Results From The Lincoln Jar Contest

from Holy Cross teacher Allison Carney -

Holy Cross students went excavating during Catholic Schools Week.

Yes, they dug through sofas, chairs, and piggy banks to find pennies and silver coins for the Lincoln Jar Contest.  The goal for the contest was to raise money for The Gabriel Project of Holy Cross by collecting pennies and putting them in the jar marked with your homeroom.

The twist was that students could place silver coins in other classroom jars to negate their pennies. Many students were seen dumping their entire piggy banks full of pennies into their classroom jar in the hope of winning the contest.

Mrs. Anderson’s first grade class won first place in the contest and will have ice cream treats for their efforts.

In the end, the real winner was The Gabriel Project.
One thousand dollars was raised and donated to the project.

Contact Leah Conner for more information on the fantastic work of The Gabriel Project.  (Click here for a previous blog post about The Gabriel Project.)

What A Spirited Week!

Catholic Schools Week at Holy Cross was a great success, from start to finish.

During the week, students dressed for a theme each day, including Mismatch Monday, Too Tired Tuesday, Wacky Wednesday Hat Day, Holy Cross Spirit Thursday and Favorite Team Friday. For pictures of the creative apparel seen in our hallways, visit our Holy Cross photo gallery at holycrossop.shutterfly.com (password = holycrossop)

The Lincoln Jar class competition raised money for the Gabriel Project.  Students brought in pennies to add money to their class jar. Silver coins in other jars brought down that class total in the contest, but helped raise more funds. A little friendly sabotage…. We’ll have winners and totals raised in an upcoming blog post.

Mission carnival, an annual fundraiser by the 8th graders, was enjoyed by all on Thursday. We’ll highlight how much was raised and where that money will be going in an upcoming post, as well!

The school week ended with a Spirit Assembly in the gym. Students played musical chairs (with music provided by the Bishop Miege band!), 8th-graders were the target of pie throwing, and students and teachers competed in scooter races.  You won’t want to miss the pictures (thanks to Holy Cross mom Monica Roberts for taking them!) — Mrs. O’Brien was knocked off her scooter fairly early, but Mrs. Obershaw continued pulling her, Mrs. Byrne lost shoes during her race, Dr. Beverlin and ‘Mr. Mr.’ Troyer made a smooth turn after some early practice, and the other Mr. Troyer pulled Mrs. Carney to a 6th-grade victory!

In the end, Mrs. Anderson’s first-grade class won Spirit Week and was awarded an ice cream party and the privilege of naming the two new frogs in the office. They chose the names Jayhawk and Mickey.

Our whole Catholic Schools Week wrapped up on Sunday with special masses at Holy Cross. Students and parents provided music, did the readings and brought the gifts to Eucharist. Knights of Columbus served up a delicious breakfast at the school during our annual Open House. We had many families tour the school, and we hope they enjoyed seeing the school as much as we liked showing it to them!

Enjoy the week’s photos at our Holy Cross Photo Gallery on Shutterfly. (password = holycrossop)

Mismatch Day

It was a crazy half-day back at Holy Cross. Students rounded out Catholic Schools Week with a Mismatch Day theme. See below for some of the pictures. Feel free to send me pictures of your mismatched student today – we’ll add them to the slideshow!

Also, please remember that Sunday’s 9 and 11 a.m. masses will be Catholic Schools Week masses at Holy Cross Church. Have your students wear their school uniform. And plan on joining us after mass for a Knights of Columbus breakfast at the school. See you then! (Check this week’s newsletter for information about rescheduled events from Catholic Schools Week due to the snow days.)

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Open House

We know our school families are the best source of word-of-mouth marketing to new families.  That being said, we thought we would do a fun little contest to say, ‘thanks for the referral.’

Our Holy Cross Open House is this Sunday, February 6, from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

New families will enjoy breakfast provided by the Knights of Columbus, tour the school, meet the staff and see the fantastic work our students do.

Here’s where you come in:

If you have family or friends who are at a point where they are “school shopping,” invite them to our Open House.

We’ll ask families at check-in if they were referred by a Holy Cross family.  If they say yes, then that family will be entered into a drawing for a $50 Scrip card of their choice.  For each family you invite, you receive another entry.

If you don’t know a family who is looking to make a change a school, we still want you to come enjoy our Open House breakfast.  It will be a fun way to close Catholic Schools Week. See you Sunday!

What to wear next week…

To celebrate Catholic Schools Week next week (Jan. 31 – Feb. 4), Holy Cross students will have a full out-of-uniform week.

As has been the tradition here at Holy Cross for many years, one way we celebrate Catholic Schools Week is through daily themes.  We generally have Pajama Day with a read-in, Team Day, Spirit Day, etc.

This year we are trying a new one.

Monday is Favorite Character or Saint Day.
Since this is new, I want to clarify what the children can wear. The intent is that the children will choose someone who is an appropriate role model and come to school dressed as their favorite saint, hero or character.  Please guide them in their decision when they make their choice. As always, attire should be appropriate for our Catholic learning environment.
This IS NOT favorite celebrity day.
Thanks for your help.  Hopefully it will be fun and will work out just fine.
I’m always a bit nervous when we try something different.

Tuesday is Pajama Day.
Come to school right out of bed, if you like. No need to do your hair! Bring your favorite book and a comfy pillow.

Wednesday is Team Spirit Day.
Support your favorite team by wearing a team shirt or jersey.

Thursday is Holy Cross Blue and Gold Day.
Show your hornet spirit by wearing a spirit shirt, FIT Club shirt or school sweatshirt with jeans.

Friday is Mismatch Day.
The one day your clothes don’t have to match – in fact they shouldn’t!

Wrapping Up With An Open House

My favorite day during the entire year!  I love coming to school in my fluffies.

We finish off Catholic Schools Week here at Holy Cross with DEAR Day – Drop Everything and Read. Students (AND STAFF!) can dress in comfy sweats or pajamas.

Catholic Schools Week has been wonderful. We began with a day of Eucharistic Adoration in the school chapel. It was beautiful to see the children praying in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. Yesterday’s Mission Carnival, planned and executed by the eighth-grade students, was a day of games and raffles. Eighth-grade teachers Mrs. Helm and Mrs. Patterson tell me that the children raised more than $1,500, which will be donated to charities chosen by the class.

Make sure to join us Sunday to recognize Catholic Schools Week at Holy Cross masses (have your student(s) wear their uniform to mass). We will have school children and parents ministering at the 9:00 and 11:00 masses as lectors and music ministers.

The Knights of Columbus will be serving breakfast in Pflumm Hall at the school after the 7:30, 9:00, and 11:00 masses. Stop by for the Holy Cross Open House. We will be giving tours of the school between 8:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Everyone is welcome to come to the breakfast and Open House. Make sure to stop by and take a look at our Holy Cross Early Education Center, as well.

Bring a friend to see our school!

Kindergarten Cowboys

Had to share a picture of our Kindergarten cowboys enjoying today’s Catholic Schools Week theme day – Wild West Day…

Holy Cross Open House on Sunday

We’ll cap off our Catholic Schools Week with an Open House at Holy Cross Catholic School this Sunday, February 7 from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

This is a perfect opportunity to bring in friends and family to see all the wonderful things that happen here at Holy Cross. This is not an event just for new families interested in the school, but it is open to anyone who wants to walk the halls of Holy Cross.

The Knights of Columbus will be serving breakfast in Pflumm Hall after each morning Mass at church that day,  so bring your family and friends to share a meal and see what Holy Cross is all about.

The Holy Cross Early Education Center is also doing their Open House at this time so if you know of anyone with preschool age children be sure to send them to the EEC.

Hope to see you there.

Mismatch Day / Lost & Found

I warned you that things get a little crazy at Holy Cross on Mismatch Day during Catholic Schools Week. These students seem to be enjoying the theme.  Tomorrow we’re trying a new one – Wild West Day. Come back to check out more pix then.

On another note, the Lost & Found bins are overflowing. It may be time to take a little inventory at home. The bins were recently sorted and many items were returned to their owners. But, many items remain. Please take time to write your
child’s name on items, including lunchboxes, pants, polos, skirts, skorts, jumpers and coats. Feel free to come by and take a look if your child is missing anything!

Starting the Week Off Right

What a great start to Catholic Schools Week we had at Holy Cross!

Our first Eucharistic Adoration in the school chapel was a meaningful time. Thanks to all who helped.

The students seemed to have fun showing their team pride, wearing the shirts of their favorite sports teams today…

Tomorrow is Mismatch Day. That can get pretty crazy. Stay tuned!