Dear Parents and Friends,

Our Opening School Mass and presentation of Year Six leaders  last Thursday morning was a wonderful opportunity for us all to celebrate the start to our school year. As students, parents, families, staff and parishioners, the strong connections which bind and weave across generations over many years is what characterises a thriving and flourishing community.

Later that day, Mrs Turton and myself had the privilege of attending the Wollongong Diocesan Pastoral Works Dinner where new staff across Education and the Bishops office were warmly welcomed. Bishop Brian Mascord shared an inspiring message of hope and gratitude with us. He referenced the gospel reading 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 in which Paul emphasizes the idea that we, as the church, are one but also many, and that social diversity is an illustration of a body and the use of spiritual gifts. It is like the local soccer, basketball or footy team you or your children may be part of, each bringing a unique skill set but together, you are a team. Or a mosaic, many colourful tiles coming together to make a beautiful image, or many individual threads of colour coming together to create an extraordinarily intricate work of tapestry. Each of us are called to build connections with each other and others, and through the events and opportunities we have had to date, we do just this very thing every time we connect in small or larger ways such as recent Meet & Greets, Masses and our Open School Twilight.

In another wonderful illustration of this idea of the scriptural concept of ‘many parts-one body’, our Fete committee has been working hard behind the scenes to bring the many different aspects of the day together for this Saturday’s annual Holy Cross Family Fun Day/Fete! Two more sleeps to go! See you here on Saturday:

• 9:40am- Students are asked to arrive by this time

• 9:45am- Welcome; K-6 Dance performances

• 10-2pm HCH Family Fun Day 

2024 ANNUAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN Update

Our improvement focus to date has been centred around Goal 3:

Excellence in Teaching: By 2027 all students will be engaged, challenged and have maximised their learning growth.

In 2024, we will develop alignment between curriculum teaching, learning and assessment in English and Mathematics.

• Students in Years 1-6 have in the past weeks completed the Maths and Reading Progressive Achievement Tests, as well as a spelling assessment. This assessment data will be used to identify starting points for learning, target teaching and monitor student learning growth this year.
• Our leadership team are in the process of conducting  ‘Learning Walks’ during the writing and reading components of the English Block in K-6 classrooms to collect data on how students are understanding their learnings. This engagement and inclusion of student voice is also contributing towards our 2nd goal - developing a shared understanding of what student voice and agency is. A number of students in each class were asked the following questions:
• What are you learning? Why?
• How are you going?
• How do you know?
• How can you improve?
• Where do you go if you need help?   

This data will inform future professional learning sessions so that teacher practice is explicit and students are supported.

THE PLACE OF TEACHER PROFESSIONALISM

Our school’s Annual Improvement Plan’s impact on improving students’ faith, learning and wellbeing is highly dependent upon the ongoing professional learning and capacity building of our staff. Our staff, as part of Catholic EducationDiocese of  Wollongong, engage in a range of contemporary, challenging and rigorous professional learning. Research tells us that teacher quality is the biggest in-school factor responsible for improved student outcomes, so professional learning is very much an integral part of any school’s improvement agenda. When we invest in teacher professionalism, we invest in every child’s learning. 

Our school’s professional learning plan for our teachers includes staff meetings before and after  school, Staff Development Days, onsite professional learning (half days and whole days) as well as offsite professional learning days. Some of these will require teachers to be given time away from face to face teaching. I am very mindful of ensuring a balance around these, and our professional teachers are very conscious of ensuring that continuity of learning for their class of students remains regardless of who is teaching them. When teachers attend professional learning, they plan the day's work and communicate with the casual teacher regarding the needs of students. 

The professional learning opportunities that staff attend willI be included in each fortnightly newsletter. 

SPORTING PATHWAYS and TEACHERS

The sporting pathway opportunities which some of our students access require school staffing support. From time to time, some of our staff will be required to attend to supervise or officiate. 

P&F AGM

Last Monday evening (19th February), our 2024 Annual General Meeting P&F meeting was held. Thank you to the parents who attended. At this meeting, the 2023 P&F Executive Committee members were voted in. I am very grateful to these parents for their willingness to support our school in these capacities:.

President: Melissa McCallum

Vice President: Kathy Godfrey

Treasurer: Anthony Muscat

Secretary: Meryn Murray

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.  
• See Saw or google classroom- these platforms are used by our teachers to predominantly share learning and key messages about classroom events. We will share a guidleine around the do's and don'ts of See Saw use soon.

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.
• An urgent matter- please call the school office.

Please note that messaging teachers via See Saw is not monitored or responded to by our teachers. 

Every blessing,

Milena Colussi

Beginning School Mass

Thank you to all the parents and friends who were able to join us for our Beginning School Year Mass. Our student leaders were presented with their badges and our Kindergarten students were welcomed with a special song and movement by all of the students in the school.

Project Compassion 2024

Thank you for your generous donations and continued support of Project Compassion. Caritas Australia’s annual fundraiser raises funds for the world’s poorest communities. This week as a school community we focussed on the story of Leaia. Not having access to a reliable source of clean water was very difficult for Leaia and her family. But with the support of Caritas Australia, a water tank was installed at their home, improving their health and living conditions. More information can be found at https://www.caritas.org.au/project-compassion/leaia-story/

Grade Masses

Our Grade Masses will begin this week on Thursday with Year 6 and Year 1. Students will join the Parish Mass at 9am. 

• Years 2, 3 and 4 Grade Mass - 7 March at 9am
• Year 5 and Kinder Grade Mass - 14 March at 9am
  
  

Lenten Prayer:

Heavenly Father,
As I enter another week of my Lenten journey, guide me to the path that leads to you. Fill my heart with gratitude, patience, strength, and peace as I strive to
become the-best-version-of-myself. As I renew my resolve each day to become a better person, let me hear your voice in the deepest reaches of my heart. Give me rest in you. Stay with me through the busy days this week and remind me that when I need comfort, solitude, wisdom, or guidance, I can always turn to you. In your name I pray. Amen. 

In Peace,
Mrs 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.

Enrolment for 2025

Enrolments for Kindergarten 2025 are now open. If you have a child attending

Kindergarten next year or you know of anyone who is thinking of enrolling their child, please encourage them to contact the school, or commence an application. Enrolment is now online, and can be accessed via our school website. 

School Website

Professional Learning

Recent professional learning undertaken or other professional commitments by our staff this fortnight includes:

Assemblies, Term 1

Tuesday 5 March at 2:30pm - Principal Awards

Tuesday 19 March at 2:30pm- Year 3 Sharing Learning 

Tuesday 9 April at 2:30pm- Principal Awards

Parent Calendar

Whole School Sport Dates Coming up

Cross Country - Next Wednesday 6 March @ Rex Jackson Oval, K-6

Permissions have been sought via COMPASS already. The timetable will be shared on Monday as we are taking into account the weather forecast as well as the start timing of some of our Year 5 students who are returning from their BOSCO College Open Morning. 

Uniform

Please ensure that your child is wearing our school summer uniform with a sense of responsibility for their smart appearance as learners and pride connected to being a student of our wonderful School community! We thank you for your support in this. If you have any feedback or suggestions about any aspect of our uniform policy, please email us! Please find our school uniform policy for your reference.

Waste Management at Our School

We now have 2 options for waste at our school: General Waste and Comingled Recycling. The Red and Yellow labelled bins are on each playground and smaller versions are also available in each classroom. The Red and Yellow posters will help support our school community in using the correct bin for their waste!

Library News

Premier’s Reading Challenge 2024 HAS BEGUN!

Each year at Holy Cross, we participate in the Premier’s Reading Challenge (PRC). The Challenge aims to encourage a love of reading for leisure and pleasure in students, and to enable them to experience quality literature. It is not a competition but a challenge for each student to read, to read more and to read more widely. With hundreds of PRC texts in our Library, the challenge is a great way for our students to enjoy reading and maybe read something they may not normally choose, thus expanding their exposure to different genres.

With support from all our staff, our students complete the Challenge at school:

K-2: 30 books – teachers read Challenge books to students and reading records are entered by me.

Year 3-6: 20 books – students complete and enter their own reading records. Each student records their own Reading Log where they enter ALL books they read – this includes: Library books (both school and public Library), books from home, and books their teachers read to them. At the end of Term 2, there is a dedicated Library lesson on entering their Reading Logs.

The Challenge ends Friday, 23 August 2024 so there is plenty of time.

SCHOLASTIC BOOK CLUB

At Holy Cross, we promote the Scholastic Book Club. Twice a term, your child will bring home a Book Club catalogue. Book Club is a great way for parents to provide their children with popular literature in a variety of genres which aids in encouraging children to read. And they also make great gifts!

By supporting Book Club, the school earns reward points from every order. I use these points to purchase books for the Library that our students request.

Book Club Issue 1 orders are on their way and will be distributed once they arrive.

Book Club Issue 2 catalogues will be sent home soon. These orders will be due by 29 March 2024.

Instructions:

* jump online to order: https://bookclubs.scholastic.com.au/

* if your order is a gift, you can nominate it online as ‘gift’.

* once the orders arrive, all parents are given a courtesy call.

PLEASE NOTE: all orders are done online, the school does not collect cash or cheques.

BOOK COVERERS WANTED!

If you enjoy covering books in contact (or find it therapeutic), I would love to hear from you.

I am compiling an email list of parents who can cover books in contact and/or plastic. If you are able to assist, please email me at hchlibrary@dow.catholic.edu.au .

Any assistance in this area is very much appreciated – it enables us to get Library Books and Readers to our students quickly.

We currently have some covering which needs to be done. If you are able to assist, please see the Office Staff who can give you a bag (or 2!).

LIBRARY WARRIORS

Who are they?

Library Warriors are students who give up their time to help out in the Library on Fridays. They assist me with a range of tasks from collecting the returned Library books before school, sorting the books into their Collections, shelving the books, and looking after the shelves making sure they are ordered and kept tidy. These students assist before school and at Lunch 2 and are invaluable to the upkeep of our Library – I certainly cannot do it all without them and very much appreciate their help.

Being totally voluntary, we have many students from Kinder to Year 6 who come to help out each week – however there is a core group of students who come every Friday – a role they take very seriously. Each newsletter I will introduce you to one of our long term Library Warriors.

An Interview With…Jake (Year 6)

Note from Mrs Murray: Jake has been a Library Warrior since it started in 2022 and has never missed a Friday. He collects books in the morning before school and gives up his Lunch 2 to put books away. He is an invaluable member of our team.

What section are you responsible for?

Fiction and Fiction series (with Dominic H. – he and I are the Fiction team!)

What is your favourite book?

The Pokemon books of course!!!

What do you love about being a Library Warrior?

Really everything! I don’t care if it’s morning or afternoon duties. All I can say is “I don’t care – I love it all!”

What is your favourite Library task?

This is tough but I’m going to say putting away books. It’s a time where I can chillax, sing (Mrs Murray plays cool music while we work) and make jokes (I sometimes have to excuse my voice cracks haha).

Happy reading everyone!

Sue Murray
Library Coordinator

CANTEEN NEWS

The Canteen will re-open next Thursday, 7th March.

Menu 2024.pdf

Menu 2024 _pdf 240.24 KB

Online Ordering.pdf

Online Ordering _pdf 249.70 KB

South Coast Swimming Squad

Can you believe it is only 2 MORE SLEEPS until our Family Fun Day for 2024!

By now your kids should be buzzing with excitement. For some this will be their FIRST and others it will be their LAST Family Fun Day, either way I hope everyone has a day filled with fun and memories to last a lifetime.

A few reminders:

• Please arrive by 9.40am so the children can get ready for the performances they have been working very hard on with Mrs Boyle over the last few weeks.
• PrePaid Ride Passes can be collected for the ticket booth - but rides will not operate until after the performances are finished.
• Sweet Treats baking can be dropped off from 1pm Friday to the office and throughout the day on Saturday at the Sweet Treats stall.
• If you have put your name down to volunteer to help out on a stall throughout the day, please ensure you attend to give those already on the stall the chance to also enjoy the day with their children.

Thank you to everyone who has put their hand up to coordinate stalls, help in hamper making, fold raffle tickets, run around town collecting donations, setting up and all of the other little jobs that go into making this day happen - it wouldn't happen without you all!

Please if you have any last minute questions, do not hesitate to contact me on 0409461807 and lastly - GO AND HAVE FUN on Saturday!

Many thanks

Allison