What a wonderful day was had by all! The K-10 Athletics Carnival last Friday was such a fabulous day as a school community. Friday was a celebration post COVID of all the great things about Sacred Heart. The students and staff enjoyed the opportunity to mark the year with a traditional carnival even if there were no pathways to progress on. All our students had a lovely day in the spring sunshine. Our senior students were such wonderful role models and were supportive and interested in our littlest people. The K-10 carnival was the first in a very long time, if ever. It will be something we continue to offer in years to come. We are very proudly a K-10 school and we will continue to recognise what our students have to offer each other, the school community and themselves.

It is with great pleasure that I announce that Mr Ken Mooney has been offered the position as Assistant Principal for 2021 and moving forward. He has very big shoes to fill in replacing Mrs Katie Thompson who has been an invaluable part of the Sacred Heart community for over 27 years. As Katie and her husband Simon look to make a move to Young in 2021 we will sorely miss the dedication, tenacity and passion that she has brought to Sacred Heart. Mr Mooney is excited about the opportunity to help lead our school on the next part of our journey.

We are entering the important final period of testing and assessments as our year starts to look to the end of the 2020. Students in senior years will be busy preparing for final examinations or assessments and should be spending invaluable time revising and preparing for these exams. Teachers are focused on preparing our students to make the transition to the next stage of their education/learning. Our Year 10s have been exemplary in how they have led the school in these trying times and have only 2 ½ short weeks left in the classroom before their final examinations. Then they will be busy participating in the traditional “Beyond Sacred Heart”. This year it will consist on a COVID friendly program that will culminate in the interviews conducting by ZOOM, of course. We thank Mr Mahon and Ms Withers for all their efforts in making this invaluable experience possible despite the best efforts of COVID to hijack this year. Then they will have two weeks for the work experience opportunity provided all employers have a COVD safe plan.

We aim to teach our students more than syllabus content. We strive to teach them lessons of inclusion and resilience to provide them the skills for life. Last week Ms Withers organised a visit and workshops from Wheelchair Sports NSW for our secondary students and staff. An inspirational young man, who has shown enormous resilience in the face of physical and health challenges, spoke to our students and staff about his trajectory and life experiences. He then taught them some of the finer skills of wheelchair basketball. It was impressive to see his dexterity and ability in a wheelchair where he literally “wiped” the court of any challengers. His message of resilience and courage resonated with all who heard him. We are grateful for the lessons he shared and taught us.

We continue to juggle COVID procedures and policies. There is no relaxing on the mandatory testing for anyone who presents with flu like symptoms, no matter how mild. We will insist on hand hygiene and increased cleaning in line with NSW Health recommendations and policy.

Remember if you have to choose between being extraordinary or kind....Be extraordinarily kind!

Mrs Nicky Trinder

Principal