Dear parents and carers,

It's shaping up to be an exciting, action-packed term three for our committee.

Mark your diaries:

Our Father's Day stall will be held on Thursday, 1 September. For $5 per gift, your child can purchase something special for their dad, grandfather, uncle or other loved ones.

The all-school concert will return this year on Thursday, 8 September. Students are excitedly preparing to showcase their talents and learning achievements to their parents, families and friends.

Tickets in our annual P&C Raffle will be available for purchase at the concert too.  Tickets are $2 each or three for $5. We have some wonderful prizes on offer, including:

- Family photo session with ten digital prints, valued at $450, donated by Jasmin Issa.

- Westfield gift voucher, valued at $250, donated by Nora and family.

- Two Bunnings vouchers, valued at $100 each, donated by Nora and family.

- Fruit basket, donated by Woolworths.

We are organising a sausage sizzle lunch on Thursday, 20 October, to coincide with our raffle draw. If anyone would like to volunteer for BBQ duty on the day, please contact me via email at liz.brannon@yahoo.com.au

It's also R U OK? Day on Thursday, 8 September, so please take the opportunity to check-in with loved ones, family and friends. Even if it's just a message or quick call, it can make the world of difference to someone's day. For more information, visit www.ruok.org.au

And, don't forget, there are now free yoga classes running in the Community Hub from 9.30am-10.30am every Thursday during school terms. The classes are ladies only, suitable for beginners and offer free child-minding. Why not pop in and give it a try?

Our next P&C meeting is at 9.30am, Wednesday 7 September in the Community Hub. Please join us.

Stay safe and healthy,

Liz Brannon

President

How long have you worked at Holroyd School?

Two years and nine months.

What is your all-time favourite TV show?

Masterchef and Junior Masterchef on Network Ten.

If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would buy?

A campervan to travel around Australia with my parents.

If you could witness any historical event, what would you want to see?

The construction of Stonehenge in England.

If you could meet anyone from history, who would it be?

Princess Diana, Mother Teresa and Florence Nightingale.

If you won a dream holiday to anywhere in the world, where would you go?

A cruise trip to Antarctica.

If you had to eat one meal every day for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Sushi.

What is the last movie you saw?

Jurassic Park Dominion.

Do you keep your tomato sauce in the fridge or the pantry?

Once opened, in the fridge.

What is your favourite song to sing along to?

Top of the World by The Carpenters.

How long have you worked at Holroyd School?

Three and a half years.

What is your all-time favourite TV show?

Married at First Sight.

If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would buy?

A house.

If you could witness any historical event, what would you want to see?

Dinosaurs walking the earth.

If you could meet anyone from history, who would it be?

Princess Diana.

If you won a dream holiday to anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Greece.

If you had to eat one meal every day for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Chicken schnitzel - it's the best!

What is the last movie you saw?

Tammy.

Do you keep your tomato sauce in the fridge or the pantry?

Definitely in the pantry.

What is your favourite song to sing along to?

My Heart Goes by Becky Hill.

It was with much anticipation that our new all-weather, all-accessible outdoor playground was finally open to students earlier this term.

Protected by an all-weather shade structure, the interactive playground features an accessible ramp, double slide, three climbing walls, a rubble Crocodile (Stevo) and turtle (Wilson); as well as the existing liberty swing and carousel.

There is also a range of sensory fun for our students to explore - popular chill spinners, talking tubes, interactive wall panels, musical instruments such as bells, bongos and a giant xylophone, and a water play area that will be perfect in summer.

This new outdoor space has certainly been a hit with all students, from kindergarten to year 12, with one student dubbing it just like a 'big toy shop'. 

Thank you to charity Trails Inc for funding these major works.

This term's weekly music program, delivered by the Rhythm Village, has provided our junior students with new opportunities to learn in an engaging, creative way.

Made possible by a grant from the Morris Children's Fund, this all-accessible sensory program is a powerful learning tool calling on students' sense of sight, touch and hearing. 

The program will be rolled-out to our senior classes next term.

The Morris Children's Fund is a small charity. Its purpose is to enhance the quality of the lives of children, with severe physical and multiple disabilities, with dignity and inclusiveness.

Our youngest learners certainly made a splash this term during our two-week water safety swim program.

Students have gained valuable confidence in the water and practised important, life-saving skills such as kicking, floating and paddling.

We are very proud of our students' eager participation and wonderful progress in this fabulous program.

The overall management of a child's health care needs rests with the parents or legal guardians. It is important to note that no medication will be given without written parental permission.

When, in the opinion of your child's doctor, your child must take prescribed medication during school hours, the following procedures must be followed:

- Medication must be sent to school in the original packaging received from the pharmacist. The packaging must detail the prescribed dosage, time to be administered, as well as instructions on how to administer it.

- All medications must be handed from one adult to another adult. Medications are not to be sent in school bags.

In J1, we are having lots of fun together! We love reading books, listening to music, and learning new skills. Whilst some of us are practising vision skills, others are learning eye gaze communication or bettering our movement skills.

We all enjoy getting out of our wheelchairs throughout the day and spending time on the floor or in other positioning chairs to work on our learning goals, play or relax. Sometimes we spend time in the back room surrounded by stimulating sensory experiences.

We have enjoyed returning to the hall this year for assemblies. We also love the fact that for some activities our parents can come and watch us! We are very proud of one of our class members, Tarek, who, this year, is a school leader.

J1 Teachers - Elizabeth, Lyndal and Trish

J1 Students - Tarek, Fatima, Ritta, Nooreddine and Caspiane.

To develop gross motor skills and increase physical activity, teachers incorporate sports, playground equipment, play and games into J8's weekly classroom routine.

Whilst Mohummed loves visiting the newly built middle school playground to climb the rock wall and net frame; Iman enjoys trying new activities and challenging herself in different sports. Classmate Fatema looks forward to our visits to the hall, where we set up the mini-gym equipment and create obstacle courses; whilst Devnaren is steadily improving his skills during our outdoor sports program.

J8 students also enjoy experimenting and exploring new textures through sensory play. This term we have had fun with shaving foam, water beads, rice, pasta, kinetic sand and playdough. Iman liked creating artwork from yoghurt; whilst Fatema was enthralled by water beads bouncing in a tray and trickling down her hands.

What activity has the class enjoyed this year?

The students in S18 love Morning Circle. They especially love singing. Every morning they sing along to the good morning, days of the week and months of the year songs, as well as weather and phonics songs. During morning circle, students order the days of the week and answer questions such as 'Yesterday was ...', 'Today is ..." and 'Tomorrow is ...'. They also complete activities such as tracing and writing their names and addresses and expressing how they feel.

What curriculum-based learning activity is the class studying this semester?

The class is engaging in a grocery shopping activity that provides students with hands-on opportunities to practise counting money. Some students are working on sorting coins to their correct value. Others are working on counting the correct number of coins and notes to purchase different food items.

What are the highlights of your class' weekly timetable?

Students have been enjoying their cooking and scrapbooking sessions. They make a variety of foods using various techniques, cooking utensils and appliances during weekly cooking sessions. With each recipe, students cut photos and match them to the corresponding step in the visual sequence, before glueing them into their scrapbooks.

How does the class spend time outdoors each week?

Students enjoy spending time in the bike track playing on the outdoor equipment or simply walking laps. Every week, students learn new movement skills in a variety of sports, such as golf, bocce and cricket, with their friends in S30. 

Is there a particular message you would like to give to your students' parents?

S18 is a beautiful class. I feel truly blessed to have such an amazing group of students in my class! Thank you so much for your kind support this year.

Cooking classes have continued in S23 this term. The highlight so far has been baking our own sourdough bread in week two. It was messy and chaotic, but lots of fun, and very tasty! 

All students in S23 have also enjoyed participating in weekly experiments to nurture and develop their keen interest in science; as well as enhancing their art skills within the 'independence' unit of study. In fact, the classroom looks very colourful with 'book of the week' themed artwork also on display.

We have also been busy rehearsing with our friends in S22 for the upcoming school concert. We cannot wait to showcase our talents to our family and friends. See you there!

School commences at 9.00am and concludes at 3.00pm with playground supervision from 8.40am daily.

It is important that students arrive at school on time and that all therapy and other appointments are scheduled outside of school hours whenever possible.

Why is it important to be on time for school every day?

- when children are punctual, they will be calm and ready to learn.

- when children miss the start of the lesson, they do not know what to do.

- when children arrive late, a teacher must leave the classroom to collect the child from the office, disrupting the entire class who have already started working.

Please note that, for safety reasons, the school gates at the Clarence Street drop-off bay are closed at 9am sharp. Please take into consideration the sometimes lengthy parent queue and the time it takes to safely unload students.

It is a legal requirement that all student absences are explained. We ask that parents or carers call the school office, or write a note in their child's communication book, to explain an absence.