Dear Parents and Friends,

Kindergarten 2025

Our 2025 Kindergarten Transition to School Playgroups and formal Orientation session concluded this week. Our 2025 Kinder students had the opportunity to meet their Year 4 Buddies last week as well, and there was much excitement as they played together and got to know each other. We have siblings starting school and we also warmly welcome 15 new families to our Holy Cross community in 2025! 

Values at Holy Cross

Throughout the year, our students and staff have continued to make the links between our four values of Hope, Justice, Compassion and Integrity, our PB4L expectations and how we, as Catholics, can live out these values in our daily actions and words. We also share a scripture passage every Monday morning at assembly prayer, and provide examples of how the life of Jesus, or people in the scriptures demonstrate right and just ways of living, learning and loving. 

For example, next week’s scripture passage (Ephesians 4:32 and 4:1-6) reminds us all about the value of COMPASSION. How can we show kindness, care, understanding and forgiveness in our everyday relationships?

I encourage you to speak to your children about these values and how they can actively live them each day.

Student Leadership Policy and Procedures-  Parent feedback (via P&F meeting)

Thank you for the fantastic feedback, ideas and endorsements provided for the updated Student Leadership Policy. A further update has been made to reflect this. 

School and Vice Captains - Parents present support the move from one girl and one boy model (where gender nominations are not in balance). Consideration requested to be given to ensure that in the total 4, that both genders be represented eg 3 girls & 1 boy / 3 boys & 1girl ( Not 4 boys or 4 girls). 

Response- The voting process usually produces this outcome and this will definitely be looked at to ensure representation. The policy procedure allows for this if there is a gender nomination imbalance in any given year. 

SRC's from Yr 1-5. 

1. Suggestion to consider greater change, eg, each term to give more students a chance to have a go at leadership experience.  It was also suggested for the younger cohorts that perhaps there could be 2 reps per class so the children could support one another advocating for class ideas etc. There really is a strong desire among the parents to share leadership opportunities and recognition with as many children as possible.
   
   Response- either by semester (provides time for a cycle of voice to action experience) or termly (can be a shorter turnaround for ideas to be actioned) . We will trial a semester changeover in 2025, and review feedback for 2026. We will have a system of recording which children have had a turn so that we give as many students as possible, who desire to, to be involved.
   
   
2. Would every SRC student receive a badge? Response- Semester Model- yes. The P&F would be happy to also fund additional badges as well, diversifying the initiatives funded.

Sport / House Leaders

Clarify on policy/ flow chart that Sport Leaders are Year 6. Response-  Actioned 

Extra note: We can also consider encouraging Year 5 and Year 4 (Semester 2)  students as younger leaders to volunteer and step up prior to Year 6, to join the SPORT teams, assisting Year 6 Sport/ House leaders on a roster for various sport and playground equipment management. 

2024 ANNUAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN PROGRESS

Goal 1: Living Our Catholic Identity: In 2024, we will revise our school’s Vision and Mission. 

• Our staff further reflected upon our school’s Vision and Mission statements over two staff meetings recently.  As a result we have identified that many aspects of these reflect who we are, but may need some contemporising to also reflect our Christ centred mission.
• Last term, parent feedback was sought and contributions were shared in our Newsletter (26/9/24). Although minimal feedback was received, comments will be taken on board in terms of considering how we make our Vision and Mission statements child centred/ friendly.
• This term, this feedback and information will be drawn together to finalise a refreshed Vision and Mission, alongside a plan to also more actively bring this to life in our every day, to be more deeply known and articulated by all in our community.    

Goal 2: Student Centred Environment: In 2024, we will develop a shared understanding of what student voice and agency is. 

• Last term, we also consulted with our students about how they see their voice being enabled in aspects of wellbeing, play, faith and learning. Their valuable insights and feedback were shared in a newsletter (26/9/24), and have already informed aspects of our Student Leadership policy update, in terms of providing a more formal SRC structure across the school, and broadening their opportunities for voice and action.
• Our student Leadership Policy has been reviewed. Updates have been made to reflect more formally the various student leadership roles and opportunities we have for our Year Six students, as well as our younger students, with great feedback via our P &F recently as well.

Goal 3: Excellence in Teaching: In 2024, we will develop alignment between curriculum teaching, learning and assessment in English and Mathematics. 

• All class teachers have continued to engage with a third collaborative planning cycle in Mathematics, applying their learnings of the new syllabus to program, learning and assessment task design. Our leadership team and Instructional Coach also are working in and alongside our classroom teachers where possible. As a result, teachers have developed in their professional knowledge, capacity and confidence to plan effective and more engaging units of teaching from the new mathematics syllabus. 
• This term, we will be gathering mathematics student growth data through a variety of assessments. Our recent Place Value Assessment Tool (PVAT) data has shown positive trends of growth across all classes, either at or above expectations.

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 or other professional commitments by our staff this fortnight includes:

Every Blessing,

Milena Colussi
Principal

Scripture Focus

Each week we gather on Monday morning to begin our week with prayer. This week we focussed on the reading from Sunday’s Mass (31st Week of Ordinary Time)

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mark 12:28-34)

One of the scribes came up to Jesus and put a question to him, ‘Which is the first of all the commandments?’ Jesus replied, ‘This is the first: Listen, Israel, the Lord our God is the one Lord, and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You must love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.’ The scribe said to him, ‘Well spoken, Master; what you have said is true: that he is one and there is no other. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself, this is far more important than any holocaust or sacrifice.’ Jesus, seeing how wisely he had spoken, said, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’ And after that no one dared to question him any more.

All Saints Liturgy

A special thank you to all the parents, friends and parishioners who were able to join us in  a Liturgy of the Word to celebrate the feast of All Saints last week in the Church. A special thank you to Mrs McEntee Kindergarten and Year 1 who lead us in a beautiful reflection.

Remembrance Day Prayer Service

On Monday 11 November we will be having a Prayer Service at 11:30am in the Library to commemorate Remembrance Day. After the Second World War, the Australian Government agreed to the United Kingdom's proposal that Armistice Day be renamed Remembrance Day to commemorate those who were killed in both World Wars.

Today the loss of Australian lives from all wars and conflicts is commemorated on Remembrance Day. Our school Captains and Mrs Colussi will be attending the Community service in Charles Harper Park at the War Memorial, where they will lay a wreath to represent our school community.

In Peace,

Debbie Turton
Religious Education Coordinator

Mathematicians at Holy Cross

Year 6

In Mathematics, Year 6 students have been learning how to calculate percentage discounts of 10%, 25%, and 50% to help them understand how discounts affect prices.

Year 5

Year 5 have been learning about fractions, decimals and percentages and have developed a card game called Fraction Wars, to assist them in their understanding. Students have really demonstrated their understanding of the relationship between each of these.

Year 4

Students were calculating the area of composite shapes in Two-dimensional spatial structures. Year 4 students use flexible and derived strategies to work out the missing grid squares and find the total area. Multiplicative thinking is used to solve these problems

Year 3

Students of Year 3 have been using the new Mathematics syllabus to help make models of three dimensional objects to compare and describe key features. We have been making models of prisms, pyramids and cylinders.

K-2 & 3-6 Maths Parent Workshops

We are excited to invite our parents to two upcoming Maths Parent Workshops held in the school library.

• 3-6 Maths Workshop- Tuesday 12th November at 2:30pm, lead by Kate Jennett & Jeff Bōdy
• K- 2 Workshop- Wednesday 13th November at 2:15pm, lead by Natalie Baker & Melissa McEntee

These workshops will provide valuable insights into how we teach maths at school, tips for supporting your child’s learning at home, and strategies to help build their confidence in the subject. 

Whether your child is struggling or excelling, this session will offer practical advice for parents at every stage. We look forward to seeing you there and working together to support our students' mathematical development!

UNIFORM - JACKETS

Our Uniform policy does have the option for the sports jacket to be worn over the
summer uniform.

ASSEMBLIES in TERM 4

Our fortnightly school assemblies during Term 4 will be held under the top Cola on Thursday afternoons at 2.35pm. 

• Week 6 - Thursday 21st November, Principal Awards
• Week 8 - Thursday 5th December
• Week 10 - Final Assembly - TBC
  
  

Save the Dates

• Swimming Carnival
  This annual event will take place on Friday 6th December, at Helensburgh Swimming Pool. More information and race nominations will be sent home shortly.
  
  
• End Of Year Mass and Yr 6 Graduation
  Please note that our End of Year Mass and Year 6 Graduation Ceremony will be held in the church on Thursday 12 December at 9.30am. 
  
  
• Christmas Concert
  This wonderful event will be held on Wednesday 18th December, on the playground, from 9:30am.

Visit from the Youth Liaison Police Officers

Last week we had a visit from our Youth Liaison Police Officers, Officer Anthony and Officer Josie. All students, K-6 engaged in some learning around safe and unsafe situations both online and in our community. The officers also spoke to the students about people who they could go to or speak to when feeling safe or unsafe. Officer Anthony also answered some questions the students had about how police officers help us in the community. We even had some ‘volunteer’ police officers. A big thank you to Officer Anthony and Officer Josie.

Tips for Developing Children's Friendship Skills

Developing children's friendship skills is crucial for their social and emotional development. Learning to build and maintain friendships teaches children valuable lessons in empathy, communication, and cooperation. These skills not only enhance their ability to form meaningful relationships but also contribute to their overall well-being and mental health. Through friendships, children learn to navigate conflicts, understand different perspectives, and develop a sense of belonging within their peer groups. Moreover, strong social connections established during childhood can positively influence academic performance and resilience in later life. Therefore, fostering friendship skills from an early age lays a solid foundation for children to thrive personally and socially as they grow older.

Here are some tips on helping your kids manage big emotions:

• Arrange plenty of opportunities for your child to meet lots of different people starting right from birth.
• Children learn from seeing how you treat your friends and their friends and playmates.
• Children find it easier to get along with others if they can do the same things (e.g., learning to swim or having ball skills).
• Talk with children about how to be with others. (e.g., "When someone comes to visit, we say ‘Hello’"; for an older child "Being a good sport means saying well done to the other person even if you don’t feel like it.").
• Play games with them so they learn about cooperating and considering others.
• If a child is aggressive, respond to their feeling but tell them that you don’t like their behaviour. Ask them to think of another way to get what they want. When they are very young you need to show and tell them. "I know you feel angry when I am on the phone, but I don’t like it when you hit. If you want me to come just touch me gently."
• Have other children over one at a time when your children are young. This means no-one is being left out while they are learning.
• Teach your child to smile and greet other people. Don’t force the issue if your child is not ready. It may help to practice at home, when you greet each other in the morning for example.
• Teach children some skills like relating and listening to others, being friendly, and responding and showing interest in what others have to say.
• Help them to show interest in what others are doing and give compliments to their playmates.
• Praise your child for being friendly and caring about others.
• Help children to use words to say what they need and feel (e.g., "I would like a turn with that"; or "Would you like to play in the playhouse with me?").

Sara Ljuboja
School Counsellor

The Holy Cross Parish Bulletin is emailed to our families via COMPASS, but it is easily accessible on the Parish website: https://www.helensburghcatholic.org.au/bulletins