Welcome to Week 5! - Since our last newsletter, we've had a wonderfully 'odd' day for our Funky Friday in Week 3, and now we are almost on the eve of our Book Week parade and Book Fair which is planned for this Friday. The Odd Day provided the opportunity for all students to break free from convention and be whoever they wanted to be. It also created a timely opportunity to discuss difference, creativity and individuality. Our Book Week activities are always an excellent opportunity to reinforce the value of reading. With reduced movement and mingling being encouraged for our area at the moment, what better time to purchase a new book at the Book Fair this Friday. Unfortunately, the community will not be able to join us for Friday's book parade. We will take lots of photos!
Kindness - Last week, all classes came together to discuss kindness via Zoom. Hugh Mackay, the author of 'The Kindness Revolution', defines kindness as 'Anything we do to show someone else that we take them seriously.' This definition became the catalyst for our gathering, with the SRC members from each home class giving their meaning of kindness and how we could show this in our day-to-day interactions with all members of our school community. Their ideas were brilliant and included: being inclusive, showing empathy (putting yourself in someone else's shoes), treating others how you'd like to be treated yourself, showing respect, love and care for others, and being nice. They said that kindness could be shown by: listening and valuing what others say, helping others, looking at people when they are talking, smiling, saying hello and using people's names. Another important mantra, which came out of our talk, was that nobody is more important than anybody else, and we should not treat others as though this is the case. I encourage parents and carers to continue this conversation at home.
Dr Kerry Chant Visit - Last week, Dr Kerry Chant ran a series of meetings via Zoom with principals, P&C executive members and the broader Albury community. Whilst many schools in the Albury LGA will be distributing rapid antigen home testing kits to families for voluntary use this week, Holbrook falls within the Greater Hume Shire Council; therefore, this won't apply to us at this stage. As we are in the Albury Network of schools (Public Education only), we are being asked to follow the same school operation guidelines as Albury, which involves remaining in home class groups (cohorts) wherever possible and reducing mingling. Thank you to Damien Lindsay for attending on behalf of the P&C. Please get in touch with Damien or me if you would like to know more.
New School Playground - Due to the P&C having a lack of fundraising opportunities over the past two years but still wanting to contribute to the new playground, the P&C have reached out to some local businesses and companies to see if they would like the opportunity to contribute as a third party to the planned new playground. The P&C and school are in partnership and are aware that this is a once in a twenty-year opportunity to enhance the playground facilities for the children of Holbrook. If you, or anyone you know, would like to contribute, don't hesitate to contact a member of our P&C executive: Damien Lindsay, Kelly Boers, Stephanie Hartwich, Natasha Harbison, or email the P&C at: holbrookpublicschool@pandcaffiliate.org.au.
Attendance Update - Understandably, there are more absences than usual at this time due to the COVID outbreak in Albury. Please see below each class' cumulative attendance for this year.
1st place (gold medal position) - Year 5/6 - 94.04%
2nd place (silver medal position) - Year 4/5 - 93.68%
3rd place (bronze medal position) - Year 1 - 93.65%
4th place - Kindergarten - 92.74%
5th place - Year 2 - 92.63%
6th place - Year 3/4 - 91.07%
95% and above is where we should all aim individually, as year groups, classes, and as a whole school community. Every day counts; every moment matters.
Attendance Records During Learning from Home Period – A reminder to parents and carers, that from Week 6 to Week 9 in Term 3, if a child:
- was not recorded as being online for a Zoom conference, and
- did not submit any tasks online via email or Google Classroom, and
- did not complete a set task for that day in their physical pack,
they have been marked as absent (unjustified). Attempts have been made to contact each family to who this may apply to discuss attendance and engagement at school. These absences will be evident in the Semester 2 reports.
Tell Them From Me survey - On Thursday, 4 November, Year 4-6 students will complete the Tell Them From Me survey (snapshot 2) as a check-in on their perceptions about school life, engagement and their interactions with teachers. This is a student voice initiative that we value. Individual student results are unidentifiable; however, the collection of cohort data does allow us to change and modify our practice to adjust to the needs of the students in our care.
Nathan Fisher
Principal
