Week 2 is nearly done and dusted and what a week it has been. As I write this on Thursday afternoon I am praying and hopeful that the All Schools Coota Beach Volleyball Carnival will go ahead. After this week’s experience of extreme weather early Monday morning, we are praying that there will not be a repeat of bad weather that will prevent the carnival going ahead. So much work goes into preparing any carnival but the effort to work in with the Town committee, the regional schools, the catering needs and managing over 600 students has been significant. The generosity of our school community has also been exceptional (as usual) and we have been inundated with donations to help us make some valuable funds for our school. Thank you to our dedicated staff who have devoted hours to making this event a reality.

Already we are back into the swing of the academic school year and classes have begun in earnest. We are trying to prioritise the teaching of literacy and numeracy in our Infants and Primary spaces by eliminating interruptions and missed lessons. This means that we have timetabled our literacy block into the first two hours of the school day and we would hope that nothing interrupts this teaching time except in extenuating situations. If you have to make an appointment for your child we would encourage you to avoid making them in literacy time (9-11am) and numeracy (11.45-12.45pm). There are some exceptions to this time frame in Stage 3 to accommodate library periods but this is the limit of the interruptions we hope.

The Annual Swimming Carnival was a fabulous success. We navigated and managed the heat of last week and did our very best to have the carnival over by the time the heat peaked later in the afternoon. The students were outstanding. There was strong participation especially from our senior boys and there was a positive and enthusiastic attitude the whole day. Thank you to the staff who coordinated the day and to all those who assisted in any way. Information about pathways will be available for students progressing to the next level.  

We are edging closer to the time when the primary students can move into the refurbished primary building. We are just waiting on the doors and then we can begin the massive process of moving all the resources, supplies and students back into the new spaces. It looks fabulous and will hopefully translate into fabulous learning spaces where our students excel.

Next Monday 17^th February we will host the Year 7 Information Session in Rooms 7 & 8 followed by a shared BBQ. The K-6 Information Evening will be held on Tuesday 18^th February in the Infants Breakout Space. The Infants session will begin at 5.30 to be followed by the Primary presentation at 6.15. All Infants and Primary families are invited to share a BBQ dinner at the conclusion of the presentations at 7pm. Please RSVP to the Front Office for catering purposes. Babysitting is available.

In finishing this newsletter it is now Friday afternoon and our All Schools Coota Beach Volleyball Carnival was an enormous success. We prayed that the weather would not turn nasty to stop us hosting the 3^rd annual event and our prayers were answered. It was a fabulous day with a wonderful atmosphere and great fun. We thank all those who helped to make it such a success and we look forward to making it even better next year. A full update will be included in next week’s newsletter.

Have a fabulous weekend. If you are one of the 191 teams that will compete on Saturday then I hope you also have enormous fun and a safe weekend.

God Bless

Ms Nicky Trinder

Principal

Student and Family Counselling

The Student and Family Counsellor works with students, families, and school staff to build safety, recovery, relationships, and resilience for a child / young person’s social, emotional, and educational wellbeing. To do this, the Student and Family Counsellor can provide support though:
• Individual one-on-one counselling with children at school
• Supporting families with referrals to external supports where required
• Facilitating therapeutic/psychoeducational groups for student cohorts
• Facilitating psychoeducational groups for parents/carers
• Providing professional development for school staff

Student and Family Counsellors are often the first port of call for students and families that are struggling, some of the areas where the Student and Family Counsellor can help are:
• Anxiety
• Social skills
• Emotions
• Healthy relationships
• Divorce/Separation
• Behavioural issues
• Worry
• Coping skills

Our Student and Family Counsellor Bio

My name is Natalie, and I have been part of the Marymead CatholicCare Student and Family Counselling team since 2024, and I currently support 3 regional schools as a student and family counsellor.

I have a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s in counselling. I am passionate about supporting children and families and prior to my current role as student and family counsellor I worked in Family Preservation. This gave me a keen insight into the importance of early intervention and working wholistically with a child’s support network.

If you would like further information, feel free to touch base with any questions or concerns relating to the counselling service at your school. You can contact me by calling Sacred Heart on Wednesdays or Thursdays or you can email anytime at natalie.cowled@mccg.org.au

I look forward to working with you and your school throughout 2025!

Need support?

If you believe your child may benefit from counselling and would like to make a referral, you can do so by following the link below:

https://catholiccare.force.com/housing/s/school-referral-form