PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
COMMUNICATIONS
At Sacred Heart, our aim is to foster a positive and productive communication environment for parents, teachers, and students. Our fortnightly newsletter and regular Compass updates should be your main source of school information. Over the years, WhatsApp has become an additional tool and should only be used to remind one another about important dates/information and upcoming events.
However, it has come to my attention that the WhatsApp groups are becoming platforms for negative behaviour such as gossiping or criticising teachers/school, as well as the spreading of rumours and misinformation. Ultimately all of this will only result in a lack of unity within the school community and can lead to unnecessary panic and confusion.
In some cases, these groups are creating division among parents, leading to cliques or exclusion of others. I urge you to use these groups in the way in which they are intended; to support one another rather than to rally and fuel negativity. There is simply no place for groups like this in our school.
SACRED HEART FEAST DAY
A HUGE thanks to Miss Jackson, our Religious Education Coordinator, for all of her preparation and organisation leading up to our feast day. A special mention to Mrs Conroy, Mrs Merillo and our amazing choir also. So much work goes into making these days meaningful and successful- we are all so grateful!
Our amazing Year 6 leaders and their teachers worked tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure that all of the activities were organised and facilitated, this led to the fun vibe of our day. For all of their efforts, they will have a special pizza lunch on Friday!! Thank you, Year 6!
On our Sacred Heart Feast Day, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. St. John Paul II, a great devotee of the Sacred Heart, said, “this feast reminds us of the mystery of the love of God for the people of all times.” This feast day uses the heart as a symbol of love and there is an emphasis on God’s love and mercy. In fact, that love and mercy is so intense that the symbol of the sacred heart is a human heart encircled with a crown of thorns, crowned with a cross, and radiating flames: this is how much Christ loves us.
Jesus’ divine love for humanity coupled with our SCS theme ‘we journey together as joyful witnesses to hope’ was our inspiration for the day. A great example of your love, generosity and care which gives hope to others was seen in our recent collection of donations for those in need within our community through the SVDP Winter Appeal. When we help others, it is two-fold because it also helps our community to grow in a substantial way. We grow in awareness, we broaden our perspective, we recognise real-world problems…. In fact it appears we get much more out of this than anyone else. Your recent donations and generosity make me so proud to be a part of this community. At the end of mass, I invited our Mission Captains to present our hampers to Mr Peter Marshall who is the President of our Sydney Harbour North Conference of SVDP. He and Carolina Briscoe were so pleased to accept such thoughtful donations from our Sacred Heart community. I thank you all sincerely!
A huge thank you to all of our parent volunteers and especially to Anthony O’Gorman and the team at O’Gorman & Partners Real Estate, Mosman for providing the sausages/bread and labour for our sausage sizzle on the day.
PUBLIC SPEAKING:
Public speaking has a significant place in the K – 6 English Syllabus and interweaves both Oral Language and Communication: an integral part of a child’s overall literacy development. The SHM Public Speaking program and competition provides an excellent opportunity to enhance students’ speaking and listening skills in front of an audience.
We know that students across the school have been working incredibly hard to draft, write and practice their speeches. I congratulate all students and their teachers for their support. It is never an easy decision for teachers in deciding who will make it through as class finalists, grade finalists and school finalists. So luckily, we had some wonderful judges in Mrs Monckton and Mrs Macourt, who were able to use our prescribed rubric to help in their decision making. I thank Mrs McCartney for her organisation and for always giving us clear guidelines and resources so as to make this experience such a success for all students. I was lucky enough to attend the network final last year and Sacred Heart was so well represented, I know the same will happen this year. The following children were the finalists and one ‘Champion’ from each stage will now go on to represent Sacred Heart at the Sydney Harbour North Network Public Speaking Comp next week.
Congratulations to all of our finalists!
STAGE 1 Finalists
Isabella Zhao- If I was a fly on the wall
Alba Kenig- The best thing I’ve ever learnt
STAGE 1 CHAMPION: Alba Kenig
STAGE 2 Finalists
Annelise Hughes- If I rewrote a fairytale it would go like this…
Chloe James- The world would be a better place if ..
Mariana Alvarez- The world would be a better place if ..
Alex Sokulsky- The world would be a better place if ..
STAGE 2 CHAMPION: Annelise Hughes
STAGE 3 Finalists
Elle Stuart- How to measure success
Emily Bezuidenhout- How to measure success
Amelia Gray- See a need and act
Caitlin Swain- See a need and act
STAGE 3 CHAMPION: Caitlin Swain
Camille Dunger (Year 5) and Maggie Dunger (Year 4) were part of a crew of 930 young people who helped provide over 6,500 meals, snack packs, and care packages to support 15 charities across Sydney. These students showed incredible leadership, compassion, and a real drive to give back to the community. They completely embody a generous spirit, and it's a credit to the values of our school. Thank you girls for your support and empathy!
‘Kids Giving Back’ is eager to involve more students in their ‘giving back’ initiatives and so I have listed some of the options below:
Little Helpers Saturday Program - K-2 Students
We have launched a monthly Saturday program for Year K-2 students and a parent/carer to volunteer together.
July School Holiday Community Programs
Bookings NOW OPEN! please find the attached flyer for details. We would be grateful if you could include this in your newsletter. Our programs are popular and fill up quickly, so we encourage early booking! School holiday programs | Kids Giving Back
May God bless all our families.
Leanne Meehan
EXECUTIVE PRINCIPAL