Today’s prayer celebrates this week (19 – 26 May) as ‘Laudato Si’ week across the global Catholic Church. The week recognises the importance of Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical on the environment and our sacred responsibility to maintain and nourish the natural world. Under the leadership of the College’s Sustainability leader,
Ms April Cincotta and the Sustainability Cabinet leaders, a number of events have been organised including a mural on the High St fence that includes messages from students across all year levels.

“We must regain the conviction that we need one another, that we have a shared responsibility for others and the world, and that being good and decent are worth it. We have had enough of immorality and the mockery of ethics, goodness, faith and honesty. It is time to acknowledge that light-hearted superficiality has done us no good. When the foundations of social life are corroded, what ensues are battles over conflicting interests, new forms of violence and brutality, and obstacles to the growth of a genuine culture of care for the environment.”
Pope Francis, Laudato Si: On care for our common home

Canteen Price Review

In recent weeks, the College has undertaken a review of pricing structures in the College Canteen. The pricing of food for purchase needs to balance the costs associated with the preparation of the food (food input costs, salaries) as well as providing value for money for students and families.

As a result of the review, there will be a price rise on all items from the start of Term 3; in particular, the cost of high-volume items (muffins and toasties) will rise from $1.00 to $1.50. We anticipate a similar increase at the start of the 2025 school year. A revised Canteen price list will be published in coming newsletters.

Literacy Update

Amongst the key priorities for Sacred Heart College in 2024 is a continued focus on supporting literacy improvement across all year levels. Well-developed skills in reading, spelling, writing and comprehension are fundamental to students’ success in all subjects as they move through secondary school. Initiatives such as the College’s Launch Program and professional learning workshops for Learning Areas on improving explicit teaching of literacy are designed to achieve sustained improvement.

Aligned with these, the Year 7 Hilary foyer has recently seen the addition of a dedicated reading collection from the Catherine McAuley Library. Our youngest students will be able to directly access these books from their classrooms to use in their English classes, homeroom or recreational reading time.

Victorian Government 2024 Budget

The recently released Victorian Government 2024-2025 budget included the announcement of a $400 School Savings Bonus for all families with children attending a government school. The announcement also indicated that the payment would be available to low-income families with children attending non-government schools. The Victorian Catholic education system is very disappointed with this decision as it appears to explicitly discriminate between families choosing to send their children to Catholic or independent schools as distinct from government schools. Wealthy families in affluent suburbs and regions will be entitled to the payments whereas families on similar incomes who choose to send their children to faith-based schools will not.

The Victorian Catholic Education Authority (VCEA) which is the peak body for all Victorian Catholic schools has published template letters for parents to send to local state politicians to express concern about this decision and request a change that results in more equitable outcomes.

Template letter - for parents to use

Bereavements  -  Your prayers are asked for the Freijah family who are mourning the passing of Aida Freijah, grandmother of Alyssa Year 7, and Mia Year 9.  Our thoughts are with you at this sad time.

Yours in Mercy,

Dr Darren Egberts

Principal