior Unit News

Ballarat Camp

The Year Five students have had an AMAZING time in Ballarat these past few days. They have been very busy panning for gold, learning about the Gold Rush, visiting the Cathedral and Eureka Centre just to name a few things. You can see more photo highlights of their adventure on our School’s Facebook page. We congratulate them on representing our school proudly whilst away.

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Senior Unit Fun Day

Next Friday (December 10th) the Senior Unit will be heading to the Merbein Pool for a day of FUN to celebrate the end of the 2021 school year! We are very proud of the way students, along with their families, have navigated their way through a challenging year. Please find further details about this event on SIMON and please remember to give consent for your child/ren to attend this day via SIMON.

End of Year Mass

Next Thursday at 11:30am we celebrate the end of the school year and acknowledge our Year Six students who will be finishing their time at Sacred Heart. We thank the Year Six students for the valuable contributions they have made to our school during their time here.

 2022 Year Six Polo Shirts

A note has been sent home with students last week regarding the purchase of Year Six commemorative sports polo t-shirts. We ask that parents please place their order by the 10th of December 2021 to increase the chance of these t-shirts being ready for collection prior to the commencement of the 2022 school year.

Totally Workwear will only be supplying one “run” of screen printing for the Year 6 polos t-shirt, so please ensure you order the number of shirts you are needing for the year as you won’t be able to get any more of these during the year.

The price per t-shirt is $39.00 and can be ordered and paid for at Totally Workwear, Mildura.

Police in School Program.

Yesterday the Year Six students had their final session with Senior Constable Toby McMillan.  The students have all enjoyed working with Toby and learning about staying safe.  Ruby Richardson and Sienna Rule were awarded Junior Neighbour Watch Student of the Year awards for their work completed throughout the program.

Year Six Kris Kringle

Today your child has brought home a note explaining how Kris Kringle will work in the Year Six classrooms this year. If you have any questions, please contact your child’s teacher.

Library News

Thank you to students and parents for assisting in the return of library books this week. We still do have around 150 outstanding which need to be returned asap. Children who currently have library books to return have all received a note listing the book/books. These lists do NOT include the Take Home books for Prep-Year 2 that were borrowed this week. This borrowing has now ceased also, and children are to return ALL Take Home books to the classroom no later than Monday. I will check these on Tuesday and if needed, send home new notes. If you are unable to find either library or Take Home books, please send me an email on wcollins@shmildura.catholic.edu.au so that I am aware parents have also had a hunt at home.  Some common hiding places for books are the back seat of the car, under the bed or on a bookshelf or coffee table. Thank you for your assistance in this.

Students of the Week & Ray White Awards