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Dear parents and friends,
The Feast Day of Saint Mary MacKillop is celebrated each year on 8 August. On 17 October 2010 Mary was canonised as the first saint for Australia.
Like all Catholic school teachers in this country, the staff of Holy Cross have been gifted with the perfect role model in Mary to present to our students in modern day Australia. She is an ‘Aussie’, she is down to earth, she stands up to authority when required, she walks the talk and has a deep love for her God and people, especially those on the margins. She is the daughter of the Great South Land. She is ours.
We are so very fortunate that Holy Cross has been built on the strong foundations of the Sisters of St Joseph. Although the last representative of the Sisters of St Joseph, Sister Jane Ross, left our school in 1986, the charism of Mary MacKillop and her Josephite sisters is seen and felt within the school today.
As a community, we share the same mission as Mary MacKillop and her Josephite sisters, to individually be in relationship with Jesus so that we can be where we are needed most to support others, to be inclusive and to facilitate encounters with Jesus for all.
Parents, families and friends are warmly invited to attend mass in celebration of the Feast of St Mary of The Cross MacKillop with our students, staff and parishioners on Tuesday 8 August commencing at 9.30am.
Mary MacKillop Prayer
Ever generous God. You inspired Saint Mary MacKillop
To live her life faithful to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and constant in
bringing hope and encouragement
to those who were disheartened, lonely or needy.
With confidence in your generous providence and through the
intercession of Saint Mary MacKillop,
We ask that our faith and hope be fired afresh by the Holy Spirit so
that we too, like Mary MacKillop, may live with courage, trust and openness.
Ever generous God hear our prayer.
We ask this through Jesus Christ. Amen.
Mary MacKillop
Amen.
Thank you for your continued support,
Kaylene Duffin
Principal
2023 ANNUAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN Update
Goal 1
Improve students’ relationship with Jesus through the values of compassion, justice, hope and integrity.
- All staff participated in a faith formation session facilitated by Father Paul. Father Paul began to break open the Bishop’s document: Bearers of Christ’s Love. He challenged staff to consider how we are individually Bearers of Christ’s Love and how we facilitate encounters with Jesus for our students, families and each other on a daily basis. At our Staff Spirituality Day (Pupil Free Day) on Friday 18 August, staff will continue to explore our individual relationship with Jesus and our role in facilitating encounters with Jesus for others.
- Uncle Kevin Butler began his time with us designing the murals that will represent our core catholic values.
- A Learning walk was conducted to evaluate the impact of classes Religious Education 'walls that teach'.
Goal 2
By the end of 2023, all students will have increased their confidence and engagement in Mathematics so that all students achieve growth.
- Teachers analysed the student perception data collected at the end of Term 2. This data showed a slight increase across the school in students’ confidence and engagement in Maths since the beginning of the year.
- Mrs McEntee, My Body and Mrs N Baker attended a professional learning day focussed on developing knowledge of the six Aspects of Place Value and a pedagogical practice known as Targeted Teaching. This learning was then shared with Years 3-6 teachers on Tuesday and K-2 teachers on Thursday.
An Invitation
On Tuesday, 8 August, our school will unite with the parish community to honor St Mary of the Cross Mackillop, Australia's first and only saint, who played a pivotal role in establishing our school. Back in May 1900, Mother Mary MacKillop arrived at Helensburgh with her Sisters of St Joseph and founded the school, starting with 56 pupils.
To commemorate this special occasion, we will come together for a 9:30 am mass. Following the service, we will have the pleasure of welcoming two esteemed guests, Sisters of Saint Joseph Sr Monica Barlow and Sr Jenny Scally, who will engage in a friendly conversation with the students and any family members present at the school library. The event will conclude with a small morning tea. We extend an open invitation to all to join us for this joyous celebration.
Scripture Focus
This fortnight our Scripture focus comes from the Gospel of Mark and it remind us to, like the example of Jesus and Saint Mary of the Cross, be people of compassion and help though in need.
Mark 6:34 As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.
An Invitation to Sunday Mass
Holy Cross Parish would like to extend a warm invitation to all our beloved school families to join us for Mass on Sunday mornings at 8:30am.
Attending Mass as a family is not only a wonderful opportunity to strengthen and nurture our faith but also a chance to deepen the bonds that unite us as a parish, school and a wider community.
Some things you may not know:
- Sunday Mass goes for one hour, 8:30 - 9:30am.
- We regularly gather for morning tea and a catch up afterwards.
- Every second week we have a children's liturgy which enables our kids to build some great friendships and learn about their faith.
We look forward to welcoming you and your family at our next Mass as we come together to celebrate the gift of faith and the joy of community.
Book Week and Literacy & Numeracy Week Celebrations
We are excited to announce that our Book Week parade and celebrations will be held in conjunction with Literacy & Numeracy week celebrations on Friday 25 August. Students are encouraged to come dressed to school as their favourite book character and our whole school parade will begin at 9.15am. After the parade, visitors are welcome to visit Numeracy learning in the classrooms. We expect the celebrations to conclude by 11.15am.
Assemblies
Our next assembly for Term 3 will be held on Thursday 10 August at 2.35pm. Kindergarten will be on the Excursion and will not be in attendance.
Uniform
Maintaining high standards of uniform at Holy Cross reflects the high standards we have across all aspects of school. We are currently reminding students of the following points and ask that these expectations are supported by parents;
- School hats are to be worn to and from school and at all times on the playground
- If wearing trousers, students must wear the blue pointed collar long sleeve shirt with school tie
- Shirts must be tucked into trousers on arrival to school and on departure. Shirts must also be tucked in at all time during the school day, except during playing
We appreciate the support of parents and families in ensuring these standards are upheld.
Lifeguard Visits
We were fortunate to have had Wollongong City Council Lifeguards visit Years 2, 4, 6 last Thursday to share pertinent surf sense and sun safe information. Each of the three lifeguards gave glowing reports of the behaviour of our students and the interest they showed during the presentations.
Life Education Van
Domino Club
We have purchased over 1000 toppling dominos thanks to the generous donation from the Helensburgh Lions Club. We look forward to lots of toppling fun at our domino club.
Pre-Service Teacher
We welcome Mr Mills to Holy Cross. Mr Mills will be working with Miss Costello, Mrs Barbuto and Year 5 from Monday to the remainder of the term. We are confident that Mr Mills will learn a lot and find his time at Holy Cross valuable.
Professional Learning
Recent Staff Professional Learning
Research tells us that the quality of the teacher is the greatest in-school influence on student achievement. Therefore high quality professional learning for teachers must be a priority to ensure improved teacher practice that leads to improved student growth. Recent professional learning undertaken by our staff this fortnight includes:
26 July 2023 - Changing Our Narrative In Numeracy - Place Value & Targeted Teaching
Mr Bod, Mrs N Baker, Mrs McEntee
27 July 2023 & 4 August 2023 - Safety Interventions Training
Mrs Jennett & Mrs Body
27 & 28 July 2023 - Religious Education Coordinator Retreat
Miss Costello
1 August 2023 - Numeracy Professional Learning - Place Value & Targeted Teaching
Mrs N Baker, Mr Body, Mrs Barbuto, Mrs Rowles, Mr Whitehall, Miss Costello, Mrs Duffin
2 August 2023 - System Colloquium Day - Facilitating School Improvement with Helen Timperley
Mrs N Baker, Mrs Duffin, Mrs Jennett
Upcoming TERM 3 Dates
Please find pertinent dates for Term 3. All pertinent dates can be found on our parent Calendar.
https://www.hchdow.catholic.edu.au/news-and-events/events/
8 August - Whole School Mass - Feast of Saint Mary MacKillop
- South Coast Athletics Carnival
10 August - Kindergarten Excursion
14 August - Years 3, 4 & 5 Excursion
15 August - Whole School Mass - Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
24 August - Sacrament of Confirmation Parent Evening
25 August - Book Week Parade and Literacy and Numeracy Week celebrations
1 September - Father’s Day Breakfast and celebrations
13 September - Sacrament of Confirmation @ 6pm
14 September - Feast of Holy Cross - Grandaprent’s Day
22 September - Last Day of Term 3
Library News
CONGRATULATIONS HOLY CROSS STUDENTS!
Each term we are given the Diocese borrowing statistics from our CEO. Our borrowing stats are as follows:
Library Borrowing – 6th overall
SORA Borrowing – 10th overall
Total Borrowing – 7th overall
Considering we are the 5th smallest school out of 29 Primary Schools in our Diocese, our students should be really proud of their efforts. I believe these stats show our students commitment to borrowing which helps foster a love of reading. WELL DONE HOLY CROSS!
PREMIER’S READING CHALLENGE (PRC)
Our first Primary class to complete the PRC is…Year 3! The following Year 3 students completed the challenge last week…
Zara, Zoe, Pippin, Abbie, Logan, Cooper, Layla, Elsa, Mila, and Khai
CONGRATULATIONS to you all of Year 3 for completing the challenge!
SCHOLASTIC BOOK CLUB Issue 5 Now Open
Book Club Issue 5 catalogues were sent home last week. Orders are due by Monday, 7 August 2023.
Just jump online to order: https://bookclubs.scholastic.com.au/
CBCA SHORTLIST BOOKS
I have been busy preparing the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Shortlist Books for our teachers to share with their class in the lead up to Book Week. The CBCA Shortlist represents some of Australia’s best children’s literature and is divided into 6 categories. At Holy Cross, we are invested in providing our students with quality literature and make a priority of purchasing the age-appropriate Shortlist titles each year.
Over the next few newsletters, I will showcase two categories.
Eve Pownall Award – these books have the prime intention of documenting factual material with consideration given to imaginative presentation, interpretation and variation of style.
New Illustrator - this Award aims to recognise and encourage new talent in the field of Australian children's book illustration.
Introducing…Elise (Year 3)
What section are you responsible for?
All of the sections – I help where I am needed.
What is your favourite book?
The Hot Dog series.
What do you love about being a Library Warrior?
That I can help out.
What is your favourite Library task?
I love putting books away and that we get to listen to music while we do it – it’s a lot of fun!
Happy reading everyone!
Sue Murray
Library Coordinator
Soccer Gala Day
Welcome Back Uncle Kevin!
Last week on Wednesday, a special visitor came to Holy Cross. Known for his inspiring indigenous paintings (each one with a hidden heart), including the ‘Yulunga’ artwork in front of the office, Uncle Kevin will be with our school community each Wednesday for the rest of the year, to help us design and create four paintings representing our school’s Catholic Values: Hope, Integrity, Compassion and Justice. All students will be able to help create these fascinating pieces of art and enjoy being creative in Australia’s original form of imagination.
Uncle Kevin first came to Holy Cross in the year 2016 to create a wonderful Indigenous painting that is still standing outside of the school foyer. Now, seven years later, Uncle Kevin is back and we are pleased to have him every Wednesday for the rest of the year! Last week, Uncle Kevin came in to show us some pieces of his past artworks and even share with us his personal story. Uncle Kevin was part of the Stolen Generation. When he was only two weeks old, he was taken away from his Mother and siblings. Thankfully, many years later, he was able to find his family and reconnect with his brother. We are very fortunate to be able to learn from Uncle Kevin. We can’t wait for the end results!
Soccer Gala Day 2023
Last Friday, stages 2 and 3 volunteered to take part in a soccer gala day competition against various schools in the northern areas. Each team did exceptionally well in both their effort, sportsmanship and teamwork. Although there were no scores recorded nor counted, we can say confidently that each student had a jam packed and fun filled experience as of last Friday. Truly we believe that not only our students had enjoyed their time but those of all the teachers that came.
Girls having a blast with each other!
Illawarra Edible Garden Trail
Organised in partnership with Food Fairness Illawarra, the plan is to expand to Wollongong in 2024 and Windang in 2025. If you’re interested in being involved, please add your details to the form below: