It is amazing to think that we only have 3 and a half weeks until our year together ends on the 14th December at 1.00 pm (children can be picked up from 12.30pm). Despite the restrictions that we are living under that have impacted whole school gatherings, I admire staff and students’ flexibility to approach things differently. Graduation is still going ahead with some changes so parents and Year 8 children can gather to celebrate a wonderful time at Holy Cross School. Classes are working on a digital liturgy which we will share with our community via digital means. In place of camp, Year 7 and 8 students have a range of EOTC opportunities to enjoy together- Thursday and Friday saw students test out the high wires at Adrenalin Forest in Porirua, give 10 pin bowling, trampolining  and ice skating a go at the Brew Town complex  in Upper Hutt. Next week bike rides and a Friday camp evening is planned. Sailing is also scheduled for the following week. Thanks to those willing parents who have joined us- we appreciate your support. 

Amidst all the extra curricular, memory making opportunities, our tamariki and kaiako continue to experience some key learning opportunities as reports are written and data is gathered for end of year reporting. Reports will go out with the 2022 class placements on Friday 3rd December. Monday 6th December students will have the opportunity to meet in their new classes for a transition meeting from 9-11am. 

As we finish up we are aware that some students and teachers will be leaving us for other adventures elsewhere. I will share more about staff changes in our next newsletter as final plans are put into place around classes for 2022. 

Although changes on the horizon may seem big I hope we can all take comfort from these words

‘What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lives within us”- Henry David Thoreau. 

Kia ora Holy Cross Whānau

Two Fridays ago I experienced the most beautiful poroporoaki, a day I will remember and treasure always. I would like to thank the staff, students and community for the most humbling few weeks of farewells. I have been truly blessed to be part of such a special school and humbled by your kindness.

Due to alert level restrictions many of you were unable to be present at the poroporoaki so I would like to share with you the second part of my reflection..

Celeste’s Reflection 5 November 2021

Today we gather as  COMMUNITY- the definition I have for community is -Coming Together in Unity - that’s what it has always been about for me… my definition and also my truth. 

We also have a saying here at Holy Cross - There are many busses going past Holy Cross but we can’t jump on them all- in other words we have had to be really selective about which busses support our Character- the Special Character of HCM. The three busses we have identified are: Faith     People- Relationships   and   Learning

Each bus is linked to and supports the others. What keeps these busses moving is our Vision, Mission, Values and Motto. Each of these has been refined and strengthened over time to make them accessible to everyone..  I would like to remind us all of these… 

Vision- Achieving More Than We Ever Dreamed Possible- I love this Vision because it is a vision for individuals, for groups, for children and adults alike… it is our guiding light. 

Mission- this tells how we achieve our Vision- 

Celebrating Diversity- Promoting Excellence (In every aspect of learning)

Values - We embrace the Mercy and Marist charisms and values but we have made them our own and describe them as ‘The Holy Cross WAY- Whānau, Aroha and Yes (Yes to who we are called to be individually and collectively)

and our beautiful Motto, -  Ka Whiti Mai Te Ra -Let Your Light Shine- 

these tell our story.. the Holy Cross Story..  there are many chapters in this storybook… chapters from the past, chapters of the present and chapters to be added in the future … there is a chapter for each of us  - and whilst it looks different for each of us- it has the same sub headings:  Faith, Relationships and Learning

This is our story.. And we know that stories change over time - and they should- but what remains at the heart of this story is who we are as Holy Cross Miramar, Catholic School.I have been privileged to travel part of this journey… What an amazing journey ..

My final challenge, my wero to you all is contained within the following prayer: 

Each time we step into Holy Cross School may we pause to remember we are stepping onto Holy Ground. 

Lord, may our hearts be open to hear your word and our eyes be open to the gifts that surround us. 

May others come to know you through us- our words and actions. 

Fill us with your spirit as we continue the HCM journey. 

May we Come Together in Unity to Achieve More Than We Ever Dreamed Possible. 

God bless you all, 

Celeste

Christmas Liturgy December 1^st 2021.

Due to the ongoing Level 2 restrictions, we will not be holding our Christmas Liturgy this year, scheduled for Wednesday 1st December. Even if we move alert levels nearer that time, as a school we have not been able to come together to prepare or practice.

We have decided we will produce a digital Christmas Liturgy, where each class will upload a video - reading and singing their part of the Christmas story. This will be put together and shared with you before the end of the school term.

As mentioned above, if the alert levels do change, we could come together on that Wednesday evening. You would be invited to bring a picnic tea to enjoy outside and we could sing Christmas carols together. Thursday 2^nd would be the postponement day if Wednesday’s weather is not good.

You can view our Policies and Procedures, please click on the following link.  

https://www.schooldocs.co.nz/Home/SchoolLogin.aspx

Our username is: hcm and password: schooldocs

This term the we are reviewing:

Harassment 

Reviewed by Board and staff

1. Visit the website https://hcm.schooldocs.co.nz/1893.htm
2. Enter the username (hcm) and password (schooldocs).
3. Follow the link to the relevant policy as listed.
4. Read the policy.
5. Click the Policy Review button at the top right-hand corner of the page.
6. Select the reviewer type "Parent".
7. Enter your name (optional).
8. Submit your ratings and comments.
9. If you don't have internet access, school office staff can provide you with printed copies of the policy and a review form.

Congratulations to all our hard working road patrol students for keeping all our tamariki safe while the cross the road at the pedestrian crossings.

Watch the video and you will see our road patrol banner and amazing news, we got first place for our banner! Well done Room 5 and Holy Cross School.

Being a Road Patroller by Lydia

I think road patrol is important because it helps little kids to be safe on the road so they don't get hurt when they're on the road.  It's also good for old people if they're trying to cross the road. Actually  it’s good for everyone because if we didn't have road patrol some people might not see a car coming and may get injured.

I like doing road patrol because I can help little kids to cross the road safely so that they don't  get hurt. 

A worry is when some people just walk on the road when we are about to put the signs out.

A challenge is trying to put the sign on and off at the same time as the person that is doing it with you!

Lydia, Y5, Rm 5

5 November 2021

NEW WORLD promotion- Please start collecting the stickers at New World and donate them to school so we can redeem them for KitchenAid ovenware for our GTT team.

Cheesy Kale Chips Kitchen Report

By Maxwell

     In today’s session in the kitchen, we made cheesy kale chips with Aleksandra. Something I thought went well was working as a team.

Something we need to be careful about is cutting and using the right measurement tools. I felt happy when we worked well together. An idea for next time is Sushi and fish fingers or a Bacon and Cheese Quesadilla. Every 2 weeks, we do Garden to Table and in the kitchen group they take vegetables from the garden to make classic dishes like cheesy kale chips and crunchy lemon muffins. My favourite dish we made in the kitchen was the first thing I ever made which was a smoothie and it had honey, vinegar, silverbeet, banana and more.

Garden report  

By Marlon

Today in the garden we did a lot of work with Olivia including sowing seeds and planting kumara.

Something we did well with sowing seeds was sharing the trough.

Something we need to work on with sowing seeds is putting in the right amount of soil.

Something we did well with planting was not crushing the roots.

Something we need to work on with planting is making a mound.

30-Minute Cheesy Kale Chips

Easy, baked kale chips in just 30 minutes with 8 ingredients! Cheesy, crispy, and nutrient-packed!

Author Minimalist Baker

PREP TIME5 minutes

COOK TIME20 minutes

TOTAL TIME25 minutes

Servings5 (1-cup servings)

Course Snack

Cuisine Gluten-Free, Vegan

Freezer Friendly No

Does it keep?2-3 Days

Ingredients

• 10ounces chopped kale leaves (washed, thoroughly dried // stems removed)
• 2Tbsp grape seed, olive or avocado oil
• 1/4cup raw cashews
• 2Tbsp raw or roasted (unsalted) sunflower seeds
• 5-6Tbsp nutritional yeast (divided)
• 1/4tsp each salt + black pepper
• 1tsp garlic powder
• 1healthy pinch cayenne pepper (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (148 C).
2. Add kale to a large mixing bowl and drizzle with oil. Use hands to massage the kale to soften its texture and disperse the oil. Set aside.
3. Add cashews, sunflower seeds, 4 Tbsp nutritional yeast (12 g // amount as original recipe is written // adjust if altering batch size), salt, pepper, garlic pepper, and cayenne pepper (optional) to a food processoror blender and blend/pulse into a fine meal, scraping down sides as needed.
4. Add spice mixture to the kale and toss with hands to distribute, working it into the grooves so it's thoroughly coated.
5. Divide kale between 2 large baking sheets (or more if increasing batch size) and spread into an even layer, making sure the pieces aren't overlapping to ensure crispiness. You may need to bake them in two batches depending on size of baking sheets.
6. Sprinkle the kale with remaining 1-2 Tbsp (3-6 g // amount as original recipe is written // adjust if altering batch size) nutritional yeast for extra flavor and bake for 15 minutes. Then remove from oven and toss/flip kale to ensure even baking.
7. Bake for 5-10 minutes more, or until chips are crispy and golden brown. Watch carefully to ensure they don't burn. Let cool slightly before enjoying.
8. Once completelycooled, store leftovers in a large plastic bag or container for 2-3 days. The crispy texture begins fading past 24 hours, so enjoy as close to baking as possible!

Nutrition (1 of 5 servings)

Serving: 1 one-cup servingsCalories: 137Carbohydrates: 10 gProtein: 4.4 gFat: 10 gSaturated Fat: 1.1 gTrans Fat: 0 gCholesterol: 0 mgSodium: 35 mgFiber: 2 gSugar: 0.5 g

                                              NETBALL  

Reminder for all girls who played Netball in Term 3 (Year 5-8) to return their clean Netball skirts to Corrie Skells or the office please.

If skirts are not returned we may have to charge for their replacement cost. 

The PSG will be running one final fundraiser for the year, raising funds towards our new bike pump track.  If we can raise the money together, we might be close to getting the pump track completed for the new year! What an amazing gift this would be to our children! All the help we can get will be so appreciated! 

Aside from the sheer joy of exercising the imagination, research shows reading for pleasure improves literacy, social skills, health, and learning outcomes.  Away from school, over the long summer holidays, some children and teens spend less time reading and their reading levels fall.  To help with this over the holidays we are encouraging our students to sign up for a Wellington City Library membership. 

A WCL membership not only allows you to physically borrow books and magazines, but also provides access to a wide range of digital resources such as online comics, eBooks and audio books.  More information about joining, including a temporary membership for one month, can be found at…

https://wcl.govt.nz/about/joining/

The library will also be holding a rolling book sale during the last full week of term starting on Tuesday 7^th of December.

Returning School Library Books

Students now receive under due and overdue reminders via their school emails.  At times they will also receive a slip to go home to remind them about returning books.  If a book is lost or damaged, please encourage your child to come and talk to me about it.

Ngā mihi nui,

Kirsten