Dear Parents and carers,

We had our AMAZING Spring Fair on Sunday and what a wonderful day it was for our community. A huge thank you to Steph Bailey for leading this mammoth undertaking with such poise and a sense of calm at every stage. I know that the P&F played an integral part in the planning, as well as many other parents and friends behind the scenes and on the day. I thank each and every one of you sincerely for your efforts, dedication and enthusiasm. A big thanks to the staff who were able to attend on the day and to our beautiful children who we do all of this for - hope you had a great time and created many memories! Also see below letter of thanks from our P&F President, Mark O’Neil.

SACRAMENTAL RETREAT DAYS

As many of you would be aware, the Reconciliation Retreat Day was cancelled this year. By way of background for you all, we are always thrilled to welcome all of our parish children from Catholic, public and other schools to Sacred Heart Parish for the retreat day just before their sacramental celebration. As this is a Parish-based program and has been for many years, the children are meant to gather in the Parish Hall and are led by the Sacramental Coordinator throughout the day with the support of parishioners and our staff (from Sacred Heart and Blessed Sacrament schools). However, over the years, some of the lessons and break times have occurred at Sacred Heart school which has meant that our staff are responsible for the safety and learning outcomes of children they don’t know, as parish children come unaccompanied. Ultimately, I have a responsibility and a duty of care to all of my children and staff and so for many reasons, I don’t think that this is the safest and best way to continue. I am absolutely more than happy to continue to provide staff from both Sacred Heart and Blessed Sacrament to support this event at the parish hall but not in its current state.  I have met with Father Phil and Thomas to discuss the options for a way forward and I am hoping that Thomas can revamp his program to reflect these requirements in 2024. 

This Friday 27 October, we celebrate World Teachers’ Day. It is an opportunity for us to celebrate our amazing teachers and thank them for their care, passion and skill in educating, inspiring and supporting our students. All children can wear a hat of choice with their normal school uniform as the theme this year is ‘Hats off to Teachers’. We will celebrate our teachers by having a special lunch and some treats.  

Carols on the Court 13 December (5pm-6:30pm)

This year we will celebrate Christmas as a community with ‘Carols on the Court’. We have a working party, led by Mrs Conroy, that will meet fortnightly to organise this wonderful event. The aim is to ensure that our celebration is a special time for us all to come together as a community but also to remember the reason we celebrate at Christmas- the Birth of Jesus. There will be a Nativity reflection/play as well as singing from each class. Further details to follow.

May God bless all our families.

Leanne Meehan

Executive Principal