Dear Parents and Friends of Holy Cross,

As we come to the end of a great term, we wish everyone a restful and safe term break. I thank our teachers and staff for the immense commitment and joy they bring to their profession, and to their teaching and genuine care of our students, your children! 

It’s timely too, to reflect and be grateful for the many ways in which our school’s mission to LOVE, LEARN and LIVE have been visible and actioned:

• LOVE & LOVE ~ Our students, staff and parents have had a range of faith
  
  filled encounters through prayer, masses, preparation for First Holy Communion, and social justice initiatives this week with our huge Mini Vinnies group running a Cake Bake and Pyjama Day SVDP Winter Appeal Drive;
• LEARN ~ Our students have completed a semester of learning, reflected in their progress reports, and the feedback you as parents are receiving during interviews. Many of our classes have attended excursions connected with their learning, and some have had the opportunity to access pathways across a range of sports and academic pursuits. Our staff have been developing deep knowledge of mathematical teaching content and building upon their classroom differentiated teaching programs and assessment practices through four ½ day, collaborative learning and planning sessions, alongside this Friday’s Staff Development Day, which also will touch on aspects of English. I hope you enjoy some of the mathematics learning captured across classes and shared in this newsletter’s “Spotlight on Learning” 

Next term, we will celebrate our school’s Feast Day (Friday 12 September, Week 8) and relaunch an updated version of our school song, which Tim Hart has helped to reword to reflect our revised Vision and Mission. 

IMPORTANT DATES FOR TERM 3

The first day of Term 3 for students will be MONDAY 21st JULY

A Term 3 printable Parent Planner has been linked and shared. This is a handy two page parent calendar for your fridge or home noticeboard! Simply print and and have it handy for your day to day reference. Any updates and changes will be posted either via Compass, the website calendar or as reminders on our weekly Infographic posted on our school’s Facebook page. All dates can also be found on the Parent online Calendar accessed also on our school’s website. 

Term 3 has a number of important whole school masses, Fathers Day, our school’s Feast Day and Gala Days falling on Fridays. This presents a clash with our weekly Sport, Music/Drama and Library learning programs for your children, as well as the mandated teacher release time that this program provides. In planning ahead to ensure that our students access their weekly Sport, Music/Drama and Library lessons, there will be a day change in some weeks from FRIDAY to THURSDAY. These are all clearly highlighted on the parent Calendar, will be on our google calendar, and reminders will be posted weekly via our compass and facebook weekly infographic. 

Annual Improvement Priority: 

Students will report increased levels of engagement and achieve personal learning growth in Mathematics and Reading.

• Semester 1- A Maths focus has been ongoing, with Teacher Professional Learning and planning sessions supported by our Instructional Coach and Leadership Team
• Gathering student perception data about how they can identify and talk about their own engagement in their learning of maths, and more broadly. We will hold a Parent  information forum in Term 3 to share some of the insights gathered!

The Cyclic Inquiry recommendations further informed our School Strategic Improvement Plan 2024-2027, with three Priority Areas :

1. Living Our Catholic Identity: By 2027 our community will deepen their knowledge of the Catholic faith and appreciate the meaningful role it can play in our lives today.

• In Semester 1 of 2025: 

• • Revised Vision & Mission - We have renewed our school song (same tune, updated wording to reflect our Vision, Mission and values) to be launched on our school’s Feast Day celebrations.

• • Faith formation plan aligned to the Vision and Mission - Year of Jubilee and notion of “pilgrimage” is being developed.

2. Student Centred Learning and Wellbeing; By 2027 students are agents of their own learning and wellbeing.

• In Semester 1 of 2025:

• • An increased active voice of students through our SRC, with actions reflected on decisions related to their playground and lunch time clubs, Semester 2 will see a second round of SRC student nominations 

• • Student voice sought around how their voice and action can look and be seen at Holy Cross

• • around how they identify and talk about how engaged they feel when learning. This in turn has informed a staff drafted “Student Engagement Continuum” 

• • All staff engaged in professional learning and applying strategies from the Berry St Education Model  Module 1 (Body – How to help students to regulate their stress response, de-escalate in school and classroom contexts and provide strategies for increased focus). A Parent Information session will be held in Term 3.

3. Excellence in Teaching: By 2027 all students will be engaged, challenged and have maximised their learning growth.

• In 2025, Teachers are experts in the English and Mathematics syllabus documents.

• • Our teachers have been developing deep knowledge of mathematical teaching content and building upon their classroom differentiated teaching programs and assessment practices through four ½ day, collaborative learning and planning sessions.

• • Our teachers are in the process of reflecting upon and developing a school wide Vision for Learning. This is informed by our system’s release of the “Faith, Learning and Wellbeing Vision for Learning Framework.  

TEACHER PROFESSIONALISM

Our school’s Annual Improvement Plan’s impact on improving students’ faith, learning and wellbeing is highly dependent upon the ongoing professional learning and capacity building of our staff. The professional learning opportunities and official events that staff have engaged with the last two weeks: 

May the peace of Christ be with you,

Milena Colussi
Principal

Lindsay Burns
Acting Assitant Principal

First Holy Communion

Last Sunday, our Year 3 students, along with other students from our parish, made their first Holy Communion. First Holy Communion is a special and joyous occasion in the life of a Catholic child, marking their first reception of the Eucharist, the Body and Blood of Christ. This sacrament is a significant step in their journey of faith, deepening their relationship with God and the Church. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the parents who dedicated their time and effort to bring their children to the preparation sessions, to the students for their reverence and attentiveness, the musicians in the Parish, Allison Wallace - our Parish Secretary and most especially to Father Paul for his guidance and support in preparing the students to receive this sacred sacrament. 

Mini Vinnies News

A huge thank you from the Mini Vinnies for the donations that families made to our St.

Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal. The mini vinnies enjoyed packing hampers today in the parish hall for people in need in our own local community. Also a big thank you to the Mini Vinnies for preparing and hosting our bake sale on Wednesday to add vouchers from local businesses to the hampers. 

Dates of Term 3 Masses and Liturgies

Sacrament of Confirmation

Date: Sunday 14 September 2025

Time: TBA

Workshop Dates:

Thursdays, 6.30pm in the Parish Hall 14th August, 28th August & 11th September

Retreat Day: Wednesday 10 September 9-3 pm

In Peace,

Mrs Debbie Turton
Religious Education Coordinator

Term 2 Monday Morning Prayer 8:50-9am - If you have the time, we warmly welcome you, our parents, to join us every Monday morning on the Top Plaground COLA, as we gather to start the week and pray together. 

Parish Masses - As a parish catholic school, we seek to enable opportunities for our community to encounter the mass. Each term, our classes attend a weekday parish mash, as well as whole school masses for important Feast days. Parents are always welcome to attend. :

Sunday Parish Mass - Families are of course always welcome to attend the Holy Cross Parish Sunday Masses. 

Please note the next PUPIL FREE DAYS :

TERM 2 PUPIL FREE DAY - FRIDAY 4th JULY. The last day of Term 2 for students will be Thursday 3rd July.  Focus Area of Staff Professional Learning ~ Mathematics (Fractions & Decimals Syllabus content) and English.

TERM 3 PUPIL FREE DAYS

• WEEK 6, MONDAY 25 AUGUST. Focus Area ~  Staff Spirituality Day

WEEK 10, FRIDAY 26 SEPTEMBER. Focus Area ~ Student Engagement and Wellbeing- Berry St Education Model. Module 2 Relationship – Positive relational classroom management strategies that promote on-task learning.

PB4L (Positive Behaviour for Learning)

                                          Over the last few weeks, we have been focusing on safe and positive play

VALUES IN ACTION @ Holy Cross

On our playground and in our classrooms we...

~ Be respectful to all in word and action.

~ Learn about and give to Catholic organisations including Vinnies, Caritas and Catholic Mission

AWARD ASSEMBLIES IN TERM 3

Our school assemblies in Term 3 will again be held fortnightly on even week Tuesday afternoons beginning at 2:30pm. Our cancelled awards of this week, will be presented next term in Week 2 (Tuesday 29th July). Any change to the time will be communicated to parents via Compass. 

Dates for Term 3:

Week 2  Tuesday 29th July (this will include Principal awards from cancelled Term 2 Week 10 assembly) 

Week 4:  12 August  (Year 2 sharing learning)

Week 6:  26 August (inc Principal Awards) 

Week 8:  9 Sept  (Year 1 sharing learning)

Week 10: 23 Sept  (inc Principal Awards)

Term 2 Environmental Highlights

Term 2’s environmental initiatives got off to a wonderful start under the guidance of Mr Scott Chrystal, our Ecologist. who is funded by Peabody mines. Mr Chrystal kicked off the planting season with new plant structures, being constructed in our Veggie Patch for our new seedlings to grow and flourish.    

A big THANK YOU goes to Mr Chrystal for sharing his gardening knowledge, sourcing equipment and  providing great gardening tasks for wet weather days, such as striking new plants and flower pressing. Wonderful outdoor learning experiences certainly occurring at Holy Cross.

We also thank Mr Chrystal and Mrs Attenborough for their dedication and supervision of the Gardening Club and WEN students who give up their lunchtimes to maintain our veggie patches.Thank you to these wonderful students for being ‘stewards of the earth’.

Garden Updates

Harvesting

This term the students harvested beetroots, rocket,baby spinach,carrots and snow

peas. Some of the beetroots harvested weren’t as big as we hoped,however, the students always found it very exciting pulling vegetables out of the ground. 

Sharing harvest produce

Harvesting lavender blooms for propagating, making bouquets for prayer tables and for parents to take home at afternoon dismissal.

Propagating New Cuttings

The students were tasked with a new activity of  striking and potting  new plants.

They collected cuttings of plants from our existing  gardens to propagate, which involved taking a stem or leaf from a parent plant and encouraging it to grow roots. The students trialled water and soil propagation methods.The students will share their propagation  findings once their cuttings develop roots. Then the cuttings can be potted into new containers with soil.Water propagation is a common method for starting this process, but some plants root better directly in soil. We will find out what propagation method worked best in Term 3.

Nurturing New Plants

Our  students certainly know how  to nurture new plants.

Like nurturing anything in its early stages,  the team knows that new plants require consistent care and attention to detail. This includes providing adequate water, sunlight, and nutrients, as well as protecting it from pests and harsh conditions. Our gardeners know that tending  to their plants also involves understanding the specific needs of what is being cared for and adapting their nurturing approach accordingly. 

Making great use of the gardening  equipment purchased with previous Grant money

Fogo Bins, Composting and Earthworms

The large compost bin and subpods have been topped up with

daily Fogo bin food waste scraps. The contents of our composting system are rotated on a regular basis to improve aeration, distribute moisture, and evenly distribute heat, which speeds up the decomposition process and helps create a more consistent finished product.Turning also prevents the compost  pile from becoming too compacted, which can hinder decomposition by reducing oxygen availability. Our composting systems were also replenished with new earthworms. Once our food scraps are fully decomposed, the compost will be used to enrich and improve our garden soil. 

Planting Lemon Trees

Once our two potted lemon trees finished fruiting, the team decided to plant them in the ground as they were not happy in their waterlogged pots. For successful planting, we decided we needed to dig two sizable holes in the lawn and then mulched the beds around the trees. We certainly built up muscle power digging these holes.

Happy Planters 

Pressing issues… Pressing Flowers

This term the Gardening Club students had some pressing issues. Pressing flowers that is!

A great,fun activity for our students on wet weather days was pressing flowers collected from our school gardens. The students repurposed old books to press their flowers on the pages inside. If you have any unwanted flower presses that you would like to donate to the Gardening Club please contact the office to let them know.

Stay tuned for what the students create with their pressed flowers.

WEN Student Updates

The WEN students also meet each week to communicate and  plan new green initiatives,environmental liturgies as well as discuss troubleshooting concerns, such as cross contamination of bins or other environmental matters that need to be addressed.

Being Proactive by Recycling with SIMPLY CUPS

As you know Holy Cross is now a proud Simply Cups participant and encourages paper cup recycling at school. As the weather became cooler,our canteen once again commenced to sell Hot Chocolate beverages in disposable paper cups. So the Primary WEN students were tasked with a clever way to promote the correct usage of the Simpy Cup

Collection units. They decided to create a little teaching video for their fellow students. 

The purpose of the video clip was to  explicitly teach the correct usage of these collection units. The students shared this clip with classes and clarified any questions or concerns other students raised with them.

Even though the WEN team felt like the SImply Cups recycling program was a great initiative,they still were proactive in promoting that we all should use Keepcups to reduce waste created by the disposable cups.

Paper cups heading for the Simpy Cup Collection units located at 7-Eleven Australia stores.

Don’t forget that we have reusable limited edition Holy Cross Keep Cups ($10 each) and Sticky Beak Lunch Order Wallets ($13 each) for sale through the office

Laudato Si' Week 16th  -24th of May 

Responding to Pope Francis’ Laudato Sí to Care for our Common Home

This year marks 10 years since  the Late Pope Francis released this landmark encyclical. The WEN team took the opportunity in this Jubilee Year to celebrate and continue to be people of hope, working towards ecological conversion and caring for our planet.

During  Laudato Si' Week, the Primary WEN team  encouraged  their fellow students to continue to keep the late Pope Francis Laudato Sí mission alive by always promoting ecological conversion throughout our school as we strive as a community to care for our common home.

A reflective quote from Laudato Si’.    

“Let us sing as we go. May our struggles and our concern for this planet never take away the joy of our hope.”
(Laudato Si’ 244)

May we all continue to keep the late Pope Francis Laudato Sí mission alive by always promoting ecological conversion throughout our school as we strive to care for our common home.

The WEN student team feeling proud after presenting  Laudato Si' themed prayer at Morning Assembly.

Creating Mini  Environmental Video Clips

Throughout the term the team have been tasked with creating mini environmental video clips. The purpose of creating these clips was to teach other students about our environmental actions or on how to correctly use our Waste Management collection units.

Return and Earn Pilot Program - Repurposing and Relabeled Blue Bins

With previous Grant money we purchased Blue Wheelie Garbage Bins for REDcycle

Soft Plastics. This REDcycle program is now defunct and these bins were sitting idle in the shed.

So, in  the true spirit of reusing, recycling, and reducing, we decided to repurpose and relabel our old blue bins, ready for trialling our Return and Earn Pilot program before the official pilot program commences. This presented opportunities for the WEN students to initiate explicit teaching of the Return and Earn program and troubleshoot, especially in light of bin cross-contamination.

The WEN students have been educating fellow students on what 

containers can be collected in these blue bins (not purple for now) for a 10c refund. Funds collected will be used for Eco-Club purchases  or charity purposes.

Our Waste Management Bin System

Stay tuned for our new green  action that we have planned for Holy Cross over the next two years. 

Thank you for supporting our ecological conversion journey, as well as any new green initiatives planned for HCH this year and continuing to promote ecological conversion by your actions.

 
"You are never too young or old to make a difference!”  

Mrs Barbuto
and the Primary Student WEN Team

Classroom Visits: Witnessing Engagement and Growth in Mathematics

Recently, our school leadership team, including Mrs. Colussi, Mr. Burns, Mr. Bōdy, and Mrs. Baker, had the wonderful opportunity to visit classrooms during Mathematics lessons. We were also joined by Anna Cindric, CEDoW Head of Continuous Catholic School Improvement - Primary, who provided valuable insights.

These visits were specifically undertaken to observe our annual improvement plan goal in action: "Students will report increased levels of engagement and achieve personal learning growth in Mathematics and Reading."

During our visits, we engaged with students, asking them about their enjoyment of mathematics, the challenges they encounter, and their overall engagement in the lessons. It was truly inspiring to see the incredible learning taking place. We observed the effective use of high-impact teaching strategies, students deeply engaged in their lessons, and the successful implementation of tiered learning tasks catering to the diverse learning needs in each class.

These observations provided valuable affirmation of the hard work and dedication of our teachers and the enthusiasm of our students. We are incredibly proud of the progress being made towards our improvement goal and look forward to continuing to support our students' growth in Mathematics.

Natalie Baker
Instructional Coach

How to Help Your Child Stand Up for Themselves  

When a child can stand up for themselves, it means they can express their thoughts, feelings, and needs in a confident and respectful way. It involves knowing their own worth, setting healthy boundaries, and speaking up when something doesn’t feel right—whether it’s saying no to peer pressure, telling a friend they didn’t like being excluded, or asking for help from an adult. This skill helps children feel more in control, builds their self-esteem, and empowers them to handle challenges with courage and respect for others.

Teaching children how to stand up for themselves is an essential part of building their confidence and emotional resilience. When kids learn to express their feelings, set boundaries, and speak up in a respectful way, they are better equipped to handle peer pressure, resolve conflicts, and advocate for their needs. This doesn’t mean being aggressive or rude—it’s about helping them find their voice and use it calmly and assertively.

Here are some tips on helping your child stand up for themselves:

Model assertiveness – Show your child how to speak up respectfully by demonstrating it in your own interactions.

Teach "I" statements – Help them use phrases like “I feel upset when…” to express their emotions without blaming others.

Role-play situations – Practice common challenges like being excluded or teased, and rehearse confident, calm responses together.

Encourage eye contact and body language – Teach them how to use posture, eye contact, and a firm voice to show confidence.

Praise efforts – Acknowledge when they speak up or set a boundary, even in small ways, to reinforce positive behaviour.

Discuss real-life examples – Talk about characters in books, shows, or real life who stand up for themselves in kind and respectful ways.

Clarify the difference between assertiveness and aggression – Explain that being firm isn’t the same as being mean – E.g. “It’s okay to say, ‘Please don’t do that,’ but it’s not okay to yell or call names when you’re upset.”

Foster independence – Let them make small decisions to build their confidence and belief in their own voice.

Teach when to get help – Encourage them to seek support from a trusted adult if the situation is too difficult to handle alone.

Normalize mistakes and learning – Remind them it’s okay if things don’t go perfectly—standing up for yourself takes practice and courage.

Sara Ljuboja
School Counsellor

The Holy Cross Parish Bulletin is emailed to our families via COMPASS, but it is easily accessible on the Parish website: https://www.helensburghcatholic.org.au/bulletins

An Invitation to Sunday Mass

Holy Cross Parish would like to extend a warm invitation to all our beloved school families to join us for Mass on Sunday mornings at 8:30am. 

Attending Mass as a family is not only a wonderful opportunity to strengthen and nurture our faith but also a chance to deepen the bonds that unite us as a parish, school and a wider community. 

Some things you may not know:

• Sunday Mass goes for one hour, 8:30 - 9:30am. 
• We regularly gather for morning tea and a catch up afterwards. 

We look forward to welcoming you and your family at our next Mass as we come together to celebrate the gift of faith and the joy of community.