Dear Parents & Carers,

We have had a great start to Term 4 and we are looking forward to all of the fun and excitement that the final school term brings. Some of the restrictions we have had in previous months have been lifted, however there are still many in place. We will work within these to host our Kindergarten 2021 Orientation Program as well as celebrating Grandparents Day through ‘virtual’ messages of love as well as a Christmas concert, talent quest and Year 6 Graduation.

World Teachers Day is being celebrated across Australia next Friday, 30 October. We are so blessed to have such caring and passionate teachers at Holy Cross and next Friday is an opportunity to acknowledge their commitment and dedication.

This dedication is demonstrated by their commitment to their ongoing professional learning and development. This is an important aspect of the teaching profession. Keeping up to date with evidence based research and teaching practices is fundamental in providing our students with relevant, contemporary and engaging quality Catholic education.

We congratulate Miss Facci and Miss Costello on their recent tertiary graduations:

Miss Costello - Graduate Certificate in Leadership and Theology

Miss Facci - Graduate Certificate in Religious Education

I am also delighted to announce that Holy Cross is involved in an Apple Teacher Program.

The Apple Teacher qualification is a series of self-directed learning modules that develop skills and knowledge around the effective use of the iPad. This involves a number of virtual check-in sessions, working on innovative environments and using  new skills in the classroom. I congratulate Mr Bõdy and Mrs N. Baker, for achieving the iPad Apple Teacher qualification. 

I also acknowledge Mr Whitehall, Miss Facci, Miss Keane and Mr Bõdy who are currently completing the Apple Teacher 'Mac' course as well. These valuable professional development courses certainly add to our ability in providing quality learning and teaching opportunities for our students.

Farewell Mr Sadjovski

We say goodbye and thank Mr Sadjovski for teaching Year 1 each Thursday since the beginning of Term 3. Mr Sadjovski has accepted a full time position elsewhere in the Diocese. Mrs Mel Villanti will teach Year 1 each Thursday for the remainder of the year. We welcome Mrs Villanti to the Holy Cross community.

Mrs Kaylene Duffin
Principal

Administration Reminders

• School gates open at 8.20am and supervision is from 8.25am. 
• If students are taken out of school for a holiday, extended sport or family leave  (apart from illness) this leave must be requested in writing to the Principal prior to the event.  This type of leave is managed in Compass by the school office, please contact the office for forms.
• Illness—If your child is absent due to illness, please call the office, send in an email or enter in Compass.

                                        Thank you

NEXT PUPIL FREE DAY

• Monday, 23 November

Canteen Menu - Term 4

• The canteen will operate every Wednesday & Thursday - Breakfast and Lunch 1.
• Friday for breakfast, Lunch 1 and Lunch 2. 

LIBRARY NEWS – TERM 4

As we approach the end of the year, there are just a few friendly reminders.

• Library day for the whole school is FRIDAY.
• Students must have a Library Bag to borrow – if a student has misplaced their school Library Bag, they may bring another bag.
• Last borrowing day is Friday, 20 November 2020 (Week 6).
• All Library books MUST be returned by Friday, 27 November 2020 (Week 7).
• If a lost Library book is found or a Library Book is damaged, please return it to the Library.
• Deadline for Scholastic Book Club ONLINE orders for Issue 7 is Wednesday, 28 October 2020.

Happy reading everyone!

Mrs Sue Murray, Library

GARDENING CLUB – A Fruity Favourite, a New Term and a New Leader!

Kindergarten 

In Week 10 our Kinders finished off the term by evaluating our program with 100% of students saying they enjoyed Gardening Club! The highlight of the session was of course The Great Taste and Sniff Off  between Strawberry, Cucumber, Mandarin and Raspberries. With an overwhelming majority I can report that STRAWBERRY reigned supreme for Kinder 2020.

Term 4

This term Gardening Club will be working in the classroom with Year 2 (Week 2-5) and Year 1 (Week 6-9). We will be investigating as part of their Science unit – Living Things: “How can we improve a local environment to encourage living things to thrive?” The planning was all done in Week 1 and we can’t wait to start with our Year 2s this week.

Lunchtime Gardening Club 

At the end of last term, there were quite a few pots to plant out and garden beds ready for mulching so our members got busy.

We would also like to welcome our newest leader - Mikaela (Year 2).  Like all our leaders, Mikaela has shown enthusiasm, a willingness to work hard, and given up her Thursday lunchtimes for over a term to be a part of the GC team and always with a smile on her face.  From everyone at Gardening Club – Congratulations Mikaela and welcome.

Stay tuned to see what we get up to next.

Mrs Sue Murray, Gardening Club