Dear parents and friends,

I trust your family enjoyed the school holiday period. Thank you for having your children so well prepared for Term 3. Term 3 is always busy with celebrations for Book Week, Literacy and Numeracy Week, Father’s Day, Grandparent’s Day, Feast of St Mary MacKillop, Feast of Holy Cross and the Sacrament of Confirmation to name but a few!

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Yesterday, we gathered as a school community to celebrate NAIDOC Week which actually fell during the school holiday period. Yesterday’s celebration was absolutely beautiful. We began our day with a Liturgy and a visit  from Ella Kosta who is a proud Aboriginal woman, playing her first NRLW game for the St George Illawarra Dragons this Saturday. It was a privilege to hear Ella’s story and to recognise and celebrate her many sporting achievements. I think Ella has gained a few fans from Holy Cross! A big thank you to Gavan Lennon for organising Ella’s visit. 

Our students then participated in six activities each focused on an aspect of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and culture. A sincere thank you to family members who gave their time today to facilitate these activities - Meryn Murray, Cate and Cara Baillie, Emiily Johnson, her mother Donna and sister Gemma. On behalf of our school community, I would like to express my gratitude to these ladies for sharing their stories, knowledge and culture with all of us. Learning from the wisdom of our families is authentic school-partnership building and is very much valued.

Creator God,

You have blessed our Indigenous peoples with great respect for their Elders.

Increase in us the ability to appreciate and treasure those who have given us life.

Make us aware of the history, the gifts, and life-experience that they offer.

May we learn from our Indigenous brothers and sisters to treat all life as sacred.

We ask this prayer through Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Amen

Thank you for your continued support,

Kaylene Duffin
Principal

2023 ANNUAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN Update

This term, we will continue to work towards meeting our school improvement goals. Throughout the term, teachers will participate in eight Collaborative Professionalism Team meetings focused on increasing students’ growth in Mathematics and five Staff Meetings focused predominantly on developing knowledge of the revised K-6 Mathematics Syllabus and Religious Education and faith formation. Evidence will continue to be collected to monitor the impact of our work on student learning growth.

Professional learning to develop teacher’s content knowledge, instruction and use of assessment data to drive instruction is crucial in achieving our school goals and ensuring we continue to provide the highest quality of education for our students. This often requires teachers to attend professional learning sessions during the school day. Please be assured that in all cases, class teachers will continue to plan lessons for casual teachers to teach on these days.

Within each fortnightly newsletter the most recent strategies employed to achieve our goals will be shared. Please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s teacher or members of the Leadership Team should you have any queries about our school’s improvement journey.

Goal 1 

Improve students’ relationship with Jesus through the values of compassion, justice, hope and integrity.

Goal 2 

By the end of 2023, all students will have increased their confidence and engagement in Mathematics so that all students achieve growth.