Dear Parents and carers,

This week we celebrate St Patrick (Friday 17 March) and St Joseph (Sunday 19 March). The life of St. Patrick is such an example to us still today, that even in the darkest of times, God’s Sovereignty shines over His people. He can’t help but come to our aid. He can’t help but to bless us and let His favour surround our lives. Because He’s a good and loving God. And nothing escapes His notice. He watches over all, and we can trust that our lives and circumstances are held securely in His hands.

St. Joseph’s example and patronage come at the perfect time. At a time when a global

Pandemic forced millions to live hidden away, isolated and alone, we can see Joseph as a model of the hidden life. We know, too, that Joseph died before Jesus’ public ministry; Mary’s husband was undoubtedly familiar with suffering. So we can see him as our patron, too, praying for us as he understands our struggles.

Our Year 6 Captains and Vice Captains, along with their counterparts from Blessed Sacrament will attend the St Patrick’s Day Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral this coming Friday. 

Huge thanks to the P&F for organising our welcome drinks last Friday evening. This was an opportunity to gather and catch up with old friends, as well as make new ones. We acknowledged and welcomed our Kindergarten families and new families across the school. I thank the P&F executive committee and all other volunteers for making the night so special. I also thank my staff who were in attendance, your commitment and dedication to our school is so obvious in your actions and support. Mrs Taylor and I very much enjoyed meeting so many new people, thank you for your words of encouragement and welcome!

The school will be providing a coffee van on Monday 20 March for our Catholic Schools Week Open Classrooms. The van will arrive between 8-8:15 am and will be located under the hall area. We invite you all to attend and have a coffee together. I ask that you try to remain within the allocated space for the safety of our children in regards to hot drinks. We will then have an assembly/prayer, followed by Open Classrooms. Please come along to see the amazing work your children are undertaking in their classrooms.

We are looking forward to welcoming our prospective parents and children to Sacred Heart at our upcoming Open Day.

*Principal Address will begin at 9:30 am followed by expo, school tours and morning tea

REMEMBER siblings can begin the enrolment process now for 2024!

Be part of the conversation: Sydney Catholic Schools is working to shape the future of Sacred Heart and invites your input and ideas.

As previously communicated, we are embarking on a community consultation program to help us shape the future of our school. All the information regarding the process and how you can get involved is now on our website via a dedicated consultation portal. This will be your information hub and will be regularly updated throughout the course of the year.  It will also enable you to have your questions answered and where you will be able to contribute your views.

Parents & Carers Forum: Join us on Wednesday March 29, 6.00-7.30pm in the Sacred Heart school hall to have your say about what’s most important to you as we consider the future direction of our school. Refreshments will be served. Click here to register.

If you are unable to attend, you can share your thoughts at any time via the feedback form on the portal.

We look forward to your contribution to this important initiative.

May God bless all our families.

Leanne Meehan

PRINCIPAL

Dear Parents and carers,

What a lovely week we had meeting many of our parents at both our Principal and Assistant Principal Morning Tea and our P & F Welcome Drinks.  Thank you to those of you who were able to attend either event and for sharing some of the important aspects of your child’s school life.  A special thank you to our P & F executive and parent volunteers for all of the work they did to make Friday evening a special night for all.  

Catholic Schools Week

Next week is Catholic Schools week, a time where we celebrate excellence in teaching and learning and the impact of Catholic schools nationally.  Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School is one of the one hundred and fifty Sydney Catholic Schools with the mission ‘ To Know and Love Christ through Learning’.  To start this week, on Monday 20 March, you are invited to attend our morning prayer at 8:40 am and then open classrooms between 9:15 - 10:00 am.  During this time you are welcome to have a look at the wonderful learning that takes place everyday by visiting your child’s classroom. 

Harmony day is on Tuesday 21 March and students are invited to wear an orange accessory & bring a gold coin for Project Compassion. Further details in the Religious Education update. We have purchased some Berri Quelch Fruit Stick Ice Blocks, 99% fruit juice,  as a treat to celebrate this day and Catholic Schools Week.  Should you not wish your child to have an ice block, please let the office know. 

We finish Catholic Schools week with our Open Day on Friday 24 March, for new families to come and see our beautiful school.  If you have a friend or relative who is looking to enrol for school in 2024, please let them know about our Open day. 

Facebook Photos

You may have noticed that we have posted photos of many of the wonderful learning, events and celebrations we have at Sacred Heart.  Just in the past week we showcased our ‘Wellbeing week’ with posts about meditation, painting fun, the teachers vs students netball game and International Women’s day.  Thank you to those who have given permission for photos to be used via the Compass event and if you wish, you can still do so.  If you have a Facebook account, please like or comment on our posts as this will assist in increasing our school profile. 

NAPLAN

Students in Year 3 and Year 5 started NAPLAN this week.  The date for each test is: 

There is a short window frame in which students can complete a ‘catch up’ test if they are away on the set testing day.  

You can find further information about NAPLAN on the following link: https://www.nap.edu.au/naplan/for-parents-carers

No Dogs on school grounds

Just a reminder that parents and carers are not able to bring dogs onto the school grounds in the mornings or afternoons.  As much as we understand that dogs are an important part of family life, the ‘Companion Animals Act 1998 No 87’, prohibits dogs in some public places including school grounds.  This applies to whether or not dogs are on a leash or being held.    

If you are bringing a dog on your walk, please tie the dog safely outside the school gate whilst you collect your child.  

Allergy Awareness

As mentioned last week, we have a number of children with known food allergies who have severe anaphylactic reactions.  In line with best practice guidelines we have an ‘allergy aware’ approach to minimise the risk of exposure to known allergens.  We ask parents to avoid packing lunches with peanut butter, nutella, nuts, chocolate bars with nuts or nut muesli bars.  Students should not share food, should not give food to others and should not leave food or packaging in the playground. 

Some of the procedures we have in place include:

• Keeping up to date medical information and individualised anaphylaxis care plans for each student at risk based on information from parents and medical professionals.
• Our staff are trained in the prevention, recognition and treatment of allergic reactions including anaphylaxis.
• We provide age-appropriate education for students with allergies and their peers to manage risks in school settings.
• We communicate in the newsletter about anaphylaxis management to help raise community awareness 
• We implement practical strategies to reduce the risk of accidental exposure to known allergic triggers 

One such strategy was introduced this week for students who have not finished eating their lunch during the class eating time.  Students now take their lunch box to the ‘Bardwell Gate’ compass area of the playground while they finish eating to further minimise the risk of having food and lunch boxes left around the playground. 

Around the Classrooms

In Year 2 we are learning about the life cycle of butterflies! In Week 4, Year 2 received six caterpillars. We named them Knuckles, Oreo, Flame, Pom Pom, Pixie and Sapphire. Last week, they all emerged from their chrysalis and now we have been observing them. We even had them on our desks whilst we were writing about them!  

We have also been learning how to write Information Reports. We have been focusing on writing about the minibeasts that we have been exploring in Science. We have researched and written all about bees, spiders and butterflies. Did you know that butterflies can taste with their feet?

Last week, we spent time writing letters to our new PenPals all the way over in Canada. We wrote about what we have been learning, what our classroom looks like and also asked them some questions to get to know more about school and life in Canada.

This week in Maths, we began learning about arrays. We learnt about rows and columns and how there needs to be an equal number in each. Arrays help us to skip count and count larger groups quickly. Look at how wonderful our Array City turned out!

Saint Patrick’s Day Prayer this Friday 17th March, led by Year Two

Year Two will lead us in a special Saint Patrick’s Day Prayer this Friday, from 8:40am. We would love to see you there!

Catholic Schools Week at Sacred Heart- Monday 20th March to Friday 24th March

Next week, Sacred Heart will celebrate Catholic Schools Week. This is a special time in the year when we give thanks for Catholic Education, and for our own Catholic school- Sacred Heart. We will begin on Monday, 20th March with a prayer to acknowledge Catholic Schools Week and the Feast of Saint Joseph, led by our Year Six Mission Team from 8:40am. This will follow with Open Classrooms from 9:15am to 10:00am, where families are warmly invited into their child’s classroom to see what they have been learning about this term.

Harmony Day next Tuesday, 21st March is ORANGE day! 

The 21st March is the annual celebration of Harmony Day. Harmony Day falls in Harmony Week, a time where we celebrate the many diverse cultures and the unique gifts of every individual who make up this beautiful land. All students are invited to wear an orange accessory on Tuesday, 21st of March to celebrate Harmony Week. Students are asked to give up a personal treat and in turn, bring in a gold coin donation to contribute to their classroom Project Compassion boxes. In the season of Lent, and in the spirit of solidarity in Harmony Week, we reach out to those who need it the most.Year Six will begin Harmony Day with a prayer from 8:40am and we would love for families to be there.

Sacrament of Confirmation Commitment Masses for Year Six students: Saturday 25th March/Sunday 26th March.

Upcoming Sacred Heart Family Masses (weekend Mass), we look forward to seeing you there!

Dear Parents and Carers,

Sacred Heart has had a busy few weeks of sport with lots of sporting events happening.

First and foremost, I would like to thank all of the staff and the parent volunteers who assisted with the Cross Country. It would not have been as successful without your sacrifice and assistance on the day. I would also like to thank all of the families and friends that came to watch and support their children run. Congratulations to all the winners and a special congratulations to those who gave it a go and participated.

On Friday 24^th of February, 2023, we had our Swimming Conference held at Des Renford Leisure Centre. It was a great day and the students that attended represented Sacred Heart well and we now have a few people representing Sacred Heart for the Swimming Championships. Please find their names and races here:

Audrey Graf

• 8 Year Olds 50 LC Meter Freestyle
• 8-10 50 LC Meter Butterfly

Oliver Isaac

• 9 Year Olds 50 LC Meter Freestyle

Saoirse O'Riordran

• 8-10 50 LC Meter Breaststroke

Boys 8-10 200 LC Meter Freestyle Relay

• Benjamin Bailey; Louis Timmins; Zachary Meacock; Oliver Isaac

Boys 11-13 200 LC Meter Freestyle Relay

• Benji Arthur; Lachlan Seve; Flynn Daggett; Samik Panta

On February 27, Femke Elenbaas was selected for MacKillop trials for Hockey.

On February 24, a few students trialled for MacKillop. Congratulations to Leon Pichler and Sienna Livermore for being selected for the Basketball MacKillop team.

Lastly, please keep an eye out on the upcoming edition of The Catholic Weekly, as we have a special article which includes an interview with Sacred Hearts own Sienna Livermore!

Austrie Calizar

Physical Education Teacher

Sports Co-ordinator 

Hearts racing, signs made, screams of joy.  Thursday 9th March saw the much anticipated Teachers V Students netball match take place.  The game took place so as to promote exercise as a way to keep our bodies and minds healthy.  A big congratulations to the teachers who won and taught the students to persevere through aches and pains!

 Issue 2 is now available. Please click on links below to place your Book Club orders.

WORN UP UPDATE

(Unusable uniform collection on hold)

After the wonderful opportunity from Mosman Council in 2022, we were able to collect old uniforms that could not be used in the school's second hand uniform shop. Mosman Council subsidised a trial with Worn Up for 1 Year (2022) and each Term Worn Up would collect all the old uniforms. These uniforms were processed to make furniture pieces. At this stage we cannot collect unusable uniforms as Worn Up is in the process of applying for funding from the government to support the initiative. Please look at the article from the CSIRO below:

Helping a start-up to transform fabric into furniture – ECOS

The Compass team has added functionality to the Compass App.  Please see the attached flyer "A guide for parents" highlighting all of the images for the recent updates.

Dear parents/guardians of Year 5 students

The Sydney Catholic Schools enrolment period is now open for Year 7 2025. Our Secondary Schools receive large numbers of applications. Secondary school applications should be submitted as soon as possible using your existing Compass Portal’s Family & Enrolments module. If you experience issues accessing the module, please request an enrolment form here. Ensure that you have completed all questions in the form and uploaded all relevant documents before submitting.

If you and your child are baptised Catholics who regularly worship at the local parish/es for the secondary school, please download and complete the parish priest reference form here, and then drop the form off for Father to complete. The Parish Office will then provide the forms to the school. Practising Orthodox and other Christian students can also obtain a reference letter from your priest/minister and email these to the secondary schools directly.

In signing enrolment application forms, parents agree to repay all outstanding fee debt to the primary school. If you have any outstanding fee debt please contact our school office on 9969 6600 to make a repayment arrangement.

BELLE PROPERTY are running an Easter Colouring in competition for kids of all ages.  All entries which are returned to our office will sit proudly on the front of their window which is on the corner of Vista and Military Road Mosman.

A similar competition has been held at their Crows Nest office over the last few years which has proved popular with the children and locals alike.

Please see the flyers to download below.  There will also be hard copies sent home with your children today.