Week 7 Term 1 2022

Years 3-6 don't forget to bring your instrument to school tomorrow.

Dance Fever notes due asap (Yrs 3-6 dancers only)

Dear Parents and Carers

This week is Catholic Schools Week. Our staff prayer this week centres around the video clip The Seed - with the words “Once the seed of faith takes root, it cannot be blown away even by the strongest wind.” posted at the end. This week celebrates the fact that we teach our students in Catholic Schools about their faith, we offer opportunities to nurture their faith and we teach them how to pray and to follow our Catholic school values. Hopefully, like the seed, their faith will be something that they continue to nurture and continue to return to throughout their lives.

Open Day

Our Open Day will be held this week as part of the celebrations for Catholic Schools Week. We open our doors to prospective new families to see and hear about our beautiful school. Thank you to the parents of Year Six who have given permission for their children to be tour guides. Many parents say the highlight of their tour and introduction to the school is meeting our Year Six students.

Parents and Friends

Thank you to the 2022 P and F executive and committee who were elected at last night’s meeting. Our P and F are a vital part of our school. You may not see or hear of the many things that they do but they are instrumental in ensuring that good governance of the the P and F funds take place, that there is consultation on the events that take place in the school, that there is support for the class parents in their valuable roles and that they are the voice of reason and support for many aspects of our school life.  On behalf of the community we thank you for your service and appreciate that you have put your hand up for these positions. We would still love new members. It is a good way to know more about the school as P and F meetings are where the school, P and F and Sports Club give their most comprehensive reports. Many thanks to:

President: Chris Janes

Vice President: Claire Tynan

Treasurer: Stewart Old

Secretary: Steph Bailey

Committee members : Michelle Crone, Allison Ramadge, Natalie Elenbaas

Car Line

At our P and F Meeting last night we discussed the CarLine situation and I shared the feedback from the survey from my note last week. We agreed that as a trial only that the school would open the Bardwell gate for a short time each day from tomorrow the 17th March. The gate was originally closed by the previous principal because it was being used as a pseudo carline and children were running out to cars. This gate will only be open to parents who park and walk into the school to pick up their children. Children cannot be collected by car from this gate and they cannot leave the school by themselves from this gate. A staff member will be on the gate to monitor this. If this helps reduce congestion at our car line then we can make it a regular pick up point. If you are picking up your children this way then ask the children to wait in the playground (Kameruka).

Additionally, parents who walk to pick up their children should direct them to wait in the playground (Kameruka), not carline as it slows this down when the teachers have to help parents who walk to the carline gate.

A huge congratulations to Nick and Emily Brierley who welcomed Lily Grace into the world last Thursday morning. Nick will be on parental leave for the next two weeks so please direct any enquiries you may have had of him to me or the office.

Parent Engagement Series - Session  2- Mathematics - Number - Addition and Subtraction

This morning we held our second Parent Engagement Session - it was a very interesting talk about how we teach Mathematics and in particular the strand of Addition and Subtraction. At the end of the term we will load our sessions for this term onto Youtube for parents who missed the sessions.

Lismore Floods  - Help Wanted

A number of our older students have been concerned about the floods in Northern NSW. Please see our Year 4 students letter and suggestion to donate to the St Vincent de Paul Flood Appeal.

One of our Year Six students Emilie Beasley-O’Neil has family in Lismore and was devastated to see the damage in the community and wanted to know how to help the town. Emilie and her parents have been in touch with the Lismore library who have lost all their books. The library has said that they would welcome donations of books in very good condition in the following categories:

• Junior and Young Adult books
• Children’s story books

If you have any books in those categories and would like to donate them to the Lismore Library please send them to school (collection point: our library) and the Beasley-O’Neil family will arrange for them to be transported to Lismore. If we can have the donations made by the end of the term it would be greatly appreciated.

Covid Update

There are no changes to current rules but we seem to be having a spike in case numbers at Sacred Heart so I have recommended that staff wear masks. Some alterations to the timetable may have to happen over the coming weeks as teachers may need to isolate and relief teachers become increasingly difficult to find.

Open Day - Friday the 18th March 9.30am prospective students in 2023.

This term will end with our Staff Development Day on the Eucharist. School will finish for the term on Thursday the 7th April. Our second Staff Development Day for the year will be held on Tuesday the 26th April. Term 2 will commence for students on Wednesday the 27th April.on

Regards

Julie Caldwell

School Covid Update

• Anyone on the school grounds must wear a mask indoors.
• Parents entering the school must be invited to come
• Anyone providing services at school must show their vaccination certificate
• Parents must be informed of and agree to the risks inherent in any activity or excursion that is undertaken through the school