Holbrook Public School

NAPLAN

NAPLAN for Years 3 and 5 students has been completed for 2022. Thank you to Miss Lavis and Mrs de Steiger for supporting our students in undertaking testing in writing, reading, language conventions, and mathematics. The staff is looking forward to seeing our students’ results, celebrating successes, and targeting areas for improvement in literacy and numeracy.  

Last week, I had a busy few days coaching the Riverina PSSA Boys Touch Football team at the NSW State Carnival in Tuggerah. The team finished 7 out of 14 teams (five wins, five losses and two draws) which is an excellent result against our city counterparts. I enjoyed meeting new students and families from across the Riverina and making professional connections with other coaches/teachers from varying places throughout NSW.  Thank you to Miss Lavis and Mrs Biar for being 'in the chair' while I was away.

Director's Visit

Mrs Jayne Gill (Albury Director Educational Leadership) will visit the school this week to check in with me and visit teachers and students. We will show her a warm welcome from Holbrook Public School, and I am sure she will enjoy her visit.

School Works

With great excitement last week, we officially opened the new playground equipment with a whole school ceremony attended by P&C member Jamie Ingle. We had the opportunity to thank the sponsors of the playground equipment, and we have the new sponsor sign in the school's front office. Also, we would like to thank Mr Fisher and Mr and Mrs Wedgwood for all their organisation and support in constructing the new playground equipment.

Professional Learning

With the support of Mrs Henderson in her new role as Digital Classroom Officer, the staff have been undertaking surveys and creating a digital action plan to guide our professional learning in the area of technology for 2022. I look forward to sharing our Holbrook Public School digital action plan with the broader school community in the future.

Collaborative practice and providing a culture of support and guidance are a focus for Holbrook Public School in our classrooms for students and staff. I have enjoyed participating and observing the dedicated staff involved in professional discussions, training, and classroom observations. Each week, the staff is engaged in observing lessons in the classroom, talking with students about their learning, and providing feedback to students and staff. Thank you to Mrs White (Assistant Principal Curriculum and Instruction) for guiding us through this highly effective process that will benefit our school.

Sport

I was pleased to hear that the K/O Netball team had a hard-fought victory against Finley Public School in the netball last week. Thank you to Mrs Biar for coaching the girls, and we are waiting to hear about our next game and opponent.

Mr Leitch and the K/O Cricket team will compete on Tuesday, 24 May, in a home game for the next round of the K/O cricket competition against Gundagai. I wish the team and Mr Leitch all the best.

Abby Pincott, Sybil Triggs and Alice Hearn attended the Riverina final selection trials in Wagga last week. The competition for the Riverina team was fierce and of a very high standard. Well done to the girls for giving it their all at the trials.

Our whole school Athletics Carnival is held this Friday, 27 May, at the Les O’Brien Athletics track in Albury. The P&C is running a barbecue from 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. on the day. Hopefully, we can enjoy some sunshine, and I am looking forward to seeing our students participate in many different events and seeing which sporting house will come out on top! Thank you to Miss Hemphill, Miss Lavis and Mrs Henderson for organising such a big event.

 Louise Purss-Semple

Principal

Our COVID-smart settings in Term 2 have been developed in consultation with NSW Health and are aligned with the NSW Government's general community settings.

Many of our existing COVID-smart measures continue into Term 2, including:

• rapid antigen testing for symptomatic students and staff
• vaccinations – including booster shots (from 3 months after your child's primary COVID-19 dose) are encouraged for all eligible students and their families.
• ventilation
• good hygiene practices
• enhanced cleaning.

What’s new in Term 2?:

• Change to close contact isolation requirements – The NSW Premier has announced changes to requirements for close contacts, which means that from Week 1 of Term 2, students and staff who are identified as close contacts will be able to attend school with certain risk mitigations in place. 
• Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs) – which the department will continue to supply to students and staff in Term 2 to support symptomatic testing and testing of close contacts returning to school. 
• Masks – particularly a new recommendation from NSW Health for people who have recently recovered from COVID-19 to wear a mas for an additional  three days following their 7-day isolation period (from days 8-10).
• Responding to local COVID-19 conditions – outlining the temporary reintroduction of some additional COVID-smart settings if local conditions require it. 
• Ventilation – how we maximise natural ventilation in classrooms and learning spaces while balancing thermal comfort during the cooler months. 
• Reducing the risk of illness this winter – general advice from NSW Health to protect our school community as we head into winter. 

Thank you again for your ongoing support.

The Holbrook Public School P&C would like to thank the following major sponsors of our playground appeal.

• Southern Australian International Livestock Services (SAILS)
• Former members, players, and committee of the HRLFC
• Inglis Rural Property
• Rotary Club of Holbrook
• Rotary Club of Albury
• Mrs Beth Turner
• Mrs Suzanne Ingle

On Friday, 20 May, the students were excited to see the Highway Patrol police car parked in the carpark.

They were allowed to sit in the front, look at the gadgets in a police car, and chat with Senior Constable Neumann. A couple of students could even put on the siren - once everyone else had their ears blocked! We are hoping to build a positive relationship between the police and students in the future so that all students realise that the police are there to help us all.

The P&C will be holding a barbecue at our school athletics carnival. Available for purchase will be:

• sausage in bread $2
• Juice box $2
• water $2
• lolly bag $1

The barbecue will run from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on the day.

(Sausages are supplied by the Holbrook Butcher, bread is supplied by the Holbrook Bakery, Juice - Popper and lollies - Allen's)

Help your kids stay safe by learning about the benefits and risks of online gaming.

This webinar is designed for parents and carers of young people aged 8 to 13.

It will cover:

• the games young people are using and how they are engaging with them
• the benefits of gaming and how to mitigate the risks
• practical strategies to use at home and where to find help and support if things go wrong.

Term 2 dates (Australian Eastern Daylight Time)

Thursday, 9 June, 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.

Friday, 17 June, 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.

Tuesday, 21 June, 7:30 – 8:30 p.m.

Register now

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