Dear Families

Welcome back to all staff, students, and families for term two, I hope you have had a break from routines and enjoyed the last of the warmer weather with your children.  As we begin the term I would like to mention and make welcome our two new Priests Father Sunil De Silva and Father Chathura (Chatty) Ranmuni Silva, they will meet our staff and students during the next few weeks. Welcome to Miss Elsie Kenny class teacher on 4/5 Penguins and support staff member, Mrs Kylie Shepheard. Welcome to Edith in year 1, and  welcome back to Mila, Marlow, Austyn and Alexis. Starting a new adventure is full of opportunities and we have all no doubt felt a little anxious over new beginnings.

Kinder enrolments for 2025 are progressing and if you know of any children born in the year of 2020, they are eligible for enrolment for the 2025 year. The first round of kindergarten enrolments will close on the 30^th June, please complete our online expression of interest. to ensure you receive all appropriate documentation. All enrolment applications can also be located on our school website.

As we journey together through another term it's imperative to pause and reflect on the values that form the foundation of our community. Our core values are founded on our Josephite Charism and include …Compassion - Sustainability - Gratitude - Honesty – and Inclusion. Each term, we focus on two core values, and this term, honesty and gratefulness, will shine brightly, guiding us in our interactions and shaping our character as individuals and as a school family. Values need to be actioned, and as part of our school community, it is important we model and action these values.

Honesty is not just about speaking truthfully but also about living authentically. It's about aligning our actions with our beliefs and values, even when it's challenging. In the classroom, on the playground, and at home, we encourage all to uphold honesty as a pillar of integrity. By nurturing an environment where honesty is celebrated and mistakes are seen as opportunities for growth, we instil in our students the courage to be truthful and the humility to learn from their experiences.

Gratefulness opens our hearts to the abundance of blessings that surround us each day. In a world often filled with distractions and desires for more, cultivating a spirit of gratefulness reminds us to pause and acknowledge the gifts we have been given. Whether it's the support of our families, the dedication of our teachers, our parish community or the beauty of nature that surrounds us, there is always something to be grateful for. Through prayers of thanksgiving, acts of kindness, and moments of reflection, we nurture a culture of gratefulness that enriches our lives and strengthens our bonds with one another.

As we strive together to uphold these values in our daily lives, we can all take steps to integrate honesty and gratefulness into our actions. We can encourage our children to speak truthfully, even when it's difficult, and to express gratitude for the kindness they receive from others.

Please ensure you check the ‘Events’ in our ‘Save the Dates’ section of our newsletter. As a team we want to ensure our communication is timely, please provide our Admin team with any feedback.

Thank you for your continued partnership.

Charlene Best
Principal

Cognitive Load Theory

As part of our System-wide Insight Project, our teachers have been learning about the Cognitive Load Theory.

Cognitive overload refers to a state that can happen during learning where students struggle to process and store new information in memory. Teaching that actively manages cognitive load has a positive impact on students’ ability to engage with learning tasks and, more importantly, to retain what they have learned as part of those tasks. Cognitive load affects all learners, in all contexts, but can be managed with effective teaching approaches to optimise achievement and outcomes of learning. 

Students may experience cognitive overload when processing too much information at one time, when information is very complex, or when trying to learn in overly distracting learning environments. This is why you may have noticed a significant reduction in visual clutter on display boards in our classrooms.

When students juggle information in their working memory, we say that they are encountering ‘cognitive load’. However, not all cognitive load is created equal. Some of it is desirable and is required for the student to learn the key ideas. We call this cognitive load that is directly associated with the learning task, ‘intrinsic load’. On the other hand, there are things that teachers do, or environmental factors, that distract students from the core information at hand. This also generates cognitive load, but we call this type of load ‘extraneous load’ because it is extraneous to the learning task. Cognitive Load Theory is built around the key idea that instruction is enhanced by reducing extraneous load and optimising intrinsic load. So when we reduce the distractions that students face (reduce extraneous load), we free up working memory capacity, which can then be directed to productive learning (optimise intrinsic load). 

(Reference: Cognitive Load Theory in Action - Ollie Lovell)

This week Sacred Heart welcomes new students Marlow (Prep Bilbies), Mila (1/2 Koalas), Edith (1/2 Wombats), Alexis (3/4 Emus) and Austyn (5/6 Dingoes) to our school.

We would also like to welcome Miss Sutton to our wonderful team. Miss Sutton is a Cadet Teacher who will be joining Prep Bilbies each Wednesday.

Keeping our community well:

As we are entering the cooler months, please be mindful of not sending your children to school when they are unwell. We are currently experiencing staff and student absences due to sickness. If your child is not attending school, please remember to mark them as absent/unwell on Compass. 

Keeping our community safe:

As the cooler weather starts it is also an important reminder to please be vigilant in the school car park zone. Please always walk forward to the yellow lines and follow the lines into the gated area of the school. Little people become excited during transitions and drivers need to be aware whilst reversing out of carparks.

Compass Notifications:

Please make sure you are reading any Compass/Email communication from the school. This ensures effective communication. 

Our Outdoor Kitchen area requires:

- stainless steel saucepans

- teapots

- wooden spoons

- cooking utensils

- plastic picnic ware

If you have any of these items please bring them to the front office.

Students are required to be wear their full Winter Uniform in terms 2 and 3.

The Winter uniform for students are as follows:
Kinder - Prep: Navy trackpants, red polo, rugby jumper and softshell jacket
Grade 1 - 6 Girls: Navy skort, long sleeve blue shirt, tie and navy tights or royal blue skirt and bib (sizes 6-10) or skirt only (sizes 12-22), long sleeve shirt, tie and navy tights
Grade 1 - 6 Boys: Grey shorts or trousers, long sleeve blue shirt, tie and grey socks

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact the school office.

Dogs are not permitted to be on our school grounds without prior permission from our School Principal or Deputy Principal.

We please ask that should you have your dog/s with you at school drop off or pick up, that you remain outside the school gates with them to ensure that not only do our students and school community feel safe, but that your dog/s is also safe.

This request does not apply to a Guide Dog, Hearing dog or an accredited Therapy Assistant/Support dog.

We thank you for your understanding and should you have any questions, please contact Maree Crowden at the Administration office.

Please use the links below for access to additional community information:-