Holbrook Public School

Do you have some free time in your calendar during Term 1 next year? If so, we would really value your time to help with lunch orders on Monday and/or Friday mornings. The process is simple:

1.      Sign in,

2.      The students will put their lunch orders in their class baskets,

3.      Sign out and take the baskets to the Holbrook Bakery,

It only takes around 45 minutes out of your day and your child loves to see you there. Please email Georgie Millard on gmillard75@gmail.com‎ to volunteer or if you have any questions.

COLLECT MEDICATION

Please collect your child's medication on Wednesday, 16 December.

RETURN LIBRARY BOOKS

All library books must be returned to the library by Friday, 11 December 2020.

LOOK THROUGH LOST PROPERTY

Please have a look through the lost property box in the office. Any unclaimed items will be donated to either the Op Shop or our second hand uniform shop.

Year 5/6 have had a very busy and productive semester, and there has been a lot to squeeze in! In their usual style, all the kids have managed to do it with a smile.

Year 5/6 are a very arty bunch! They have produced some really magnificent pieces based on Van Gogh’s sunflowers (an epic project!) and ‘Shapes of Australia’ inspired by the beautiful art of Bronwyn Bancroft.

Geography has seen us study the Asia/Pacific region, and learn about our connections with these countries. An interesting task was creating a Blog about travel adventures in the Komodo Islands.

During Health/PD we have investigated protective strategies that promote health, safety and wellbeing. Transitions, challenges, the influence of the media has also been looked at.

Everyone has enjoyed the different opportunities provided in sport and PE. A highlight was the recent Athletics Carnival, where great skill, perseverance and resilience was on display.

The Melbourne Cup race, where the horses and jockeys (Year 6 and some very willing Year 5s) galloped around the oval, provided fun for the whole school.

What a great bunch of kids! Well done, Year 5/6!

On Wednesday, 18 November, the 2021 Kindergarten students visited Holbrook Public School. We watched a story on the screen, after we sought help from Miss Lavis to get it going (thanks Miss Lavis!). Then we spent the morning in the hall creating grandfather clocks. The Year 5 students helped the children to cut, glue and decorate their grandfather clocks. The children did a fabulous job on these! Thanks to Mrs Henderson for her great drawing of the grandfather clock! Once we made our clocks, we headed outside for a game of 'What's the Time, Mr Wolf?'. This was lots of fun! We ended our visit, of course, with a play on the playground! At our next orientation visit, we are having a Teddy Bears' Picnic and we find out our buddies for next year! It is hard to tell who is more excited, the children or the Year 5 students. A quick reminder to parents and carers - on Thursday, children attending transition are invited to bring along a teddy bear/soft toy, as well as a healthy snack and water bottle.

Miss Hemphill 

On Thursday, 19 November, Kindergarten students went to Holbrook Paddock Eggs to learn about how the Pincott family care for their chickens. We have been learning about living things in science this term. It began before we even hopped off the bus, when we had to step down into a special pink solution to clean our shoes. This was to make sure we didn't bring any germs onto the farm that might hurt the chickens. We learnt that they have a whopping 15,000 chickens in total. We were blown away by that! ​We found out that they have many systems in place to provide food, water, shelter and heating or cooling for the chickens. Maricar Lieschke had to do some off-road driving so we could get up close to the shelters. While we were there, we learnt that they also have Maremma dogs to protect the chickens from foxes at night. We talked about how the needs of the dogs are also met. We had a fantastic time at Holbrook Paddock Eggs and are very grateful to Sam and Prue Pincott for allowing us to come for a visit. And of course, to Maricar Lieschke for driving the bus. We are very lucky to have such generous businesses and families that are willing to give up their time to help with our learning!

Kindergarten students, Miss Hemphill and Mrs Liddell 

A group of Year 3/4 students participated in a Rugby League and League Tag gala Day on Thursday, 19 November at Jelbert Park, Albury.

There were two boys’ teams in the rugby division and two girls’ teams in the league tag division. All four teams had a fantastic day. For some, it was their first time playing and to see the teamwork and comradery on display was exceptional. They were extremely competitive against their rivals.

For Holbrook 1, two of the five games looked to be over early, with the boys giving up two-three goal advantages. However, they showed great resilience, digging deep, managing to produce comebacks that saw them draw in one game and a single try loss in the other. They each should feel extremely proud of their efforts and the way in which they represented their school. 

Holbrook 2 played against Lavington and Albury teams. It was great to see the boys developing their understanding of the rules, confidence to tackle, and skills to be tackled safely. The boys were able to move the ball between one another and score several tries.

Both girls league tag teams had an extremely fun and successful day. They demonstrated excellent sportsmanship and continued to develop their skills throughout the day. It was fantastic to see everyone participating and supporting their fellow team mates. Each team played 5 games throughout the day, and the girls were lucky enough to come away with 5 wins each.

Congratulations to everyone who came and played, you battled the heat and ensured it was a wonderful day for everyone involved.

Mr Fisher, Miss Burton, Mrs Pargeted and Mr Earl

Students in Kinder to Year 6 enjoyed some fun, entertaining sessions from Jeff ‘Joffa’ Taylor on Wednesday, 11 November. Students learnt to draw cartoons using basic shapes. He also talked to them about the importance of listening carefully to others and being positive about ourselves. Students were challenged to think of the positive aspects of themselves and celebrate them each day. The sessions were enjoyed by all students. 

All students in our school, from Kindergarten to Year 6, presented a speech to their class.  Two representatives were then chosen, from each class, to deliver their speeches in the prepared and impromptu categories. What a treat it was! Each speech was individual and entertaining. The particularly difficult impromptu section, proved once again, the wonderful, and growing, skills and determination of our public speakers. A huge congratulations to: Jack Lindsay and Arabella Pincott (Kindergarten), Indie Brown and Westley Henderson (Year 1), Grace Bennetts and Asher Kenney (Year 2), Ollie Cardile and Jasper Hartwich (Year 3), Jessica Frana and Abigail Pincott (Year 4), Jack Lennon and Eli Toll (Year 5) and Annabel Pincott and Annie Triggs (Year 6).

Thank you, to all participants. You did your class mates proud.

Congratulations to all students in Years 3-6 that attended the athletics carnival in Albury on Friday, 13 November. It was a fantastic day with beautiful weather and friendly competition. Our students never cease to amaze me with their participation, enthusiasm and sportsmanship. It was fantastic to see all students competing in as many events as they could, and cheering for their team mates as loud as they could. Many students surprised themselves and others with their can-do attitudes. An extra big thank you to those students who filled in for other teams, ages or genders in the relays so we had enough to run a race. Well done to Miss Ridley, Mrs Pargeter, Miss Burton and Mr Fisher who raced in the Senior Girls relay. It made for some extra entertainment!

Congratulations to Mackellar for winning the carnival on 279 points. Second was Lawson on 160 points and third was Paterson on 153 points.

Three records were broken on the day. They were:

•  Junior Boys Long Jump – Ollie Cardile (3.41m) broke David Cumming’s 2004 record (3.37m).
• 11 Year Girls Long Jump – Laycii Freund (3.98m) broke Alyssa Savill’s 2005 record (3.42m).
•  Junior Girls 100m – Alice Hearn (14.97sec) broke Olivia Hearn’s 2012 record (15.53).

A big thank you to the staff for helping to run the carnival, particularly with the additional restrictions we had to abide by. It was definitely worth the effort to run the day and it meant we were able to fit all three major carnivals in at a school level in this crazy year.

The age champions for 2020 are:

Chrissy Lavis
Carnival Coordinator

While Year 3 to 6 students participated in their Athletics Carnival in Albury,  K-2 students enjoyed a variety of athletics events at school. Potato racing, tunnel ball, skittles and pool noodle javelin proved popular.

Intensive swimming is fast approaching! We are extremely fortunate to be able to run this program this year. We will start our two-week swimming program in Week 8 and it will conclude at the end of Week 9. All students in K-2 will be attending and expected to uphold the school expectations whilst visiting the pool. Please make sure you child has everything they require each day (swimmers, towel, rashie shirt, school hat, sunscreen and a drink bottle) to make transitions between school and pool seamless. We look forward to all students improving their swim safety and water awareness throughout these two weeks. 

Chontelle Henderson
Intensive Swimming Coordinator

After consultation with the Year 6 students, it has been decided to hold the Year 6 Graduation Dinner at the Holbrook RS Club on Tuesday, 16 December from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.

The school will be hosting the event, and unfortunately, due to COVID-19 restrictions, only students and teachers are able to attend.

If your child isn't attending GHCS-H on the day of the week that is listed above in the timetable, we would still love to see your child at school during the allocated time, in order to help them prepare for 2021.

If you have any questions regarding Kindergarten transition, please contact the office.

Miss Hemphill and Miss Lavis

Unlike previous years, due to COVID-19 restrictions, we will be holding our presentation of awards ceremonies during school hours. At this stage, parents/carers and members of the community will not be able to attend in person. During these events, we award students who have achieved excellence, consistent improvement, citizenship and sporting achievements. Each year, the local community sponsors the awards. If you would like to make a donation towards the book prizes this year, it would be greatly appreciated, and your name will be listed in our newsletter as recognition of your valuable contribution to our school. Donations of cash or cheques, made out to Holbrook Public School, can be handed in to our office.

It is that time of year again that we are auditioning for next year's Riverina Albury Dance Ensembles. These selective groups are made up of talented dancers from the Albury district and will represent your school at the Riverina Dance Festival, Schools Spectacular and many other events. If you are interested in auditioning for the ensemble please see Mrs Henderson for paperwork. Auditions for the 2021 ensembles will be held on Tuesday, 8 December, 2020 at James Fallon High School in the school hall, between 4:00-5:00 p.m. 

Chontelle Henderson

Dance Group Coordinator

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