Thanksgiving Prayer

Lord Jesus,

We believe that you are really present among us.

We thank You for the graces of primary school days, for the work we have done, for the friendships we have made.

We come today to renew our love and loyalty to You and ask You to bless our future.

Bless each member of our class.

Make us firm in our faith and always true to You.

May You always be someone real in our lives.

Because we believe You love each one of us we place our future in your care, confident of Your loving protection.

Lord, we know that You too will love us always and pray that we too, will love without ceasing, now and for all eternity.

Amen

Year 6 Thanksgiving Mass

Today we celebrated a milestone in the lives of our Year 6 students as we joined with them and their families at the Thanksgiving Mass.  It was a lovely time to stop and reflect on our Year 6 students and where their journey has taken them. Sacred Heart is a special place and we continue to celebrate life. Our students recognised all that they have to be thankful for and were especially grateful for all their parents, teacher, friends and school had given to them. The Thanksgiving Prayer reinforced the important part their Faith plays and that their relationship with Jesus is for now and always. We will continue to pray that Jesus will be an important part in their lives as they journey forward.

Leadership  2019

This week many of our aspiring future leaders presented to the staff and their peers their understanding of leadership, what it takes to be a good leader and why they would relish the challenge to be the representatives for the student body. The Year 9 student speeches were exceptional and a credit to themselves and their families because of the manner and maturity with which they prepared and delivered their speeches. The Year 5 nominees also presented outstanding ideas about leadership and what they could do to make Sacred Heart the best place it could be.  Sacred Heart prides itself on nurturing leadership in so many different ways. Students do not need to wear a badge to model leadership or to embody all we want and hope for our students. Voting was conducted yesterday and the 2019 Leadership Teams will be announced when students return after their excursions in Week 9. We thank all the students who accepted the challenge of standing for leadership.

Supervision on the playground before 8.35 and Breakfast Club

As a school we have always understood the pressures that families face in starting any new school day. This has meant, for a variety of reasons, that many students arrive on the school grounds long before supervision begins at 8.35. Unless there is supervision, students are not to be on the playground and must present to the front office. If, for insurmountable reasons, they must be at school before the official start time they must sit quietly until the first bell. This is an official legal position that has been emphasised by current legislation and Catholic Education. We need to be able to provide adequate supervision from 8.35 until the end of the school day and outside of these times students must remain in the Front Office until a teacher presents for duty. This has also impacted on our ability to provide Breakfast Club on the nominated mornings. Mrs Maher has very generously always given up her time to provide this opportunity but the legal advice has complicated the supervision that is required.  We are considering a range of different options and timings to look at how we can reintroduce this, given current legal constraints, in the new year. We are indebted to Mrs Maher for her generosity of spirit and caring nature. Please ensure then that your child has a suitable breakfast before school as the “toastie” will no longer be offered in its current form.

EXCURSIONS 2018

Next week is our official “Excursion Week” where many classes throughout the school will participate in the annual excursion program for 2018.

MELBOURNE – Year 9

Our Year 9 students with Ms Marsay, Mr Alderman, Mrs Maher and Mr Ruskin will navigate trains, buses, trams and footpaths around Melbourne on the annual sojourn. Here they will be exposed to a bevy of different experiences over the 4 days of their visit. They will visit the MCG, Federation Square, the Melbourne Star Wheel, Chinatown, the Botanical Gardens and the Shrine of Remembrance, the Old Melbourne Gaol, try different cuisines and many other opportunities. These excursions are invaluable experiences for our students as they embrace the challenges of a bustling city. It is a credit to the teachers that they invest so much time and energy to make these trips possible. The amount of paperwork required to take the students out of the school is often excessive but the experiences they have, have always been worth the effort. We look forward to all the stories and pray that all get lots of sleep, especially the teachers.

NAROOMA – Year 8

Our Year 8 students will journey over the mountains to Narooma to revel in the coastal lifestyle for 3 days. They will have surfing lessons, sail to Montague Island, go whale watching, StandUp paddleboarding and kayaking and enjoy the coastal breeze. Many thanks to Ms Buchanan, Mr O’Brien and Mrs Cusack who will be escorting the students. This is a wonderful trip that gives our students the opportunities to try activities and see sites that they may not normally see or do.

BALLARAT – Stage 3

Stage 3 will also travel interstate to see life south of the border. The highlight should be the day at Sovereign Hill complemented by a pantomime presentation, the Eureka Stockade site, paddle steamer ride, Murray Riverbank Walk and other exciting activities like Laser Tag and Ten Pin Bowling. Mrs Maxwell, Mrs Winsor, Mrs McLeod and several excited parents will share the excursion with our 50+ students. Again, many thanks to all staff for giving up their time to make these excursions available to our students.

We pray that all out students and staff travel safely, that they make exciting and inspiring memories in the coming week.

With blessings,

Mrs Janet Cartwright

Principal

janet.cartwright@cg.catholic.edu.au