Dear parents and carers,

Haven’t there been some great events at the Hub! NDIS, Family Planning and Centrelink workshops have helped some of our parents to gather important information, sort out some problems, or just learn that they are not alone. Parent workshops are a great way to connect with other Holroyd parents. Anisha from the Community Migrant Resource Centre is at the Hub each Thursday. Why don’t you drop in for a coffee and a chat at the Hub on a Thursday morning! Don’t forget that the P & C meets at the Hub on the 1^st Wednesday of the month at 9.30am.

Over the term, teachers and school learning support officers (SLSOs) have been getting to know your child, learning about their strengths and planning some goals for the year ahead.  Thank you for coming to school to meet with your child’s teacher to share in the planning process. You know your child and our teachers and SLSOs know how to support your child’s learning journey. That’s a great team!

Learning and wellbeing are key components of the planning for your child. It is very important that you keep the school up to date with any changes that may affect your child’s learning or wellbeing. This could include a change of medication, a change in your family’s circumstances such as a parent being overseas or a new family member in your home or just that your child has had a seizure in the morning before school, has not slept well or has missed their medication. A brief note in the communication book or a call to the school office is usually enough.

The teacher or an executive will communicate to you anything of significance that has occurred during the day. Please understand that your child’s teacher does not have time to read or write long, daily notes in the communication book. Please don’t be offended if there is not something written every day; it just means that it has been an ordinary day, where extraordinary learning happens! Our teachers need to have their full attention on the students in their class.

It has always been the intention of NDIS that therapies be conducted outside of school hours. School attendance is compulsory and as teachers, we are obligated to teach the curriculum. Of course, we will do our best to work with you to ensure therapy that supports student’s learning goals is considered. I seek your co-operation in ensuring that, wherever possible, therapy sessions are conducted outside of school hours. Therapy at school is entirely at the discretion of the principal.

To give every student the best day at school, please try to have your child at school between 8.40am and 9am. We do understand that on occasion, therapy or medical appointments need to occur during school hours. If this occurs, please consider the impact on the learning of the rest of the class if students need to be collected from the office or dropped off to the office in the middle of a learning session.  Every class needs both staff in the room for the safety and learning of all students.  Thank you for your consideration.

I look forward to another successful term of learning in term 2. Enjoy the holidays!

Until next time,

Anne Flint

Dear parents and carers,

The P&C has been busy this term planning a number of exciting activities for students and parents. Thank you to the many mums who attended our annual planning meeting in March.

Our first major event is tomorrow's Multicultural Day [Thursday 11 April]. Make sure you join us at 12 noon, bring a traditional dish from your country to share, dress your child in cultural costume and donate a gold coin to help with school resources. Thank you Collette, Joshika and Lis for volunteering to set-up.

Our Mother's Day Stall is also fast approaching. All gifts will be capped at $5. Further information will be announced on Facebook and notes sent home with students in early Term 2. 

The following activities are also planned:

- Yoga classes for parents [Term 2]

- Raffle [Term 3, drawn on 12 September]

- Father's Day Stall [Term 3]

- Fun Run for students and parents [Term 3]

We would love to see more parents at our monthly P&C meetings. The next meeting is at 9.30am, Wednesday 1 May, in the Community Hub. Hope to see you all there!

Until next time,

Gricel Mendez

P&C President

1. How long have you worked at Holroyd School?

12 years.

2. What is your favourite childhood memory?

Going to my grandmother's house for the school holidays.

3. What was your favourite subject at school?

Ancient History.

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

My glasses, passport, rosary beads, a photo of my children and grandchildren, and my favourite book.

5. What is your favourite book?

Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts.

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

My high school sewing teacher; my school friend I haven't seen since 1979; and the Dalai Lama.

7. What is your favourite song to sing along to?

Hammer to Fall by Queen.

8. What pets did you have growing up?

Always dogs; the two I recall the most were Sheba and Rebel.

9. What is your favourite day of the year?

Christmas Day, when all the family are together.

10. What fad or trend do you hope comes back?

Letter writing - when people sit down and take the time to write a letter to a friend.

A highlight this term for many of our students has been the six-week skills clinic with Western Sydney Wanderers coaches James and Angus.

Students have particularly enjoyed jumping over obstacles, scoring goals and demonstrating their new-found sporting skills.

The students in J15 participate in a wide range of outdoor activities throughout the school week. On Thursday mornings we stage our very own Olympics to develop both our fine and gross motor skills. This includes bowling, obstacle course races and striking balls with various sized raquets.

Pranay and new classmate Jon-Jay both enthusiastically participate in all outdoor activities, which also include regular sessions in the mini gym, riding bikes around the bike track, shooting baskets (basketball) and various gross motor activities in the junior playground. 

Classmates Leyla and Maryam love the water and it is wonderful to see their smiling, happy faces during our weekly sessions in the pool.

In the classroom, J15 is learning more about living and non-living things. The students, with the help of their peers in S13, have planted snow peas and beetroot in their endeavour to understand what plants need to grow and stay alive. We have also enagaged in a number of sensory-based art activities which explore the life cycle of living things.

Sensory activities are also a favourite among the students in J15. Jason particularly enjoys engaging with different textures; Leya will at times ask to play with cream; whilst Pranay, Taseen, Leyla and Maryam prefer playing with rice and lentils.

With an impressive menu of French toast, spaghetti bolognaise and mini pizzas, you could easily mistake S28 for the Masterchef kitchen! The regular class cooking lesson is a highlight for students and we look forward to creating more tasty dishes throughout the year.

The kids also make the most of their weekly pool session that includes learning to float along with plenty of enjoyable play time.

Sensory play is another favourite activity as the class interacts with shaving foam and tries to chase down bubbles.

The students also regularly venture outdoors to ensure their class gardens are well watered and maintained.

S28 has settled in well to the new class schedule, which encourages independent eating [recess and lunch] and toileting routines.

What has been the highlight of the year so far for class J16?

Our ability to retain knowledge in using the proloquo2go app on the ipad to request food items during morning tea and lunch. The students enjoy speaking and communicating through this app, and it has encouraged their new classmates to do the same. We will continue to use this app in different areas of classroom learning.

What unit of work is J16 studying this semester?

We are learning about living and non-living things in stage 2 science. This unit of work involves the exploration of a variety of living things - such as humans, animals and plants - to understand what they need to grow. Students also examine the lifecycle of living things via experimentation and their senses. We will also learn more about pollution and deforestation - the relationship between living things and their environment, and how they impact one another.

What are the highlights of J16's weekly timetable?

We absolutely love going to Coles at Merrylands every Tuesday. We mark off items on the shopping list after we have found them on the shelves. This session also ties-in with our numeracy goals, as we learn more about different forms of currency.

How does J16 spend time outdoors each week?

We enjoy an outdoor sports session every Thursday. Activities include hitting balls with different sized raquets, obstacle course races, running races, kicking goals (soccer) and shooting baskets (basketball).

We also enjoy spending time in the mini-gym jumping on trampolines, climbing on and sliding down various soft gym equipment and completing different obstacle courses.

The class also has fun pushing the outdoor merry-go-round and swinging on the liberty swing.

Wishing all our staff, students and families a safe and happy holiday.

The last day for Term 1 is this Friday, 12 April, 2019.

Term 2 begins on Tuesday 30 April, 2019.