Message from Mrs Meyer 

On Friday, we celebrated the feast of Australia’s first saint and patroness, Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop. Mary MacKillop was a woman of compassion, courage, and deep faith, who believed that education was essential for building strong communities and nurturing every child’s potential to know God and carry hope into the future.  

"If we have love in our hearts, we shall have God with us"

Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop

We certainly experienced a school full of love the last couple of weeks. We saw our fabulous Prep teachers, Louise, Abby, Nat and Wendy spend hours preparing their classrooms to celebrate a very special milestone of 100 Days of Prep. Their dedication, along with the effort of families who went the extra mile to create some truly incredible costumes, made the day one to remember for our youngest learners.

The spirit of celebration and community continued into the afternoon as we welcomed hundreds of grandparents and special friends to join us for prayer and an afternoon of fun and connection. The sun even made a special appearance!

There were games galore (including some very competitive card games!), portrait drawing, painting, and beautifully handmade gifts created in Outdoor Education with the help of our new teacher, Edwina. The smell of rosemary salt is no doubt filling many homes and maybe even seasoning a Sunday roast or two!

Our school was filled with smiles and stories as children proudly shared their classrooms and their learning with the people who mean so much to them.

We have had the privilege of experiencing Holy Cross at its best. By all accounts, it was one of the biggest community events in years, and one we won’t soon forget. Maybe this was what Mary MacKillop envisioned education to be for every child, a place of warmth, welcome and community. 

May we see with Mary’s vision.  

May we love with Mary’s heart.  

May we live with Mary’s courage.  

May our God bless us, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  

Amen 

Many Blessings,

Eloise Meyer

In the loop this week...

• This Monday, our students will be taking part in a scheduled evacuation drill. These drills take place at least once each term to help everyone stay familiar with the process and ensure everything runs smoothly if ever needed. Teachers will guide students through the steps, including the sounding of an alert and moving calmly to the designated area on the asphalt. 
• Tuesday our school leaders will be working with Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) to develop our new School Improvement Plan. This will include our recent review report as well as data from a range of sources.  As Mary MacKillop would say 'Never see a need without doing something about it!', which is why this processes is such an important part of our school improvement journey.   We have a chance to set the direction for targeted and intentional improvement to ensure every one of our students experiences excellence in education and the opportunity to fully flourish at Holy Cross. 
• Wednesday & Thursday we look forward to welcoming many parents for Termly PSG meetings.  These have been an incredibly valuable tool to keep our targeted supports collaborative and on track. 
• Thursday will see our Year 2 students attend Day Camp and some of our Year 4 Students participate in the annual 'Master Chef' competition at Sacred Heart College. Thank you to all the parents and teachers who have supported the preparation for both of these events.  
• On Friday, our whole school will be participating in a Mad About Science incursion to round out Science Week.  
• A quick reminder that Book Week is coming! Friday 22nd  of August is our Annual Book Parade in celebration of Book Week.

All students attending Holy Cross Primary School have the right to feel safe. The care, safety and wellbeing of children and young people is a fundamental responsibility of all within our school.