Dear Parents and Carers,

Despite the obvious COVID safe measures we have had to put in place, I am so grateful for the smooth transition our students and staff have had for the return to school this term. The patience, cooperation and flexibility demonstrated by parents, staff and students, once again reflects the unique strength of our school community. Thank you.

I would like to reiterate some words from our Director of Schools, Mr Peter Hill, who has captured what our school community has achieved in recent times:

The last two years have been extremely disruptive, but through it, our mission has not changed. We are here for our students. To help them reach their learning potential. To invite them into a personal encounter with Jesus. To ensure that each one of them is known as a person and learner and feels valued and included. To help them build positive relationships, experience connection, and find meaning and purpose. This is why we exist: for them.

On Tuesday, we welcomed our 2022 Kindergarten students and their families into our school community. This is such a significant time in the lives of the students and families and I am reminded of what a privilege it is to be able to share in such moments.  

Additionally, we welcome three new families to Holy Cross. Welcome to our students Lily, Ryan, Asher and Cooper. You are most welcome. 

Mrs Kaylene Duffin
Principal

I wanted to take this opportunity to welcome everyone back to another school year and especially welcome new families to Holy Cross. Being a Catholic school we often come together to pray. Some occasions where prayer is held and celebrated include; beginning of the school day, assemblies, Religion lessons, special events such as ANZAC day and before meals. These prayers may be traditional prayers like ‘The Lord’s Prayer’ and the ‘Hail Mary’ or contemporary prayers like the Holy Cross School Prayer and our school Mary MacKillop Prayer. Below are copies of each of these prayers. As a family you may want to spend some time exploring these.

Father Paul is our Priest in Residence at Holy Cross Parish. Father Paul celebrates weekday Masses each week on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 9am. Sunday Mass is celebrated at 8:30am. All families are welcomed the come to celebrate Mass at these times.

Miss Emily Costello
Religious Education Co-Ordinator

Staffing 2022

Parish Priest: Fr Patrick Vaughan

Priest in Residence: Fr Paul Clark

School Leadership Team

Principal: Mrs Kaylene Duffin

Assistant Principal: Mrs Kate Jennett

Religious Education Coordinator: Miss Emily Costello

Middle Leader: Mr Jeff Body

Class Teachers

Kindergarten: Mrs Melissa McEntee

Year 1: Miss Elise Facci

Year 2: Mrs Tami Hennock and Mrs Kate Jennett (Fridays)

Year 3: Mrs Anne Rowles

Year 4: Mr Jeff Body and Mrs Lucy Barbuto (Wednesdays)

Year 5: Miss Emily Costello and Mrs Lucy Barbuto (Thursdays)

Year 6: Mr Christopher Whitehall

Instructional Coach: Mrs Natalie Baker

Learning Support Teachers

Mrs Bernie Baker 

Mrs Jenny Mitrevski

Physical Education Teacher: Mrs Kate Boyle

Music/Drama Teacher: Mrs Melissa Sommerville

Library Teacher: Mrs Lucy Barbuto

Senior School Support Officer: Mrs Erin Maguire

School Support Officers

Mrs Jo Carroll - Office

Mrs Sue Mapp - Office

Mrs Sue Murray

Mrs Sylvia Richardson

Mrs Larissa Timmins

Mrs Kim Attenborough

Executive Assistant to the Principal

Mrs Dianne Bartholomeusz

STAFF PROFESSIONAL LEARNING

As we begin the school year, I wish to reiterate the importance of teachers’ continually learning and growing in their craft. Effective teachers use evidence based strategies to teach their students because research tells us this is the best way students learn. Effective teachers engage students with meaningful and relevant content and flexibly use various forms of delivery to engage their students. The truth is however, that all teachers need to continually reflect on their practice, adjust that practice and spend time learning together in order to refine their teaching so that students achieve greater outcomes. Professional Learning is crucial in increasing teachers’ knowledge and skills. 

In today’s teaching profession, Professional Learning is mostly held during the school day. Our teachers still attend Staff Meetings and Collaborative Professionalism meetings after school hours each week, however courses or intensive Professional Learning sessions are usually held during the day. These sessions are crucial. We must ensure our teachers are up to date with their practice and are given time to collaborate with others in order to come up with unique and meaningful learning experiences for our students. 

This year, we have three significant areas of focus for our Professional Learning:

• Assessment Driving Learning (all teachers)
• Teaching Reading Strategies in Stages 2&3 (Yrs 3-6 teachers)
• K-2 New Curriculum (K-2 teachers)

Each of these areas will require teachers to attend a number of professional learning sessions during the school day which will mean our students will be taught by a relieving teacher. On these occasions, teachers always leave detailed lesson plans.

Each Newsletter will include a Professional Learning section that captures the learning teachers have been involved in throughout the previous fortnight. The purpose of this is to provide parents with an overview of the type of learning our teachers are engaging with.

28 January 2022

Staff Development Day - All teachers and staff

31 January 2022

Staff Development Day - All teachers and staff

9 February 2022

Leadership Team Meeting Half Day

Mrs Duffin, Mrs Jennett, Mr Body and Miss Costello

10 February 2022

Environmental Education Planning Half Day

Mr Body and Mrs Rowles

P&F Annual General Meeting

We are so fortunate to have such strong parent support at Holy Cross. Our Parents and Friends (P&F) body are a significant voice for our students and families who work with the school for the betterment of our students. P&F meetings are held each term. In Term 1 each year, our first P&F meeting is the AGM. This will be held on Tuesday, 22 February in the School Library at 7pm. We encourage all parents to come along. Please wear a mask and sign in using the QR code. 

Rapid Antigen Tests

Thank you for your patience with the distribution of RATs. This week, we are continuing to provide students with two more tests for next week. Once the next delivery arrives, we will distribute more tests for the following week, that is, the week beginning Monday 21 February. At this point in time, RATs are recommended for the first four weeks of school. We will keep you posted if anything changes.

School Assemblies

In Term 1, Assemblies will be held fortnightly at 8.50am on Thursdays. Unfortunately, whilst we are unable to have parents onsite with us, these will be Zoomed. Please know, we are looking forward to welcoming parents and families to our assemblies as soon as we are able. 

Reminders and Zoom code will be sent to parents on the day before each assembly.

Parent Calendar and School Dates

All pertinent school dates and events can be viewed on our School Website under the News and Events tab https://www.hchdow.catholic.edu.au/news-and-events/

Please click on View More Upcoming Events to see further events.

To view the 2022 School Calendar, please click on View Our School Calendar under the Upcoming Events section. From here, events can be added to your own calendar.

Sending Food To School

Please be reminded that we have a number of students with severe allergies to various foods and therefore we request that the following foods not be sent into school:

• Foods containing nuts eg all types of nuts, sesame seeds, Nutella, Peanut Butter
• Foods containing whole eggs eg egg sandwiches, boiled eggs

Sending in Treats to Celebrate Birthdays

Some families choose to send in a small treat for their child’s classmates to celebrate their child’s birthday. Please note, this idea is not welcomed by all parents. If parents choose to send in a small treat to share with classmates, we ask that these be limited to Freddo Frogs or Snake lollies only.

Communicating with Teachers

Parents are encouraged to make contact with their child’s teacher at any time throughout the year. Please contact your child’s teacher through the school office rather than through Seesaw. Office staff will inform teachers of parents’ requests. Thank you for your cooperation with this.

Punctuality and Attendance

School attendance is an important indicator of academic and social achievement. Just one day a fortnight away from school equates to 4 weeks of school missed a year. The impact of consistent late arrivals or early departures has similar affects. Every minute counts, every minute lost can lead to gaps in students’ learning, confidence and socialisation.

Please note that the law requires us to inform you of our concerns around attendance. If a student has a number of unexplained absences or falls below appropriate levels of attendance, you will be informed. This will allow us to work together to improve attendance levels. 

Entering Student Absences on Compass

If your child is absent due to sick leave or a medical appointment, please inform the school by phoning, emailing or logging the absence onto the Compass via the Parent Portal. For any other leave, including Travel, permission must be sought from the Principal prior to the leave. Permission is sought by filling out the Student Leave forms available from the school office. Once this leave has been the approved, the school will place the leave on Compass - therefore parents should not use the ‘Travel’ option on the Compass Parent Portal. Thank you for your cooperation with this.

Traffic Reminders

We appreciate your vigilance when driving and parking on MacMillan Street during student ‘drop off’ and ‘pick up’. A free reminders:

• No Parking Zone - each school morning between 8.30am and 9.30am
• Bus Zone - each morning 8.00am - 9.30am and each afternoon 2.30pm - 4.00pm

The attached resources are worth reading. They are simple reminders to ensure our community remains safe.

Letter from the Premier

Please find a letter from the NSW Premier, to all parents.

Letter from the NSW Premier

Safer Internet Day @ Holy Cross

Swimming Carnival

Congratulations Ruby

Congratulations to Ruby (Yr 5) for being selected in the Wollongong Touch team to attend the MacKillop selection trials on Friday 18 March, 2022. This is the second year in a row that Ruby has qualified! Good luck, Ruby!!