Dear Parents and Carers,

Firstly my apologies for missing the Parent Night earlier this term. It is always a lovely occasion and I was sad not to be able to join in this year. I was on leave and unable to attend. Both Noel and Annie (DPs) and the rest of the staff did a great job putting the evening together and I hope you appreciated the opportunity to visit your child’s classroom and meet the teacher and SLSOs. I am already seeing many of you at school, meeting with the teachers to prepare your child’s learning goals for the year. This is a great opportunity to share your detailed knowledge and partner with us on the educational journey. I encourage each family to meet with their child’s teacher.

Welcome to all our new families. We will work with you and encourage you to become an active member of our school community. Our P&C meets on the first Wednesday of the month at 9.30 at the Community Hub (at school). The P&C are a friendly and supportive bunch and would warmly welcome you to the meetings. The school also hosts a range of parent events at the Hub that are advertised regularly. Keep your eye out for them. These events are informal so don’t be shy. Come and meet some other parents!

We have a number of new students and staff at Holroyd this year and the team is making them feel welcomed and supported. It is always tough starting somewhere new. I know you will help both the students and staff feel welcome in the Holroyd School community.

During the holidays, the school had a number of renovations completed. The ‘original’ Holroyd School buildings, classrooms 19, 20, 21, 22, and 23, had a major refurbishment. We have a new Colourbond roof, new bathrooms, kitchenettes, air-conditioning, floor coverings, paint, blinds and noticeboards. The rooms look and feel wonderful and are the beautifully transformed learning spaces our children deserve!

The building works behind classrooms 11, 12, 13 and 14 are nearing completion and these classrooms will now have a wonderful covered outdoor learning space, perfect for messy activities, water play or just a place to chill out. During the next school holidays, the courtyard outside room 19 will be enhanced with better access from the classroom and a fully insulated roof, making it a far more useable all-weather playground and learning area.

Special schools across NSW have received a boost to our funding for staffing in 2020. At Holroyd, we have decided to provide an additional full-time or part-time SLSO to each class, bringing the class staff team to 2.5 or 3 adults. This boost to classroom staffing levels will allow for more direct teaching time and better learning outcomes for your children. Increased levels of teacher and SLSO professional learning and support will also feature in our school plan this year. This is a wonderful betterment to our school.

Finally, I ask that you please keep sick children at home. We do not have the resources to mind sick children and we do not want germs to spread to other children or staff.

I know the COVID 19 (Corona virus) is concerning many of you. The Department of Education is providing very regular updates to school principals and I will keep you informed of any pertinent updates. Please watch our school’s communication channels for updates.

Until next time

Anne Flint

Dear parents and carers,

Welcome back to all students, staff, parents and carers. I hope everyone had a relaxing and enjoyable break.

The P&C Committee extends a warm welcome to all new families experiencing Holroyd School for the first time. We really hope your time with us is rewarding and enjoyable.

The Holroyd School P&C had an extremely successful 2019 and we are hoping to achieve bigger and better things for our school community this year.

We meet at 9.30am on the first Wednesday of the month at the Holroyd School Community Hub. All parents and carers are welcome to attend. These meetings are an invaluable opportunity to discover what is happening at school plus connect with fellow parents.

In the meantime, please feel free to contact me on 0405 572 427 if you have any ideas for parent activities, fundraising drives, ways to utilise our Community Hub and, importantly, thoughts on how we can support the school and each other.

We look forward to seeing you at our next meeting on Wednesday 4 March.

Until next time,

Liz Brannon

President

How long have you worked at Holroyd School?

I started at Holroyd in July 2019.

What is your favourite childhood memory?

Going to the delicious gourmet ice cream restaurants with my family when we lived in France.

What was your favourite subject at school?

History.

If you could only keep five possessions, what would they be?

My phone (it has everything on it!); my Magimix food processor; my collection of Japanese, French and German chefs knives; and my Kindle e-reader.

What is your favourite book?

The Seventh Scroll by Wilbur Smith but, generally, most Wilbur Smith novels.

If you could invite any three guests to a dinner party, who would they be?

Former US President Barack Obama; motor racing driver Peter Brock; and English broadcaster Sir David Attenborough.

What is your favourite song to sing along to?

Valerie by Amy Winehouse.

What pets did you have growing up?

We had dogs, tropical and gold fish, small birds (quails, budgies and finches).

What is your favourite day of the year?

Fridays!

What fad or trend do you hope comes back?

The wearing of stylish, old-style hats such as Fedoras, Trilbys, Panamas, etc

How long have you worked at Holroyd School?

I started at Holroyd this year as a permanent teacher. I was previously at The Hills School at Northmead.

What is your favourite childhood memory?

My favourite memory is when I was 16 years old walking Tasmania's Overland Track with my family. We were in the National Park for eight days with a backpack, food, clothes and sleeping bag. The track is 65km long.

What was your favourite subject at school?

My favourite subjects were P.E. and sport, then mathematics.

If you could only keep five possessions, what would they be?

My car, house, surfboard, bed and computer.

What is your favourite book?

Goldfinder by Keith Jessop and Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith.

If you could invite any three guests to a dinner party, who would they be?

American professional surfer Kelly Slater; Australian Christian evangelist, motivational speaker and founder of international non-profit organisation Life Without Limbs, Nick Vujicic; and singer-songwriter Jimmy Barnes.

What is your favourite song to sing along to?

How to Make Gravy by Paul Kelly.

What pets did you have growing up?

We had an empty block of land next door where we had two sheep as pets.

What is your favourite day of the year?

A beach day with nice weather and waves.

What fad or trend do you hope comes back?

Thongs being acceptable formal dress code.

We officially welcomed our 2020 student leaders and representatives at recent induction ceremonies.

Congratulations to the following students who have been elected to leadership positions by students and staff. We know you will all represent your peers proudly.

Junior student leaders: Tabark and Adam J.

Junior student representatives: Aylin and William.

Senior student leaders: Besmellah, Anthony, Abdul and Ramy.

It has been a fun few weeks welcoming our youngest learners.

They have been busy settling into their new environment, establishing routines and making friends.

We wish them good luck as they embark on their learning journey here at Holroyd.

Community programs provide our students with access to recreation and social opportunities; promote physical activity; improve confidence and independence; and allow for the development of skills and competencies.

Our staff have captured some great photos of our students this term shopping at Coles in Merrylands, sailing at Dobroyd Aquatic Centre and bowling at Wetherill Park.

This term J1 has been exploring the world of virtual and augmented reality. The activity they have enjoyed the most has been taking photos using a 360 degree camera. These photos will be used to create a virtual tour of Holroyd School.

In our geography unit of work we have been looking at the phenomena of bushfires, floods and drought and various landscapes such as tropical rainforests and the Great Barrier Reef which we are recreating in our classroom.

Friday swimming is our favourite time of the week. All of J1 enjoy this session as it is a great way to end our week.

We love to smile and are working hard on being the happiest classroom at Holroyd School.

Until next time,

Mina, Mary, Ibrahim, Amir, Eymen, Karam, Elizabeth, Debbie and Michelle.

Students in S14 have started the new school year by exploring their school environment during our weekly walk program. Every Thursday morning we visit different areas of the school and enjoy time on the liberty swing and merry-go-round.

On Fridays the students participate in their favourite activity - hydrotherapy sessions in the school's heated, indoor pool. It is wonderful to see their senses and bodies exeriencing the freedom of warm, relaxing water.

Students also participate in weekly story-time sessions in the school library; as well as a sensory-based cooking program where they have the opportunity to experience the smell and texture of different ingredients.

We are looking forward to a wonderful year of learning experiences.

Until next time,

Ellis, Amira, Awel, Tyler, Adam, Sara, Marcia, Sue and Frances.

Students in S26 have been busy engaging in many learning experiences both inside and outside the classroom. The students have particularly enjoyed the many programs on offer including physical fitness, swimming, art, cooking, table work and music therapy.

Class staff - Peter, Carol, Mandeep and Marcella - have enjoyed getting to know the unique personalities of the students who make up S26; supporting and interacting with them as they learn.

This term, one of the highlights for Asmaa, Jamie, Janet, Lorenz and Wisa has been cooking; inquiry-based learning that sees S26 students taking turns, following instructions, preparing food and enjoying the taste experience. Preparing French Toast has been very popular. We are looking forward to introducing and exploring other foods for the class to prepare and taste over coming weeks.

Thank you to Thelma and management at Woolworths in Merrylands for the generous donation of new toys and fresh food activity packs.

Two of our junior classes are looking forward to a 'healthy eating' discovery tour of the store next month.

Effective 1 March 2020 the Australian Government has issued a travel ban on foreigners coming to Australia from Iran. Only Australian citizens and permanent residents coming from Iran will be allowed entry to Australia, and from 1 March they are required to self-isolate for a period of 14 days after departing Iran consistent with the restrictions for those entering from China. Additionally, Australians have been advised not to travel to Iran.

Current advice from the NSW Government for parents and affected staff is:

• Any student or staff member who has been in, or transited through, mainland China (not just Hubei province) or Iran is excluded from work, school or child care services for 14 days from the date they left mainland China or Iran (as the COVID-19 incubation period can be as long as two weeks).
• Any confirmed case of COVID-19 will be excluded until they are medically cleared to return.
• Close contact of a confirmed case of COVID-19 will be excluded for 14 days since last contact with the confirmed case.The NSW Ministry of Health has processes in place to identify any close contacts of cases confirmed in Australia. It would advise these close contacts about not attending work, school or early childhood and childcare services.Consistent with current guidelines, children, students and staff who are unwell with respiratory illness should remain at home until symptoms resolve. In accordance with our current practice if any student becomes unwell we will implement our infection control guidelines and follow the advice provided by the NSW Ministry of Health as appropriate.
• While only a small number of COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in NSW with no known community transmission, the Department of Education continues to work closely with NSW Ministry of Health to monitor international developments.
• Students who returned to Australia from mainland China more than 14 days ago and have shown no symptoms are able to return to school.