Well here we are, on the last day of the 2020 school year.

Last evening I sat quietly in my office, reflecting on the year that has been.

I spent some time looking at photographs and reading through newsletters of the year that has been, and I felt extremely grateful.

This year, I believe, has helped us to recognise the things that matter most... it is my hope and prayer that we continue to protect what we value. 

In our very first newsletter I shared the words of Cardinal Newman, describing these words as an invitation to us all on journey throughout the year, 2020:

‘We are called to grow and be the best we can be, as God intended for all humanity….. Growth is the only evidence of life…. ‘    little did we know of the year that lay ahead of us. Today, I would like to acknowledge the incredible journey we have all travelled.

I thank our incredible staff for working so hard to ensure our children have felt safe and have been able to 'learn' in a challenging environment.  

I would like to thank you, our families, for the trust you place in us and the support you offer at all times. 

I thank our incredibly resilient tamariki for their openness to learning, for their beautiful kind hearts and for the joy they bring to us all each day.

I wish you and your famlies a truly blessed Christmas and New Year filled with hope and kindness.

“They showed us unusual kindness” (Acts 28:2)

In this challenging year have been called “to show unusual kindness.” to go out of our way to be kind to those who have suffered in any way.

In this season of Advent, it is important that we continue to look after those around us, the people we meet, people in our street, extended family and especially those who are struggling- all continue to need “unusual kindness”.

As we gather with our families this Christmas, let's remember those around the world who are unable to gather, let's keep them in our thoughts and prayers.

At the back of the hall we have the flags of the countries of origin of our Holy Cross families. Underneath each of these flags we have recorded some of the special ways Christmas is celebrated around the world.

- A beautiful tradition has been explained to us by Ameera, regarding a practice that is followed by our Assyrian community from Iraq: Each Christmas, before celebrating with one’s own family, time is made to visit families who have lost loved ones throughout the year, to offer love and support. Families also visit the cemetary to pray for loved ones.

This Christmas, let's make the time to remember and pray for those who have lost loved ones throughout the year- both in New Zealand and around the world.

- A beautiful Polish tradition was shared with us by Agi: Poland is largely a Catholic nation and many traditions revolve around church services, fasting and other religious traditions. Advent marks the beginning of Christmas Time. Christmas Eve is when the main family meal is held, an extra place is set for an unexpected visitor as a reminder the Holy family was turned away from inns in Bethlehem- and those seeking shelter are welcome on this special night.The Christmas Eve meal consists of 12 dishes, one for each of the 12 apostles.

-The Asaff- Saba familiy explained to us that in Lebanon on Christmas Eve families have a special meal together. At 11pm they go to Mass and then at midnight bells ring all around town. 

- The Tavoi family told me that this week they will be travelling on a bus to Lower Hutt and Porirua singing carols... what a beautiful way to bring joy to others.

I have been speaking with many other of our children, inviting them to speak with me about how they celebrate Christmas in their families... each family has special traditions or ways of celebrating Christmas.  Let's name and honour these traditions, let's give thanks and be joyful for the blessings we receive and let's show kindness to all those we meet.

God bless you all. 

Farewell to Mrs Sumner 

Yesterday morning we had a very special celebration to recognise the significant  contribution made to our school by Mrs Susie Sumner who as you know takes up the principal position at Colville School, Coromandel  in 2021. 

It was wonderful to be able to recognise the many gifts and talents Susie has shared with us over the past ten years. 

There was laughter,

there were tears,

there were heartfelt messages of acknowledgement, 

there was singing, 

there was poetry, 

there were bagpipes   

                                  …. and all of these things wrapped up in Community.

Thank you Susie, we have been truly blessed to have you here at Holy Cross School. 

Farewell Father Ephrem 

In early January our parish will say farewell to Father Ephrem who has been a wonderful supporter of both our parish and school.  Father has supported merging of churches and establishment of a new parish,  Holy Trinity.  He has endured some challenging times yet througout the process has acted with dignity and respect. 

Father Ephrem has been a welcome visitor to our school, his joy of children always evident and his commitment to faith a guiding light to us all.

God bless you Father Ephrem, we thank you for all you have shared with us, we will keep you in our thoughts and prayers.

Farewell to Year 8 Students 2020

Last Thursday evening, 10 December, we gathered together to celebrate the graduation of our Year 8 leavers. A number of families asked me for a copy of my speech, to share with extended whanau members or to put with their child’s certificates.  

This has been a historic year, a year that has encouraged people around the globe to show greater consideration for humankind and this precious world in which we live. 

At our Christmas liturgy, I described 2020 as a year of challenge and a year of opportunity- and on reflection I believe this is our life story… each and every one of us face challenges in our lives- it is how we respond to these challenges that makes the difference. As we near the end of the school year  I invite us all – but especially Y8 leavers - to view everything we are faced with - as an opportunity – an opportunity to grow in our faith, our learning and our relationships- with self and others.

Each year I go through a similar process. I meet with each Year 8 student and talk with them about their years at Holy Cross, their goals for the future and something that they feel Holy Cross has taught them.

Each year I was again struck by the wisdom of our young people - and am genuinely filled with hope for the future

This year the reflections shared with me reflected the three areas of opportunity I too mentioned: Faith, Learning and Relationships

Faith- knowing and living the Gospel values- Many students spoke of the need to Live in a way that reflects what they know to be true- this is not always easy but it is important to stand up for what we know is right or stand up to those around you- it takes courage and a real commitment to justice 

At times in my work I have to make quite difficult or challenging decisions.. And it is especially at these times that I draw upon my faith and I know I am not alone… I encouraged our Year 8 students  to nurture their faith by making time to pray, to reflect and to really Live the Gospel Values.

Learning – Many spoke of the importance of trying their best, not giving up and working hard… We don’t all learn in the same way so I encouraged our students to find ways that help them make sense of their learning and also to tap into the wisdom of others.. sharing ideas, working together… to see mistakes as opportunities to learn and grow.. 

Relationships- Many of the students referred to the importance of ‘being yourself. I absolutely encouraged them to live by this… Be the person you have been Called to Be…  

Relationships with others … I emphasised the importance of having good friends and being a good friend. Throughout our lives there will always be times of achievement and success- and it is really important to celebrate these times with friends.  It is also important to have friends around when things aren’t so good.  

True friends, I reminded them, will always be there for you, they will forgive you if you make mistakes and they will also challenge you at times- if they feel you need it! 

I shared  a quote I had recently read,  by Luciano De Crescenzo who said, “We are all angels with one wing, the only way to fly is to embrace one another”. I put before these students the challenge to be a good friend to others and to surround themselves with friends who will help them fly. 

We have been blessed with a group of fine young people. We look forward to hearing of their continued achievements in the years to come.  

My concluding message to these students - Embrace every opportunity to develop your faith, your learning and your relationships -and in doing so you will Achieve More Than You Ever Dreamed Possible… 

Deputy Principal: We are delighted to announce the appointment of Lyn Hough as Deputy Principal Holy Cross School from 2021.   Lyn previously held a principal position in Nelson for eight years before teaching overseas which also enabled her to spend precious time with family. Most recently Lyn has been working as a learning support coordinator.  Lyn is an experienced teacher who has taught at all levels of the school.  She is a skilled and passionate educator with a strong faith. We know Lyn will support and enhance the journey of our school.  We look forward to welcoming Lyn and her whānau to our school community. 

Parental Leave Extension: Ashleigh Walsh has been granted an extension of parental leave for 2021; we wish Ashleigh all the very best as she enjoys this special family time. 

Mrs Jeannine Winton, who has been teaching in Ashleigh's absence, has been appointed to this fixed term teaching position for 2021. We are delighted that Jeannine will continue her Holy Cross journey and thank her for her hard work and dedication.

Learning Conversations 2021 - please book by Friday 18 December

WHAT:  Learning Conversations  - 30 minute individual meeting time

WHEN:  Tuesday      2nd February 2021         9:00am- 6:00pm  
              Wednesday 3rd February 2021          9:00am -6:00pm  

WHO:    You and your child

WHY:   

• Feedback we have received has shown that these learning conversations are extremely valuable for both families and teachers.

• At the conclusion of the learning conversation, you are invited to update any forms, permission slips and emergency contacts in the library.

HOW

Book  online  by going to:  www.schoolinterviews.co.nz  Code : t2dj4 or if you would like help to book, please contact the school office. 

These dates are counted as term dates therefore we are expecting every child to attend a learning conversation on one of these days. Children who do not attend a learning conversation will be marked absent for both days.

Full classes will resume on Thursday 4th February at the normal time of 8:45am.

Further information about the learning conversations will be sent closer to the time.

Ngā mihi,

Celeste Hastings

Stationery lists for 2021 are available on the school website and also available through The Warehouse in Lyall Bay.

All uniform items are available through the NZUniform shop, 168 Thorndon Quay, Wellington. Term 1 students can wear summer uniform, girls can wear summer dress and black sandals can be worn. Hats are compulsory. 

Thursday night’s graduation ceremony was a wonderful way to end 2020, celebrating our Year 8 students. I wish them every success as they head off to college next year. I will miss them too! To the year 7 students, I am excited to be working with you next year to do some great things at Holy Cross in 2021. I would like to thank all families for their contributions to this difficult and different year of COVID from helping with; school trips, graduation, transporting our tamariki to events. I have enjoyed my year with this special bunch of tamariki and I hope you all have a wonderful christmas. 

Matua Tala

Christmas carols are playing in the supermarkets, the sun is battling the clouds to rule the skies, and children’s minds are making a break for freedom... it must almost be time for the summer holidays! The year is coming to a close and what a year it was!

In term 1 we learnt about early New Zealand history and the leaders and social justice warriors who made our world a safer, fairer place for everyone. We got quicker with our basic facts, tidied up our place value and recapped our addition and subtraction strategies. We also brushed up on our swimming skills, our Te Reo Māori kupu related to our whānau, improved our report writing and read stories about young people developing their leadership potential.

Oh, and did I mention the global pandemic? 

We moved all our learning online and got acquainted with the wonderful world of Zoom classrooms. Much of term 2 was spent coming to grips with a new way of living and learning in the world of Covid-19. We all became more closely acquainted with Google Classroom to share our reading, writing, ‘mathising’ and creating online. We also attended a Zoom party or two with our pets. 

Term 3 & 4 passed by in a blur. Room 2 got fired up about racial injustice in South Africa during Apartheid, delved into some of the complexities of Black Lives Matter and debated the costs and benefits of all things nuclear. We looked into Greek mythology, studying some of the characters from Greek myths and legends. We also learnt more about mindfulness and Māori legends through 3M Mindfulness with our wonderful teacher Renaha. Not to mention memoir writing, technology, EPRO8, athletics, ASB sports day, our Leadership Day and Breakfast, and class production of Romeo and Juliet! It’s been a busy, busy year. 

Through it all,  we have been growing ourselves as servant leaders. We have designed and taught games and activities to the junior school, led the school in prayers and liturgies, done ourselves proud as leaders and role models in the Cultural Group or improved our musicianship through ukulele. And to top it all off, we planned for, prepared and facilitated our own FIDS projects (feel, imagine, do, share), promoting our school values of Whanau, Aroha and Yes through the arts, sports and community events. 

From the start of the year until now, there has been a lot of learning, laughing and growing - and I’m not only talking about our heights! We’ve grown our minds, grown our hearts and grown together. Room 2, class of 2020, it’s been an adventure!

2020 was kind of unusual; it had

Must do’s and can do’s,

Zoom meetings, Banqer disasters,

Non stop cricket, Sleeping Beauty,

and even seven weeks away during a lockdown.

Room 3  did what people at schools do,

Strummed Kiwilele Songs,

Made kawakawa balm,

Composted, harvested, cooked and ate.

And other important things.

By Tim Carson

Inspired by James K Baxter

All Week Room 6 and Room 8 have been working together to solve problems. We have been working out the best way to: deliver cards, decorate a Christmas tree in a pattern, share out presents and find out how many animals would be in a stable. 

We have had to listen to each other’s ideas and come to an agreement about how to solve the problem. Each day we worked with a different partner. When we shared our ideas we found that you could solve the problems in different ways. There wasn't just one answer. It was great working together and learning from each other.

One other problem we were trying to solve was how to reduce waste at Christmas time. We made decorations by upcycling old books, fabric offcuts and natural materials. They were easy to make and we think they look great! If they break we won't have to put them in the rubbish we can add them to the compost bin.

Today we went on a treasure hunt around school to find natural treasures. Take a look at the pictures to see what we found. You can have a treasure hunt at home too. You can use the sheet attached or make up your own.

Have a very Merry Christmas from Room 6 and Room 8!

Term 4 has whizzed by in Room 7. We have worked very hard and are pleased with all the things we have created. Many of our children dressed in cultural dress for our Christmas Liturgy. We have been re-enacting the Christmas Story in our room.

Kia ora whānau,

What a productive and positive term we have had! We've participated in many kinds of cooperative playground games. We learned to play fairly and kindly. We learned to notice patterns and then made our own growing and sequential patterns. We talked about the different seasons and how we wear different things for each one. We also talked about the Journey that Mary and Joseph took before giving birth to Jesus in Bethlehem. We are all grateful for being able to learn together in school. We wish everyone a happy, healthy holiday!

Gardener of the Day - Meisha

Today in the Garden we put some underwear in the soil in the garden bed, beside the skills track and also in the garden bed beside the shed. We also found out that our broad beans so we had to pick all of them off the plants today. I also found the biggest broad beans and the happiest broad bean! Ting and Shaan got some buckets of grass and put them in the compost because it was taking the strawberries sunlight.

For more information about the nationwide ‘Soil your undies’ project go to  https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/countrylife/audio/2018775749/the-soil-your-undies-challenge

Chef of the Day - Sarkis

In today’s session in the kitchen, we made Rhubarb Shortcake and Gingernuts with Aleksandra. Something I thought went well was when I poured syrup in the bowl. Something I think we need to be careful about is not running with knives. An idea for next time is to add some more sugar. I felt happy in the kitchen when we were cutting.

Kia ora koutou

We had wonderful support from the students.