Holbrook Public School

This is the last epistle from a very relieved, Relieving Principal! Mrs Louise Purss-Semple will be taking the reins as new Principal from the beginning of Term 2, and we all welcome her to our outstanding school. We had the pleasure of meeting Mrs Purss-Semple last week. She was very impressed with how friendly and polite all the kids were, our extensive grounds and facilities, and well-equipped school.

This week, we welcome Miss Lavis back from her intrepid polar expedition to the Antarctic. She hasn’t changed a bit, save her jet-lagged appearance! She has many wonderful experiences and photos to share. Chrissy has been plunged back into work immediately and is running the Years 4 and 6 Check-Ins, the NAPLAN practice tests, and dealing with all our new technology.

Miss Judi Mills has done a commendable job filling in for Miss Lavis. These were big shoes to fill, and Miss Mills has survived the time well.

At the end of this term, Miss Alysha Barraclough (aka Miss B) will be leaving to go jaunting all over Europe. We wish her safe travels and hope she enjoys her next big adventure. Lots of postcards (showing my age here!) would be appreciated!

Thank you to Year 2 and Mrs Henderson for presenting our assembly. They showed us how to count to 10 in Maori, and they must be commended for the efficient way they ran proceedings.

Hang in there! We are gearing up for a huge week. Friday will be a mammoth effort – the cross country, the Easter hat parade, the announcement of prize winners for the Easter raffle, the P&C barbecue and afternoon tabloids.

I received an email from Mr Fisher the other day, and he asked to be remembered to the school community. That was even after we had beaten Lavington Public School in the cricket!

Our kids continue to impress on the sporting field. Their sportsmanship is well recognised, and they are fine ambassadors for our school. One such is Sybil Triggs, who was chosen to be part of the AFL Girls team, representing Riverina at State in Coffs Harbour. Mia Boers, Sybil Triggs, Abby Pincott and Alice Hearn won a position on the SRPSSA netball team. Twenty-nine girls tried out, and ten were chosen, four from Holbrook. Cess Leischke, 50m freestyle expert, and Will Glass, 50m breaststroke expert, head off to Sydney as part of the Riverina Swim Team, representing at State. The AFL team went to Albury on Friday, 1 April, and put in a creditable performance coming away with a win and two very close losses. The victorious cricket team played in Corowa today and had a strong win against Corowa Public School - Really outstanding efforts, all around. A special thank you to all the parents who support these amazing athletes.

The fence construction is now complete, and the agapanthus are still intact! The new playground equipment is up, and the P&C is expecting five truckloads of softfall this week.

Our exceptionally energetic P&C has organised a fantastic community event – an outdoor movie night, on our oval for the evening of 29 April. There has been much organisation in preparing for this event, with ‘Sing 2’ being the movie of choice and plenty of food and drink provided by Holbrook Rotary. See the flyer for more information.

Holbrook Public School has been invited to attend the annual ANZAC Day service on 25 April, which will commence at 10:45 a.m. with a march down the main street, followed by an 11:00 a.m. service at the Cenotaph at the Ten Mile Gardens. It would be lovely to see our school represented at this ceremony. Our School Captain, Abby Pincott, will read a short poem and lay a wreath with other leaders. Mrs Purss-Semple is hoping to attend the service, too.

On 28 April, the whole school will be involved in our own ANZAC service, very capably led by our student leaders. The SRC representatives from each class will lay a floral tribute, and a guest speaker will address the assembly. We will also welcome guests from the RSL.

I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their continued support throughout the term. Holbrook Public School kids are amazing, parents are supportive, and all the staff are hardworking, innovative and happy. Their sense of humour has kept me sane! It has certainly made my job a lot easier and less stressful than it could have been with the challenges of COVID.

Again, thank you.

Kate Wedgwood
Acting Principal

Our school will be holding our ANZAC Day service on Thursday, 28 April, at 11:00 a.m. Donations of flowers would be most welcome, as are visitors to our school. If you wish to attend this ceremony, please remember to scan the QR code and sign in at the office.

Dear parents/carers

My name is Amelia White, and I have had the privilege of joining the amazing team at Holbrook Public School. I live in Albury and enjoy the daily drive to Holbrook. We are so blessed to be surrounded by such beautiful countryside. I have two daughters, Ava, six and Charlotte, two and a half. They certainly keep me on my toes! My husband Tim is also a teacher at Lockhart Central School.

At the end of last year, I was permanently appointed as Assistant Principal, Curriculum and Instruction. Literacy and numeracy skills are the keys to success across all curricula in our schools. To ensure all children and young people have a strong foundation in literacy and numeracy, deep content knowledge and confidence in their ability to learn, adapt and be responsible citizens, the department is introducing over 1,300 Assistant Principal, Curriculum and Instruction roles over the next three years. The role is dedicated to lifting literacy and numeracy achievement by driving whole school improvement.

I am so impressed by the outstanding commitment to continuous professional growth by all teachers at Holbrook Public School. They are dedicated and open to learning through reflection on their practice. I have also thoroughly enjoyed meeting the beautiful students at our school and am so grateful for how they have welcomed me. I look forward to learning more about their areas of strength and how I can work alongside them and their teachers to assist them in reaching their full potential.

School improvement is a continuous process, centred on maximising outcomes for all students, and sustaining this improvement over time. I look forward to working alongside students, staff and the community to work towards our vision to continue to nurture a positive, high-expectations culture, where students, staff, parents and carers unite in partnership to enable each child to connect, succeed, thrive and learn.

Lessons from Geese

Fact 1: As each goose flap its wings, it creates an “uplift” for the birds that follow. By flying in a “V” formation, the whole flock adds 71% greater range than if each bird flew alone.

Lesson: People who share a common sense of direction and community can get where they are going quicker and easier because they are travelling on the thrust of one another.

Living and breathing this lesson: I have had the utmost pleasure of working side-by-side with the staff at Holbrook Public School to develop a shared vision for assessment across our school. This common direction is helping us to move towards our goals as outlined within our school plan.

“The most valuable resource that all teachers have is each other. Without collaboration, our growth is limited to our own perspectives.” – Robert John Meehan

Kind regards

Amelia White 

Congratulations to the students on participating in Ride2School Day on Friday, 25 March. It was fantastic to see so many families and students take up this opportunity. A big thank you must go to the many families who assisted on the day, as ‘traffic stoppers’, support crew, and those who rode or drove alongside the group. It was wonderful to see the older students supporting the younger students as they completed the looooong ride to school. It is quite a way when you don’t have long legs!

The students had a great afternoon of fun and games on their bikes and completed various activities. K-2 students rode around a zig zag course on the netball court, tried to pop bubbles on the basketball court and had a ‘rest’ activity of reading stories in the library. The Year 3-6 students completed a relay race, obstacle course and were challenged to throw a bucket into a container while riding their bike. The students completed three rotations throughout the afternoon.

Thank you to the Burey, Millard Fischer and Heijse families, who very generously donated the use of their old bikes - these came in very handy on the day! Thank you also to those students who graciously allowed their peers to borrow their bikes so that they got to join in the fun too.

Well done to all of the students for their enthusiasm, positivity and inclusivity on the day!

Miss Hemphill and Mrs Biar
Ride to School Day Co-ordinators

Thank you to everyone who has donated Easter eggs and various other delectable chocolate goodies to our P&C Easter raffle. If you haven't already sent your raffle tickets and money into the office, please do so before Wednesday, 6 April. You don't want to miss out on this one!

A big thank you to Adrian Ingram who has donated several White Cloud Minnows to our foyer fish tank. These fish are native to China and are thought to be effective in controlling mosquitoes - hence their popularity in Australia.

These youngsters will grow to about 4 cm and can produce around 300 eggs, which hatch after two days.

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