With Mrs Young being away, and a few minor adjustments to teaching roles across the school, I have had the opportunity to get back into the classroom and teach some music, which is something I really enjoy. The Year 4/5 class were broken into groups of three or four and asked to choose a role as either a beat keeper, rhythm detective or melody master. Our first attempt in learning (FAIL) involved a lot of experimentation and was a bit rough, but we blamed the teacher for that. In the second week, all groups had to compose their own original song with a distinctive change at some stage throughout, then perform it to the rest of the class. I was so impressed with their compositions, their teamwork and courage. A couple of afternoon walkers even stopped at the front fence to enjoy the show. Well done, Year 4/5!
Welcome to Week 3, Education Week. In pre-COVID times, a highlight of Education Week has always included inviting parents, grandparents and friends to the school for an open day which involved classroom visits, an assembly, performances and P&C barbecue. The community is such an important part of our school and we really do miss having you in the school. Education Week is a wonderful time to come together and celebrate learning and education. This year, more than any other, is a reminder of the importance of education in our society. The theme for Education Week this year is ‘Learning Together’, and since we can’t have the community in our school, we are celebrating the theme by coordinating a series of opportunities for the students to learn together within the school. This began last Friday with a Peer Support led tabloid sports afternoon involving vertical groupings of children from Kindergarten to Year 6. This week, Peer Support will officially begin on Thursday afternoon, and on Friday, we will be holding a Science Fair from 12:00 p.m. which will also be led by our Peer Support leaders. A series of other virtual experiences will also be available to each class throughout the week.
Special thanks to Mrs Wedgwood, who, supported by Miss Lavis, organised an outstanding two-day peer support leadership incursion last Thursday and Friday for our Year 6 students. This culminated in a terrific tabloid sports afternoon on the Friday which included students in all years.
Please note: Any funds that were originally paid for this year’s peer support camp to the Great Aussie Holiday Park will be refunded by the school. Please contact Tracey in the office, who will let you know how to go about this.
Planning Days
Last week, Kindergarten to Year 2 teachers and Years 3 to 6 teachers had the opportunity to spend a day together planning and organising the term. They completed professional learning on What Works Best and What Works Best in Practice, which are evidence based findings from the Centre for Educational Statistics and Evaluation (CESE). The teachers also collaboratively planned their approach to achieving our school targets. Holbrook Public School has six school targets, which include: increasing the number of students who achieve in the top two bands of NAPLAN for reading and numeracy, increasing the number of students who achieve expected growth in NAPLAN for reading and numeracy (Years 3-5 and 5-7), increasing well-being as indicated through the Tell Them From Me (TTFM) surveys, and reducing the number of students who are attending school less than 90% of the time (those missing more than 20 days per year).
P&C News
The P&C have decided not to hold a meeting as usual in Week 3 this term. The one item I would like to keep on the agenda involves setting up a Playground Improvement Plan sub-committee. As you may be aware, I have canvassed the students regarding the playground improvements they would like to see, and I’m continuing to engage with staff and the community as well. If you would like to be part of this sub-committee, who will report back to the P&C, please email me at holbrook-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au. This is a great opportunity to enhance our school environment and ensure that future generations continue to love where they learn.
Talent Quest
We will be hosting a school talent quest in the final two weeks of this term, with a final to be held for all stages on the last day of Term 3. Put your creative hats on and start practising, either as an individual or small group. Whilst we won’t be able to include everyone in the final, it is not about winning, it is about celebrating the diversity of talent that exists in our school, supporting each other to step outside our comfort zones and having fun. Please remember to be inclusive if you’re starting a group.
Science Fair
This Friday, 7 August, teachers and Peer Support leaders will guide all students through a session of hands-on science experiments and activities, based on our learning about material world and physical world.2021 Kindergarten Orientation
Unfortunately, due to current NSW Department of Education guidelines, we are unable to begin our transition to school program for children starting at Holbrook Public School in 2021 as was previously outlined. Kindergarten orientation is listed as ‘an activity under consideration for Term 3’, and must be kept on hold at this time. This means our engagement with Kindergarten 2021 students will need to be modified until restrictions ease.
Our next scheduled transition activity will be a Kindergarten parent information session, which will now be held via Zoom on Wednesday, 5 August at 3:30 p.m. Creating a Zoom account is free. The extra security requirements of the NSW Department of Education require you to set up a Zoom account to be able to access the meeting. Once you’ve created an account, log in to the link below or use the Meeting ID and Pass-code to access the meeting. If you’re having difficulty setting up an account, please make contact with the school and we’ll happily assist you.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://nsweducation.zoom.us/j/69731959577?pwd=U1o2MEJFekRBNGIyOG1DRm1WZTd2QT09
Meeting ID: 697 3195 9577
Passcode: 469160
All other planned Kindergarten transition activities for Term 3 will remain on hold for now, with further information to be provided as the dates get closer. In the interim, we will work towards organising some Zoom sessions between our school and GHCS-H, and providing some short movies and social stories to begin preparing children for their start at ‘big school’.
Kindergarten 2021 enrolment forms are available to pick up from the office, and we encourage parents to begin completing and returning these as soon as possible to help with planning for 2021. At this stage we have four enrolments, but we are expecting many more.
Billabong High School Transition
All Year 6-7 transition activities scheduled for Term 3, including the Year 6 Taster Day and Parent Information Session on Tuesday, 11 August, have been postponed until Term 4.
Finally, a big welcome to the new families who have joined our school this term. We currently have 153 wonderful students at our school, which is the highest our enrolments have been since 2013.
Nathan Fisher
Principal
