8 September 2016

Newsletter Articles

From the Acting Principal

Dear Parents,

It has been with pleasure that in Mrs Sarah Hamilton's absence on Long Service Leave, I have stepped into her role as Acting Principal. As an administration team this is an important time of the year as we are working in two phases, celebrating and culminating a term and year of learning and relationships, but at the same time working to plan and consolidate a number of key aspects for Term 4 and beyond to 2017.

It was with great joy last Friday that Holy Cross hosted 'Dad's Day Out'. As a member of the Holy Cross community it was fantastic to see such a great turn out of Dads and families. So many utes in the carpark was a sight to see. To wander around and see the interaction of children and their dads shooting hoops, kicking balls or having a chat was a pleasure to be a part of. Being treated to a bacon and egg burger I'm sure went down well too. As a time poor dad, it is our children who cherish these moments greatly. We thank Mrs Jacinta Roberts for her efforts to put the day together and her merry band of cooks and supporters.

This was the culmination of a big week for teachers who were at school early each morning and back late most evenings to make time for parent teacher interviews. We thank those parents who took time out of busy schedules to attend this important aspect of the three-way-partnership in your child's learning. No doubt, great goals have been set from these interviews, to complete the year and best support your child's learning.

Friday finished with a Parent's and Friend's 'Rubric of Colour' themed disco. Another community orientated event bringing together students and parents alike to relax and enjoy each other's company. A big thank you to our P&F for a great night of entertainment.

The Scripture (Luke 14: 25 – 33)

'Large crowds followed Jesus. He turned to them and said, 'If any of you come to me without turning your back on your mother and your father, your loved ones, your sisters and brothers, indeed your very self, you cannot be my follower. Anyone who does not take up the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. If one of you were going to build a tower, would you not first sit down and calculate the outlay to see if you have enough money to complete the project? You would do that for fear of laying the foundation and then not being able to complete the work – because anyone who saw it would jeer at you and say, 'You started building and could not finish it'. Or if the leaders of one country were going to declare war on another country, would they not first sit down and consider whether, with an army of ten thousand, they can withstand an enemy coming against them with twenty thousand? If they could not, they would send a delegation while the enemy is still at a distance, asking for terms of peace. In the same way, you cannot be my disciple if you do not say goodbye to all your possessions'.

The Gospel challenges us to demonstrate committed discipleship. Jesus insists our relationship with him be the font out of which all our other commitments flow. How do we show others that Jesus is the foundation upon whom we build our lives? For starters, committing to serve as a teacher reflects our promise to help others learn to be Jesus-centred disciples. May our faithfulness to Jesus shine through our words, actions, and gestures in every situation we find ourselves this week.

Holy Cross School Satisfaction Survey 2016

As part of our ongoing commitment to continuously improving the school, we believe it is critical to seek each parent and guardian's opinion on a range of issues relating to Holy Cross. Your feedback is very important to us as we continue to build a successful school and strengthen our reputation as an 'educator of choice'.

As such, we have engaged the professional services of MYB to undertake a strictly private and confidential School Results Survey on our behalf. The survey should take approximately 10 - 15 minutes and will need to be completed online between Monday 29th August and Monday 12th September. There are no right or wrong answers and we ask that you respond honestly to each statement.

Please note that this survey will be confidential. No member of the leadership team at Holy Cross will have access to your individual responses. We will be provided with a summary of collated results only.

MYP Corp will undertake the following process to ensure anonymity:

1. Parents and guardians will be emailed individual survey logins.
2. . Results will be collated externally.
3. A summary of collated results will be provided to the school leadership team.

On the survey start date, survey instructions and a personalised login link will be emailed to all parents. You will continue to receive friendly reminders during the survey period until you have submitted the survey.

If you do not receive your survey instructions on the survey start date, please check your spam and junk email folders before contacting mthorpe@cns.catholic.edu.au or administration on 07 40576920.

While we strongly encourage you to participate, the survey is not compulsory. If you decide that you do not want to complete the survey, simply click 'Unsubscribe' in the instruction or reminder email.

Thank you for your assistance in helping to shape the future direction of Holy Cross.

Holy Cross Administration

Holy Cross School Swimming Timetable

Term 4, 2016

Swimming is a recognized part of the curriculum offered at Holy Cross. It is expected that all students in Years Prep-3 will participate in this program during Weeks 2-8 of Term 4.

• Students must wear hats and shoes when walking to the pool, and they must wear a shirt with sleeves when swimming. It would be great if students had sun-block at school so that they could apply it before walking to the pool.
• Long hair must be tied back.
• The instructors have asked that each child wears goggles for their lessons. These are available for $10 from the pool, as a 'school special'.

Students who are well enough but are not swimming will walk to the pool and read quietly while the class is swimming. Those who are not well enough to walk over to the pool probably aren't well enough to be at school either.

Parent helpers are required to walk to and from the pool with EVERY CLASS. If you're available, could you please contact your class' teacher as soon as possible. It would be greatly appreciated!

POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR FOCUS

Congratulations to Week 7 & 8 Holy Cross Heroes:

"We were caught demonstrating, playing it safe."

Congratulations also to our August Holy Cross SUPER HERO:

Hayley OS

Many blessings for the week

Brad Henry
Acting Principal

APRE News

PARISH 50 YEARS JUBILEE

Another snapshot into the history of Northern Beaches Parish-

The Northern Deanery of the Diocese of Cairns, is formed of the following parishes: Cairns, Edmonton, Earlville, Gordonvale, West Cairns, Mossman & Port Douglas, North Cairns, Northern Beaches and Parramatta Park. The Diocese also includes the Southern and Western Deaneries.

FEAST DAY

The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, is celebrated every year on September 14 and is our Feast Day. It recalls three historical events: the finding of the True Cross by Saint Helena, the mother of the emperor Constantine; the dedication of churches built by Constantine on the site of the Holy Sepulchre and Mount Calvary; and the restoration of the True Cross to Jerusalem by the emperor Heraclius II.

The feast also celebrates the Holy Cross as the instrument of our salvation. At school we focus on the symbolism of the cross during this feast, and in particular, the prayer we know as the Sign of the Cross.

On Wednesday 14th of September, we will have a number of events taking place, such as a Whole School Mass with a possible special guest presider, class and buddy activities and the Colour Run, which is our big Parish fundraiser. Parents are welcome to join us for these events if available.

DADS' DAY OUT

What a wonderful turn out for Dads' Day Out. We thank you for your enthusiasm and for your patience in lining up for food. It was obvious that the children were proud to have Dad or Grandpa at school for a game of chess or targets or just for a chat.

PEER SUPPORT PROGRAM

This week sees the last of the sessions run by our Year 6 leaders. The final session will be run by teachers within their classrooms. Thank you to all the participating students, the Peer Leaders, staff and you as parents, for your support. The leaders have developed some great skills in leadership and the students have made connections with others from a range of year levels. The concepts explored within the sessions have been broken open and will lead to further discussion at a student, class, year and school level.

Session 7 – Standing together

Our Peer Support session in Stronger Together this week looked at the impact of how working together as a team with similar beliefs, can provide a barrier to bullying. When everyone is focussed on promoting positive behaviours that respect diversity and individual need, bullying can be reduced. Activities that focus on building the strength of teams and awareness of the responsibilities of bystanders assists in a whole of school approach. Parents could talk with their students who are undertaking the program about how they could help others who are not experiencing good relationships.

Session 8 – Take the lead

The final session in our Stronger Together Peer Support module summarises skills learnt in previous sessions and provides an opportunity to plan to implement further initiatives across the school. Students will be able to identify personal and whole of school goals to further address bullying and build their own resilience. Ask students what they have learnt and what else they would like to learn about having good relationships.

LITURGICAL LIFE OF THE SCHOOL

Upcoming liturgies and Masses:

• Reconciliation: Tuesday 6th September, at 6pm
• Exaltation of the Cross-Feast Day: Wednesday September 14th at 9:00am

SACRAMENTAL PROGRAM

Families are welcome to join the Sacramental candidates on either the 6th of September at Holy Cross or 13th of September at St Andrew's, for First Reconciliation. Thank you to families for the efforts put into preparation of children for the Sacrament. Congratulations to all the candidates!

PRAYER FOCUS FOR THE WEEK

Jesus, we are here because we want to be your friends and your followers. Bless our teachers and parents that they may teach us to be prepared to follow your ways, so that we can be your closest and faithful friends.
Amen.

Jacinta Roberts
APRE Holy Cross

PARISH NEWS

Parish Mass Times

Curriculum News

Take a Book Break over the Holidays

Holiday reading is about reading for pleasure. Therefore, it's important children, big and small, get to choose what they read with the focus on relaxation and enjoyment - without requirements for "work", such as writing book reviews or maintaining reading logs. It's a chance for students to kick back and read - no strings attached. Holidays are a great time for parents to enjoy reading aloud to and with their children, no matter how old they are or their reading ability. How many adults enjoy getting lost in an audio-book?

All children at Holy Cross have been encouraged to take home a library book or two. All Home Readers are to be returned this week. The Home Reading program will restart next term.

There are so many fun activities that you could revolve around reading so that your kids are 'learning on the job' and having fun while they learn.

• Reader's theatre is fabulous. Everyone in the house becomes a character and acts out different scenes.
• How-to-make books – Now you know how to make props and costumes for your theatre!
• Stories online or youtube clips of stories being read
• Information books
• Puzzle books
• Quiz Games
• Joke books
• Make a treasure map with clues for your children to read
• Card games like Snap, Memory or Go Fish with sight words
• Cairns Libraries has Storytime sessions for young children
• Suggested website links to online story websites.
  • Tumblebooks
  • Children's Library
  • Storyplace
  • Storynory
  • Starfall
  • BBC Stories
  • PBS Kids
• For more reading tips and ideas,

Have fun!!!
Jo Neil

WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING…….?

Public Speaking

What an exciting time we have had practicing our Public Speaking skills at Holy Cross, building on the work done across our school, starting in Prep, to develop confidence in our students with their speaking skills across the curriculum.

Recently, Year 5 and 6 had their respective speaking competitions. All students were required to present a prepared speech in class. The highest achieving students in each class were selected to "speak off" against each other, for a chance to represent Holy Cross at the Calanna Public Speaking Competition. The Calanna Public Speaking Competition is an annual event – it has been running in Cairns for many, many years, and is a prestigious public speaking competition for Years 5 – 9.

Tuesday 23rd August was a very exciting night for Holy Cross. What a privilege it was to witness the Holy Cross students in action. All of our students were an absolute delight – they were beautifully presented, well prepared, supportive of each other and, perhaps most importantly of all, supportive of students from other schools. The qualities of our beautiful students had a significant impact on not only the adjudicators, who commented on the outstanding level of Holy Cross competitors, but on staff from other schools, who commended our students on their excellent preparation and application, exemplary attitude and sense of encouragement and sportsmanship. Congratulations to all of our wonderful students!

Finalists from Holy Cross

A huge congratulations go to Charlie W. [Year 5] and Layla B. [Year 6] who were chosen by the adjudicators to progress to the Finals of the Calanna Public Speaking Competition that was held at the Cairns Regional City Council Chambers on Monday 5th September. Congratulations Charlie and Layla! We are all so proud of you! Our thanks also to Mario Calanna and the Southside Rotary Club, for once again organising and supporting this excellent competition.

2 Day Writer's Workshop, Year 6 by Kaelin N.

Have you ever dreamed of becoming an Australian author with one of the best-selling books ever? Well on Thursday 11th August and Friday 12th August, ten Year 6 students had the opportunity to attend a phenomenal writer's workshop experience, training them to be fantastic writers.

We met and listened to some of Australia's best book authors ever, including; Deborah Abela, James Roy, Nicole Hayes and illustrator, Michael Camilleri. They had some sensational tips to share with us and the best tips were, that you should always be in a good environment when you are thinking of ideas and that there are always great stories in real life experiences. We also got some awesome tips for illustrating our writing from illustrator, Michael Camilleri. So watch this space… you just never know, you might see our names on a book one day.

Mini Olympics

"And the winners of the Holy Cross Year 5 Mini Olympics is ……. DRAMMASKK!"

Wow! What an afternoon and although my team didn't get a medal it still was an afternoon full of excitement, Ryder's team did though.

On the 23rd August 2016, Holy Cross had an Olympics, well, it was more of a 'Mini Olympics'! It involved a lot of activities and we had three minutes to do each one. We were in our groups from camp. There was eight teams, eight new countries.

The sports that were played were modified versions of table tennis, basketball, discus, pole vault, cycling, swimming, equestrian and gymnastics.

It's everyone's dream, especially ours to go to the Olympics! The Year 5 mini Olympics had it all.

We all had team flags and names. My team's name was Drammaskk, it was a mixture of everyone's first initial, in our group. Our team colours were orange, pink and yellow.

We also experienced the opening ceremony and the medal ceremony at the end. The opening ceremony was full of fun with all eight teams calling out their war cries, walking around with their team mascots and flags.

During the medal ceremony the top three teams were presented with their shiny medals and sherbet champagne bottles! In third place was Afganisdab, second place was Banania and GOLD for our team Drammaskk!

Overall, the afternoon was a great end to the day!

Liam S and Ryder S
Year 5S

Drammaskk win the GOLD medal

Science presentation – It's all about drones!

By Hamish M.

I liked when my mum came to Holy Cross to present the quadcopters to everyone on assembly. Another name for a quadcopter is a drone. My mum flies the quadcopters because she is a scientist at James Cook University. Mum has 7 quadcopters. Some of the quadcopters are called funny names like Betty, Barney and Pebbles. She uses them to take pictures of the whole planet and uses the pictures to look at how healthy the planet is. Sometimes, mum lets me fly the quadcopters. At the University Open Day, I flew one and it landed on the roof.

Year 1 Technology morning

By Sophie M., Pont N. and James H.

Robots, machines, animals, cars. Year 1 made all of these. We had to use our creating and thinking brains. We got to design anything we want to in Technology. We needed to draw a plan and write a list of equipment. We had to think hard about how we would put everything together. We asked our friends, teachers and parents for ideas. Then our parents came to school to help us build our design. Everyone helped everyone. Some people helped with gluing, some people helped by sharing equipment, some people helped by holding things for us. Sometimes our first idea didn't work so we had to think of something else. Some parts were hard to put together and some parts were easy. It was so much fun!

Pont N - submarine

Year 4 excursion to Tjapukai

By Hunter S.

We went to Tjapukai for our excursion to learn more about local indigenous people. We first walked through a museum with shields, boomerangs, spears and humpy – traditional huts. Then we watched a digeridoo performance. We all got our faces painted. Traditionally, the Tjapukai people would have used ochre but we just had natural coloured paint. We watched a video that explained the totems of the wet and dry clans of the Tjapuaki tribe. I didn't know that the clans would sometimes fight each other. We went and had a go at throwing boomerangs and spears. I liked this activity the best.

Library News

Hello Everybody,

With the achievement of the first gold medal being awarded, the Reading Olympics is in full swing in the Holy Cross Library. Students are busy completing reading requirements to win medals and earn points for their house. Parents are encouraged to come into the library and have a look at the Reading Olympics display and perhaps choose an event they can complete with their child or supervise their child completing.

Thomas C Year 4, Gold medal: Marathon

Next week is Roald Dahl Day (Week 10) which celebrates the 100th birthday of the late children's novel writing genius, Roald Dahl. To celebrate this wonderful storyteller's achievements CES have purchased a number of Roald Dahl titles for their E-book Catalogue. (Available from Monday, Week 10)

This means that Holy Cross students can borrow and download these titles on their personal iPads or Android tablets.

Make sure you have the e-platform app installed and simply log in using the student personal CES login details (Available from the classroom teacher or Mr Doherty in the library).

If you would like help getting this working on your home devices, pop into the library in the morning before school from Wednesday-Friday for a chat about it and while you are there…. check out the Roald Dahl display.

Michael Doherty
District Teacher-Librarian

School News

2017 School Tuition Fees

2016 Exiting Student Enrolments

As we are beginning preparations for 2017 year levels we kindly ask that families who are aware that they are relocating or moving your child/children to another school to please notify the school office before the end of Term 3. We understand families may be unsure at this stage but ask that when you have received notification that you advise the school as soon as possible.

As we currently have a waitlist for most year levels for 2017, we would like to confirm our existing enrolments for next year before making offers to new families. Your prompt attention to this matter is greatly appreciated.

Term 3 Fees

Term 3 fees were due for payment by Wednesday, 3rd August and reminder letters have been sent. Unless alternative payment arrangements are currently in place (eg. Periodic Direct Debits, approved repayment plans etc), your prompt attention to payment is appreciated.

The payment of school fees and levies is an important component of the income of the school. The school relies on these payments in order to provide the high quality education enjoyed by your child / children. In situations where there is genuine financial hardship and if you are struggling to pay school fees, you are encouraged to contact the school for an appointment with the Principal and your circumstances will be treated with the utmost confidence.

2016 Fee Concessions

Tuition Fee Discount Scheme for eligible Means-Tested Health Care Cards/Pension Cards

If you are a holder of an eligible Means-Tested Health Care Card or Pension Concession Card as outlined on the following attachment, please complete an application form below and present your card to the school office for verification. If you have previously supplied the school with a copy of your card and it is due to expire please complete a new application form and bring your new card to the school office for copying and verification. If your circumstances change throughout the year and you are no longer eligible to receive the tuition discount, it is the parent/carers responsibility to advise the school of the change in eligibility.

Please note that tuition fee discounts have already been applied to Term 3 fees. Any Health Care Discount Scheme forms received from now can only be applied to future invoices.

Dental Van Services

Cairns and Hinterland Oral Health Services wishes to advise families that our District is able to continue to offer FREE dental treatment to all children and young people from 0 – 17 years old. The dental van is now on site at Holy Cross School and will be staffed on Mondays and Thursdays for the rest of Term 3. Appointments will need to be arranged by contacting our Central Booking Service on 1300 300 850. Appointments for examination can also be made at the Smithfield clinic.

Please note that ALL students will need to have a parent or legal guardian present at the time of the appointment.

Further treatment required will be carried out at the Smithfield Community Centre, Danbulan Street, Smithfield.

Oral Health Services
Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service

Holy Cross Bike Bus

The Holy Cross Bike Bus runs every Wednesday (weather permitting) from Trinity Park Boat Ramp to school and back each week. The route is particularly suited to younger riders because it is flat and there is a very wide shoulder on the road. Please note, however, that younger riders must be competent riders who are able to stop and start with ease. Parents are encouraged to accompany younger riders. Students can be collected and dropped off along the route.

• Age Suitability: Prep to Year 6
• Morning Departure: 8am
• Location: Trinity Park Boat Ramp, Reed Rd
• Afternoon Departure: 3pm (ETA at boat ramp is 3:15pm)
• Location: Holy Cross Bike Rack

PLEASE NOTE: The Bike Bus will not run if it is wet, or if it looks like it is about to rain.

For concerns or queries, please email Jo Van Ewyk jvanewyk@cns.catholic.edu.au

P and F News

P & F Fundraising

Entertainment Books

Holy Cross School is very excited to announce that we will be fundraising through the Entertainment Memberships this year! The popular Entertainment™ Books contain hundreds of up to 50% off and 2-for-1 offers from top local restaurants, cafés, take-away chains, attractions, activities and hotel accommodation.

Entertainmentâ„¢ Memberships contain over $20,000 in valuable offers that you and your family can use until 1st June 2017. In fact, you only need to use your membership twice throughout the year and it will have paid for itself!

These memberships can be purchased as either a book or a digital membership that is loaded to your smart phone. They are great value at only $55, with $1000 of savings inside and something for the whole family. The best part is that we receive 20% from each sale which goes directly to our school.

These can be purchased via the Entertainment Book website or in our front office at the school.

Thank you for your support.

Tuckshop News

Please email the Tuckshop Co-ordinator, Mrs Belinda Patmore at:- tuckshop.trinitypk@cns.catholic.edu.au if you are able to help in the tuckshop.

Second hand uniforms available from the Tuckshop.
Plenty of stock, all sizes from 4 to 16 – only $5 per item!

The Arts News

Instrumental Music

The Gift of Music

Congratulations to our band students for a great concert at the Tanks Arts Centre on Wednesday! If you were able to attend the concert I'm sure you will agree that the students sounded and acted very professionally! I have had great feedback about the standard of the band, and it was great to be involved in a concert for such a good cause. Well done!

Band rehearsal time change

Please note that starting in term 4, band rehearsals will no longer run before school.

The new time for band rehearsals will be 2pm to 2:45pm on a Tuesday.

Young Musician of the Year

Early next term, all students will be involved in the "Young Musician of the Year" solo competition. Students have all received a letter with information about this competition on it, as well as a CD containing the backing track for their chosen solo piece. Please ensure your child continues to practice their solo piece (with backing track) throughout the September holidays.

Jubilate

Early next term, on Saturday afternoon the 22nd October, the school band will be involved in the 50th Year celebration of the Northern Beaches Parish – "Jubilate". The band will be performing the same 6 pieces that they performed at the Tanks Art Centre. Please ensure your child continues to practice these band pieces over the holidays, and save this date in your diaries. More information regarding this event will be given early in term 4.

Farewell from Mrs Christo

As many of you are already aware, I am taking 12 months maternity leave starting on the 5th September (week 9).

Mrs Katie Quinn, a music teacher from St Andrew's College will be replacing me next term, teaching all instrumental lessons and running band rehearsals. Mrs Quinn will start in week 1 of term 4, with lessons and band resuming on the first day of term 4 (as the Monday is a public holiday). A term 4 timetable has been emailed to all parents and put in teacher's pigeon holes.

I have been at Holy Cross since 2012 and watched as the instrumental program has blossomed! I am very excited for the future, but at the same time am sad to be leaving. To those students in year 6 who will be leaving for high school at the end of the year, good luck! I hope to see you all carry on your music in high school. For younger students, I plan on returning to Holy Cross in term 4 of 2017, and look forward to seeing and hearing how far you have all come on your instruments in the year.

Julia Christodoulides
Instrumental Music Teacher

Music Tuition

Drums/Percussion

Are you interested in playing the drums or learning a percussion instrument?

For more information contact our friendly drum/percussion instructor Jen Fengler on ph: 0431461812 or email: jenfengler@hotmail.com

Piano

If you are interested in piano lessons please contact: Paul Brimstone on ph: 40551105

Guitar

If you are interested in guitar lessons please contact: Peter Drazic on email: pjd.guitar@bigpond.com

Sports News

Girls Rugby League Development Clinic

Girls aged from 10 to 16 years of age are invited to a National Rugby League Development Clinic, Thursday & Friday 29th-30th September from 9.00am-1.00pm. Clinics will be held at CDJRL Jones Park, Mann Street, Westcourt. Cost is $60.00 which includes holiday pack. Please see attached flyer for more information or click on the following link to register.

Tennis

Cairns International Tennis Centre is taking enrolments now for term 4.

A variety of classes are available:

• Blue Ball 3-5 year olds
• Red Ball 4 – 7 year olds
• Orange Ball 6 -8 year olds
• Green ball 9+ year olds
• Yellow Ball Squads – Participation
• Yellow Ball Squads – high Performance

ALL NEW ENROLMENTS WILL RECEIVE THEIR FIRST 4 TRAINING SESSIONS FOR FREE.

For more enquiries please contact the centre on 4041 3383 or email admin@cairnsitc.com

Tennis Holiday Program

Achievements

Seth C from Year 6H recently competed in the "City of Cairns Titles" in karting. Seth had the fastest qualifying time and not only went on to receive 1st places in two heats, but also took out first place in the pre-final and then the final. Seth was also due to compete in the 'Two Track Challenge' over the weekend in Rockhampton and Gladstone.

One of Seth's biggest goals this year was to get invited to the 'Race of Stars' meeting which is held on the Gold Coast in October. It's the biggest meeting in Australia and the one every Karter dreams of getting into. It attracts around 4000 people as it's the first event which kick starts the Castrol Gold Coast 600 Supercars. The top 40 in the Nation of each class will receive an invite to compete. There will be 40 competitors in his class which will be the biggest field he has raced in. Seth and his team mate Brodie (who attends Saint Augustine's) are the only competitors from Cairns who received an invite.

Congratulations Seth on your awesome achievements!

Has your child recently excelled in something outside of school? We'd love to hear from you! Please send a short blurb and a photo or two to mthorpe@cns.catholic.edu.au if you would like it to be considered for inclusion in our school newsletter.

OSHC (Outside School Hours Care)

OSHC needs your help!

Our OSHC family plays a large part in all of our lives and we strive to provide the best for all of our children who attend. We endeavor to make everyone's OSHC experience as fun and interesting as possible.

It is important that our service environment is enriching and offers tools to assist in socialisation, creativity and much more for learning and development. For us to be able to do this it is important for us to change our equipment and resources every so often, particularly replacing very worn or damaged resources, bringing in fresh and exciting new experiences.

Due to not having a large amount of funding available to us we rely a lot upon donations from within our community. Our staff plays a large part in donating various items to OSHC, but we are finding that with our growing numbers and lots more little hands on everything now, this does not suffice as things become worn a lot quicker, so we are asking for your help where possible.

Below are some items that OSHC requires or needs replacing:

• Blankets (kids think these are perfect for cubby making!)
• Dress up items/costumes
• Games and play equipment (indoor or outdoor use)
• Items for home corner (play kitchen's, vets, fire stations, cash register etc)
• Scooters and helmets
• Balls (especially soccer balls), skipping ropes
• Craft supplies (always needed)
• PG rated DVD's
• Children's books
• PG rated Xbox games
• Small office desk
• Garden bench

Any of the above or other items you think may be of use in good, tidy, working condition would be greatly appreciated by all of our Children and Staff.

We thank you in advance for your assistance and we are all very grateful to everyone and the families who already think of us when doing a clear out of unused items.

Thank you!! :)
Bek Edwards
Coordinator
Holy Cross Outside School Hours Care

Mo: 0410 629 096
Tel: 07 4057 6895
Fax: 07 40578183

Parenting Programs

Triple P – Positive Parenting Program

Queensland parents can now get free parenting support. The State Government is giving parents and carers of children up to the age of 16 free access to the evidence-based Triple P – Positive Parenting Program. Triple P helps parents use positive feedback and encouragement to guide behaviour and give children the best start in life.

Families can sign up for as much or as little support as they like by going to the Triple P website. New sessions are added regularly.

Community Notices

TYC Spring School Holiday Drama Activities for 5yrs-12yrs

Spring into Action these school holidays with TYC for our Spring Drama Programs (5yrs - 12yrs) with special guest artists Hayley Gillespie (Design) and Yasmin Lancini (Musical Theatre). First up we have a One-Day Program, The Acting Olympics (Mon 19 Sept: 9am – 5pm) followed by our Four-Day Drama Performance Program, Troublesome Histories XXXI: Let the Games Begin! (Tues 20 Sept – Fri 23 Sept: 9am - 3pm). In the second week we have another One-Day Program, Performance Boot Camp: Acting, Singing, Dancing (Mon 26 Sept: 9am - 5pm). Then to finish off the holidays we have another Four-Day Drama Performance Program, The Ghost Rangers: Who You Gonna Call? (Tues 27 Sept – Fri 30 Sept: 9am - 3pm). Explore acting, costumes, lighting, sound and multimedia elements, finishing with a creative performance on the final afternoon. Learn the essentials of stage performance through improvisation, role-play and characterization activities and then perform in front of a live audience with costumes, sets, props, sound effects, live projections and theatrical lighting!! Book today and get your Early Bird Saving before Saturday September 10. For more information phone 40414066, email info@theyoungcompany.com.au or visit our website.

Ready Steady Go Kids (RSGK)

Multi-sport and exercise program for school kids aged 4 to 6 years. Click on the link below for more information.

Piano Lessons

Girl Guides

WANTED – LEADERS FOR SCOUTING

Are you 18 years or over, like the outdoors and working with children? Then this could be for you. No qualifications required as full training is given. Those interested please contact Helen on 0407 589 338.

St Anthony's School Dimbulah 50th Anniversary

All past teachers, teacher aides, administration staff, parents, students and community members are invited to attend the weekend of festivities on Saturday 27th August and Sunday 28th August 2016. Click on the flyer below for more information.

St Joseph's School Parramatta Park 90th Anniversary 2017

In 2017, St Joseph's School, Parramatta Park will celebrate 90 years of Catholic Education in Cairns. Various events will be held to celebrate this important occasion from the 18th August to the 20th August 2017. All current and former staff, students and families are requested to save these dates in your calendar for next year's celebrations.

Well Women's Health Clinics

Well Women's clinics are being held at the Smithfield Community Health on Fridays (30th September, 14th & 18th October) and at James Cook University on Monday 26th September. Services are available to Medicare eligible clients. Please click on the flyer below for further information.