HOLY FAMILY SCHOOL

PRAYER ON THE FEAST OF THE HOLY CROSS

Lord Jesus,

as we celebrate the Holy Cross,
remind us that your love is stronger than darkness.
Help us to shine your light, share your love,
and bring hope to everyone we meet.
Amen.

The Exaltation of the Holy Cross

On September 14, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. On this special day, we honour the Cross as a sign of Jesus’ great love for us. Although the Cross reminds us of Jesus’ suffering, it is also a powerful symbol of hope, love, and new life. It reminds us that God is with us during difficult times and calls us to bring His love, compassion, and hope to others.

CELEBRATING 60 YEARS AT HOLY CROSS PARISH

This weekend, we joyfully congratulate Holy Cross Parish as it celebrates its 60th anniversary! Monsignor Muldoon and his team had a weekend filled with activities to mark this significant milestone.

For six decades, Holy Cross has been a place of faith, welcome, service, and community. Its impact reaches far beyond the walls of the church through its care for those in need, support of families, outreach in our community, and commitment to putting faith into action.

At Holy Family, we are especially grateful for the relationship we share with our parish community. Holy Cross helps our students understand that faith is not simply something we learn about. It is something we live, through compassion, generosity, service, and love for one another.

We give thanks for the priests, parishioners, volunteers, and families, past and present, who have built and sustained this wonderful faith community over the past 60 years.

Congratulations, Holy Cross! May God continue to bless your parish and all those you serve for many years to come.

LIGHTS-UP OTTAWA AUDITIONS AT HOLY FAMILY FOR GRADES 4-6

Lights Up Ottawa is a professional school for stage training and performance, offering opportunities for students with beginner, intermediate, and advanced experience. There is no cost to audition. If selected to be a part of the program, there is a tuition fee.

We welcome both experienced and first-time performers, and aim to give opportunities to as many applicants as possible. Please note that some cuts will be made. If you are awarded a callback audition, details will be sent via email soon after the school auditions are completed.

We are facilitating two programs, and, if selected, students have the option to choose either Saturdays (2-5PM) or Sunday (1-4PM), not both. The program culminates in our Fall Showcase with performances planned for mid-December. Instructors will work with families as needed to establish a carpool for students fromthe Greater Ottawa Area.

Auditions for Holy Family students (Grades 4-6 only) are at lunch recess on September 17th.

Click here for the permission form. Students will be provided with hard copies on Tuesday.

PARENT HOMEWORK

Please take a few minutes to make sure you are connected. We don’t want you to miss anything! It can be a bit overwhelming with all of the forms at the beginning of the school year. Please see here for an overview of all the needed forms and links to help you complete them.

Please complete the following as soon as possible.

CHILD ABSENT? THERE'S AN APP FOR THAT!

How to Report Absences with SafeArrival

To report absences, our school board uses the SafeArrival 24-Hour Attendance Line.

Call 1-844-478-2598 or Download the APP:

Google Play or Apple Store

Learn How to Report Absence

SAFETY REMINDER: SCHOOL PARKING AND RAMP

We need to be absolutely clear: our school parking lot and the ramp leading down to it are NOT drop-off or pick-up zones and are not to be accessed by parents or caregivers during the school day. Most importantly: IT IS NOT SAFE.

Our parking lot and ramp were not designed or designated for student drop-off and pick-up. There is no supervision in these areas for students arriving or leaving with family members. At busy times, staff vehicles and special transportation vans are entering, exiting, reversing, and manoeuvring in a very limited space.

Adding parent vehicles and children walking through this traffic creates an unnecessary and preventable safety risk.

There are several important reasons these areas must remain restricted:

Student and staff safety: Children should never be walking through an active, unsupervised parking area as part of their arrival or dismissal routine.
Special transportation: Several vans use our lot each day to safely transport students who require specialized transportation. Additional vehicles interfere with this process and increase the risk to students and staff.
Emergency access: The ramp is a designated FIRE LANE and must remain completely clear. Stopping or parking on the ramp can delay or prevent emergency vehicle access.
Limited space: Our parking lot is already too small for the number of staff vehicles. Additional vehicles create congestion and make an already tight space even more difficult to navigate safely.

If someone else is dropping off or picking up your child, including grandparents, family members, friends, or caregivers, it is your responsibility to ensure that they know and follow these safety expectations.

Please do not drive into the school parking lot or use the ramp for student drop-off, pick-up, or parking. This applies even if you are running late, the weather is poor, or you intend to stop for only a moment.

A convenient drop-off is never more important than a safe one.

Thank you for helping us keep every member of our Holy Family community safe.