Holbrook Public School

We are well and truly underway with Term 2, and it has been a pleasure to see so many smiling faces coming through the school gates each day. I have appreciated having so many students coming up and introducing themselves or offering to help. I have enjoyed visiting classrooms and joining in on literacy and mathematics lessons across the school. Working with the staff on Staff Development Day and seeing the enthusiasm they have to improve teaching and learning for the students highlighted to me that Holbrook Pubic School is the place to be!

A big thank you to Mrs Kate Wedgwood for her support in introducing me to the school. From all accounts, Mrs Wedgwood did a fantastic job in Term 1 with the support of the whole school community. We wish Mrs Wedgwood all the best for her well-earned leave.

New Staff Member

I would like to welcome Mrs Jo McEwan to Holbrook Public School, taking on Miss Alysha Barraclough’s role in Literacy and Numeracy groups across Years 3-6. Mrs McEwan is settling well into her new role and enjoying being part of the Holbrook team.

Other changes: Miss Caitlin Kotzur will work with Year 2 on Thursday while Mrs Chontelle Henderson takes on the new role as DCO (Digital Classroom Officer).

Miss Ruby Austin works with Year 4/5 on Wednesday while Mr Leitch continues with professional learning.

ANZAC Day Ceremony

We had the pleasure of having Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Laverty and Morrie Jeppesen from the Holbrook Sub Branch of the RSL join us for the school’s ANZAC Day Ceremony. Our school leaders did a fantastic job coordinating the ceremony and reminding us about the importance of mateship and perseverance by sharing wartime recounts. Each class was represented and laid a flower wreath to commemorate the day.         

Thank you to all students and staff that attended the Holbrook ANZAC Day march and ceremony. Captain, Abby Pincott read a poem and the school leaders laid a wreath on behalf of our school.

P&C Outdoor Cinema Evening

It was great to have the whole school community together to support the Outdoor Cinema Evening run by the P&C. There were hundreds of parents, students, family members, and friends who came together for the event bringing picnic blankets, chairs, and snacks to enjoy the movie “Sing 2” under the stars. A big thank you to our P&C, who coordinated the event.

Staff Professional Learning

Amelia White, our AP C&I (Assistant Principal Curriculum and Learning), has led our staff to unpack the new K-2 English and mathematics syllabus and form collaborative teams to share teaching practice across the school. Staff have completed the annual CPR and Anaphylaxis training which is compulsory for all staff across the school.

Sport

Mr Leitch and the Cricket team are excited to learn of our next opponent Gundagai in the K/O Cricket competition. Stay tuned for the date and venue of our next match.

Chace Liddell and Jye Livermore attended the Riverina Rugby League trails in Leeton and, from all accounts, represented the school well. Unfortunately, they did not gain selection but enjoyed participating in games throughout the day.

Four girls, Abby Pincott, Sybil Triggs, Alice Hearn and Mia Boers, attended the Eastern Riverina Netball trials in Albury. All the girls displayed excellent sportsmanship in their games, and Abby, Sybil and Alice were selected to participate in the final Riverina trial in Wagga in a few weeks. Good luck, girls.

All students were lucky enough to participate in AFL skills clinics organised by Miss Lavis. Students participated in teamwork games, learned kicking and handball skills, and had lots of fun!

Cross Country

Thanks to Mrs Hemphill for enduring the cold and taking our team to the Zone Cross Country in Lockhart last Friday. Please see more about the results later in the newsletter.

GRIP Leadership

I had the pleasure of attending the GRIP Leadership Day with our school captains and prefects in Albury. I was impressed by our leaders' willingness to step outside their comfort zone and participate in many different challenging activities throughout the day. One message that stuck with me from that day was to create change in our school, we need to be ‘bold and brave’.

School Works

Our new security fencing has been completed around the school and provides an extra layer of safety for all students and staff.

School Playground Equipment has been completed and thanks to the P&C, who have distributed truckloads of softball to complete the project. We are awaiting a final inspection before the grand opening of the playground which our students highly anticipate.

NAPLAN – Years 3 and 5

All students will take place in the NAPLAN test for Reading, Numeracy, and Writing this week. This is an online test that will be held over three days and coordinated by Miss Lavis. Year 3 and 5 students must be in attendance for these tests throughout the week. Please contact Miss Lavis through the school office if you have any questions.

P&C Meeting

The P&C meeting will be held this Wednesday, 11 May, at 7:30 p.m. in the school library; there is also a Zoom link if you would like to participate but cannot attend in person. I am looking forward to meeting everyone at my first P&C meeting.

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.

On Monday, 4 April, our cricketers made the trip to Morris Park, Corowa, to take on Corowa Public School in Round 3 of the NSW PSSA Cricket Knockout competition. Defying the trend of the first two matches, Holbrook lost the toss and was made to bowl first. This did not worry our guys, as they put together a tremendous team performance in the field, restricting Corowa to 61 all out. Liam spun a web, finishing with outstanding figures of 4/2 from three overs. Ned well supported him with two wickets and Ollie and Isaac with one wicket each. On top of this, Fergus produced two excellent runouts, demonstrating great game awareness to run the batter out after catching a no-ball. The second one, retrieving the ball from close to the boundary and catching the batter short, coming back for the second run. Jimmy also took two excellent catches, including a sharp chance in the gully. Holbrook made light work of the run chase, passing 61 within ten overs, finishing on 3/126. Jye reached retirement making 41 and was well supported by Isaac (21), Ollie (17) and Ned (12). We now face Gundagai in the quarter-finals with a date and location TBD, most likely during week 5. Thank you to the parents who made the trip, Rob and Justin for umpiring, and Brooke for scoring. Our punctuality helped set the scene for a wonderful performance.

Mr Leitch

On Friday, 29 April, Alice Hearn, Abigail Pincott, Mia Boers, and Sybil Triggs travelled to Albury to represent the Southern Riverina at the Riverina East netball trials. Mia was selected as an emergency, while Alice, Sybil, and Abigail progressed to the final selection trial in Wagga on 17 May. Good luck, girls!

Mrs Biar

On Tuesday, 3 May, we went to the GRIP leadership Day conference with Mrs Purss-Semple in Albury. GRIP stands for Generosity, Responsibility, Integrity, and People 

We learnt how to take the initiative and step up as leaders. We also learnt to interact with leaders from other schools and be brave and exemplify school values in our school. We all enjoyed participating in all the activities held there on the day, including role play, Loud Noise Boys games, and word challenges. 

Abby, Sybil, Jess and Alice
School Leaders 

Congratulations to the 35 students who competed in the Southern Riverina Cross-Country on Friday, 6 May, in Lockhart. The cool breeze and cold temperatures made for ideal running conditions (so I’m told!).

The students gave it their all on their run, and once they all caught their breath, they were thrilled with their efforts. We had many students placed within the top ten. Special mention must go to Fergus Glass, who narrowly missed out on fourth place (by a matter of millimetres!), and Abby Pincott, who did an excellent job despite a mid-race hiccup, which was no fault of her own, that saw her go from first to third position. They both showed great sportsmanship in these situations!

The first four students across the finish line will participate in the Riverina Cross-Country on Thursday, 16 June, in Gundagai. More information about the carnival will be sent out closer to the date.

A warm thanks to the wonderful parents and carers for transporting their child/children to Lockhart and for braving the cool weather.

Congratulations to the following students who are heading to the Riverina Cross-Country carnival: 

Well done to all students for their efforts, sportsmanship and determination, regardless of their finishing place. These fantastic efforts and attitudes are why Holbrook Public School won both the Handicap and the overall Cross-Country carnival (for the second year in a row!). What a huge achievement!

Miss Hemphill
Super Cross-Country Coach

This term, I will embark on my new role as the Digital Classroom Officer (DCO). This role is part of the government's Rural Gap Scheme, where digital technologies are being upgraded and supported through professional learning and upskilling of staff across the state. As the DCO, I will be supported by the Digital Support Team to be the school's guru on utilising technology to its best within our teaching and learning programs across the school. I will also work closely with Mrs Purss-Semple to ensure our development aligns with the school's Strategic Improvement Plan. I am looking forward to the challenging and exciting year ahead!

Mrs Chontelle Henderson
DCO

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is a point in time assessment of literacy and numeracy skills. Students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 participate in the annual tests in writing, reading, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy. All NSW schools will sit NAPLAN online in 2022.

Our school will be participating in NAPLAN between 10 and 20 May 2022.

Our school will also participate in practice tests before the test dates in preparation for NAPLAN. In May, the practise test is a trial run and critical preparation activity for NAPLAN. It is not an assessment of student ability, and the tests will not be marked. Excessive preparation for NAPLAN is not recommended. Students can use the public demonstration site (https://www.nap.edu.au/online-assessment/public-demonstration-site) to familiarise themselves with the types of questions and tools available in NAPLAN.

If you have any questions about NAPLAN, please contact your child’s teacher.

Our bustling School Chaplain and her enthusiastic team of green thumbs have been busy planting out the veggie gardens with a delicious assortment of winter veggies. We will be harvesting broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, spring onions, broad beans, sugar snap peas, Asian greens, cos lettuce, and baby spinach in a few months. We cannot wait!

Find out how to set up devices and apps to help keep young people safe online.

This webinar will include practical tips, demonstrations and advice - designed for parents and carers of kids aged 4 to 13 years old.

The presentation will cover:

• the benefits and limitations of parental controls
• how to safely set up iOS and Android devices
• how to safely set up popular games and apps, like YouTube and Roblox
• family tech agreements and other parenting strategies to manage online risks
• how eSafety can help you when things go wrong.

Term 2 dates (Australian Eastern Daylight Time)

Tuesday, 10 May, 7:30 – 8:30 p.m.

Thursday, 19 May, 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.

Tuesday, 31 May, 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. 

Register now

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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