Dear Parents and Friends

On Tuesday night many of our Year 3 students made their first reconciliation with Fr. Andrew and Fr Ken. Reconciliation is the sacrament of Penance and Confession, among other names. Jesus knew well that many of us would forget our brave baptismal promises and commit grave sins after our Baptism. He knew that many of us would lose the grace, the sharing-in-God’s-own-life which came to us in Baptism. Since God’s mercy is infinite and unwearying, it seems inevitable that he would provide a second chance (and a third and a fourth and a hundredth if necessary) for those who might relapse into sin. All we have to do is ask for forgiveness and mean it.

See-Saw and Teacher Contact

See-Saw is a wonderful way for our teachers to show you some of the great things that your children are doing throughout the day. Please ensure that all correspondence is made through the school office and not on See-Saw. If you need to contact your children’s teacher, please do so using the info@hchdow.catholic.edu.au email address or by phoning the school office.

Principal Appraisal

As you are aware the Catholic Education Office will conduct a formal principal appraisal in June. A part of the process is a Panel Review, which will be occurring on Wednesday, 19 June 2019. The Panel is comprised of an external Educational Consultant, a peer Principal and a CEDoW Leadership member. On this day the Parish Priest, members of Staff, Students and a Parent representative group (approximately 12 parents) will meet with the panel. If you would like to be included in the parent group interview which will be scheduled for approximately 40 minutes, please speak with myself or contact the school office.

Semester One Reports (Years 1 - 6) and Interviews (Years K - 6)

Students Reports for Terms 1 & 2 will be sent home on Friday 21 June. These reports will hopefully give you an understanding of how your children are doing at school, areas that they have achieved in and areas where improvement may be made. Parent Teacher Interviews will take place on Monday 24 June and Wednesday 26 June from 2pm – 6pm. These interviews will be booked using the COMPASS portal and will be open for bookings from Monday 3 June. If you have any concerns or questions about how your children are doing at school, please do not wait untill then, make a time to have a chat to their class teacher.

Kindergarten 2020 Enrolments

The enrolment process has begun for Kindergarten 2020. It is hard to believe another year has passed and we will soon begin interviews for places in 2020. If you have a child beginning school next year, please ensure your application is lodged at the school office as soon as possible. Enrolment forms for Kindergarten 2020 are available from the school office or from our Website.

NAPLAN

Well done to the Year 3 and Year 5 students who completed NAPLAN last week. Students were calm and tried their very best. We look forward to the NAPLAN results showing us all just what a great job the students and teachers are doing at Holy Cross. A big thank you to Mr Body, who coordinated the NAPLAN process and to Miss Facci and Mrs Rowles for their support of the students during the week of testing.

7 Steps to Writing

On Saturday 1 June, Mrs Vezinias, Miss Costello and Mrs Rowles will attend a full day of teacher training aimed at supporting our students to be even better writers. These three fabulous teachers will return to Holy Cross and share with the rest of the staff all that they learnt on the day. I thank them for their commitment and professionalism to give up their weekend to help the students in our community. As principal I am proud of our staff and the amazing commitment, time and effort they put into their profession so that our children have every opportunity to be the best that they can be.

Mr Brendan Dickinson
Principal

SPB4L

SPB4L is an evidence-based framework that emphasises school-wide systems of support for all students and staff. These include proactive strategies for defining, teaching and supporting appropriate student behaviours. Positive behaviour supports are implemented for all students, across all school settings, by all staff, at all times. This continuum of support ensures students’ academic and social outcomes.

All student behaviour expectations are founded on our four school rules that are:
Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be safe and Be Kind.

National Simultaneous Storytime

On Wednesday at Holy Cross we participated in National Simultaneous Storytime! This was a national reading event with the aim to have 1 million students reading simultaneously at 11am. This years book was ‘Alpacas with Maracas’ by Matt Cosgrove. We all enjoyed listening to the story. If you would like to find out more visit:

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National Reconciliation Week

National Reconciliation Week is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.

Reconciliation Week occurs from 27 May to 3 June and commemorates two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey — the successful 1967 referendum, and the High Court Mabo decision respectively.

Reconciliation must live in the hearts, minds and actions of all Australians as we move forward, creating a nation strengthened by respectful relationships between the wider Australian community, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Our pathway towards reconciliation begins with Sorry Day on 26 May. It is an important moment to remember the past policies of forced child removal. We reflect on the sad and painful history of the Stolen Generations and recognise moments of resilience, healing and the power of saying Sorry. National Sorry Day is held on 26 May each year to acknowledge and recognise members of the Stolen Generations.
We will be acknowledging these significant moments at Holy Cross with a prayer on Monday 27th May at 8.50am to which you are very welcome to attend.

Sickness

The cooler weather brings with it increasing numbers of children presenting at school with symptoms of cold and flu. When children are in close proximity with others, the spread of common colds can be passed on through touching hands or objects (e.g. tissues and toys) or by breathing in droplets from sneezes or coughs.

To help prevent the spread of cold and flu, the children are encouraged to:

• cover their mouth when coughing or sneezing
• keep hands away from their eyes, nose and mouth
• throw tissues away after blowing their nose
• wash hands thoroughly with soap, particularly before eating food and after blowing their nose.

At school we are encouraging the children to lift their arm and cough into their elbow, therefore covering their mouth and reducing the spread of germs. This is something that most children are familiar with from their preschool days.

If your child is showing signs of cold and flu, please keep them at home. If you have an ongoing concern, it is suggest that you contact your medical practitioner.

Good Luck Luca Beattie

On Friday 10 May, Luca went to Canberra to represent Wollongong in a Soccer Gala Day. He played for other Catholic school teams from around the state. At the end of the day the selectors chose a squad to be part of the MacKillop team. Luca was chosen to be part of this team that will go to Bathurst on Monday 27th May, for a week-long tournament, to play 13 teams from around the state.

We wish Luca the best of luck!!

Mrs Dimitra Vezinias
Assistant Principal

Reconciliation

Congratulations to the Year 3 students who made their First Reconciliation on Tuesday night. Reconciliation is a time to be forgiven for those things we have done that turn us away from what is right and God. Thank you to Miss Facci for her preparation of the children and her involvement in the liturgy.

Year 3 & Year 4 Parish Mass

You are invited to the Year 3 & Year 4 Parish Mass on Sunday, 2 June at 8:30am. Students will be involved in the running of the Mass and the school and parish combined Vinnies Winter Appeal will be launched. All are very welcome.

Pentecost Mass

Sunday June 9 is Pentecost Sunday. It was at Pentecost that the disciples experiences the Holy Spirit for the first time. On Tuesday, 11 June at 9:15am, the school community along with Father Andrew will celebrate Pentecost with Mass. Everyone is invited to share in this celebration as we acknowledge how the Holy Spirit is alive at Holy Cross.

First Holy Communion

On Sunday, 23 June at 8:30am during the Parish Mass Year 3 students will receive the sacrament of First Holy Communion. Holy Communion is about being united with Christ as we remember the words he told us during the last supper, “Do this in memory of me.” We ask that you keep these students in your prayers as they prepare for this special occasion.

Miss Emily Costello 
Religious Education Coordinator