Good afternoon Holy Cross families,

Term Three is flying along, with plenty happening around our school over the last two weeks and a slew of events lined up for the next few weeks. As a staff we are thoroughly enjoying seeing our children continue to challenge themselves and collaborate in their learning. Please see our Learning & Teaching and Holy Cross Happenings pages for more details.

Father's Day Breakfast

We absolutely love welcoming our families into our school. It was brilliant to see so many Dads, Grandads and special father figures at our annual Father's Day Breakfast this morning. We hope you enjoyed spending time with your children, and with one another. Thank you to our PFA legends who were up at the crack of dawn to prepare a delicious brekkie for everyone.

Prep 2025 interviews

I say this every year, but Prep interviews have to be one of my favourite things to do as part of my role. Meeting with families, learning about the likes and dislikes of children, helping to ease any worries and sharing in the excitement of the next adventure for each child is immensely rewarding. We can't wait to welcome all of the children to our school next year!

Book Week

Thank you to Zoe, our Literacy Leader, for organising Book Week and our upcoming Book Fair. I would also thank Kellie for organising the Possum Magic aspect of the dress up day, but I'm not sure if I would really mean it ;-) Thank you families for entering into the spirit of the day and helping your children come up with some creative and amazing costumes!

Sacrament of Eucharist Family Evening

Lisa recently led our family evening focused on the Sacrament of Eucharist. Families entered into dialogue about this special sacrament, using clay as a medium to generate reflection. Father Vincent also joined us, he was delighted to be part of this faith focused event and to see and hear families engaging with one another as parents are the first church for children. Thank you Lisa, Father Vincent, Sheree, Tracey and Sian for your support of our children.

Ranges Music Spotlight Concert -thank you PFA

We recently hosted 12 schools for the annual Ranges Music Spotlight concert. There was a great vibe in the multipurpose room as the children shared their musical talents with their families. Our awesome PFA ran a sausage sizzle on the day - thank you Kara, Belinda, Wendy and Madeline. We appreciate your time and energy.

Semester Two - Parent Engagement sessions

Thank you to the families who joined us for our Yr 3 - 6 Parent Engagement session focused on reading. Zoe has provided some information in the Learning & Teaching section of the newsletter for anyone who was unable to make it.

Term 4 Parent Engagement dates:

Yr 3 - 6 Writing - Tuesday 15th Oct 9:10am - 9:40am

P-2 Reading & Writing - Monday 28th Oct 9:10am - 9:40am

Yr 3-6 Inquiry - Thursday 7th Nov 2:30pm - 3:00pm

P-6 Faith - Wednesday 27th Nov 2:30pm - 3:00pm

Professional Development

Zoe, Kate J and I recently attended a third day of learning as part of the Northern Region School Improvement network. We have been immersed in the MACS 2030 Vision for Instruction and in reflecting on our practice at Holy Cross. We are already well on our way to ensuring evidence based practices are to the forefront of our teaching and learning. We will continue to engage with this work as a whole staff. Our entire staff also recently completed a CPR refresher for First Aid, along with reviewing our response to children with asthma.

Each year all MACS schools take part in a survey to gather data about all aspects of our school. MACSSIS survey timeframe is fast approaching. Our children in Year 4-6 will complete this survey at school. A number of families will also be invited to complete the survey via email. We use this data to help drive school improvement and to set targets for the following year. If you receive this survey, please consider taking the time to fill it in so we can continue to ensure that Holy Cross is a place where children flourish.

School illnesses

We have many children away from school at the moment with a variety of illnesses. I have attached some further information about Whooping cough via the link below. Please be vigilant for any symtoms of this illness.

Father's Day Prayer

Pilgrimage - Journey of St Paul

The Outer North West Zone Principal group have been engaging in faith formation professional development since late last year. We have been collaborating with Dr Rosemary Canavan to deepen our knowledge of St Paul. As part of our learning we have been privileged to secure funding from MACS to travel overseas to follow in the footsteps of St Paul. We will be visiting sacred sites in Greece and Turkey, celebrating Masses and creating a prayer reflection book as a group to present to MACS. I will be away from school for the last two weeks of this term. While I am away Holy Cross will be in the very capable hands of our Leadership Team, with Kellie in the role of Acting Principal and Kate J in the role of Deputy Principal. As always please do not hesitate to reach out to your child's class teacher if you have any concerns.

Wishing everyone a safe and peaceful break, looking forward to seeing you all next term.

Aoife

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.

Happy Birthday!