Sacred Heart Central School Cootamundra eNewsletter

NAPLAN week is upon us and we have already completed many of the different range of tests across our Years 3, 5, 7 & 9 classes. Thank you to our students who have come prepared with all the equipment ready and charged to complete their best work in the nation-wide tests. It is a mammoth endeavour to organise as we battle shortages of space and staff to ensure a suitable environment for our students. Thank you to Ms Marsay and the staff who have supported this mandatory annual testing. We will continue into the next week with testing and will have to manage additional testing days for catch up tests. If your child is going to be away next week and tests are scheduled please contact the school because the paperwork to complete around students missing from tests is to be completed within the testing period.

IMPORTANT: The NAPLAN testing period commenced this week on 12 March and will conclude on 24 March. Please refer to the testing schedule regarding the dates and times for their tests to help avoid any clashes with appointments and other commitments. Please try to avoid making any external appointments during this time. Ms Marsay has sent out expectations and details for all students regarding their iPads and testing expectations.

This afternoon will be the annual Colour Run - a highlight on the school's calendar. It is a lovely festive and fun evening for families. It is an evening of good, “clean” fun. It will be run throughout the school campus along the usual route and registrations will be available from 5pm for a 5.30pm start. $10 per person or $30 for a family of 4. BBQ and drinks will be available for sale and our wonderful Canteen manager Amanda will have the canteen open with all the usual goodies for sale. Please note that EFTPOS is available for registrations but we prefer CASH at the BBQ please. Thank you to the P & F for all their efforts to organise another social function for our community and raise funds for our school at the same time.

As we move through the term there have been some fantastic learning opportunities for our students. Our secondary students have visited the creek and done soil sampling, others have started their archaeological digs, cooked lots of pavlovas and other Australian dishes and so many other fabulous learning moments. Keep an eye on Facebook for the visual gallery of some of these experiences. Already there has been some thorough planning for the 2025 excursion programs. The Year 7 immersion and retreat to Camp Hudson is coming up quickly, the Year 9 Sydney trip are researching places to visit, Year 8s trip to the coast is now on the calendar and Stage 3 have already begun fundraising to offset costs for their trip to Canberra. We are grateful for the enthusiastic support for our excursion program and look forward to many other opportunities for our students. Please keep an eye out for COMPASS requests for deposits to secure bookings.

Hopefully everyone has made note that the schedule and form for Primary assemblies is changing. With the refurbishment we do not have the space for the traditional K-6 assembly and this has necessitated a few tweaks, modifications and changes to how we celebrate learning in each class and Stage. Stay tuned for the new model and schedule. Also due to the lack of space we have split into K-2 and 3-6 for the Monday in-school assemblies. This has traditionally been where school announcements have been made and class awards for the week have been presented. We have also nominated this time for the presentation of the Bronze Award. (Parents are not in attendance at these assemblies). We are working to find a better model of awards and presentation opportunities to celebrate the positive experiences of our students.

Next term our school will go under the microscope in an external audit of our procedures, practices and processes to ensure we meet compliance requirements. This is a 5 Year cycle and our staff are busy preparing for the inspection which will happen in early May. Thank you to our staff for all that they do to ensure that our students get the very best education and care.

REMINDER: School Photo envelopes have been sent home. Please drag them out of the bottom of bags so that you can get your order in before the day - 26 March. We would greatly appreciate that you avoid appointments on this day and that students continue to abide by the uniform policy in all aspects.

Remember it does not cost anything to be kind and it is one of the greatest gifts that you can give.

God Bless

Ms Nicky Trinder

Principal

Yr 6 Reflection Day

On Wednesday Yr. 6 gathered at Dickson Hall to enjoy their Reflection Day. The theme of the day was “Let Your Light Shine.” The focus of the day was to look at our special gifts and talents and how we should use them. The students engaged in a range of activities including games, singing, prayers, media presentations and group discussions to explore this theme. Thank you to Mrs McLeod and Mrs Randall for supporting us on this special day.

Yr 1 Reflection Day

On Thursday Yr. 1 gathered at Dickson Hall to enjoy their Reflection Day. The theme of the day was "Caring for God’s Creation.” The focus of the day was to look at all the wonderous things that are part of creation and how we can care for them. The students engaged in a range of activities including craft, singing, prayers, Godly Play and a nature walk. Thank you to Mrs Alexander, Ms Heggaton Mrs Maher, Mrs Vitnell and Mrs Gammon for supporting us on this special day.

Project Compassion Week 2

LAM from VIETNAM

Lam was born and raised in rural Vietnam with his farming parents and three siblings. As a 27-year-old man of very short stature, he experienced significant physical and social barriers due to his disability.

When Lam graduated high school, many of his fellow students pursued career aspirations at university. But it wasn’t the same for Lam, whose physical disability meant few vocations available to him. Without access to employment opportunities, he stayed at home with his parents in their rural home where he spent most of his time completing household chores with his family, harvesting vegetables, feeding chickens and cooking meals. Lam felt increasingly isolated and felt disconnected from his friends, from society and from his dream of becoming a graphic designer.

"I'm really self-conscious about my height. It feels like getting around and doing a lot of basic tasks are a major undertaking for me,” Lam said. “Since it's not easy for me to get out and about, I tend to keep to myself and don't interact with others all that much.”

Caritas Australia’s partner in Vietnam, Catholic Relief Services (CRS), opened the door for Lam to pursue his dream of becoming a graphic designer. The I-SHINE program is designed to help children and youth with disabilities in Vietnam access education, vocational training and start-up opportunities to generate an income.

Upcoming Faith Formation Events

First Eucharist and Reconciliation Sacramental Program Weeks 1-7

First Eucharist and Reconciliation Sacramental Twilight Retreat 20^th March

First Eucharist Sacramental Mass 22^nd March

Passion of Our Lord Yr 9 Enactment (School) Thursday 10^th April 10am

Passion of Our Lord Yr 9 Enactment (Parish) Friday 18^th April 10am

Infants/Primary Awards
ES1B	ES1N
Matilda Kelleher	Emma Kingston-Jones
Stevie Shaw	Caleb Waters
S1B	S1G
Ava Vesperman	Tyler Reid
Jaxon Talbot	Rex Day
Arabella Friend	S1W
Florence Knight	Charley Harriott
S1M	Cody Moore
Lacey Waters	S2B
Angus Gay	Ivy Turner
S2G	S3D
Chloe Willock	Theo Hinds
Blake England	Rose Dickinson
S3G	S3M
Lachlan Cram	Max Winsor
Sonny Kane	Leo Sutherland
Secondary House Points winner
Declan Emery

Stage 3 Easter Raffle

Stage 3 are running an Easter raffle this term to raise funds for their end of year excursion. There will be a number of Easter hampers as prizes and tickets are available from the front office for $1 each.

There will also be a number of opportunities for students to buy tickets from the student leaders in Week 8 and 9.

Primary Sport

Rugby 10s

An event has gone out on compass for this year's Rugby 10. If your child wishes to play please accept ASAP. If you are able to assist on the day this would also be greatly appreciated.

C&G Sporting Representatives

This program is an opportunity for our stage 3 students to trial and represent their sport at a higher level. It is up to parents to register for these events. Please go to https://csnsw.sport/sports/nswccc to register for any of these events. Please feel free to join the Canberra Goulburn Facebook page and access their calendar by this link.

Athletics

Our SHC Athletics carnival is again set for early term 2, therefore we will start trialling and learning how to perform some of these events from week 6 this term. These will -include, High Jump, Discus, long distance running, Long Jump and Shot Put. The top 8-10 students for High Jump and Discus will compete on the day. Students will be given the opportunity to practise and improve on these throughout the weeks.

Primary Sport Dates