Middle School Social

The Holy Cross College Middle School Social is next Friday! 

Friday 8th June - 7pm-9pm

Tickets are just $8 and include a soft drink, cheeseburger/ hamburger, prizes on the night and a DJ. 

Get your tickets ASAP from the front office. 

Yr 9 & 10 Try a Trade

Today is the first day of our Year 9 and 10 students attending South Metropolitan TAFE for a Try a Trade event.
The students were straight away, in the deep end, getting their hands dirty with Bricklaying. They are learning how to mix the mortar, butter the bricks and work to a profile.
 Their lecturer Ray made sure that they are looking after their soft hands by advising them in the use of a hand cream this evening. He told them to check with their mum's that its not the expensive brand they get their hands on !!!

Our students helping St Helena's Parish Busy Bee

As part of our Giving Life programme, Mia Rogers, Jorja Polodna, Paige Polodna, Courtney-Ann Tassell, Noweliyn Drago and Nicole Picado volunteered to clean our parish of St Helena's as part of the busy bee held on 19 May. They did a stunning job. Well done for helping out our parish community and walking in the way in the Jesus.

CECWA Forum

On Tuesday the 22nd May the Year 11 LIFE Leaders were given the opportunity to participate in a forum at Aranmore College run by the Catholic Education Commission of WA. The aim of this meeting was to consult students on how they feel about the advantages of  Catholic Education and the changes that can be made to benefit all students in the sector. It was a great opportunity to hear other students perspectives, to take some ideas back to our own College and to be consulted in this process with the aim of pioneering change in education.

By Alex Falck

Junior School Update

Pre-Primary

Wow! We have had a fantastic start to Autumn Term in Pre-Primary.

During Literacy, we have been exploring the story ‘The Little Red Hen’. This story has inspired our Pre-Primary dramatic play areas. The students absolutely loved taking on a farmer role in the chicken farmyard and the green tractor. This exploration has allowed students to develop their oral language skills, problem-solving, cooperation, and communication. ‘The Little Red Hen’ story has also inspired our writing tasks for the week. Students have all had the opportunity to create a bread loaf recipe. Our Pre-Primary students did a fantastic job writing the different ingredients and steps we need to make bread. We can not wait to use these recipes next week to make some yummy bread!

In Religious Education, we have been learning about our families. We started by exploring our own families and then we looked at Jesus’ family. When we identified Jesus’ family we discussed the important role that Mary and Joseph played in His life. This investigation allowed us to identify the need to belong to a family and the different ways we can care for and show love to our families.

We would like to say a big thank you to all of our parent helpers who have offered their support this term. We really appreciate your help in Pre-Primary.

Mrs. Jo Wright, Miss Abbey Rowlands, Mrs. Caroline Hilton and Mrs. Helen Cooke.  

Pre-Primary Team

VILE Message from Villain School Playwright

The cast and crew of Villain School were lucky enough to make an international connection during Week 4 with the playwright of Villain School Brian Taylor sending a video message from Colorado. We are thrilled to be able to use technology to make connections with playwrights which were not possible in a world before digital resources. Thanks to Brian for taking the time to send this through to our students. 

Mr Chris McRae

Production Director

Year 8 students take up the challenge in Big Ideas

This term, in Big Ideas, the year 8 students must answer the question, 'Are the odds ever in your favour?' We have based this project around the theme of the Hunger Games. In week one, we watched a clip from the Hunger Games, with students then being sorted into districts.

We have ten districts, each with different characteristics, ranging from farmers to scientists, from miners to teachers. Each district was given a different amount of money to begin with, and they have to use this money and the supplies they are given to complete each weekly challenge. Sometimes, this involves buying extra resources or trading with other districts.

So far, students have completed an egg saver challenge, and a building challenge using spaghetti and marshmallows. Winning districts win monetary rewards, while districts who perform badly lose a tribute. Each achievement is recorded on a giant scoreboard in Subiaco.

We are looking forward to hearing how the different districts aim to solve a refugee challenge and complete a themed fashion show.

China: Then and Now Study Tour

Ms Bond represents Holy Cross College at an Educational Forum in China

During the recent April school holidays, Ms Kelly Bond represented HCC at an Educational Forum in China with 12 other school leaders from across Australia. This opportunity was put together by the Asia Education Foundation and the University of Melbourne which included visits to numerous historical sites as well as cultural events across the cities of Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nanjing and Beijing. This wonderful study tour showcased Australian teaching and learning methods to a forum of 600 Chinese Principals and Government Officials in the audience and was streamed live on the internet to 33,000 educators across China. Ms Bond had the opportunity to present at the Hangzhou Education Forum about the innovative teaching and learning methods across Holy Cross College and sat on a panel answering questions from the Chinese Principals. During the 10 day educational tour, Ms Bond visited and taught in several secondary schools and universities. There was also a brief opportunity to visit The Great Wall of China, the Ming Tombs and Tiananmen Square. A visit to the Australian Embassy in Beijing gave the group an appreciation of Modern Chinese society and Australia's trade to Asia. Holy Cross College gifted the Hangzhou Middle School olive oil from the Benedictine Monks in New Norcia, a cross from San Salvador and a photography book about Western Australia.

The Simpson Prize Tour: The Trip of a Lifetime!

The Simpson Prize is a national History competition funded by the Australian Government. Each year students across the country are invited to submit an essay in response to a question related to Australia’s experiences in the Great War.

In 2017, the question read: Some historians have described 1917 as “the worst year of the Great War” for Australia and Australians. To what extent is this an accurate statement?

Holy Cross College student Daniel Docker entered the competition for the second time in 2017 and was selected as the winning entrant for Western Australia. In March 2018, he travelled to Canberra for the Simpson Prize awards presented at Parliament House and in April, toured London, Paris and the Western Front as a representative of the Australian Government.

Here are his thoughts on the experience:

My experience on the Simpson Prize tour was incredible. The tour of the battlefields of the Western Front where 100 years ago many Australians, among other Allied soldiers, paid the ultimate price was very eye opening. Often when we speak of the Great War, we make mention of the great sacrifice and huge tragedy of the conflict - but words don’t truly explain it. In this case, seeing is believing, and I don’t believe that without this experience I would truly be able to understand what took place a century ago. The cemeteries that I visited had the bodies of someone’s sibling, someone’s parent, every single one had a story. Some stories may never be told, as those people are now known as “A Soldier of the Great War.”

 One of my favourite parts of this tour was the Menin Gate Last Post Service, where I had the privilege of laying a wreath along with some Queensland students. The memorial itself was stunning but being a part of a service that is so important to Australia’s history regarding the war was very special to me. The most revealing part of the trip was the Notre Dame de Lorette French military cemetery, with nearly 40,000 French soldiers of the First World War buried there. Unlike the Commonwealth war graves, the French did not have headstones - rather simple crosses for each burial. Looking out upon the thousands of crosses that stand over the vast cemetery really hit home how much loss was in World War One - and this was only French soldiers.

 The dawn service on ANZAC day for the Centenary of Villers-Bretonneux was very moving, with speeches from Malcolm Turnbull, Edouard Phillipe and Prince Charles. The memorial itself is stunning and was used creatively in the service, at one point images were being projected onto the tower which was deeply moving. The Simpson Prize tour was a life changing experience for me, no longer will I think of the death toll of the First World War as a number but rather thousands upon thousands of individual soldiers - each with a story that may never be told.

Daniel Docker

Year 11 Student

Holy Cross College

Daniel’s prize-winning essay may be found here

ECU ATAR revision sessions

ATAR Revision Sessions

ECU is again offering revision sessions for current Year 12s in September. The list of the sessions and times is below but please ensure your students register online. These sessions typically book out early and are free to attend. Below are the sessions that are being run at Joondalup campus. Bunbury will also be running sessions as well which you can view here. 

Human Biology               Monday 24^th September 2pm-6pm

Maths Applications         Tuesday 25^th September 8:30am-12:30pm

Maths Methods              Tuesday 25^th September 2pm-6pm

Physics                              Wednesday 26^th September 8:30am-12:30pm

Biology                              Wednesday 26^th September 2pm-6pm

Maths Specialist              Thursday 27^th September 8:30am-12:30pm

Chemistry                         Thursday 27^th September 2pm-6pm

English                               Friday 28^th September 8:30am-12:30pm

Junior School Update

Kindergarten

Last week, Evelyn came to Kindergarten with a chrysalis inside a mesh box. Within the first hour, the chrysalis started to wiggle and shake and we watched on in wonder and awe as a butterfly began to emerge. We set up one of the iPads to record the process and we airplayed it onto the TV, so we could watch closely. We even took a time-lapse video, which shows the butterfly beginning to stretch and flap his wings and move around the box. Evelyn took the butterfly home that night and released him in her backyard. We had the most amazing day! 

Mother's Day Celebrations

Last Wednesday, the Kindergarten children were lucky enough to share the morning with their mums, aunties, grandmothers, great-grandmothers and other special women. We treated our amazing ladies to a concert and lots of activities such as a photo booth, biscuit decorating, tea party, jewellery making, portrait painting, leg shaving, hand printing and nail pampering. We had the most amazing time and it was wonderful to see how much love could be present in two classrooms. Happy Mother’s Day! 

Mrs. Jo Borg and Mrs. Natalie Pecherczyk

Kindergarten Teachers

Year 6 Pilgrimage

The Year 6 students went on a pilgrimage on the May 4 to follow in the footsteps of our class patron, Sr Irene McCormack. To start the day, Year 6H and 6C caught a bus to Elizabeth Quay. It was a beautiful morning and luckily we had the best weather for walking. From there, we had recess and took the ferry to South Perth. We then walked to the Mary MacKillop Centre where we met Sr Maree who had prepared activities for the day. She showed us the Diorama Room which was filled with statues depicting the five main stages of Mary MacKillop’s life. It was incredible to learn about her selfless work and how she dedicated her life to helping those in need. It was truly an eye-opening experience and we learned that Mary MacKillop managed to set up schools and orphanages with extremely limited resources.

Sr Maree took us to a beautiful, colourful room where she told us all about Sr Irene McCormack’s life and her amazing missionary work. Irene McCormack was a teacher in Perth for 30 years before she decided to devote her life to helping the poor. She travelled to Peru where she dedicated her life to helping those in need, providing Caritas food parcels and setting up libraries. Did you know that the name Irene means peace?

To finish off our day at the Mary MacKillop Centre, a liturgy was held in the chapel. We lit candles and placed them on the Altar and reflected on the inspiring lives of Mary MacKillop and Irene McCormack. Before boarding the bus, we visited a beautiful rose garden where Irene McCormack’s clothes’ ashes were scattered under the rocks. We had such an amazing time and we are so thankful to have had the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of our class patron.

Kate and Sienna

Year 6 Students

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