Welcome back to Term 3. The catch phrase for most of the past two years was “a day is a long time in a pandemic” well it is true once again. We came back to dire expectations and prophetic claims of likely surges in numbers that could savagely impact on our capacity to staff the school. This has meant that we have had to return to some COVID-safe practices to protect the community and keep our staff well enough to be at school.

* We have maintained our cleaning regimes in most ways, the expectations of staying home when unwell and exhibiting symptoms is mandatory and close contacts must test negative and wear a mask if they return to school. However, it is strongly recommended that if you are a close contact and you can stay home then that is advised.

* We still require anyone who tests positive to inform the school so that we can monitor the number of confirmed cases amongst the community. Unfortunately, we do not have enough supplies of RAT kits to distribute to all families. Please contact the school if you are in desperate need of a test and cannot access any. We will inform the community when a significant number of cases has been reported. Currently we are managing with a limited number of cases amongst the staff but we hope to avoid a surge in staff numbers as the number of available casual staff is very limited. We are indebted to our little band of casual teachers who fill the spaces that they can. We have some staff on pre-booked leave and we are managing very well under the circumstance to conduct school as close to normal as possible.

* We are having to limit the access of parents/carers on site. All parent/carer meetings will need to be conducted remotely if possible. This will mean that parents are not permitted to attend school activities for the meantime, which includes assemblies.

* We will conduct our P & F meeting and the School Board meeting this Monday 25 July online. If you would like to join in on the P & F meeting please make contact with the school and we will give you the link to the online meeting platform.  

* We are permitted to make decision around sporting activities and outside events if we are able to avoid large gatherings of adults. This means that pathway sporting options should be allowed to continue if it does not impact on the functional operation of the school. That is, we need to have staff available to be in class as much as possible to avoid school, class or year closures. Stay tuned for the events that are permitted to continue.

* The BOOK FAIR information was sent home today and is source of much excitement amongst our primary students. We cannot conduct the Fair in the usual manner but have been given permission for parents to accompany their student/s before or after school in perusing and purchasing books from the Fair. Exact times will be sent out early next week. You may send funds with the student if they have already made their selection. Our wonderful librarian will send home specific details to explain the process.

Despite all of this ‘doom and gloom this week has been very busy and we have had lots of students and staff doing a range of different activities and learning.

Today we celebrated a respectful and special NAIDOC Mass. The NAIDOC theme this year ‘Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up!’ encourages all of us to champion institutional, structural, collaborative, and cooperative change while celebrating those who have already driven and led change in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities over generations. Whether it is seeking proper environmental, cultural and heritage protections, Constitutional change, a comprehensive process of truth-telling, working towards treaties, or calling out racism. We must do it together.

It must be a genuine commitment by all of us to ‘Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up!’ It is also time to celebrate the many who have driven and led change in our communities over generations; they have been the heroes and champions of change, of equal rights and even basic human rights.

Getting up, standing up, and showing up can take many forms. We must move beyond just acknowledgement, good intentions, empty words and promises and hollow commitments.

The relationship between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non‑Indigenous Australians needs to be based on justice, equity and the proper recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ rights.

Every NAIDOC Day the archdiocese recognises the students, teacher and schools who are acting as excellent role models in their communities by actively involving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in education. The reconciliation award are presented to individuals or groups who are judged to have made a significant contribution to Aboriginal Education in their communities. Today Zoe Beath (year 9) was presented with a NAIDOC Recognition Award for Leadership and Mentoring. Zoe is proud of her culture and heritage and this is evident in her leadership and mentoring of younger students. Zoe is achieving a high standard at school and is a wonderful ambassador for Aboriginal issues. Two other students were recognised by the Sacred Heart NAIDOC Awards for their Excellence in academic achievement – Ashlyn Perry (Year 10) and outstanding achievement in community involvement – Sophie Sannazzaro (Year 6). Congratulations to these wonderful students. We are very proud of Zoe, Ashlyn and Sophie.

The staff participated in a Professional Day on Monday, continuing with High Impact Teaching Practice (HITP) is a professional learning program that supports teachers to further implement research-based instructional practices in the classroom to revolutionise their impact.

Our Mock Trial team completed the fourth round of the Mock trial competition against Eden Marin High School yesterday. They conducted themselves with distinction and came away with a decisive victory. The solicitor who presided over the trial was effusive in his praise for our team, in their preparation, presentation and understanding of some of the finer points of law. Congratulations to our team: Emma Shields, Ned Murray, Lily Murphy, Ashlyn Perry, Chloe Anderson, Dieter Dickinson, Niall Lambert, Lucy Deep, Harmony Whicker and Sam Grewal. We have everything crossed that we might sneak into the elimination rounds of the final 32. We thank Dr Wellett Potter for all her expertise and generous assistance in preparing the team in their understanding of the case.

On Wednesday we had members of Catholic Schools NSW (CS NSW) visit to investigate our proposal for Government funding for the refurbishment of the primary building. We are endeavouring to renovate the primary classrooms into more modern and functional classroom settings. This is a very exciting prospect and we are only in the very early stages. However, Catholic Education Canberra/Goulburn has provided the funding to re-roof the entire primary building. The original iron roof as installed in 1934 and is long overdue for a refit. They will remove the redundant evaporative air-conditioners and fix the leaks that we have in the classroom ceilings. For the next two weeks students will be relocated to allow the work to proceed safely. We have already had the stormwater and drainage issues addressed. We are grateful to Catholic Education for the financial support of our school as we strive to make the learning environment as pleasant as possible to allow maximum learning to happen.

It is with deep sadness that we remember the Kerrison family this week on the passing of their mother Mel. We pass our sincerest sympathies to Dan, Boston (Yr 9), Declan (Yr 7) and Brooke (CPS) at this time and we hope you will remember them in your prayers over the coming weeks. The funeral for Mel will be held on Wednesday 27 July at 2pm in a graveside service. Any students attending will need to be accompanied by their parents or a nominated adult. Food parcels may be left at the Front Office to be passed onto the family.

This week Mr Ken Mooney our Assistant Principal informed the staff that he has accepted a position at OneSchool Global in Wagga from Week 8. We are very sorry to lose Mr Mooney from our Sacred Heart staff and community but wish him every blessing and success in his new adventure. We will officially farewell Mr Mooney in the coming weeks. An Acting Assistant Principal will be advertised asap and we are hopeful of some high calibre candidates.  Mr Mooney will finish at the end of Week 5 as he is accompanying his son to the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Hawaii. We are very sad to see Ken leave as he has been an important, valued and outstanding member of staff. He leaves very big shoes to fill!

Go gently and remember to be kind… always

Blessings

Ms Nicky Trinder

Our School Book Fair will commence next Tuesday 26th July in the School Library.

More details will follow about when parents are able to come in and have a look with their child.

Thank you

Mrs Emma Randall

Librarian

Stage_3_Excursion_Fundraiser.pdf

Primary Sport

Mackillop Rugby trails

Congratulations to Jake Harris who represented Sacred Heart in the Canberra Goulburn team. It was a fantastic effort at the MacKillop Rugby Union trials. 

Notes will go out early Term 3 for these events.

Regards

Wendy Van Kerk Oerle

Secondary Sport

External Sport Term 3

With the new COVID restrictions for schools, external sport for term 3 will be a game of wait-and-see. At this stage we are allowed to participate in events that are either finals or pathways sports depending on the teacher impact behind at school. The main concern is with teacher shortages for a variety of reasons, and having no-one left to cover classes at school. Each event will be assessed independently. 

Students, please make sure you keep up to date with all the messages on the Secondary Sport@SHC Google Classroom. Messages to parents and guardians will be sent via Compass and the Newsletter.

Weekly Sport

This term students will have the opportunity to elect sports they would like to participate in for 2 lots of 4 week blocks. Students will have access to the EOI forms through their Sport @ SHC Google Classroom. When groups are finalised, students will receive a note indicating their group and any upfront payment required to participate. Please return these asap.

Congratulations

Congratulations to Emily Gash who trialled for the Southern Country Girls U16 Tackle Rugby League in the last week of Term 2. Congratulations to Mr John Murray who will be coaching the team.

Congratulations to Emily Perryman who competed in the NSW Interschools Equestrian in the holidays in the Dressage event.  The event was one of the largest of its kind in NSW and held at amazing facilities. Emily and her horse Cruze (Tocal Question - registered name) had never competed at such grand facilities with big stands full of people. Cruze was nervous in the surroundings and competed very well under the circumstances. Emliy was programmed to compete in 4 events however unfortunately, due to the weather conditions, the rest of the meet was cancelled.

Secondary Sport Dates

For further information, see Ms Withers or go to:

• CSNSW Sport: website (https://csnsw.sport/)
• CG Sport: Canberra Goulburn Sport nominations page (https://www.sport.cg.catholic.edu.au/nominations)
• Sport @ SHC: Secondary Google Classroom (student code - xcdqo3f) https://classroom.google.com/u/0/c/Njk2NjYzNTMxM1pa 

For school teams to go away to gala days and competitions, students must return their note and money by the due date to be eligible to attend the excursion.

As always, if you are concerned about anything to do with PE or Sport, please arrange a meeting or get in contact with me so we can work out a solution. We want everyone to be involved in all aspects of school life, to the best of their ability and feel good about their experience.

I can be contacted at megan.withers@cg.catholic.edu.au or on 02 69422612 during school hours. 

Regards

Megan Withers

Secondary Sports Coordinator

Parent Referral Form