Holbrook Public School

On Tuesday, 28 February, I had the opportunity to accompany the students in Years 1-6 on the excursion to Albury to visit the Flying Fruit Fly Circus, MAMA, and Oddie's Creek Park. The excursion was made possible by the P&C, and a grant from Charles Sturt University - Community University Partnership (CUP) Grants making this a free opportunity for our students. Our students and staff had an amazing opportunity to engage in various performing and creative arts programs in Albury. There was positive feedback from students and staff, with the highlight being the Flying Fruit Fly Circus activities – I loved the juggling!

The Parent/Teacher meetings held in the hall on Wednesday, 22 February, were a great success. The hall was ‘abuzz’, and teachers were booked out in most timeslots. I enjoyed listening to and talking to parents about the goals and aspirations for their children. These meetings provided a great opportunity to build partnerships between home and school for the benefit of our students’ learning and well-being. We look forward to more opportunities throughout the year for parents and families to engage with our school.

From Wednesday, 15 March to Monday, 27 March 2023, Year 3 and 5 students will participate in the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN). It is a point-in-time assessment of literacy and numeracy skills that are essential for every child to progress through school and life. Years 3 and 5 students will participate in tests for writing, reading, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy.

NAPLAN tests are just one part of our school learning assessment program, and questions are primarily based on knowledge, understanding and skills gained from the prior year of schooling. If you have any questions, please get in touch with me through the front office.

I wish our swimmers all the best at the upcoming Riverina swimming carnival, also our football and netball players attending Southern Riverina trials. This term, we have many sporting opportunities for our students, and I have enjoyed hearing about the high levels of skill, participation and, best of all, sportsmanship.

I would like to give a ‘shout out’ to Arabella Landale for offering to swim for another school at the Southern Riverina swimming carnival. This enabled them to enter the competition when one of their swimmers was ill and couldn’t swim a leg of the relay. It put a huge smile on my face when I received an email from Henty Public School thanking Arabella for helping them out. These small gestures do not go unnoticed by staff, students and the community.

Good luck to Will Glass and Ollie Cardile, who travel to Ballina to compete for Riverina at the State Cricket Carnival. Not a bad spot to spend the week playing cricket!

Have a great week!

Louise Purss-Semple
Principal

How long have you been at Holbrook Public School?
Since the start of the year 🙂

Role at Holbrook Public School:
Year 3/4 Possums classroom teacher

Favourite food:
This is a hard question for me because I am very much a foodie but if I had to pick one I'd have to say chicken pesto fettuccine.

Favourite colour:
Pink.

Favourite sports team/s:
Carlton and North Albury Football Club.

What you like to do away from school:
When I am not at school, I enjoy eating out and socialising with my friends and family. I also enjoy making candles and taking my dog Barney for walks. 

How long have you been at Holbrook Public School?
2 and a half years.

Role at Holbrook Public School:
Mainly Intervention groups and RFF. Currently I am on class while Mrs. Young is on leave.

Favourite food:
Greek food

Favourite colour:
Blue

Favourite sports team/s:
Sydney Swans although I have almost been converted to Geelong Cats!

What you like to do away from school:
Spend time with Alex and George, brunch dates with friends and bake.

The NSW education system is reforming the curriculum which will be taught in all classrooms from Kindergarten to Year 12. The new curriculum, as a result of the NSW Curriculum Reform, will give students more time to focus on key learning areas so that they can acquire a deeper understanding of central concepts. It will ensure students develop strong foundations for learning, life and work in a complex and fast-changing world. 

This reform has been informed by extensive consultation with teachers, parents and education experts, and is underpinned by extensive research. Curriculum reform involves change that spans many aspects of schooling, including teaching, learning, assessment and reporting to parents. New syllabuses provide schools with a unique opportunity to re-focus and place curriculum at the heart of school planning. Key curriculum changes include: 

• building strong foundations for future learning with new English and mathematics syllabuses for Kindergarten to Year 2 

• an entirely new curriculum from 2022 with new syllabuses focused on what is essential to know and do in early and middle years of schooling, and key learning areas in the senior years 

• providing more time for teaching by reducing the hours teachers spend on extra-curricular topics and issues and compliance requirements 

• strengthening post- school pathways with new learning areas for Years 11 and 12 that clearly link learning to future employment and study options. 

The new curriculum will ensure every student develops strong foundations for learning, life and work. The reforms are vital for the young people in our schools today, and for those who will arrive in the years to come. More information can be found on the NSW Department of Education and NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA)External link websites. 

Teachers in Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2 have been implementing the new curriculum this year. They are doing an outstanding job learning 2 new syllabus documents to plan engaging and high-impact learning opportunities for your children. We are so proud of the way in which our Team embrace change and respond to the research-base, in the pursuit of excellence. Our Year 3-6 Teachers will be exploring aspects of the new syllabus this year to identify and plan for changes required for effective curriculum implementation. 

We are excited to share some of our learning with you at our upcoming Parent Reading Night which will be in Week 9. The day and time are to be confirmed. Please keep an eye out for more details about this evening.  

Many thanks

Amelia White 
Assistant Principal, Curriculum and Instruction  

On Friday, 3 March, Holbrook Public School participated in Clean Up Australia Day – Schools. As always, we were thrilled at the lack of rubbish within our school fence and congratulated the students on their tidy habits! Thank you to the students for cleaning up the school grounds, outside the school fence and at the Submarine Park. 

The Life Ed Program is visiting our school. This empowering program for primary school children promotes students' physical, social and emotional health and well-being. 

Kindergarten - Harold's Friend Ship: Exploring friendships, care for others, feelings, and emotions. Stage 1 (Years 1 and 2) - Safety Rules: Exploring problem-solving, personal safety, seeking help, how to care for others and behaviours that maintain friendships. 

Stage 2 (Years 3 and 4) - bCyberwise: Exploring cyber safety through animation, relevant scenarios, discussions, and problem-solving. Including how to recognise, react and report unwanted contact. Stage 3 (Years 5 and 6) - Relate Respect Connect: Teaches the knowledge, skills, and attitudes children need to develop and maintain safe and respectful relationships on and offline. 

Permission and money need to be returned by Monday, 13 March.

This year, Holbrook Public School will again celebrate World Down Syndrome Day on Tuesday, 21 March. Students are invited to wear their favourite, craziest, silliest socks to school. More information about the day’s celebration will go home via SkoolBag closer to the date.

Down syndrome is the most common genetic condition in the world. Approximately 290 babies are born in Australia each year with Down syndrome. Most people have two of each chromosome. Down syndrome occurs when three of chromosome 21 are developed during pregnancy, hence why it is sometimes referred to as Trisomy 21 or 321. World Down Syndrome Day (WDSD), held on the 21st of March each year, is a global awareness day that the United Nations have officially observed since 2012. The date for WDSD is the 21st day of the 3rd month. This date was selected to signify the uniqueness of the triplication (trisomy) of the 21st chromosome, which causes Down syndrome.

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