Holbrook Public School

Positive Behaviour Reward

Today, our school was a spectacle of colour as our students dressed up in an array of outfits – a reward for their positive behaviour for learning both in and outside the classroom. Seeing the excitement as our students collectively work towards filling the bucket that will unlock the next reward of a Ninja Warrior Obstacle course fun afternoon in our playground is great. This collaborative effort demonstrates the values of teamwork, determination, and the joy of shared achievement by our students.

Whole School Performance

Anticipation is growing, and we look forward to opening the school gates again for families and friends in the upcoming weeks for our Whole School Performance, “Holbrook’s Got Talent”.

Director's Visit

This week, our school is privileged to host Mr Troy Mott, Director of Education, Leadership in Albury. Mr Mott's presence is marked by observations of teacher practices, engaging discussions with staff and students, and collaborative efforts with our executive team on refining our School Improvement Plan. This is a celebration of the tireless hard work of our dedicated staff, and I can’t wait to share the improvements and future directions for our educational journey at Holbrook Public School.

Riverina Athletics Carnival

Congratulations to the students who participated in the Riverina Athletics Carnival last Friday. The sporting prowess of many of our athletes was on full display, and I was pleased to hear of the great sportsmanship and determination of our competitors—best wishes to Ollie C, who is set to compete at the State Carnival next term in Sydney.

Thank you to our P&C

Thank you to our Parent and Citizens Association (P&C) and the parent helpers who graciously catered lunch for the Kidney Kar Rally. The P&C's efforts contribute significantly to raising funds that support our students. I know many more fundraising events are planned over the coming weeks, so please support our P&C, as this will directly impact all the students at our school. Contributions by the P&C have included classroom equipment, quality readers for both Years K-2 and 3-6, support for students in extracurricular activities, playground equipment, whole school excursions, and the upcoming installation of the student ‘water station’ for our playground. Without your support, these outstanding contributions to our school are not possible.

Staffing update

We extend our best wishes to Mrs O’Connell, who will embark on Maternity Leave next week. Miss Austin will work full-time with our 5-6 Quokkas class in Mrs O’Connell’s absence. Thank you, Mrs O’Connell, for your contributions to Holbrook Public School.

Louise Purss-Semple

Principal

On Thursday, 17 August, K-2 students walked to the Holbrook Library to meet the award-winning picture book author Debra Tidball. The author shared her latest picture book, Anchored! 

Through the story, the students learned about the relationship between a tugboat and a cargo ship.  Debra showed the students pictures of Sydney Harbour and explained why she wrote the story. She shared pictures of her planning pages before she produces her final copy. We were also lucky enough to see the illustrator’s plans of the characters Tug and Ship. 

The students enjoyed playing the games, Don’t Sink the Boat and Simon Says. 

Debra then worked with the students on how to write a sound poem and how to draw a tugboat. The poems and drawings will be on display in the front foyer of the office and some very special ones will go down to the town library.

Soon, our school will transition to a new finance program called School Bytes.

What is the School Bytes Portal?

The School Bytes portal provides flexibility for you to conveniently:

• Make school payments online (including paying for multiple siblings at once),
• Use a family credit to pay for an activity or school contributions,
• Download a receipt for payments made,
• View all historical payments in one place,
• Request a refund if required. This can be done where you want, day or night.
  

Through the portal, you can easily download a receipt once a payment has been made and have access to view all historical payments when needed. Online payments are processed in real time and can be viewed by school staff immediately. While we prefer that payments be made via the portal, we will still accept payment via cash, cheque and EFTPOS.

We are excited to announce our school will be transitioning to an upgraded School Bytes finance system on Tuesday, 12 September 2023!

We will send a link to parents and carers to register for the new program very soon. Watch this space!

Do you have some free time on your calendar during Term 4? If so, we would value your time to help with lunch orders on Monday and/or Friday mornings. The process is simple:

1. Sign in at the office,
2. The students will put their lunch orders in their class baskets, located outside the canteen
3. Sign out and take the baskets to the Holbrook Bakery.

It only takes around 45 minutes of your day, and your child loves seeing you there. Please email Danielle Purcell at billanddannii@gmail.com to volunteer or if you have any questions.

Please collect your 10-cent recyclable bottles, cans and fruit boxes and bring them to school for collection in our newly delivered big green drums.  

Please ensure that these items are clean and free of food, liquid or other contaminates. This is a simple, easy way to help raise more funds for our students.  

Can we urge EVERYONE, parents, carers and students, to regularly check our lost property boxes? We always advise you before the end of the term that we will be having a ‘clear-out’, but it’s sad to see hundreds of dollars worth of items left behind that don’t get claimed. It’s always a great surprise that hardly any items have a name on them or in them; such a simple solution for things finding their rightful owner. If you are serious about keeping track of your child’s belongings, please put a name on them or in them. All unnamed and unclaimed items will go to the Op Shop or the second-hand uniform shop.

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