Dear parents and carers,

2020 has been a year like no other and I would like to acknowledge the challenge our school community, especially parents and carers have faced. By far, the largest of these was adapting to new technologies to support home learning. Thank you for your commitment to continue the students' education during this time.

Our P&C has also done an outstanding job in continuing to support the school remotely through Zoom meetings. As an end-of-year celebration, students will be enjoying cheese pizzas for lunch and this will coincide with a water play day on Tuesday 15 December.

I would like to acknowledge all the fabulous work that staff have done to support student learning. All staff have adapted and learnt new ways of delivering programs to support learning at home and at school. The resilience in staff to readily take on these new challenges and succeed has been incredible.

For our students, we know it's been a hard year, and in the face of this I would like to offer congratulations to our 2020 Year 12 graduates - Aziza, Serena, Janet, Ellis, Montather, Yazen, Arthur, Gordon, Kevin Mai, Stanley, Germaine, Anthony, Kevin Lim, Ramy, Abdul, Wisa, Lorenz, Besmellah, Sinclair and Abinom. On Thursday 3 December, a graduation celebration was held to honour these twenty remarkable students who are ready to take on the world. You leave our school with our warmest regards and best wishes. The graduation was a little different to previous years due to our current COVID situation, however, all the emotion and excitement was just as strong as ever.

Once again, we thank you for your understanding in keeping your children at home when they have had cold or flu like symptoms and recognise that this has impacted on your work and other commitments.

I am hoping that 2021 provides opportunities for our school community to come together again to continue to build relationships and celebrate student achievements.

Please have a safe and happy holiday. School resumes for students on Friday 29 January 2021.

Thank you.

Noel Gover

Deputy Principal

Dear parents and carers,

We have had so many disruptions and changes this year, I am sure I am not alone in my wish to bid farewell to 2020.

We were very fortunate to have been able to host our Tear and Tissues morning tea in early February to welcome new parents to Holroyd School. However, Covid-19 then quickly took hold and we had to cancel all of our planned activities, including the Easter Parade, Mother's Day Stall, Father's Day Stall and end-of-year all-school concert.

This has only motivated us to go bigger and better next year! Hopefully we will be able to return on-site some time in 2021 and resume our much-anticipated school and community events.

On behalf of the P&C, I congratulate the Class of 2020 on an outstanding achievement in such a difficult year. We wish all twenty graduates the very best for their future.

Please stay safe this holiday period and continue to look after one another. Wishing everyone a happy and restful summer break.

Until next year,

Liz Brannon

President

How long have you worked at Holroyd School?

Nearly two years.

What is your favourite childhood memory?

Eating fresh fairy floss on a stick at all the park events.

What was your favourite subject at school?

Modern History.

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

Family photos, recipe books and my phone.

What is your favourite book?

Tomorrow When The War Began by John Marsden.

What is your favourite song to sing along to?

Christmas Carols.

What pets did you have growing up?

Two chickens.

What is your favourite day of the year?

New Year's Eve.

How long have you worked at Holroyd School?

Three and a half years.

What is your favourite childhood memory?

Long summers at our beach house on the south coast - spending hours at the beach, riding my red BMX, backyard BBQs and playing badminton over the clothes line.

What was your favourite subject at school?

English.

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

My family photos (they are priceless), pillow (I can't sleep without it), walking shoes (excellent stress relief), phone (to keep in touch with family and friends) and car (for new adventures).

What is your favourite book?

Cloudstreet by Tim Winton.

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

My late dad Trevor (so many questions), my late grandfather Jozef (a quiet, hard-working, humble gentleman) and my late best friend Vicki (because I really miss her).

What is your favourite song to sing along to?

My Happiness by Powderfinger.

What pets did you have growing up?

Dogs (Cleo and Simba), birds, tropical fish and a stray cat or two.

What is your favourite day of the year?

New Year's Day - endless possibilities.

What fad or trend do you hope comes back?

Market gardens/stalls in the suburbs.

Congratulations to our twenty graduating students - Abdul, Abinom, Anthony, Arthur, Aziza, Besmellah, Ellis, Germaine, Gordon, Janet, Kevin L, Kevin M, Lorenz, Montather, Ramy, Serena, Sinclair, Stanley, Wisa and Moeen.

We celebrated their achievements at two award ceremonies in the hall on Thursday 3 December.

It was certainly an emotional day today as our year 12 students and their loved ones celebrated their schooling achievements and farewelled their friends and teachers.

Special congratulations to our eight award recipients:

Judy Reilly Memorial Trails Award : Aziza Dahbach and Montather Zair

Principal's Award : Abdul Kowaider and Gordon Ley

Caltex Best All Rounder Award : Ramy Taiba

Reuben F Scarf Award : Besmellah Hazare

Pursuit of Excellence Award : Anthony Phommasouk

NSW Premier's Sporting Challenge Medal : Serena El-Ali

It was only fitting that our graduation ceremonies fell on International Day of People with Disability – a day aimed to increase public awareness, understanding and acceptance of people with disability and to celebrate their achievements and contributions.

We congratulate our graduates and wish them all the best for the future.

Congratulations to the 21 students who were recently awarded Premier's Reading Challenge medals.

Medals are awarded to students who have demonstrated outstanding commitment to reading by completing the Challenge every year from Year 3 to Year 9.

The medal recipients were:

Eighteen platinum certificates [for completing the challenge for seven consecutive years] and 24 gold awards [four consecutive years] were also awarded.

Thank you parents for your support with on-line reading during home schooling.

Congratulations to Heather Brannon (junior school) and Serena El-Ali (senior school) who were awarded NSW Premier's Sporting Challenge medals this term.

Well done Heather and Serena on your outstanding commitment to fair play and overall contribution to our weekly sports program.

The students in J10 have enjoyed a busy and productive year, with many highlights.

We loved using different kitchen tools and ingredients in our weekly cooking lessons; and exploring with our senses through art and in the garden.

As part of the school's STEM initiative, we joined students in S22 via Zoom and explored coding with the Blue-Bot robot. We also looked forward to seeing our friends in J3 each week for swimming lessons in the school's indoor heated pool.

This semester we have been learning about our identities and keeping our bodies healthy. We created 'healthy plates' that included different food groups; sampled many healthy foods; and washed our hands regularly. We also studied our physical features, cultural backgrounds and ages; and had fun making handprints for our All About Me books.

During the last few weeks we have been working hard preparing our classroom for Santa. We have tried to capture how bright, colourful and festive our workspace is in the photos below.

Many thanks to our wonderful parents for your patience as we navigated the ups-and-downs of 2020. We have loved seeing your child grow and develop in all areas of their learning this year. We wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and a wonderful 2021.

This year J16 comprised eight students with big personalities; each more unique from the next. These personalities have come together to form amazing friendships that have supported and encouraged one another through a fun year of learning and helped each grow as an individual.

This year in J16, while classroom learning has been a priority, we have looked forward to a range of outdoor sessions to get our bodies moving. Students have had an absolute blast participating in Tuesday morning bike rides, Monday afternoon swimming lessons and Thursday morning sports sessions. The improvements made in each student's gross motor skills, from the beginning of the year to now, has been nothing short of astounding.

J16 students have also successfully learnt to exchange money in our class shop program. They have always been excited about 'buying' their food from their teachers each morning (despite the odd complaint that we don't use real money and that the food we sold was, coincidentally, the same as what they had brought to school in their lunch box!)

We have also kept our painting wrists limber this year by bringing enthusiasm to the creation of a range of beautiful artworks that have showcased the students' backgrounds and personalities. Some of these artworks have been inspired by Indigenous, Chinese and Arabic cultures, whilst others have drawn inspiration from beautiful Australian landscapes. Regular painting has provided students with a sensory outlet and also cultivated an improvement in their fine motor skills.

We have also participated with enthusiasm in a number of exciting events throughout the year including Book Week (where, in my opinion, J16 was best dressed!), Education Week and NAIDOC Week.

It has been a pleasure this year to teach a class full of such vibrant personalities and to teach alongside Margaret and Randa, who are such supportive and caring SLSOs.

Best of luck to the staff and students of J16 for 2021.

What unit of work is the class studying this semester?

Our learning focus this term has been Health and Wellbeing. This has seen us involved in morning fitness [walking around the quad or bike track], cooking programs [encouraging students to eat fruit before morning tea] and living skills [such as washing dishes and stacking chairs].

How does the class spend time outdoors each week?

In addition to our morning walks, we rake leaves and recycle rubbish in the sensory gardens. We also spend time in the bus bay learning more about traffic signs [stop,go] and pedestrian crossings with traffic lights [red man, green man].

Do you have a message for your students' parents?

Congratulations to S21's year 12 graduates Kevin, Arthur and Gordon on their excellent achievements. They should be commended for their continued efforts in ensuring Holroyd is a safe, kind and respectful school. I wish our three graduates the very best for their futures outside the gates of Holroyd School.

We've had a great time in S27 this year.

The students in our class are all very enthusiastic and, anything we do with them, they all enjoy to the max!

The activity S27 has enjoyed the most this year is, undoubtedly, sailing. We also enjoyed cooking, art and music. This year we have been enjoying the new Zoom assemblies and I am constantly impressed with how well our class sits and attends and continues to encourage their peers even when they're not sitting right near them.

2020 has been a very eventful year, but it has been good for us to go outdoors in the fresh air. We have teamed up with S28 a fair bit this year and have been doing ball games together on Wednesdays and sport activities in the Bike Track on Fridays. Some of our kids have tried riding a bike or scooter for the first time and are developing confidence.

To the parents and friends of S27, Leonie, Elizabeth, Vicki and Kirily would like to say that we think you have amazing children and we are privileged to have been part of their educational journey at Holroyd this year (Vicki for two years). We want to wish you all the very best for a happy, safe and enjoyable holiday period. We look forward to seeing everybody back next year, ready for a wonderful new year.

All the best,

Amani, Aleksia, Hajar, Hannah, Emilee, Mohmed, Leonie, Elizabeth, Vicki and Kirily

Thank you to our wonderful families and staff for the overwhelming response to our Toys n Tucker Anglicare Christmas Appeal.

Your generosity has made this Christmas a much happier time for families in need.

Enjoy a restful, well-deserved holiday break. 

Important dates:

Looking for some fun activities for the kids these school holidays?

Cumberland Council is running a community school holiday program at various council facilities.

Follow this link https://www.cumberland.nsw.gov.au/whats-on to find out more.