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Dear Parents and Carers,
Thank you to those parents who were able to join the Parent Information Zoom on Monday afternoon and those who were able to join the P&F Meeting on Wednesday night. I was very grateful for the positive feedback in regards to remote learning and for the appreciation expressed for the work of the Holy Cross staff during this time.
Your feedback is extremely important at this time and I ask parents to voice any concerns directly to the school. The class teacher, Mrs Jennett or myself can be contacted via the office. Class teachers will continue to check in with families over the next few weeks but please do not wait to make contact if you have any queries or concerns.
What is very clear from the feedback we have received regarding home learning experiences thus far is the challenge of balancing learning expectations with the ongoing and varied challenges families are dealing with each day. In response to this, teachers are refining students’ workload and the mode of delivery to ensure greater student engagement.
Teachers are planning approximately 2 to 2 and a half hours of learning in K-2 and 3 hours of learning in 3-6. These times however, will vary for individual students depending on how long it takes individuals to complete tasks. Some students may take longer because they need longer to process the task and then complete it whilst others may take longer because they go above and beyond expectations. During home learning, teachers do not have the opportunity to make on the spot adjustments about timing, so please feel free to make these at home.
I want to emphasise the importance for families to do what they can do in home learning and feel confident to adjust the daily timetable to suit your family.
Feast of Mary MacKillop - 8 August
On Sunday we celebrate the Feast of Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop. Whilst our students will be invited to participate in a Liturgy remotely next week, our intentions earlier in the year were to mark this very special day with a whole school Mass followed by an official blessing of the ‘new’ signage at the front of the school which highlights Mary and our Josephite charism. Once again, we must amend, adjust and postpone events that we were looking forward to. Despite this being disappointing and frustrating we can look to the life of Mary for inspiration and strength.
In 1907, she wrote to the Sisters:
We must let no obstacles deter us from proceeding with courage in the path marked out for us. It may sometimes be dark and full of windings, but a beautiful bright light shines at the end of this path and a few more windings will bring us to it.
How incredibly relevant are her words for us today? On this feast day, ‘may we share in her courage, see with her vision, and love with her heart.’
Stay safe and take care,
Kaylene Duffin
Principal
Advice for Parents and Students Regarding ‘Meltdowns’ During Remote Learning
“Pandemic Fatigue’ is real….and mixed with uncertainty and limited peer interactions, this can lead to children having crying fits, tantrums or ‘meltdowns’. Doreen, our Catholic Care Counsellor, has developed a video titled, Understanding Our Emotions During Lockdown for students to help them understand certain emotions they may be experiencing during remote learning. We encourage parents to share this video with their children. This clip will also be posted on students’ Seesaw next week.
Doreen, is available to support students and parents during remote learning. Please contact the school office.
Playground Update
The first stage of our top playground build is complete! We will not have complete access to it until all of our students are back onsite and this will then give us time to begin the next stage which includes installing new drainage, laying the new grass and creating a new garden area.
EXCITING NEWS FROM THE LIBRARY
We’ve done it again! All Holy Cross students have completed the Premier’s Reading Challenge for the second year in a row! However, such a momentous effort doesn’t just happen – our students had the full support of our wonderful staff to make this happen.
K-2 have completed the challenge at school a HUGE thank you to their classroom teachers and Mrs Barbuto for reading the many beautiful PRC picture books throughout Term 1 and 2.
Year 3-6 were required to complete the challenge themselves online, all our students completed a paper Reading Log each Library lesson which was kept in the Library. This was then to be used when they had their session on how to enter their log online - Year 4 and 6 were Term 2 and Year 3 and 5 were Term 3.
Then Lockdown hit! I had a sneaky suspicion that all our primary students would be close to completing the challenge so I looked at their paper Reading Logs. Between their Reading Logs and the texts that Mrs Barbuto and their classroom teachers read to them throughout the last two terms, it became obvious that ALL our primary had done more than enough to complete the challenge - it was just a matter of filling out the online form (which was not the most user-friendly). I am very proud to announce that ALL primary student reading logs have now been updated and completed.
A HUGE THANK YOU also needs to go to Mrs Duffin and Mrs Jennett for their continued support of the challenge.
Every student will receive a certificate at the end of the year.
CONGRATULATIONS HOLY CROSS – I am very proud of you all!
Mrs Sue Murray, Library
‘Lockdown’ Resource from Maggie Dent
Maggie Dent has shared some of her best resources to help families cope during this current lockdown.
Some of the articles include:
- How to Help Your Kids Stop Fighting At Times of High Stress
- Parenting An Only Child Through the Coronavirus Pandemic
- Fidgeting & Farts: Boys In Isolation