The Hornet's Buzz

November 1, 2024

Dear holy saints of God,

we join our prayers of praise to yours this day.

With you, we sing of God’s goodness,

rejoice in God’s mercy,

and celebrate God’s incredible love.

Teach us to live as you lived –

always thinking of others,

always recognizing your weaknesses,

always rejoicing in God’s gifts,

always following Jesus.

Blessed are you, happy are you,

all holy saints of God.

Pray for us that we

may someday be among God’s holy ones. Amen.

Dear Holy Cross Community,

Happy All Saints' Day! Today is an opportunity to reflect on the beauty of our Catholic faith and how we all came from God and will return to God. All Saints' Day allows us to recognize the saints while we ask all of them to pray for us. We celebrated the day with Mass at the Church, and then Grades 7 and 8 students presented their Saints' Museum in the Church Hall. Father Abner reminded us to strive to be like Saints by living the Beatitudes so that the light of God may shine through us.

The week was also filled with great joy as we celebrated Halloween. Thank you to all who supported our Student Council (StuCo) initiative of wearing costumes. They raised over $400 to donate to the Red Cross Hurricane Relief fund. We are very proud of our students and community as we come together to support and serve others in alignment with our mission.

Congratulations also to our Middle School students and their teachers who competed in the Scholars' Bowl this past Monday and obtained some winning rounds! Importantly, it was an enriching learning opportunity and a time to collaborate with fellow Catholic schools.

We look forward to another great week of teaching and learning at Holy Cross. Mrs. Kerth, Math Instructional Coach, will host a Family Math Night for Grades K-5 on Thursday, November 7 from 6:30 to 7:30 pm. Please join us as you experience Holy Cross' exceptional Math program and innovative inquiry-based approach, Building Thinking Classrooms.

I hope you have a refreshing and that it brings a sense of peace and tranquillity.

May God's richest blessings be yours today and always,

Paola V. Clark, Ed.D.

Principal

At the heart of a successful school is an engaged and strong community that comes together to best serve our students. We wholeheartedly invite you to share your God given gifts of Time, Treasure, and Talent in service of our school and Parish this school year. We have many opportunities for involvement and look forward to your wonderful contributions. We are actively seeking volunteers for:

• Celebration, the Parish and School's biggest fundraising event of the year: please email gradeschool@holycrosscatholicschool.com if you have availability to support this event.

Please help us prioritize the safety and security of our students and staff. A reminder that parking is not permitting in the Tree lot during school hours. If you need to park and come in to the school, please use the front parking by the main office. Also, only turn right onto 95th when exiting the parking lot. All visitors must stop by the front office to check in.

The Student-Parent Handbook for 2024-25 can be accessed here. Please note that as part of our continuous improvement efforts, this is a living document that will be revised as needed in order to nimbly respond to any needs that may arise. Any edits will appear in a different font color.

November 7 - All School Mass in the Gym | Family Math Night for Grades K-5 (6:30 - 7:30 pm)

Education in Virtue is the Archdiocesan Catholic Social-Emotional Learning program, a key component of our Virtuous Formation Program. It provides a curriculum and resources developed by the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, based on St. Thomas Aquinas’ teachings on the virtues and gifts of the Holy Spirit. These resources provide a framework for helping people of all ages understand how to live more virtuously.

At Holy Cross, we highlight a virtue each month that is woven organically into lessons and our daily school life. They are used in our announcements to guide our morning prayer, selection of the Saint of the Month, activities for our Faith Families, and classroom lessons. The virtue of November is Gratitude.

Beginning Monday, August 16, we will go back to our regular office hours as follows:

Monday - Friday: 7:30 am - 4:00 pm

Noon dismissal: 7:30 am - 12:00 pm

The best point of contact for any student matters, is your student's classroom teachers. Our team will do their best to get back to you as soon as possible. Please note that this may take up to 2 business days to respond as our faculty and staff are tending to students and duties throughout the day. We appreciate your patience and understanding.

In case of an emergency, please call or email the Front Office at gradeschool@holycrosscatholicschool.com and we will provide assistance.

Day of the Dead (Día De Los Muertos) is a two-day holiday (November 1-2) that reunites the living and dead. Families create ofrendas (Offerings) to honor their departed family members who have passed. The offerings are believed to encourage visits from the land of the dead as the departed souls hear their prayers, smell their foods, and join in the celebrations!

Click here to download a Dia De Los Muertos craft activity that you can use at home.

Hornet spirit wear with this year's theme is available for purchase at 1st Place Spiritwear. Explore all options and share your Hornet pride with the community as we celebrate our amazing students and school. This is also a great opportunity to support Holy Cross as we receive 10% back on all purchases.