Dear parents and friends of Holy Cross,

With our Family Fun Day being held on Saturday, I would like to thank everyone involved in preparing for this special event. Many parents have spent hours upon hours planning for and organising stalls, rides, volunteers and sponsorship. I would particularly like to thank our 2022 Family Fun Day organising committee and our P&F Executive for the time and effort they have given so that our community can come together for a very joyous event. 

Thank you also to all of our parents who have supported our Family Fun Day well before the actual day. This has included supporting our mufti days, donating books, sweet treats, chocolates and plants. Every contribution is greatly appreciated.

I am looking forward to sharing this Family Fun Day with our Holy Cross community and wider community. The Family Fun Day will be held between 11am and 3pm.

God Bless,

Kaylene

Year Four RLA

This week Year Four participated in the Religious Literacy Assessment (RLA). This assessment explores children’s knowledge and understanding of the key concepts that are addressed in our Catholic Schools and the children’s ability to communicate with their religious tradition.  We would like to congratulate our Year Four students for the way they prepared for and undertook this assessment. The Catholic Church  is in great hands.

Year Six Mass with Bishop Brian

On Wednesday, Year Six attended a special celebration Mass with Bishop Brain at St Joseph’s Bulli. It was a fabulous day of celebrating all that Year Six have achieved over their time at school. Bishop Brain inspired them, as they continue their journey towards High School. 

Scripture Focus

This fortnight our school scripture focus has reminded us of the importance of forgiveness. As well as the importance of living our lives with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. This is our aim as Catholics living out God’s mission.

Colossians 3:  12-15

12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Emily Costello
Religious Education Coordinator

Chess Club

On Thursday's at Lunch 1 Mrs Jennett is running Chess Club in the Library. The Year 1 boys have shown interest in chess and have enjoyed being taught by Ryan and Mrs Jennett.

National Science Week

We will be celebrating National Science Week on Wednesday 17 August. The students will rotate around a variety of Science experiments conducted by our teachers. All students and staff are encouraged to come dressed as a Scientist or representing a scientific profession.

School Photos

Assemblies

Due to the K-2 excursion our next school assembly will be held in conjunction with our Book Week Parade on Thursday 25 August at 1.15pm. Awards and Principal Awards will be presented, followed by our Book Week Parade at 1.45pm.

Important Term 3 Dates

Welcome to Term 3

Small Steps Anxiety program for parents

 Holy Cross Catholic Primary School is offering a 'Small Steps' Anxiety Information Seminar for parents and carers on Tue 16th of August. Small Steps is a program aimed at raising awareness and improving the recognition of anxiety disorders in children.

Topics covered during a Small Steps session:

•       Signs and symptoms of anxiety
•       Different types of anxiety disorders and how they present
•       Evidence-based treatments for anxiety disorders
•       Referral and treatment options
•       Stressors including COVID-19 and natural disasters

The Small Steps session is run by an independent facilitator, and Doreen, our school Counsellor, will also be attending.  The session runs for one hour, with plenty of time afterwards for discussion and questions.  If you think your child might have anxiety, or if you are just interested in what to look out for, please come along. 

Date: Tuesday, 16 August

Time: One session at 2pm. This session will be repeated at 5.00pm

Location: School Library

Children and Change

Big life changes can be difficult for all of us, and especially for children.  The three most important things you can do to help your children with change are to model calm and resilience yourself in the face of change; to increase childrens feelings of connectedness and support; and, as much as possible, continue to provide them with a sense of predictability and routine in their lives.

Some simple tips for helping kids cope with change:
   1. Teach your children to understand their emotions. What are they really feeling?
Anger may be the most obvious emotion, but it is often underpinned by other
emotions such as frustration, disappointment, insecurity, fear, guilt, etc.
   2. Create an environment where children feel safe to ask any question about the
changes they are facing. This will help them understand why the change is
happening and what to expect. Understanding why and how will help them
process it.
   3. Do not spring change on them out of the blue or all at once. Start talking about
the changes early so they can start to understand it and start thinking about
what they need from you that will help them on the journey.
   4. Stick to your basic routines. If you have daily routines in place, try to keep them. But do not be rigid and inflexible.
   5. Buy a visual planner or diary for your child. Encourage them to write down their
feelings, explore the pros and cons of the situation, and start planning a positive
path of what will happen, and what they need to make it happen more smoothly.
If appropriate, remind them that when one door closes, another one opens. What
might the chid like to find on the other end?
   6. Where there is change, there is loss. It can be big or small, but your child will be
leaving something behind. Encourage children to talk about what they miss and let
them grieve what they have lost. This may be their first experience of loss, so it is
an important learning/growing opportunity.
   7. Remember that children take time to adjust, so do not expect it to happen
overnight. Try not to feel guilty if you instigated the change. Life happens. Change
happens. You are doing the best you can.

As always, if you have any questions, please contact me at the school, or by email
doreenw@catholiccare.dow.org.au

Doreen

Term 3 P&F General Meeting

Our next P&F Meeting will be held on Tuesday 9 August at 7pm at the Helensburgh Pub in the upstairs meeting room. At this meeting, we are required to ratify the P&F Constitution. Information regarding this was sent to parents via Compass on Tuesday of this week. The P&F Constitution can be found below

Holy Spirit College, Bellambi

2023 Year 7 Orientation Day

Students who have enrolled in 2023 Year 7 at Holy Spirit College, are invited to attend the College’s Orientation day on Friday, 11 November 2022.

2024 Yr 7 Holy Spirit Enrolments

A reminder for Year 5 parents who are intending to enrol their child in Year 7 at Holy Spirit College, Bellambi in 2024. Holy Spirit encourages enrolment forms to be submitted to the college after Term 1, 2023 before the end of Term 1, 2023.

Cyberbullying and Online Drama: CCSP Webinar for parents and carers of young people aged 11-18 years

In partnership with the eSafety Commissioner, the Council of Catholic School Parents NSW/ACT (CCSP) is running a free webinar designed for parents and carers of young people aged 11 to 18 years old. The webinar will include hints on how to start conversations with your child about their online friendships and positive ways to deal with changing relationships.

The webinar will cover:

• starting conversations with your child about their online friendships and positive ways to deal with changing relationships
• understanding the rights, laws and community expectations that govern social media use

The webinar is being held on Tuesday 20 September 2022 from 7.30 pm-8.30 pm. Access the webinar flyer here.

Click here to register

3rd Engagine Scouts Brick Fair Fundraiser