Week 6, Winter Term

CURRICULUM ENRICHMENT WEEK

This week all students and staff are involved in Curriculum Enrichment Week.  It is a great opportunity for students to be involved in learning in the community.  

Year 7 students are investigating the value of water and will be visiting Bells Rapids, Mundaring Weir, Edgecombe Winery and various places around Ellenbrook.  Year 8 students are reflecting on the theme of journey and this week’s journeys will be both spiritual, as they participate in a Retreat, and physical as they embark on a hike through the John Forrest National Park.  They will journey to New Norcia on Wednesday for a 3 day camp during which they will have the opportunity to explore the history and spirituality of the Benedictine monastic town of New Norcia. Year 9 students are investigating the question ‘Is Perth Ready For The Future?’  They will spend the week in the City future problem solving issues around transport, heritage, culture, retail, sustainability and heritage.   Year 10 students will spend 2 days participating in Christian Service and will reflect on this during a Social Justice Retreat on Wednesday.  On Thursday and Friday they will consider their post-school pathways as they visit TAFE and universities.  Year 11 students are working with Carol Henderson from Kolbe Catholic College on Career and Life planning and will also participate in Study Skills Workshops.  On Wednesday they will travel to Eagles Nest in Gidgegannup for a three day Retreat, reflecting on the theme ‘Daring to Be’.

It is a week filled with activities and with opportunities for students to engage with big questions and to reflect.  They have the chance to interact with members of the community and to grapple with learning in a real life context.  Thanks to staff for their work in preparing the Curriculum Enrichment Week activities.

FATHERS’ DAY LITURGY AND BREAKFAST

A liturgy to celebrate Fathers’ Day will be held on Wednesday, 4 September.  The liturgy will commence at 7.30am in the Learning Resource Centre and will be followed by breakfast.  Students are invited to attend with their fathers, grandfathers or other significant males in their lives.

PERFORMING ARTS FESTIVAL FOR CATHOLIC SCHOOLS

The Choir and Barbershop will be performing in the Performing Arts Festival for Catholic Schools on Tuesday evening.  Well done to all students who have participated in this year’s Festival and thanks to Mr McRae for preparing students for this event.

Week Four, Winter Term

I was fortunate to spend the past five weeks travelling in Alaska and other parts of the United States.    I am grateful to Mr Jeff Allen, from Kolbe College,  for taking on the  Acting Principal role while I was on leave.  Staff and students enjoyed working with him during this time and it was a great opportunity to share ideas across schools.

FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION
On Thursday we gathered as a College to celebrate Mass for the Feast of the Assumption.  This is an important Feast in the Church’s calendar, a time when we gather to give thanks and praise for Mary’s grace-filled and blessed life and to honour the crowning glory of her assumption into heaven.   Thanks to Mr Harry Muller for his work in preparing for this Mass.


LIFELINK SLEEP-OUT
There were a significant number of staff and students who were  particularly appreciative of their warm beds on Friday night.   Over 70 students and 13 staff slept out on Thursday night to raise money for the Archbishop’s LifeLink Appeal.  In true form, it was a cold and wet night and sleeping in the undercover area in cardboard shelters gave those who participated a small insight into the grim reality many face on the streets each night.  The Sleep Out has become an annual event which raises money for those in need and also raises awareness within the school community about social justice issues.  The evening started with a reflection on the Gospel message of  loving our neighbour and  highlighed the obligation we each have to give others the opportunity to live Life to the Full.   At the assembly on Friday morning some of the students who had participated in the Sleep-out shared their reflections about what they had learned from the experience.  Thanks to Mrs Walmsley for again taking on the enormous task of organsing the Sleep Out and to all staff who assisted, particularly those who ‘slept-out’.  Thanks also to Mr Michael Holden for his support  on the night and also to the Year 11 students who prepared soup and ran the soup kitchen.  Well done to all the students for their spirit of service in their participation in this event.

CURRICULUM ENRICHMENT WEEK
Curriculum Enrichment Week commences on Monday, 26 August.  All parents should have received letters regarding the activities specific to their child’s year level.  A variety of activities have been planned to enhance learning in a real life context in the Middle School years.  Senior School students will participate in Christian Service, Retreats, visits to Tertiary Institutions and Study Skills workshops.

ANGELICO EXHIBITION
The Anglelico Art Exhibition is held each year in conjunction with the Performing Arts Festival for Catholic Schools and Colleges.  The Opening Night for the Exhibition was held on Tuesday and it was terrific to have work from students at HCC included in this professional exhibition which showcases the best work form students in Catholic schools.  The following students had their work selected for the Angelico Exhibition:
Kamilla Kajcsa (Year 7) - Tie-dyed/lino printed cushion
Bianca Sumich (Year 8) - Landscape painting
Sally Reyes (Year 8) - Landscape painting
Jarryd Dalley (Year 9) - Personal identity bust
Clandy Dada (Year 9) - Personal identity bust
Casey van der Merwe (Year 9) - mixed media artwork
Caleb Portelli (Year 10) - Fantasy chair sculpture

Group entry ('anthropomorphic totem pole') all Year 8 students:
Alyssa Kinkaid
Keely Prasalowski
Nayan Kerai

The exhibition is open 9 to 5pm daily until 23 August and entry is free.   The venue is Central Park, 152 -158 St George’s Terrace Perth.   If you have the opportunity to attend, I know you will be most impressed with the standard of work produced by secondary school students form Catholic Schools around WA. 

PERFORMING ARTS FESTIVAL FOR CATHOLIC SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES
The HCC Contemporary Ensemble performed at Mercy College on Friday evening.  Well done to Caleb Portelli, Jacob Barone, Katelyn Verran, Aimee George, Max Hughes, James Evans and Laura Evans for their great effort.   This event is part of the Performing Arts Festival for Catholic schools which runs during August and involves thousands of students from Catholic schools throughout the state.  Abbey'Lee Quantock and Chardonnay Mitchell (Vocal Duet)  also performed on last week and were   awarded a Certificate of Merit.  Well done to Abbey'Lee and Chardonnay.  Anthony Menegola, Angela Gethin and Chardonnay Mitchell will perform on the piano later in August and the College Choir and Barbershop will also showcase their talents.

Ms Mandy Connor
Principal

End of Week 3, Winter Term

Dear Parent/Guardian

Thank You

It has been a terrific privilege to fulfil the Acting Principal role in Ms Mandy Connor’s absence over the past three weeks. I have had a wonderful time and have been made to feel very welcome by staff, students and parents. I thank the Holy Cross College Community for their support  - I have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of this excellent school.

We look forward to Ms Connor returning to us from her well-earned Long Service Leave on Monday next week.

Feast of St Mary MacKillop

On Thursday, 8 August we gathered together as a community to celebrate the Feast Day of St. Mary MacKillop. We thank Mr Muller and students Sarah Reyes, Danika Vallelonga, Laura Evans, Bor Dau and Angela Gethin for organising a beautiful liturgy that reminded us of the incredible contribution that Mary MacKillop made to Australian society.

St. Mary MacKillop is Australia’s first Saint whose focus was to build a religious community devoted to the education of young people. She had great vision, courage, determination and compassion and devoted her life to the service of others.

St Mary MacKillop’s message of “Doing all you can with the means at your disposal and calmly leave the rest to God” encourages us to utilise our God-given talents and have faith that He will support us in our work. This message supports our own College philosophy of living life to the full where we look to encourage our students to be ‘the best that they can be’ so that they can grow into people who can positively impact our society and uphold the respect and dignity of all.

St. Mary MacKillop calls us to action when she asks us to consider ‘what situation in my life is calling me to roll up my sleeves and do something about it?’

Performing Arts Festival for Catholic Schools and Colleges

The Performing Arts festival continued this week. We are proud to announce that Year 7 students Chardonnay Mitchell and Abbey'Lee Quantock were awarded a Certificate of Merit for their vocal duet performance of 'You've Got A Friend in Me'. This marked the College's first ever Certificate of Merit in a Solo/Duet category. Congratulations to Chardonnay and Abbey’Lee.

We also were proudly represented by students from the College Production of 'Peter Pan' which was entered into the Musicals section. The adjudicators were particularly impressed by the quality of the ensemble singing, backdrops, costumes and energy displayed by the students. Congratulations to all of the students involved.

State Representation

Congratulations to Jo-Anna Maynard who has recently been selected to represent Western Australia in the 2013 State Orienteering Team. The team will be competing at the National Schools Championship in Canberra in late September, early October this year. We wish Jo-Anna all the very best for the Championship.

Friends of Holy Cross

Thank you to the parents and guardians who braved the wintery weather to attend the Friends of the Holy Cross meeting on Monday. It is wonderful to have such great support from members of the community. Some terrific discussion took place and some great ideas generated. We encourage all our parents and guardians to attend future Friends of the Holy Cross meetings and look forward to many more fruitful discussions.

The Angelico Exhibition

The College is proud to announce that a number of our Art students are exhibiting their work at this year’s Angelico Art Exhibition.  This prestigious annual event celebrates its 20^th anniversary in 2013.  The Angelico Exhibition was named after Blessed Fra Angelico, Patron before God of Artists and provides a forum through which Catholic secondary students throughout Western Australia are able to exhibit their dynamic artistic talent.

This year’s exhibition is being held from Monday, 12 August through to Friday, 23 August at Central Park, 152 - 158 St Georges Terrace Perth. Viewing times are between 9.00am and 5.00pm.

Congratulations to the following students who are having their work exhibited this year:

Individual Entries:

Kamilla Kajcsa                                Tie-dyed/lino printed cushion

Bianca Sumich                                Landscape painting

Sally Reyes                                       Landscape painting

Jarryd Dalley                                    Personal identity bust

Clandy Dada                                     Personal identity bust

Caleb Portelli                                   Fantasy chair sculpture

               Group Entry:                                                    

Alyssa Kinkaid, Keely Prasalowski and Nayan Kerai - Anthropomorphic totem pole

WAMSE

Many thanks to Mr Wilson and College staff for overseeing the WAMSE process this week. Students concerned completed the testing with good rigour and enthusiasm. It was pleasing to see them approach the process in an organised and dedicated fashion.

Life Link Sleep Out

Best wishes to all of our dedicated staff and students who have taken up the challenge to be involved in the College’s annual Life Link Sleep Out next Thursday night.  Many thanks to Mrs Walmsley and to the large number of staff and students who have been working very hard in preparation for the event. It is terrific to see so many students giving up their time and comfort in looking to raise the profile and funds for homelessness in Australia.

Curriculum Enrichment Week

As per a recent email that I sent out to families this week, all students will be involved in Curriculum Enrichment Week activities from 26 - 30 August and it is an expectation that students will attend all activities/excursions that are planned. These activities give students an opportunity to connect their learning to real life contexts. 

Thanks to College staff who are currently planning for the event. The range of activities on offer certainly looks very exciting and will strongly complement the excellent learning opportunities available for students at the College.

Best wishes

Jeff Allen

Acting Principal

Week 2, Winter Term

Athletics Carnival Assembly

Last Monday we gathered to celebrate the efforts of all students for their participation in the College’s annual Athletics Carnival and in particular to recognise the age champions and overall winners of the event.

The Age Champion is awarded at each year level to those students who gained the highest combined number of points for the events in which they competed during the course of the day. Congratulations to the following students for their performance on the day. 

		Boys	Girls
Year 7	Age Champion	Fred Ruremesha	Brianna Armstrong
	Runner Up	Cian Guest	Hannah Schnell
Year 8	Age Champion	Scott Varady	Talia Catlin
	Runner Up	Matthew Hatch	Caitlyn McKenzie
Year 9	Age Champion	Blair Parker	Jo-Anna Maynard
	Runner Up	Elliott Hogg	Michaela Marshall
Year 10	Age Champion	James Evans	Jaimi-Lee Perry
	Runner Up	Dylan Woodford	Felicity Holden
Year 11	Age Champion	Samuel Stent	Georgia Heggs
	Runner Up	Harsh Patel	Aimee George

Congratulations also to Ozanam House who were the Athletics Carnival Champions for 2013.

Supporting Others

I made comment at the Athletics Carnival Assembly how impressive it was to see the high levels of support in evidence during the day. It was clearly obvious that on many occasions genuine and heartfelt support from their peers helped to lift students’ enthusiasm during events and spur them on to finish strongly. This high level of spirit, encouragement and support was a definite highlight of the day.

The capacity for people to reach out to others and help them in time of need is a key ingredient to our Catholic philosophy. We encourage all of our students to look to others when they are in need of support and lend a hand. Sometimes it takes considerable courage to seek out those in need and it is often easier to just ignore the situation. However community is built on sharing one another’s difficulties and working together in support of each other.

It has been very pleasing to see the support for the Winter Sleepout gaining momentum. This is a very tangible example of how we can proactively reach out in support of others. Congratulations to those staff and students who have already committed to this terrific cause. We wish everyone well for the evening which is being held on Thursday, 15 August.

Middle School Learning Conversations

On Wednesday 31 July, the College held its Middle School Learning Conversations. Thank you to the many parents who took advantage of the opportunity to spend some quality time with teachers to discuss the academic and pastoral progress of their children. We value very highly the partnership between home and school and understand the importance of effective communication between all parties involved in the learning journey of our students.

Please do not hesitate to contact staff via email or by phone should there ever be any concerns with the progress of your children.

Many thanks to College staff for their terrific support of the Learning Conversations.

Visitors from Japan

On Wednesday, the College hosted a number of visitors from Japan who attended to view the wonderful teaching and learning that is taking place. They were particularly interested in how the College has embraced technology and integrated it into the educational experience. The visitors were also very interested in the authentic learning experience that Big Ideas provides students.

Congratulations to all the staff and students involved in the visit. Special recognition and thanks must go to Mrs Louden’s Year 7 class for their very proud and energetic explanations of what they have been completing in class of recent times. These students impressed our visitors with their honesty, politeness and genuine enthusiasm for their learning.

Build Update

We were thrilled to see the pad for the Early Learning Centre being put down on Friday. A reminder that we are documenting the progress of the build via the blog. Many thanks to Mr Chris Gooch for overseeing this process.

Friends of Holy Cross

A reminder that we have a Friends of Holy Cross meeting scheduled for Monday, 5 August commencing at 6.30pm in the LRC. We hope to see you there.

WAMSE

Best wishes to those students completing WAMSE testing in Week 3. The testing will run for most of the week. Students have been provided with relevant details. If you have any questions or queries about the testing, please do not hesitate to contact Mr Ian Wilson at the College.

Best wishes

Jeff Allen