Dear parents and friends,

As was announced last week, I will be leaving Holy Cross at the end of this year to take up the position of Principal at St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Bulli beginning in 2024. Over the past four years that I have been Principal at Holy Cross, I have learned so much and value the strong relationships I have developed within the community. I am particularly grateful to Father Paul whose wisdom and guidance has been invaluable and whom I have learned a great deal about leadership. The process of appointing a new Principal at Holy Cross has begun with an outcome expected in the next couple of weeks. 

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I recently travelled to Uluru with my family for a very brief getaway. It had been 41 years since I had visited this amazing place and it was even more majestic than I had remembered. The grandeur of Uluru and Kata Tjuta, the desert vegetation and the spirtual feel are nothing more than breathtaking. The four days we were there were incredibly special and a real ‘bucket list’ experience. I was able to take this leave because of Mrs Jennett’s willingness and ability to lead our school. I am very grateful.  

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Yesterday’s 2024 Kindergarten Orientation was an opportunity to officially welcome all of our new families to our school. We have 16 new families beginning with us in 2024 and our Transition to Kindergarten Playgroup that has been running since last term, has been a wonderful way to welcome and get to know our latest community members. I am so proud of the manner in which our Year 4 students have accepted their responsibility to be ‘Buddies” to our new students. Each Year 4 student continues to demonstrate care, compassion and integrity as they assist in the transition of our younger students. They can each be very confident that they have significantly contributed to the successful transition of our Kindergarten students.

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.

• All staff participated in professional learning to understand further the benefits of Christian meditation. The session was facilitated by CEO personnel and there was time to reflect on how Christian Meditation is being received within classrooms. The news is positive - both staff and students have noted that this time is calming and is beginning to help with focus and concentration.
• Our second classroom set of Bibles - thank you to our amazing P&F!!! - have been accessioned - We now have one class set of Bibles in Stage 3 and one set in Stage 2.

Goal 2 

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

• Mrs N Baker and Mrs Mitrevski attended a professional learning session to learn more about using PAT data to identify student needs and school trends. Students in Years 1-6, sit PAT Reading and Mathematics tests in Term 4 each year. This data allows us to target learning at the point of need of students, track school trends and measure student learning growth. The effective use of PAT data will be shared at our Staff Meeting next week along with a thorough analysis of student performance in recent PAT tests.