Welcome to Week One

It is so wonderful to be back, and I say that with all sincerity. It is wonderful to see the students again, to see our new kindergarten students all shiny and fresh, to see our teachers spending extra hours to make school a success, to see our new families eager to be a part of our beautiful community and to see all that can be possible this new year and new decade.

The first three days passed in a heat haze and we are definitely looking forward to the weekend and a cool change. We have hit an all-time high with enrolments and this is testament to the excellent reputation that our school holds in the community.

Next week promises more feverish action as we will hold our swimming carnival next Thursday 6 February. If you are able to assist please contact Mrs Litchfield or Mrs Gale. We are always looking out for extra helpers. We would also love to see as many parents and families there to cheer on our students as they participate and try their best.

We will also hold our Opening School Mass at 10am on Friday 7^th February. At this Mass we will invest our new School and House leaders for 2020. All families and members of the Sacred Heart Parish are very welcome. Fr Lolesio will return home from holidays in time to lead us in this important celebration. In recognition of the important part that our parish plays in our school community our leaders will also be presented at the Saturday 8^th February Vigil Mass at 6pm. Again, everyone is most welcome to be part of this mass and to join us afterwards for a BBQ tea on the school lawns beside the COLA.

This Saturday 1 February we will host our first fundraising venture for 2020. We have been allocated the proceeds from the Saturday night Bingo draws at the S & C Club. Our wonderful P & F committee will man the event and hold a cake stall throughout the evening. If you would like to join us please ring the Club to book a table or you might like to donate some cakes or slices. These donations can be left at the club prior to the event. It is open from 6.30 for a 7.30pm start.

Thank you to all the families who have ensured that all students are decked out in the correct uniform. We will update the uniform policy and send a copy home in next week’s newsletter. For the Year 6 students who are patiently waiting for their Year 6 shirts there has been a problem with the supplier and the larger shirts have been on back order. To aim for equity, all shirts will be handed out at school once the complete order has been filled. I appreciate that monies were paid back in November but many suppliers shut down over the Christmas and January period. Please contact the school if there are any issues.

We have been in regular contact with our system schools in fire-affected areas and we are waiting on a response from them about how we best can support their families and students. No school’s infrastructure was damaged but many families in the Broulee, Pambula, Adelong, Braidwood, Batlow and Tumut areas have lost homes and livelihoods. We will coordinate a school response once we know how best we can help them. Please keep these communities in your prayers. Aside from schools directly affected by bushfires, many schools have experienced extended periods of poor air quality due to smoke. Given the variability of air quality through the course of the day each school is to individually assess the air quality based on observations and make appropriate decisions. Exercising common sense in the local context will provide the best response. Please contact me if you have any concerns.

Over the coming weeks there will be numerous notes sent home in regards to sporting and school events and other pertinent school information. Please read carefully and return to school promptly if required. All notes will still be accessible through the website. We hope to have a new website operational in the next week or two as we switch over to a new platform. We will strive to make it as user friendly as we can so that we can continue to help you stay informed about all things Sacred Heart.

This year we are fortunate to be able to reinstate PCAs for our secondary classes. Traditionally the PCA is the first point of contact for the students and the parents about any issues or relevant information that affects the student. They will also be making contact with new families in the coming weeks to introduce themselves and to check in on the transition to our school. The PCAs for 2020 are: Year 7 Ms Marsay, Year 8 Ms Buchanan, Year 9 Mrs Murray and Year 10 Mr Mahon. We thank them for their willingness to be an additional support to our students.

Over the holiday period many teachers spent an inordinate amount of time preparing for a seamless start to the school year. Unfortunately there are always unforeseen issues that impact on the very best planning, like timetable constraints and variable classroom needs. We aim to keep these to a minimum and as stress free as possible. We will be assessing the needs of individual classes in regards to classroom support in the initial weeks and we hope that we can successfully meet the needs of all our students, but we only have a finite budget and limited resources on which to draw. Please be patient as we work out the best possible solutions for all our class groupings. So too, our new Classroom Support Teacher Mr Ken Mooney will be making contact with families to plan meetings and adjust personalised plans for the new school year. Mr Mooney is very excited at the prospect of working closely with our students and families to support students in the classroom.

Next week we will resume the regular newsletter sent out each Tuesday unless there are extenuating circumstances. I am really looking forward to all that 2020 has to offer and the challenges we will conquer together.

Remember if you have a choice between being exceptional or kind, be exceptionally kind. And as St Mary of the Cross declares, “We must take things quietly and just do what our good God enables, and no more”.

Blessings,

Mrs Nicky Trinder