Year 12 Final Day

Yesterday was the beginning of a momentous few weeks for our Year 12 students as they formally completed their final day of classes at Holy Cross. They were farewelled by their houses, shared a lunch with staff, completed classes and then we gathered at 3pm for a final photo. The photo was taken on the stairs where we had our first foundation photo 5 years ago! The Year 11s joined us to replicate this original photo. We followed this with a Year 12 only photo. We wish this lovely group all the best as they journey towards the end of the year. 

The Juniors in Week Nine

YEAR ONE

HOLIDAYS are in the air but we’re still working hard in Year One! Throughout this fortnight we have been looking at descriptive writing as our genre focus, measurement in Mathematics and insects for Science. 

We have written pieces describing people; looking at what they have, what they look like, how they act and our thoughts about that person. One example, written by Lucas:

Steven Diamond

There is an imaginary friend. His name is Steven Diamond. He is ten years old. He is an explorer, he has blue eyes. He has short hair. His favourite colour is blue. Steven is funny. 

I like Steven.  

We also described an orange and wrote a description about the fruit. Some of our describing words included: sweet, sphere, round, yummy, juicy, bitter, tangy and delicious. During week nine we looked at describing our classroom focussing on what our room has, colours and feelings we experience when we’re in the room. The students have been trying to use commas to list things so we can remove the word ‘and’. The children have enjoyed writing descriptions and have made a lot of improvements. 

         

During Science with Mrs Tucker we have been analysing insects and their body parts. We are able to label the head, thorax, abdomen and number of legs on a range of insects. We have also looked at the variety of habitats insects live in. Within Mathematics with Mrs Tucker we’ve been measuring length and height. We have also been estimating before we have been measuring!

We are looking forward to sharing our Big Ideas projects with you all during our final term assembly. We hope you have an enjoyable holiday!

Miss Behiels

Class Teacher

Pre-Primary

Finally Spring has sprung and the holidays are just around the corner! The Pre-Primary students have been thoroughly enjoying getting a little wet during water play, taking their shoes off to run around in the sand, applying sunscreen and drinking lots of water to stay hydrated. 

The Pre-Primary students cannot wait to share their Assembly Monday afternoon and their digital story during Friday’s Learning Journey, based around our Big Ideas topic "What is our Story?”. 

I would like to thank all of the Pre-Primary parents who have supported the students by assisting with activities, classroom duties and external cooperation. The Winter Term Learning Journey has been uploaded and it should be accessible to all parents via Parent Coneqt under Assessments. 

It is almost time to sit back, relax and reflect on another successful term. 

Miss Pritchard

Class Teacher

Kindergarten

It has been a ggggggggggreat fortnight in the Kindy room, with lots of fun and learning. We have been investigating the many interesting things that start with the letter G. Last week we read a story about a giraffe named Gerald who could not dance very well until he got some special advice from a grasshopper. We used our artistic hand painting talents to reproduce a picture of Gerald dancing. After this we did some of our own grooving to music by pretending to dance like different animals.

We also listened to the story of “The Gingerbread Man” this week. After reading the book, some of the children recalled that there were different characters in the versions they had previously heard.  We decided to research some of the variations in this fairy tale. These Kindy children are very clever at identifying differences. We have also become very observant in identifying the use of exclamation marks in stories and love to change our voices when we read. Of course we had to make our own tasty gingerbread men, like the lady in the story, although we made sure we ate them before they ran away!

We have been lucky to inherit the use of the pluck-a-duck game from the Middle School’s Big Ideas project. We are having lots of fun with the game to help us read and identify numbers (with some clever cookies even reading big numbers like 52 and 68!) Our mathematics learning has branched out into our amazing playground with the children collecting bark chips to make patterns and number sequences. Aren’t they geniuses?

Other News

The Coffee and Conversation session scheduled for last Friday with the College Social Worker, Mrs Jo Betti, was unfortunately postponed. Further information will be provided once a date is confirmed.

Parents and family members are reminded to keep Friday, 26 September in their diary to celebrate the end of Winter Term with the students. Times and details will be provided shortly. 

Phase Two of the playground is almost complete. We look forward to opening the facility at the commencement of Spring Term. 

The Junior School also take the opportunity to farewell the Year 12 students who are celebrating their school journey during this last week of term and wish them success in their future pathways. 

Miss Croswell

Head of Junior School

21 September 2014

And the winner is....

Madison and Jessica!

The winners of our Masterchef challenge were announced today. Congratulations to Madison and Jessica who were voted the school favourites with their Sparkling Cranberry Brie Bites.

All the children joined in saying thank you to their buddies and congratulations to our winners with a shared morning tea on the grass downstairs.

This project has been a wonderful learning experience and collaborative effort between both classes. The Year Two students have loved being with their buddies and wish the Year Twelve students who are leaving, all the best for the future. We'll miss you all!

Mrs Ryan and Mrs Brown

11 September 2014

2015 Senior School Booklist

Year 11 & 12 students for 2015 can now begin the process for ordering their books for Spring Term, week 2. 

Year 10 2015 will receive a revised booklist as soon as it is available. 

Heads of Learning in English and Maths will be informing students of their allocated class on Monday. 

Please contact me via direct message if your have any queries.

Anita Walmsley

Assistant Deputy Learning 

17 September 2014

Assistant Deputy: Enrichment Notices

Senior School Exams:
Senior School exams start next week. It is compulsory for students to attend all scheduled exams. If a student is unable to attend, parents need to make contact with the College. Students will only be cleared for home study if they have good standing in all their courses. Parents will be notified by SMS on Friday 19th as to whether their child has been approved for home study. Students should be studying for exams during this time.

Year 7/8 Subject Selection 2015:
Year 7 & 8 students have been given their subject selection booklets and selection sheets. These need to be returned by Monday 22 September. Forms that are on time will be given preference for course selections.

Year 10 River Cruise:
The Year 10 River Cruise is going ahead on Friday 10 October. Students will need to go home after their AM exam and be back at the College by 3:15pm to be bussed to the event.

Paul Murphy
Assistant Deputy Principal
16 September 2014

Coming Events

Ozanam House Mass and Celebration

Parents/Guardians are invited to join students for the Ozanam House Mass to celebrate the life of Frederick Ozanam. Frederick Ozanam established the St Vincent de Paul Society and is a wonderful role model of faith and service for our students.

Date:                 Wednesday 17 September 2014

Time:                 8:30am

Venue:               St Helena of the Holy Cross Church, Ellenbrook

Year Levels:      PP-2 and 7-12

Please advise the College reception if you wish to attend.

Blessing and Official Opening of Stages 2 and 3 Building Project

Parents/Guardians are invited to join the College for the Blessing and Official Opening of Stages 2 and 3 Building Project, which includes the Early Learning Centre, secondary Learning Centre comprising additional Learning Studios and a Design and Technology Centre, and extensions to the College car park.

Date:                  Thursday 18 September 2014

Time:                 10:00am

Venue:               College Amphitheatre

Year Levels:       PP-2 and 7-12

Tours of the new facilities will be conducted after the official opening.

Please advise the College reception if you wish to attend.

Final Assembly and Learning Journeys

Parents/Guardians are invited and encouraged to attend the final College assembly for the Winter Term. Parents/Guardians have the opportunity to walk through displays of students work as well as view the outcomes of this term’s Big Ideas projects. The assembly will provide an insight into the many activities conducted over the term through the LIFE Leaders reports and acknowledge the exceptional talents of our students with the presentation of certificates.

Date:                  Friday 26 September 2014

Time:                 1:00pm

Venue:               Learning Resource Centre

Year Levels:       PP-2 and 7-10

Arts Showcase

The Arts, both visual and performing, is a critical element in defining the culture of a society and gives an insight into the values and stories at a particular point in history. Parents/Guardians are invited and welcome to attend the opening of the 2014 Holy Cross College Arts Showcase, which presents a collection of students work completed throughout the year. The exhibition will continue for one week after the official opening.

Date:                 Monday 20 October 2014

Time:                 6:00pm – 8:15pm

Venue:               Learning Resource Centre

Year Levels:      7-12

Mr P Collins

Vice Principal

16 September 2014

Calling all Master Chefs!

During Week Eight, the Year Two students and their buddies from the Secondary School Child Care Course completed their healthy food project culminating in a cooking competition. The students had to plan, prepare and present a meal that could be served in small portions containing at least three food groups. On Wednesday morning they cooked the meal and served it to the students in the Secondary School at recess. The students were all asked to vote for their favourites, with the winner being announced this coming Wednesday during the last class together! 

All of the children were really excited. They showed a wonderful maturity in the kitchen and when ‘selling’ their product. Some of the children learnt the importance of icing when cooking and how sometimes simplicity is best! 

The reception from the rest of the secondary students was fantastic. Comments were made regarding how they wished they had done this in Year Two and how the food was really good! Our Year Twos were brimming with pride, excitement and nervousness! Well done everyone on a wonderful job! 

A huge thank you to Mrs Brown and our buddies! 

The Year Two students are asked to provide a small savoury dish to share at the morning tea on Wednesday 17 September. The Secondary students will be providing a sweet dish.

Mrs Ryan

Class Teacher

14 September 2014

Applications for State Training Providers - Now Open

All students wishing to apply for State Training Providers next year need to do so now. Applications are now open. You will be able to select up to four preferences for courses you wish to select. See the link below to go to apply online.

http://tasonline.tafe.wa.edu.au/

Paul Murphy
Assistant Deputy Principal
9 September 2014

Year 10 Curriculum Enrichment Week

Year 10 Students were involved in a mixture of activities to enrich their classroom learning.

Monday & Tuesday involved whole day placements to gain hours for the College's Christian Service Learning program - Giving Life. Students were in placements all over Perth and were were working very hard to assist others. While some students were putting up fencing, others were assisting the elderly in the daily duties.

On Wednesday the students attended a religious retreat day at the College and on Thursday students completed a day on Human Sexuality. The last day day of the week involved visiting Careers centre's, State Training Providers and Universities. While at Edith Cowan University, students had the opportunity to visit the Physical Education facilities and try out some of the bio mechanical equipment. See below for a picture of students trying out their reaction time.

Paul Murphy
Asssistant Deputy Principal
9 September 2014

Exciting Times in the Junior School

Year Two

In Year Two we are developing digital stories. We have had to brainstorm in groups of three, then we each developed a storyboard to create our ideas for an Aboriginal Dreaming story. Our groups cut out each slide and worked out what was the most interesting story. We are writing a draft of our story so that we can create a story using the digital technologies in our classroom. We have learnt that the planning of our ideas is the most important process in our writing so that our story makes sense and flows.

In mathematics we have started investigating multiplication and division concepts. We are learning the vocabulary involved and the strategies that we can use to work out a multiplication sum. We have used arrays, groups of items and how to use repeated addition. This is challenging but we can do it! 

Over the last couple of weeks we have been working with our buddies to prepare for our Masterchef challenge. The challenge will take place on Wednesday 10 September during recess. We will be cooing a meal and then asking other students in the school to vote for their favourite! 

Mrs Ryan

Class Teacher

Pre Primary: We are happy and we know it!

The Pre-Primary students exuded happiness during the Curriculum Enrichment Week and since finishing they have rejoined class activities with ease.

Collectively the students have made an iBook retelling the Dreaming story "Warnayarra the Rainbow Snake", orignally compiled by Pamela Lofts, by painting pictures to represent the parts of the story and using their voices to narrate it. The students are looking forward to presenting their work to you during the end of term assembly.  

The Pre-Primary's demonstrated team work and a sense of belonging by contributing to the making of our school garden with the Year Eight students during Big Ideas. A range of herbs and vegetables were planted and will be maintained by the Holy Cross students.

Recently the students learnt about Fossilisation; the Dinosaur dies, over time the sediment covers the body, and Palaeontologists then discover the fossils and carefully remove them from the ground. Once all the fossils are collected they are displayed in museums. Take a look at Sienna making a dinosaur Skeleton.

The Pre-Primary's will be hosting the Junior School assembly on Monday 22 September. Please mark it in your diaries as the students cannot wait to show you their learning from term.

Miss Pritchard

Class Teacher

Kindergarten Father’s Day Fun 

Last Thursday we celebrated our wonderful dads, granddads and all the special father figures in our lives. We excitedly returned back to school in the evening with our dads and quickly showed off our amazing new playground. After working up an appetite from all the climbing and balancing, we enjoyed a tasty sausage sizzle cooked by the amazing Master Chefs, Mrs Matthews and Miss Croswell. With the sun starting to set, we went indoors to perform a special song and dance about how much we love our dads. The children had also been interviewed during the week to share some inside information about what they believed their dad did all day and why they think their dad is so special. Their responses were shared in a video which proved to be a bit too insightful, but also very entertaining!

The children then led their dads around the classroom to participate in an assortment of activities. The children cut out and decorated ties for their dad to wear, and matching crowns were also made for the dads to be “king for the day”. Biscuits were decorated with tasty treats and seedlings were planted in small pots to take home. Some dads also enjoyed the opportunity to participate in regular classroom activities such as sharing a storybook, box construction or building in the block corner.

It was a delightful evening enjoyed by all. A special thank you to the dads and granddads for coming and sharing our special celebration.

Mrs Tucker

Class Teacher

8 September 2014

Holy Cross College Feast Day Friday 12 September 2014

Mr P Collins

Vice Principal

8 September 2014

Week Seven in Year One

Wow the term is flying! This fortnight we have enjoyed Curriculum Enrichment Week looking at Ellenbrook and learning about different cultures. We can’t wait to share all of our BIG IDEAS learning with you during our end of term assembly.

During Mathematics in Week Seven we have focused on subtraction and money. We discussed why the Queen’s head is on coins and what types of animals feature too. We learnt an interesting fact about Kangaroos and Emus, did you know they can not walk backwards? That is why they are on our Coat of Arms because we are always striving to move forward as a country. 

Our PAThS feelings this week are tired, excited and fine. 

Fine is when we are smiling and our body language is relaxed. It also looks like we feel OK and nothing is bothering us. 

Excited is the way we feel when we are eager or enthusiastic about something. We are usually being very active when we are feeling excited. 

Excited and fine are both comfortable feelings. 

Tired is an uncomfortable feeling when we sigh deeply, yawn and slump our shoulders. 

We now have six feelings to use during our day and we will continue to add more throughout the rest of the year. 

We look forward to seeing you at our assembly this Monday, 8th September. 

Miss Behiels

Class Teacher

8 September 2014

Year 8 Curriculum Enrichment Week - New Norcia.

In Week 6 of Winter Term, the Year 8 students spent five days exploring the theme of 'Stewardship of our Gifts.' After a retreat day here at school, and a hike encompassing another section of the Camino Salvado, the Year 8's departed for three fun-filled days in beautiful New Norcia.

Upon arrival, the students settled into their dorms in St Ildephonsus' College, and then headed outside to enjoy the sunshine.

The evening included a visit from Abbot John, where the students learned about the process of becoming a monk, and were able to ask some interesting questions about the history and traditions of New Norcia. They also enjoyed a campfire activity, complete with marshmallows and spooky stories.

Thursday morning saw the group up bright and early as they left for their choice of morning activities, which included a river walk, morning sport, photography, prayers with the monks and visiting the bakery, where the students saw the 120 year old wood fired oven and tasted some New Norcia delicacies! 

Thursday was a very busy day for the Year 8's, as they completed three of their five activity rotations. A particular favourite was the Mia Mia and axe creation activity, where students learned about the legacy of New Norcia's Aboriginal people.

Thursday ended with a quiz night, where the students put their brains and teamwork to the test.

After another round of early activities, Friday allowed us time for a mass with Fr. Christian to give thanks for our wonderful week, and a final rotation through our last activities.

The outstanding cooperation, enthusiasm and creativity displayed by the Year 8 students and the commitment of the staff that attended meant that the three days spent at New Norcia were both enjoyable and productive for all involved. Many thanks to the staff who attended and also the staff of New Norcia for their help in creating a wonderful experience for the Year 8 students.

Miss Emilie Reynolds

Year 8 Innovator

4 September, 2014

Year 7 Curriculum Enrichment Week

The Year 7 students spent Curriculum Enrichment Week by engaging in their local surroundings, to answer the question, 'What's water worth?'

Monday was spent at Bells Rapids, where students completed a flora and fauna observation and a field sketch, which is a skill they will continually utilise in the Geography lessons. We spent the afternoon trekking a small section of the Camino Salvado, from Bells Rapids to Walyunga National Park.

On Tuesday, the students spent the day in Ellenbrook, and work commenced on a mosaic which will be displayed around the school. They learnt about the town's public art and water bodies, and got to test some of the Swan River water with the Swan River Trust.

Wednesday morning was spent in Guildford, where the students got to find out more about the town's early history, and why many of the first settlers thought it was such a good place to settle and build a house. We also visited Woodbridge house before returning to school where students got to make a tippy tap.

The year sevens visited Mundaring weir on Thursday, where they completed a variety of different activities, including a walk over the dam, and a visit to the pump station. Students really got to think about the value of water for the people involved in the early gold rushes. 

On Friday, the day was spent at school, with students completing the mosaic, creating a photo journal of their week and listening to a talk by Hugh Gardener, from the City of Swan. Students enjoyed a sausage sizzle with their parents, before the learning journey where they explained to their parents and friends what they had learnt over the week. 

L Wallace
Year 7 Big Ideas Team Leader

Year 9 Curriculum Enrichment Week - City Experience

Curriculum Enrichment Week saw the Year 9 students spend time exploring Perth City and their big question: 'Can Perth Learn to Play?' The students developed a sense of independence and confidence with using public transport, including the train network as they met teachers in the city each day. On Monday, students brought their Perth Monopoly game into the city through the selection of 'Golden Tickets' to a range of locations around Perth City in which students then competed in challenges through which teams could win $500 in Monopoly money. The challenges included developing an innovation to create a fun use of the tall buildings in St Georges Terrace to designing a new restaurant or cafe for Perth.

                        

On Tuesday, students collected photographs for their Photo Narrative and attended a tour of Parliament House. They also began to work with their teams to develop their ideas for their innovation to improve the fun and engagement of Perth City for people.

Wednesday saw students focus their attention on Kings Park, with students participating in a range of activities to develop an understanding of how Kings Park attracts and engages people with the natural environment as well as Western Australia's Aboriginal Culture and War Histories.  

On Thursday, the students collected information from a range of primary sources, in particular through conducting surveys and taking photographs and observations. The group also congregated at St Mary's Cathedral to participate in the 12.10pm Mass. Many of the students made use of the State library to collect sources for their inquiry task while a select few were fortunate enough to attend the Perth History Centre with Miss Wang to explore a range of historical sources about Perth City.

On Friday, students again made use of the many information sources available at the State library before heading to Northbridge and lunch and bocce games at the Perth Italian Club, to celebrate the end of a great Curriculum Enrichment Week for Year 9.

                      

Ms Karen Taylor

Year 9 Innovator

1 September 2014