From Principal's Speech - Annual Celebration Night ....
This year nearly all of the students in the Middle and Senior Schools at Holy Cross have completed a section of the Pilgrim Trail - the Camino Salvado, which connects Subiaco to New Norcia. Each year students will walk sections of the pilgrim trail and starting with the current Year 8 students, during their time at the College they will complete the whole trail from Subiaco to New Norcia. Hopefully in years to come more students will have an opportunity to walk the Camino in Spain.
Why are we walking the Camino?
Before our Camino group left Tui on Easter Monday we gathered at Salvado's statue in the main square and Fr Angel, a local priest, gave us a blessing, before we set out on our pilgrimage along the Camino de Santiago. Fr Angel spoke abut how on our pilgrimage we would encounter self, others, God and nature.
At HCC we are walking to the Camino to encounter God - pilgrimages are an important part of our Catholic tradition .... Pope Benedict said,“… different from a wanderer whose steps have no established final destination, a pilgrim always has a destination, even if at times he is not explicitly aware of it. And this destination is none other than the encounter with God …”
We will walk.the Camono to encounter self, as we slow down and find a rhythm without our electronic devices. Amidst the fast pace of life this is hard to do, but we need to remember the words of St Augustine, ‘It is solved by walking.” Indeed walking can give us a new perspective.
We will walk to encounter others - to have real conversations. Pope Francis said,’It is terrible to walk alone, terrible and tedious. Walking in community, with friends, with those who love us: this helps us, it helps us to arrive precisely at the destination where we must arrive …’
We will also walk to encounter nature. We often see in the news how young people spend less time in the outdoors and are becoming disconnected from nature. Our walks have taken us along the Swan River, through Bells Rapids, Walyunga and lower Chittering and in these places some students saw kangaroos and kookaburras in the wild for the very first time. In connecting with nature, hopefully our students will be encouraged to live out the value of Stewardship which for our College is linked to Salvaodo and the Enrichment pillar.
A 2011 study revealed that ‘Australian children are now among the most ''cosseted'' and ''chauffeured'' in the world. In 1970 84 per cent of all students travelled by public transport, walking and cycling, with just 16 per cent using cars. Today 63 per cent of students are driven to and from school as the numbers who walk, cycle and take public transport fall to new lows. Along the Camino Salvado our students and staff are rediscovering ‘getting there by walking’.
We will walk the Camino Salvado because it is a challenge and overcoming challenges builds resilience. Pope Francis said, ‘In the art of walking it is not the falling that matters, but ‘not staying falling’. Get up quickly, immediately, and continue to go on …’ This is a lesson for walking and a lesson for life.
We will walk the Camino Salvado because it is part of our faith story, our connection with Dom Salvado, who walked a similar journey on his travels from Perth to New Norcia. It strengthens our link with the Benedictine community of New Norcia with who we already have a very special connection.u
8 November 2014
In the last couple of weeks we have welcomed students who will be attending the College in 2015. New Kindergarten and pre-Kindergarten children and their parents joined us for a morning in the Early Learning Centre. The children had a chance to get to know the staff and their new environment and parents were able to familiarise themselves with the routines of HCC. Last Tuesday 2015 Year 7 students spent the day at HCC participating in a range of activities to introduce them to Middle School. During the afternoon an information session was held for parents.
Our enrolments are growing rapidly and next year we will have over 160 additional students in the College. We are full at several year levels and close to full at a couple of others. If you have a son/daughter who you wish to enrol in the College in 2016 or 2017, it is important you submit your paperwork as soon as possible. 
