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

Thank you to our wonderful parent community who made our Spring Fair such a success.  From those who organised activities and events, cooked, attended to shifts on stalls or rides, donated goods and services, set up or cleaned up, we know that the fair's success is because of your work.  It was such a wonderful afternoon for us all. 

Amadeus

Concert

Our students in Years 3-6 have the opportunity to perform in a concert on the morning of Thursday November 23rd starting at 9:00 am in our playground.  The Amadeus tutors will conduct the performances to showcase some of the students' learning throughout the year.  All parents and carers are invited to watch.

Year 2 Instrument selection

The Amadeus instrumental program begins in Year 3, so next week, our tutors will introduce our Year 2 students to the sounds and types of instruments available for them to learn from next year. Once the students have ‘had a go’ of some of the instruments, each child will choose their preferred three instruments. The tutors, along with Mrs Luscombe, will then allocate preferences depending on the range and size of instruments we have available in preparation for beginning the program in 2024.  If you have a child in Year 2 and there is anything you would like us to be aware of regarding your child’s choice, please email the office before next Thursday.

Instruments - final lessons

The last Amadeus Instrumental lesson for Years 3-6 will be in week 6 with the concert in week 7.  All instruments should come to school in week 8 where they will be cleaned and checked and then sent for repair if needed.  This may take a couple of weeks and then we hope to be able to return instruments so that students may continue to play over the holidays. 

Shine and Share

‘Shine and Share’, similar to a class expo, is an opportunity for students to celebrate and display an area of their learning that they are proud of.  Parents are invited to the classroom to see their child’s learning and the learning of their peers.  To organise this event, teachers and students work together to share work that is important to them and enable them to ‘shine’.  Students might choose a piece of writing, some mathematics learning to share, perhaps art work or a piece of music they have learnt. 

Our ‘Shine and Share’ sessions will be held across the last 2 weeks of Term - dates to be confirmed and advised by each Year level, and will replace the character strength awards which have happened in past years.  We hope this will be a wonderful opportunity to share in the learning of your child’s year, to give thanks to our wonderful teachers and for all, in their own way, to have the opportunity to shine.

Curriculum Notes

Teacher’s have shared their Curriculum notes for the term to give you an insight into some of the learning for your child.  You can keep up to date with classroom learning via the Seesaw app which is updating soon.  Please see the information from Mrs Petersen. 

Wishing you God’s Blessings,

Jane Taylor

Assistant Principal

Seesaw

Seesaw is the student learning and parent engagement platform used by Sacred Heart to help keep the school and families in the ‘learning loop’. Seesaw provides an online window into the classroom.  On average students load over 2000 posts per week to Seesaw.

Our teachers review and approve these posts at which point they are made visible in the student's Seesaw journal. Journals are filled with everyday activities, not just good work. Seesaw journals can facilitate learning discussions at home and inform teachers at school. Journals also provide a means for students to develop technology skills, online etiquette and learning about communication through a variety of mediums.

Seesaw provides an authentic purpose for learning and a real audience for students. Receiving a "like" or encouraging comment on their work from a parent or carer can be incredibly motivating for students.

Over the coming weeks, Seesaw is changing the look and feel of the app with a new purple logo. Most functionality will remain the same. If you have any trouble accessing the app after the upgrade has occurred, please contact your class teacher or Mrs Martina Petersen our Seesaw administrator to seek assistance.

We look forward to continuing to keep everyone in the 'learning loop' with Seesaw.

Mrs Petersen

St Francis’ Blessing of the Animals is this Sunday, 29th November. We hope to see you there with your furry friends!

• Kinder Family Mass at 9am
• Kinder families asked to bring a plate for morning tea following Mass (plates can be left in the Parish Hall prior to Mass)
• St Francis’ Blessing of the Animals at 10:30am- this should give you time to return home after Mass to bring your pet or furry toy along!
  

Upcoming School Grade Masses, Fridays at 9:15am- families are warmly welcome to attend!

• Year 4 Grade Mass- Friday, 27th October at 9:15am 
• Year 5 Grade Mass- Friday, 3rd November at 9:15am 
• Year 2 Grade Mass- Friday, 10th November at 9:15am
• Year 3 Grade Mass- Friday, 24th November at 9:15am
• Year 1 Grade Mass- Friday, 1st December at 9:15am

All Saints’ Day Whole School Mass- Wednesday, 1st November @ 11:30am. On this day, we commemorate all Saints from the Catholic Church who have died and gone to Heaven. 

Friday 27th October- A day of Prayer, peace and fasting

Pope Francis has announced this Friday to be a day of Prayer, peace and fasting, as a call to end the Israel-Hamas war. As a school community, we will have a focus on prayer; teachers and students are invited to turn on their classroom candles and have a minute silence to acknowledge this special day.

Kristen Jackson

Religious Education Co-ordinator 

It is still the month of the Rosary.  The entire month is dedicated to the Holy Rosary so that individuals, families, and communities would pray, if possible daily, for peace in the world.

Remembering All Saints Day on November 1^st and All Souls Day on November 2^nd

November is fast approaching, and it is the month when the church remembers the deceased. It is encouraged that we take some time to acknowledge and remember family and friends who are no longer with us.

Perhaps, talk as a family about these significant people in the lives of your family. Prepare a prayer space and light a candle. Attend Mass and have a quiet moment to reflect or just say a little prayer wherever you may be. 

An estimated 1 million people have been displaced in Gaza with immediate food, shelter, health and psychological needs. The need is great, and the time is now. If you can donate what is within your means, this would be appreciated.

https://www.caritas.org.au/donate/emergency-appeals/gaza-crisis/gaza-crisis-appeal/  

Opportunity to participate and learn from Dr. Christopher West in person here in Sydney is open to all Australians!

In partnership with the Sydney Centre for Evangelisation and the Theology of the Body Institute, the Archdiocese of Sydney is proud to announce that we will be hosting a 5-day immersion course with Dr. Christopher West on the Theology of the Body with a special focus on St John-Paul’s classic work “Love & Responsibility”.

Learn more and find out how to register your spot by clicking on the social media tile below or visit https://tobi.sydneycatholic.org/tob-love-responsibility/.

A reminder to please join me if you can. I would love to meet newcomers.

Anna Macri

Family Educator

It has been a busy three weeks of sports with plenty of sporting events and trials occurring since commencing back at school. 

Today Wednesday 25th October, Eloise Horan will be representing Sacred Heart as she competes for a spot in the state P.S.S.A High Jump team for Athletics. We wish her luck today as we know the competition can be tough, but regardless of results we are very proud of her efforts!

Over the past two weeks, we have also had our Basketball and Touch Football trials for Years 4 and 5 due to increased interest in trials for MacKillop Pathways. A special thank you to Rachael Steer for putting together the Basketball trials and also to Kate Montgomery, Sean Daggett and Sebastian Ugarte for assisting with the Touch Football trials. Your help and support are greatly appreciated.

Congratulations to the following students for being selected to progress through to the Conference trials:

Boys Basketball

• Tyler Schramm
• Flynn Daggett
• Max O’Gorman

Girls Basketball (will progress directly to Sydney trials)

• Coco Mutton
• Emily Dynon
• Maddie Montgomery

Boys Touch Football

• Ben Bailey
• Conrad Barbour
• Flynn Daggett

Girls Touch Football

• Emily Dynon
• Maddie Montgomery
• Saoirse O’Riordan

A final reminder that our Swimming Carnival will be held on Friday 17th November and we are still seeking any parents who are able to volunteer. If you are able to spare the time on the day, it would be greatly appreciated. Please ensure you have forwarded your current Working with Childrens Check to the school office together with verification of having completed the Sydney Catholic Schools Online Induction - Safe Schools Expectations.  If you have not yet filled out your Compass consent for your child to attend, the deadline has now been extended to the end of this week. Your assistance will be greatly appreciated in this matter as it is used to organise the event timings and organisation for the day.  If we have not received consent for your child to attend by this Friday, your child will need to stay at school and not attend the event. 

That’s all for now in sporting news. I look forward to giving you further updates on our student achievements. Until next time!

Kind Regards,

Miss Calizar

Please see the following photos of items found at the Spring Fair.  If these items are yours please come to the office to collect.