SCHOOL NEWS
Recent Staff Professional Learning
Research tells us that the quality of the teacher is the greatest in-school influence on student achievement. Therefore high quality professional learning for teachers must be a priority to ensure improved teacher practice that leads to improved student growth. Recent professional learning undertaken by our staff this fortnight includes:
1 March 2023 - Instructional Coach Network day
Mrs N Baker
2 March 2023 - CEDoW Staffing Committee Meeting
Mrs Duffin
6 March 2023 - System Professional Learning Day - School Improvement
Mrs Duffin, Mrs Jennett, Mr Body & Mrs N Baker
7 March 2023 - System Professional Learning Day - School Improvement
Mrs Duffin, Mrs Jennett, Miss Costello & Mrs N Baker
8 March 2023 - Changing Our Narrative in Numeracy
Mr Body, Mrs N Baker & Mrs McEntee
9 March 2023 - Changing Our Narrative in Numeracy
Mr Body, Mrs N Baker & Mrs McEntee
Assemblies
Our next whole school assembly will be held on Tuesday 28 March from 8.50am. At this assembly we will be presenting Principal Awards and Stage 3 will be sharing their learning. Additionally, this assembly will acknowledge our work with Project Compassion including showcasing students’ dress up - For All Future Generations.
School Uniform
A reminder that Claudines will set up a pop up shop in the school library on Thursday 23 March from 2.15pm. This will be an opportunity for parents to view winter uniforms, try on and purchase on the day.
Enrolments
We are currently accepting enrolments for Kindergarten 2024. If your son/daughter will be starting school next year, please collect an enrolment form from the school office or download one from our school website. If you know of anyone who is interested in enrolling their child, please advise them to contact our school office.
https://www.hchdow.catholic.edu.au/
School Cross Country Carnival
Our school Cross Country carnival will be held on Tuesday 14 March. All students, Kinder to Year 6 will walk to Rex Jackson oval leaving school at 9am. Parents, families and friends are welcome to join us!
If your child would like to get some practice in before the day, they are very welcome to join our HCH Running Club on Friday mornings before school at either the Duck Pond or Rex Jackson oval.
We already have a great little bunch of kids that come along to run either 1km or 2km. All ages and running abilities welcome.
Check out our Facebook Page for more information and details
https://www.facebook.com/hcrunningclub
St Patrick’s Day
The feast of St Patrick will be held on Friday 17 March. In honour of this day, students are encouraged to wear a ‘splash’ of green with their Sports Uniform. This could include a green hat, sock, jumper, scrunchie etc.
Harmony Day
On Tuesday 21 March, we will celebrate Harmony Day. Students are encouraged to wear a splash of orange with their summer uniform e.g. hat, socks, scrunchies etc.
Library News
NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge HAS BEGUN!
Each year at Holy Cross, we participate in the NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge (PRC). With hundreds of PRC texts in our Library, the Challenge is a great way for students to enjoy reading and maybe read something they may not normally choose, thus expanding their exposure to different genres.
With support from all our staff, our students complete the Challenge at school:
K-2: 30 books – teachers read Challenge books to students and Reading Logs are entered by the Library.
Year 3-6: 20 books – students complete and enter their own Reading Logs. Each student has a Reading Log (set up by their teacher) where they have been entering ALL books they read – this includes, Library books (both school and public), books from home, and books their teachers read to them. At the end of Term 2, there is a dedicated Library lesson for entering their Reading Logs.
There have been some new rules which our primary students were very excited about:
* students can read 10 Free Choice books (instead of 5)
* students can include 3 books from a series (instead of 2)
The Challenge closes 18 August 2023 so there is plenty of time.
In fact, we have some very keen readers in Year 6 who have completed the Challenge already! Congratulations to:
Pippa Snelling
Mia Amadio
***Stay tuned to see who completes the Challenge next!***
Introducing…Mikaela (Year 5)
What section are you responsible for?
Graphic Novels
What is your favourite book?
The Harry Potter series, The Little Wave by Pip Harry, The Dog Runner by Bren MacDibble, and the Dog Man series.
What do you love about being a Library Warrior?
I love making the Library beautiful and because it’s lots of fun.
What is your favourite Library task?
Putting the books in a category, particularly the Graphic Novels – I like to make sure they are ordered and that all the books in a series are together.