Mrs. Anderson Celebrates World Book Night

from Holy Cross Librarian, Mrs. Anderson -

On April 23, I celebrated World Book Night!  

All across America, thousands of volunteers generously gave away books to share the joy of reading.  Thanks to the Authors & Publishers and all of the givers for helping start a literary movement.  I was fortunate to be able to participate in this first World Book Night in the US!

I gave away 20 copies of The Book Thief. I left some books on benches at Union Station, gave some to people in the main hall there, handed some to people in the food court of Crown Center, and put some out for the teachers here at Holy Cross.  

It was so much fun, and everyone had a big smile on their face getting a free book! 

If you’d like to learn more about World Book Night and how to be involved next year, please visit http://www.WorldBookNight.org.

An Update From Mrs. Cain

from Holy Cross Music Director,
Mrs. Cain -

I am coming back on March 5, and I look forward to seeing all of the students’ smiling faces. I definitely miss sharing the wonderful gift of music with the students.

During my time off, I have been adjusting to becoming a mommy to Little Dominic Matthew. And I have been learning a lot!  He has already grown 5 inches and 6 pounds and is over 8 weeks old!

The beautiful weather has given little Dominic and me several opportunities to go on walks outside, which has been a lot of fun.  Little Dominic recently received the sacrament of Holy Baptism at Saint Joseph Parish, and we couldn’t be happier.  Along with walks, we have been staying busy singing songs, reading, saying prayers, and buying new clothes because he is growing so fast!

Although my time off is coming to an end, I have appreciated Mr. Watgen and his hard work in the music room.  He has been a blessing to the school and has made my transition super easy.

When I return, I look forward to Recorder Karate with the 4th graders, Saint Thomas Aquinas Band Festival on April 3, the 6th grade band performing at Barnes and Noble on March 24 (details coming soon), and the Spring Concert on Thursday, April 26.

Until then, pray often, sing loud and smile wide!

Holy Cross Smurfs…

Pictures from Holy Cross Music Director, Melissa Cain -

Here’s the first batch of pictures from Twilight Madness assembly and volleyball last Thursday. These were taken by our smurfy music teacher, Mrs. Cain. Thanks!

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Los Pitufos de Santa Cruz…

Fotos de la Directora de Música de Santa Cruz- Melissa Cain -

Aquí están las primeras fotos de la Asamblea y del Volibol de Twilight Madness del pasado Jueves. Fueron tomadas por nuestra Maestra Pitufiana de Música, Sra. Cain. Gracias!

Welcome Back!

Welcome back for the 2011-2012 school year! That was the message to parents Tuesday at Back to School Night for parents of students in grades 1 – 5.  After Mrs. Beverlin welcomed parents in the gym, they had a chance to meet with their kids’ teachers in the classrooms.

On Thursday, parents of 6th, 7th and 8th graders will get their chance. Stop by for light refreshments afterward, and take a look at the teachers’ wish lists.  More about those in tomorrow’s post!

Here are some pictures from last night -

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Back to School Night(s)

We’re doing something new with Back to School Night this year. Tonight is Holy Cross Back to School Night #1 from 7 to 8 p.m.  Thursday is part 2.

Tonight, parents of students in grades 1 – 5 will meet in the school gym for a brief opening. Then, parents will go to their student’s classroom to meet with the teacher. There are two of these sessions in the classroom, so parents with more children can go visit another teacher in that second session.

If you have just one student in grades 1 – 5, feel free to wander down to Pflumm Hall after meeting with your child’s teacher. Parents who go to a second classroom can head to Pflumm Hall after the school bell ends the second session. There will be refreshments served. Meet and mingle with some other Holy Cross parents!

Parents of students in grades 6 – 8 will have their chance on Thursday at Back to School Night.

These are parent-only evenings, so find a sitter for the kids.

Thanks. See you there!

Mrs. Miller’s Parking Jar

When she retired at the end of the past school year, third-grade teacher Mrs. Miller left behind a creative and thoughtful legacy for her fellow Holy Cross staffers.

At her final staff gathering, Mrs. Miller brought with her a jar (see photo at right), with bills decorating the outside and wooden sticks inside, each with the name of a staff member.

WHAT?!

Well, you see Mrs. Miller has had some prime Holy Cross parking for several years, having bought one of the front parking spots at Holy Cross School at the Celebration auction annually.  In fact, she’s all paid up on that spot through this 2011-12 school year.

So, who will park in her spot?

That’s where her parking jar comes in. Each month at a staff meeting, a stick will be pulled from Mrs. Miller’s jar. Not only will that lucky staffer get to park in Mrs. Miller’s spot for the month, but he or she will also get one of those $20 bills!

What a generous and fun jar to leave behind.
Thanks Mrs. Miller! We’ll miss you!

Mrs. G’s Summer Reading Group

from Holy Cross 5th-grader Jarod Roberts -

Mrs. G has hosted a book club this summer. We have read 3 books and played many games and even played with water balloons! Mrs G says if you read 3 or more books during the summer, you will not forget what you learned in school. We have read 1. Top Secret  2. Kid in the red jacket  3. Boys start the war. Thank you Mrs G… we sure are having FUN!!!

Jarod Roberts, 5th Grade

Outdoor Classrooms

Mrs. Helm and Mrs. Gittinger are taking advantage
of the beautiful weather today.

The students are reading and working on group projects
while enjoying God’s creations.

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Lots of News

We’ve been so Pepsi Refresh-focused that I haven’t taken the time to catch you up on the other news at Holy Cross. Here’s some of it. The newsletter will be coming out in a little bit with more..

• Don’t forget to turn in your Celebration reservations. They’re due today. We’re also accepting items for the auction still, so please drop something by the school office any time.  Visit holycrosscelebration.com for much more info.

• Two announcements in one on this one – we had a snowblower donated to the school! It’s actually from the Maldonados. Guillermo and Gladys are still struggling with red-tape issues in Venezuela, and Sr. Maldonado unfortunately won’t be back to teach Spanish in the lower grades the rest of this year. Please keep the family in your prayers at this frustrating time for them.  And despite their struggles, they’re keeping Holy Cross in their thoughts and donating their snowblower to the school!

• We may be putting that snowblower to good use on Monday. The forecast shows snow on the way! Click here for a reminder of the Holy Cross snow policies and procedures.

• Today is the final day to turn in Labels for Education for the holiday collection drive. We’ll get back you soon to announce our winner. Thanks to all for their contributions!

• Back to Pepsi Refresh for a moment, have you voted today?  Visit the school website to get all the voting information. And please pass that link on to everyone you can.  I know we’re sounding like a broken record, but this is huge. What a blessing it would be for the school to win this.  It’s going to take a concentrated effort by EVERYONE to make this a reality. 24 more days. Let’s win this thing!  To that end, if you could volunteer in the community outreach effort, please contact the school office or Laura Haeusser. Thanks to all!

Days Off in October

I know. I know. Holy Cross students are off quite a few days in October. It’s true.

Besides the normal October conference days, there are two teacher in-service days. I wanted to take the opportunity to let you know what we’ll be doing during that time.

Today, October 11, we will all be traveling to Topeka for an Archdiocesan In-Service.  This type of in-service only happens every three years.  All of the teachers and administrators across the entire archdiocese get together for a day of faith development.  These in-services are always very uplifting.

On October 22, we will have an in-service day here at Holy Cross.  We will spend the morning analyzing our Kansas Assessment data from last spring and using that information to make instructional decisions.  In the afternoon, we will have our third School of Faith class.  Each time we meet for School of Faith, we have community time, personal prayer and reflections, and we study a portion of the Gospel of Matthew.

School will be dismissed at noon Wed, October 27, and there is no school on Thursday or Friday that week. Make sure you have turned in your conference form, so that we can get those all scheduled. Thanks!