Junior School Update

Kindergarten C

The children in Kindergarten C have been having an amazing time learning through play both inside and outside our classroom. Every day it is wonderful to see the children grow in confidence and ability, strengthen their friendships, try new activities and discover new things.

Last week we had a very special visit from the Easter Bunny who came to deliver some chocolate eggs. We cooked some Easter goodies with Mrs D’Andrea, made Easter baskets with Mrs Gorton and learnt all about Jesus with Mrs Borg. This week we have been busy going on treasure hunts, practising our Cross Country running and strengthening our fine motor muscles.

As you can see from our smiling faces, Kindergarten is the best place to be at Holy Cross College!

Mrs Borg

Kindergarten C Teacher

Year Six

Last week was Easter, so we have been learning about Holy Week. The first day of Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday, which was two Sundays ago, then we have Holy Thursday, which was last Thursday and finally we have Good Friday and EASTER SUNDAY, our favourite time of the year. So courtesy of Holy Week, we have been making magazine, movies and plays using apps from our iPads, that tell this story.

Over the past few weeks, we have been learning about triangular and square numbers. Square numbers are created when one number is multiplied by itself, like 4 times 4 is 16. Triangular numbers form a triangular shape. This week we have started to learn about negative numbers and where we can see them in everyday situations. For example, you find negative numbers in lifts when you want to go down to the carpark.

We have also have been making our own adventure stories in English. We are using Keynote in groups, which was a bit of a challenge but we have made it!  We are using links to move the story from one slide to another. We are nearly done, we just have some editing to do. When we’re finished we will be posting them online for everyone to see.

Last week some students chose to run for Student Leader roles. All the speeches were fantastic, we haven't found out the results yet, but everyone did really well. Some of us were really scared, but they did it anyway that's what makes a good student leader.

Jordan and Ryleigh

Year 6 Students

Year Four

Wow! We have had some very busy, yet exciting times in Year Four over the past few weeks!

We were very excited to showcase our learning, singing and dancing at our assembly on Tuesday, 14 March in the Learning Resource Centre. We sang our version of ‘Lean on Me,’ which is something we do each Tuesday as part of our morning prayer. Sienna showcased her fantastic video, which demonstrated how to read five-digit numbers. Erin, Grace and Jasmine shared their wonderful narrative hooks, which they worked on during our writing lessons.

We have started to look at chance and probability during our Mathematics lessons. Over the past week, we have explored the many words and phrases which can be used to describe the likelihood of an event occurring. As a class, we enjoyed creating a continuum in the learning space at the back of our classroom.

It was mentioned in our last post that we had been working on narrative writing. We have since moved on to writing persuasive texts, which we have found both interesting and exciting! Students in Year Four worked in pairs to develop a list of reasons both in favour of and against having a long weekend, every weekend. We look forward to sharing our writing with you in our next blog post!

Miss George and Team 32

Project Compassion Stalls

Last week saw an opportunity for Salvado House to organise, set up and run a range of stalls to help raise funds for Project Compassion. The week's focus was on the story of Dhaniram who lives with his family in regional India. People in Dhaniram's village were not aware of the social security that is available by the Indian Government which is available to help support villages like his. So through the help of project compassion Dhaniram was able to become part of the Hamara Haq (Our Rights) project and start influencing change in his local area.

Salvado House chose to run three treat stalls which included lolly bags, fairy floss and ice-cream spiders, along side students trying their luck with a coin toss game and basketball shoot out across the week. It was a great success with all Holy Cross Students from Pre-Primary to Year Twelve emptying their pockets to get involved. So far including the stalls run by Frayne and the Junior school we have raised nearly $3000. This week there will be a further increase in this amount with McCormack working hard with their stalls and Junior school as well as Ozanam House finishing off the term after the Easter break.

We would like to also thank parents for their assistance with providing goods and also donations so their children can see the importance of almsgiving, in a fun way, during this time of lent.

                       

Pre-Loved Book Sale for Project Compassion

Support the Junior School Pre-Loved Book Sale during Week 9. 

Books will be on sale for 50c or $1 for all ages, including adults.

You can find the Mini Vinnies selling pre-loved books in Tui Da Vinci before and after school.

All donations are supporting Project Compassion.

  

Jarrad Webb
Mini Vinnies

Junior School Update

Pre-Primary

The Pre-Primary H students are building their stamina when completing class activities. They have been practising to “glue” their eyes to a set task and making “good” choices by following directions quickly and working as a team.

The students have been learning how to sound out words by jumping through hoops (c-a-t), identifying initial sounds, matching letters of the alphabet, reading and listening to many stories and being involved in pre-writing activities.

Their number awareness is being consolidated as they identifying more and less of collections and improving their counting strategies; such as “touching” and “scooting” the counters to the side. This is counting with a 1:1 ratio.

While it is the Season of Lent, the students have been learning about the Death and Resurrection of Jesus. They have illustrated their understandings, verbally explained the story and have re-enacted the Last Supper.

I would like to thank the parents who have signed up to the Seesaw Application. Weekly updates will assist you in knowing how your child is catered for in the class. As the year goes on, you will see amazing progress and achievement. Please do not hesitate to come and see me, if you would like some assistance to sign up.

Miss Pritchard

Pre-Primary H Teacher

Year Three

The Year Threes have continued to show enthusiasm and engagement in their learning. We have been studying the role of local government in providing services through the City of Swan.

Students have also been investigating shadows in Science and how they change throughout the day. They used their iPads to take photos of several objects at different times throughout the day and compared them. They thought it was very impressive that their shadows changed direction from morning to afternoon. Is it magic, or is there more to it … stay tuned to follow our learning journey.

Students enjoy being selected to be the PAThS Kid of the Day, which is an opportunity for them to receive compliments from their peers and to be a special helper for the day. The intention of this activity is to build confidence and self-esteem and promote each individual as having many gifts and talents. It also helps to build our classroom culture where everyone has a sense of belonging and where we look out for one another.

Last week students had the opportunity to participate in the Scavenger Hunt to support fundraising for Caritas’ Project Compassion. Well done to Ava, Chelsea and Sienna who took out first place for our Year Level.

We are looking forward to selecting our L.I.F.E. Leaders this week. Be sure to keep following us to see who is appointed.

Miss Ravenscroft

Year Three Teacher

Pre-Kindergarten

We have been having so much fun over the past few weeks in Pre-Kindergarten. More new friends have been welcomed into our class and the children are beginning to transition from home to school much more smoothly. This is something that can take time and it has been wonderful to see the smiles on the children's faces as they say goodbye and settle into the morning routine. 

We are currently exploring the topic 'My Family' and have been talking about some of the things we enjoy doing with our families. The children were very exited to explore the app Book Creator on the iPads to draw pictures of themselves and their families. As Easter approaches, the children have also been introduced to Lent and we have discussed some of the ways we can show love to our families during this time. 

Our parent roster is well under way and it has been a wonderful support to have parents cutting fruit in the mornings, making playdough and spending some time in class with the children. The smiles on the faces of the children when their parent is a helper has been so beautiful to see! Thank you for a wonderful start to the year.

Mrs Fretwell

Pre-Kindergarten Teacher

Year 12 Handbook

The Year 12 Handbook from SCSA is now available for students and parents. It is digital and can be found be clicking on the link below:

http://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/internet/_Documents/Publications/Year-12-Handbook-2016.pdf

Mr Paul Murphy
Deputy Principal
19 March 2016

OPEN Day this Wed 23 March

OPEN DAY is this Wednesday 23 March with student lead tour times of 9:30am, 11:15am and 1:30pm. If you would like to tour the College please contact the College Office to book a tour time.

Friends of Holy Cross are being asked to please provide morning and afternoon tea and to come along to the College Cafe to meet and greet potential future families, answer questions and connect with our College Community. Thank you!

Middle and Junior School Learning Conversations

As you will be aware,  Learning Conversations across the Middle and Junior School, take place in Week 10. 

Junior School Conversations will take place on Wednesday 6 April from 12.30pm -7.00pm and then again on Thursday 7 April from 3.00 till 5.00pm.

The Middle School Conversations will be with Learning Advisors on Wednesday 6 April from 12.30 pm till 7.00pm.

Information on how to book your appointments on PTO will sent out in the next few days.

Anita O'Donohue
Deputy Principal

Junior School Update

Year Five

“So far at at Holy Cross in Year 5, we have been learning about 3D shapes and their features, like edges, corners and their faces. We have have also been learning about South and North America's vegetation, landscape, climate and native animals. Our Big Ideas question is, What impact do we have on earth and beyond? We have also been writing an amazing persuasive text, and we have learned so much in these few weeks. I can't even imagine how many things we can learn in this awesome year!”

“Over the past few weeks we have been given a buddy to work with and play with, to help to make more new friends. All of the buddies have been assigned to be in a group of two or three depending on the amount of students. We have a money reward system so we can save up money for the auction every two weeks, depending on our behaviour. ”

“Lately there has been some constrution going on around the school. As the school gets bigger there becomes more and more classes and places to go. So far they have built a science lab, home economics lab, a cafe, the massive library and many other places. We have this organisation called Mini Vinnies, supporting Project Compassion by running fundraisers though the school and donating the money to people in need.”

Perez and Tiah
Year 5 Students

Year One

Over the past few weeks, Year One have been been focusing on skip counting, addition and

2-Dimensional shapes. Through song, the students have learnt how to count by tens, fives and twos. The Year Ones and Mrs Fretwell worked collaboratively on 2D shapes, creating them with their bodies, as well as other pieces of material, such as popsticks, matchsticks and pipe cleaners. The students found this activity very enjoyable!

“I made a triangle, square and circle.” Cooper

“I made a rhombus and a triangle.” Malang

 

Miss Sibbald
Year One Teacher

Year 7 Big Ideas so far

Year 7 have got stuck into Big Ideas, where they are investigating, 'Me, Myself and I...What makes my Community? To investigate the concept of community, they are working in house groups, and rotating around four different workshops each week.

In the first week, the groups got to know their House Patrons better, culminating in a quiz on the four house patrons in which everyone battled to be the fastest finger.

We then focused on family, with the students creating a family tree and investigating where their ancestors came from. In this week the students played games from around the world, and created an Ancestry advert.

The following week focused on footprints, such as where the students have come from, their carbon footprint and their cyber footprint. This week, there was a focus on online communities, with students creating an Avatar for their online social networks. They also had the opportunity to play some 'traditional games,' such as Hopscotch, Knucklebones, Marbles and Elastics. They were then given the opportunity to compare and contrast these games with the games on their iPad.

This work will culminate in the students creating a brochure to show the communities that they belong to, before we move on to take a closer look at the Catholic Church. 

PPC retells the Easter Story

1,2,3...You Can Count On Me!

Fr Bona joined the Year 2 students and parents to celebrate a 'Family' focused Liturgy on Wednesday, 9 March. Fr Bona reminded the students that it is important to love those who love us and to be grateful for the people who look after us. We also remember that God will always be there for us and that we can always 'count on him'.

Mrs Bonatto
Head of Junior School

CONEQT-P Reminder

Just a little reminder to the parents of Middle and Senior school students to check coneqt-p when you can for student assessment results. This is a fantastic way to stay up to date with your child's assessments and comments before reports are issued.

If you need any support accessing this, please call the office and ask to be directed to myself or Mr Oxwell.

Thanks
Anita O'Donohue
Deputy Principal

College Cafe Menu 2016

The College Cafe Menu is also posted on the College website.
College Cafe Menu 2016

Salvado Feast and Pilgrim Trail Opening

Last Wednesday, Salvado House celebrated the life and triumphs of our patron Dom Salvado. The day saw all members of the House come to the College in their green shirts, reminding us of the olive trees found in New Norcia. Before lunch, students from Pre-Primary to Year Twelve gathered at the Church to give thanks for our individual gifts and show gratitude to God. We then came together for a pizza feast, music and great conversation under our House tent. The event finished with our Year Twelve students competing against each other in a water bomb fight - a fun way to top off the day.

 

It was wonderful to see all Salvado students having the opportunity to gather together and celebrate; a big thanks should be extended to all students who helped with the distribution of lunch and those who participated in an extraordinary way at our Mass.

  The 1^st of March is the birthday of Dom Rosendo Salvado and was chosen this year as the date to officially open the Camino Salvado. The Camino Salvado is the pilgrim trail that extends from Subiaco to New Norcia, following the journey of Dom Salvado. For the last two years, students from the College have been completing sections of the trail with the guide of maps and information developed by the Pilgrim Trail group. The whole track, however, is now officially sign posted with an adapted Camino shell for the 205km that it covers. Holy Cross were extremely privileged to take a handful of staff and students from Salvado House to meet and greet the Governor of Western Australia, Bishop of Perth, Mayor of Subiaco and Abbott of New Norcia. The ceremony consisted of an official opening, smoking ceremony from an aboriginal elder, the performance of a piece of music specifically created to embody the trail and speeches from all of the major stakeholders. Those involved were taken to view the trailhead that is situated at St Joseph’s parish in Subiaco, led by Salvado himself. It was a fantastic way to finish off the festivities that started last week, allowing us to commemorate the amazing person that was Dom Salvado.