23 November 2021

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Welcome to the last week of the 2021 school year. How fast time flies when you are having fun! This has definitely been an action-packed term full of exciting learning experiences. We have improved in reading levels, dance moves, swimming skills, self-questioning strategies, poetry knowledge, science magnificent mixtures and much more. It has been wonderful watching our students grow in confidence as they develop new knowledge and skills of the world around them. I look forward to celebrating the special milestones with our students and their families this Wednesday 24th November at our graduation and awards evening (6pm in the Church/Assembly Hall).

Staffing 2021

I am pleased to announce the finalised class configurations and teaching staff for the 2022 school year. Due to our additional allocation of a teacher for the 2022 school year, we will be moving to a 5 class model which will support the learning needs of our students. This model will most likely only be in place for the 2022 school year. Our configurations will be as follows:

Classroom Teachers

Prep: Miss Aimee Bretherton
Year 1: Miss Abby Davidson
Year 2/3: Mrs Jenny Shellshear
Year 3/4: Miss Ellie Charlton
Year 5/6: Miss Lilly Daly

Students who are in Year 3 in 2022 will be notified tomorrow Wednesday 24th November, which class teacher they will have.

School Leadership Team: Mrs Cara Haig and Miss Polly Crawford
Middle Leader/Learning Support: Mrs Cara Haig
Non-contact Teacher: Mrs Belinda Tolete
Librarian: Mrs Belinda Tolete/Mrs Cara Haig
Administration/OHS: Mrs Carolyn Crick
School Officer/Library Assistant: Mrs Beccy Fett
Guidance Counsellor: Mrs Karen Bruggemann

The 2022 Student Protection Contacts will be Cara Haig, Carolyn Crick, Karen Bruggemann and Polly Crawford.

We still have one School Officer and Cleaning Position to be filled.

On Wednesday 1st December all students will partake in a transition morning with their classroom teacher for 2022. Make sure you pop into the classrooms in the morning to meet your child’s teacher.

Have a fantastic week.
Miss Polly Crawford
Principal

Prep/1 News

Happy Week 8! We have nearly finished Term 4 and we are excited for the quickly approaching Christmas Holidays! Over the last fortnight we have been hard at work down in Prep/1 finishing all of our assessment pieces.

In English, we finished our unit on informative and imaginative texts. As part of the students assessment, they had to write some facts that they had learnt about donkeys from an informative text. The students then had some fun and created their own imaginative texts about donkeys. We also started some work on a new unit looking at characters and their stories. As a class, we read the story the Gruffalo and then drew a picture and labelled some of his features. This tested our drawing skills!

In Maths, we have continued learning about patterns and how we can continue them. We completed some missing element patterns which really made us think!

We have our last swimming lesson for the year this week. Thank you to Miss Maryann for all your hard work each week teaching us how to swim. It has been so much fun and we can’t wait to jump back in the pool with you again next year!

Thank you to all parents, family and friends this year for your continued support. We have had a great year in Prep/1 with lots of memories made. Have a safe and happy holiday and I look forward to seeing you all again in the New Year!

Miss Bretherton
Prep/1 Teacher

Year 1/2 News

In no time now, we shall be closing the chapter on what was the 2021 school year and go our own way for a long, well-deserved break. Everyone is looking forward to a change of pace and a break from the routine that is school. Homework has been ceased and the year 1/2’s shall be enjoying a little more free time as we wind down. There is still work to be covered however the assessment is very nearly behind us and we are enjoying completing some Christmas fun activities.

Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve been teaching and assessing, with a bit of carols’ practise thrown in by way of a break, as our little, and not so little, people begin to fade! We thoroughly enjoyed a visit from Tash’s chickens and painting our salt dough ornaments to decorate our class Christmas tree. We’ve continued with our swimming lessons and our IT and library lessons with Mrs Tolete. All in all, a very successful year for our one two class, who have all worked very hard to meet year level benchmarks. They have been an absolute delight to teach. As this shall be the last class news, I wish you all a happy and safe Christmas and may the New Year bring you many happy times.

Mrs Shellshear
Year 1/2 Teacher

Year 3/4 News

Welcome to Week 8! As the countdown to the end of the year begins, the Year 3-4 class have been very busy!

In Science, we have been looking at heat and the different ways it is produced and moves. The students engaged in a hands on experiment to investigate how heat can be conducted from the heat source to another object. They tested this by using a metal spoon and placing it near a variety of different heat sources. The students observed what happened to the hotness of the spoon and discussed why they thought this had happened. After we finished this experiment, the students began planning their own investigation. They are working with a partner to design and plan an experiment to test the conductivity of heat. Once students have finished planning this, they will actually carry out the investigation.

On Friday the 19th November, the Year 3-4 class held a mock eisteddfod. The students have been working super hard on learning their poems and they all did an amazing job! Once they performed their poems, they explained why they chose their poem using language features to justify this. Thank you to all the parents that came along to support the students, they really appreciated it. This was definitely a highlight of our fortnight!

Miss Charlton
Year 3/4 Teacher

Year 5/6 News

We have made it to the end of year! I would just like to say a big thank you to all 5/6 families for a great year, I hope you have an enjoyable Christmas break!

The year 6 students have been busy preparing for their Graduation, which is tomorrow night! All students are to wear their white school shirt to the evening. This week all students will also be presenting their science and HASS projects, which they have been working on all term. Make sure to ask your children how they created their presentation. It is the last week of swimming lessons – students are to bring in an old set of clothes (shirt and shorts) to wear over their togs, as students will be practicing their life saving skills. Thank you to Miss Maryanne for such valuable lessons, the students have greatly enjoyed learning these skills.

Miss Daly
Year 5/6 Teacher

Class and Uniform Awards

This fortnight’s focus:

Habit of the Heart: Compassion
Habit of the Mind: Making Connections

Graduation

This Wednesday 24th November we will be holding our end of year Graduation ceremony. All students are expected to attend and to wear their Sports Uniform (white shirt and green bottoms). The evening will commence at 6pm, so if students could please arrive at 5:45pm it would be greatly appreciated. We will conclude our graduation ceremony with cake to celebrate. I cannot wait to see everyone there.

Christmas Carols

Our school Christmas Carol Concert will be held next Tuesday 30th November and will commence at 6:00pm. All students have been practicing their Christmas carol performances in class. It will be an event not to miss! Bring along a picnic blanket or camping chair to enjoy the carols under the stars.

End of Year Pool Party

On Wednesday 1st December all our students who are on Levels 1, 2 and 3 are invited to attend our end of year pool party. Students will need to bring along their togs, swim shirt, towel, and thongs. This will be happening between 11-1pm.

From the Library

A reminder ALL library books need to be returned to school by this Thursday 25th November.

Happy Birthday

Remembrance Day and Army Visit

Our school leaders attended the Remembrance Day ceremony held at the Shire Hall because of the rain. We were also lucky to have some of the Army visit us at school. The soldiers were from 105th Battery, 1st Regiment of the Royal Australian Artillery.

Prep Transition Days

Sacred Heart Primary School will be hosting Prep Transition days this term. The purpose of these days is for new students to build relationships with staff and students and to become familiar and comfortable in the Sacred Heart school environment. We encourage all students who are enrolled to start Prep in 2022 to attend as well as those families who are still yet to decide where to enrol their child. The school leadership team are available to provide a school tour, discuss what Sacred Heart can offer your child and answer any of your questions.

Next Transition Date & Time

• Day 4: Wednesday 1st December 8.30am-1pm. Students will need to bring a hat, water bottle and packed morning tea.

The process for drop off and pick up

• Parents are to bring students to the office on arrival and sign them in. This means that the students will be in the duty of care of Sacred Heart School. Parents are not required to stay with their child during these sessions. If your child is not already enrolled to begin in 2022, we will require emergency contact details and medical information to keep at the office.
• Students will spend these sessions with Miss Aimee Bretherton (Prep/1 Teacher 2022), Miss Crawford, Mrs Haig and our current Prep students.
• Parents are to pick up students at the set times and sign them out.

For more information, please contact the school office on 4655 1486.

Student Attendance

A friendly reminder that students are not to arrive at school before 8am as there is no school supervision before this time. Before school play begins at 8:15am with lessons beginning at 8:30am.

Swimming Days

This week will be our last swimming lessons for the year.

Week 8:

Thursday: Year 2 – 12.15pm – 12.45pm and Prep/1 – 2.15pm – 2.45pm
Friday: Year 3/4 – 12.15pm – 12.45pm and Year 5/6 – 2.15pm – 2.45pm

Students will need to bring: Togs, sun smart shirt, towel, thongs, goggles and $1 every week.

Sacred Heart Snack Shack

Are you fed up packing lunches each morning? Well, we have the solution for you!

The Sacred Heart Parish are selling lunch packs for the Sacred Heart students on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays in Term 4. The lunch pack includes enough food for both morning tea and lunch (sandwich, fruit, yoghurt, biscuits and home baked cooking e.g. cake) for $5.

If you wish to place an order, please pick up a form from the school office. Forms need submitted to the office the Friday before the week you have ordered lunch. If parents wish to set up a regular order this can be arranged as well.

We thank Fr Shane and the Parish community for their support.

Prep Enrolments 2022

We are calling for Prep enrolments for 2022. If your child is born between 1st July 2016 and 30th June 2017, they are eligible to be enrolled in Prep for 2022. Prep Enrolment packages are available at the front office or at the Kindy. Prep interviews will be conducted over the next month. Please contact the office to pick up an enrolment pack and to make an enrolment interview.

PPF News

Tuckshop

We are in desperate need of helpers for Tuckshop as well as a Tuckshop Convenor, so if you are interested, please contact the school office. Our ability to continue providing tuckshop as a service will depend on whether these positions can be filled.

Sipahh Straw Fundraiser

The PPF are selling Sipahh straws at the school office. What are Sipahh straws? They are flavoured straws you use to drink milk! Flavours to choose from include chocolate, choc-mint, vanilla, caramel and strawberry. They have no preservatives, artificial colours or flavours and contain less than ½ teaspoon of sugar. A perfect after school treat!

Prices:

1 straw = $2
Pack 10 = $15

COVID-19

At Sacred Heart, we continue to be vigilant with cleaning and hygiene protocols within our school community.

The staff continue to ask children to:

• wash their hands regularly with soap and water, particularly before and after eating, and after going to the toilet;
• use alcohol-based hand sanitiser if soap is unavailable;
• cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or the inside of their elbow;
• dispose of used tissues in the bin immediately;
• apply social distancing as far as possible at school.

We ask parents to ensure they do the following if their child develops flu like symptoms:

• keep the child at home and seek advice about undergoing COVID testing
• contact your doctor or contact 13 HEALTH (13 43 25 84) immediately
• call ahead to the medical centre or doctor’s surgery, advising of your child’s symptoms

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)
Mrs Karen Bruggemann (School Guidance Counsellor)
Miss Polly Crawford (Principal)

School Tuition Fees

School fees have been sent out. Please have these finalised by Friday 26th November 2021. 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

Church Times

Sunday 14th November – Eucharistic Service @ 8.30am – Cunnamulla
Sunday 21st November – Eucharistic Service @ 8.30am – Cunnamulla
Sunday 21st November – Mass @ 11am – Thargo
Sunday 28th November – Mass @ 8.30am – Cunnamulla
Sunday 28th November – Mass @ 6pm – Quilpie

Term 4 Important Dates

Term 1 2022 Important Dates