Filter Content
Dear parents and carers,We are close to half way through the last term of 2019. I can't believe where this year has gone. Some of our achievements have included:
* Great community events at the Hub in partnership with the Community Migrant Resource Centre
* Outstanding school concert featuring talented students and creative staff
* An industrious P & C that has raised significant funds to support your children's education
* Wonderful teaching and learning in every classroom
* Teachers helping other teachers to do their best work
* Teachers and SLSOs engaging in professional learning to ensure every student is known, valued and cared for
* A school administrative support team who come in smiling every day and weather every difficulty facing the school, its staff and parents
* A cleaning and school maintenance team who love this school and work hard to present it at its very best every day for our students
* A willing group of drivers and travel support officers who do their best to bring your children to school safely each day
If you completed the Tell Them From Me survey, thank you. We take your feedback seriously and use it to inform our planning for 2020 and beyond.
Finally, I would like to thank the school community for your support during this difficult time following the death of one of our teachers, Anne Ryan. Your kind thoughts, prayers, flowers and generosity in allowing many of our staff to attend her service was greatly appreciated. As we move on together from this tragedy, can I remind you all of the services available to support you, your family or friends, if you or they need some extra support.
Beyond Blue 1300 22 46 36 (offers support to individuals to recover from depression)
Your own General Practitioner (GP)
Psychologist or counsellor (your GP can refer you)
Lifeline 13 11 14 (providing all Australians experiencing a personal crisis with access to 24 hour crisis support and suicide prevention services)
Suicide call back service 1300 659 467 (free counselling for suicide prevention & mental health via telephone, online & video for anyone affected by suicidal thoughts, 24/7)
STARRTS 9646 6800 (provides culturally relevant psychological treatment and support)
We are gearing up for the end of the year. Currently we are:
* enrolling new students for 2020 and getting to know our new families
* writing semester 2 reports about your child's achievements
* planning classes for 2020
* evaluating our progress with our school plan and determining our next steps
* recruiting some staff for 2020
* preparing for graduation for our year 12 school leavers (28 November)
There are still a number of lessons, excursions and events to fit into the next four and a half weeks and we are looking forward to sharing some of them with you. Don't forget the Community Hub is there for you every Thursday.
Until next time,
Anne Flint
Dear parents and carers,
Last Friday the Holroyd School community farewelled a beautiful teacher, colleague and friend. The P&C offers its condolences to Anne Ryan's family, colleagues, students and friends. We will forever remember Anne's smile and kindness.
Congratulations to the passionate and committed mums elected to the Holroyd School P&C at our recent Annual General Meeting on 6 November.
Our new P&C executive for 2020 is as follows:
Chairperson: Liz Brannon
Vice Chairperson: Nicole Suttle, Gina Hamoui
Treasurer: Sharmaine Silva
Secretary: Hamida Kanj
Our sincerest thanks to outgoing committee members Lia Skapetis and Keshrin Chand for their years of service.
Please let the new committee know of any activities that you are interested in as a parent group. Some ideas already noted include yoga, massage, coding, quilling and cake decorating.
A reminder to please join us for the P&C's Caring for Yourself brunch, funded by Carers Australia, at 11am next Wednesday, 20 November. Further information can be found elsewhere in this newsletter. If you haven't already, please RSVP by calling the school office on 9637 1219, or emailing holroydschoolpc@gmail.com
Finally, this is my last post as the Holroyd School P&C Chairperson. Thank you to the staff at Holroyd who supported the P&C's first tentative steps and to Hamida, Lia, Nicole, Kesh and Tony who have worked tirelessly on the committee since its inception.
I feel blessed to belong to such a dynamic and inspiring school community.
Until next time,
Gricel Mendez
President
Twenty years - nine years as a teacher; eleven as an SLSO.
What is your favourite childhood memory?
Living next to the lake on the Central Coast with lots of swimming, fishing and adventuring with my brothers.
What was your favourite subject at school?
Maths.
If you could only keep five possessions, what would they be?
My favourite things are all items of sentimental value given to me by my family.
What is your favourite movie?
Mrs Doubtfire. I like comedies. I also like Disney movies.
What is your favourite hobby?
I like craft activities such as crocheting and sewing.
Describe your perfect day.
Enjoying a BBQ with my family.
How long have you worked at Holroyd School?
16 years.
What is your favourite childhood memory?
Family summer holidays in a caravan at Umina Beach on the Central Coast - enjoying the beach, eating ice-cream and playing board games with my family at night.
What was your favourite subject at school?
Art and music.
If you could only keep five possessions, what would they be?
My house, car, clothes, television and bed.
What is your favourite book?
The Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer.
If you could invite any three guests to a dinner party, who would they be?
Definitely my late Dad and both my Nannas.
What is your favourite song to sing along to?
Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen.
What pets did you have growing up?
Two dogs - Chow Jo and Buffy.
What is your favourite day of the year?
Christmas Day; my family altogether, good food and an afternoon nap.
What fad or trend do you hope comes back?
Disco!
Senior classes S21, S22, S24 and S27 had a wonderful time at Featherdale Wildlife Park in Doonside on Thursday 7 November.
They enjoyed the hands-on experience with the park's many Australian birds, animals and reptiles, including wombats, kangaroos, dingos, emus, cassowaries, koalas, fairy penguins, eagles, snakes, lizards and even a giant crocodile.
It was a lovely spot for a picnic lunch too, with koalas looking down on the students from the trees above.
Students in J5 have had an extremely busy year getting to know their classmates, socialising with friends and learning many new skills. Some of their favourite class activities have included swimming, bike riding and sensory play; having fun on the liberty swing and in the mini gym.
We have also participated in many school events throughout the year, including the Easter Hat Parade, Harmony Day, Dream Cricket, NAIDOC Week, Book Week, the Premier's Reading Challenge, our all-school concert, and various special event assemblies. We all enjoyed taking part in these activities and sharing them with our parents, friends and the school community.
By participating in the Premier's Sporting Challenge we have learnt the importance of physical activity in order to keep our bodies healthy; improved our sporting skills; and interacted with our classmates. We learnt skills in a variety of sports, including soccer, teeball, hurdles, golf and tennis.
Until next time,
Ahmed, Srinjoy, Daniel, Thomas, Emmanuel, Grace, Katherine, Brad and Belinda.
The eight students in S21 have had a busy year participating in various community access programs, including bowling at Wetherill Park and sailing at Dobroyd Aquatic Centre in Sydney's inner west.
Every week we also focus on curriculum-based programs such as:
- Fitness (exercises such as running and walking every morning in the senior quad and bike track to ensure that we are 'in the zone' for learning);
- Cooking (we have enjoyed making a variety of dishes including pizza, spaghetti bolognese, fried rice and smoothies);
- Music (including concert rehearsals and using the interactive whiteboard to dance for fitness)
We have also eagerly participated in many fun school events such as the cricket day, book week activities and various special event assemblies.
Our participation in community access and sports programs, including the Premier's Sporting Challenge, have improved our decision-making skills - our ability to make smart choices, admit mistakes and consider opportunities to improve.
Until next time,
Carlos, Daniel, Kevin, Abdul, Steven, Billal, Andy, Michael, Pankaj and Manuel.
Spending time outdoors and enjoying water fun has been a highlight for the five students in S29 this term.
With the warmer summer months fast approaching, we have really enjoyed our weekly community access trips to nearby Ollie Webb Reserve where we can cool down under the many sprinklers. Sharing hot chips for lunch at the reserve's picnic table has also been a highlight.
Our regular car wash program has provided yet another opportunity to cool off from the increasingly hot weather. Each week we keep active in the sunshine - and get very wet! - by washing a staff member's car for them.
In addition to engaging in classroom activities, we also enjoy our weekly visits to the Holroyd School library with our friends in class S27. We read several books together, look at the pictures, answer questions, act out the main characters, voice the sounds from the book and eagerly observe our teachers and SLSOs bringing the stories to life.
This term also marked a very special occasion for one of our students - Abinom turned 18! We celebrated by inviting Abinom's dad, as well as friends and teachers from other classes, to a party in the hall. Abinom had a fantastic day and was happy to celebrate this important milestone with his closest school friends.
We are excited for the rest of Term 4.
Until next time,
Abinom, Andrew, Regina, Gordon, Sinclair, Nadia, Gerry and Kailey.
Students in S30 have had a wonderful year and participated in a wide range of activities. Highlights have included:
- Swimming lessons at Merrylands Pool with Cheryl and her team of wonderful coaches. We have been able to continue practising the many great survival skills we learnt throughout the year in our own school pool.
- The annual all-school concert. Our class performed Best Day of my Life by American Authors.
- The fun Sailability program. It was great being on the Harbour learning to sail, taking turns on the rubber ducky and enjoying a barbecue lunch afterwards. We all felt safe wearing our life jackets.
- Ten Pin Bowling. We are a very competitive class and like to improve on our scores every week.
- Gardening. It has been great looking after our class garden and harvesting the produce for our cooking program. The strawberries have been especially delicious.
- Music therapy - a definite favourite! We have been learning to listen, take turns and play a wide variety of instruments with our lovely teacher Jann Birks. Some of us even like to sing along!
Our class wishes Sean and Mujahid all the very best as they graduate this year. We will miss them both.
Until next time,
Sean, Mujahid, Elizabeth, Wisa, Lorenz, Jamie, Asmaa, Maria and Jacqui.
