Celebrating our Mums!

Week 3 has been a busy week in the Junior School. It was lovely to see so many mums, aunts and grandmothers attend the Mother's Day Liturgy on Wednesday morning and share breakfast in the Cafe before school.

The Kindergarten H students have been busy preparing to host their first Assembly on Tuesday, 12 May at 2.15pm in San Salvador. 

We keep the Year Three students in our thoughts as they prepare to sit the NAPLAN assessments during Week Four. 

Friday, 15 May will see the College inundated with Disney characters, as the Junior School students are invited to attend the Disco, 5.00pm-6.30pm. Please return permission slips and money by Tuesday, 12 May. We look forward to seeing families attend and show off their dance moves.

Melissa Croswell

Head of Junior School

7 May 2015

Kindergarten H

This fortnight we had the pleasure of providing a morning of fun and activities for our wonderful mothers. We commenced the morning with a brief reflection about why we love our mums. All of the Kindergarten children then made their debut performance as they sang and danced to a special song. The students led their mums around both Kindergarten classrooms for an assortment of exciting and entertaining activities. There was handprint painting, biscuit decorating, beaded jewellery making, story sharing and play dough creations. The favourite station, by far, was the pampering salon where the mothers were treated to a hand massage and nail painting with an assortment of colours available. We would like to thank our mums for sharing this special morning with us.

We wish all mums and all the special mother figures in our lives a very happy Mother’s Day on Sunday. 

Mrs Tucker

Kindergarten H Teacher

Year One

We are continuing to be bubbly little workers in Year One!

Within the learning area of Mathematics our focus has been fractions, particularly halves and quarters. Students have been investigating the different ways to divide shapes evenly. Using concrete materials to build two and four groups evenly has closely linked division concepts. The children have taken photos and are building a book to illustrate their knowledge throughout the unit of work. 

As Mother’s Day is this Sunday we have created small succulent pots for our special carers. The children made cards for them too and they brainstormed words to describe their Mum. We hope the parents enjoy their gifts.

'Mad/angry' and 'calm/relaxed' feelings have been our focus during our PAThS lessons. As mad/angry are strong emotions we have discussed strategies to bring us back to feeling calm/relaxed. We discussed taking deep breaths, removing ourselves, going into the turtle or asking an adult for help. Calm/relaxed is the opposite of mad/angry. When we feel this way our body is relaxed and we are feeling comfortable.

Our new writing genre for the fortnight has been 'procedures'. We began by making fruit kebabs and developing our procedure once a demonstration was seen. The students wrote their procedure then followed their procedure to ensure their steps were correct. The students enjoyed the fresh sweet fruit! 

Ms Behiels

Year One Teacher

Year Three

In Year 3 this term, we are exploring feelings and friendships through our Social Emotional Program, PATHS. We have been discussing how feelings can be classified as comfortable or uncomfortable. We have learned that there is no such thing as a good or bad feeling, they are just feelings. It’s what we do with these feelings that’s important. When we have uncomfortable feelings we have to remember our traffic lights; stop, make a plan and go. This week we have been exploring the feeling of 'anger' and how that looks and feels.

In Big Ideas this term, we are exploring the question; Schools: How does Holy Cross College compare? As part of this unit we are looking at how schools have changed over the last 100 years and the experiences of students during this time. We are looking forward to taking part in more of these learning experiences over the next few weeks.

Finally, we have been very busy practising sitting quietly and our skills for taking a test in preparation for NAPLAN next week. We have spent time in the classroom in Huasi Huasi becoming familiar with the space where we will be sitting our assessments. We have a very busy week ahead and are looking forward to showing our dance moves at the disco on Friday!

Miss Henderson

Year Three Teacher

Twitter for Beginners Workshop

Year 7 First Aid Training

Year 7 students recently had the opportunity to receive first aid training at the College. This is a valuable life skill, that may one day give the students the opportunity to save a life. The students participated well and got a lot out of the day. A great Enrichment opporunity.

Mr Paul Murphy
Assistant Deputy Principal
6 May 2015

Senior School Learning Conversations

Just a reminder that Learning Conversations are taking place in Week 6, Wednesday 27 May. Parents have been sent an email with their PTO logins attached. Senior School students are encouraged to make appointments with all Learning areas. This is a fantastic opportunity to get a real sense of your child's progress at the end of Semester One. We look forward to seeing you there.

Ms A Walmsley
Assistant Deputy Learning

Junior School Disco and Middle School Social

The College will be holding a Junior School Disco (Years K - 3) and Middle School Social (Years 7 - 9) on Friday, 15 May 2015. Details of each event are listed below:

Time Venue Cost Theme

Junior School Disco 5.00pm – 6.30pm Da Vinci 2 $5.00 per student Disney

Middle School Social 7.00pm – 9.00pm Da Vinci 2 $7.00 per student A Day at the Races

Information about each event was sent home with students last week and included expectations about behaviour and dress requirements. The College Office must receive permission slips and money for tickets no later than Tuesday 12 May 2015. The price of the ticket includes the entry fee and some treats.

Mr P Collins

Vice Principal

6 May 2015

Mothers’ Day Raffle - Friends of Holy Cross

The Friends of Holy Cross are currently running a Mothers’ Day raffle to be drawn this Friday, 8 May 2015.

Information and tickets have been sent home with students last week.  Additional tickets are available from the College office.

Tickets will also be available for sale following the Mothers’ Day liturgy at the breakfast in the Café.

Tickets are $1 each or 6 for $5.

Raffle ticket sales close on Thursday 7 May 2015.

Prizes are currently being prepared and further donations would be welcomed.

Your ongoing support is gratefully appreciated.

Susan Sorensen

President

Friends of Holy Cross

Year 9 Camino Salvado

Year 9 students hit the trails of Walyunga National Park on Friday, May 1, for their third section of the Camino Salvado. Bright and early, we started the morning with the Camino Salvado Pilgrim’s Prayer at Bells Rapids, reflecting on what the day meant to us and how it was an opportunity to connect with each other and the environment. 

 

As a group, the Year 9 students walked together for the entire time through the beautiful National Park, including battling the hills of the long journey. The students were fantastic and made it to our destination with time to spare!

All participants had a great attitude throughout the walk and it was a really enjoyable day. Thanks to all the staff and students involved for a wonderful day.

Mrs Carla Pastorelli

McCormack House Coordinator

4 May 2015

Mothers Day Focus - Wednesday 6 May

The College celebrates Mothers Day this coming Wednesday with both a Liturgy and a breakfast for Mothers, Grandmothers and their children.

We are also in the month of May the month set aside by the church to celebrate the influence of Mary, the mother of Jesus, on our lives as Catholics.

We look forward to welcoming all mothers and their children to the Liturgy, in our Parish Church, this Wednesday morning at 7.45am, followed by breakfast in the College Cafè.

Mr Harry Muller (Ministry Coordinator)

LifeLink 2015 - 'Seeing in those we meet, the face of Jesus'

Six members of the College's Student Leadership Team went to the Archbishop's Forum for Secondary Schools last week. In the past the Archbishop has held this event as an online Forum where students could ask questions over the internet. This year he asked schools to send a number of representatives along to meet with him and Bishop Sproxton in person.

Archbishop Costelloe spoke to the audience about the main theme for this year's appeal. He started his talk using the Shroud of Turin as a possible manner in which we could try and find what Jesus really looked like. Many say that the image is probably one from the Middle Ages. Does this really matter when one has faith? We realise that to see the actual face of Jesus doesn't really answer all our questions about him. But contemplation on the shroud might help us to find in Jesus Christ the merciful face of God and to recognise it in the faces of our brothers and sisters, especially those who suffer the most.

LifeLink Day and this term at Holy Cross College is where we are asked to respond in a practical, down to earth way to people who are suffering in our world. The money raised is used by a number of agencies within the Archdiocese. We will be making students more aware of these organisations during the term.

LifeLink Day happens to fall on Wednesday 3 June this year and the College follows this day by having it's Annual HCC SleepOut the following day, Thursday 4 June. HCC received the Archbishop's Spirit Award in 2014 for our efforts in the previous year and we can be very proud at receiving an honourable mention this year for the fund raising efforts of 2014.We look forward to becoming more aware of the face of Jesus in all those that we meet but also in those that desperately need our help.

Mr Harry Muller (Ministry Coordinator)
Miss Danielle Hodgson (Religious Education Coordinator and HCC SleepOut Coordinator)

Learning through play

Pre-Kindergarten

It was so wonderful to see all of the children happy and excited to be back at school last week. We welcomed some new friends into our class and it was great to see everyone settling into the routine of Pre-Kindergarten.

Our exploration of minibeasts proved to be a hit, as the children tried to figure out how to get frozen plastic minibeasts out of ice. They loved feeling the cold ice and experimenting with warm water and various pourers, containers, and spray bottles to rescue the creepy crawlies. Some fantastic oral language emerged as the children observed and talked about the minibeasts and shared their prior knowledge. The next few weeks will see us continue our exploration of minibeasts and we will then move on to other living creatures that God has created.

A parent roster had been displayed on the door, which consists of fruit cutting, play dough making, and being a parent helper in the classroom. If you are able to give some of your time in any of these areas that would be greatly appreciated. I'm sure the children can't wait to have some more adults in the room to explore and play with, especially since they seem even more inquisitive and interactive this term.

Mrs Dorota Fretwell

Pre-Kindergarten Teacher

Kindergarten C

We have been having so much fun learning through play in Kindergarten. Last week we made box houses, painted handprints and created honeybees and honeycomb. This week we have investigated insects, melted ice and role-played Indians. Special events have included our cross country running and a visit from Sharon from the Ellenbrook library. All of us are excited about our special Mother's Day morning next Wednesday.

We love Kindergarten!

Mrs Jo Borg

Kindergarten Teacher 

Pre-Primary

Welcome back!

The students have settled back into the class routine with ease and an eager attitude to learn. I am extremely impressed to see some students starting to independently write sentences. The children have also been putting in a great effort to listen carefully and be involved in class conversations and activities. I invite parents to celebrate the learning that is happening daily in Pre-Primary.

Our class is buzzing with excitement about Mrs Doherty’s pregnancy, so much so that this has prompted us to have a hospital play space. The doctors and nurses have been busy taking temperatures, bandaging sore arms and operating in the theatre. We have been wondering and learning about our human bodies. Very soon we are going to see ultrasound pictures of Mrs Doherty's baby and                                                                                compare how much we change and grow over time. 

                                                       

Miss Emma Pritchard

Pre-Primary Teacher

Year Two

I would like to thank the Year Two students for keeping the class going during my absence at the end of last term. It was fantastic to see all of their smiling faces and enthusiastic greetings on the first day back.

We have started our term running with lots of different activities. Firstly, congratulations to all of the student leaders who were presented with their badges and award winners who received certificates at our assembly last week. Also, congratulations to the students for their participation in the Cross Country Carnival. GO MCCORMACK!!!

Last week also saw us learn about the ANZAC spirit and it's meaning.  We investigated words around the day, read a story and watched a clip about the various symbols related to ANZAC day. Our learning culminated in the children respectfully participating in a moving ANZAC service. Following the ceremony they baked damper and ANZAC biscuits.  The children measured, mixed, kneaded and rolled to make some delicious food with our Year Three buddies. Thank you to the parents and Senior School students who came and helped us.  Without your assistance, activities like this don't happen.

This week we are looking at the text 'Where the Wild Things Are.'  The children are analysing the characters, identifying different parts of the text and then retelling the text through role play.  Our goal is to create a digital movie retelling the events of the story. In Maths we are starting investigations into money.  We are adding, sorting, grouping and problem solving to become familiar with our currency.

Mrs Orilee Ryan

Year Two Teacher

In Other News 

Please make note of the following events on the calendar which will be taking place over the coming weeks:

Wednesday, 6 May- Mother's Day Liturgy and breakfast commencing at 7:30am

Tuesday, 12 May- Kindergarten H hosting assembly in San Salvador (LRC) at 2:15pm

Friday, 15 May- Junior School Disco from 5:00-6:30pm