Dear Parents, Friends, Staff and Students
“If we have love in our hearts, we shall have God with us.”
“Find happiness in making others happy.” (Mary MacKillop 21.11.1899)
The Feast Day of Australia’s St Mary of the Cross, MacKillop, is celebrated on Monday 8th August. St Mary was an extraordinary woman. She was a woman of great faith who was immersed in the world. She lived the suffering of oppression, rejection, and hardship. Mary’s affinity and great desire to assist vulnerable children and women, came from her own experiences. This is what makes her so relatable to us today. Amongst the challenges of her life, Mary’s faith remained steadfast. She knew her faith in God would carry her through the hardships she faced, with a strong and positive attitude. St Mary of the Cross is an example of a woman of courage and determination. She never gave up. We will commemorate the Feast Day here at school with a prayer service on Friday 5th August at 9.00am. Parent and friends are welcome to join us.
Sacrament of Confirmation
The Year 6 students are working hard to prepare to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit in Confirmation on Friday 19th August. Please keep the students, their parents, sponsors, and their teachers, in your prayers over the coming weeks.
Students from other year levels are encouraged to come along and sing in the choir to support the Year 6 students receiving Confirmation. The Mass will commence at 6.00pm and should be finished by 7.30pm. Please see Mrs Keddie if you can help.
International Day of World’s Indigenous Peoples
The International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples is observed on 9 August each year to raise awareness and protect the rights of the world’s indigenous population. This event also recognises the achievements and contributions that indigenous people make to improve world issues. This year the day focuses on the role of indigenous women in the preservation and transmission of traditional knowledge. In Australia, we raise awareness to the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are the longest existing indigenous culture on earth.
Parent Communication
The recent School Climate Survey indicated that parents would like more information and feedback about how their children are progressing at school. The school is keen to hear from our parents how we can improve in this area. Please look out for a short survey that will be coming home soon to help us improve our feedback to parents.
Catholic Performing Arts Festival
The Catholic Arts Festival for 2022 has commenced. We are delighted that we have visual arts works displayed in the Angelico Arts Exhibition. Congratulations to Imogen, from Year 6, who performed beautifully in the piano solo section. We now look forward to the combined Year 4, 5 and 6 musical, Little Red Riding Hood, to be performed in front of the adjudicator and audience at school on Thursday 25th August at 11.30am. Please add the date to your diaries and come along to enjoy what promises to be a wonderful performance.
P&F Coffee Morning
Please come along and enjoy a hot drink, courtesy of the P&F, on Thursday 11th August at 8.30am. A Parent Reading Workshop for parents of Pre-Primary and Year One students, will follow the coffee morning at 9.15am.
I look forward to welcoming parents and friends to the St Mary of the Cross Feast Day Prayer Service on Friday morning at 9.00am.
Best wishes for the weekend.
Warm regards
Therese Hussey
Principal
Derby Day is on Friday 12th August. The canteen will be running a special and pre-orders are required. Please pick up an order form from the office if you have not received one.
The Life Education Incursion will take place on Tuesday 30th August. Life Education is an Australian preventive health program that empowers children to make safe and healthy choices in their lives. The Life Education organisation has online parent sessions available for parents to log into so they can learn more about the content the children will be covering in their incursion. The link can be accessed via the QR code or at: 
