PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
Dear parents and friends,
The Season of Creation is a time marked throughout the Christian world from 1st September (the World Day of Prayer for Creation) to 4th October (Feast of St. Francis of Assisi) and celebrates the joy of creation as well as encourages awareness-raising initiatives to help us to heal and protect Our Common Home. The theme this year is Let Justice and Peace Flow. The Prophet Amos cries out: “But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” (Amos 5: 24) and so we are called to join the river of justice and peace, to take up climate and ecological justice, and to speak out with and for communities most impacted by climate injustice and the loss of biodiversity.
Pope Francis in his message for the Season of Creation, in accord with the theme, ‘Let Justice and Peace Flow’, calls us to live in harmony with creation. He says that just as the heartbeat of babies in the womb are in harmony with that of their mothers so we can sense the maternal heartbeat of the earth. In calling us to renew our relationship with the earth, Pope Francis states that it involves our relationships with God, with each other, with creation and with ourselves. We are interconnected with all of life (LS 66).
Our staff and students will gather tomorrow to acknowledge the beginning of The Season of Creation through participation in a liturgy followed by a whole school lunch on the top playground. Our message to students is to know that we are co-creators of this world. That God made the world, but he did not finish it…this is our job…we must care, protect and advocate for all of creation and in doing so we accept our responsibility as co-creators with God.
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Father's Day is a day that honours Fathers, Father figures, and fatherhood. Tomorrow, we will take this opportunity to reflect on the importance of the fathers and father figures at Holy Cross and show our appreciation for their presence and love. We will begin with a Breakfast, followed by a Liturgy and a visit to classrooms.
I would like to express my gratitude for the support of all fathers, grandfathers and father figures who make up our Holy Cross community. We are blessed to have so many fathers and father figures visit our school to pick up their children, help out at our Fete and other fund raising activities, attend P&F meetings, attend parent-teacher meetings, attend sporting carnivals, attend assemblies and all school related events.
Wishing you all a very Happy Father’s Day on Sunday.
God our Father,
We give you thanks and praise
for fathers young and old.
We pray for young fathers newly embracing their vocation;
May they find courage and perseverance
to balance work, family, and faith in joy and sacrifice.
We pray for fathers around the world
whose children are lost and suffering;
May they know that the God of compassion
walks with them in their sorrow.
We pray for men who are not fathers
but still mentor and guide us with fatherly love and advice.
We remember fathers, grandfathers, and great grandfathers
who are no longer with us
but who live forever in our memory
and nourish us with their love,
Amen
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We are thrilled to welcome back Mr Miranda to his maintenance and cleaning role. It is wonderful to have him back!
Thank you for your continued support,
Kaylene Duffin
Principal
2023 ANNUAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN Update
Goal 1
Improve students’ relationship with Jesus through the values of compassion, justice, hope and integrity.
- Miss Costello and Mr Body participated in a Co-Teaching Cycle that involved planning and teaching a Religious Education lesson in Year 4. The purpose of these sessions is to collaborate on effective pedagogies that impact on student learning.
- A Learning Walk was conducted across Kindergarten to Year 6 to monitor the learning progress of all students in Religious Education lessons. Data showed evidence of engaged students participating in a variety of learning experiences.
Goal 2
By the end of 2023, all students will have increased their confidence and engagement in Mathematics so that all students achieve growth.
- K-2 teachers continue to collaboratively design assessments that will identify students’ starting points in their learning and inform units of work to address these needs. Assessments are becoming increasingly challenging and inclusive of problem solving to meet the needs of our students and to respond to the revised K-2 Mathematics Syllabus.
- Mrs N Baker and Mrs McEntee participated in a K-2 Curriculum Advisors professional learning day on Monday 28 August, where they gained invaluable insights into effectively identifying essential learnings for the K-2 Mathematics syllabus. Through collaboration meetings and planning, the K- 2 teachers have also been crafting high-quality Mathematics learning sequences for their classes that focus on effective assessment, meeting students at their point of need, and embedding the processes of communicating, reasoning, and problem-solving. Here are some of our wonderful Kinder students explaining their thinking during a Math problem-solving task.
