Dear Parents and Carers,

The Advent focus of Peace, Joy and Hope helps us draw to a close a year that has seen us experience frustration, sadness, weariness, indifference, and finally joy, hope and peace as we move towards the celebration of our saviour's birth. 

We come away from this year with the gifts of flexibility, resilience, the ability to think and work differently and above all certainty about what our priorities are.

Each morning at Sacred Heart we gather to say our school prayer. It sets the tone for our teachers and students on a daily basis. It reads:

Lord. Help us to make Sacred Heart School a place of love and care, Countless examples of this exist every day at Sacred Heart with our students, our parents and our teachers. I’d like to thank our teachers for 2021 as they have been the embodiment of love and care this year. They strived to engage your children in learning at school and online. Our teachers did an exemplary job at school and online in order to ensure that no Sacred Heart student was left behind. While they cared about your child's learning they also cared about your child’s wellbeing. The teachers at Sacred Heart school really see your child for who they are, what possibilities lie within and what opportunities are available to them from within the school and outside the bounds of the school. 

Thank you to our Sacred Heart teachers for who you are, for what you do and how you inspire the children in your care to be the best versions of themselves they can be.

..where we reach out to others in Generosity, 

Our parents at Sacred Heart are models for their children as people with generous hearts. They show their faith and their values by their actions, by their deeds. Our parents became teachers in 2021 and they embraced the task of encouraging our students to meet their goals, attend their zooms and complete work and post to Seesaw. In this year and in more typical years, you see our parents supporting and contributing to Vinnies, making Angels meals, fulfilling the role of class parents, being members of the P and F, managing the teams and resources of the Sports Club and volunteering at all school events. Thank you to all the parents who kept our students on the sporting fields and who communicated our school life and events to each other.

..where we walk in Faith and 

Our priests at Sacred Heart lead our community so that we are able to celebrate and express our faith with pride. Led by Father Phil, Sacred Heart parish encompasses four churches and two schools. We thank Father Phil for his calm and strong leadership of our faith community and his willingness always to work with the school. We thank Father Noel, Deacon Mark and Father Henry who by their words and actions point us in the direction of a faith filled life. 

Thank you to our priests who support our Friday Community Mass- we aim to again fill the churches with the voices of our children raised in worship and song in 2022.

Our priests and teachers nurture in our students a sense of social justice so that they feel in control of their destinies and that they know that their voices will always be heard.

...where we always have the courage to do the right thing.

Our students show courage every day in the little things they do and the big things. They have the courage to learn, to take risks, to make new friends, to navigate the complexities of the playground. They have had the courage to say sorry, I’ll try again, to stand up against injustice and to share their emotions and their opinions courageously. 

We encourage our students to reach out with hope and joy to a future that we are uncertain about, possibly unprepared for but know that they will be equipped to handle.  

We say farewell to our Year Six today. They are fine young women and men who exemplify what we want for our youngest of children as they move through the years and graduate from Sacred Heart.

We also say goodbye to some of our families today who are moving on from Sacred Heart. 

Next year is the 100th Anniversary of our school. We look forward to that celebration with great joy as it will give us many opportunities to celebrate all that Sacred Heart has achieved over the last century.

Reminders

Wednesday 15th December - Farewell to Year Six and students leaving 2.30pm

Monday 31st January 2022 - Years 1-6 begin school

Wednesday 2nd February 2022 - Kindergarten 2022 begins

Friday 4th February 2022- Opening School Mass

Merry Christmas.

Enjoy the festive season with your family and friends!

Regards,

Julie Caldwell