Term 1, 2024 Weeks 3-4
Principal's Message
Dear Parents and Carers,
We have had many activities happening at our school over the past few weeks.
Thank you to all the families and friends who attended our Welcome BBQ and to the team of helpers who helped prepare, cook and serve the food. It was a lovely evening and the children really enjoyed the opportunity to catch up with each other after school.
Thank you to the 2023 P & F committee for your efforts in fundraising and supporting the school. We have some items that have not been finalised at this stage, however the allocation of the funds has been made. Purchasing of this new equipment will happen in Term 2.
NAPLAN begins this week for our Year 3 and Year 5 students and will be held over 4 days. The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is a literacy and numeracy assessment that students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 sit each year. It is the only national assessment all Australian students have the opportunity to undertake. As students progress through their school years, it is important to check how well they are learning the essential skills of reading, writing and numeracy.
NAPLAN assesses the literacy and numeracy skills that students are learning through the school curriculum and allows parents/carers to see how their child is progressing against national standards.
NAPLAN is just one aspect of a school’s assessment and reporting process. It does not replace ongoing assessments made by teachers about student performance, but it can provide teachers with additional information about students’ educational progress.
NAPLAN also provides schools, education authorities and governments with information about how education programs are working and whether young Australians are achieving important educational outcomes in literacy and numeracy.
Parent Teacher Interviews are also an important aspect in providing feedback to parents on student progress. This is a great opportunity to meet with your child’s class teacher to discuss their progress in Term 1 and set some plans in place for the year ahead. The Interviews will be held during Week 8, on Wednesday 20th March ( K-6) and Thursday 21st March (Kindergarten only)
Please book a time through the Compass app or ring the front office.
We had a fabulous time last week with the girls from Loreto School, Normanhurst. Each year in March the girls visit our school under the Loreto Rural Partnership Programme. They were such a help in the classrooms, being reading buddies, helping in Maths time, art, music and drama, as well as refereeing on the playground and giving some hot competition to our budding young sports stars.
They presented some creative and challenging activities for our students to join in which were thoroughly enjoyed by the students at Sacred Heart. Thank you to Ainsley, Bianca, Anson, Annelise, Ava, Grace, Charlie and Sam and two wonderful staff Dr Zammit and Dr Pariser for visiting us and taking the time to prepare the lessons. I am sure they will be remembered in years to come. Our senior students still talk about their experiences with the Loreto girls from previous years and are always talked about as a highlight for our Sacred Heart students.
Thank you to the Dunlop family who helped entertain the students after school and allowed the girls to explore ‘farm’ life. This is a wonderful opportunity for all involved and we value and appreciate your time. Thank you to Charlotte Hallet for coordinating the week and for hosting the girls for some yabbying and dinner. We look forward to catching up with the Loreto team again next year.
Have a great week,
Jennifer Baker
Acting Principal
Important Dates
Term 1 2024
6/3- Dio Swimming Carnival Dubbo
13/3- NAPLAN begins Year 3 and Year 5
15/3 - St Patricks's Day & Boot Bash
20/3 - Parent Teacher Interviews K-6
3/4- Polding Swimming Homebush
9/4 - School Cross Country
11-12/4 - PSSA Swimming
Reminders for parents
-Please remember that no supervision is provided at school before 8:30am
- Staff are unable to heat food for students.
- Please send fruit cut-up in a separate container, ready for students to have at fruit break.
- New parents, please check your emails for a link to Compass.
Families with No Internet At Home
To boost education opportunities and narrow the digital divide, the Australian Government is providing up to 30,000 eligible families, with no internet at home, a free National Broadband Network (NBN) service. Originally a 12 month commitment, the initiative has been extended meaning:
- The period in which a family can nominate to receive a free service is up to 31 December 2024.
- The duration of free services will continue until 31 December 2025 for all existing and new families.
The Government has invested $8.8 million to support NBN Co's implementation and delivery of this targeted affordability measure. This includes an additional $4.3 million from the 2023–24 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) to extend the free services to 31 December 2025.
Religious Happenings
The Loreto Girls prepared a beautiful celebration for our Mass last Wednesday. The theme of our celebration was about ‘Giving’ to others during Lent. Giving love, time, understanding and help to other people are ways that we can follow the message of Jesus. Love is something special that comes from God. Real love means being patient and quiet and calm. It means being kind. During this time of Lent, Jesus shows us the real example of love. We are called to share our love of God and our love of neighbour in all we say and do to each other.
NAPLAN
Week 7
Wednesday 13th March - Writing
Thursday 14th March - Reading
Week 8
Monday 18th March -Language Conventions
Tuesday 19th March - Numeracy
SPB4L Focus
Week 2 & 3
Safe- We arrive and leave the school grounds safely
Week 4 & 5
Safe - We are safe when we follow the playground rules.
Week 6 & 7
Responsible - We pack enough healthy food for the entire school day.
2024 Leadership Team
Swimming Stars!
Our swimming team made a splash at the Northern Region carnival in Gulgong! Sacred Heart students showcased true pride and sportsmanship, proving that dedication and hard work truly pays off. Congratulations to Rex for securing a spot at the Diocesan carnival in Dubbo – a well-deserved achievement. A big thank you to all involved in making this day a success, and special appreciation to All Hallows for hosting an outstanding event!
Congratulations to Rex, who showcased outstanding skills at the Diocesan carnival in Dubbo on Wednesday. Rex not only advanced to Polding Level at Homebush but also delivered a stellar performance with remarkable personal best times.
- 3rd 50m Junior Boys Breaststroke
- 3rd 50m Boys 10 years Freestyle
- 1st 50m Junior Boys Butterfly
- 1st 200m Junior Boys Individual Medley
Well done, we wish you all the success at the Polding carnival in April.
Creative Arts with Mrs Pettet
Music-Drama-Dance (MDD) lessons have started for the year for all students, with the added bonus of me (Mrs Pettet) being able to teach Visual Arts to Kindergarten. Tuesday afternoon sees MDD with Year 1/2 and Wednesday with Years 3/4/5/6. Each Thursday is when our new Kindergartens engage in Visual Arts and MDD. Exploring the elements of Music, such as duration and dynamics, will be the focus throughout all music lessons for each class. Kindergarten and Yr 1/2 will play a range of percussion instruments to explore the various elements, and Yr 3456 will predominantly be playing the ukulele. Puppetry has been, and will continue to be a common theme in our Drama lessons for all classes. For Kindergarten, Visual Arts will centre on art connected to popular picture books.
Below are some photographs of students using toys as puppets, as well as some of the fabulous self-portraits that our budding Kindergarten artists created using paint and oil based crayons.
News with Kindergarten Term 1 2024
Students in Kindergarten have been working so hard so far this year! In English they’re already showing great progress with their reading and writing skills. In Maths, they’ve been learning subitising , which is the ability to recognise numbers without counting. They’re also doing a fantastic job sorting and classifying objects based on their attributes. They’ve been tending to our school chickens, it’s so heartwarming to see them nurturing and connecting with nature. Our afternoon movement breaks include our move to learn program and often a Bluey freeze dance which they love. During sports time, they’ve been hitting balls like pros! Their energy and enthusiasm are truly inspiring. Keep up the great work Kindergarten!
Working hard in English
Maths
Tending to the chickens
Move to Learn
Sport
P and F Committee 2024
Thank you to all the parents who attended our P & F AGM meeting on Monday 4th March. Thank you to the 2023 committee for all your hard work and efforts over the last twelve months in raising money to support the school.
The New Committee elected for 2024 is
President - Fiona Morse
Secretary - Tori Martin
Treasurer- Lisa Jones
Fundraising- Anna Dunlop, Mandy Player, Kimba Thomas
Next meeting will be Tuesday 2nd April 2024 - straight after school
St Patricks Day & Boot Bash
As St. Patrick's Day falls on a weekend this year, children will have the opportunity to wear a 'splash' of green next Friday 15th March.
We will also be raising money for the Coolah Country Education Foundation with a 'Boot Bash' and in addition to wearing a splash of green, children are able to wear their favourite boots, whether they are riding boots, work boots or gumboots.
A gold coin donation on the day would be greatly appreciated and all money raised will go to the Coolah Country Education Foundation.
eSaftey webinar
Our first eSafety Commissioner webinar is coming up in a month. This event for parents and carers is called ‘Understanding parental controls to safeguard your child’ and is all about different types of parental controls and how to set them on smart devices and computers, in apps and on gaming platforms for your child’s safety. It’s suitable for parents and carers of primary school-aged students.
26 March 2024
7.30pm – 8pm
We hope you can join us!
Please click the link to register: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/3100911298333648471
Tongy Lane announcement
