Dear Parents and Carers

This week we celebrate Father’s Day together at school. Our Father's Day Breakfast starts at 7.30am on Friday 2nd September with Open Classrooms and a liturgy and blessing at 8.40am. This is a very special day for all our children and we hope to see our dads and our children's special friends at school.

Child Protection Week

At Sacred Heart we feel that Child Protection Week is one of the significant weeks in the school. It is not a celebration or a fun week but one where we hope to engage with children and families to keep our most precious gift, our children, safe.

During Child Protection Week we endeavour to have difficult conversations with children (at an age appropriate level) about keeping them safe from physical, sexual and psychological harm. It is my hope that every family will follow up these lessons next week with the same message, that children should be safe from harm at all times. Child Protection Week is based on the United Nations Convention on the rights of a child. Articles 19, 34 and 37 are particularly relevant to creating a safe and supportive environment for all of our children. We believe that each child is created in the image of God and as Catholic adults we are committed to keeping all the children in our care safe. Child Protection Week is a good time for families to review the way they manage discipline in their homes. Is it done with positive rewards or punitive consequences or with corporal punishment? Research does show that "Parents are a child's first look at relationships and how conflicts are handled. Corporal punishment is communicating to children that violence is an acceptable means of changing behaviour”. 

Playground PAWS

At school of course corporal punishment has been banned since the 90s and we use the Positive Behaviour for Learning framework to manage behaviour. We have just introduced Playground PAWS, combined with clearly defined rules and a super reward for our students. The children are very excited to be working towards a whole school goal of their choice by following our rules in the playground. 

This initiative is different to our PAWS stickers and awards as these are awarded for individual achievements while Playground PAWS work towards a common shared goal.

Traffic Reminder - Children’s Crossing

It is time to remind all families regarding parking, traffic and keeping our children safe. Being in a hurry is never an excuse to break the law or put yours or others children’s lives at risk. 

Please note that our crossing is designated a Children’s Crossing when the orange flags are up. The fines for parking near, for crossing while pedestrians are on the crossing and for overtaking a car are all much higher than non designated crossings. The lowest fine for offences near a crossing are $275 and 2 demerit points and the highest is $587 and 4 points. 

Please note the additional Staff Development Days that have been added to Term 4.

Monday 10th October and Monday the 7th November.

Parent Engagement - Mathematics

Last week's Mathematics - Multiplication and Division was very well received by the parents who attended. The link for our Website is here so you can catch up. Thank you to Mrs Edwards and Miss Hollingsworth for their presentation of what children will encounter as they learn this important progression in mathematics.

Sacred Heart Book Week - 23rd September

On the 23rd of September, our last day of school this term, we will be holding a  pyjama day (please note: no dress ups or parade this year). This will be a gold coin donation day  for St Vincent de Paul because they support families in very difficult situations and help make their dreams of having a safe place come true. This links with the theme of Dreaming with Eyes Open. Parents are invited that morning to assembly for a cup of coffee donated by McGrath Mosman and a reading picnic afterwards.  

Staffing 2023 News

We have begun our staffing for 2023.  We are currently looking for two Learning Support Officers - one commencing in Term 4 2022 and one commencing in Term 1 2023.  We will be advertising for a teacher to replace Mrs Sheehan who will be on leave.

Regards

Julie Caldwell