Dear Parents and Carers

Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent

It is sometimes thought that the name of Lent comes from the Latin expression for slowing down or “to hasten slowly’.  Hastening slowly is not a bad way to describe what Christians try to do during Lent. We slow down, we reflect on our lives and we generally see it as a time to put aside something. The Church encourages us to pray, to fast and give alms. The children celebrated the solemnity of Lent with a Mass for our senior children which Year 3 and Year 5 attended  celebrated by Father Phil. Our infants children attended an Ash Wednesday service in the school hall with Father Henry.

New teachers commissioning mass

Yesterday I attended the Sydney Catholic Schools New Teachers Commissioning Mass with Miss Hollingsworth from Year 2. It was very exciting to see the Cathedral full of young teachers and their Principals. This week also celebrates 200 years of Catholic education in Australia. Our young teachers are the future of Catholic education and we thank all of our young educators as they begin their journey in an extremely worthwhile ministry.

Parent Teacher Zooms

Many thanks to our teachers and parents who participated in the parent teacher information zoom meetings last week. Our students always achieve the best results in wellbeing and academic success when teachers and parents work together in partnership. Thank you to Mr Brierley our Assistant Principal who ensured all the meetings were successful and to members of our leadership team who attended over the four nights.

Sacred Heart Sports Club

Registrations are currently being taken for our winter sports run by our Sports Club. This afternoon Kindergarten are invited to a Come 'n Try session with our Soccer coaches and Netball grading will begin after school on Friday.

Welcome Morning Tea for new families

This morning we held a before school coffee morning for our families who are new to the school in Years 1-6. It was a good chance to meet with new families again and see how they have settled into Sacred Heart. Thank you to Cathy Davis and Jaqui Haydon who hosted the morning. Cathy and Jaqui have been greeting our new families since Covid began and we appreciate their initiative in welcoming and supporting our new families. Thank you to Chris Janes and a number of our 2021 class parents who came to meet the new families in their grade.

Class Parents 2021

Thank you to the following parents who have put their hands up to be 2021 class representatives:

Kindergarten: Jennifer Burns, Magdalena Batchelor, Alison Ramadge, Anja Venn, Sarah McMahon

Year 1: Florencia Pyke, Jo Timmins, Karina Savage

Year 2: Rebecca Tarrant, Kate Valenti, Jennifer Burns

Year 3: Kami Doughty, Kate McEvoy

Year 4: Dione Marshall, Nicole Sitosta, Nicole Willico

Year 5: Kim Edwards, Vanessa Janes

Year 6: Katie O’Brien, MJ Whitson, Zoe Dover

Australian Government Census Requirements

As part of the Census process we are asked to remind families to keep the school informed of any change in residency status (especially permanent residency visa holders who may have recently become Australian citizens).

As part of the Census process we need to inform parents, guardians and staff about the use of the personal information you have given us through your enrolment application. From time to time we are required to provide students details and background data to government agencies, particularly during Census time. This information is contained on the SCS Privacy Policy and the Sydney Catholic Schools Standard Collection Notice.

Our census will be held this Friday the 19th February.

The next few weeks…these dates are also contained on the sidebar of our newsletter and the calendar on the homepage of Compass.

Week 4

18th February - Eastern Region Swimming Carnival for school representatives

19th February - Census Day

19th February - Kinder Welcome event 6-7.30pm at school (booking required)

19th February - Netball Grading

Week 5

21st February - Netball Grading

23rd February - P and F AGM

25th February - Cross Country - more information to follow.

26th February - Kinder Welcome event  6-7.30pm at school (booking required)

Week 7

12th March School Photographs - summer uniform

Week 8

19th March School Athletics Carnival (Years 2-6)

19th March - School Open Day for prospective parents 2022

I hope you have a lovely week!

Regards

Julie Caldwell