Dear Parents,
Welcome to Week Five, halfway through our second term together.
I must begin this newsletter by asking for your prayers for our school Principal, Tanya McGuire and her family as they face a family challenge. As a pastoral community, it’s natural for us to feel a desire to reach out and offer support. However, I kindly request that we prioritise respecting Tanya’s privacy during this difficult period. That being said, I understand the importance of expressing our care and concern as a community. We are providing an avenue for you all to send well wishes and support to Tanya. A designated space for cards and well-wishes has now been set up in the Front Office, where you can share your messages of support and empathy. I thank you for your outpouring of support for Tanya and her family during this difficult time. I would like to assure members of our Sacred Heart Community that Sacred Heart Primary School will run as smoothly as possible during Tanya’s period of Leave.
Education
Our obligation as a school, and our “core business,” is a commitment to individualised learning, acknowledging each child’s uniqueness. During Week 4, Tanya and I had the pleasure of meeting with many parents to review Individual Education Plans (IEPs). This opportunity for the school and parents to communicate and plan for children’s learning needs is a very necessary part of our responsibility and we are very grateful for the time and efforts of parents and teachers in preparing for these meetings.
Our 2023 Cross Country Carnival was conducted last week at Forrest Park. It was wonderful to see the large attendance of parents, either in official roles or as the SHPSH cheer squad. Our children are to be congratulated for their outstanding efforts, achievements and sportsmanship. We look forward to the chosen team’s performance at the 2023 Interschool Cross Country Carnival taking place next Monday.
On Monday of this week, I had the pleasure of taking part in conducting the 2024 Kindy Enrolment Interviews, as well as our recent School Tour on the morning of the 10th of May, which was well attended. We are looking forward to welcoming a new wave of students and families to our Sacred Heart community.
On Wednesday, our staff undertook moderation work with St Paul’s staff. Their teaching staff joined us for an afternoon tea before moving into year-level clusters to undertake Moderation in Mathematics using the School Curriculum and Standard Authority’s judging standards. Our work in this area is very beneficial as our teachers are now entering the report-writing phase. Further information regarding the change to reports within the CEWA system will be communicated to parents prior to the issuing of school reports. This will see a change from a ‘Semester One’ report to a ‘Mid-Year’ report with teachers making judgments of students’ progress towards the End of Year Achievement Standards in all Learning Areas.
Sacred Heart is excited about the opportunities arising to assist schools in both the Kimberley and Goldfields through sponsorship and funding that we have been fortunate enough to receive. I look forward to making the trip to Broome next week, together with Miss Mikaela Caruso, to meet with the leadership team and Science/STEM staff of St Mary’s College. The intention of this trip will be to plan a path forward for this partnership, to meet the staff and view the school’s facilities and resources. I look forward to sharing this partnership in our future newsletters.
Community
Our Parents and Friends Association is a hard-working body within our School, and both their fundraising, community building and celebrating efforts, are planned to benefit all our children and their families. On Friday the 12th of May our students and their mothers were able to enjoy a special ‘Queen of Hearts’ Breakfast. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our hard-working P & F Executive and our volunteer dads for creating such a memorable morning for everyone. In addition, last week our students were able to enjoy a nutritious snack when they arrived at school on Friday morning, rewarding their efforts for partaking in the National Walk to School Day. Thank you to our P & F Executive for organising the fruit, kindly donated by Woolworths Highgate and providing an enthusiastic and welcoming party for our students arriving at school that day.
The School Advisory Council’s Marketing Sub-Committee met recently for healthy conversations regarding parent feedback, which was received via the survey conducted at the end of last year. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the many parents who took the time to provide feedback. The Leadership Team are happy to present the infographic below highlighting the recent actions undertaken as a result of our parent feedback. We anticipate this dialogue between all stakeholders to remain strong and I look forward to sharing with the school community further actions based on this parent feedback throughout 2023.
Stewardship
On Friday, we celebrated the commencement of National Reconciliation Week, with poignant 2023 Sorry Day activities, stories, songs and prayers being celebrated in our Hall. Our students will once again be enlightened about the plight of our Aboriginal brothers and sisters (The Stolen Generation) and the past suffering that was a result of government policies of the time that saw children forcibly removed from their parents and families. Thank you to our Year Six teacher, Mrs Amanda Saraceni, and our senior students for co-ordinating these activities within our school. We look forward to the Wadambah Dance group whole-school incursion planned for June, the formalisation of our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) and possible future student projects, such as mosaic wall murals of Nyoongar Seasons and garden beds.
Catholic Identity
On Sunday, our Year 4 students celebrated receiving the very special Sacrament of First Eucharist at the Sacred Heart Parish. I thank Fr Mark for celebrating this sacrament with our students and families. I especially acknowledge and thank Ms Renee Byrne-King and Ms Aleisha Adair for all their hard work and efforts in preparing the students for this sacrament. You will be able to enjoy some photos of this occasion in this edition of the newsletter.
Conclusion
In closing, I thank everyone for their continued support. I look forward to more wonderful experiences and continued accomplishments and achievements for our students this term. I’m sure that the reset of everyone’s energy levels during the upcoming June Long Weekend Break, which will see our families enjoy a 5-day long weekend, will be welcomed by all. I ask that you continue to keep Tanya and the McGuire family in your prayers and thoughts.
Many thanks and God Bless,
Mrs Carolyn Perlini
Acting Principal
