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Dear Parents and Friends of Holy Cross,
It has been an absolute pleasure and privilege to have connected with so many of you these last few days. Thank you sincerely for your happy hellos and warm words of welcome at the school gates. I feel very much at home here already! Our staff are thrilled to be back and are looking forward to the year ahead of facilitating your children’s learning growth and success, and supporting their wellbeing, happiness and sense of belonging here at Holy Cross.
Year 1-6 students have returned with excitement and anticipation for the new school year, and our kindergarten student visits for their Best Start assessment with Mrs Melissa McEntee are well underway. Next Wednesday 7 February, we look forward to welcoming all of our Kindy students, many of whom are siblings, but in particular, our new families whose children will begin Kindergarten. We hope you will enjoy being a valued member of our Holy Cross community.
We value the strong partnerships we have with our families and look forward to working with you to ensure Holy Cross provides a supportive and welcoming environment with rich learning opportunities that will allow your children to improve in their learning and grow in their faith.
May the peace of Christ be with you,
Milena Colussi
Principal
I am so very grateful for the warm welcome that I have received from you all as I join the community of Holy Cross, Helensburgh. I have worked in Sydney Catholic Schools for the past 24 years in various roles including REC, Literacy Coordinator and Instructional Literacy Coach. I am looking forward to working with you implementing the mission and vision of the school, to support growth in faith and improvement in learning for students.
Parish Mass Sunday 4 February 8:30am
Our staff will be present at this coming Sunday’s 8:30am Holy Cross Parish Mass, where Fr Paul will welcome and bless us for the year of learning ahead. We hope to see many families share in the eucharistic celebration together with us.
Ash Wednesday Mass and Lent
Wednesday the 14 February is Ash Wednesday which marks the beginning of Lent. Ash Wednesday is named after the ritual of placing blessed ashes on the foreheads of the faithful and is a sign for those who desire to repent. Ash Wednesday Masses are a simple but solemn service. As a school community we will have a school Ash Wednesday Mass at 11:30am. Family and friends are invited to attend. As Year 6 are at Stanwell Tops on camp on this day, Mrs Colussi and myself will organise Year 6 to have a short liturgy and receive ashes on Wednesday afternoon at camp.
Lent is an old Catholic tradition. The season of Lent lasts for a period of forty days beginning on Ash Wednesday and ends with the celebration of the Easter Vigil Mass. During Lent Catholics take time for self reflection and to help those in need. They do this through prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Over the season of Lent, students will develop knowledge of these three areas. I encourage you to speak with your child/ren about this important Catholic season and what they are learning about Lent.
Save the Date: Term 1 Masses and Liturgies
Whole School Masses and Liturgies
Beginning School Mass: Thursday 22 February 9:15am
Holy Week Liturgy: Thursday 28 March 11:30am
Easter Mass:Thursday 4 April 9:15am
Grade Masses
Years 6 and 1 Grade Mass: Thursday 29 February 9am
Years 2,3 and 4 Grade Mass:Thursday 7 March 9am
Years 5 and Kindergarten Grade Mass: Thursday 14 March 9am
Debbie Turton
Religious Education Coordinator
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.
Staffing Update
Late last year, and again in January, a teaching position was advertised to replace Tami Hennock.
Unfortunately, we have not been able to successfully appoint a full time teacher at this time. As an interim arrangement, Mrs Lucy Barbuto (Monday-Wednesday) and Mrs Jessica Sevenoaks (Thursday - Friday) will job share, starting Term 1 with Year 5. I thank them both for stepping into the Year 5 teaching role. We will again advertise this term, and I will inform you once we successfully appoint a teacher for the remainder of 2024.
Afternoon Dismissal Procedure
To ensure safety for all students, and ease for you as parents at pick up time, afternoon dismissal will be from the top cola playground. This will:
- allow for ample space for our students to line up and be ready to find you,
- allow for you as parents to be able to find your children in the one place (especially if you have children across K-6),
- minimise crowding around our main entry gate, and
- ensure that our students catching buses or walking to the Parkes Rd Crossing have a meeting point to be supervised by teachers.
Please be patient with us as we re-establish and refine this routine over the coming days. Classes will move up between 2:50-2:55pm. The main entry gate will open for parents and carers from 2:55pm, and we ask that you make your way up to the top cola to wait for a calm dismissal at 3pm. Please be mindful that your child’s teacher has an important duty of care and supervision during this afternoon dismissal time. A quick hello and wave is always welcomed of course, any further communication can be made via email, or a phone call to the office to arrange a time to meet. We thank you for your support in this.
As always, we welcome your feedback too, as we continue to work together to ensure a safe and calm end to the school day for our children.
IMPORTANT REMINDERS
Food Allergies at School
We have a number of students who are severely allergic to certain foods. To ensure all students are kept safe, we ask that you DO NOT send any of the following food items to school with your child:
- Any foods with nuts - this includes, but is not limited to, any bars that contain nuts, nutella, peanut butter.
- Whole eggs
- Fish products
Sending in Treats to Celebrate Birthdays
Some families choose to send in a small treat for their child’s classmates to celebrate their child’s birthday. If parents choose to send in a small treat to share with classmates, we ask that these be limited to Freddo Frogs or Snake lollies only.
Parent - Teacher Meet and Greets
Working in partnership with parents in support of their child’s learning, wellbeing and faith development is a great privilege. Building strong relationships between teachers and parents is vital and at Holy Cross, we offer Meet and Greet meetings to begin the development of this relationship.
Meet and Greet appointments will be offered during Week 4. This year we will also provide you with the opportunity to reflect and write down a few important things about your child, prior to the Meet and Greet time. Further information via Compass will be sent out in the coming weeks.
Assemblies
Our school assemblies in Term 1 will be held fortnightly on Tuesday afternoons beginning at 2:30pm. Any change to the time will be communicated to parents via Compass. Our first school assembly for Term 1 will be held on Tuesday 6th February at 2:30pm on the top cola. This year, each class will share their learning focus with us at one assembly. The first of these will be Year 4 on Tuesday 20th February, from 2:30pm.
Newsletters 2024
Newsletters will be published fortnightly on Thursdays. This is our formal mode of communication and I strongly encourage all parents to read these newsletters. You can refer to these for information throughout the fortnight.
Compass Communication
We use Compass to communicate messages throughout the year about events, important information and reminders. Teachers may also communicate via compass.
Communicating with your child’s teacher
We value our partnership with you in supporting your child’s faith, learning and wellbeing. Respectful, informed and open communication is vital in our work together, and can be both formal and informal throughout the year. Generally, at Holy Cross, communication looks like this:
- Meet & Greet- this is a formal scheduled opportunity for you as parents to talk about your child’s strengths, needs, interests and your aspirations for their learning.
- Parent Teacher Interviews- this is a formal scheduled time mid year to discuss and share your child’s learning successes and growth.
We also want to ensure that our teaching time with your children is maximised during the day, and so:
- To request a time to meet with your child’s teacher, please email or call the school office. This will be passed on to the teacher, and a mutually suitable time will be made.
- To communicate non urgent matters, please email or call the school office, and it will be passed on and responded to in a timely manner.
- To communicate an urgent matter- please call the school office.
Finally, please be mindful that your child’s teacher has an important duty of care and supervision of their class during morning lines and moving to class and at afternoon dismissal times. A quick hello and wave is always welcomed, any further communication can be made via the above channels. We thank you for your support in this.
School Website -
Our Holy Cross School website includes great information for families, including:
- All Newsletters, current and archived
- Key Dates via the Parent Calendar
- Enrolment packages- Enrolments for Kindergarten 2025 are now open!
- Policies
- Cyber Safety information
2024 School Photos - Term 3
School photos will be held on Wednesday 28 August.
IMPORTANT DATES
Parent Calendar and School Dates
All school dates and events can be viewed on our School Website under the News and Events tab
Please click on View More Upcoming Events to see further events.
To view the 2024 School Calendar, please click on View Our School Calendar under the Upcoming Events section. From here, events can be added to your own calendar.
NEW: Term 1 2024 Parent Planner
This is a 2 page handy parent calendar for your fridge or home noticeboard! Simply print and and have it handy for your day to day reference. Any updates and changes will be posted either via Compass or the website calendar.
Online Enrolments
Starting from the beginning of Term 1, 2024, we will be transitioning to a new online enrolment platform, called Funnel, removing the use of all paper forms. Please take note, particularly for sibling applications. The online application form will be accessible from the home page of our school website.
Library News
WELCOME TO 2024!
At Holy Cross, we believe in the transformative power of reading and are committed to fostering a love for books. Our Library is a treasure trove of diverse books that cater to every interest, age, and reading level, ensuring that each one of our students can find something that resonates with them.
Our Library plays an integral role in promoting a culture of reading with each class having a dedicated Library time on Fridays. This allows our students the time to explore our collections and make choices based on their interests.
Therefore, our school expectations are that every child borrows each week (or reborrows if they haven’t finished their book).
START OF YEAR REMINDERS…
* Library day is FRIDAY for all students, STARTING THIS FRIDAY, 2 FEBRUARY.
* Students are expected to bring their Holy Cross Library Bag every Friday – these bags are designed to be sturdy and waterproof to protect our books. If your child has misplaced their Library Bag, they may bring an alternative bag.
Happy reading everyone!
Sue Murray
Library Co-odinator