Year 6 Big Ideas

My name is Noah and I'm in Year 6. Yesterday (28 June), my class and I went to Parliament House in Perth to learn more about state parliament. We left at 8:40am and after a very exciting bus ride, arrived at Parliament House. When everyone was getting off the bus, we saw Mr Barnett at the door being interviewed. Everyone was very exited to see Mr Barnett and the news crew. Then, we went to an area just next to the Parliament House to have our recess. After recess ended, we went into Parliament House. The marble tiles on the floor leading to Parliament House were very slippery. Once inside, we sat in a circle  around a very big picture of a swan. Then a man called Michael came to take us through Parliament House. He explained that the swan was made of jarrah wood, pearl and iron ore. We learnt about the history of parliament in WA. One thing I found very funny was the reason that the furniture is all blue in the Lower House (instead of green) because the government ran out of money during the gold rush! 

We also went to the Constitution Centre to learn more about Federation and the Constitution. We completed five challenges that explored the components of the Constitution, Referendums, populations of states and the members within both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

It was a great day! 

    

Noah 

Year 6 student

Faith to Lead, Lead to Faith Youth Summit

Last Friday 6 of our students started their day very early and travelled to Notre Dame University in Fremantle to attend the Catholic High Schools Youth Summit. The day started with breakfast followed by nine (9) hours of intense workshops on the theme that was also used for the Catholic Schools Conference earlier in the week, Faith to Lead, Lead to Faith.

Students from all the Catholic Colleges in Western Australia were represented and the key speakers were two refugees from Burundi who came under the Moniker of Flybz. Their message was simple and as refugees who have made a life for themselves in Australia they stressed the following:

• Appreciate the life you have, and the fact that you live in Australia.
• Appreciate the opportunity of attending school, in peace and harmony.
• Treat everyone the same regardless of where they come from or who they are.
• Show love to everyone, especially your family and friends.
• Don't limit yourself to think that you can't change the world to be a better place.
• On the road to success, the only car that you can take is Education.

"It is not what we are made of, but what we make that changes the world".

The other message that resonated loudly from speakers on the day was the South African concept of ubuntu: "I am human because I belong. I participate, I share. Humanity is therefore bound up in being in partnership with all those around us. As mentioned above, it takes us back to the great commandment of Jesus Christ, "Love one another".

Learning Conversations

A reminder that Middle School Learning Conversations are on this Wednesday and Thursday in the Learning Resource Centre. Students finish at 12 noon tomorrow and 3.10pm as usual on Thursday.
Students will need to wear school uniform and must bring their iPad to the conversation.

Anita O'Donohue
Deputy Principal: Learning

HAPPIEST DAYS OF YOUR LIFE

The 2016 College Production of ‘The Happiest Days of Your Life’ wrapped last Saturday night with a sensational final show concluding what was a highly successful performance week. The four show run began on Thursday with a matinee for residents from Aegis Aged Care Ellenbrook (The Pines and Hermitage) along with students and staff from Swan Valley Anglican Community School. Our special guests enjoyed a wonderful morning tea prepared by Mrs Lewis and were very grateful to be invited to the show. SVACS Drama Teacher Meredith Corr gave a glowing review, saying “the enjoyment of each role was obvious onstage and each student brough their own quirks and personalities to the characters. Well done on a very slick production”. The cast and crew followed up their razor sharp matinee with their first evening show which was a huge success.

Two more evening shows followed on Friday and Saturday evenings to sellout audiences and the show was described by various audience members as being “hilarious”, “the best production Holy Cross has ever done” and Vice Principal Peter Collins stated “I have never heard an audience laugh so much at a school production”. The evening shows had an amazing energy and the cast were lifted by the audience’s engagement with the quick witted script. The performance run ended with an outstanding performance on the Saturday evening.

Huge congratulations must go to our talented cast: Max Hughes, James Evans, Calvin Thiel, Brianna Armstrong, Chardonnay Mitchell, Zoe Paluszak, Chloe Ryan, Josh Gethin, Lloyd Matias, Angela Gethin, John Paul Botha, Ben Sorensen and Beth Robinson.

Big thanks also go to our dedicated student crew: Jack Hammon, Kayla Castrianni, Casey Van Der Merwe, Kayla Collins, Rachel Joubert, Aran Burke, Alex Smilovitis and Will Evans.

As always, the production wouldn’t be possible without the dedication of College staff. A massive thank you the core team of Mr Chris McRae, Miss Jackie Collender, Miss Edel Maher and Mrs Emma Robinson for their amazing dedication to the show this year. 

The support staff team has also been instrumental this year and thanks must go to the following people for their hard work throughout the process: Mr Matt Smyth (Set), Mrs Colleen Azzopardi (Costume/Make Up/Hair), Mrs Jacqui Sanders (Budget/Front of House), Mrs Sarah Brown (Catering), Mrs Carolyn Jess (Marketing), Mr Chris Gooch (Media).

We were also lucky this year to have several external volunteers. So thanks must go to Mrs Rebecca McRae, Mr Ryan Lenard and Miss Laura Evans. 

Thanks to staff who gave up their time to supervise either at rehearsals or on performance nights: Mrs Anna Amatulli, Mrs Diane Oleynik, Mr Liam Benton, Mrs Toni Strong, Mrs Dorota Fretwell, Miss Sara O’Neill, Mrs Margaret MacMahon, Miss Kelly Bond, Mrs Carla Pastorelli and Miss Emma Pritchard. 

The production culture at Holy Cross College is as strong as ever and with some exciting new facilities on the horizon, we are set to expand even further in 2017. Well done to all involved in ‘The Happiest Days of Your Life’ in 2016.

Mr Chris McRae 

Production Coordinator and Drama Teacher

27 June 2016

Italian Week

As part of Language Week, the children from Pre-Primary to Year 8 at Holy Cross College, participated in a variety of cooking activities. The students had the opportunity to make either: Italian Bread, Biscotti, Italian Pizza and Italian Fruit Salad with Gelato. The children enjoyed the cooking activities and the Italian food, "It was yummy!" Meals are a very important part of the Italian Culture; usually shared with family and friends. Meals are an opportunity for groups to come together and talk, whilst enjoying some great food. A big thank you to all of the parents who come along and helped with the cooking activities. We could not have done it without you!

The children enjoyed engaging with the Italian Culture, playing soccer and bocce as well as participating in a hunting dot competition to win prizes.

       

Students of Italian in Year 9, 10, 11 and 12 enjoyed cooking some typical Italian food, playing Italian games and participating to Quizzes on Italian culture and history. The last day they enjoyed a true Italian gelate.

It has been an amazing week, many students and staff members are talking more Italian now!! 

Grazie a tutti.

Signora Morlotti and Signora Amatulli

Italian Teachers

Year Seven Big Ideas: Ready for Blast Off!

This term in Big Ideas, the year seven students have been investigating 'Are you a Guardian of the Galaxy?' They were presented with the scenario that NASA had tracked an asteroid which was about to hit Earth. When it hit the Earth, it would stop the Earth from spinning and knock it off its axis.

Students worked in teams to investigate the issues this would cause, and they came up with solutions to the problems. NASA eventually decided that we would have to evacuate Earth, so the students then had to design a Resettlement Kit, for their new life on Planet Zephyr. They were told that these kits should contain supplies to enable them to survive six months on this new planet. Here are some of the completed kits:

Year 3s get Waste Wise!

Holy Cross College has started the process to become a Waste Wise School. As part of our application, one of the very first things we have to do is a waste audit. This enables us to see exactly what waste we are dealing with, and how much of it could be recycled.

The year 3 students conducted the waste audit. They were very shocked to see how much whole fruit is thrown away by students, and un eaten sandwiches. They were also surprised by the number of plastic packets the students of Holy Cross use each day, as many of these are single use plastics and cannot be recycled. The students counted the waste and weighed it. The results were then taken away to be analysed.

Please keep an eye on the blog, and the school's Facebook page to find out how you can help Holy Cross to become a waste wise school.

Pre-Kindergarten

It is hard to believe we are almost half way through the year! It has been a wonderful term and the children have been very busy learning through play and developing a range of skills. The children have explored a range of activities to help develop their fine motor skills, such as threading, playdough, painting, drawing, pasting and construction. 

Colour recognition has continued to be revised this term and the children have engaged in sorting activities to sort not only colours, but also basic two-dimensional shapes which we have recently started exploring. Counting skills are continually being developed as the children practise counting concrete objects, counting the number of children at school in the morning, counting how many children in the line, etc. 

Next week the children will be receiving a 'Two Stars and a Wish' report via Parent CONEQT. The children have reflected on their experiences in Pre-Kindergarten to form part of the report and there is also a comment from me. Please take time to talk to your child about their two stars and a wish and to praise them for all of their achievements since commencing Pre-Kindergarten. I will also send another picture collage over the holidays so that you can see some of the wonderful experiences your child has had this term. 

Mrs Fretwell

Pre-Kindergarten Teacher

Mini Vinnies Update

Thank you to everyone that came to the LifeLink Sleepout on Thursday, 9 June. Mini Vinnies appreciate you being there! We raised $241.65 for those most in need. We hope you enjoyed the activities of making pom-poms, the cardboard box game and receiving your dinner from our very own Mini Vinnies soup van! We had fun learning about the life of homeless people and we hope you did too!

By Sienna and Amy

Mini Vinnies Representatives   

Teddy Bear Picnic

Both Kindergarten classes were treated to ‘A Teddy Bear’s Picnic’ hosted by Aleeshia Azzopardi and Vincent Rigoli, Year 12 Business students. The children enjoyed bringing their favourite teddy to school, listening to stories, receiving a treat and drink, and creating a teddy craft to take home. All proceeds after costs were then donated to charity.

Mrs Borg

Kindergarten C Teacher

Year 8 Big Ideas: Time Travellers Take On The World!

This term has proved to be an exciting time in Year 8 Big Ideas. Together, the Year 8s have traversed over 800 years of human history, encountering plague, famine, religious conflict, colonisation, industrialisation, war and depression along the way! 

In Week 2, the Year 8’s battled the Black Death of 1347. Students contracted the plague, which was then spread through trade. They struggled with the ineffectiveness of Medieval remedies and encountered the strange and disgusting customs associated with staying healthy in the Middle Ages. Some medieval manors successfully survived the plague and gained immunity against the disease, whilst others succumbed to the ferocious pestilence of the Black Death.

In Week 3, the students met their ruler in 1517 - King Henry VIII! They learned about the message of Martin Luther in his ’95 Theses and experienced the twists and turns of religious loyalty in England during the reign of Henry VIII - along with the varied romantic life of their monarch! They dispensed sage advice to the king via Twitter - many wisely recommending that he remain single for a while!

In Week 4, medieval manors were transformed into countries and the students raced to form empires during the ‘Age of Empires’ colonisation challenge. They found that by colonising countries occupied only by native populations, they could access new resources such as slaves, stone, iron, coal and gold - all of which would prove essential in the coming weeks. Germany proved particularly efficient at colonising multiple nations and it amassed numerous resources, quickly proving to be a power player in the World Communities Game!

Week 5 saw the onset of the Industrial Revolution! Those nations who had managed to gain new resources during the previous week’s colonisation challenge were able to use these to their advantage, putting their coal and iron to good use to develop factories. Savvy entrepreneurs took advantage of readily available child labour resources and Germany drew even further ahead of the crowd, pursued strenuously by Britain. Stumbling blocks such as the 1833 Factories Act which saw limitations placed on the use of Child Labour proved to be a challenge for those countries operating multiple factories, but with clever negotiation tactics, most countries managed to increase their resources during the Industrial revolution.

One of history’s most strenuous challenges faced the Year 8s in Week 7 with the dawn of 1914 - and the Great War. Germany’s increasingly militaristic attitude along with their surplus of military and wealth tokens put them in the ideal position to attack more vulnerable nations - starting with Belguim. The countries were assigned to the alliances of the Triple Entente and the Central Powers and had to cooperate across their country boundaries for the first time. Though struggling with this initially, the alliance of the Triple Entente quickly grew in both power and purpose and began to coordinate attacks on Germany, culminating in her surrender far before the historically accurate date of 1918! The entire of America into the war allowed the allies to then focus their attention on bringing down the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empires, which they did with gusto. A decisive allied victory then left the victors to divide up the spoils - and the countries that had belonged to the Central Powers walked away with almost nothing.

 

Week 7 arrived and the Year 8s worked through the postwar years and the onset of the Great Depression. They had to deal with rising unemployment and homelessness as well as the disintegration of trading relationships. They battled sudden drops in resources and saw previously powerful nations crumble under the economic pressure of the Great Depression.

With a couple of weeks left to go, the students have some exciting challenges ahead of them and we look forward to seeing how they face up to the tough times ahead!

Miss E Reynolds

Learning Innovator

WA Schools Orienteering Championships

On Wednesday 15 June, a small group of Year 7 -11 students participated in Western Australia’s largest annual orienteering event, the Be Active WA Schools Championships, held at Lake Leschenaultia, in Chidlow.

Orienteering is a cross-country navigation sport. Participants use a map and compass to find their way around a marked course, traditionally on foot and in the bush. At the race start, the students are given a pre-marked course map, they then navigate to all the control points in sequential order until they reach the finish. 

On the day all students performed very well and represented the College well. This year it was great to see that most of the students completed the course successfully, something we have been working hard to achieve over the last few years. A special mention must go to Hannah Schnell, who placed third in the 16 & Over Girls A category. Well done, Hannah, this will also mean Hannah will be selected for the WA State Tea in Orienteering.

Mrs Christina Davini
Frayne House Coordinator

Junior School Update

Year One

In Year One, we have been learning about healthy lifestyles. We have looked at the food pyramid and discussed our favourite vegetables in the class. By drawing a graph, we discovered that our favourite vegetable is carrot!

We participate in a program called GoNoodle. This is a range of movement activities to keep our bodies fit! We were very excited to share this with the whole of the Junior School at our assembly on Tuesday, with our favourite dance “Milkshake”. We were very groovy and sang so well. 

We have been using our creative thinking to begin planning a short story about “Once upon a time”. With the help of Book Creator, we have planned our story and are ready to start writing. We can’t wait to see all the different stories in the class!

“When looking at different foods, we experimented with spaghetti and marshmallows. We were to build a tower with our small group, and make it stand all by itself.”  

Miss Sibbald

Year One Teacher

Pre-Primary C

In an effort, to show the children the diversity of our class population we have been inviting the students’ family and friends who live outside the community (in another state or abroad) to send us a postcard from their place of origin. We have pinned them onto our world map. The children have loved receiving mail! With this visual, it is exciting to see the places on Earth from which the school community has come. It has been most interesting to review families from other states as well as other countries. The postcards themselves tell a story with their iconic pictures on the front, the handwritten message on the back, and even the stamps needed for postage. 

We also had a visitor from Qantas come and share the features of an airplane with the children, i.e. the wings, engines, cabins, cargo hold and cockpit. He showed the children: different aircraft; their internal layout; and how they fly, including the role of the pilot and first officer, the Air Traffic Control and instruments needed to fly the plane. Afterwards, he kindly left the children with an entertainment pack provided to all young passengers on Qantas overseas flights. Inspired by the many pictures of aircraft the children drew their own aeroplanes with pleasing results!

Mrs Sheppard

Pre-Primary C Teacher