Sacred Heart Primary School, Cunnamulla eNewsletter

Principal Report

Our first term for 2023 is about to conclude and we are all ready for a well-deserved Easter break. I have been excited to see how well our classes have worked this term, all diving into learning and trying hard to use both the Habits of the Heart and mind in order to be good people and good learners!

We recently presented our Year Six leaders with their badges which were blessed by Fr Shane in our leadership liturgy. We trust that our leaders will lead with courage and will represent our school with pride. I congratulate our leaders and look forward to working with them to continue to make Sacred Heart a great place.

Over the last fortnight our Year 3 and 5 students competently completed their online NAPLAN tests. They did such a great job navigating the digital platform and worked hard to write, read, spell and complete numeracy questions to the best of their ability. Congratulations students, a job well done! We will receive the results of these tests later in the year.

This week we once again revisited two of our Habits of the Heart – Belonging and Compassion. We have been working out what these ideas are all about, how we can define them, what skills we need to do them and finally how they relate. The students in the lower school did a great job sorting examples into Belonging, Compassion or both categories, while the upper school were able to concept map these and make connections between them. Please have a look at the display cabinet near the church to see some of the work that the students have been doing on Belonging and Compassion.

We will farewell our talented music teacher - Mr Nicholas Whatling this term as he heads off to a new job in Brisbane. We thank Mr Whatling for his hard work with the instrumental music students over the past two years. I am sure he will enjoy being back in the 'big smoke'. Further information about his replacement will be shared once we have recieved it.

Over the holidays I will be having a little procedure on my back which hopefully will not impact too greatly on my return to school next term. I will be away for the first part of the first week but am hoping to return by the end of the first week. Miss Lewis will be the point of contact for any matters that require leadership support. Mrs Rachel Coggan (Education Officer from TCS) will be visiting in Week 1. She will run the professional development for teachers on Monday 17^th April. We look forward to welcoming students back on Tuesday 18^th April.

Other exciting news for the beginning of the holiday period is the upcoming wedding of Miss Ellie Ferguson. Ellie and Tyla will celebrate their wedding this weekend and we wish them much love and happiness for the future. We will definitely share some pictures of this happy occasion with you all next term.

Have a safe and happy Easter break.

Cara Haig

Principal

Prep

We made it! Our Prep class has made it through their first term at Sacred Heart! The students should be very proud of all they have achieved this term.

In English, we concluded our Rhyming and Writing unit by creating our own sentences to be added to the story. This definitely tested our sounds and punctuation skills.

It was exciting times in Prep as we planned our favourite friend Koala’s 5th Birthday! Students were asked to plan a birthday celebration for Koala by decorating a space, planning the events throughout the day and writing a sentence about our favourite decoration at the party. The students were also asked to discuss why birthdays are important.

Students then celebrated Koala’s birthday by playing party games like pass the parcel, having a cake to share and singing the birthday song.

Thank you to all families and friends for your continued support this term. The students have had a very successful start to their schooling journey, and I am very excited for more memories to be created this year. I wish you all a relaxing and happy school holidays and a happy Easter! See you next term!

Miss Aimee Bretherton

Prep Teacher

We made it! Welcome to the end of Term 1! I can’t believe we are here already! They do say time flies when you’re having fun and boy haven’t, we had some fun this term!

The Year 1’s have been busy finishing off their work over the last fortnight.

In English we have continued to explore syllables and how we can chunk our words using them. We have also continued to identify vowel sounds in words and have learnt a vowel song, which has become a part of our daily routine. The students are becoming quitter confident in their ability to identify vowels in words and have been applying this knowledge when we read.

In Maths we have continued to focus on recognising and representing numbers to 50, and some of us to 100. We have used blocks, teddys, counters and played to show collections of objects, as well as using playdough to make the numbers. The students also continued to develop their knowledge of addition. We have been using double sided counters to explore the relationship between numbers to make a total of ten- also known as rainbow facts! To extend this and create a tool for future use, we coloured in a rainbow and filled in the dots that represent the number fact relationships to ten.

This week is our last swimming lesson until Term 4! Last week the students demonstrated the skills they have learnt over the last term to move their bodies through the water both with and without equipment.

Thank you all for a lovely term and I hope you all have a refreshing and relaxing holiday. Happy Easter and I will see you next term.

Miss Ellie Charlton

Year 1 Teacher

Year 2

With the end of the first term upon us, we are finishing off our work and assessing, in addition to practising for our Easter liturgy. Pleased to report though, that we have made room for fun as well and the children have been enjoying making a few Easter treats and doing some art activities.

With our sentence unit taught and assessed, our lessons in English have been integrated into other subject areas over the last week or so. Much time and effort were put into reading this term and it certainly paid off. Our nightly reading practise is so important, and I ask that you keep up the good work next term too. Our writing is coming along as well, with spelling and punctuation becoming more accurate.

In Maths, we’ve continued with our exploration of number and have mainly concentrated on addition strategies since our last class news. Making combinations to 10, adding 10, making and adding doubles and near doubles have been our areas of focus, while continuing our consolidation of place value. Learning to skip count means very little until the children understand the actual value of the number.

In HASS, we have identified important places in our community, concentrating on our own homes first and learning our address. We have discussed what a community means, before identifying places in our town that tell us about the past. Locating these places on a town map of Cunnamulla was an interesting exercise and then learning about the history of our Parish buildings from our guest speakers, Chris Mills and Jan Gorrie. Early in term two, we shall go on to record this information before presenting it to the class orally.

The children have all worked hard this term and a well-deserved rest is certainly what we all need. I wish you a safe and happy holiday with your family and friends and look forward to welcoming you back on April 18 for the beginning of term two.

Mrs Jenny Shellshear

Year 2 Teacher

Year 3/4

We are officially at the end of Term 1 – half-way through Semester 1. I am so proud of all the academic and personal growth of the Year 3/4 Students.

Over the past week, our class has continued to learn about the important roles and responsibilities of local governments. We went on an excursion to the Paroo Shire Council Town Office, where students interviewed CEO, Cassie White, and toured the office. Thank you so much to the Paroo Shire Council Office who welcomed our class. A few students were asked what their favourite part of the excursion was – “Learning more about the role of the CEO”, “Seeing their cool meeting rooms” and “Asking them lots of questions”.

This week, students will be finishing up assessment tasks and learning about Lent and the celebrations associated with it. Our last swimming lesson will be this Friday and students will be completing challenges in the pool.

I hope you all have a lovely holiday break and Easter.

Miss Lilly Daly

Year 3/4 Teacher

Year 5/6

Welcome to week 10! Looking back over the fortnight the 5/6 students have been extremely busy. Week 8 started with the year 5 students completing their NAPLAN testing. It was a long three days and I think it’s safe to say we are all glad it’s done and dusted for the year. On the Friday of week 8 the Year 6s were beaming with excitement as they received their long-awaited leadership badges. I was extremely proud of all the 5/6 students as they displayed great courage in leading the leadership liturgy.

Last Wednesday the 5/6 students were very lucky to have their very own netball lesson by the lovely Vicki Wilson, an Australian netball coach. The students learnt agility, speed, and teamwork skills through a variety of games. It was a lot of fun; the students could have stayed with Miss Vicki all day.

Unfortunately, there was still lots of learning to be had so we had to return to class. In maths we finished our study of coordinates and cartesian planes with a good game of battleships and a school wide scavenger hunt. We are now deep into learning about chance. Math lessons are a highlight of each day as we play an abundance of chance games to help us in identifying observed and expected frequencies of different events.

In Religion we have been learning about how Judaism began and the important traditions of the religion. In HASS we have been learning to evaluate primary and secondary sources. We have also been fine tuning our researching skills in preparation for our next research task on a country in Asia. In 5/6 we have deeply enjoyed learning about our neighbouring continent and find the diversity of countries extremely fascinating.

As always, our weeks have finished with swimming lesson where we have not only been improving our strokes but also our lifesaving skills. We are very excited for this coming Friday where we will be undergoing some swimming challenges.

We were also lucky to have Vicki Wilson visit and show us some Netball skills.

It has been a lovely yet busy term. I hope you all enjoy your well-deserved break and have a wonderful Easter.

Miss Abby Davidson

Year 5/6 Teacher

Class Awards

Birthdays

Parent/Teacher Interviews

Parent/Teacher interviews are held twice a year in Term 2 and Term 4. These take place after school and run for 15 minutes. They are a valuable opportunity for parents to discuss their child/children progress across all aspects of school life. Interviews will be taking place in Term 2, Week 2 (Monday 24th, Wednesday 26th, Thursday 27th & Friday 28th April ). I encourage every parent to make an appointment. Please see or phone Mrs Crick to book an interview time.

Absenteeism

A recent study by Andrew Forrest, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, identified that if a child’s school attendance falls below 90% (ie they frequently miss more than half a day of school a week) their education is considered at risk. If attendance falls below 80% (ie they miss a day of school every week) their education is significantly diminished. In other words...

less than 80% attendance - no better than no schooling at all
90% attendance is required for a child to receive the education needed for job readiness
attendance is even more important than the quality of the school.

This research is powerful stuff that really quantifies what teachers and principals have known for years.

A recent State of the Sector Report from the Queensland Catholic Education Commission identified that in 2022, the Semester 1 attendance rate for Queensland Catholic schools was 88%.

Sport

Congratulations to Maximus Jordan and Kaydan Munn- McFarlane for being selected to represent the South West Region for Rugby League. This will take place in Term 2.

State Swimming Championships

Congratulations to Penny Schmidt who represented the South West Region at the State Swimming Championships this week.

SHPS Cross Country
On Friday, 28th April (Term2 Week 2) is our school cross country. Students aged from 2018- 2015 will complete their cross country run on the school oval. Students aged from 2014 - 2011 will complete their run out at the Cunnamulla Golf Course. If you are able to assist with transporting students to the Golf Club, please contact Mrs Crick at the school office.

Class swimming days and times for Term 1 are:

Thursdays:
Year 1 & 2 – 12.15pm – 12.45pm
Prep – 2.15pm 2.45pm
Fridays:
Year 3/4 – 12.15pm – 12.45pm
Year 5/6 – 2.15pm 2.45pm
District, Regional and State Sports
This year we will continue to work with the Cunnamulla Sate School to support the district and regional school sports of Swimming, Cross Country, Athletics, Rugby League, Touch Football and Netball. However, if you wish for your child to participate in an additional sport listed below you are welcome to pursue that yourself, we will provide you the information. The timetable of regional trail dates for this Term are as below. *Please note that students need to participate in a district trial before a regional trial*.

Chess Club

For the last five weeks students from Sacred Heart Parish School have been attending the weekly afterschool chess club. Where students have entered learning the very basics from what the pieces are, how they move and how to prepare a board, to now having the ability to comprehend the game enought to invade check and capturing the oppositions king.

From chess club over the next two weeks, the wonderful volunteering parents will be running an in-house chess competition, to identify the elite chess players within our cohort, who will further on their chess journey to compete in the Toowoomba Catholic Schools Inaugural Interschool Chess Tournament. A great opportunity for students to meet and play against other chess enthusiasts.

A massive thank you needs to go to the volunteering parents Ian and Josh, QPS Liaison Officers, CACH Deadly Choices team, as well as the fabulous volunteering SHPS Teacher Mrs Shellshear.

Uniform Policy

Uniform and Hair

A gentle reminder that school uniform is very important to us at Sacred Heart. It shows pride and helps us all feel that we belong. Please make sure that students are wearing correct uniform (including white socks and plain black shoes) and that their hair is neat and tidy. We have noticed a number of students with hair below the collar that is not tied up and a number of rats tails that do not look neat and tidy. It is preferable that no rats tails or long mullet hair styles are seen at school, they are more suited to holiday time. Your child’s teacher may contact you to discuss hair styles.

Hats: Our school policy is ‘NO HAT – NO PLAY’. A green school hat must be worn and can be purchased form the office.

Jewellery: The only jewellery allowed is one set of fine studs or sleepers, a chain with some form of religious significance and watches.

Nail Polish: Nail polish is not to be worn.

Student Protection

At Sacred Heart the safety and wellbeing of our students is our highest priority. All children should grow up free of violence or exploitation and be able to learn in a safe and supported environment. Schools have a number of specific child protection reporting obligations that are detailed in our Student Protection Processes and Guidelines.

It is a legislative requirement that all non-state schools have at least two nominated staff members to whom a student can report the behaviour of another staff member that the student considers inappropriate. We call these specially trained staff members School Student Protection Contacts, or SSPCs. Each SSPC has been nominated by the principal in recognition of their integrity, approachability and knowledge in the area of student protection. Whilst students are encouraged to speak up to any trusted adult in the school community, it is important that they know they can access these specific staff members at any time should they have worries, queries or concerns. You will have noticed posters throughout the school depicting our current SSPCs. The SSPCs are also published on our school website along with information about our student protection processes. In everything we do at Sacred Heart Primary School student safety is our highest priority, therefore the SSPCs at our school are key personnel in our overall safeguarding processes.

If a student wants to talk to someone about harm, abuse or inappropriate behaviour toward themselves or others, they can speak to a trusted staff member or one of our School Student Protection Contacts (SSPCs). The SSPCs receive additional training and are identified in the student protection posters displayed around the school.

Summary documents have been developed for parents and caregivers about our student protection obligations and our broader strategy for maintaining safe school environments.

Further information on all of the above topics can be found on the Toowoomba Catholic Schools website at the link below:

Embed Link - https://www.twb.catholic.edu.au/parents-and-community/student-protection/

Our Schools Student Protection Contacts are:

Miss Ailie Lewis (APRE)
Mrs Carolyn Crick (Administration Officer)
Mrs Cara Haig (Principal)

Sacred Heart Parent Partnership Forum

The Parent Partnership Forum will be holding their AGM on Tuesday 2nd May 2023 @ 5.30pm. We are looking for a Chairperson and a Secretary.

The Parent Partnership Forum supports the work of the principal and staff in implementing a comprehensive and contemporary education program. Parents have an advisory role in decisions made in the development and implementation of the strategic plan and policies of the school as well as the provision of resources which support the educational endeavour of the school.

Sacred Heart Primary School is committed to promoting and nurturing active partnerships with families and the wider community so that all have authentic opportunities to participate in the life and activities of the Student learning is enriched through positive and reciprocal partnerships with parents.

Tuckshop

We are still looking for volunteers and cake cookers to run tuckshop on a Friday. If you can spare one Friday a term, can you please let Mrs Crick know at the office. Tuckshop runs from 9am – 1.30pm

Flexischools App

The tuckshop uses the App called Flexischools. This will make ordering and paying for Tuckshop easier. Attached are the instructions to download and use the App. Make sure you update your child's class name.

School Tuition Fees

School Accounts have been sent out. Can these please be paid by the end of Term 1. At Sacred Heart, we have several payment options for your convenience: Cash, Cheque, ETPOS, Direct Debit and Centrepay. For further details on these payment options please see the school office.

Sacred Heart Parish

Church Times

Sunday 2nd April - Mass @ 9am
Holy Thursday 6th April - Mass @ 5.30pm
Good Friday 7th April - Mass @3pm
Easter Saturday 8th April - Mass @ 5.30pm
Sunday 16th April - Mass @ 9am
Sunday 23rd April - Mass @ 9am
Sunday 30th April - Mass @ 9am

Community News

Four of our students Maggie-Jo, Mia , Brooke and Charlie will be participating in the 'Dance like an Animal" performance on Wednesday 29th March @ Cunnamulla Shire Hall.