Dear Parents and Carers,

It is with much pride that I have accepted the permanent position of Principal at Holy Cross. I discovered very early on in my caretaker role this year, how very special this community is. It truly is a Vibrant and Caring community.

As Principal, I am committed to leading a community that provides quality Catholic education for all. This vision is two dimensional. Firstly, it is Quality Catholic and secondly, Quality Education.

To be Quality Catholic, we will be committed to creating, what Pope Francis calls, a ‘community of missionary disciples’ - a mission culture - where all of us, students, parents, staff and Parish, understand that service to others will make present God’s kingdom of love, justice, mercy and reconciliation. Quality Catholic refers to the way we provide wellbeing and Pastoral Care, the quality of our relationships and most importantly the emphasis we place on making our faith relevant to our students.

Quality Education is building a culture of effective teaching that is committed to student learning growth - at least one year of growth, for one year of school - regardless of your starting point.

I am looking forward to building on the strong relationships I have already formed this year with staff, students and parents. I believe quality relationships are pivotal in developing trust and ensuring an authentic partnership between home and school. 

There is much to be excited about as we work in partnership to provide our students with a quality Catholic education. 

Bushfire Management Plan

Over the past few weeks, we have been in the process of updating our Bushfire Management Plan.

This is done with rigorous consultation with the Rural Fire Service. We have met with RFS personnel on numerous occasions on site as well as many phone conversations. A significant component of our consultation process involves liaising with Helensburgh Public School to ensure our plans complement each other in the event there is an immediate threat in the Helensburgh area.

The next step in our process is to consult with our parent community. On Monday, we facilitated a parent information session via Zoom to share our Bushfire Management Plan and provide opportunities for questions and clarification. Below is a document that highlights the key points of our Bushfire Emergency Plan. We encourage all parents to read this document carefully.

We have captured the following main points from the Zoom session on Monday, from Rural Service Inspector, Micheal Gray:

• In the event of a Bushfire two options for action are available:
  Option 1: School Closure Procedure
  Option 2: Shelter in Place Procedure

• The Rural Fire Service has used the events of past bushfires (NSW and Interstate) to make the decision to Shelter In Place rather than evacuate in the event there is an immediate fire risk when students are at school
• Parents are encouraged to develop their personal bushfire plans for when they receive notification via SMS from CEDoW to inform them the school has invoked a Shelter in Place
• A Shelter In Place could potentially go for many hours and into the night
  
• The school will remain open when students are onsite, despite a Shelter In Place having ended but parents are unable to collect their children

To ensure the CEDoW has accurate mobile phone numbers, it is crucial that parents inform the school office whenever mobile phone numbers have been changed. 

Yesterday, we held a Shelter In Place drill for all students and staff. This is an important part of our Bushfire Management Plan and provides opportunities for us to reflect on and practice our procedures.

Pupil Free Day

Monday, 23 November 2020.

Staff will participate in a Spirituality Day. There will be no school for students on this day. 

Mrs Kaylene Duffin
Principal