Dear Parents/Carers

Welcome back to a new school year. There has certainly been a buzz of excitement around the school with staff returning, preparing for all the students to return and begin their new year.

I hope the summer break was a time to rest, rejuvenate, and break from routines. Often, the first few weeks of children returning to school can be difficult, and little people dealing with change need adults to reassure and support them in the transition back to school. Establishing consistent bedtime and morning routines can help children feel secure and ready to learn daily.

I welcome new staff to our Sacred Heart Community: Miss Letitia Browne, Miss Natasha Woods, Mr Patrick Fahy, Ms Tess Locket, Miss Heather McBain, Mrs Rachel Summers, Miss Georgia Odgers, Miss Natalie Mason, and Mrs Helen Joseph. We also congratulate Mrs Haylee Chamberlain (formerly Miss Rowe), who celebrated her wedding over the break to her partner Sam.

We say farewell to Fr Chatty, who has resigned from the priestly ministry. We will certainly miss him as part of our staff and parish community. Miss Michelle Waldhauser, Mr Dean Creedon and Mrs Kylie Shepheard will not return in 2025. I thank them for their support and contributions to our community over the years and wish them the best in their future endeavours.

Over the last week, staff have been participating in professional learning; one of the presenters, Tom Bennett, worked with our staff on behaviour management. Some key takeaways were that we all continue to work in unison to ensure children and staff understand behaviour expectations and norms. ‘When we know better …we do better.’ Staff will continue to work together to support students, and a reference point for staff and students is our current SHU Behaviour Matrix.

Communication between home and school is essential in ensuring that every child thrives. We encourage open dialogue and collaboration to support our students academically, socially, and spiritually. It is important to take some time to look at our SHU communication document to clarify the ways we deliver information. Please ensure you are signed up to COMPASS and Seesaw to receive ongoing and essential information. Please feel free to contact your child’s teacher or the school staff with any questions or arrange a meeting time should you have concerns. Staff are strongly encouraged to disconnect and will respond to communication during their hours of work. When we work together in faith and unity, we create a loving and inclusive environment where every child and member of our staff can flourish.

Please see SHU Uniform guidelines and note that all students are to wear their PE uniform every Wednesday and Thursday this year.

I will take long service leave during weeks three and four; Mrs Gretchen Lane and Mrs Laine Herrmann will lead in my absence. I look forward to working together and to a productive year filled with faith, learning, and meaningful experiences for all.

Yours in partnership

Charlene Best

Principal

Science of Learning - All System Day

On Tuesday 4th February our staff attended the Insight into Learning Professional Learning Day at the Paranaple Centre in Devonport with all our North West Catholic Schools colleagues.

The first keynote speaker was Tom Bennett - Founder and Director of researchED. Tom coaches teachers internationally in all aspects of behaviour management. Our staff have determined specific norms and routines they will be focussing on this Term and how they will ensure they are consistent across our classes. 

After lunch, we listened to Lyn Stone - Linguist and Author of Lifelong Literacy. Lyn supports educators to awaken linguistic curiosity in their students using creative, engaging tools and strategies that are based on scientific consensus as to what constitutes best practice. Lyn focussed on The Writing-Learning Loop and the skills involved in the Mechanics and Conventions of Writing. 

Sacred Heart staff value the partnerships between home and school; effective communication is important to us. Please see below the expectations for using our platforms and communication channels. 

Please remember that our hard-working staff have the right to disconnect and will respond to communication within their hours of work.

• Please be aware that Canteen will not resume until Friday in Week 3.

As part of our PBS and celebrating success, staff look to catch our students actioning our school values of being Compassionate - Honest - Inclusive - Grateful - Sustainable

Please keep yourself updated with current Catholic Education Tasmania Guidelines and Policies via this link.