Sacred Heart Primary School, Cunnamulla eNewsletter

Principal Report

Welcome to Week 8! Students have been hard at work continuing to complete assessment pieces and consolidate their knowledge and skills. In the busyness of the end of term, we continue to remind our students about our school values which are embodied in our school Habits of the Heart and Mind. The habits of belonging, compassion, service, courage, effort, communication, persistence, making connections, curiosity and independence guide us in our learning journey as well in our interactions with others. They clearly outline for us what it is to be a good learner and a good person which is what our students and staff strive to be at Sacred Heart. These values are what makes our school special.

Prep Interviews and Transition Program

Cara and I were delighted to begin interviewing our 2025 Prep students over the last week. They were eager to share their interests with us as well as their hopes and dreams for school.

We look forward to welcoming them to Sacred Heart on Tuesday 10^th September at 9:30am for a Teddy Bear’s Picnic with the Prep students. They have all been buddied up with a 2025 school leader, who can help orientate and welcome them to the school environment. I am sure they will have lots of fun together!

Parent/Teacher Interviews

Parent/Teacher interviews are held twice a year. These take place after school and run for 15 minutes per interview. They are a valuable opportunity for parents to discuss their child’s progress across all aspects of school life. Interviews will be taking place this term in Weeks 9 & 10 (Monday 2^nd – Friday 13^th September. I encourage every parent to make an appointment. Please see or phone the office to book an interview time.

Parent Partnership Forum Meeting

Last Tuesday, we attempted to hold a PPF meeting to share some important information with families regarding learning and up coming building projects. Due to lack of parent attendance this meeting has now been moved to Thursday 5^th September at 3pm. We hope this new time and date will suit more families as we would really appreciate parent engagement and input around these important areas of your child’s schooling.

Book Week Glory!

It was wonderful to hear that the students enjoyed dressing up to celebrate Book Week for 2024. This year’s theme was; Reading is Magic! There was a fabulous array of costumes including some extremely creative homemade works of art. The staff even enjoyed dressing up as the characters from the Wizard of Oz. Book Week gives us an opportunity to celebrate children’s literature and shine a light on the importance of reading.

Australian Athletics Cross Country and Regional Athletics

We wish Penny the best of luck as she heads off to Tasmania this Wednesday to compete in the Australian Athletics Cross Country this week. We also wish Noah and Jase the best of luck as they head off to Chinchilla this Thursday to compete in the Regional Athletics Carnival. I know all three students will try their very best and enjoy the experience!

Pupil Free Day

Remember that this Friday 30^th August is Pupil Free Day. Our staff will be working with teachers from St Mary’s Warwick and St Patrick’s St George, moderating English assessment pieces.

Have a great week.

Polly Goodman

Co-Principal

Prep

Welcome to Week 8! What a fantastic fortnight in Prep, as I start to consolidate and assess what they have learnt over the term.

Within our English exploration, the Prep students have blown me away with their learning and development of ideas. As part of our imaginative vs. informative texts assessment, the students are beginning to prepare for their assessment on fact files and character profiles for various different animals. This activity has been enhancing their writing skills and encouraging bounds of creativity. The rich vocabulary from “Giraffes Can’t Dance” has undoubtedly inspired their descriptive writing about Giraffe’s.

In mathematics, the prep students continue to work really hard in understanding how to collect, sort and compare data. But as we move on from data, we’ve shifted our focus to discovering positions. Understanding spatial concepts is essential for mathematical reasoning.

We are discovering a lot of new concepts in science! Having moved on from plants, we’re now exploring animals. Our study includes understanding external features and grouping animals based on shared characteristics.

Don’t forget, we have a special ‘Father's Day’ liturgy, dedicated to the Prep students' fathers, grandfathers, uncles, pops and loved ones. You are all more than welcome to join! It is this Thursday, with Assembly starting at 8:45am and our liturgy following just after!

Miss Sophie Walker

Prep Teacher

Year 1

Wow! Week 8! This term has definitely been flying by! The Year 1 classroom has been a buzz of activity over the last 2 weeks!

Maths has consisted of us continuing to explore measurement, this time with a focus on mass and capacity. The students have learnt a variety of new vocabulary to use when discussing the mass of objects and comparing these. We have looked at what capacity is and how it can be measured. The students were very interested in the fact that we can’t measure capacity with objects like blocks, we have to use a liquid or very thin solid like rice. Our number focus over the last fortnight has been on skip counting patterns, recognising them, continuing them and creating them. We have looked at 2s, 5s and 10s patterns. The students have begun using this knowledge to count collections and explore how it is more efficient to skip count than count by 1s.

In English we have had a last minute change of direction with our assessment pieces and learning. We have moved from planning a procedure on how to make their inventions to writing a description about the invention they have come up with. This description will allow the students more opportunity to use the wonderful words we have explored throughout this unit and demonstrate their understanding of simple sentences and sentence boundary punctuation. I am very proud of the effort the students have put into this English unit and their growth in vocabulary understanding has been fantastic to see.

We have continued exploring Push and Pull in Science. The students have begun planning and designing different inventions that incorporate push and pull. They have been applying their knowledge of forces and materials throughout this process. I am very excited to see the finished products of these inventions over the coming week!

The Year 1’s have entered the Recycle Mate competition held by the Paroo Shire Council. This has been a fun experience for them as they have used a variety of different recycled materials to make different inventions and art pieces. I look forward to showcasing the students hard work in the next newsletter.

Miss Ellie Charlton

Year 1 Teacher

Year 2

Welcome to Week 8! We’ve had a fantastic and busy couple of weeks in Grade2. The students have put all of their efforts into their learning lately and we are super proud of what they have achieved, they should be very proud of themselves.

We have continued with our study of Night at the Toy Museum in our HASS lessons, where the students are learning about the history of different toys. They have been having an amazing time discovering how toys have changed over the years. Please be aware that we have sent home a note for all students regarding our Night at the Toy Museum night which will be on the 9^th of September.

In English, we have been focusing on understanding story setting and how to enhance our own stories with more detail through nouns, adjectives and verbs. The students are looking at well written stories to help create their own.

In Maths, we have been diving deep into telling the time, both on an analog and a digital clock. We are now learning about calendars and the days, months and weeks of a year. We have also been working hard on understanding the connections between skip counting and multiplication and how we can then use that knowledge when sharing equally between groups as division.

Finally, in Religion we have been learning about the parables of Jesus. These stories have been a wonderful way for us to talk about kindness, forgiveness and other important values.

Please note that we will also be having parent teacher interviews in weeks 9 & 10, we will be contacting parents to organise times.

Thanks for all of your ongoing support. We look forward to more learning adventures to finish off Term 3!

Miss Ailie Lewis & Miss Grace Carter

Year 2 Teachers

Year 3/4

Another fortnight has come and gone and we are eagerly awaiting the end of Term 3 and for school holidays! The 3/4 students have continued to work incredibly hard this fortnight and they are definitely ready for a well deserved break!

This fortnight in English, the students have continued to discussing the book Wandi and the author Pavel Farrett. This text has taught us a lot about Dingoes so far and we have enjoyed being a part of the adventure so far. The students will use this text and what they have learnt so far to create their own persuasive oral presentations. These will be shared in class in front of their peers and teachers. In other English lessons, the students are continuing to develop and extend their vocabulary. They are able to demonstrate a very clear understanding of the 3 Tiers of Vocabulary and what is within each tier. The students are continuing to develop their skills in learning the meanings of the unfamiliar words and using these in a range of situations or scenarios.

In Maths, the students have been hard at working learning about algorithms. We participated in algorithm games and then students used Excel. This was definitely a challenging activity for the students but they demonstrated curiosity, persistence and effort to complete the given tasks. The students have also delved into the world of money! We practiced our giving change skills and participated in some buying activities.

In Religion, the students continued their learning about the Trinity and completed a Frayer Model to demonstrate their understanding. A Frayer Model asks students to define the given word or topic, list characteristics, provide examples and non-examples. The students have also continued their discussions surrounding morality. They have a very clear understanding of good and bad choices and how this makes us and others feel. It was very interesting hearing the students points of view when presented with different scenarios that question morality.

Last week, our Grade 4 students ventured to the Kindy for the first of their many important roles as a buddy to the Prep students of 2025! There were some very excited Year 4 students, who represented their school with pride.

Thank you for your continued support this term! The countdown to holidays is on!

Miss Aimee Bretherton

Year 3/4 Teacher

Year 5/6

Welcome to week 8. I spent last week on camp with the year 6 students. It was a jam-packed week full of fun and learning.

Day 1: A Memorable Start

Year 6 Camp kicked off with a bang! The bus carrying our excited students made it as far as Jondaryan before overheating. The children took this in stride, quickly unloading and reloading onto a new bus, turning the mishap into a memorable adventure. The second half of the day was spent at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, where the kids had a wonderful time feeding kangaroos, learning about animals and their threats, patting koalas, turtles, lizards and frogs! The day ended with some fun and games, setting the tone for an exciting camp.

Day 2: History and Fun

The second day was spent exploring the historic St Helena Island, where students learned about the life of convicts and the roles of warders. The day was capped off with a lively evening at Time zone, where students went head-to-head in an exhilarating laser tag battle.

Day 3: Art, Politics, and More

Day three started with a visit to the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) at Southbank, followed by a trip to Parliament House. The students had the unique opportunity to meet Anne Leahy and Mr. Speaker, and even witnessed Parliament in action during a sitting week. After a fun lunch at the park, the day continued with a visit to the Science Museum and ended with an exciting ride on the Brisbane Wheel.

Day 4: Sun, Sand, and Dolphins

The final day was spent at Tangalooma Resort on Moreton Bay, where the students enjoyed a day full of fun, sun, and sand. They loved sand tobogganing and playing in the ocean. The day concluded with a beautiful sunset dinner and the unforgettable experience of feeding dolphins.

Year 6 Camp was a fantastic adventure filled with learning, fun, and unforgettable memories!

Mrs Abby Kindelan

Year 5/6 Teacher

Birthdays

Parent/Teacher Interviews

Parent/Teacher interviews are held twice a year. These take place after school and run for 15 minutes per interview. They are a valuable opportunity for parents to discuss their child’s progress across all aspects of school life. Interviews will be taking place this term in Weeks 9 & 10 (Monday 2^nd – Friday 13^th September. I encourage every parent to make an appointment. Please see or phone the office to book an interview time.

Choir

Dance

2025 Prep Enrolment

Uniform Policy

The school uniform represents the pride we have for our children and our school. A smart, neat and user-friendly uniform encourages the children to take pride in their appearance and in the school. The school uniform requirements:

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.

Hair: Children’s hair must be neat and tidy. If hair is below the collar it needs to be tied back with appropriate white or green accessories. It is expected that hairstyles reflect the code of dress required by the school. The colouring of hair and unusual hairstyles are not acceptable.

School SZapp

The school has the SZapp available for down loading. This app is great for finding out what is happening at school. The newsletter goes directly to the app and notifications come straight from school. The instructions are as follows.

Tuition Fees

Term 3 Fees have been sent home, can these please be paid by Friday 6th September. 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.

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)
Mr Jesse Kupper (School Guidance Counsellor)
Mrs Cara Haig (Co-Principal)
Mrs Pollyanna Goodman (Co-Principal)

Tuckshop

You can ONLY order Tuckshop on the App. Please down load the Flexischools App.

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.