2019-2020 Parish Theme:
Live by the Spirit, Walk by the Spirit
Dress Down Day, You Say?
Are you ready to earn your 1st HCA Dress Down Day on Thursday, September 12 by serving a worthy cause? September is "Hunger Awareness Month" and the St. Mary Manna Project is collecting donations for the Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank.  The FRFB feeds over 20,000 people in need of food assistance each month in our area.  

We invite you to bring in a canned/boxed good(s) or $2 donation to school beginning this Monday - Thursday to help support this cause and earn a dress down day. Place your food items in the bin in the lobby or turn your monetary donation in to the office with "Food Drive" written on the envelope.  *Checks should be made out to the Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank.*
2019-2020 Dress Down Day Guidelines
We hope that dress down days are fun opportunities for students (along with faculty and staff) to take a break from their traditional school uniform. Some dress down days will have a specific theme (sports day, career day, ect.) while others will not. We will communicate to parents prior to dress down days any special themes or guidelines for that day. 

Universal dress down day guidelines:

·        Guidelines on grooming, jewelry, and appearance apply to dress down days just as traditional school days. 
·        Clothing should be neat and fit properly - neither too tight nor too loose.
·        Clothing must not prevent students from participating in the day’s activities (gym class and/or recess).
·        Shirts for both boys and girls must reach past the waist and have a full back and shoulders. 
·        Students may wear either their Holy Cross Academy gym shorts or other shorts that are no shorter than two inches above the knee.
·        Girls’ skirts or dresses may not be more than two inches above the knee.                                                                                                                             
·        Clothing with any inappropriate words or images are not permitted.
·        Jeans, sweat pants, or slacks are acceptable but must be free of rips, tears, or fraying.
·        Students may not wear tights, leggings, jeggings, yoga pants, or other tight fitting pants.
·        Students may not wear flip-flops, sandals, or heels taller than one inch.

Students who come to school or a school function with inappropriate clothing will wait in the office until their parents can bring them appropriate clothing. If a parent cannot bring appropriate clothing their child, the student will be lent a sweat suit from the Lost and Found to wear for the day.

Students who are out of dress code on a dress down day will be prohibited from participating in the next dress down day.  
"We got spirit, yeah, yeah, we got spirit..."
Famillies may purchase spirit wear from our official school spirit wear store at the link below. Orders may be purchased through Friday, September 13th.

Students may wear Holy Cross Academy t-shirts, spirit wear shirts, Presidential Fitness Award t-shirts, and HCA warm up suits for their physical education uniform.

Yearbook Club Meetings Begin Wednesday
Yearbook Club (formerly Photography/Yearbook Club) will hold our 1st meeting after school on Wednesday, September 11th from 3:15-4:15 in the computer lab.  Students interested in taking pictures for our school publications and assisting in yearbook production should plan to attend! 

We are thrilled to have the expertise of professional photographer and HCA mom Mrs. Angela Klaus as our yearbook advisor this year. We look forward to seeing our photography and design enthusiasts next Wednesday!
Strings at Holy Cross Academy
Dear Amazing HCA Parents and Students,

I hope everyone had a great first week of school last week and is ready to jump back into strings this school year! Thank you for your patience with our late start this year; I was out of town all of last week and we had to figure out some important details for this year. There are so many incredible opportunities new for this year, and I hope all of you are excited to get started!

When submitting tuition online, please enter "MOREMUSIC!" for a $50 tuition discount. Thank you for your continued support and dedication to the strings program at HCA!

And a few important dates:
Next Monday, September 9  - I will be visiting each homeroom for a short performance, introduction to strings, and a short Q&A. If you are planning to participate in strings this year at HCA, please bring your instrument to school or request a fitting! The wonderful people from W.M. Mason will be at the school at 10:30 with every size instrument to make this process quick and easy!.

Wednesday, September 11  - This will be our first strings class of the year. We will be meeting as a single large group to welcome new students, divide up into small groups, and play a few review pieces!  

Wednesday, September 18  - This will be our first day of group classes. By this date, at the latest, it is essential everyone has the correct size and fit for their instrument. Barring any calamities, we will stick with these groups through the school year!

Class Plans and Practice Charts
Based on suggestions from the parent survey, I will be providing weekly class plan and practice charts via email to help with home practice. I will try to keep the website current as well, but website work takes a huge amount of time, so may be updated less than every week.

Overwhelmingly, you indicated that video recordings of my playing are most helpful for home practice, so I will be providing as many resources as possible to help make home practice even more successful this year. I want to extend a huge thank you to all the parents who completed this survey!

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at any time!

Best wishes and happy practicing!
Drew Robertson, Violin/Viola
6th Grade Science Squad Continues in 2019-2020

More details to follow in the coming weeks.
Volunteer Opportunity - Recess Duty
We are looking for volunteers from any grades for Recess Duty this year. Come out during recess and get to know our students and fellow parents. When you come in, just sign in at the front desk and we will direct you as to where to go from there!

Recess Times:  K-2= 11:20-11:40   3-5 - 11:40-12:00  (4 spots available)
Middle School Lunch/Recess - 12:37-1:17 (3 spots available)
Opening Year Paperwork Reminder
If you haven't already done so, please turn in your Permission for Emergency Care, Handbook Acknowledgement, Media Release, and Acceptable Use Policy forms. 

Thank you!
Mission Statement

At Holy Cross Academy, we are guided by the spirit of Saint Francis de Sales as we dedicate ourselves to: 

  • Create an atmosphere of prayer and reliance on our heavenly Father;
  • Spread the message of Jesus in our families and our community by treating all persons with respect and showing reverence for the gift of God in each one;
  • Build up the Spirit-filled faith community within Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception Parish;
  • Serve those in need in our local community and in the Missions through an awareness of our global responsibility to all humanity;
  • Develop the whole child: spiritually, emotionally, academically and physically;
  • Promote academic excellence by challenging all our students to recognize their gifts and fulfill their God-given potential.

It's About the Children
Holy Cross Academy
250 Stafford Lakes Parkway  
Fredericksburg, VA 22406
540-286-1600 
St. Mary Preschool
1009 Stafford Avenue
Fredericksburg, VA 22401
540-373-7553