Last Friday we celebrated St Patrick at our assembly before celebrating St Patrick’s Day on Sunday 17 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.

Our Year 6 Mission Captains, along with their counterparts from Blessed Sacrament, attended  the St Patrick’s Day Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral on Monday. We had such a wonderful time meeting children from other schools and coming together, as a Catholic community, to acknowledge one of the most influential missionaries in the Church’s history. He was sent to Ireland in the fifth century, becoming the country’s second bishop. A man of deep faith, Patrick was tasked with spreading the Gospel of Jesus and bringing fresh heart to existing local churches. I am so proud of my students who represented our schools so well. Thank you!

Harmony Week is a time to celebrate the diverse cultural backgrounds of our school, staff, students and families. We are proud to showcase a rich tapestry of cultures that make up our community. Our multicultural identity spans First Nations to New Arrivals and our differences are united in God’s love. 

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: even as I have loved you, that you also love one another." (John 13:34) 

Tomorrow, Thursday 21 March, our children are asked to wear orange as a sign of our culture of welcome and belonging. Guided by Christ, let us continue to live our values  and embrace difference, foster understanding, respect and unity among our community, and recognise the unique contribution that each person brings. 

To our amazing Miss Calizar, parent volunteers, staff and students, thank you for contributing to such a successful Cross Country event. Whilst it was very hot, the temperatures were monitored and did not hit the peak until later in the day. We also only had the class running attend at a specific time so they were not waiting in the sun.  It was important that we adhered to our booking of the oval and that the times were put through for those who made it to the next level.

Violet Olds’ singing achievements!!!! 

Competing in a vocal Eisteddfod, Violet took out 5 first places in one night. Singing everything from classical to pop! She enjoyed every moment of it, made new friends and held herself with grace. The prizes are but the cherry on top of the experience. Violet, we are SO proud of you!!

We will be revamping some of our playground areas over the next year utilising school money, as well as the contributions from all of our parents from 2023/24 fundraising. Firstly, we will focus on our undercroft area, where we hold assemblies. We will have artificial turf laid with soccer markings and a space for the BBQ which we use for a number of P&F and school events. We will then turn our attention to the area under the hall where we may re-mark handball courts with bright, attractive colours and try to make it a little (or a lot) more enticing and engaging. Mrs Taylor and I are also looking into a request from parents for Bike and Scooter storage. I thank our AMAZING parent community for their continued support and hard work which make these projects possible.

PARENT VOLUNTEERS IN TERM 2

Next term, a number of classes will have parent volunteers, this is particularly helpful in our infants classes. We value the time, energy and skills that volunteers bring and remind you that, as a volunteer, you are expected to support the school by adhering to it’s procedures and strategies to reduce any risk to children, staff and yourself.

More importantly, it is expected that all volunteers respect the privacy and dignity of every child, the child’s family and staff if they become aware of personal information during their role as a volunteer.

This may include things such as:     

• Student needs
• Behavioural matters
• Educational progress of students
• Family circumstances
• Health issues
• Child protection issues

The parent volunteers role is to help, assist and support children with their learning while the teacher’s role is to plan, teach, manage and assess students. If a parent volunteer is unsure of their role, please clarify with the class teacher.

* Please note documention is required in order to be a volunteer at Sacred Heart. Please contact the school office for further information.

May God bless all our families.

Leanne Meehan

PRINCIPAL

As we lead into Holy week, I wish you all a very happy Easter season.  May this be a special time of reflection and prayer as we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.  

NAPLAN

Congratulations to our students in Year 3 and Year 5 who completed the four NAPLAN tests. Thank you to our teachers for administering the tests in line with the testing protocols and to all of our parents for your support. 

As yet, ACARA (The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority) have not released any date as to when we can expect the results.  We will keep you informed when a timeline is issued.  

The date of the NAPLAN test window for next year is the 12th to 24th March 2025.

AMADEUS

Our Amadeus program is humming along with students now finding their rhythm of tutorials, band and ensembles. Thank you to our amazing tutors who have organised our timetable and enthusiastically share their musical talents each week. 

We have set a Compass reminder on the Sacred Heart calendar each Wednesday to ‘remember your instrument’ and we ask that students take responsibility for this by packing their instrument in the car or usual place, to remember on Thursday morning. If your child forgets their instrument, please do not bring it to the office. As you can imagine, our lessons start at 8:40 am and the logistics of getting instruments to students is not possible for our admin staff.  Please be assured that if your child forgets their instrument, our tutors have strategies in place to include students in their lessons.

As the year starts, and especially for our Year 3 students who are learning for the first time, daily five to ten minutes of practice will make a big difference to your child’s skills and enjoyment.  Playing their instrument daily, rather than once a week, is a proven way to build neural pathways within the brain and assists with learning music and developing eye and hand coordination - skills essential for playing a musical instrument.

Zing Activ

Years 3-6

Please complete the Compass event to advise if your child is attending the Interschool Dance Challenge on Tuesday 9th April at The Hordern Pavilion.

What to wear

Showdance - whole school 

This is the dance that our whole school competes in. The students are dancing to a ‘90’s theme mix’ and should wear the following:

• White T-shirt
• Denim shorts mid thigh if possible or jeans (shorts are easier to dance in) 

Ballroom Dances - individual choice 

Students can choose their own outfit to wear over their white t-shirt & shorts. There are no change rooms in use, so children will just take off their ‘top’ layer of clothing when it’s time for the showdance.

Years K-2

Our Kindy, Year 1 and Year 2 students have been busy learning dances this term and we invite our Kindy, Year 1 and Year 2 parents and carers to join us for a ‘Showcase’ performance and to a dance or two. This is a really fun morning so we hope you can attend on Wednesday 10th April, 9:00 am in our school playground. 

Around the Classes

Mrs Conroy has been running a Creative arts club on Mondays which has been a huge hit with students across the school attending. 

May God’s love be with you. 

Jane Taylor

Please fill your Project Compassion boxes generously this Lent 

& send them to the school office

During the season of Lent, we prepare ourselves for Easter by giving things up that we don’t need. We focus on Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving. Each of us can give something up during Lent. For example, instead of buying a special treat, we could simply save the coins & donate them to the Project Compassion boxes for Caritas Australia. The money raised will be collected and used to help communities in need. So this year, what will you give up for Lent? Through Project Compassion, your efforts will make a difference for communities around the world! 

Reminder: Harmony Day tomorrow, Thursday 21st March! 

Tomorrow, as part of our Harmony Day celebrations, the children are invited to wear orange mufti clothing and bring in a gold coin to donate to their class Project Compassion boxes.

School Grade Masses- parents are warmly welcome to attend! 

Each grade will visit the Church once a term to join Friday Mass at 9:15am. Parents are most welcome and we would love to see you there! 

• This Friday, 22nd March- Year 3 Grade Mass 
• Good Friday, 29th March

Please join us for our Holy Week Reflections at Sacred Heart Church

Holy Thursday- 28th of March from 9:30am (led by Year 2, Kinder, Year 1, Year 5 & Year 6).

Year 3 and Year 4 will present the Easter Reflections following Easter. On Friday, 5th of April at the morning Assembly, 8:40am.

Please see the Sacred Heart Mass times over the Easter Triduum:

Kindest Regards,

Miss Kristen Jackson

Religious Education Coordinator

Harmony Day 

We are fortunate to live in multicultural Australia where we can enjoy the gifts of different cultures everyday, in the sharing of different foods, ways of dressing, languages, customs and beliefs. This week we recognise and celebrate Harmony Day. A day to acknowledge diversity, foster inclusiveness, respect and the idea that people of all different cultures make a valuable contribution to society. A reminder that the children wear orange on Thursday March 21 and a donation to Project Compassion can be made via QKR.

‘Grow Your Mind’ Teacher Implementation Workshop

On Wednesday March 13 the teachers of Sacred Heart along with the teachers from Blessed Sacrament came together to participate in a facilitator led Professional Learning workshop on the implementation of the ‘Grow Your Mind’ Wellbeing Program. The staff explored the learning platform, classroom activities, resources and programs offered to plan for supporting positive mental health in ourselves and our students. A parent information session has been organised for early next term, on Tuesday May 7. Keep an eye out for more information to come on this.

REMINDER: Week 8 is Wellbeing Week

The purpose of Wellbeing Week is to create opportunities for students, families and staff to reflect on key areas of health that support our wellbeing. It is a time for ongoing conversations and to reinforce the message that simple acts can significantly impact our health and wellbeing as a community and each individual's potential to thrive. See attached the Timetable for Wellbeing Week, outlining the daily themes and activities. We hope you can join us by taking part in this week at the parent nutrition zoom on Tuesday March 26 at 7pm and/or at the Christian Meditation sessions in the classrooms.

Have a wonderful week and remember to keep refilling that cup.

Amanda Macourt

Leader of Wellbeing and Engagement

This week the Church celebrates the Solemnity St. Joseph, the spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the foster-father of Jesus. This is the only Solemnity celebrated in the 2024 Lenten season since Easter is so early this year and the Solemnity of the Annunciation is transferred to the Second Week of Easter. There are 2 Feast Days for St Joseph. The first, on March 19, celebrates Joseph as the husband of Mary and the second, on May 1, celebrates St. Joseph the Worker. The Feast of St. Joseph the Worker was instituted by Pope Pius XII in 1955 to recognise the dignity of work. 

Different regions celebrate Saint Joseph's Day differently, but all involve meatless foods (because this holiday always falls during Lent) Bread was used the most and many a selection of shapes and styles are baked then blessed by a priest. This picture is an example of the many shines people create in their homes or communities to pay homage to St Joseph. 

Catholic Recipe: Italian Decorative Breads 

INGREDIENTS 

• 3 and ¼ cup flour 
• 2 teaspoons sugar 
• 2 teaspoons salt 
• 1 1/2 cups water 
• 2 teaspoons dry yeast 
• 1 egg
•  Sesame seeds (optional) , 2 tablespoons oil (optional)

DIRECTIONS 

Mix flour, sugar, and salt with water. Dissolve yeast in a little warm water and sugar. Pour yeast water into the flour mixture and mix well. Knead. Let stand for 5 minutes and knead again. Let stand 5 minutes more. (For cutting and shaping dough, see specific instructions below for decorative breads.) Place on a greased baking sheet and let rise to double in size. Brush entire dough well with beaten egg. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake in a 200° oven until golden brown. 

Joseph's Staff With sharp knife, cut dough into three equal parts. Roll dough to about 2 1/2 feet long. Place on greased cookie sheet in shape of candy cane. Slightly flatten dough with heel of hand. With scissors at a 45° angle, make one-inch snips along both sides and on top of dough. (Snips should all go in the same direction.) Palms Cut dough into four equal parts. Roll dough to about 2 feet in length. Place on greased cookie sheet and flatten slightly with heel of hand. Snip dough on both sides and in middle. 

Cross Cut dough in half. Roll dough to about 4 feet long. Cut off 20 inches. Place the 28-inch piece on greased cookie sheet vertically and place the 20-inch piece horizontally forming a cross. Where it crosses, use your fist to mesh together the two pieces of dough. Tuck under ends of each bar to give a rounded, finished end. Twist Cut dough in half. Roll dough about six feet long. Cut off two feet. Bend remaining dough in half. Place the two-foot long section in the middle and begin plaiting. 

This recipe is part of the Sicilian tradition of the St. Joseph Altar. The dough from this can be formed into several decorative shapes. Use this recipe or your own, just have some fun making the bread with the family . Bon Appetite. 

I attended the Women’s Lent Retreat Day at St Mary’s Cathedral last Sunday. With close to 500 women in attendance it was a fabulous day hosted by The Dominican Sisters of Saint Cecilia. We had discussions on Gratitude, guilt, building foundations on faith and many other topics. The Sisters were captivating, extremely funny & entertaining. Adoration and Confession was available throughout the day in the Cathedral Crypt. It was food for the soul, a totally faith filled & enjoyable day. Many new friendships between women were made.

Reminders: 

Our Sacred Heart Playgroup is on this Monday 25th March, 9am - 10:30am Parish Hall on Cardinal Street. 

Please bring morning tea for your child. Tea, Coffee and biscuits are provided for parents/carers. Contact me if you have any questions. anna.macri@syd.catholic.edu.au 

Fr Mathew’s Lenten talks - Wednesday 20th March, 7pm - 8pm Parish Hall. Informative evening discussing the journey of Jesus during Lent. Come along if you can. 

Many blessings 

Anna Macri 

Family & Faith Educator

Dear Parents and Carers,

We are now in Week 7 of school and what a busy term it has been so far.

To kick us off, on Tuesday 12th of March, Sacred Heart had it's Annual Cross Country event at Allan Border Oval. Despite the hot weather and challenges on the day, the children performed really well and took it on like a champ. It was great to see the children’s resilience and watch them challenge themselves and overcome this. It was also amazing to see a great sense of camaraderie and school spirit on the day!

This day would not have been possible without the amazing parents and staff at Sacred Heart that sacrificed their time and volunteered for the event. A big thank you to all that came out and assisted on the day. It is always appreciated!

As mentioned previously, Sacred Heart was able to obtain a sporting grant for Term 1. Part of the grant has been used to have coaches from Football Australia run soccer games on a Friday for students in Year 3-5. This program started last week on Friday and the children enjoyed themselves and learnt fun skills through drills and games.

Lastly, Sydney Catholic Schools are thrilled to share with you a range of exciting holiday opportunities for your child/ren during the school holidays. Prepare them for a holiday experience filled with joy, growth and unforgettable memories with their friends attending these active offerings:

• Fencing: Ages 8 - 16 year olds
• Golf : Ages 9 - 14 years old
• Table Tennis : Ages 9 - 15 years old
• Girls Football : Ages 8 - 12 year olds

Equip your child with skills, a love for physical activity, and nurture their spirit of competition, all while having fun. 

For detailed information and to secure a spot, visit the following link: https://sport.syd.catholic.edu.au/scs-outsidehours/holiday-camps

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

Kind Regards,

Miss Austrie Calizar

Sports Co-ordinator