July 2021 Newsletter

We made it - we got to the end of the year, and what a year it's been! We are full of admiration for our Holy Cross pupils who have pulled out all the stops to make up for lost learning. They have coped with school closure, remote learning, new class configurations, staff sickness, new teachers, changes in teaching assistants - so much has happened this year. 

Our hopes and prayers are that next academic year will be less eventful. We have a great team on board, eager to start in September. We have two new teachers joining us - Mrs Sutherland (part time in Willow Class) and Miss Howes (full time in Cherry Class). In addition to this, we have two new teaching assistants joining us - Mr Molyneux (TA in Willow Class) and Miss Crush (TA in Oak Class). Miss Ridgway and Mrs Conway will be assisting learning in Cherry Class.

Claire will be joined by a new part time secretary, Niki McWilliams who will work on Thursdays and Fridays.

Our two agency teachers, Miss Knight and Mrs Sanders, will be moving on at the end of this term. They have fitted in so well at Holy Cross and we will be sorry to see them go. Mrs Hill will also be moving on.

A huge thank you to all of our Holy Cross families who have borne with us through all we have been through this year. As always, we value your support and positivity, and this has helped us get through all the unexpected difficulties we have been faced with this year. 

Enjoy the summer holidays. Keep safe and we will see you all back in school on Thursday 2nd September.

Miss Travers has successfully completed the National Professional Qualification for School Leadership or NPQSL. Despite all the hectic comings and goings of this year, Miss Travers has ploughed ahead with her self study to gain this significant qualification. 

To enable Miss Travers to demonstrate her leadership abilities and give her valuable school leadership experience, she will be sharing the leadership of Holy Cross CE Primary School with Mrs Dart over the next few years. This will start officially from September. 

We wish Miss Travers well in her new role at Holy Cross and congratulate her on her success in gaining the NPQSL.

Mrs Elaine Driscoll started working at Holy Cross CE Primary School in September 1995, 26 years ago. This year she cut down her working hours to one day a week and now she has finally decided to retire fully. 

Mrs Driscoll has played a huge part in life at Holy Cross and she will be best remembered for championing sport and PE, accompanying teams to local competitions after school and even at weekends.

Mrs Driscoll will be sadly missed. We would like to thank her for all she has done for the school and its pupils over the years. We wish her well and we hope she has a great retirement, enjoying all her free time.

Willow Class have worked hard this term to put on the most amazing production, 'Wow - What a Year!'. The musical tells the story of the year (and a half) that we have had. What a year it has been...

Home-schooling, empty supermarket shelves, social-distancing, bubbles, tiers, facemasks, not being able to hug our grandparents…these have been extraordinary and challenging times! But through it all, heroes have emerged and with a strength of spirit, hope in our hearts and a sense of humour, we are coming out the other side. So, what better way to commemorate our place in history than with a bloomin’ good sing-song!

Our amazing Year 6 pupils tell this story through flashbacks, songs and dances with their Year 4 and Year 5 peers. 

We are so very proud of how hard they have worked, not only on this production, but throughout the last year.

Well done Willow Class!

In Oak class we have designed and made our own purses and wallets.
The children had lots of fun coming up with their designs and then creating them using fabric and thread. 

Congratulations to those Year 6 pupils who recently took part in the Bikeability course at Holy Cross.

The Bikeability trainers were very impressed, with not only their riding ability, but also their perfect behaviour.  The children said "it was really tiring".

They all passed!  Well done.

The Reading Agency, in partnership with East Sussex libraries, have launched this year’s Summer Reading Challenge – Wild World Heroes.

Wild World Heroes will inspire children to explore ways of helping to save the planet, with a focus on taking action for nature and tackling real-world environmental issues, from plastic pollution and deforestation to wildlife decline and nature loss.

Through taking part in the Challenge, children will be able to join the Wild World Heroes to help solve some of these threats, learning about the importance of the environment while helping to restore nature levels in the neighbourhood of ‘Wilderville’.

The challenge is for your child to read 6 age appropriate books during the summer holidays.

The challenge starts on Saturday 17th July and finishes on Saturday 11th December.

The challenge is for pupils from Reception to Year 6.

We hope that all pupils will participate in the challenge this year, whatever their ability.

Once your child has completed the Summer Reading Challenge, they will be presented with a special certificate in September at school.

To sign up, your child will need a library card. For more information, please visit this website.

The last couple of academic years have been incredibly challenging. With the number of school closures and disrupted education, many pupils have missed out on developing the skills needed to become successful learners. With the summer break approaching CLASS ( Communication, Language, and Autism Support Service)  have put together a booklet of fun, everyday activities that parents and carers can do with their children to help make up for the lost learning.

It is aimed at Key Stage 1 pupils, but we feel it could benefit a range of pupils across the key stages.

Have a wonderful summer and remember to look after you.

August Music Schools

RBMS popular Summer Music Schools are coming soon!

Ages 7 - 14

No experience required

Buxted Primary School - 16th-19th and 23rd-26th August

Flexible booking options * Places are £40 per day (sibling discounts available)

Learn songs in band settings and a fantastic performance at the end of the four days.

Please visit https://rbmsmusic.com/holidaymusicschool/ for more information.

Term 1 starts on Thursday 2nd September for all the children, except for our new reception children who will be starting at Holy Cross on Monday 6th September or Tuesday 7th September.

The below INSET days have been agreed:

Wednesday 1st September 2021

Monday 27th September 2021

Friday 14th January 2022

Tuesday 3rd May 2022

Friday 1st July 2022

Thank you for All Days

Thank you for schooldays.

Thank you for holidays.

Thank you for all days.

Thank you, God, always.

Moving On

A time to remember the good days

A time to remember the bad days.

A time to cling on.

A time to move forward.

A time to say goodbye and thank you.

Goodbye, Dear Old School

Goodbye, dear old school,

Hello, bright new start.

May God guide our lives,

Head and hand and heart.