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Dear parents and friends,
A warm welcome to Term 4. I trust you enjoyed some quality time with your children during the student vacation period. The students have settled in very well to the final term of the year. Thank you for preparing them so well.
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Earlier in the week, I announced that Miss Emily Costello had successfully gained the position of Religious Education Coordinator at St John’s The Evangelist Catholic Primary School, Campbelltown beginning in 2024. I would like to reiterate the strength in Emily’s leadership at Holy Cross as Religious Education Coordinator and express my gratitude to her for her support of Father Paul, the Parish and to me as Principal. We will formally farewell Emily at our End of Year Mass.
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This week we welcomed our new Catholic Care Counsellor, Sandra Kay. Sandra will be with us each Tuesday and every second Thursday. Sandra comes with a wealth of experience and we look forward to developing a very strong partnership in support of our students.
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We are pleased to welcome a new family to Holy Cross this term. Reece has joined Year 5 and is settling in very well.
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Throughout next week, I will be attending the CEWA National School Improvement Colloquium in Perth, along with colleagues from the Catholic Education Office, to co-present a workshop to share the learnings and insights from our recent School Cyclic Inquiry experience. It is an honour to have been asked to present at this colloquium which is testament to the success of our inquiry as part of our school improvement commitment. Mrs Jennett will be acting in the Principal role next week.
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.
Goal 2
By the end of 2023, all students will have increased their confidence and engagement in Mathematics so that all students achieve growth.
We will continue to keep you updated on the progress of our goals throughout the term in each fortnightly newsletter.
October - The Month of the Rosary
The Catholic Church designates October as the Holy Rosary Month. The term "Rosary" translates to "Crown of Roses," signifying that when individuals devoutly recite the Rosary, they symbolically place a crown of roses on the heads of Jesus and Mary. These celestial roses, being everlasting in their beauty, will never wither or lose their charm.
During this October, our Year Six leaders will guide daily Rosary prayer sessions for the classes. Students are encouraged to bring their personal set of Rosary beads to use during our prayer time.
Christmas Art Competition
A huge congratulations to Bella from Year Five and Joseph and Mia G from Year Six who made it through to the Wollongong Dioceses Christmas Art Competition. Bella, Joseph and Mia attended the official opening last night and their artworks, along with 41 others from across the diocese will be displayed at Wollongong City Art Gallery until 29 October. All are welcome and encouraged to visit the gallery.
A special CONGRATULATIONS extends to Bella and Joseph for their artworks which have made it through to the grand final. This is an outstanding achievement! Both of their artworks will go up against a panel of judges and an awards day will be held in Sydney on the 3rd December. We wish both Bella and Joseph the best of luck.
An Invitation to Sunday Mass
Holy Cross Parish would like to extend a warm invitation to all our beloved school families to join us for Mass on Sunday mornings at 8:30am.
Attending Mass as a family is not only a wonderful opportunity to strengthen and nurture our faith but also a chance to deepen the bonds that unite us as a parish, school and a wider community.
Some things you may not know:
- Sunday Mass goes for one hour, 8:30 - 9:30am.
- We regularly gather for morning tea and a catch up afterwards.
- Every second week we have a children's liturgy which enables our kids to build some great friendships and learn about their faith.
We look forward to welcoming you and your family at our next Mass as we come together to celebrate the gift of faith and the joy of community.
World Teacher’s Day
During the recent school holidays, World Teacher’s Day was celebrated around the globe. This is a day to celebrate how teachers are transforming education but also to reflect on the support they need to fully deploy their talent and vocation, and to rethink the way ahead for the profession globally. Our staff are extremely grateful to the P&F for providing lunch in honour of World Teacher’s Day yesterday. It is a privilege to teach at Holy Cross and we are very aware of how fortunate we are to be a part of this community. THANK YOU!
Revised NSW Mathematics and English Syllabuses Years 3-6
From 2024, teachers across NSW are mandated to implement the revised English and Mathematics syllabuses. In preparation for teaching the syllabus content, our Years 3-6 teachers will participate in a number of professional learning days this term, requiring them to be out of the classroom. This was also the case for our K-2 teachers this year as they developed their knowledge and understanding of the K-2 NSW Revised English and Mathematics syllabuses. This current curriculum reform provides great opportunities to refresh teaching and learning and as such please be confident that learning is always planned by class teachers whilst they are involved in professional learning.
Uniform
Thank you for supporting our School Uniform Policy by ensuring your children have returned to school in the correct school uniform.
We would like to highlight the following points:
- Sports shoes should be predominantly white or blue.
- School shoes should be leather - not boot style
- Hats should be worn to and from school and during all lunch breaks
Assemblies during Term 4 will be held on Wednesday mornings at 9am. Our first Assembly for the term will be held on Wednesday, 18 October 2023. All are welcome.
Mental Health Month
October is Mental Health Month in NSW and this year’s WayAhead theme is “We All Have a Role to Play”. This theme highlights that each individual, community, and workplace all play a part in promoting good mental health.
Mental Health Month is dedicated to shining the light on the significance of good mental health and wellbeing. It provides an opportunity to increase awareness, reduce stigma, educate ourselves, and take meaningful actions to support mental health in our workplace.
Mental Health Check-In
Beyond Blue have developed a Mental Health Check-In tool. We encourage everyone to take a moment to check-in with themselves - to pause, reflect, and consider your own wellbeing. It’s a small action that can have a big impact.
Look After You Mental Health Calendar
Mental Health Australia have created a Look After Your Mental Health Calendar to
guide you through October. This calendar offers daily tips and reminders on how to prioritise and nurture your mental health. You may like to share this with your teams.
5 Ways to Wellbeing
5 Ways to Wellbeing provides practical tools and resources on how to make the 5 ways part of your ways to wellbeing. It’s as simple as Connect, Be Active, Keep Learning, Be Aware, and Help Others.
Professional Learning
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:
11 October 2023 - Continuous Catholic School Improvement Meeting
Mrs Duffin, Mrs Jennet, Miss Costello, Mr Body and Mrs N Baker
TERM 4 Dates
Please find pertinent dates for Term 4. All pertinent dates can be found on our Parent Calendar.
Wednesday 22 November - 2024 Kindergarten Orientation Day
Friday 8 December - Swimming Carnival
Thursday 14 December
- 9.30am End of Year Mass and Year 6 Graduation Ceremony
- 12pm - Year 6 to Helensburgh Pool
Friday 15 December - Christmas Concert and last day of 2023 for students
Students’ final day of the year is Friday 15 December, 2023.
Tuesday 19 December - Last day of 2023 for staff
Prime Minister’s Spelling Bee
The Prime Minister’s Spelling is a national spelling competition for students in Stage 2 and Stage 3. It is an online competition designed to challenge students and improve students’ vocabulary, encouraging them to learn to spell in a fun environment. All students are timed and provided with the definition and word etymology if required. There are multiple rounds depending on how well the students perform. There is a school round, state/territory finals and a national final. The top 100 students from each state make it through to the state competition finals and then the top 3 go through to the nationals with an opportunity to meet the Prime Minister. From Holy Cross, a big congratulations to Mia A in Year 6 who progressed to the State Finals. The following students were awarded as our Class Champions for receiving the highest score. Well done to all participants.
Congratulations to our Class Champions:
- Year 3: Charlotte W
- Year 4: Sage G and Lee K (tied 1st place)
- Year 5: Indiana S
- Year 6: Mia A
Library News
WELCOME TO TERM 4 – SOME FRIENDLY REMINDERS
- Library borrowing for ALL STUDENTS is Friday.
- All students MUST HAVE A LIBRARY BAG to borrow. If a student has misplaced their Holy Cross Library Bag, a waterproof bag may be used.
- All Overdue Notices are emailed to the respective parent/carer.
CONGRATULATIONS HOLY CROSS STUDENTS!
Each term we are given the Diocese borrowing statistics from our CEO. Our borrowing stats for Term 3 are as follows:
Library Borrowing – 11th overall
SORA Borrowing – 15th overall
Total Borrowing – 12th overall
Considering we are the 5th smallest school out of 29 Primary Schools in our Diocese, our students should be really proud of their efforts.
BUT THAT’S NOT ALL…
Stats have been released by ACEN (Australian Catholic Education Network) of the top 25 primary school checkouts (borrowing) covering NSW, Queensland and the ACT and we ranked 23rd - this is an outstanding achievement for a small school.
I believe these stats show our students commitment to our borrowing culture which helps foster a love of reading. WELL DONE HOLY CROSS!
SCHOLASTIC BOOK CLUB Issue 7 Now Open
Book Club Issue 7 catalogues will be sent home today. Orders will be due by Friday, 27 October 2023.
Just jump online to order: https://bookclubs.scholastic.com.au/
Happy reading everyone!
Sue Murray,
Library Coordinator
Chess Open
Congratulations boys!
Ella - U15’s Country Youth Championships
Once again, Ella’s outstanding cricket ability was on display last week whilst she represented her team, ‘GICZ - Great Illawarra Cricket Zone’, at the County Youth Championships in Singleton. The four day U15 event meant that Ella was by far one of the youngest in the tournament, with most of the girls in her team 14, turning 15. Nonetheless, Ella performed like a pocket-rocket powerhouse!
With pace bowling her specialty, Ella bowled 24 overs taking 10 wickets (with an average of 4.7) bowled 5 maidens, and took 2 catches. Her bowling was amazing…so straight, fast & accurate…on most occasions taking out the middle or leg stump, much to the surprise of the much older & more experienced batswomen. With the bat she made 11 runs off only 1 innings. Ella’s team played 7 matches, and won them all, being crowned the inaugural U/15 Country Youth Champs!
We continue to be inspired by Ella’s talent and her humble nature. Congratulations, Ella!!
