The Hornet's Buzz

March 28, 2025

Dear Holy Cross Community,

I hope you all had a restful and lovely spring break filled with moments of relaxation and joy. It was certainly wonderful welcoming students back to campus.

Fr. Abner celebrated Mass at the school on Thursday, and we recognized the Saintly Students of the Month who embodied the virtue of justice in February. It brings me so much joy to celebrate our students' wonderful accomplishments. Likewise, Fr. Abner led students and staff in reflection and prayer through the Stations of the Cross at the Church today.

I want to use this time to recognize and wholeheartedly thank Amy Sells for her service and many contributions to Holy Cross over the past four years. Heartfelt thanks also to Anna Brune and Tyler Dilworth for their service and dedication at Holy Cross this school year and to Rebecca Sharp, who will take special time to welcome and cherish her new baby. While they will be missed, we enthusiastically support them as they embark on new professional chapters and carry the Holy Cross mission and values with them. Please join me in wishing them the absolute best in their future endeavors!

Please know that we are actively working on recruiting new faculty members to fill these positions. We have received several highly qualified applications and look forward to providing an update once the hirs are finalized.

In alignment with Holy Cross' commitment to academic excellence, I am thrilled to share that Holy Cross received a grant and will add a full-time reading interventionist to the team, who will work closely with Mrs. Peavey, Literacy Coach, and all teachers. We are in the midst of interviewing for this position, and we should be able to complete the process soon. Having a full-time, dedicated reading interventionist position at the school will further enable us to provide targeted, intensive instruction to students who may be learning English as a second language or may be struggling with reading to promote literacy and academic success.

Thank you for your continued support and partnership. We look forward to a wonderful final quarter and an exciting new school year ahead. Below are some updates for the week.

Many blessings,

Paola V. Clark, Ed.D.

Principal

School will be in session on Friday, April 4

While our school calendar includes snow days, we have had six winter weather closures. To address any current or future winter weather instructional days, we will add a school day on Friday, April 4, which was originally scheduled for STREAM PD. The last day of school will remain Tuesday, May 20. Thank you in advance for your flexibility and understanding.

KAP Assessments

State Assessments will take place on April 9, 10, 14, and 15 for Grades 3-8 (ELA/Math) and on April 22 and 23 for Grades 5 and 8 (Science). It's important that your student attend on these dates.

Families should have received a Golden Envelope with an important message to write encouragement letters for your students They are due next Friday, April 4 at the latest.

Mathletics Grand Championship

The event will take place on May 8 at Nativity Catholic School. Student participants have been nominated based on past performances in Mathletics, FastBridge scores, previous state assessment scores, class performance, and their ability to work with their peers. The students who will represent Holy Cross are:

Grade 3 - Brody B., Samantha D., and Alton M.

Grade 4 - Emmett W., Alice K., and Isabella M.R.

Grade 5 - Joey E., Peter B., and Yel R.

Grade 6 - Cati M.R., Will W., and Grayson K.

Grade 7 - Sofia K., Wally K., and Diana V.

Grade 8 - Jamie E., Brooklyn O., and Lindsey K

Many congratulations to all these Mathletes on their accomplishments and best of luck in the upcoming championship!

Tardies

This is a reminder that students should be dropped off between 7:50 and 8:00 a.m. every morning. Being on time to school is important to establish a routine, avoid missed educational experiences, bond, be consistent, and align with school expectations. Thank you for your cooperation.

Hornet Hustle

Our Hornet Hustle Glow Run will take place on Tuesday, April 8. Teachers have included information in their newsletters regarding this fundraiser for PTO and Library needs.

Temporary School Phone Number

Thank you for your kind patience as the phone outage continues. As shared, we have a temporary number for you to reach the school at: 913-433-4164..

Summer Camp - Blast Off into Summer!

Holy Cross families will receive registration information via email on Monday.

STREAM Camp - STREAMing into a Bright Future

Mrs. Kopp will be offering STREAM Camps again this summer. Registration is Now Open.!

Absences and Tardies

If your student will be absent or tardy, please notify the Office (gradeschool@holycrosscatholicschool.com) no later than 8:15 am. All lunch counts must be in by this time.

Electronic Devices

A reminder that per our handbook, students cannot have personal electronic devices in school without the principal's consent. These include bringing personal computers (excluding 6-8), iPads, music players, tape recorders, cameras, handheld video games, CELL PHONES, SMARTwatches, or items of a similar nature.

Please help us prioritize the safety and security of our students and staff. Parking is not permitted in the Tree lot during school hours. If you need to park and enter the school, please use the front parking lot by the main office. When exiting the parking lot, only turn right onto 95th. 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.

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. These virtues 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 March is Magnanimity.

The Saint of the month is St. Teresa of Calcutta.

Hello, lovely Holy Cross Families,

Here are some great reminders about when your children need to stay home and a great resource explaining the symptoms of different types of illnesses. Please do not hesitate to contact our nurses with any questions or concerns via email or our temporary office number (913-433-4164) as we continue to fix our phone system issues.

Hola queridas familias de Holy Cross:

Aquí están algunos grandes recordatorios acerca de cuándo sus hijos necesitan quedarse en casa, así como un gran recurso que explica los síntomas de diferentes tipos de enfermedades. Por favor, no dude en ponerse en contacto con nuestras enfermeras con cualquier pregunta o preocupación a través de correo electrónico o nuestro número temporal (913-433-4164) para la oficina a medida que continuamos para solucionar nuestros problemas de sistema telefónico.

Our regular office hours are as follows. Please note that the school office will be closed during holidays and school year breaks.

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

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

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

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