Dear Parents and Friends,

On behalf of all our staff, I warmly welcome you all back to another term of school where your child’s learning, their faith and wellbeing are our ongoing focus. We are incredibly thankful for your unwavering support this year, and look forward to the many varying community events and opportunities where we can continue to connect and work together to ensure that your children, our students, have the very best that we can possibly offer at Holy Cross.

May - The month of Mary

My early childhood memories include my mother’s devotion to the honouring of Mary during May – a practice I’ve continued all of my life. It’s as natural and essential to me as my morning coffee! I know a number of Catholics who see May as the Month of Mary, and we all get the same question from time to time: Why is May Mary’s month? For centuries, the Catholic Church has set aside the entire month of Mary to honour Mary, Mother of God. There are many beautiful cultural expressions of the devotion to Mary. The image I share here is one from a shrine in Brezje, Slovenia,in my parents’ country of birth. The Basilica of Maria Pomagaj (St. Mary Help of Christians) of Brezje is a Slovenian National Marian Shrine. It’s common for parishes to have a daily recitation of the Rosary during May, and many have a special May altar with a statue or picture of Mary as a reminder of Mary’s month. You may like to create a prayer space in your own home. When we echo the customs and traditions of the Church in our homes – our domestic churches – we participate more fully in the life of the Church. For May, give Mary a special spot in your prayer space- a statue or picture of our Blessed Mother. Mary is Mother – your mother, my mother, everyone’s mother – and like our own mothers who we celebrate on Mothers’ Day next weekend, Mary cares for all of us, interceding for us in even the tiniest matters.

At school, throughout this month we too will honour Mary through the prayer of the Rosary, our office and classroom prayer spaces, and in a special way, when we celebrate with our parish, the feast day mass of Mary Help of Christians (Friday 24th May, 9:15 am), which focuses on Mary’s help to those in need through her intercession. 

Mary, Mother of Jesus Pray for us

Mary, Mother of our Lord Pray for us

Mary, Mother of all peoples Pray for us

Mary, Mother who shows us how to love Pray for us

Mary, woman of strength Pray for us

Mary, woman of faith Pray for us

Mary, woman of prayer Pray for us

Mary, woman who listened Pray for us

Mary, friend of those in need Pray for us

Mary, first among the disciples Pray for us

Mary, Help of Christians Pray for us

Mary we look to you as our model of faithfulness to God. 

Strengthen us so that we can follow God in trust and hope.

Amen

Term 2 Monday Morning Prayer 8:50-9am - Throughout Term 1, our Year Six students have been leading school prayer. This term, we warmly welcome you, our parents, to join us every Monday morning on the bottom playground (undercroft area) as we gather to start the week and pray together. 

Parish Masses - As a parish catholic school, we seek to enable opportunities for our community to encounter the mass. Each term, our classes attend a weekday parish mash, as well as whole school masses for important Feast days. Parents are always welcome to attend. In Term 2, these are:

• Thursday 16th May - Kinder and Year 5 @ 9am Parish Mass. 
• Friday 24th May - K-6 Mass for Mary Help of Christians @ 9:15am
• Thursday 30th May - Year 2, 3 and 4 @ 9am Parish Mass
• Friday 7th June - K-6 Mass for Feast of the Sacred Heart @ 9:15am
• Thursday 20th June - Year 1 and 6 @ 9am Parish Mass

Sunday Parish Mass - Families are of course always welcomed to attend the Holy Cross Parish Sunday Masses. On Sunday 2nd June at 8.30am, all Kinder and Year 1 families are invited to celebrate mass. Some of our students and their parents will be invited to read a universal prayer or one of the readings or bring the offertory forward. We hope to see many Kindergarten and Year 5 students and their families there.

Vigil & Funeral Details for Bishop Peter Ingham

I was saddened to hear of Bishop Ingham’s passing. I met him many years ago in the 1990’s, when he was one of the auxiliary bishops in the Sydney Archdiocese, confirming Year Six students I was teaching back then. Bishop Peter had a warm and welcoming, happy and caring nature evident in his engagement with each person. He was compassionate and approachable, faith-filled and prayerful—in essence, a servant leader. His greatest joy was to be a disciple of Jesus and a true shepherd of God’s people.

Peter William Ingham, the fourth bishop of Wollongong, died peacefully in the late evening of 26 April 2024. He was 83 years of age and almost 60 years a priest.

The vigil and funeral details for Bishop Peter Ingham have been announced by Bishop Brian Mascord and are available on the Wollongong Diocese website (important information is included in relation to limited seating capacity, overflow seating, parking). The funeral will also be livestreamed at https://dow.sh/livestream

Past Teacher of Holy Cross - Mrs Jane Spoutszta

It is with sadness that we are informing you of the passing of Mrs Jane Spouszta, who taught at Holy Cross for many years. Mrs Spouszta is fondly remembered as kind, gentle and always with a warm smile. Jane is most remembered at Holy Cross for her care for and dedication to each one of her students. Jane’s life will be celebrated at St Michael’s Catholic Church Thirroul, this Friday at 12pm. We pass on our condolences to her husband, children and grandchildren. Eternal rest grant to her, O Lord and through the Mercy of our loving God, May she rest in peace. More details in this link.

TELL THEM FROM ME SURVEY- TERM 2

This term all schools in the Wollongong diocese will survey the voice of parents, staff and students in Years 4-6 via the 'Tell Them From Me' survey. The survey will provide important feedback which continues to inform our work in designing improvement priorities that are responsive to the needs of our school community. We greatly value the role of parents and carers within our school community and would greatly appreciate your feedback. The information you provide will be used to maintain our commitment to working together in partnership to further improve student learning and wellbeing at Holy Cross Catholic Primary School.

A detailed letter was sent via compass on Tuesday, which provides parents with the details to complete the survey. You are able to access the parent survey on your computer or mobile device by using this URL LINK : http://tellthemfromme.com/hch2024

We would appreciate parents completing the survey by Friday 24 May, 2024.

Every Blessing,

Milena Colussi,
Principal