The Hornet's Buzz

September 20, 2024

Dear Holy Cross Community,

¡Feliz Mes de la Herencia Hispana! National Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated in the United States each year from September 15 to October 15 since 1968. This year's theme: Pioneers of Change: Shaping the Future Together, seeks to highlight the immeasurable cultural contributions and historical impact of the Hispanic and Latino communities. Students will engage in a variety of learning activities--this month and throughout the school year--to recognize these accomplishments, and we will also have a celebratory assembly on Friday, October 11 at 2:30 pm in the gym. Please join us to celebrate the Hispanic heritage in our community and beyond.

Thank you to everyone who was able to attend the Parish Festival last Saturday in support of Holy Cross. It was a lovely evening filled with joy and community-building opportunities. As we look ahead to the following week of school, please find some updates and information below of upcoming events:

CYO Golf Tournament

We look forward to seeing you tomorrow as we come together as a community in support of Holy Cross' Athletics program.

FastBridgeTesting

Congratulations to our K-8 students for successfully completing the FastBridge testing. You will receive information about your student's progress in the upcoming Parent-Teacher conferences on October 23-24.

Mathletics

We will be hosting this event on Thursday, September 26. There will be five schools participating: Holy Spirit, Holy Trinity, Ascension, Nativity, and Holy Cross. Join us as we welcome over 100 students from Grades 3-8 (with the awesome help of eight second grade students) and cheer for our school!

Grade 8 Confirmation Meeting for Parents

This will take place on Thursday, September 26 at the Parish.

PTO and Celebration Volunteers Needed

We continue to need volunteers! 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:

• PTO: please click here to sign up for available roles.
  
• 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.

Trunk or Treat

Mark your calendars! The Parish annual Trunk or Treat (and one of my favorite events) will take place on Friday, October 25 from 5:00 - 8:30 pm in the Parish's paring lot. Please stay tuned for more information and get your car decorations, costumes, and treats ready. I most certainly look forward to seeing you then!

Arrival/Dismissal Reminders

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.

Thank you for partnering with us to ensure the safety of our students and staff.

Wishing you a beautiful and blessed weekend.

Con mis mejores deseos,

Paola V. Clark, Ed.D.

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.

September 20 - NO School | CYO Golf Tournament

September 26 - Grade 8 Confirmation Meeting for Parents

September 26 - Mathletics (Grades 3-8)

October 14 - No School | PD Day for Teachers

October 23-24 - Parent-Teacher Conferences

October 25 - Trunk or Treat

Education in Virtue, is the Archdiocesan Catholic Social Emotional Learning program which is 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, and based on St. Thomas Aquinas’ teachings on the virtues and gifts of the Holy Spirit. These resources provide a framework that helps all ages understand how to live a more virtuous life.

At Holy Cross, we highlight a virtue each month that is weaved 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, as well as classroom lessons. The virtue for the month of September is Honesty.

Allergy-conscious policies can help protect people with food allergies and other

hypersensitivities.

When purchasing items for classroom or school wide consuption please note:

Please read labels carefully they may not have an “allergen warning” you must

read the ingredients, may contain, and processed in parts of the label

• The product must be in a sealed package with a printed label of ingredients

• NO homebaked items

• NO bakery case items (purchased and put in a box)

• CANNOT contain tree nuts (walnuts, pecans, pistachios, cashews, almonds, brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, pine nuts, hazelnuts)

• CANNOT contain peanuts

• CANNOT be made in a facility that processed peanuts and/or tree nuts

Please see the link below for instructions on how to read a label and what to look for. Thank you for your cooperation.

Video on how to read a label

FDA food allergen info

Política Consciente de Alergias Alimentarias de Holy Cross

La concientización de las alergias alimentarias puede ayudar a proteger a la gente con alergias a la comida y otras hipersensibilidades.

Por favor lea las etiquetas cuidadosamente ya que pueden no tener una "Advertencia de alérgenos". Debe de leer los ingredientes que puede contener y los que se usan en el procesado de alimentos en partes de la etiqueta.

• El producto debe estar en un paquete sellado con una etiqueta impresa de ingredientes.

• NO se pueden traer productos hechos en casa.

• NO artículos de caja de panaderia (comprados y puestos en una caja).

• NO PUEDE contener cacahuates (nueces, pistachos, anacardos, nueces del brasil, nueces de macadamia, piñones, avellanas, maní).

• NO PUEDE contener cacahuates (maní).

• NO PUEDE ser procesado en un lugar donde se procesan cacahuates y/o frutos secos.

  
  

Consulte el enlace a continuación para obtener instrucciones sobre cómo leer una etiqueta y qué buscar. Muchas gracias por su cooperación.

Página web de la FDA

If you or your child are uninsured, or have medical treatment insecurity, Johnson County has a resource: Johnson County Health Clinic. They offer many medical services from pediatrics, dental, women's health and more. They offer practitioners and services in many languages as well.

A friendly reminder that if your child will not be in school for any reason i.e. appointment, illness, or is out of town please email nurses.

Wishing all our families a happy and healthy school year!

Warm wishes,

Polly and Nina

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.

Ideas for celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month

• Johnson County Arts and Heritage Center
  
• Kansas City Public Library
• Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce
• Kansas City, KS - Hispanic Heritage Festival

Hornet spirit wear with this year's theme is now available and on sale (30% site wide) for purchase at 1st Place Spiritwear. Explore all available 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.