Principal Memo – 13 September 2024
Transformative Power of the Cross – Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
On Saturday September 14th we celebrate a universal image of Christian belief. In a truly mysterious way, the Cross, something that is painful and difficult in our lives, often draws the best from us and creates a beauty that we never knew possible!
As Christians, we know that the mystery of the Cross of Christ lies in its transformative power. We look deeper when life brings us pain and suffering. As Christians, we believe that life has triumphed over death.
Prayer
Let us pray
Lord Jesus Christ, in the gift of yourself on the Cross, you opened wide your arms to the needs of the world. May we embrace the wounds of our world with the same generosity and so gather all people into your healing love. You live in the heart of the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen
Week 9
It has been an exciting two weeks at the College with our motto of Life to the Full being lived by our students and staff. Throughout this week’s blog I will use our LIFE pillars to focus on the wonderful experiences our students have been enjoying.
LEARNING
Our Tui Playground renovations will begin next week with part of the Strathmore Ave carpark being fenced off to allow for the renovations to begin. The extension of the Tui playground will allow for more indoor and outdoor learning to occur and enhance the play-based philosophy of our Early Years team.
Parking at the College is difficult, and we are consistently reviewing our processes; hence I thank parents in advance for their patience with the car park changes.
Our Year 10 Outdoor Education (ODE) students thrived whilst out on camp last week in Collie. Students were challenged in range of activities with abseiling the highlight for many. ODE provides students with an opportunity to develop essential life skills and a positive relationship with nature. Students self-awareness and leadership shine through as students have opportunities to plan for, and facilitate, these outdoor experiences. Well done to Mrs Carly Morana and the HPE team for the care and support they provided to our Year 10s.
Inter-relationships
The College was a hive of activity and ‘yellow’ on Thursday as we recognised R U OK Day? There were activities for all students from K-12 and staff were treated to a coffee on the day. R U OK Day inspires and empowers everyone to meaningfully connect with the people around them. Often this achieved through active listening. Thank you to Ms Karen Wilson and the Inter-relationship team for keeping the spirit of R U OK Day alive in our community.
Faith
Thank you to all the families in our community that attended the Parish Mass last Sunday. Our choir sounded wonderful as the Junior School students guided us through a special celebration of the Eucharist. Holy Cross College hosted all aspects of the Mass and I would like to thank the altar servers, readers, special ministers and choir for their support of the Parish. I know Fr Bona enjoyed seeing the church full of our stuents!
Our College Feast Day was celebrated today and what a day it has been! We celebrate our Feast Day at this time of the year to coincide with the Feast of the Exhalation of the Holy Cross. St Helena is believed to have found the Holy Cross of Christ and we celebrate the saving power of the cross on September 14th each year. Feast Day is a highlight for all students and caters for our growing Pk-12 community. Thank you to Mr Dan Bateman and to all the HCC staff for their support. It was exciting to see parents in attendance today. Thanks also to FHC for the sausage sizzle!
Enrichment
HCC have won again! Well-done to our students who participated in the ACC Inclusive Carnival during Week 7. For the second successive Inclusive Carnival HCC were named champions!
At the ACC Athletics Carnival HCC were successful in maintaining its position in F Division. We had an incredible increase in students participating and attending our training sessions. A big thanks to all the students who participated and to Mrs Jemma Ogilvie, Mr James Kerr and all our PE team for their dedicaton to ACC Athletics.
Dance Showcase
Iconic! What an incredible night the Dance Showcase was for our community. With nearly 250 performers from Year 3-12, Miss Georgina Pratt is simply incredible. The joy that was seen on the students’ faces was palpable. I was amazed at the level of performance from our students as they traversed through the different genres of dance. Thank you to the staff and parents that supported Miss Pratt. A fantastic night for HCC!
Staffing
Congratulations to Mrs Sascha Saulsman who has been appointed Head of Primary for 2025. Mrs Saulsman has had experience as a Primary School Principal and will be an ongoing asset to the HCC Community. Congratulations Sascha.
Please join me in congratulating Mrs Toni Strong on her appointment as Head of English at Mater Dei College. Toni has had a profound impact on our community for an extended period and will be greatly missed. The College has begun the process of advertising for a Learning Area Leader English and Languages for 2025.
In exciting news the College has three additional positions that will be added to our staff community in 2025. This weekend we will be advertising for an additional Junior School Social Worker, an Upper Primary Teacher, and a Laboratory Technician. We are committed to providing the best possible educational experience to our students and the addition of these positions will allow the College to grow the student support required for our Pk-12 community.
Gospel Challenge
In this week’s Gospel, Jesus questions who people say He is. Only Peter recognises him as the Christ. When Jesus describes his coming suffering and death, Peter gets upset and tries to stop him from allowing this. Jesus knows it is God’s will and rebukes Peter. Jesus explains that God’s will is the only important thing and nothing else on this earth is important. We must be willing to give up everything on this earth to follow Jesus and do God’s work.
The Gospel challenge for this week I for students to accept God’s will. Even, if like Peter, we struggle to understand or like it. It will always be good in the end.
Enjoy the spring weather whilst it last!
Kind regards
Albert Borrello
Principal
