The Hornet's Buzz

September 13, 2024

We adore you,

Lord Jesus Christ,

here, and in all your churches

throughout the whole world,

and we bless you,

for by your holy cross you

have redeemed the world.

Dear Holy Cross Community,

Tomorrow is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, when we honor the Holy Cross by which Christ redeemed the world giving us the gift through which we have the hope of salvation and everlasting life. The celebration will begin with Mass at 3:00 pm and the Parish festival will follow at 4:00 pm with ethnical cuisine and entertainment for the whole family. We look forward to seeing you then.

A reminder that we do not have school on Friday, September 20 as our Annual CYO Golf Tournament will take place. Come join us for a great day of golf at Sunflower Hills Golf Course to support Holy Cross! To register, please click here.

Please find below some highlights and updates as we look forward to a new great week of school.

Safety and Security

As you might be aware, Leawood police have been investigating reports of a suspicious white van approaching children to offer them candy. Since this has occurred in an area close to our school, we wanted to use this opportunity to bring awareness about this situation and to send a reminder regarding safety.

Over the past several weeks, a child in the neighborhood was being approached by an individual driving a white utility van with no rear side windows and rear-end damage. Although the driver attempted to coerce the child to get in the vehicle, the child did everything right and did not engage with the driver as well as reported the incident immediately to their parents.

Just as we do at school, please continue to have conversations with your children regarding safety procedures and interactions with strangers, whether they are walking/playing alone or in groups. We ask students and parents to be vigilant and report any person who may be acting in a suspicious manner and to remember to always report any of these incidents immediately. Thank you for your partnership as we work together to prioritize and ensure the safety of our community.

FastBridgeTesting

Congratulations to our K-8 students for successfully completing the first week of testing. Big thanks to our Instructional Coaches for coordinating and overseeing this process and to our faculty for their dedication and support as we look to support students in their academic growth journeys.

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.
  

Arrival/Dismissal Reminders

• Early care is available beginning 7:30 am. No student should be dropped off at the school before then.
• Drop off takes place in the Tree and Baptist Church lots between 7:50 - 8:00 am (classes start promptly at 8:00 am).
• Students who arrive late between 8:00 - 8:10 should be dropped off in the Tree Lot.
• Students who arrive after 8:10 am should be dropped off at the Front Office.
• Please note that parking is not permitting in the Tree lot. If you need to park and come in to the school, please use the front parking by the main office.
  
• Please only turn right onto 95th when exiting the parking lot.

Thank you for choosing Holy Cross and for the gift of entrusting us with your child's education.

Have a blessed and joyful weekend.

Paola V. Clark, Ed.D.

A copy of 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 14 - Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross / Parish Festival

September 16- 19 -- Fastbridge Testing (K-8)

September 20 - NO School | CYO Golf Tournament

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.

Please find some information below regarding common contagious illnesses and when it is safe for students to return to school.

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 the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross at home:

• Craft project: make and decorate a cross. Children could use popsicle sticks or twigs and twine. Adults could build a “yard cross” out of big pieces of lumber or tree limbs tied together.
• Teach children to reverently make the sign of the cross.
• On this feast, eat red foods like strawberries and tomatoes, and drink red beverages like punch or red wine, reminding us of the blood Jesus shed on the cross.
• Cook with sweet basil, which tradition says grew over the place where the True Cross was found. Use wooden skewers and make an appetizer of tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella cheese. The wood of the skewers reminds us of the cross. Recipe idea here! Or, simply enjoy a dinner of spaghetti with tomato basil sauce and fresh parmesan.
• Make a dessert in the form of a cross, or decorated with a cross. Although usually made on Good Friday, hot cross buns would also be perfect for today (recipe here).
• Pray the Stations of the Cross. The prayer repeated at each station: We adore You, O Christ, and praise You, because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

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.