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Dear Parents and Carers,
To our new families we send a warm welcome to SHPS and welcome back to those returning. 2022 has been quite a different start with preparing for a safe start to the school year and then a huge downpour and storm during drive through and pick up on our first day. We are delighted to be back and have all our children with us. Our new kindergarten children have settled in well and are enjoying their venture into big school.
We look forward to catching up with you soon when things have settled and the requirements have eased. In the meantime keep safe and take care.
At this time with all that has happened over the last couple of years we have chosen to focus on the school value of Gratitude this term.
"Gratitude is being thankful and showing appreciation for everything we have going on in our lives. It is not something you just have, it's something you do,” Turia Pitt
Positive COVID tests and daily updates
As directed by ACT Health and Catholic Education we will notify parents and carers of the presence of COVID in our community. We will send this notice via SZapp at about 12 noon daily.
The guidelines about ‘living with COVID’ are changing rapidly. We understand it is concerning to receive notification that your child may have been exposed. In the interest of ensuring parents and carers have the most direct information, we will always defer to the most current health advice as found on the ACT COVID website Here
If your child does test positive you need to notify both ACT Health via their website Here and Sacred Heart
Please email our office with the following details:
- your child’s name
- year group and name of teacher
- date of positive RAT
- names of siblings that may be affected and whom are subject to stay-at-home guidelines
- any other relevant information, such as whether they attended after school care or music lesson
- any information from ACT Health
Positive COVID notifications to the school will be kept private and confidential and names will not be shared. When your child has completed their isolation period and is completely well, please then send an absent note stating the dates of the period of absence and stating ‘illness’ as the reason.
Take care and keep safe
Dates – Variation to the beginning of Terms 2 and 3
Please mark the following dates in your calendars.
Term 2 start date is Wednesday 27th April. This is due to Monday 25th April being the ANZAC Day Public Holiday; and Tuesday 26th April being Staff Professional Learning – Pupil Free day
Term 3 start date is Tuesday 19th July. This is due to Monday 18th July being Staff Professional Learning – Pupil Free day
School hours
Morning supervision – Teachers begin duty at 8.30am on the blacktop. Any family who needs to have their child supervised before this time are asked to make use of our before-school care with YMCA.
Afternoon supervision - Teachers are on duty until 3.30pm at the front of school drive-through near the hall and Murphy St park and pickup. Children not picked up in these areas by these times will be taken to the office and a phone call made.
Details of arrival and departure procedures were communicated on January 27. In response to a few questions, and in the interest of safety, please read the further points below.
Changes to the park and pickup along Murphy St in the afternoon
- Please park legally in the streets around the school near Murphy St.
- Parents are asked to approach the fence, along the boom gate and oval.
- The children will be sitting in the shade on the seats. When they see you, they put their hand up for the teacher on duty to see.
- The teacher will ensure you are there, and then allow your child to walk out the gate and down the grass to you. If you want your child to meet you at the gate and not further away, please tell them not to put their hand up until you are at the gate.
Drive-through in the afternoon
We ask drivers to have the family name displayed through the front window. Contact the office if you need us to print one for you.
Exiting the main car park onto Hodgson St is a left turn only. This makes traffic flow much smoother and the pedestrian crossing much safer.
Parking Fines
There is a solid white line where Murphy Street and McNeil Place intersect. Please be aware that this area is monitored by ACT Government parking vehicles and you may be issued with an infringement notice if you park adjacent to the line. Murphy St is no longer a designated bus zone, so cars can park beside the school fence further up the hill.
Wet Weather
First day of school and a huge storm at 3pm - not a good combination! A huge thanks to all the staff who put their shoes and clothes on the line, to ensure your children made it safely to you. It is always a great idea to talk about wet weather plans with your children to alleviate worries they may have about changes in routine due to a change in weather conditions.
When it is raining in the morning children can gather in the hall from 8.30am. After 8.45am teachers will collect classes and move into classrooms.
When it is raining in the afternoon, we move the children to covered areas for after-school pick up:
- Children at drive-through and the front of school areas will wait with the teacher inside the hall. Cars will move along drive-through as normal.
- Children along the Murphy St park and pickup will wait in the kinder courtyard with the teacher on duty. Parents and carers are asked to approach the kinder courtyard gate.
- If your child rides or walks, please have a clear wet weather plan established.
Yours faithfully,
| Wednesday 9th February |
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| Saturday 12th & Sunday 13th February |
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| Tuesday 15th February |
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| Wednesday 16th February |
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Leadership Mass
Sacred Heart will be welcoming the new school year at our Leadership Mass on Wednesday 9th February 10am at Sacred Heart Church.
To adhere to CE COVID guidelines, only the Year 5 and 6 students may attend. The mass will be live streamed for the students at Sacred Heart to participate from their classrooms.
During the Liturgy the investiture of our School Captains and Year 6 Leaders will take place.
Parents of Year 6 students only, may attend the mass. We ask that a mask is worn and all parents adhere to social distancing.
School Value Focus Term 1 – Gratitude
Values are among the most precious gifts which a person can have. People have experiences: they grow and learn.
At Sacred Heart we want to live out our values through our actions so they are authentic and lived. This term our focus is on the Value of Gratitude.
Gratitude is pausing to notice appreciate the things that we often take for granted. Making a habit of gratitude is good for mental, emotional and social well-being. Like other positive emotions, feeling grateful on a regular basis can have a big effect on our lives.
By practising gratitude, we become more connected, compassionate, helpful, generous, forgiving, outgoing and less lonely and isolated.
The staff and students will be communicating their gratitude in a variety of ways such as in sharing circles, journal writing and to one another throughout the day.
“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” ~William Arthur Ward~
- MHOC 2022 First Reconciliation and First Holy Communion Sacramental Programme enrolment is now open. This programme is open to children baptised Catholic in Year 4 and above. Parents/Carers’ Information Night will be on 9 February, and the first Session for children and their carers beginning on 16 February. Please see attached letter and MHOC website for all the details.
- Children’s Liturgy is back on this Sunday, 6 February at the 10am Mass. Volunteers/assistance for this programme is needed. Please email Kat Doyle if interesting in helping.
- We welcome Adam Shelton to the parish as our new Youth Minister. Adam is well known to many as he is already one of our trusty acolytes. Details on when parish Youth Group will start back will be out soon.
“Why are we decorating stones? Come and find out this Sunday at 10am Mass!
Children’s Liturgy is back for the school term, every Sunday.
All primary aged children welcome. “
✨ Community Council AGM ✨
Our AGM will be via Zoom on Tuesday 15th February. All are very welcome to attend and to propose items for discussion.
In addition to all positions being open for election, the AGM agenda will include an update on COVID measures and a discussion of the priorities for Council in 2022.
I have also asked for a representative from YMCA to attend so that we can have a discussion about Vacation Care and about how we can work together to drive higher attendance.
If you have any questions or suggestions for meeting items, please EMAIL the school office.
A zoom link for the meeting will be sent via SZapp on the day.
Netball Coordinator required for Winter Season.
Sacred Heart requires a netball coordinator for the upcoming Winter Season. Expressions of interest to coach are also very welcome. Please EMAIL the school office if you are able to assist.
Year 1 Prayer
Year 1 participated in a beautiful class prayer this morning. We each added a block to the prayer space to build a representation of our school and added teachers and students by using the Godly Play characters. A cross was added to show that we are a Catholic school.
Congratulations to the following students celebrating their birthday
Tatenda K, Rachel M, Michael K, Matilda W, Kamaljot K, Riley W, Scarlett McC, Imogen H, Edward B, Mia R.
