The Hornet's Buzz

October 18, 2024

Gracious God, help us to love and care for each other.

Grow our love so deep that it is able and willing to overcome and forgive any misgivings.

We acknowledge that you have given each of us spiritual gifts.

Help us to put our own needs aside and use those gifts to serve one another well.

We will rely on the strength and energy You supply.

We pray that everything we do will bring you glory. Amen.

Dear Holy Cross Community,

It was a short but joyful week at Holy Cross! From fun-filled, educational field trips to our Twilight Madness celebration, we are all smiles to have another week of learning in the books.

As shared last week, our teachers attended the Building Thinking Classrooms training as part of our innovation cohort with fellow Catholic Schools. Likewise, Grades 6-8 students visited the World War I museum and were commended by tour guides for their excellent behavior (way to go, middle school Hornets!). On Tuesday afternoon, we held an all-school Walking Rosary in both Spanish and English to close Hispanic Heritage Month. It was such a lovely afternoon of prayer and reflection. In addition, Grade 5 continued attending their STARBASE STEM field experience and we held our beloved Twilight Madness event last night. What a joyful all-school event. Students and teachers enthusiastically engaged in friendly volleyball matches and Grade 8 students performed an awesome dance! Huge thanks to all who attended and supported our Class of 2025 by buying dinner and CYO concessions, as well as to all the families who helped make this event such a success!

Please find below information regarding the upcoming week, including Parent-Teacher conferences:

• Monday, October 21

Picture Retakes/Make-Up Day. Please contact the School Office (gradeschool@holycrosscatholicschool.com) with any questions you might have.

• Tuesday, October 22

Students in Grades 2-3 will go the Kauffman Stadium on a field trip

• Wednesday, October 23 - Noon Dismissal | P-T Conferences
  

Noon dismissal. No lunch will be served. We have Parent-Teacher conferences from 1:30 - 6:00 pm. Please use this link to register.

• Thursday, October 24 - No School | P-T Conferences

We look forward to seeing you at our upcoming conferences on October 23 (1:30 -6:00 pm) and October 24 (8:30 - 6:30 pm). Please use this link to register.

• Friday, October 25 - No School | Trunk-or-Treat

We look forward to seeing you at our annual trunk-or-treat which takes place on Friday, October 25 from 5:30 - 8:00 pm at the Church. Please use this link to sign up for a trunk (set up begins at 5:00 pm).

May God's blessings be with you and yours 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:

• 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.

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.

October 23 - Noon dismissal (conference day) - No lunch

October 23 - 24 - Parent-Teacher Conferences

October 25 - No School - Trunk-or-Treat

October 28 - Middle School Scholar's Bowl (St. James)

October 30 - Pumpkin Patch & Halloween Parade for PK3 and PK4

October 31 - Halloween Parties

November 1 - All Saints Day - All School Mass @ the Church and Saints Museum (Church Hall)

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 October is Humility (Humbleness).

See the links below for more information on lice, how to examine a scalp for lice, and a lice removal salon in the city.

Head Lice Information

How to Examine a Head

Lice Removal Salon Overland Park

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.

October is National Bullying Awareness Month. This upcoming Monday, October 7 Holy Cross will join other schools and organizations across the country in observing World Day of Bullying Prevention by wearing a blue top and engaging in activities throughout the month and year. The goal is to work together to stop bullying and cyberbullying and put an end to hatred and racism by increasing awareness of the prevalence and impact of all forms of bullying on all children of all ages.

The Random Act of Kindness Foundation has multiple resources for schools and families to inspire and support making kindness the norm.

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.