FROM THE PRINCIPAL: 10 August 2010 No. 12 Dear Parents and Friends of Holy Cross Bearers of the Flame is the theme that the Patrician Brothers will adopt for their forthcoming General Chapter to be held in India this year from 25 August to 16 September. Most significantly, the Brothers have invited lay cooperators to ac- company them during this period of discernment, as they review their mission to date and map out a plan for their mis- sion into the future. This inclusion demonstrates the commitment of the Brothers to working in close partnership with their now all lay-led Australian schools. The Australian lay representative is Mr Michael Krawec. Michael is currently a Consultant in the Southern Region Office of the Catholic Education Office and member of the Delany Foundation. He is also a former principal of two Patrician schools — Delany College Granville and Patrician Brothers Fairfield. He will take with him to In- dia our reflections on how best we might serve the young people in our care. One of the deep issues that will be considered at the General Chapter is that of the spirituality of youth. The preparatory documents for the General Chapter make the observation that: “A feature of our time is a greater quest for spirituality. Increasingly, younger generations of Catholics will say: ‘I’m spiritual but I’m not religious’. What does this mean ? Is it a ‘cop out’ or is it a symptom of a hunger for something which is deeper and more personal than a largely external adherence to Church teachings and practices?” While parish, family and the Brothers can continue to be entry points into the inner life (particularly while they are so strongly under- pinned by Holy Cross life), they compete with so many other forces in the lives of our children. We continue to strive to find new entry points for the awakening of the spiritual currents in an idealistic youth. For example, the popularity of the Duke of Edinburgh program at Holy Cross can generate a love of the God of creation. Our students just love the outdoors, its challenges, its beauty, its hardness! In entering the mystery of the Australian physical environment and our relationship to it, young people can be helped to re-sense (or sense for the very first time) the underground stream of their inner life. Meanwhile the deep story of the Catholic faith can tap that stream as it is welled. Religion builds on the wisdom of the ages, it offers the “master narrative”. These are some of my own thoughts. Should you wish to contribute to this conversation I will be most pleased to pass on your thoughts to Michael. This Friday our students will participate in masses in their local parishes to celebrate the Feast of the Assumption. In preparation for this day, our Year 12 leaders have prepared a prayer to mark the day. It will be distributed to all students as a bookmark memento. Let it stand as a testimony to the reality that the values we teach at Holy Cross make a difference and that a twenty-first century spirituality that remains in touch with the “master narrative” is a rich one that will hold our young men in good stead when they leave the school on the hill. Christ Jesus, may we honour you by living our Patrician heritage: Christ within us, beside us, behind and in front of us. Like Mary, help us to make sacrifices and focus on the little things which matter. As we make our way in the world give us the strength, Lord, to bear our crosses with grace. Parents Mark Your Diaries! Grant us the gifts of realising God’s dream for each one of us, 11/8/10 Whole School Athletics Carnival—Homebush respecting our differences and (Attendance compulsory for all students) being open to sharing ourselves. May hospitality and welcome be features of daily life at our College. 13/8/10 Feast of the Assumption 9am—12 noon In cruce salus. 3/9/10 Father’s Day Mass 8am—9am Mary, our Good Mother, pray for us. 3/9/10 HCC Walkathon St Patrick, pray for us. 17/9/10 Feast of the Holy Cross Mass 9.30am—11am St Mary MacKillop, pray for us. And let us always remember, to pray for each other. In cruce salus Adam Taylor Principal C ROSSR OADS From the Assistant Principal Inner West Assistant Principals’ Meeting Last Tuesday all Assistant Principals met at Holy Cross College for their annual meeting. On the agenda were topics about re- search, in-servicing, technology and teaching and learning. The reason for meeting at Holy Cross was to showcase our Middle School Program and for everyone to look through our new 21st century middle school classrooms and facilities. Mr. Taylor ad- dressed the Assistant Principals and it was quite obvious that our school is leading the way in teaching and learning specific to the needs of our students in Stage Four of their education. At then end of the meeting, Mr. Taylor and I led our colleagues on a tour of our facilities. Everyone was interested and impressed with what we have done and the direction we are heading. Along the way, the Assistant Principal from Marist Eastwood was taking photos of every room he entered, envious of the outstanding facility we now operate in. Feast of the Assumption On Friday August 13th, the school will take part in the celebration of the Feast of the Assumption. The day will begin with students attending Mass in their local parish. In homeroom this week, students will nominate which Mass they will attend so that I have an accurate roll which will be taken by teachers at the Mass. Details are as follows: 1. All students in Years 7 – 11 will be required to make their own way to their local church for 9 or 9.30am Mass. Staff will also attend and escort students back to school either walking or on a hired bus. 2. Some students will have an opportunity to visit the local primary school following Mass for 30 minutes and will be directed by their teachers. 3. When back at school there will be an extended recess followed by a talk by Br. Michael Callinan on the life of Mary. 4. Lunch will follow the talk and in the afternoon we will have our Semester One Academic Awards Ceremony in the Hall. Dismissal time will be 3.15pm and there will be no classes on this day. Students will need to bring their own recess and lunch. Full school uniform is required. For students that live a long way from school or those that are not connected to a parish, there will be Mass at school in the College Chapel beginning at 9am. Students not attending Mass in their local parish will be expected to attend Mass at school. Thank you for your support of this important day. Peter Buxton Assistant Principal More details to follow or contact Mr Peter Buxton 9808-1033. CURRICULUM Semester One Academic Assembly – Friday 13 August 2010 The College will be holding a Semester One Academic Award Ceremony on the afternoon of Friday, 13 August 2010. The College believes that this inaugural ceremony is an appropriate way to celebrate the academic success of students in Semester One. All College families would have received information from the Assistant Principal (Pastoral) Mr Buxton about the overall structure of this day and the celebrations for the Feast of the Assumption. The details for the Semester One Academic Awards are as follows: Date: Friday 13 August 2010 Time: 1.30pm – 3.00pm Venue: Patrician Centenary Hall Boys were notified on Monday by their Year Coordinator’s if they are receiving an award. Award winners were also given a letter inviting you, their parents, to attend. If you son is receiving an academic award then you are warmly invited to join us for this Academic Award Cere- mony. Mark Compton Curriculum Coordinator Gifted and Talented Program Sydney Morning Herald Young Writer of the Year Competition Well done to all the Holy Cross College aspiring writers who entered this competition which was based on the theme ‘Silver’. Prior to putting forward entries, Naomi Tsvirko, one of our talented and enthusiastic English teach- ers, ran an in-house writing competition also on the theme of ‘Silver’ to encourage and draw out our best writers. The winner was Jefta Musindire in Year 11 who wrote an intriguing and very high quality piece of writing about a silver spoon working at a high end Sydney restaurant. Congratulations to Jefta who will receive a silver IPOD in acknowledgement of a superb effort. The Dorothea MacKellar Poetry Competition Matthew Munce in Year 11 is to be congratulated for his wonderful efforts in poetry composition which was en- tered in The Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Award. Well done Matthew for the efforts he has given to the task in his own time. Our Year 7 classes entered the competition in an informal way at the end of Term 2 using their poetry skills. They showed great skill in incorporating the theme of “ I Hear Music” into their poems. Many thanks to Felicity Freckmann, a keen and dedicated English teacher, for organizing these entries for this pres- tigious poetry competition. Tournament of the Minds The Tournament of the Minds competition will be held on the 29th August 2010. Representing Holy Cross College areYear 10 students Anthony Sciancalepore, Jake Duignan, Thomas Hedl and Year 8 students Jack Hearn, Nick Tsoukatos and Year 7 students Ali Negati and Justin Story.