Dear parents and carers,

2021 has been such a challenging year. I am very grateful that we have been able to finish the year with students and staff back onsite, embracing in-class teaching and learning.

Earlier this month I proudly participated in my first Holroyd School graduation ceremony. It was an incredible honour to join the celebration of achievements for these 16 wonderful students. I congratulate them all for reaching this significant milestone and wish them every success in their future endeavours.

I would like to thank our parents and carers for their commitment to supporting their children's learning goals through such a disruptive year. The challenges faced have been immense but a necessary measure to ensure the safety of our community. My sincerest gratitude to all of you who contributed to making the most of an extremely challenging school year.

It would be remiss of me not to recognise my staff. Our knowledge of remote learning forged in 2020 enabled our response this year to be swift, flexible and effective. The resilience in our staff to readily take on new challenges and succeed has been remarkable.

A very special thank you to our P&C too who have worked hard all year (albeit, remotely) to support our school. In my experience, an active P&C connects a school community and provides invaluable support that goes well beyond the classroom.

Finally, I wish you all the best for the festive season. I look forward to seeing you after the holidays to kick-off another school year.

Until next time,

Kylee Thorson

Dear parents and carers,

After another disruptive school year, I am hopeful that the conditions for learning in 2022 are greatly improved for our children.

The Holroyd P & C held its Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 8 December via Zoom.

The following ladies were elected to the P & C executive for 2022:

Chairperson : Liz Brannon

Vice Chairperson : Gina Hamoui, Keshrin Chand

Secretary : Nicole Suttle

Treasurer : Hamida Kanj

Our next meeting is on Wednesday 9 February, 2022. All parents and carers are welcome to join in. These meetings are an invaluable opportunity to connect with other parents and discover what is happening at school.

The role of the P&C is to be a 'parent voice' and to support the school for the benefit of all students. It is only together that we can build a strong supportive environment for our children and staff members. 

Hopefully we will be able to return on-site in 2022 and resume our much-anticipated school and community events, including the Tears and Tissues morning tea, Easter Parade, Mother's Day Stall, Father's Day Stall and end-of-year all-school concert.

On behalf of the P & C, we congratulate the Class of 2021 on an outstanding achievement in such a difficult year. We wish all 16 graduates the best for the future.

Please stay safe this holiday period and fingers crossed that 2022 brings good health for all.

Until next time,

Liz Brannon

President

How long have you worked at Holroyd School?

10 years.

What is your favourite childhood memory?

Dancing with my dad everyday after he came home from work. We would put on the gramophone and ballroom dance.

What were your favourite subjects at school?

English and Geography.

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

A book, music, diary and pen.

What is your favourite book?

Many Lives, Many Masters by Brian Weiss and Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum.

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

My parents, sister and friend.

What is your favourite song to sing along to?

Shape of You by Ed Sheeran.

What pets did you have growing up?

A dog.

What is your favourite day of the year?

A day when my entire family is together - Diwali or Christmas.

What fad or trend do you hope comes back?

Leg warmers.

How long have you worked at Holroyd School?

Two years.

What is your favourite childhood memory?

I loved when my parents, sisters and I would decorate our house for the Diwali Festival (Festival of Lights) in India.

What was your favourite subject at school?

Mathematics.

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

My car, Iphone, treadmill, wedding ring and Holy Book.

What is your favourite book?

Nothing specific, but I enjoy reading health magazines.

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

Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison; American actress and filmmaker, Angelina Jolie; and American singer, Katy Perry.

What is your favourite song to sing along to?

You Can Count On Me by Bruno Mars.

What pets did you have growing up?

I had several dogs, mostly Labradors. My favourite was named 'Citra'. We are planning to add a pet (probably a Rottweiler) to our family very soon.

What is your favourite day of the year?

The day of Diwali (Festival of Lights).

What fad or trend do you hope comes back?

Bell bottoms and block heels.

Congratulations to our 16 graduating students - Selena, Jamie, Vincent, Kelly, Hanna, Jenny, Hassan, Jason, Jack, Rose, Montathar, Steven, Billal, Andy, John and Regina.

We celebrated their achievements at an awards ceremony in the hall on Friday 3 December.

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.

Special congratulations to our eight award recipients:

Cumberland Council Pursuit of Excellence Award : Andy Vo

Judy Reilly Memorial Trails Award : Montathar Kazim

Rueben F Scarf Award for commitment : Jamie El-Khoury

NSW Premier's Sporting Challenge Medal : Billal Siddik

Ampol Best All Rounder Award : Jack Lam

PBL Award : John Gorgis

Principal's Awards for Citizenship and Consistent Effort : Hanna Delroba & Jason Phan

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

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

Medals were awarded to students who demonstrated an outstanding commitment to reading by competing the challenge every year from Year 3 to Year 9.

The medal recipients were:

Many students also received platinum certificates (for completing the challenge over seven consecutive years) and gold certificates (for four consecutive years). Well done everyone!

Thank you parents for your support with online reading during the learning from home period.

Congratulations to Mina Do (junior school) and Billal Siddik (senior school) who were awarded NSW Premier's Sporting Challenge medals recently.

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

It was never too hot in the kitchen for J10 this year.

It was wonderful to see the students' cooking skills, confidence and independence in the kitchen grow as they prepared dishes such as garlic bread, chicken and broccoli stirfry, banana pancakes, apple donuts, Cornflake crackles, scrambled eggs and pizza quesadillas.

The proud masterchefs enjoyed mixing ingredients, spreading toppings on toast and, of course, the all-important taste-testing!

J12 has had an action-packed timetable this year, enjoying swimming, desk work, creative arts, cooking and sports.

The Let's Experiment science unit was a highlight, with students engaging in a variety of enlightening experiments. These included melting ice and butter; deflating a balloon and feeling the air escape on their cheeks and hands; and making ice-cream during cooking lessons.

In Term 2, Australia was a focus with students investigating the importance of Aboriginal culture by listening to traditional stories and music; and creating indiginous art through dot techniques. You can't get more Australian than enjoying a vegemite and cheese sandwich - yum!

The students enjoyed spending time outdoors too, fitting in plenty of gardening, sports and play.

One of the best ways for students to learn concepts is to practise new skills in different settings. With fantastic support from home, J12 students made the most of this opportunity during remote learning - developing important life skills in the home setting.

What activities has the class enjoyed this year?

The boys in J16 have enjoyed using the interactive whiteboard, storytime, art and connecting with others on Zoom.

What curriculum-based learning activity has the class concentrated on this semester?

We have been studying the History unit of work Events That Made Australia. We looked at the significance of Anzac Day, and enjoyed painting Australian flags and red poppies.

What class activities do the students particularly enjoy?

They love listening to music, engaging in movement exercises, solving online puzzles and leisure activities. Our favourite songs are Body Boogie and Windmills.

How does the class spend time outdoors each week?

We enjoy time in the middle playground. Abdullah likes the spinner; Danish jumps on the trampoline; Bailey plays soccer; Dylan relaxes in the shade; Lewis excitedly makes faces in the mirror; and Jon-Jay looks on with a flicker in hand.

Do you have a message for your students' parents?

We are very proud of the six boys in J16 who all managed brilliantly after such a long lockdown. They remembered class routines and adjusted well to necessary changes in the class timetable.

What a year 2021 has been for everyone! We started the year getting acquainted with new staff (Kirily and Louise) and students to the class (Shubhan and Simon).

All the students in S21 have enjoyed spending time with their gardening buddies in S27 this year. Every Monday morning the two classes met in the sensory garden to weed, rake leaves, sweep the concrete path, dispose of green waste in the bin, plant seeds and flowers and take turns to water plants.

This year we have also enjoyed learning experiences such as swimming, cooking, senior sport, music and visual arts activities based on our Community Safety unit of work. Our weekly visits to Central Gardens in Merrylands throughout term two were another class highlight. We enjoyed the bus trip there, walking around the animal enclosure and sitting at the picnic table to share morning tea.

Our timetable also included making healthy eating choices, daily walking, listening and watching music videos during leisure choice time and completing art work using different materials and techniques.

Students participated in a number of school events throughout the year too, including the NSW Premier's reading and sporting challenges. We all improved our sitting, waiting and listening skills as we regularly gathered around the interactive white board for school senior assemblies via Zoom.

As the year comes to a close, we look forward to celebrating our students' achievements with staff and friends. In particular, we congratulate Selena and wish her the very best for the future as she graduates from Holroyd School after 13 years. May you continue to do your best wherever you go. 

This week completes another challenging and unique school year.

Enjoy a restful, well-deserved holiday break.

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