National Reconciliation Week

National Reconciliation Week (NRW) is celebrated across Australia each year between 27 May and 3 June. The dates commemorate two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey—the anniversaries of the successful 1967 referendum and the High Court Mabo decision.
The week is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures and achievements and to explore how each of us can join the national reconciliation effort. 

The theme for NRW 2015 is It’s time to change it up.
NRW 2015 is a chance for us all to take some fresh action to spark a change in our school, workplace or community—no matter how big or small. This week our students will be made more aware of what the week stands for and we will pray together that Reconciliation will continue to occur in every corner of Australia.

Harry Muller
Ministry Coordinator 

Senior School Learning Conversations

A reminder that Senior School Learning Conversations are happening on Wednesday this week. They will be held in the LRC from 12.30pm. These are especially important, given that subject selection is coming up and students in Year 10 have their first set of exam results in.

In Year 11 and Year 12, these conversations are vital in terms of giving you a sense of your child's progress and more importantly, strategies for the future. 

PTO login information was sent via email in early May. If you need any help in making these appointments, please don't hesitate to call.

We look forward to seeing you.

Anita Walmsley
Assistant Deputy - Learning

LifeLink SleepOut

The LifeLink SleepOut is one of the College’s main fundraising events for the year and we are very proud of the wonderful effort students make in preparing for the SleepOut and raising the money that they do.

We began the sleep out four years ago with the intention of ‘doing a little good’ and it really has become something none of us could have predicted. The support for the SleepOut increases year after year and really makes our College motto ‘I came that they may have life and have it to the full’ something that we see in action. We look forward to another fantastic event this year with lots of stories to tell.

The Sleep Out this year will be on Thursday, 4 June and will begin at 6.00pm in the College Undercover Area. Parents are welcome to join us for the first 30 minutes until we get underway with the evenings activities. A soup kitchen will be provided for students to have their evening meal. Students will be required to attend the sleep out in warm clothes and will be able to wear casual clothes the following day at school. 

Students must raise a minimum of $50 to participate in the SleepOut. Funds raised for the event can be paid to the Finance Office at any time from now and until Wednesday 3 June. 

See you there!

Miss Danielle Hodgson and Mr Harry Muller

Workshop of the Week - Keynote for Infographics

Junior School Disco and Middle School Social

The Junior School playground was abuzz with excitement on the morning of Friday 15 May 2015 with Junior School Disco only hours away. The disco theme of “Disney” provided enormous opportunities for students to dress up as their favourite character. The most popular character by far this year was Queen Elsa of Arendelle (also known as the Snow Queen) from the movie Frozen. The rumour mill was alive and well with one Year One student telling mum that “you don’t have to go to school on the day of the disco”! This myth is far from the truth; even the Senior School students are required to come to school for half a day on the day of the College Ball. It was great to see the parents get into the spirit of the night with one dad accompanying his daughter dressed impeccably as Prince Charming. It was a wonderful evening with students dancing and singing along to many popular songs.

The Middle School Social followed with the theme “a day at the races”. It was a chance to dress up, with the ladies donning some very fascinating fascinators! A few colts arrived with one student dressed as a jockey complete with his steed. Students enjoyed the thumping rhythms of the music chanting along with a number of songs. The supper of a pizza and drink was devoured in quick time to return to the dance floor to continue dancing the night away.

Our student leaders gave great assistance on the night getting into the spirit of both the disco and social, dressing up on each occasion. The night was only made possible with the help of many people. We are grateful to the staff, students and parents for their assistance on the night.

Mr P Collins

Vice Principal

All Schools Cross Country

Just over 50 students from Holy Cross participated in the WA All School Cross Country Championships held on Friday 15 May at McGillvray Oval, Mt Claremont. For some, it was their first exposure to inter-school Cross Country and it was definitely an eye opener for them with some students having to race against over 200 other students in their respective age groups.

A bright note for the College were some fantastic individual results with more than 10 students finishing inside the top 100 places. The highlight was Cian Guest who finished 4^th in the 15 years boys race. This qualifies Cian for the Western Australian state team for the 3^rd year in a row. Cian  will be representing Western Australia in Athletics in an international meet in Kuala Lumpur in July.

It has been a pleasing Cross Country season so far with lots of students regularly attending training. The improvement of the students has been impressive over the last few years and we are looking forward to seeing some great results at the ACC Cross Country next Thursday.

Below are some of the performances from the students in their respective age groups.

Boys
Cian Guest 4th

Luwaya David 46^th

Liam Duffy 56^th

Kaelan Hesketh 69^th

Arthur Benfield 71^st
Yugul Soka 75^th

Bailey Challen 80^th

Jai Jones 81^st

James Evans 82^nd

Sean Murphy 83^rd

Chad van der merwe 91^st

Girls
Natasha Whyte 102^nd

Nyakuen Ajang 103^rd

Cailtin McKenzie 112^th
Zoe Palusak 109^th

Taking Action and Making a Difference in Year 9 Big Ideas

 This week saw Year 9s put their work over the past 14 weeks into action as they presented their solutions to what they identified as the 'Great Wars of the Twenty First Century'. The students shared their messages both within the College community and with the wider world, many launching their informative websites, blogs and Twitter feeds. A number of teams completed the process of formally proposing new and innovative College initiatives to raise awareness and understanding of global issues facing humanity.

A number of the 'platoons' made a difference to their 'Great War' by engaging with some of the youngest members of the College community in the Junior School where they shared interactive stories about the environment and germs, educated the students about smoking and technology and got them moving to encourage a healthy, active lifestyle with a Zumba class. One platoon took action on the war on consumerism by promoting the fun that can be had with simple, recycled materials as they constructed two scarecrows for the Junior School playground, assisted by some very enthusiastic helpers from pre-primary! 

The Year 9 students then utilised their blogs to reflect on their journey through the Great Wars project and the difference they have made to their College community or the wider world.

Ms Karen Taylor

Year 9 Big Ideas

21 May 2015

Ngala FIFO Workshop

Does your family have a parent or family member working away from home or on a FIFO schedule?

Ngala, provider of Early Parenting and Early Childhood services, is offering a workshop for families to discuss tips that might help. Please see the website for further details. 

Melissa Croswell

Head of Junior School

20 May 2015

NEAS After School Competition

Last week saw the start of the NEAS Soccer and Netball competition at Ellenbrook Christian College. All teams played valiantly across both days with our two Netball teams coming out with a win as well as our Year 8/9 Soccer Team. This week we will have our first round of Home games, Netball at the College and Soccer down at Arbor Grove with all spectators welcome. For future references I have attached the fixtures for the season and link to the venues.

Kindergarten Speech Pathology Assessments

Kindergarten parents will receive feedback from Speech Pathologist, Ms Jenni O'Neill, during Week 5. A report outlining the results of the assessments conducted during Summer Term and subsequent recommendations will be provided. Parents are invited to follow up with their child's class teacher if there are any concerns. 

Ms O'Neill refers to the Hanen Centre® which promotes language, social and literacy skills for children. The following article discusses strategies to help develop children's vocabulary: Shoot for the SSTaRS Strategy.

Parents are encouraged to: talk often with their child/ren; play various categorising, sorting and matching type games; and read and listen to their child/ren read daily.

Melissa Croswell

Head of Junior School

18 May 2015

Filling in the edges of the map - what's the final frontier?

This term in Year 8 Big Ideas, students are exploring the question 'what's the final frontier?' They have begun the term by immersing themselves in workshops that investigate a range of possible frontiers - the atomic frontier, the world of nanotechnology and the depths of the sea. They are also looking at examples of frontiers throughout history, from famous expeditions to far places, to great scientific discoveries.

Later this term, the students will be undertaking a short inquiry that will require them to decide upon their own idea of the 'final frontier.'

Shining Bright!

Congratulations to all of our Year 3 students who completed the NAPLAN assessments for the first time. The students showed maturity and tried their best to complete the assigned tasks. The students are reminded that their learning continues and they are encouraged to keep challenging themselves. We also congratulate the Year 7 and 9 students who also sat the NAPLAN assessments this week.

Coming Events in Week 5

McCormack Feast Day is being held on Wednesday, 20 May. Kindergarten to Year 12 students will start the day with Mass in the St Helena of the Holy Cross Church at 8.30am and will then share lunch together.

Year 9 Big Ideas groups will be working with the Year 1 and 2 classes to raise awareness of world issues after lunch on Thursday, 21 May.

School Photos are being taken over a number of days during Week 5 and 6: 

• Thursday 21 May - Kindergarten to Year 3 individual, class and family photos
• Friday 22 May - Pre-Kindergarten Friday class and catch-ups
• Monday 25 May - Pre-Kindergarten Monday class

Please ensure your child is dressed in the correct College Winter uniform.

Melissa Croswell
Head of Junior School

Pre-Kindergarten

In the lead up to Mother's Day last Sunday we spent a lot of time reflecting on how special our Mothers are and how we can show them love. The children loved creating special gifts for their Mums and talking about all of the lovely things they do with them.

It has been wonderful to see the children interacting with each other more and seeing their sharing and cooperation skills developing. These are very important skills for the children to develop and they are definitely well on their way, with some fantastic conversations and problem solving happening. The next few weeks will continue to be busy, as we begin to explore some other living things that God has created, with a focus on zoo animals. 

It has been fabulous to see so many names on the parent roster. It looks like we have a volunteer nearly each day for the rest of the term, wow! Thank you to all of the parents who have come in to help out already and we look forward to welcoming more parents in the coming weeks. You are more than welcome to write your name alongside another parent, if the available dates do not suit.

Mrs Dorota Fretwell

Pre-Kindergarten Teacher

Kindergarten C

The children in Kindergarten C have been having so much fun learning through play. This week we have been learning about the letter kK and the sound that it makes. After decorating paper bags and adding crepe paper tails and wool handles, we took our kites down to the oval and flew them in the air.

Last week we had an amazing time at our Mother's Day morning. We decorated biscuits, painted pictures, gave manicures, threaded necklaces and created presents for our Mum's. We even showed a video all about our Mum's and sang them a special song.

Kindergarten is the best!

Mrs Jo Borg

Kindergarten C Teacher

Pre-Primary

“You have BRAINS in your HEAD. You have FEET in your SHOES. You can STEER yourself any DIRECTION you choose”- Dr Seuss

On the 6^th May the Pre Primary students invited their mothers and grandmothers to a Spa-di-da Pampering session, as a pre-Mother's Day celebration. The services included Foot Reflexology, Classic Relaxation and a Spa Manicure. All the “services” were performed by the students on their mothers. At the end of the “services”, the students met back together on the mat for a special performance. It was our way of honouring mums who contribute so much to our classroom and school.

During our PAThS lessons, we have revisited how to treat our friends both in the classroom and in the playground. Feelings such as 'Mad/angry' and 'calm/relaxed' feelings have been our focus. It is understood that we all get mad/angry from time to time, but it is important to take deep breaths, remove ourselves, going into the turtle or asking an adult for help. We have revised what behaviours are “good choices” and those that are not. The students often request to see the short film “Bad Arnie”, which describes the process of staying calm when you are upset. We have also begun picking a “PAThS kid of the Day” and as a class, we write compliments about them. Families are invited to give compliments to each other at home.

Each week on a Wednesday the students have been privileged to work alongside their 'Family Studies' buddies in our English sessions. The students are enjoying getting to know their buddies and spending one on one time in his or her allocated activity.

It has been a very busy fortnight and I look forward to seeing all of the Pre-Primary students and the rest of the Junior school at our College Disco! I cannot wait to see your costumes!

God Bless

Miss Emma Pritchard

Pre-Primary Teacher

Year Two

Weeks Three and Four have been very busy in Year Two. We have developed our Big Ideas question: All you need is love - or is it? We have brainstormed ideas and have come up with research questions that help develop deeper thinking into what we need as humans. We are using DeBono's "six thinking hats" thinking strategy to help with our learning.

In Religious Education we are exploring the sacrament of Confirmation and how the Holy Spirit helps us to show love. A question the children have been contemplating is, "How do we feel when someone shows us love?" They have created pictures that show a symbolic image depicting the answer to this question.

Finally, we would like to give a big thank you to the parents who have helped with our sport rotation activities. We have all had a lot of fun.

Mrs Orilee Ryan
Year Two Teacher

Finding Solutions in Year 9 Big Ideas

The first few weeks of Autumn term have seen the Year 9 students enter the solution phase of their challenge based learning project: What is the Great War of the 21st century? Having established what they believe is the Great War facing humanity, the students have worked in their platoons to devise a solution that they as a small group of young Australians can do to make a difference. 

Over th past few weeks, they have presented their proposals for solutions and worked towards implementing these. The solutions have ranged from developing awareness campaigns through websites and Twitter feeds to developing displays for San Salvador and educational iBooks and activities for students in the Junior School. Week 5 is "Action Week" and we look forward to students putting their solutions in action either at the College, or through the use of technology, around the world.

                                          

Ms Karen Taylor

Year 9 Big Ideas

17 May 2015

Senior School History ANZAC Albany Camp

At the end of their Semester One exam period, the Senior School History students embarked on our first camp to Albany, to coincide with the ANZAC centenary. Friday, 8th May was dedicated to an exploration of the historically significant Mt Clarence where the students explored the ANZAC memorials and spent some considerable time exploring the impressive and very informative displays at the National Anzac Centre. Friday evening saw the students take a candlelit tour of the Old Albany Gaol. On Saturday morning, students were treated to a highly educational session with local historian Sue Smith at the local history collection at the Albany Public Library. Sue gave the students a tour of the process of historical inquiry behind her "Do you have an Anzac in your family?" project. 

Saturday afternoon was dedicated to an exploration of the WA Museum and students were able to explore the 100 Affiches display where they got a rare glimpse of original propaganda posters published in France during the First World War.  The trip wrapped up on Saturday night with pizza and Ten pin bowling. The trip was an opportunity for students to engage with WWI history in this important centenary year and in particular, engage with WA's important part of the Anzac story.

Ms Karen Taylor

Learning Area Coordinator - Humanities

15 May 2015

Year 10 Careers and Education Expo 2015

On Thursday 14 May, Year 10 students attended the Careers and Education Expo at the Perth Convention Centre.  

Throughout the afternoon the students were able to talk to numerous educational providers to gain information about future careers and educational prospects, in a vast range of fields. 

Murdoch University, University of Notre Dame Australia, Curtin University and the University of Western Australia, all helped students with information about prerequisites and under graduate courses. Colleges such as Central TAFE, Australis Beauty and government agencies like the Defence Force and Western Australian Police, showcased their professions to entice student's interests. 

All Year 10 students gained a wealth of information and pamphlets about various career ideas for the future.

Ms Kelly Bond

Ozanam House Coordinator

Taking care of our little treasures – Safety First

Our children are the most precious gift we can receive, so we must make every effort to look after them.

Sadly, many of us can be a little thoughtless, careless, selfish and impatient when dropping-off and picking-up our children, both in the College car park and in the neighbouring streets.

Some particular concerns have been:

• Parking or stopping in “No Parking” zones;
• Leaving small children alone in the car with engine still running, in a no parking zone, to take a sibling into the Early Learning Centre;
• Double parking causing traffic to bank up along Strathmore Parkway;
• Overtaking at speed along Strathmore Parkway;
• Parking across two bays preventing others from using the second bay;
• Making inappropriate gestures and verbally abusing other motorists or pedestrians;
• Blocking the entry to the “Kiss and Drive”;
• Not moving off in the “Kiss and Drive” when children are not present to be collected, hence causing traffic to bank up;
• Stopping at the entry to the “Kiss and Drive” rather than drive through to the front to allow other cars to enter;
• Calling children to run through the car park or across the road to the car;
• Parking in the ACROD bays without authority; and
• A student being knocked off their bike by a car door opening, sustaining considerable injury.

There have been other incidents over the year. The long list suggests that we are not serious about looking after our greatest gifts, our children.

As the College has no jurisdiction over the movement of traffic in public spaces parents are encouraged to report “bad behaviour” to the appropriate authorities. That is, the Western Australian Police or the City of Swan Rangers.

Another important element is the concept of good modelling for our children. Our Children model their behaviour on what they see significant adults in their lives do.

Parents and guardians are urged be patient, follow the appropriate road rules, be courteous and take care of our little treasures.

Mr P Collins

Vice Principal