24 June 2020

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

NEWS FLASH!

While she would not shout this news from the rooftops herself, our amazing Principal - Polly Crawford was nominated for an ACEL (Australian Council for Educational Leaders) award by our Senior Education Leader – Marty Savage and has been successful in winning the Emerging Leader Award!

This award recognises Miss Crawford as an influential school leader creating expertise across the school community to support every student to succeed. She will receive her award at a ceremony in Brisbane later in the year. Congratulations Miss Crawford we are very proud of you!

Term 2 Reflection

Welcome to Week 10 and what an adventurous term it has been. We have conquered many new skills over the last 10 weeks with the major one being online learning. Everyone showed great resilience which is evident in our continued growth in learning. Our students and teachers have been extremely busy over the last few weeks, completing end of term assessments and collecting evidence for reporting. A reminder that Report Cards for Semester 1 are based on student achievement for Term 1 and Term 2 and will be mailed to families early Term 3. This will allow for students to complete all assessment tasks and for teachers to gather evidence of student learning.

Teachers and School Officers continued to receive Professional Development opportunities over the term, in the areas of Inclusive Education, Behaviour Management, Reading, Mathematics, Assessment/Reporting and Learning dispositions. These opportunities allow us to review and analyse the processes and procedures we have in place so that we can revise and update where needed.

Even though we haven’t been able to hold school assemblies, liturgies or sporting events, our wonderful staff have continued to provide opportunities for our students to remember important events and recognise the achievements of their peers. Students have celebrated Reconciliation and the Sacred Heart Feast Day through class prayer and received their fortnightly awards in front of their class peers. Our Yr 3-6 students have even managed to hold their own Cunnamulla Olympics Event which has allowed them to join in on some fun athletic sports.

Teachers have continued to discuss with students the ‘Learning pit’ and the importance of our school Habits of the Heart and Habits of the Mind. Staff have reviewed student behaviour levels according to our school behaviour matrix and are excited to award the following overall Term 2 award winners for Habits of the Mind and Habits of the Heart.

Congratulations to all students for continually demonstrating our school values.

School Officer Day

Last week, the staff celebrated School Officer Day, which recognises and celebrates how our school officers and services staff support quality education. I would like to sincerely thank Miss Heleena Devey, Miss Chelsea Ferguson, Mrs Alice Behrendt, Mrs Alicia Field, Mrs Carolyn Crick and Mrs Rebecca Fett for all they do to ensure our students at Sacred Heart are provided with the best support possible. We truly believe you do an amazing job!

We are now calling for 2021 Prep Enrolments

Is your child born between 1st July 2015 and 30th June 2016? If so, your child is eligible to be enrolled in Prep for 2021. Prep Enrolment packages are now available at the front office or if you know of a child please come and collect a package. Prep interviews will be conducted in Term 3. Please contact the office to make an appointment. Transition days will be held in Term 4.

Paroo in Pink

On Friday 12th June, the Sacred Heart staff participated in the local community Paroo in Pink day to raise awareness of Breast Cancer. We are proud to be a part of this important fundraiser.

I hope all students and families have a safe and relaxing break.

Miss Polly Crawford
Principal

Guidance Officer Report

13 Reasons Why

Due to the global impact, difficult themes and some mental health sector criticism of previous seasons of 13 Reasons Why, headspace, the National Youth Mental Health Foundation, is encouraging young Australians and their parents to be safe and informed before making decisions about watching season four of the show. This series is rated MA 15+ and is not suitable for children and younger teens, this information is provided as you may have older children in your household.

Headspace has independently created resources to ensure young people and parents are supported and equipped to have constructive conversations about themes depicted in the show.

The likelihood that the content will be distressing or triggering for some viewers will depend on their individual life experiences and current circumstances. No two people will take exactly the same meaning or understanding out of the same episode.

Tailored discussion guides for parents and young people have been created and are uploaded to the headspace website:

Studies conducted in the United States and Canada, following the release of 13 Reasons Why season 1 showed some increased risk of suicide and self-harm in young people, which these reports attributed to content included in the series. It is unclear the cause of this increase but likely to be related to unsafe depiction of suicide.

Mike Thomason
School Guidance Counsellor
Mike.Thomason@twb.catholic.edu.au
Ph: 4637 1453

Prep/1 News

As we come closer and closer to the end of the second term, students continue to work hard in all subject areas. Students have displayed fantastic efforts in completing all assessment items to the best of their ability. Students look forward to a fun and exciting last week at school where we reflect on their efforts and memories of the year so far. All students are to be commended on their behaviour in and outside of the classroom even though it is the end of term and their tanks are running low.

Miss Cornelius
Prep/1 Teacher

Year 2 News

As the term draws to a close, we have been very busy finishing off our units of work to complete the necessary assessment tasks required for reporting. The students have worked hard to provide results that reflect their learning, while covering topics which have really encouraged their interest.

In English we’ve been exploring information texts and learning the parts of non-fiction books containing facts: contents page, glossary, index etc. We have explored common nouns, pronouns, proper nouns and noun groups and have identified them embedded in the information we’ve read about insects.

In Maths we’ve identified both 2D and 3D shapes and have described their properties and have enjoyed ‘what am I’ activities and finding them in everyday situations. We’ve also continued our exploration of number to 1000 and have modelled these numbers using concrete materials. We’ve consolidated our knowledge of days of the week and writing the date and have explored the months of the year and divided them into seasons.

We’ve found exploring both the Old and New Testaments in religious education classes interesting. We’ve recalled some favourite stories from both sections and learnt when the stories were written.

In science, we’ve learnt some interesting facts about bees, ants and dragonflies and have learnt that these insects have different life cycles.

We have posed our own questions about both ants and bees, predicted what the responses may be and gone on to research them online. We’ve created a PowerPoint presentation with Mrs Tolete in ICT lessons, and we are very much looking forward to presenting them to teachers and another class this Thursday.

Mrs Shellshear
Year 2 Teacher

Celebrating the Feast of the Sacred Heart

Year 3/4 News

Nice and noisy week Nine and Ten, this last fortnight has been packed with loads of assessment and fun activities. The students have written very entertaining poetry including language devices. During religion, the students have been exploring wrong and right choices using their very own moral compass! They enjoyed using this knowledge to become stewards of creation and design a plan to protect Gods creations at Sacred Heart! I am very pleased to announce, everyone in the 3-4 classroom have improved with their reading! We are all very proud of each other and keen to motivate each other to keep up the great work next term!

We are all looking forward to participating in the Cunnamulla Olympics, the 3-6 students have been persisting to become Olympic experts. Due to COVID19 circumstances we are all sorry parents and friends cannot come to watch, we promise we will create a video full of memories from the day which we will send home early next Term

Miss Sore
Year 3/4 Teacher

Year 5/6 News

This fortnight we have been finishing off our topics, including looking at moral dilemmas and what choices we have, what rights and responsibilities we have as Australian citizens and planning and preparing for our Olympics. We will be competing in long jump, high jump, 100m sprint, shot put and gymnastics. Which country will run supreme? Wait for our video and you will find out!

Fundraising has begun again in the 5/6 classroom. Canberra might be cancelled, but that will not stop us enjoying our final year of school. We have been selling cupcakes and hot milo on chilly mornings to warm our insides up ready to learn. On top of this, we have used our artistic skills to enhance some old photo frames to create some modern art to sell.

Miss Conlin
Year 5/6 Teacher

Class and Uniform Awards

This fortnight’s focus:

Habit of the Heart: Excellence
Habit of the Mind: Independence

Happy Birthday

Behaviour Promotions

Behaviour Celebrations

STEM Learning

The last fortnight in stem we have been looking at bicarbonate soda (baking soda) and different ways it reacts with other substances. Last week we placed it in two cups, dissolved it in water and draped a piece of wool between the cups with the ends in the water. Everyone gave some theories on what might happen, the most popular hypothesis being that the water would evaporate and leave the bi carb inside the cup. All the students were amazed to see that crystals formed along the wool and felt very pleased with themselves that they were correct about the water evaporating.

Next we watched the wonderful effect that vinegar, food colouring and washing detergent had with the bi carb. We discussed why they reacted together creating bubbles and that by using detergent in the vinegar we could get smaller, more dense bubbles creating lots of foamy fun!

Mrs Behrendt

Feast of the Sacred Heart

On Friday 19th June our students celebrated the Feast of the Sacred Heart. Due to Covid-19 restrictions each class watched a liturgy and reflected on the symbol of the Heart. We paused to become more conscious of our own hearts and how we can love one another just like Jesus.

Wear your Pyjama’s to School Day Fundraiser

Sacred Heart Primary School are having a Wear your Pyjama’s to school fundraiser for National Pyjama Day on July 17, 2020, jump into your favourite PJ's and help raise vital funds for children in need. Please bring a gold coin donation. Together, we can support little kids with BIG dreams.

Effective Hand Hygiene is Vital

As the coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to evolve, it is important to remember that effective hand and sneeze/cough hygiene is the best defence against viruses and can help prevent the spread of illness.

Lead by example and encourage your children to:

• wash their hands regularly with soap and water, before and after eating, and after going to the toilet
• use alcohol-based hand sanitiser if soap is not available
• cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or the inside of their elbow
• dispose of tissues in the bin immediately
• remind students not to share food
• if they’re unwell, stay at home and avoid contact with others such as touching, kissing or hugging.

Check out the 20 second routine video for effective handwashing.

Student Protection

At Sacred Heart the safety and wellbeing of our students is our highest priority. All children should grow up free of violence or exploitation and be able to learn in a safe and supported environment. Schools have several specific child protection reporting obligations that are detailed in our Student Protection Processes and Guidelines.

If a student wants to talk to someone about harm, abuse or inappropriate behaviour toward themselves or others, they can speak to a trusted staff member or one of our School Student Protection Contacts (SSPCs). The SSPCs receive additional training and are identified in the student protection posters displayed around the school.

Summary documents have been developed for parents and caregivers about our student protection obligations and our broader strategy for maintaining safe school environments.

Further information on all of the above topics can be found on the Toowoomba Catholic Schools website at the link below:

Our Schools Student Protection Contacts are:

Mrs Cara Haig (Deputy / LST)
Mrs Carolyn Crick (Administration Officer)
Mr Mike Thomason (School Guidance Counsellor)
Miss Polly Crawford (Principal)

School Tuition Fees

At Sacred Heart, we have several payment options for your convenience: Cash, Cheque, ETPOS, Direct Debit and Centrepay. For further details on these payment options please see the school office.

Direct Deposit Details

Sacred Heart Parish

The Sacred Heart Parish church has received approval from Bishop Robert McGuckin to open again for weekend Eucharistic Service. A Covid-19 Plan has been developed and will be implemented to ensure effective hygiene practices are in place as well as social distancing measures. We look forward to meeting as a Parish again very soon.

Church Times

Saturday 27th June – Mass @ 5.30pm – Father Peter
Sunday 28th June – Mass Eulo @ 9.00am – Father Peter
Sunday 5th July – Eucharistic Service @ 9.00am
Sunday 12th July – Eucharistic Service @ 9.00am

Community News

Term 2 Important Dates

Term 3 Important Dates