Pope Francis will officially declare the Jubilee Year of Mercy on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, 8 December 2015. At the same time he will be opening the Holy Door in St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. This has not been opened since the year 2000. Other churches throughout the world will also be designated by local Bishops to open Holy Doors on Saturday 12 December. Two that have special significance for us at Holy Cross College are St Mary’s Cathedral and the Holy Trinity Abbey, New Norcia. We visit both of these on our Pilgrimage Trail during the year.

Pope Francis emphasises that the main purpose for the Year of Mercy is the expression of mercy that is so needed by the world. “Let us rediscover the corporal works of mercy: to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger, heal the sick, visit the imprisoned, and bury the dead.”

Pope Francis’ Prayer for the Jubilee Year of Mercy

You are the visible face of the invisible Father, 

of the God who manifests his power above all by forgiveness and mercy: 

let the church be your visible face in the world, its Lord risen and glorified. 

You willed that your ministers would also be clothed in weakness in order that they may feel compassion for those in ignorance and error: 

let everyone who approaches them feel sought after, loved, and forgiven by God.
Send your Spirit and consecrate every one of us with its anointing, 

so that the Jubilee of Mercy may be a year of grace from the Lord, 

and your Church, with renewed enthusiasm, may bring good news to the poor, 

proclaim liberty to captives and the oppressed, and restore sight to the blind.
We ask this through the intercession of Mary, Mother of Mercy, you who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen.

Year 8 Big Ideas: Grand Designs Revisited!

On Thursday of Week 8, a group of Year 8 students and staff travelled back to New Norcia for a wonderful morning of presentation and conversation. The students who took part had worked in groups to create outstanding examples of the 'Grand Designs' episodes that formed the basis of this year's Winter Term Big Ideas project. 

In what has become a lovely Holy Cross College tradition, the students who had produced the highest quality work enjoyed a special trip to New Norcia, where they showed their projects to the monastic community and enjoyed a delicious morning tea. This was a wonderful opportunity for the students to connect with the community and also to provide them with an authentic audience for their work.

Holy Cross College and New Norcia continue to enjoy a special relationship and visits such as this are a way for us to maintain that connection as the school grows. Thank you to Toni Tejada and the New Norcia community for making our visit such a pleasurable occasion and well done to the students on their beautiful work!

 

Miss Emilie Reynolds

Year 8 Innovator

Pre-Kindergarten Jingles Their Bells

It has been go, go, go for the past few weeks in Pre-Kindergarten and I can't believe we only have one week left! The children have been busy learning about Advent and we have been exploring the meaning of Christmas. A range of Christmas stories have been read to the children and the they can now identify the people in Jesus' family. The children contributed to decorating our class Christmas tree and have been doing a range of art activities based around Christmas. 

All of the children's hard work in practising for our Christmas concerts seems to have paid off, as the children did an amazing job at both concerts. Despite a little stage fright, the children were very excited and proud to perform in front of such a wonderful audience of family members, staff and students. Thank you all for coming and supporting the children in their first school performance. We hope you enjoyed it!

The final week of school will see the children continuing to participate in a range of activities about Advent and Christmas. We will also be revising some of concepts the children have been exposed to this year, such as: colours, two-dimensional shapes, counting to ten and name recognition. I look forward to a wonderful final week of Pre-Kindergarten.  

Mrs Fretwell

Pre-Kindergarten Teacher

Advent and Waiting for So Much More

Kindergarten C

The Kindergarten children have been extremely busy and the countdown to Pre-Primary has begun!

This week, we put our finishing touches onto our Christmas tree that we have entered in a competition at Ellenbrook Bunnings. Our recycled tree is made entirely of bottle tops and plastic bottles and it looks amazing. Bunnings will be holding a Christmas Family Fun Night on Wednesday, 9 December from 6pm until 8pm where you can vote for your favourite tree. We are hoping to win products to add to our sustainable garden in our nature playground.

With only one week of Kindergarten to go, we have been practising for our Christmas concert, using the iPads to create collages about our favourite things in Kindergarten, learning all about Advent and the coming of baby Jesus, playing with our friends and making delicious Rudolf biscuits.

We definitely know how to have a good time in Kindergarten!

Mrs Borg

Kindergarten C Teacher

Pre-Primary

The season of Advent has welcomed an elf into our Pre-Primary classroom. She has recently been watching the students in their day-to-day writing, Mathematics and Religious Education lessons. The students made a collective vote to call her “Sparkles". Sparkles has the important job is to report back to Santa, all the many skills the Pre-Primary children are learning and if they are being naughty or nice.

One of the important lessons recently taught in Pre-Primary, is the true meaning of Christmas. The meaning is presented in the name itself, Christ-mas. The birth of Jesus Christ is the centre of all the celebrations and it is in his footsteps that we care and respect others in this season. The students have donated three hampers to the Christmas Appeal and have displayed a keen interest in continuing to “Make a difference”, linking with their Big Ideas target.

Sparkles would have also seen the students starting to assemble a Nativity scene. It is still in progress, but will be worth coming into the classroom to see. The creative thought and individuality makes each Nativity picture quite special.

I am sure that Sparkles was just around the corner, if not from afar, to watch the Pre-Primary Assembly. I can imagine she would be very proud to tell Santa how well they performed when showcasing their memories of the year. I would personally like to thank you everyone who attended.

Miss Pritchard

Pre-Primary Teacher

Other News

The Junior School Christmas Concert will be held in the College Amphitheatre on Tuesday, 8 December at 9:30am. Families are invited to come along with their blanket, cushion and hat to enjoy the outdoor experience. The students have been busy preparing a variety of items to showcase their gifts and talents. Morning Tea in the Early Learning Centre will follow, including a visit from a very special guest.

Other Final Week College Event information can be found on the Principal's Blog.

Melissa Croswell

Head of Junior School 

Friday, 4 December