Holy Cross Catholic School

We had an amazing end to the school year! Our Pie Your Teacher fundraiser to support our STREAM lab renovations was a huge success. It was a great event and the students were actually really gentle and the teachers were troopers. Thank you to all the teachers and staff that participated and Mrs. Kerth and Mrs. Beisser for helping organize. We raised $1500 from the students and a generous donation from a Holy Cross Alumni, Ryan Mandl (2002), of $2000 totaling $3500 to put towards renovating our STREAM lab for the 2023-2024 school year. We are so blessed with an amazing community.

The talent show is a new tradition that is a huge hit. Our students and staff are so talented and it was a perfect way to end the school year. Thank you to Mrs. Sells and Miss Scott for helping us organize all our contestants. Additionally, a big thank you to Mr. Kmolfske and the audio light team for making the event run smoothly.

A few changes for next year I would like to announce. Mrs. Cox has experience working in a Pre-K room and adores primary-aged students. That is why she is the perfect fit for our Kindergarten classroom. She is such an amazing teacher and we know she will be great with our little Hornets!

We have been interviewing and ensuring we find the perfect fit for our community. We are thrilled to announce that Miss Maria Parn will join our Holy Cross community next year as our third-grade teacher. She grew up in Catholic schools and is very passionate about helping students be successful. We cannot wait to see the impact she will make on our students. Welcome to Holy Cross, Miss Parn!

As you might know, Mrs. Hill has decided to stay home with her sweet baby girl next year. She has done wonderful work for us and we are very grateful. Some of you might know Rick Worms as he was our former music director a few years ago. He has agreed to help us with our school Masses next year and will also lead the Saturday 4 pm Masses at Church. Thank you, Mr. Worms, for sharing your talents with us next year.

We have so much to celebrate this summer! We had another incredible year! Each year keeps getting better and better! We are grateful for all of you and are already busy planning for the23-24 school year! Have an amazing summer! Have fun and be safe!

Hello! My name is Maria Parn. I am so excited to join the Holy Cross team! I live in Lenexa. I will be entering my 6th year of teaching and my 4th year teaching 3rd grade. I have 2 older brothers, 2 sisters-in-law, an 8-year-old nephew, and a 6-year-old niece and I will have a new nephew in early September! A few of my favorite things include spending time with my family, sleeping in, hiking in local areas, ATVs, sushi, embroidery sewing, crafting, audiobooks, and caffeine! I am looking forward to this totally new chapter in my life and to seeing what God has in store for me!

Holy Cross believes that there are so many people that deserve to be recognized. That is why this year we decided to start a new tradition of Volunteer of the Year. This award is named after St. Joseph the worker. St. Joseph’s qualities: strong, silent, responsible, actions are louder than words, obedient to God, and faithful. The three volunteers that model these qualities are our Catechesis of the Good Shepherd teachers that volunteer their time each week. We are very blessed that they find this program so valuable that they take time from their busy schedules to teach our students the most important lessons.

Please help me in honoring Mrs. Ellen Jones, Mrs. Eva Gavin, and Mrs. Becky Dixon.

Additionally, Holy Cross felt that there are so many staff members who help make our school a better place. Our Staff Sember of the Year award is named after Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton She was known for her devoutness, her compassion, and her desire to help others.

This year one staff member will be receiving this award. The following statements are written by the staff member’s peers:

-this person was described as amazing

-literally helps with anything and everything she is asked to do

-always smiling

-helps so much with our Spanish-speaking families

-so passionate about our school

-gives her time outside of work as she coaches CYO teams

-so fun to work with

-gives 100% to whatever she does

-always positive

-inspires families to provide the gift of a Catholic education for their children

The 22-23 Staff Member of the Year is Mrs. Carina Fernandez

Each year an award is given to one outstanding teacher on our staff. This person has been voted on and recognized by their peers. Because the Ursuline Sisters founded our school, and St. Angela founded the Ursuline Order, we have named the award after her. This year one teacher will be receiving this award. The following were statements written by the teacher’s peers:

-this person does everything with enthusiasm and a sense of humor

-encourages her students to be their best

-plans everything and keeps everything fun

-one of the warmest staff members at this school

-goes above and beyond for the staff and students

-the dedication to our staff and the community is amazing

-super helpful and willing to take on any task and role

-students love her and she loves them

-shares ideas to help Holy Cross become better

-everyone turns to her as a teacher leader

-smiling, positive, approachable

-She has a big heart and she is such a blessing to Holy Cross

Our 22-23 Teacher of the Year Award goes to Amy Sells

2022-2023

Milestones

• Continued to build a cohesive learning environment from PreK - 8th grade

• Added the use of a schoolwide app that houses our calendar, family directory, parent handbook, and push notifications.

• Successfully started the school year with two new, energetic classroom teachers, a middle school Math interventionist, Literacy Coach, and Title 1, Spanish, and Music teachers.

• Continued our social media presence with multi-weekly postings about school events and classroom updates (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter)

• Hosted a well-attended community Math Night, in November 2022

• Schoolwide positive mindset assembly with KC Wolf, January 2023

• Hosted a well-attended Family Literacy Night, March 2023

• May 2023, multiple classrooms with 100% re-enrollment/retention for the 2023-24 school year

• Secured a Lego Robotics grant for grades K-8 through Terracon

Student Support

• Continued use of the Eureka Math series for preschool, with digital tools and resources for all learners

• Continued implementation of Amplify Reading Series with digital tools and resources for K - 8th-grade students, Amplify is a culturally responsive reading program

• Received an EMBRACE Grant that provides counseling services for the next three years

• The Student Support Team continues to meet every Tuesday to collaborate in restructuring policies and procedures. They also meet every Thursday to complete SIT plans and update IEP/504 plans

• Hired an additional part-time Counselor to lend support to students' social and emotional needs, building a better social, and emotional learning atmosphere to help students, teachers, and families

• Continued implementation of Xello, an SEL program

• EANS funding for summer tutoring for students

• Implemented extracurricular activities and clubs: Bird Club, Golf Club, Homework Club, Crafting/Card Making, Scholar’s Bowl, Mathletics, KS William Allen White Book Club

Technology

• Implemented a school-wide app for use in the 2022-23 school year, which helped with parent and staff communication as One stop shop for families to find Holy Cross-related information

• Set up a dedicated Green Room for student broadcasting and video production

• Purchased 30 new devices for the 5th-grade laptop cart

• Continued the student-run Holy Cross Broadcasting System with Live streamed morning announcements

• Lessons for students kindergarten - 8th grade included Computer Science, coding and keyboarding, continued use of coding robots, and LEGOBricq education systems within Technology classes

• Implemented Storybook STEM with kindergarten - 3rd grade in library and technology classes

Email: mwagner@holycrosscatholicschool.com
Website: www.holycrosscatholicschool.com
Location: 8101 W. 95th Street Overland Park, KS 66212
Phone: (913) 381-7408
Facebook: facebook.com/HolyCrossOP
Twitter: @HolyCrossOP