Year 7, 2025
Welcome to Year 7 at Sacré Cœur
Welcome to Year 7 at Sacré Coeur. I am looking forward to your daughter joining our Senior School in 2025. Planning for her entry is well underway and this booklet is designed to provide you with a range of important information relating to her school life at Sacré Coeur.
In your Information Pack you will find additional information and forms relating to:
• Sport and GSV
• Instrumental Music Tuition Information and Enrolment
• Speech Lessons Form
• Student Notebook Program
• Sacré Coeur Netball Club
• Parents’ Association Welcome and Year
Year 7 2025 commences with a half day Orientation Morning in the Florence Buckley Hall at 9am on Thursday 30 January. Your daughter is required to wear her full Sacré Coeur uniform. Morning tea will be provided. The morning’s activities will conclude at 12pm in the Florence Buckley courtyard (outside the Hall). The Orientation Morning is designed to help students familiarise themselves with their new environment, meet their peers, and get a taste of the vibrant community at Sacré Coeur. I am delighted to be sharing this milestone with your family.
If you have any questions or require further information, do not hesitate to reach out to me via email. We look forward to seeing your daughter on this special day and beginning this exciting journey together at Sacré Coeur.
Yours sincerely,
Lucinda Williams, Year 7 Co-ordinator lucinda.williams@sac.vic.edu.au
Key Contacts
Reception
(8.20am–4.45pm) Phone: 9835 2700
Key Contacts
For most enquiries, your daughter’s Homeroom Teacher will be able to assist and we ask that parents communicate with the Homeroom Teacher as the first point of contact.
Adelina Melia-Douvos Principal
Nhariah Tran Creative Arts Learning Leader
Emily Cedro Humanities Learning Leader
Deirdre O’Grady Music Learning Leader
Megan Marshall Deputy Principal & Director of Staff (P–12)
Kate Dillon Dramatic Arts Learning Leader
Jenny Allen Head of Information Services
Kerry Ang Religious Education Learning Leader
Anna Staford Director of Mission
Erin Clements English Learning Leader
Siobhan McGee Languages Learning Leader
Anna-Marie McGann Science Learning Leader
Chris Maguire Director of Student Wellbeing (7–12)
Brigit Keel Global Connections Leader (P—12)
Leonie McLinden Learning Enhancement Leader (7–12)
Jessica Clarke Head of Sport 7–12
Peter Harrington Director of Learning and Teaching
Tom Fisher Health and Physical Education Learning Leader
Elliot Tench Mathematics Learning Leader
Greg Savy Director of School Operations
2025 Term Dates and Bell Times
Term Dates
Term 1
New Staff commence Friday 24 January
Australia Day Public Holiday Monday 27 January
Staff commence Tuesday 28 January
Year 7 Orientation Morning Thursday 30 January
Year 7 Transition Program Friday 1 - Friday 8 February
House Swimming Tuesday 18 February
House Arts Festival Thursday 27 February
PA Cocktail evening Saturday 1 March
Year 7 camp Wednesday 5 March–Friday 7 March
Labour Day Public Holiday Monday 10 March
Term 1 concludes Friday 4 April
Term 2
Staff and students return Tuesday 22 April
ANZAC Day Friday 25 April
King’s Birthday Public Holiday Monday 9 June
Term 2 concludes Friday 27 June
Term 3
Staff return Monday 21 July
Students return Tuesday 22 July
Term 3 concludes Friday 19 September
Term 4
Staff and students return Monday 6 October
Mid-term Break Monday 3 November–Tuesday 4 November
Term 4 concludes Wednesday 4 December
Student Free Day Friday 5 December
Carols Rehearsals Day Monday 8 December carols at St Patricks cathedral Monday 8 December, 730pm
Bell Times
8.20am Locker bell
8.25am Homeroom
8.35am End of Homeroom
8.40am Period 1
9.30am Period 2
10.20am Recess time
10.40am End of Recess time
10.45am Period 3 11.35am Period 4 12.25pm Lunch time 1.15pm End of Lunch time 1.20pm Period 5 2.10pm Period 6 3.00pm Home time
Transition Program: Term 1, 2025
In the first weeks of Year 7, students will undertake a transition program aimed at developing specific subject based foundation skills that will help develop the following:
• Organisational skills within specific subject settings
• Connection with other students and teachers — social and emotional competencies.
• Clear expectations and goal setting
• Development of appropriate use of ICT — including navigating
• Schoolbox and Google Docs as well as safe and respectful behaviour online
• To enable teachers to identify strengths and areas of growth of• specific students
On the first day of Year 7, students will be allocated a locker and will receive a combination lock, which should to remain on their locker for the year. They will also be placed in homerooms and will meet their homeroom teacher. Students are accommodated in four Homeroom Groups. The Homeroom Teacher conducts morning Homerooms consisting of prayer, taking the attendance roll and reading the Daily Bulletin. The Homeroom Teacher is the first point of contact for any concerns relating to your daughter.
Absences
When your daughter is absent from school please notify Reception by 9am. If your daughter is going to be absent for a number of days, please also notify your daughter’s Year Level Co-ordinator. For planned, extended absences, our Principal, Ms Adelina Melia-Douvos, must be advised in writing. This includes extended vacations that fall during term time.
If your daughter needs to arrive at school late, or leave early, an email from her parent/guardian must be provided.
Students must sign in at Reception if they arrive late or if they are leaving early.
Please use the following ways to notify reception. Regardless of the method used, please state the details of your daughter’s absence your name, student name, Homeroom and reason for absence.
Voicemail 9835 2700
Email Reception@sac.vic.edu.au
SMS* 0447 913 605
*We will match the SMS to the mobile number you currently have on file, so if you are unsure about the number we have for you, please check your details in Schoolbox under ‘Student Info’. If you change your mobile number, please ensure you update it in the Portal or let Reception know.
Assessment and Reporting
All Assessment Tasks have specified due dates which have been carefully chosen by the subject teacher to fit in with the overall learning objectives for a unit of work. Assessment Tasks are completed over a period of time. It is the student’s responsibility to plan how and when she will complete the various stages of the task. Careful planning should allow time for unanticipated delays. Students should also seek clarification as needed from Subject Teachers during the preparation of work in order to benefit fully from learning during the task. All Assessment Tasks and feedback on individual tasks are provided to both students and parents on Firefly.
Work submitted late without an appropriate reason or request for extension may be assessed as “Satisfactory” but will not be graded. If students need to apply for an extension for an Assessment Task, they should apply to their Subject Teacher in advance of the due date. If students are unable to complete homework, parents should provide a note in the Student Planner for the Subject Teacher the day it is due, or email the Subject Teacher prior to the due date. If the work is submitted late the teacher may (a) negotiate an extension if applicable or (b) write a note to parents in the Student Planner.
Books and Stationery
A comprehensive booklist and suggested stationery requirements, including art supplies, can be found on Schoolbox. Instructions on how to access the book and stationery lists have been emailed to Year 7 families. You will also find a copy of the booklist in your Information Pack.
Cafeteria (Wilmer’s)
Wilmer’s is the School Cafeteria located in the Wilmer Kirby Centre. A great range of nutritious meals and snacks are available to purchase for recess or lunch. As Wilmer’s Cafeteria is cashless, students can purchase food and drinks using their student card. Parents will need to make an account using the ‘Flexischools’ Application. Once set up is complete, money can be transferred onto the card to make a purchase. Steps are listed below:
• Download the ‘Flexischools’ App
• Click on the search icon/select school name and year level/press ‘order now’.
• Create an account and follow the prompts
This is how students pay for food at Wilmer’s Cafe.
Code of Conduct
Expectations on student behaviour are clearly outlined in the Student Planner. This includes general school expectations, attendance requirements, pro-social behaviour, responsible use of technology and computers and the wearing of the School uniform. Sacré Cœur is a Restorative Justice School and all breaches are managed using Restorative Practices. Both you and your daughter will sign a form to acknowledge that you have read and understood these documents in the first two weeks of the academic year.
Communication
The School communicates with families through numerous means. These include a Parent Newsletter which is emailed each fortnight during term time, email, telephone, the School Planner, Schoolbox and Parent/Teacher Evenings and Reports.
Homeroom Teachers are the first point of contact for pastoral matters. If parents have concerns of a more serious nature, they may be referred to the Year Level Co-ordinator. More complex matters would be directed to the Student Wellbeing Leader (Years 7–12) or the Curriculum Leader (Years 7–12).
School Box
Schoolbox is the Learning Management System used by students, teachers and parents at Sacré Cœur. It is the means in which students and teachers communicate, share notes and lessons and results. It provides parents and guardians with quick, easy and confidential access to your daughter’s timetable, results and reports. You will also find useful information such as newsletters, policies, careers, camps, Parents’ Association events, uniform and booklists.
Homeroom Group
Students are accommodated in four Homeroom Groups. The Homeroom Teacher conducts morning Homerooms consisting of prayer, taking the attendance roll and reading the Daily Bulletin. The Homeroom Teacher is the first point of contact for any concerns relating to your daughter.
Homework and Study Expectations and Guidelines
Homework is task oriented and teacher-directed in nature; it has a set completion date that students must meet.
Study is student-centred, self-initiated and should be ongoing.
As a student progresses through school, the amount of time needed to complete homework and undertake effective study increases.
Effective homework involves uninterrupted focus. Using a device for homework will sometimes be stipulated for a specific task; if they are using a device for homework we recommend they use it in a common area of the house and not in their bedroom.
House System
At Sacré Cœur, students, supported by staff, are grouped into four Houses. These are named after the foundress and three RSCJ Sisters of the Society of the Sacred Heart. The Houses are: Barat (green), Digby (yellow), Duchesne (blue) and Stuart (red).
ICT Policy
The Student Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Policy can be found on Schoolbox. This policy is updated each year and contains both general guidelines regarding the use of technology at Sacré Cœur and instructions specific to the use of notebooks. Both you and your daughter will sign an online form on Schoolbox in 2025 to acknowledge that you have read and understood this document.
Library
The Mary Arthur Library (for Senior students) is located in our new St Madeleine Sophie Barat Centre. The Library serves the needs of staff and students through the provision of a highly supportive learning environment which encourages the development of enthusiastic and independent lifelong learners. The Library is open and offers After School tutoring until 5.30pm Monday to Thursday and until 4.30pm on Friday.
Lockers
Every student in the Sacré Cœur Senior School has the use of a locker, and a combination lock is provided by the School. Lockers must be kept locked at all times.
Students are asked not to bring valuables to School; however, in the event this is necessary, they are to be kept securely in lockers at all times.
Lost Property
Lost property is collected and items can be retrieved from Lost Property located at Reception.
Parents’ Association
A dedicated team of parents from both the Junior and Senior schools form an executive committee which oversees all parent functions and provides a voice for parents to the various interest groups at the School. All parents are encouraged to become as actively involved as possible with the Association to some degree during their time at Sacré Cœur. The nomination form to join the Parent’s Association is included in this pack.
Parent/ Teacher interviews
Parent/ Teacher interviews are held each Semester. For your convenience, there is an online booking system to arrange interviews with your daughter’s teachers. You will be notified of the process through Schoolbox in Semester 1, 2025.
Parking
There is very limited visitor parking at the School. For safety and access reasons, parents are asked not to park their vehicles on school grounds and leave them unattended. There is a drop-off area for Senior School students in front of the Florence Buckley Hall.
Restorative Practices
At Sacré Cœur, we believe that positive relationships amongst students, and amongst students and their teachers lie at the heart of learning
We use this approach — Restorative Practices — in a variety of ways, some of which include: responding to and managing conflict and anti-social behaviours and helping students to foster personal accountability. Restorative Practices help our students develop socially responsible relationships and values such as compassion, forgiveness, respect, inclusivity and responsibility.
Ultimately, we believe that each student will learn better when they feel they are respected, when they take responsibility for their behaviour or the harm they have done to another person and when they can make up for their wrong doing. Restorative Practices, therefore, includes consequences for students. Please refer to the School Life tab on Schoolbox for more information about Restorative Practices at Sacré Cœur.
School Planner
Every student in Years 7 and 8 receives a School Planner. The School Planner is for the recording of homework and school activities only.
Sport
From Inter-School Sport through Girls Sport Victoria (GSV) to Inter-House Sport, all students are encouraged to involve themselves in the diverse range of activities offered.
Student Wellbeing
At the heart of our School is concern for each girl’s wellbeing. Our aim is to inspire optimism, hope and excitement for the future in our students. The Student Wellbeing team comprises the Director of Student Wellbeing (Years 7–12), the Year Level Co-ordinators and School Psychologists.
Our comprehensive Pastoral Program ensures all girls have their emotional and social wellbeing carefully nurtured. Pastoral Classes are timetabled on a weekly basis and all our students in Senior School undertake Pastoral Classes in their Homeroom Groups or as a Year Level Group, depending on the nature of the activities.
Our programs have been specifically developed to address the needs of girls at different stages of adolescent development.
Technology
There is a compulsory notebook computer program in Years 7–9 in 2025. This allows us to implement our Contemporary Learning vision through greater emphasis on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics), improved access to powerful digital resources and the use of leading technology such as Virtual Reality and digital video combined with expanded use of Schoolbox.
To reduce the financial impact on families, the cost of the computer will be split over three years with each charge appearing on the Term 2 invoice of the school fees.
Please refer to your Information pack for further information.
Travel Concessions
To obtain concession rates on all travel in the metropolitan area a Victorian Public Transport Student Concession Card is required. Application forms are available from Reception.
Transport
For Public Transport routes and Bus Timetables. Please refer to the Sacré Cœur website for the most up to date times.
Uniform
The School uniform indicates that the student is a member of the Sacré Cœur community. The correct wearing of the uniform should be a matter of both pride in belonging to the School and its traditions as well as a matter of good grooming.
Students who attend Sacré Cœur accept, on enrolment, the responsibility of wearing the School uniform on all occasions when they are representing the School, including those times when they are travelling to and from school. The uniform should be worn in a manner that demonstrates pride in the School and brings credit to both its wearer and the School community.
Parents are expected to actively support and implement the uniform policy of Sacré Cœur.
All uniform items are available from the School uniform shop.
For more information please refer to the Sacré Cœur website or Schoolbox.
Year 7 Camp
Year 7 camp focuses on team building and resilience skills. Students will be involved in many different activities including:
• Mountain Bike riding
• Leap of Faith
• Zip Lining
• Field Initiatives
• Bracelet making
Students will be required to be at school at approximately 7.30am on Wednesday 5 March, and will return home at approximately 2.45pm on Friday 7 March.
Sacré Cœur Wurundjeri Country 172 Burke Road, GLEN IRIS VIC 3146
p. 03 9835 2700 e. reception@sac.vic.edu.au w. sac.vic.edu.au
