Dear parents and carers,

Yesterday, we commemorated Remembrance Day with a whole school liturgy. The notion of pausing and reflecting upon the service that fellow Australians willingly gave for the sake of others, always inspires me. Remembrance Day does not glorify war – it honours the memory of all those who laid down their lives for Australia. Images of war, violence and destruction fill our social media feeds. Pope Francis has been inviting us to think of our neighbour since he began his papacy and he constantly calls us to consider who is our neighbour. When we look through the news and some of our social media feeds, we can be brought to tears by the vulnerability of children caught in war zones, in places that we may have heard about in geography and religion classes, but not necessarily known about in terms of human cost and the impact of war. On Remembrance Day, we unite in solemn respect and remembrance for all those who served and died.

They shall not grow old as we that are left grow old

Age shall not weary them nor the years condemn

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.

Lest we forget.

Annual School Report

Each academic year every school in NSW is required to complete an Annual School Report and as such, I am seeking the voice of parents and carers for their perspectives on our school which will help to inform our school’s 2021 Annual School Report. If possible could parents and carers complete a very quick survey indicating your satisfaction with Holy Cross. The link to the survey is below.

Annual School Report Parent Survey

The closing date of the survey is Friday 26 November 2021. Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback to the school, as we value the feedback from our community.

Kind Regards

Mrs Kaylene Duffin
Principal

Please Do Not Use The Church Driveway To Pick Up Children

Semester 2 Reports

Due to the disruption caused by COVID-19, adjustments to curriculum have been made throughout Terms 3 and 4. Focus for Semester 2 has been on student wellbeing and learning, and priority has been given to Religious Education, English and Mathematics. As a result of this extended period of Remote Learning and the lack of opportunities for teachers to provide quality assessment tasks to determine student learning attainment and/or growth, student reporting in Semester 2, 2021 will look a little different to the one you received earlier this year.

This report will provide information about your child’s participation in learning during this time of extended Remote Learning. The reports will be available through Compass on Wednesday 8 December.

Year 6 Parents are reminded to print the school report when they are distributed on Wednesday 8  December. This is particularly important if your child is not attending a Wollongong Diocesan systemic high school, such as Holy Spirit College, as your access to your child’s Compass profile will cease upon completion of primary school.

Assemblies

Our next assembly will be held on Wednesday, 17 November at 2.30pm. The assembly will be held via Zoom. 

Zoom Code:    https://dowcatholic.zoom.us/j/62884406443

The code will be re-sent to parents as a reminder on Wednesday morning.

Art Gallery

This year’s Art Gallery theme is, Oh, What a Year! This year all artworks will be presented via a virtual presentation. Each class will upload their artwork presentation on Seesaw on Friday, 19 November. Look out for your child’s artwork coming home on Friday 19 November.

School Fees

A reminder that all fees are due by the final payment date, this is noted on your School Fee Statement on your payment schedule.

PAYMENT OF SCHOOL FEES BY INSTALMENT

If you are currently paying by instalments there is no need to complete another Request to Pay by Instalment as your request carries over from year to year unless you wish to amend the frequency of your payments eg Weekly to Fortnightly, etc.

If you would like to pay school fees by instalments in 2022 and have previously not taken up this option for payment, please complete a Request to Pay by Instalment Form which is available on the school's website or from the school administration office.  On completion of the request either email it to instalments@dow.catholic.edu.au or submit at the school office.  Following receipt of the request, instalments will be generated on your school fee account during the process of invoicing 2022 school fees. Your school fee statement will provide a list of scheduled payments and their due date depending on the frequency you have chosen eg Fortnightly, Monthly, etc.

IMPORTANT:  Please note that if you currently have a child or children at another school in the Diocese and you are paying by instalments at this location, you will not need to complete another Request to Pay by Instalment.  The instalment request carries over from school to school with the same frequency of payment eg Weekly, fortnightly, etc.

Thank you - Book Donation

Yesterday at the Remembrance Day ceremony, we received two books from the Hope Church in Helensburgh. We thank them for their kind donation for our school library.

Supporting Your Teen's Mental Health - Resource for parents

Yesterday we hosted a zoom session for parents to share a resource developed by the Catholic Education Office Diocese of Wollongong. The purpose of this resource is to provide some general information regarding a young person’s mental health and well being and how parents and carers can recognise and support the mental well being of their young people. Thank you to Doreen (our school counsellor) and the parents who were able to join us yesterday. Here is the link to the full resource for you to view at your leisure:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqjAd6HVviE

 

This clip will also be shared on our school website in the coming week.

 

Vinnies Christmas Appeal

On Sunday 28 November we enter the Church season of Advent. Advent is the four-week period of preparation for the season of Christmas. During this season of Advent it is tradition that we as a Catholic community come together to help those in our local community who are in need through the Vinnies Christmas Appeal.

In this world of Covid-19 the 2021 appeal is looking a little different.

On Friday 26 November, in preparation for Advent beginning, the school will be having a mufti day. In return for wearing mufti we are asking for donations of either a gold coin or food hamper items. Some examples of food items are sweet biscuits, lollies, chocolates, chips, nuts, soft drinks, cordial, tinned fruit, custards, cereals, tea, coffee, milo, poppers etc. Donations will go to the Helensburgh Vinnies.

Additionally, the school will be supporting the Parish St Vincent de Paul giving tree. The Tree helps to bring joy to the lives of those in need during the festive season. More details of the giving tree will come after its launch on the first Sunday of Advent. 

Thank you for your generosity.

Parish Masses

Holy Cross Parish along with Father Paul celebrates weekday Masses each week on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, at 9am. Sunday Mass at Helensburgh Parish will be celebrated at 8:30am. Registration is no longer necessary, however details will be recorded at each Mass in line with government regulations.

If you have any Parish based questions, you can contact the Parish secretary Kerrie Halloran Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday between 9am-4pm on 4294 1009.

Miss Emily Costello
Religious Education Coordinator

TERM 4