Dear Parents and Friends of Holy Cross,

As we prepare to celebrate the Feast Day of our Parish and school, an understanding of  the background and transforming meaning of the Cross  is important for us all to know about. The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross takes place on Sunday, 14th September. The day commemorates the cross upon which Jesus died. It reminds us of the transformation of the cross on which Jesus died into a divine “tree of life” that brings hope to humankind. This day celebrates the day the cross was found, the commemoration of the churches of the Holy Sepulchre and on Mount Calvary, as well as the return of the true cross to Jerusalem. 

We adore you, Lord Jesus Christ,

here, and in all your churches throughout the whole world,

and we bless you,for by your holy cross you

have redeemed the world.

(Saint Francis of Assisi)

We also celebrate our school’s beginnings 125 years ago, when St Mary of the Cross MacKillop officially opened Holy Cross Parish Primary School. 

Our School’s Vision and Mission

In recent months, our students and staff have reflected upon our renewed Vision …. to create a welcoming Catholic community inspired by Jesus to love, learn and live life to the full.” and our mission which is centered on Christ and in the Josephite Spirit to love, learn and live. Our revitalised school song will be launched at our Mass tomorrow, and sung more regularly from now on. Look out for the special symbol our students will be making this week to bring home and talk about as a way of understanding our school’s mission!

Grandparents Morning Tea

We welcome our beloved grandparents to celebrate with us tomorrow. 

Parent Helpers for Morning Tea

If you can help with serving (10:45-11:15am) or clean up (11:15-11:30am) we

would really appreciate a few extra helpers. Just turn up and lend a hand (Music Room)

A reminder for parents to send a plate of pre sliced cake, cookies or cupcakes on Friday morning (drop off before school/mass) to supplement school catering.

RETIREMENT NEWS - Mr Arturo Miranda

Mr Arturo Miranda has recently taken the decision to retire at the end of 2025 after over 30 years of service here at Holy Cross as our maintenance person. Mr Miranda has been a much loved, deeply valued and well respected member and employee of our school community here at Holy Cross since April 1993! His general maintenance role has provided much appreciated daily work to keep our leafy surroundings and playgrounds clean, and many repairs and school events set up, and always with a smile!  It is with great sadness and also joy that we share this news of Arturo’s retirement. We will all miss him terribly, and will have the chance to thank and farewell him later in the school year.

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. The professional learning opportunities and official events that staff have engaged with the last two weeks: 

Recent School Facilities Upgrades

Recently we have had the Library Airconditioning replaced, our PA Sound/ microphone system upgraded. We are also awaiting TV screens upgrades, and the addition of a larger Screen in our Library to use at and enhance our school assemblies.

May the peace of Christ be with you,

Milena Colussi
Principal

Reminder - Toys at School

Recently we have experienced students bringing in toys, including soft teddy bears and playing cards to school. We kindly remind families that students are not to bring toys to school. While toys are wonderful for play at home, they can cause several challenges in the school setting. Toys often create distractions during learning time, can be misplaced or broken leading to upset feelings. We aim to provide a calm, focused, and fair environment where every child can engage fully in their learning and play safely with resources provided by the school. Thank you for supporting us in maintaining a positive and productive learning space for all students.

SRC

Our SRC have been working hard behind the scenes on planning school improvement. All SRC leaders have been involved in gathering ideas from each class, presenting these at our SRC meetings, and coming to a consensus on which ideas to action this term. The ideas currently being actioned include:

1. Updating and refreshing equipment in playground boxes
2. Having netball hoops turned around for both basketball and netball shooting
3. Introduction of Language Club at lunchtime once per week
4. Setting up an outdoor table for outside board games at lunch times
5. Reinvigorating use of the 9 Square game through relocating it to the asto-turf
6. Introduction of volleyball to play at lunch time
7. Having a range of colouring in resources in the library
8. Planning ‘Friendship Day’ to support all students in expanding and developing their social network of friends. This will be a significant event in Term 4, that will be inclusive of a Colour Run experience as well as a variety of fun and exciting partner activities.

LOVE. LEARN. LIVE PODCAST

We are excited to officially launch our ‘Love, Learn, Live’ podcast – a space where faith, learning, and community come together! Join our Holy Cross students, staff, and special guests as we share stories, school news, reflections, and celebrations of our Catholic values. Whether it's classroom insights, exciting projects, or reflections on our journey in faith, this podcast gives a voice to the heart of our school. Tune in to each fortnightly episode and stay connected with the vibrant life of Holy Cross! Available on Spotify now!

Podcast Link or search ‘Love. Learn. Live’ within Spotify.

Aboriginal Education Plan - Parent Meeting

Lindsay Burns
Acting Assitant Principal

On Sunday 14 September at 10am our Year 6 students will receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. The Sacrament of Confirmation continues, strengthens, confirms and celebrates the gifts of the Holy Spirit received in Baptism. At the conclusion of Jesus’ earthly ministry, he promised his followers that he would send them the gift of the Holy Spirit who would help them to live as he had taught them and to pass on his message to all the nations. (See John 20:22 and Acts 2).

Our students are prepared for this very important Sacrament by Father Paul in parent and student workshops. We thank Father Paul for these workshops (the final one will be Thursday night 11 Sept at 6:30) where we listen, discuss, reflect and pray so that we have a well developed understanding of this special Sacrament of initiation. On Wednesday we also had a special retreat day in the Parish Hall where we were also joined by students from our local public schools who are also receiving this special Sacrament. Please pray for our Year 6 students this Sunday as they take this next step in their faith journey.

Christmas Art Competition 

An annual event for our students is the Christmas Story Art Competition organised by the Diocese of Wollongong. The subject matter is drawn from the Religious Education Curriculum and includes additional verses from the Gospel of Matthew. 

Six ‘winners’ are selected each year and entered into the Diocesan Competition. We look forward to announcing these winners after our Feast Day.

Final Grade Mass for this Term: Thursday 18 September 9am - Year 6 and Year 1.

In Peace, 

Mrs Debbie Turton
Religious Education Coordinator

Term 3 Monday Morning Prayer 8:50-9am - If you have the time, we warmly welcome you, our parents, to join us every Monday morning on the Top Plaground COLA, 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. :

Sunday Parish Mass - Families are of course always welcome to attend the Holy Cross Parish Sunday Masses. 

Tournament of Minds

We are incredibly proud to announce that our amazing team has achieved Honours in the Social Sciences discipline at the Tournament of Minds! This outstanding achievement reflects countless hours of dedication, teamwork and a passion for problem solving. 

Our Holy Cross team (Sophie A, Sophia A, Florence K, Jenna P, Zoe C, Lee K and Owen L-B) gave up their Sunday on August 24th, to present their long term and spontaneous challenge to a panel of judges. 

They approached these complex challenges with creativity, collaboration and critical thinking. The team crafted innovative props to support their solution to their long term challenge and wrote an informative fun script to address the success criteria. The Spontaneous Challenge showcased their ability to rapidly exchange ideas and work together under pressure.

We are so proud of their effort and success! The team will be presenting their Long Term Challenge to the school in Term 4, Week 2 at our school assembly. 

Owen - Tournament of Minds was fun and it was worth the effort of putting weeks of work in it. Even though we didn’t win, we were very proud of how well we worked together and are so happy we achieved Honours. 

Lee - It was an enjoyable experience.

STEM MAD

Congratulations to our Year 6 STEM MAD participants. This year, our students embraced the challenge to Make A Difference, creating innovative solutions to real-world problems that align with the values of Pope Francis's letter, Laudato Si': On Care for our Common Home.

The students recently showcased their prototypes and research to our primary classes and special guests from the Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong (CEDoW). Mr Woods, Mr Flannery and Mr Woolley were impressed by the students' creativity and their meaningful contributions to our community and beyond.

Four teams have been chosen to create videos of their projects for the CEDoW, and we are excited to share that two of these amazing teams will be heading to the University of Wollongong Innovation Campus for the Innovate for Impact Showcase later this term to present to a larger audience of both primary and secondary schools, as well as industry professionals and CEDoW staff.

Video Teams 

• Luke: No Flood Bud
• Luca, Sage, Evie: Fidget Phone Case
• Sophia, Vida, Sadie: Frankie the De-Stress Dog
• Sophie, Florence, Indigo: Anxiety Spray Kit

Innovate for Impact Teams

• Sophia, Vida, Sadie: Frankie the De-Stress Dog
• Sophie, Florence, Indigo: Anxiety Spray Kit

Luke S - My STEM MAD project (No Flood Bud) was an air pressure mechanism designed to lift houses during floods. This will help people affected in flood areas. I made my prototype with a cardboard box, a water gun and a hose to lift a lego house using air pressure.    

Luca G - My group (Sage, Evie and myself) made three different designs of anxiety phone cases. We had poppits, spikes and shells for the person using the phone to calm them down during stressful moments when playing games or other stressful situations.

Public Speaking School Finals

Our annual Public Speaking School Final competition was held on Tuesday, 9 September, with eight finalists from Stage 3 sharing their ideas and engaging the audience on a range of topics. Our school final was a wonderful opportunity for students to showcase their communication skills and build their confidence on the stage.

Each student delivered a captivating and thoughtful speech, making it a very difficult decision for our adjudicators (Mrs Colussin, Mr Burns and Mrs Thomas from the Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong.) Congratulations to all our speakers, especially our school winners Sadie K (Yr 5) and Sophie A (Yr 6.) Sadie and Sophie will now move onto the South Eastern Regional Public Speaking Finals in October, representing Holy Cross. This is a fantastic achievement for both students and we wish them the best of luck as they prepare to compete and represent our school.

Sadie K - I felt scared at the beginning and thought I couldn't do it, but I got up and felt the rhythm and felt more confident. I am nervous and excited about the regionals. 

Jenna P - I felt nervous speaking in front of everyone. It was scary, but as I spoke I felt more confident and I enjoyed the opportunity to share my speech to the school

Kindergarten Excursion

On Tuesday the 2nd of September kinder embarked on a wonderful adventure to Calmsley Hill City Farm! They were given the opportunity to milk a cow, see farm dogs at work, see a sheep being sheared and to experience farm life at its best. There was much excitement on the bus on the way, but after a long day of adventure there were lots of tired children on the way home!! It was a day of much learning and fun!

“The best day ever” (according to some of the students!)

PB4L (Positive Behaviour for Learning)

Our schoolwide focus for PB4L this week and next week include these  expectations:

VALUES IN ACTION @ Holy Cross

COMPASSION 

Include everyone at eating time and play time.

INTEGRITY

Be an upstander and report my concerns

AWARD ASSEMBLIES IN TERM 3

Our school assemblies in Term 3 will again be held fortnightly on even week Tuesday afternoons beginning at 2:30pm. Any change to the time will be communicated to parents via Compass. 

Dates for Term 3:

Week 10: Tuesday 23rd September from 2:20pm including Principal Awards

IMPORTANT DATES

IMPORTANT DATE CHANGES IN TERM 3 (SPORT/LIBRARY/MUSIC DAYS)

A number of important whole school masses, Fathers Day, our school’s Feast Day and Gala Days falling on Fridays has required some swapping of days to ensure your children do not miss out on their weekly Sport, Music/Drama and Library learning programs for your children.

Changes have been clearly highlighted on the Parent Calendar, our google parent calendar, and reminders will be posted weekly via our compass and facebook weekly infographic. 

Changes coming up:

Week 10: 

Thursday 25th September   LIBRARY/ SPORT/ Music & Drama lessons today SPORT UNIFORM 

Friday 26th September        PUPIL FREE DAY

Please note the next PUPIL FREE DAY :

TERM 3 PUPIL FREE DAYS

WEEK 10, FRIDAY 26 SEPTEMBER. Focus Area ~ Student Engagement and Wellbeing- Berry St Education Model. Module 2 Relationship – Positive relational classroom management strategies that promote on-task learning.

PARENT COURSES AND WEBINARS

Council of Catholic School Parents (CCSP) Conference – Supporting Families: Working Together in a Modern World

On 25 October 2025, the Council for Catholic School Parents (CCSP) is hosting a special anniversary celebration conference for all NSW/ACT parents and carers with children in Catholic schools! It’s going to be a value-packed day of connection and collaboration where their expert presenters will provide specialist advice on parenting in a modern world.

Dr Justin Coulson: co-host and parenting expert on Channel 9's Parental Guidance and the founder of happyfamilies.com.au 

Michelle Mitchell: sought-after author and speaker on parenting tweens and teens

Daniel Principe: a passionate youth advocate and educator, and nominee for Australian of the Year.

This conference will cover areas such as managing technology with young people, consent and respectful relationships, cybersafety, building your child’s resilience, sleep, managing anxiety, screens and brain development, supporting your child’s learning at home and at school and more!

Date: Saturday 25 October 2025

Time: 8.30 am – 3.30 pm (doors open at 8.00 am)

Location: Novotel, 350 Church Street, Parramatta, NSW 2150

Parking is available at the venue, Novotel Parramatta, for a day rate. Please contact the hotel for more information: (02) 9630 4999. Other options include Eat Street Parking. Novotel Parramatta is offering special rates for conference guests. Please call the reservations team on 02 9890 0850 or email novotel@nmsp.com.au to book and advise them that you are attending the conference. Valid until 9 October 2025, subject to availability at the time of confirmation.

Buy a ticket here: Supporting Families: Working Together in a Modern World Registration.

Find out more and book here: https://www.ccsp.catholic.edu.au/2025-conference

National Child Protection Week 7-13 September

The theme of this year’s National Child Protection Week, highlights that while open
discussions are crucial, words alone are not enough: we must turn dialogue into meaningful action.

In support of National Child Protection Week (7–13 September 2025), CatholicCare’s School, Student and Family Program (SSFP) is offering a range of engaging parent education sessions tailored for school communities across the Diocese around this year’s theme, “Shifting Conversation to Action" with  one-hour presentations designed to help families build safer, more connected environments for children and young people.

Please find information and registration details regarding two sessions:

• Face 2 Face Session @ St Joseph’s in Bulli : Understanding and Managing Anxiety: Practical tools for parents and carers (Friday 12th September, 12:45-1:45pm)
• Zoom :  Keeping Kids safe online (Thursday 11th September, 6-7pm)

ONLINE PARENT COURSES

Parent courses are also available through OnLine Training for parents seeking information or support around understanding ADHD and Autism and can be accessed via the OLT website.

Short courses are self-paced (approximately 2 hours) and include a variety of topics, with parents only able to enrol in only one course at a time.

REARRANGING THE SHELVES NEEDS A WARRIOR’S TOUCH!

Every now and again, spaces need to be assessed to see if they are being utilised in

the best possible way. Mr Burns and I have been doing this very thing with the Library. At this point, we have made a small change moving our Fiction Series stand to a new space to create a seated table space for lunchtime activities near the window which does not impact the floor space needed for Lunchtime Clubs like Dance Club and Kpop Club. However, this move left a problem - our Fiction collection was split over two spaces. Without any hesitation two of our illustrious Library Warriors, Lucy and Lara, noticed the problem and brought it to my attention.

After some problem solving with these two students, these two Warrior’s set about organising the shelves so that all of Fiction could be on the one side of the stand – and what a great job they did! Dominic, who manages the Fiction collection, was as impressed as I was with how neat and tidy the shelves now were, making his job that little bit easier.

Thanks Lucy and Lara for ‘seeing a need and doing something about it’ and for giving up a couple of your lunch times to get the job done!

NEW BOOKS – STUDENT REQUESTS

I have been able to acquire from Scholastic some ‘student requests’ to add to our collection - we have been able to use our Scholastic Rewards to purchase them. Here are just a few:

Dragon Girls – Eloise the Flame Dragon (Fiction Series)

The Baby-sitters Club – Mallory and the Trouble with Twins (Graphic Novel)

The Bad Guys – One Last Thing (Graphic Novel)

The Maps and Flags Book (Non Fiction)

The Last Dragon on Mars (Senior Fiction)

I would like to express my sincere thanks to all our parents who buy from Scholastic Book Club – our school receives reward points with each order which I use to purchase titles requested by our students. And of course thank you to our wonderful parents and staff who cover the books!

Stayed tuned for more titles…

SCHOLASTIC BOOK CLUB ISSUE 6

Book Club Issue 6 catalogues were sent home last week.  These orders are due by 12 September 2025.

How to order:

* 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.

Happy reading everyone!

Sue Murray
Library Coordinator

Holy Cross Swimming Carnival UPDATE

This year's Swimming Carnival will now be held at Corrimal Pool on Friday, December 5, between 9am- 12pm. This change is due to the renovations at Helensburgh Pool. As such, we are only able to hold 50m events for this year for students turning 8 years -12 years in 2026 (including our current Year 6 students). 

An event nomination form will be sent home next week, accepting nominations from students who can confidently swim 50m in the required strokes. Students will be required to return this before the END OF TERM 3.

A bus will transport students to and from the event. The cost for attending (entry fee & bus) will be finalised once we have the final number of students attending. The cost for spectators is $1. A compass event will be created and sent to students who have nominated to attend early in Term 4.

We will return to Helensburgh Pool for future carnivals once the renovations are complete. More information, including the nomination form, will be sent home soon.

Christopher Whitehall & Natalie Baker
Swimming Carnival Coordinators

School Sport Australia National Cross Country Championships

Competing at the Runaway Bay Sports Precinct on the Gold Coast, Jesse tackled a challenging course full of twists and turns — and came away with an impressive 12th place finish against the best young runners in the country, helping to secure the silver medal for his NSW team.

 

Jesse's amazing experience also included a trip to Sea World to see the Dolphin Presentation and Information Session, as well as competing in the Relays Day, where his NSW team brought home the bronze medal.

 

Living by the motto "Education through School Sport," Jesse created memories that will last a lifetime. We are all so incredibly proud of this remarkable achievement.

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

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. 

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.

PARENT TIPS - FROM OUR CATHOLIC CARE COUNSELLOR   

Building Self-Esteem 

Self-esteem is a fundamental aspect of emotional well-being that influences how individuals view themselves and interact with the world. When children have healthy self-esteem, they are more likely to feel confident in their abilities, try new things, and bounce back from mistakes. It helps individuals recognise their worth, believe in their abilities, and feel confident in expressing themselves. This foundation supports their learning, friendships, and emotional resilience. On the other hand, low self-esteem in children can lead to feelings of insecurity, withdrawal, and difficulty coping with challenges. Supporting and encouraging children in positive ways helps build their self-esteem, setting them up for long-term success and wellbeing.

Here are some tips to help your child build self-esteem:

Offer Genuine Praise – Focus on effort and improvement rather than just outcomes. Saying things like, “You worked really hard on that!” encourages persistence and confidence.

Encourage Independence – Let children try things on their own, even if they make mistakes. Learning through experience builds competence and self-belief.

Example: Let your child pack their own school bag or make a simple lunch. If they forget something, talk it through calmly rather than scolding—this teaches responsibility without shame.

Celebrate Strengths – Help your child discover and use their unique talents and interests, whether in art, sport, music, or problem-solving.

Be a Positive Role Model – Show self-respect and confidence in your own actions. Children often mirror the attitudes and behaviours of their parents.

Listen and Validate Feelings – Make sure your child feels heard and supported. Acknowledge their emotions and help them work through challenges without judgment.

Example: If your child says, “I’m not good at sport,” you might respond with, “It sounds like today was hard. I know you’re still learning, and that’s okay. What part did you enjoy?”

Set Realistic Expectations – Encourage your child to do their best, but avoid putting pressure on them to be perfect. Help them see that mistakes are a normal part of learning.

Create a Safe and Loving Environment – A home filled with warmth, encouragement, and unconditional love helps children feel secure and valued.

Example: Use bedtime as a moment to connect: “I’m proud of you today. I noticed how kind you were to your friend when they were upset.”

Sara Ljuboja

School Counsellor