Dear Parents and Friends of Holy Cross,

At Holy Cross, we encourage our students to uphold high standards across all areas of school life. Our school uniform policy plays a key role in maintaining these standards and fostering a sense of pride among our students.

As we have entered the winter uniform time, we've noticed a number of students aren't fully adhering to our uniform expectations, primarily wearing incorrect footwear, occasionally a mix of summer and winter uniform and with boys, shirts not being tucked in.

As parents, you have chosen Holy Cross for a wide range of wonderful reasons, one of these being the wearing of our school uniform with pride. We ask that you ensure that your child wears the correct winter uniform. As a staff, we will be monitoring uniform compliance and will communicate directly with parents when we observe a student not following our uniform policy. Please refer to our complete uniform policy. Please find our school uniform policy for your reference.

HELPFUL CURRICULUM GUIDES FOR PARENTS - ENGLISH

In recent weeks, we held parent workshops for Kindergarten and Year 1 parents about the teaching of reading in the early foundational years. These parent guides from NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) are helpful in outlining the key content and ways in which you can also support your child. This week, we share English: 

Kindergarten  (Early Stage 1) LINK to Guide
Years 1 and 2 (Stage 1)  LINK to Guide
Years 3-6  (Stages 2  and 3)  LINK to Guide

2025 Student Semester Reports

The Semester 1 reporting period is a time to celebrate your child/ren's achievements and learning during the first half of the year. The reporting period is twofold: the report and the parent-teacher conference. The parent-teacher conference compliments the written report and is a valuable communication channel with teachers. 

• Year 3 and 4 student reports will be available from 3:30pm, via COMPASS on Friday 20th June. 

• K-2 and Years 5 and 6 student reports will be available from 3:30pm, via COMPASS on Friday 27th June. 

DESCRIPTORS IN A-E REPORTS

Further to the information provided about reports earlier this term, this week includes an explanation of the grade scales used. For brevity, reports will have the word descriptor, however it is important to also understand the detailed description of each one, as this is what teachers refer to when analysing the range of learning work samples, observations and assessments in order to make decisions about student progress and achievements when completing reports. 

The bolded words or phrases in particular are helpful in seeing the difference between the levels.

Kindergarten written reports in Semester 1 and Semester 2 use a three-point grade scale to report student achievement using the following performance descriptors. :

Students in Year 1 - Year 6 receive semester reports twice a year with a five-point grade scale used to report student achievement using the following performance descriptors: 

PARENT TEACHER INTERVIEWS

Parent Teacher Interview times will be offered for parents to book via COMPASS:

Friday 20  June: Compass Bookings CLOSE for parent interviews Years 3, 4 (for Week 9 Interviews)

Friday 20  June: Compass Bookings OPEN for parent interviews K-2, 5,6 (for Week 10 Interviews)

Booking Instructions will also be emailed to parents via Compass. 

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