JUNIOR SCHOOL AND PERFORMING ARTS BUILDINGS - WORK COMMENCING
I am pleased to let you know that we have accepted tended on Stage 5 of our Capital Development Plan. Work will commence soon on the Junior School building (Years 2-5) and the Performing Arts facilities. This stage will also include an undercover area, play areas and extensive landscaping. It will fully connect the College and Church sites. I would like to thank Mrs Jacqui Sanders, College Business Manager and the College Board for all the work they have done in getting us to this point. There will be some inconvenience as we wil be undertaking building on two sections of our College site, but the final results will be some state of the art facilities.
We have also taken possession of one of the Stage 4 buildings. This building, which will be named Lyon, includes four learning spaces, a kitchen and change room facilities for sport.
PRINCIPAL REVIEW PROCESS
The Catholic Education Commission of Western Australia has endorsed a process of performance review for Principals. I am one of a number of Principals in Catholic schools to be reviewed this year.
This Principal Review Process relates only to the Principal’s Duties and Responsibilities (as enunciated in the Principal’s Contract of Employment) and is not a School Review or Evaluation.
The aims of the Principal Review Process are:
· Accountability to the Employer;
· Renewal of Contract; and
· Professional Development for the Principal
The process will involve the following members of the school community: selected staff; the School Board; the Parents & Friends Executive; and the Parish Priest.
This review will be conducted by means of written evaluation, followed by interviews with the review panel who will visit the school. The review panel usually comprises two members, CEOWA Personnel and a Peer Principal. My review will take place during May 2016.
ASPIRING TO BE A LARGE-HEARTED COMMUNITY
On Tuesday I attended the Archbishop' LifeLink Forum with Mr Muller, Ministry Coordinator, and the Faith Leaders. LifeLink is the major way in which the Catholic community of our our Archdiocese ensures that the Archdiocesan social outreach agencies have the resources to support those in need. Archbishop Costelloe spoke about the Year of Mercy and talked about Jesus being large-hearted in the way he served others. He quotes Pope Francis who said that, Jesus is the face of his Father's mercy.' Archbishop Costelloe encouraged the students to be large hearted in responding to the LifeLink Appeal. He challenged the students with the following - 'Can you be at the very centre of transforming your school into a large hearted school full of large-hearted people?' Our major LifeLink fundraiser is the Sleep-Out which will be held in June.
Thanks to parents who attended learning conversations on Wednesday. These are an important opportunity for students to reflect on their learning and for parents to meet with the class teachers (Junior School) and Learning Adbisors (Middle and Senior Schools).
FURNISHING OUR NEW LEARNING SPACES
Some of our student leaders are involved in a consultation process regarding the furnishings for our new learning spaces. Last Friday they visited the site to look at the spaces and on Tuesday we visited some furniture show rooms so they could get some ideas about different types of furniture and how they might work in these learning spaces. Thanks to Gabriellla-Rose Van der Linde, Hensey Patel, Meagan Jones and Caitlyn McKenzie for their input.
ASSEMBLY
Our end of term Assembly will be held in the under-cover area tomorrow, Friday, commencing at 9.00am. Our special guest will be Dr Tim McDonald, Executive Director of Catholic Education. Parents are invited to join us for the assembly.
END OF TERM
Classes finish tomorrow after at the usual time. Students returns to school on Monday 26 April. I wish students and staff a safe and happy holiday. I hope families have some opportunities to spend some time together.
THE WAY OF THE CROSS - JOURNEYING TO EASTER SUNDAY
Today we marked the beginning of the Easter Tridium with a liturgy in St Helena of the Holy Cross Church. The liturgy commenced with the washing of the feet, reflecting Jesus' actions as he washed the feet of his disciples on the night of the Last Supper. This was followed by a moving and prayerful portrayal of the Stations of the Cross.
Today, Holy Thursday, is also the anniversary of the assassination of Blessed Oscar Romero, our College patron. Oscar Romero had a deep faith and believed he had to have the courage to,live his faith in Christ, despite the risks. He said, 'I do not believe in death without resurrection. If they kill me I will rise again in the Salvadoran people'. Today's liturgy reminded us of the Gospel call for social justice and of the importance of us responding to this in our own lives.
HOLY WEEK AND EASTER
We will be holding Easter Liturgies on Thursday 24 March. These liturgies will commemorate the Last Supper and the Stations of the Cross. School will be closed for the Easter break from Friday 25 March to Tuesday 30 March. Students and staff return to school on Wednesday 31 March and we will hold our Easter Resurrection Liturgy on that day.
OPEN DAY
College Open Day will be held on Wed 23 March. There will be tours at 9:30am, 11.15am and 1.30pm. Parents are welcome to attend. Please book through the College Office. If you have a child who you wish to enrol at Holy Cross College in the next couple of years, this will be a good opportunity for them to experience the College in action.
ENROLMENTS
We are currently interviewing for Kindergarten 2016 and Year 7 2018. If you have a child who is due to commence in either of these year levels at these times, please ensure you have submitted an application form. Application packs are available from the College Office
ASSOCIATED AND COLLEGES SWIMMING CARNIVAL
Good luck to the HCC Swimming Squad which will be competing in the ACC Swimming Carnival at Challenge Stadium on Wednesday.
OPENING OF OVALS
We were very pleased this week to take possession of our ovals. We now have extensive oval space for sport and recreational use. The students are making good use.of them both for Physical Education lessons and at recess and lunch times. The new buildings are coming along well and by the end of the term we should have possession of the sports change rooms and the learning spaces above them. The tender for stage 5 closes this week and the Board is looking forward to progressing this section of our building programme.
