Sacred Heart Primary School Mildura eNewsletter

Principal / Executive Leadership Team

Welcome to term two, I hope everyone had a relaxing, fun break and a rejoicing Easter, and have returned refreshed and renewed.

This Sunday is ANZAC Day, we remember Australian and New Zealand veterans who fought for our country. The Student Leadership Team, Mrs Deacon, Mr O'Callaghan and myself will represent the school at the 11.30am service at Henderson Park. Staff and students are welcome to attend if they wish. Lest we forget.

Our annual SHPS Cross Country is being held on Wednesday at the Aerodrome Ovals. We hope to see lots of parents watching and cheering our students on. Students will be dropped off at the Aerodrome Ovals (Athletics Track) from 8.30am onwards and will be bussed back to school following the completion of all events. Students are required to wear their Sport Uniform with their House colours - Hattah (Yellow), Murray (Blue), Mallee (Red) & Kulkyne (Green). A BBQ will be provided for all students and staff back at school. Any students who don’t wish to have sausage will need to bring a packed lunch. Lunch orders are not available on this day. Please note that there will be a coffee van at this event for parents and staff only.

Cross Country Schedule: APPROXIMATE TIMELINE FOR SACRED HEART CROSS COUNTRY

From 8.30am - All students to be dropped off at the Aerodrome Ovals Athletics Track.

All students will need to bring their own snacks for recess, a hat and a drink bottle in their school bag.

* 9.15am - Event distance 2km: Girls 9/10 age group run first, followed by Boys 9/10 age group.

* 10am - Event distance 1km: Girls 7/8 age group run first, followed by Boys 7/8 age group.

* 10.45am - Event distance 750m: Prep Girls run first, followed by Prep Boys.

* 11.20am - Event distance 3km: Girls 11/12 age group run first, followed by Boys 11/12 age group.

* 1.00pm (approximately) - All students return to school via bus.

On Tuesday from 5:30pm in the staffroom, we invite any interested parents to join us for a Parents and Friends (P&F) meeting. Our P&F plays a vital role in our community. With our fundraising levy taking away the importance of raising money for the school, this group is integral in building community and connecting families. At this meeting, we aim to look at ways to strengthen this within our community. It would be great to have some new faces join us for this meeting.

Phil Kettle and Marc McBride are visiting on Tuesday for our Author and Illustrator Day. Thanks to Mrs Collins for her organisation of this event which will be a great opportunity for our students. More information below under Library News.

The Prep Breakfast is being held this Friday morning. Mrs O’Callaghan and Miss Sheridan have a fun morning planned for our Prep students who are very excited about experiencing breakfast at school. Students will need to be dropped off at school at 7am.

Thank you to Eumeralla for hosting today’s Assembly. Next week our assembly will be Cross Country Presentations so no class will be leading our Assembly.

We have several senior students attending SSV State Trials on Tuesday for Football, Basketball, Netball & Soccer. These trials are being held locally and it is the responsibility of parents to transport students to and from the trials. We wish the following students all the best - Levi McClelland, Toby Crane & Tanner Strong (Football), Harvey Spratt, Lucas Sinclair & Zandjay Rudd-Morfaw (Basketball), Sadie Woollard, Isabel Alvey & Rio Irvine (Netball) and Johan Siju (Soccer).

Catholic School Parents Victoria are inviting any parents of children in a Catholic primary or secondary school to a webinar focussed on supporting parents of children with anxiety. This session is ideal if you are struggling to support your young child or teenager with anxiety. The session is being held this Saturday so please refer to the information below to register.

Congratulations to Mrs Pacher and her husband Daniel on the safe arrival of their precious daughter Lucy Jane Pacher. Lucy was born on Tuesday, weighing a healthy 4.28kg.

We welcome to our school community Mrs Samantha Lowe who has begun her role as Visual Arts teacher this week. During the holidays we employed three new Learning Support Officers - Miss Tayler Brooks, Mr Kyle Dashington and Miss Brittany Huddleston. These appointments will provide greater support for the individual learning needs of our students. Tayler and Kyle have both started this week and we look forward to Brittany joining our staff team in Week Three.

Classes painted their Journey Pole that is located on the edge of the oval on 12th Street this week. Special thanks to Mrs Thompson for her coordination of this and well done to all teachers and classes for this year's poles unique painting and designs. They look fantastic!

Hats won’t need to be worn at school from the 1st of May. This will be a good opportunity to have them washed and returned to school ready for them to be worn again from the beginning of September.

Our Mother’s Day Stall will be held on Friday 7^th May where children will be able to purchase an item from the stall for $5. Children will come as a class to the stall and choose from a range of items that will be available. If any parents are free and would like to help we will require parent helpers on the stall between 8:30am & 11am, please contact the office and leave your contact details and the time you are available. All money raised is used to purchase resources for your children. Thank-you for your support of our Parents and Friends.

Mr Gibson

2022 Enrolment Information

Enrolment processes have commenced for new Prep students in 2022 at Sacred Heart. We are currently taking enrolment applications. We have changed enrolment processes with an aim to strengthen students' transition into school. With the school being limited to only two class groupings in 2022 we encourage families to hand in their Application for Enrolment form before 21st May. Advertising in the newspaper and television will be promoting enrolment in our Sunraysia Catholic schools over April and May. Below is our process for enrolment:

1st April: Enrolment Applications are open.
Tuesday 4th, Wednesday 5th & Thursday 6th May at 9:30am, 12:30pm & 6pm: Guided Learning Walk to see facilities and learning at the school. This is a great opportunity for prospective or existing families to see learning at Sacred Heart.
Friday 21st May: ‘Application for Enrolment’ closes and needs to be emailed to office@shmildura.catholic.edu.au or handed in at the School Office.

Application for Enrolment Form

Monday 10th-Friday 28th May: In groups for an enrolment interview that takes around 40 minutes for prospective students and a parent, parents or guardian. Parents will be contacted to arrange a meeting time after the Enrolment Application Form is received. Parents will meet with Mr O’Callaghan or myself and students in a small group with a teacher to do some activities.
Friday 11th June: Enrolment acceptance letters will be sent out.

Religious Education News

Sacrament of Confirmation

Thanks to Year 5 & 6 parents who attended Wednesday’s Confirmation Information session. The program begins this week (lessons are listed below). Any parents who haven’t collected their child’s activity book, will need to collect from Ryan O’Callaghan at school asap. Please note that information regarding your child’s Confirmation name, sponsor etc need to be filled in (small white sheet) and returned to the Parish Office by the 14th May. All students and parents are expected to attend one of the masses on the weekend of the 1st/2nd May (see times below) to be presented with the Creed.

Sacrament of Confirmation Timeline

Week beginning Sunday 25th April 1. Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit

PRESENTATION OF THE CREED TO CHILDREN DURING MASSES -

Saturday 1st May 6pm or Sunday 2nd May 9am or 5pm

Week beginning Sunday 2nd May 2. Pentecost- The Holy Spirit Comes

Week beginning Sunday 9 th May 3. Work of the Holy Spirit- Gifts and Fruits

Week beginning Sunday 16th May 4. Celebrating Confirmation

CHILDREN’S RETREAT DAY (held at Sacred Heart) Friday 14th May 9:30am – 2pm.

SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION -

Friday 21st May 6pm Sat 22nd May 6:00pm Sun 23rd May 9:00am Sunday 23rd May 5pm

Class Mass

The class of Year One Barramunga attended this Wednesday’s Parish Mass. In Week Three, the classes of Karinya & Bundaleer will attend Mass on Wednesday, 5th May. Parents are welcome to join them.

Ryan O’Callaghan (Religious Education Leader)

Learning Diversity & Wellbeing News

Passive Play

If you have any toys and/or games that your children no longer play with we could use them in our Passive Play area please. We would particularly like some barbie dolls if you have any spare.

Learning & Teaching News

No report this week.

Prep Unit News

We hope that everyone enjoyed a relaxing and restful break and are ready to go for another term of learning. A reminder that all students need to have their library bags, diaries (filled in every night) and classroom readers with them at school each day. Library books can be brought back to school in their Library bag on Thursday.

This week we are right back into our InitiaLit lessons, learning more letters/sounds and how to blend them together to read words. The letters and the corresponding sounds the students have been introduced to since the beginning of the year are; m, s, t, a, p, i, f, r, c, d. It is really important that the students continue to practise these letters at home so that they are able to recognise them in their reading and use them in their writing. Once your child has learnt all of the tricky words in the back of their diary they will receive the next set. Tricky words are words that just need to be remembered, so consistent practise of reading them is encouraged. Having a go at writing some simple sentences at home with your child is another great learning activity. Have your child write down the sounds that they hear in the words independently, this will help them gain confidence in writing at school.

A BIG thank you to our Literacy Parent Helpers who began working with the prep students this week. Your help is greatly appreciated and we look forward to seeing you each week!

Next Friday 30th April is the Prep Breakfast. This is the first of our camp experiences for prep and a fundamental part of our program. Students will need to be at school at 7am. Students are allowed to wear casual clothes on this day, however will need their runners on for sport.

Prep Unit Team Contact Details

Unit Leader: Mrs Rebecca O'Callaghan
Cooinda (Year Prep): Mrs Rebecca O'Callaghan
Wahroonga (Year Prep): Miss Courtney Sheridan

Junior Unit News

We are thoroughly looking forward to another fun filled term with our Students.

To assist with routine and balance in our classrooms, we are requesting that our Literacy helpers begin their role from Week 3 (Monday 3rd May). All students need to have their library bags, diaries and classroom readers with them at school each day. Student library books can be brought back to school on their Library borrowing day.

As it is quite cold in the mornings, please ensure that your child/ren have their jumpers clearly named and have their (over-ear) headphones with them to begin Term 2.

Junior Unit Team Contact Details

Click on the teacher's name if you wish to email them.

Unit Leader: Mrs Katrina Groves
Karinya (Year 1): Mrs Chris Carmichael
Barramunga (Year 1): Mrs Katrina Groves (Monday-Thursday) & Mrs Wendy Collins (Friday)
Bundaleer (Year 1): Mrs Maree Irvin (Tuesday-Friday) & Mrs Wendy Collins (Monday)
Waminda (Year 2): Miss Georgina Hewitt
Kyema (Year 2): Mrs Kim Taylor

Middle Unit News

We hope that everyone had a wonderful break and are looking forward to a fantastic term of learning.

To assist in reminding students of our shared routines, we ask that parents encourage children in developing organisational habits. A reminder that students are expected to have their library bag and signed reading diary at school every day, to be signed by their teacher. We have recommenced nightly reading and all students are expected to read for 20 minutes Monday-Thursday. Students need to fill in their diary and have a parent sign this.

This term we have changed our homework focus to grammar and punctuation. Each week students’ homework sheet will contain a grammar or punctuation focus sheet, their times tables sheet and a checklist that they can tick off to ensure they complete each task. We ask that parents sign the bottom of this sheet and return it on Friday.

Middle Unit Team Contact Details

Click on the teacher's name if you wish to email them.

Unit Leader: Miss Sophie Price
Amaroo (Year 3): Mrs Xana Priestley
Yongana (Year 3): Mrs Cathy Rowles
Mootwingee (Year 3): Miss Sophie Price
Minga (Year 4): Mrs Natalee Johnson
Eumeralla (Year 4): Mrs Maria Beer
Nangare (Year 4): Mrs Jacqui Willis (Monday-Wednesday) & Mrs Emma Kostiakis (Thursday-Friday)

Senior Unit News

Year Six

Literature Circles will begin this week. This will involve students reading a book as part of a small group. Students will be expected to read an agreed upon number of pages each week so they can then discuss what has been read with their group.

Yesterday the Year Six students made ANZAC Biscuits as part of a week long investigation into the Gallipoli Campaign.

Click on the teacher's name if you wish to email them.

Unit Leader: Mrs Jo Campbell
Myalla (Year 5): Mrs Bianca Niutta
Illawarra (Year 5): Miss Belinda Zappia
Narooma (Year 6): Mrs Jo Campbell
Dourim (Year 6): Mr Corey Barbary

Student Leadership Groups

The Student Leadership Team will represent the school at this year’s ANZAC Day, mid morning ceremony at 11:30am at Henderson Park. Team members have been asked to wear their school uniform and badges on the day. We will be laying a wreath at the end of the ceremony.

The SLT met this week and have begun planning their projects for this term. Some of the discussion points to date were -

School beautification - Arthouse area

Soccer Goals

Bunnings BBQ - Sat/Sun Fourth Term

Cake Stall

Casual Day Last day of Term 2

Sports Day planned and run by SLT

General News

Traffic & Safety Before and After School

We have a few important reminders about safety of all before and after school. A reminder to all using the ‘Kiss & Go’ process to follow all the rules including; entry into the ‘Kiss & Go’ is only permitted via Olive Grove, no ‘U’-turns at anytime out of this area, do not leave your vehicle at anytime and please do not be talking on mobile phones while in the ‘Kiss & Go’ area. If parents are collecting students from Olive Grove at the end of a school day it is important that they only park in allocated car parking spaces and not in front of resident driveways. Thank you for your consideration of local residents and the safety of students and families.

Library News

Phil Kettle & Marc McBride - Author/Illustrator Writing Immersion Day

As a lead up to our Author & Illustrator day, we have a selection of Phil’s books for sale. These are priced at $10 a book and the school keeps half of the proceeds. We are hoping that Marc will have some of his books for sale as well, with the price to be confirmed. Books will be available from the library; before school, at lunchtimes and after school on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (lunch and after school only). Children can bring their $10 to the library to select a book. If they purchase one prior to next Tuesday, I suggest keeping it at school as on the day when Phil and Marc will be here, they are happy to sign books and meet the students at lunchtime. They will also be in the library after school if parents wish to pop in with their children to purchase a book or two as well.