Dear parents and friends of Holy Cross,

I am pleased to announce the class teachers for the 2023 school year.

Kindergarten - Mrs Melissa McEntee

Year 1 - Miss Elise Facci

Year 2 - Mrs Tami Henniock 

Year 3 - Mrs Anne Rowles

Year 4 -  Mr Jeff Body & Mrs Lucia Barbuto (one day)

Year 5 - Miss Emily Costello & Mrs Lucia Barbuto (one day)

Year 6 - Mr Chris Whitehall

I will be in the position to announce all other staff positions in our final newsletter of the year in Week 9. 

For the remainder of this year, teachers will be focussed on appropriately acknowledging and enhancing the growth and development of students through quality transition processes from this year to the next year. To do this, teachers will follow the CEDoW Students Transitioning from Year to Year Procedure. At Holy Cross, this will include:

• current grade teachers meeting with the teacher who will teach their students in 2023 to pass on educational, social and pastoral information relating to each student 
• 2023 grade teachers to visit the classrooms and observe lessons of the students they will teach in 2023
• students spending time in their 2023 classroom with their 2023 teacher

The season of Advent commences this Sunday. This is a significant time in our Churches liturgical calendar. It is a time for prayer and thoughtful preparation about the true meaning of Christmas. As a Catholic school, we want to honour the season of Advent before moving into the commercial side of Christmas. As such, students are welcome to bring Christmas cards, candy canes, small Christmas chocolates to share with their friends from Monday 5th December. Please be mindful that any treats do not contain nuts.

Thank you for your continued support and encouragement. I am looking forward to sharing the remaining three weeks of 2022 with your children.

God Bless,

Kaylene Duffin

Scripture Focus

This fortnight our whole school scripture focus comes from 1 John. In the letter John reminds us of the commandment to love one another. He reminds us that God loved us so much that he sent his son, Jesus, to show us how to live our best lives. This passage explains that when we show love, we are to show it in our words and our everyday actions. These actions of love and kindness are what we call mission moments. I encourage you to speak with your children about acts of love, mission moments, they have had in their day. 

1 John 3: 16-18

 From the first letter of St John        

 This is the message you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. We know that we have passed from death to life because we love one another.

We know love by this, that Jesus laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?

Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. 

 The word of the Lord.

Advent

This Sunday we enter into the season of Advent. Advent is a time of preparation for Jesus’ birth. As a Catholic Community we mark advent with an Advent Wreath. The wreath has an evergreen circle which represents the eternity of God's love with no beginning and no end. Additionally, each week a candle is lit on the wreath. These candles represent hope, faith, peace and joy. 

Over the next three Monday’s we will celebrate Advent with a liturgy at 8:50am. All are invited to join in the celebration.

St Vincent de Paul is asking for your help again this year to donate non-perishable food items to make up Christmas hampers. In order for Vinnies to create as many Christmas food hampers as possible, items have been split throughout the school. In each classroom a basket is located near the prayer space to receive donations. Donations will be presented to the local St Vinnies members on Thursday 15th December.

 Kinder – Packet of lollies or chocolates

Year 1 - Spreads such as vegemite, jam , honey etc

Year 2 - Breakfast items such as porridge, cereal etc

Year 3 - Tea, coffee milk etc

Year 4 - Tinned spaghetti, baked beans or any 'on-toast' foods etc

Year 5 - Dessert mixes, custards or small Christmas puddings

Year 6 - Packet of casserole foods such as pasta, rice or a jar of sauce etc

There are no restrictions on how much you can give. 

Thank you for your generosity.

Holy Cross Parish Giving Tree

Each year the Parish of Holy Cross supports the St Vincent de Paul Society by giving gifts to those in need. If you would like to bring joy to their lives this Christmas, I encourage you to buy a present for one of these people.

 Gift tags are available from the Giving Tree located in the Church or from a basket in the school office foyer from Monday 28th November. When wrapping your gift please place it in an unsealed gift bag. This assists with making sure gifts are given to the most appropriate person.

 Thank you

 Miss Costello

Religious Education Co-Ordinator

At this busy time of year, we thought it would be helpful to provide you with a schedule of our end of year school events:

 Holy Cross End of 2022 Events

Please find the dates for all pertinent school events on the HCH Parent Calendar

https://www.hchdow.catholic.edu.au/news-and-events/

Swimming Carnival

We will be holding our 2023 School Swimming Carnival on Friday 9 December for students in Year 1-6 - details and a permission note will be sent home this week.

Reports to Parents

Semester 2, 2023 Student Academic Reports for students in years K-6 will be made available to parents via their Compass Parent Portal on Friday 9 December. Parents of students in Year 6, who are not remaining in the Diocese of Wollongong, are encouraged to print their child’s report (please see the office if you require help with this). Parents will have the option to make an appointment with their child’s teacher to discuss the report during Week 10. Please contact the school office to make the appointment.

Assemblies

Our final school assembly for 2022 will be held on Wednesday 7 December at 8.50am. We will be presenting Principal Awards and ICAS Awards along with our usual awards. Everyone is welcome.

Parent Feedback Survey

Each year the school must write an Annual School Report (ASR). An important component of this report is a summary of the perspectives of parents, staff and students about the education and general functioning of the school. Your perspectives are greatly valued and we would appreciate you taking the time to complete this survey by Monday 28 November.

https://forms.gle/NpiQJoqWXR2CHiV1A

ICAS 2022

The following students nominated to participate in the externally offered 2022 International Competition and Assessments for Schools (ICAS) for 2022. They will receive their certificates at our next school assembly: Sophie A, Lee K, Ally A, Mattia W, Tom A, Oliver M, Mia G, Mia A, Nevra W, Joseph F, Nate A, Ripley F.

Holy Cross Has Talent.

We are excited to host the Holy Cross has Talent Event in 2022.  

This will be held on Monday 12 December  and Tuesday 13 December in week 10 and is dependent upon numbers. We are inviting any students to share a special talent that we don't normally see at school, with a school audience these days. 

Students will be allocated a day (Monday or Tuesday) and can share 1 talent only but can share with a sibling  as well. Family groups will perform on the same day.

Some examples ofacceptabletalents to share are;

Sing a song

Play an instrument

Perform a dance

Tell 3-5 jokes

Perform a magical trick

Juggle

Special props or music will need to be provided by the students and our Year 6 leaders will support students to practice during lunch times in Week 8 and 9.

Talent time is limited to 1-2 minute per student.

There are no expectations to participate as many students will just enjoy watching and being part of the audience.

Further information on times and days will be sent home and parents are welcome to attend.

Yours sincerely,

Holy Cross Has Talent Team

Renaming House Colours

We would like to rename our School House Colours from Red, Blue, Yellow and Green to names that capture our faith and also provide a link to Aboriginal elements and the Dharawal Language. Please complete the survey attached to provide your suggestions. Link Here

Library News

Last Day To Borrow...

This Friday will be our students last opportunity to borrow for the year. Please ensure that your child has their Library Books in their Library Bag (or a waterproof bag).

Why Week 7?  End of year is a very busy time for the Library as it means stocktaking some of our larger collections amongst other Library end-of-year tasks. By ending borrowing in Week 7 means most books are returned in Week 8, therefore stocktake can be undertaken in the final weeks. It also allows a few weeks to follow up non-returned books.

Interview with a Library Warrior – Keira from Year 3

What section are you responsible for? Popular Fiction & Popular Fiction Series. 

What is your favourite book? Pearl series by SallyOdgers

What do you love about being a Library Leader? I love helping out in the Library.

What is your favourite Library task? My favourite thing is organising my section. This section is very popular and can get very messy so my job is to organise it and keep it tidy. It can get so messy that Mrs Murray needs to give me helpers!

Happy reading everyone!

Mrs Sue Murray

Library Coordinator

Lunch packs will be available for the Swimming Carnival on Friday 9th December.  A hard copy order form will be sent home to each family on the 2nd December to complete and return.

Self-Esteem and Social Media
For healthy self-esteem to form, positive feelings toward oneself must be cultivated from within. Unfortunately, social media teaches children to seek approval and affirmation from others, which then teaches them to equate self-worth with what others think of them. The feel good effects of getting a “like” on social media have been compared to the brain response when eating chocolate or winning money. This means that kids have instant access to a dopamine-inducing activity while their brains are still developing. Obviously, this is a recipe for disaster, particularly
for young children.

Some of the ways children seek approval online are:
1. How many "friends" they have online
2. How many "likes" they receive on what they post
3. Comparing how they stack up against other kids
4. The feedback they receive on a selfie or video they post

Children with anxiety may feel safer communicating online but continually doing so can intensify their fears of person-to-person interaction.

What you can do to help:

• Remind your child that real connection requires facial expression, tone of voice, body language, and mutual self-disclosure. Without these, empathy and intimacy will not form.
• Help them practice and sharpen their inter-personal social skills.
• Help your children embrace their strengths and teach them that self-esteem and self-worth are not dependent on other people; it's what we feel about ourselves that is important.
• Explain to your child that social media is largely an illusion, and it is not a good indication of their own worth.
• The most important thing you can do for your child is to limit the amount of time they spend on social media.

Doreen

We still have spaces in most classes for 2023. Thank you for your support in encouraging new enrolments at Holy Cross. Information can be received through contacting the school office.

Holy Cross Enrolment Package