Dear Parents and carers,

We are extremely lucky to be able to celebrate our Mothers, Mother-figures and Grandmothers this week with our Mother’s Day breakfast, prayer and open classrooms on Friday. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to celebrate each and every one of you so we look forward to welcoming you with love and open arms.

As a Catholic community, we should also recognise Mary, Jesus’ Mother. Her willingness to say “yes” to God’s calling is one which we try to emulate in our lives every day. Mary demonstrates the important role a mother plays in their child’s life, even if that child is the Son of God. We see her gentle guidance in Jesus’ formative years, and it was through Mary’s prompting that Jesus performed his first miracle at the wedding in Cana.

I would like to thank our Year 5 class parents and all other parent volunteers for their preparation of the Mother’s Day breakfast and our wonderful REC, Ms Jackson for our beautiful prayer assembly.

MOTHER’S DAY CELEBRATIONS - Friday 12 May

• Breakfast (7:30am)
• Open Classrooms (8:20-8:40am)
• Assembly/Liturgy (8:40am)

We welcome the following students to our Sacred Heart family:

• Imogen Hance (Year 6)
• Mia Towey (Year 3)
• Alice Towey (Kindergarten)

We have noticed an increase in toys coming to school. This includes Beyblades and Pokemon cards appearing both in the classroom and on the playground. These items are becoming the source of increased conflict and/or upset because they get damaged, lost or traded unfairly.

Mrs Taylor and I have been monitoring this situation for a while and it has come to a point where learning and the well-being of individual students is being impacted. Students are distracted and dealing with such incidents is taking away from our core business.

In some cases, children do benefit from the use of sensory toys and fidget tools and so obviously this is still permitted if pre arranged with the class or diverse learning teacher. We also provide passive play equipment and activities at school for those who prefer that type of play during break times.

Please support our efforts by ensuring these items remain at home.

P&F Meeting

Thank you to our P&F Executive and parents for attending our meeting on Monday evening, it was so pleasing to see many new parents in attendance.

A few things to follow up below:

• P&F fundraising money: I can say categorically that any P&F money paid to a school stays with the school. The P&F income is recognised in the school's revenue and is present in the Operating Statement under Other Income. Most importantly the actual bank receipt of the money from the P&F is taken up in the school's own bank General Ledger account. The school then spends the money on educational resources for the children. I will always share where all money is spent.

• Mosman Consultation:
  • We had very high levels of participation from both schools with over 200 parents and staff contributing.
  • Everything that was shared through the forums, the feedback forms and the online portal has now been carefully reviewed and synthesized.
  • 3 things are very clear from the process so far, and this has been communicated to SCS:
    • There is a very high level of concern about the future structure of the school;
    • The timing of the process and decision making is adding to anxiety;
    • There is a sentiment that SCS needs to be both more visible and more front-footed about potential plans

• Family Educator role:
  • The Family Educator supports the principal in leading and implementing the Family & Faith project within the school.
  • Family & Faith initiatives provide opportunities for parents/families to encounter the Catholic faith and reconnect/engage with the faith life of the school and parish, as well as supporting family wellbeing.
  • The Family Educator role supports the evangelising mission of the Church and also assists in promoting the distinctive identity of Catholic schools.
  • The role plays a key part in responding to the New Evangelisation agenda and in the continuous improvement of our Catholic school system by supporting faith formation, evangelisation, and wellbeing of parents/families.
  • The role of the Family Educator plays a crucial part in building and maintaining welcoming school environments and building sound, respectful relationships between school, parents/families and the parish.
  • The myriad of quality initiatives, events and activities created and implemented by the Family Educator contribute to vibrant faith communities within our system of Catholic schools.
  • These initiatives are planned in the following domains:

1. 1. 1. Developing/Enhancing the faith life of parents.
      2. Connecting/Reconnecting/Enhancing family engagement in the faith life of the school.
      3. Connecting/Reconnecting/Enhancing family engagement in the faith life of the Parish.
      4. Supporting family wellbeing

• The Family Educator will primarily work in partnership with a range of stakeholders: the principal, parents, the parish priest and parish staff, the Religious Education Coordinator and a range of Church agencies and organisations.
• The Family Educator is part of the Family Educator Project and works closely with the Advisor: Family Educator Project and the Family Educator Regional Mentor.
• As a significant contributor to the religious leadership of the school within the Catholic school system, the Family Educator is required to be adaptable, creative and able to customise their work to meet the specific needs of the community.

May God bless all our families.

Leanne Meehan

PRINCIPAL

Dear Parents and carers,

I am very happy that the students have had a great start to Term 2, and I am seeing more settled and respectful behaviours on the playground and in class.  As mentioned previously, we are focussing on the P component of PAWS this term - We participate - Be kind, Listen and Be respectful. 

A very practical way in which we can all show kindness and respect to members of our local community is through our Vinnies Winter appeal.  During our Sacred Heart Feast day this year, we will learn more about St Vincent de Paul and the works of Vinnies.  The hampers we make from the students' generous donations will be packed ready to share with Vinnies on our Feast Day.

Winter Uniform

Students should now be in full winter uniform.  Summer tunics should now be packed away and boys wearing shorts should wear navy knee high socks. Please remember that sports shoes are only worn with the sports uniform.

Year 5 Camp - May 25 and 26

The Year 5 camp permission note is now on Compass for parents to sign and the packing list was shared yesterday.  There is a zoom session for Year 5 parents, tonight, Wednesday 10 May at 6:30 pm, to explain everything you might need to know about camp and to give you the opportunity to ask any questions.  Zoom Link  Password: 313924

Big Blue Award

Our past sponsors Claudia Portale from McGrath Real Estate have now finished their connection with our school.

Anthony O’Gorman (father of Max and George) and partner at O’Gorman and Partners Real Estate Mosman has kindly offered to support our school with Sponsorship and the Big Blue Award, so given this we thought it was timely to update the structures around the award.

It will now be renamed as the Sacred Heart Blue Award for Faith, Generosity and Courage.  The reasoning behind this is to highlight the religious significance and link with our school values which  hopefully adds meaning to how special it is for a student to receive it.  The award is not linked to PAWS as we have all of our usual paws tokens, bronze, silver and gold awards which stand alone.

The award is given once a term for one student in each class.  We would like all students to have a vote in who they think should receive the award (as was done in the past) as well as the class teacher who then writes the award, stating the reasons why the student is receiving it.  The award will be given at an assembly in Week 10. 

Our teachers have spoken to the students to let them know that the award is very special and to encourage them to think about and notice who in their class is really living our school values of Faith, Generosity and Courage. 

Mathematics Expertise and Excellence

Congratulations to our teachers, Mrs Roache, Miss Blake, Mrs Petersen, Miss Monckton, Miss Adamo, Miss Hollingsworth, Mrs Choi and Mrs McCartney, on completing the Mathematics Expertise and Excellence Course through Sydney Catholic Schools.  This course is designed to build teachers' understanding of teaching the Mathematics Syllabus along with ways to use problem solving and a variety of teaching strategies to assist students in their development of mathematical skills.  Some of our teachers were awarded their certificates at assembly last week.

Sports Carnival - 31 May

As advertised, our sports carnival will be on Wednesday 31 May at Alan Border Oval.  We have partnered with ZING Activ to assist Miss Calizar with the organisation of the day.  

Zing Activ have scoped the oval for us and whilst it is not an actual athletics field, we will be able to run most activities including the usual running events as well as K-2 tabloid events and Years 3-6 events including shot put and discus. Unfortunately high jump and long jump into a sand pit is not possible.  Miss Calizar will share some information for students 8 Years old and above, that may be skilled at these two events, and wish to compete in the Mackillop level events.  Miss Calizar is also already looking at other more suitable athletics fields to book now for our carnival next year. 

The aim of our sports carnival is for the students to have a very fun, energetic primary school experience.  Whilst we will record running and track events times and distances for 8 year olds and above, we are not ‘Little Athletics’ and we ask parents to keep this in mind when working with teachers and other parent helpers. 

For us to run a carnival successfully, we seek parent support and assistance and so far have over 30 parent volunteers.  There are still many opportunities for you to get involved and if you are planning to attend on the day, please add your name to the  Volunteer note.

Changes to reporting NAPLAN results
We have been advised by ACARA, The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, that from 2023, NAPLAN results will be reported against 4 proficiency standards rather than numerical bands as in previous years.

NAPLAN reports will contain 4 easy-to-understand proficiency standards:

• Exceeding
• Strong
• Developing
• Needs additional support

The new reporting standards will provide parents, carers and teachers with simpler and clearer information about how students are performing.  The latest update is that NAPLAN reports to parents are expected in early term 3.

Student Toilets

Just a reminder for parents and carers regarding the student toilets.  These are only for student use and child protection issues may arise if parents or carers use these bathrooms while students are present.  Parents and carers are very welcome to use the facilities in the Library, Hall or the large accessible toilet tucked away next to Year 1 which is always open.

Kind regards,

Jane Taylor

Assistant Principal

We have had a great start to our Term 2 school Masses, with Year 3 attending last Friday morning. It is always such a pleasure to see parents joining us on a Friday morning for our weekly Grade Masses. 

Upcoming Friday Masses- families welcome!

Year 1 Grade Mass- Friday 19th May @ 9:30am

Year 2 Grade Mass- Friday 26th May @ 9:30am

Year 4 Grade Mass- Friday 2nd June @ 9:30am

Year 5 Grade Mass- Friday 9th June @ 9:30am

Years K and 6 combined Grade Mass- Friday 23rd June @ 9:30am

Mother’s Day Breakfast, open classrooms and Liturgy this Friday.

We very much look forward to seeing you this Friday to celebrate our Mother’s Day events! Following breakfast and open classrooms, Year Five will lead us in a special Mother’s Day Liturgy beginning at 8:40am.

Year Six Confirmation Retreat Day- next Friday, 19th May at Sacred Heart.

We keep the Year Six students in our prayers as they begin to make preparations for their Sacrament of Confirmation. They will partake in a Confirmation Retreat Day at school next Friday.

Sacred Heart Feast Day- June 16th

Our focus for this year’s feast day is “Walking with the Holy Spirit in our hearts.” The children will engage in various outreach activities, mixed with some fun outdoor activities. Children are invited to wear Mufti clothing on the day, the colours of the Holy Spirit (golds, oranges, reds, yellows).

Sacred Heart weekend Family Masses

Our Term 2 weekend Family Masses commence this week, starting out with Year 2. We look forward to seeing Year 2 families this Sunday for the Mother’s Day Mass/Year 2 Family Mass. Year 2 families will provide morning tea to enjoy after Mass.

In Partnership,

Mrs Anna Macri and Miss Kristen Jackson.

Dear Parents and carers,

My name is Anna Macri and I am the new Family Educator.  I will be here at Sacred Heart on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and alternate Mondays. 

It has been lovely meeting a few of you and your children at morning drop off and I really look forward to meeting many more of you as the weeks go by. Next term I am planning a few activities for parents, carers and community members, so I hope many of you will be available to join in. Having said that, I will be away on a Pilgrimage in Europe over the next four weeks - I will pray for health & happiness for all our families and pray that together we continue to form positive relationships within our family, school & parish community. I look forward to sharing many of the fun, food, faith and adventure stories from my Pilgrimage with you when I return.  

“God’s faith is stronger and more powerful than our fear.”