Principal: Mrs Kris Pagett
Cowra-Carcoar Road, Cowra NSW 2794 6342 2172 M: 0458 42200 @ holmwood-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au www.holmwood-p.schools.nsw.edu.au Term 1 Week 2 – Week Ending 2nd of February 2018
Welcome back! Welcome back to all students, staff and parents to what is sure to be another exciting and very busy school year at Holmwood PS! We trust that everyone had a wonderful holiday and enjoyed spending time with family and friends. We had 53 happy, enthusiastic and excited students return to school this week and 2018 is shaping up to be another fantastic year! We would like to say a very special welcome to our new Kindergarten students – Charlotte, Emily, Tyler, Noah, Barakye, Braidan and Mabel and also to our new students Ebony, Mia, Rachel, Logan and Montana. We are delighted to have our new families join the HPS school community!
Staffing – 2017 This year has commenced with an increase in student numbers which has resulted in the Department allocating our school 3 fulltime teaching positions. We have also decided to utilise a significant portion of our RAM funding to staff a fourth class in order to keep our numbers in each class down and provide for more individualised learning. The class structure for 2018 will be a K Class, a 1/2 Class, a 2/3 Class and a 5/6 Class. Mrs Amylee Knight will have the 5/6 Class this year, Mrs Kris Pagett will teach the 2/3 Class, Ms Michelle Whitty will teach the 1/2 Class and Mrs Coralie Graham will have the Kindergarten class for 3 days per week. We are very excited to welcome Mrs Graham to the HPS team and know that she will bring lots of great ideas and expertise to the K classroom, and be lots of fun! Mrs Graham will also take on the Library/RFF teaching role on Thursdays and will be taking my class
on Fridays while I have my Principal Administration day. Ms Cheri Mayo will continue to work as our School Learning Support Officer (SLSO) and will be working Mondays to Fridays. Ms Natasha Ryan will also join our staff and work as a School Learning Support Officer to assist Cheri. We welcome Natasha to our staff. Mrs Deirdre Kiely returns in her role as our Learning Support teacher and will be at school every Friday. Our Office will be attended every day by Mrs Anthea Hubbard.
School Improvements A huge thanks to our GA Dave Kiss. Dave has spent many hours at school during the school holidays and has been diligently looking after and watering our grounds so that they are beautifully lush and green for when the children returned this week. Over the holidays the teachers have been busy moving furniture and setting up new classrooms. Kinder will be in the front room, 1/2 class will be in the room at the end of the verandah, the 2/3 classroom will be the same as last year and the 5/6 class will be in the BER.
Class Newsletters Mrs Knight, Ms Whitty, Mrs Graham and I have written our own Class Newsletter for this week, which you will find in your Newsletter Folder today. These detail some of the essential information specific to your child’s classroom. Please take the time to read these and if you have any concerns or questions please do not hesitate to phone the school and make an appointment to meet with your child’s class teacher.
Cowra Small Schools’ Swimming Carnival This year’s Cowra Small Schools’ Swimming Carnival will be held on Friday 9th of February (next Friday). Woodstock PS will be running the Carnival this year and it will be held at Cowra Aquatic Centre. It is expected that all children K-6 will attend the Carnival. Please note that parents will be required to transport their children to and from Cowra Pool. We will have the large Holmwood PS shade tent set up for
families to sit under and cheer on our students as they compete. There will be events and activities for children of all swimming abilities, including plenty of games for our non-swimmers. Please find a permission note for the Carnival attached to this week’s newsletter.
School Newsletters Please ensure you check your child’s backpack for the clear plastic Newsletter folders every Thursday – these need to be returned to the school office (preferably by the following Monday) with any permission notes and payments enclosed. Newsletter Folders will go home with the eldest child in each family. If your child is away and misses receiving their weekly newsletter, please check the Holmwood PS Website – all Newsletters are uploaded weekly.
Library Could parents please ensure their child/children have a Library Bag for borrowing. Library day for K, 1/2 and 5/6 will be on Thursdays and for 3/4 will be on Fridays.
Water Bottles & Hats Due to the hot weather in Term 1, we encourage all children to bring in a water bottle to sit on their desk during class. An ice brick is also recommended to put in your child’s lunch boxes particularly during the warmer months. All children need to wear their school hats every day as we will be strictly enforcing our school’s ‘No Hat, No Play’ Policy.
Nut Allergies We kindly ask parents NOT to send any nut products to school, due to the severe anaphylactic shock that some of our students may experience. Your assistance with this is vital for their safety. If you have any questions, please speak to one of the Staff.
Student Emergency Contacts Attached to this Newsletter is a Student Emergency Contact Sheet. Could all parents please complete these details as soon as possible, and return to the Office. It is extremely important that we have current, up-to-date contact details about your child. Thank you.
Media Permission Notes Also attached to the newsletter is a Media Permission Note. Could these be returned to the school as soon as possible. Thank you.
Student Computer and Internet User Agreement Attached to this week’s Newsletter is a Student Computer and Internet User Agreement which must be read, signed and returned to school by both STUDENT and PARENT. Students must sign their Agreements individually which is why you may have several sheets if you have more than one child attending HPS.
Contacting the School If parents need to contact the School during school hours when the office is unattended, please phone and leave a message. Messages will be checked during the day by a Staff member. I will not have a phone in the classroom when I am teaching as this is extremely disruptive to the children’s learning. I also cannot check emails during the school day, so for urgent matters (e.g after school pick-up arrangements), please ensure you leave a voice message on the answering machine. Thank you.
School Website Be sure to check out our school website! http://www.holmwood-p.schools.nsw.edu.au Our weekly Newsletters are uploaded each week and our photo gallery is always great to have a click through!
Going Home Arrangements If your child has a change to their normal going home arrangements, the school needs to be notified. This can be via a note from home or a phone call. Without parent’s consent, Staff cannot allow students to alter their normal arrangements. Your assistance with this is appreciated.
2018 School Leaders I would like to congratulate all our 2018 Leaders and advise families that badges are on order and we hold a Special Assembly when they arrive. I will advise families when a date has been set for this Assembly.
New School Uniform Our new school uniforms are starting to arrive. We have received the grey boys gabardine shorts, the red winter jumpers and also our red bucket
hats. The white girls shirts and the white boys shirts should arrive within the next 2 weeks as there has been a delay with the embroidery of the school logo. Attached to this newsletter please find a new uniform order form and price list. Students may wear the new formal uniform on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. On Wednesday we have PE and on Friday we have sport and the alternate uniform can be worn.
The new uniforms are: Girls: Pleated skirt which can be purchased from Central West Uniforms in the Centre Arcade, Kendal Street. White Peter Pan collared shirt – long sleeve for winter and short for summer which will be available to purchase from the school office. Red LWR Jumper (Knit) which will be available to purchase from the school. White socks. Black shoes. In Winter they can wear grey stockings or leggings. Boys: Grey long pants for winter and shorts for summer. White button up shirt – long sleeves for winter and short for summer. Grey socks. Black shoes. Red LWR knit jumper which will be available to purchase from the school. Student Book Packs This year we have introduced book packs for every student. The book packs include all works required throughout the year as well as pencils, pens, glue, eraser and sharpener. There is a small fee of $30.00 for the purchase of the book packs. Thank you to families that have already paid for these book packs. Payment can be made at the school office for families that have not already done so.
Student Representative Council News Commencing this Monday 5th of February our SRC are offering Toasties on a Mondays at lunch time and Sausage Sandwiches on Wednesdays at lunch time. For the time being the price will remain at $2.00. Attached to this Newsletter please find order forms for Mondays Cheese Toasties and Wednesdays Sausage Sizzle. Please note that these are now being offered at LUNCH TIME.
Canteen Our wonderful P&C are one again offering a Meal Deal each Friday so that the children can continue to enjoy ordering from the Canteen. Notes will be sent home with your child/ren on a Wednesday afternoon notifying parents/caregivers of the Meal Deal and cost. These need to be returned with payment by Friday. This Friday’s Meal Deal is a steak sandwich with a choice of lettuce, tomato, beetroot, caramelised onion, cheese, tomato or BBQ sauce, a bottle of water and a homemade dairy free carrot cupcake all for a small cost of $5.00.
Book Club Issue 1 - 2018 Attached to this Newsletter please find Scholastic Book Club Issue 1 2018. If you wish to purchase please have your order and payment in to the office by Monday 12th February.
Calendar Term 1 Week 2 Mon 5th th
Tue 6 Feb th
Fri 9 Feb
All emergency contact information and other notes due to school please. 9.30am Bus Safety Talks presented by Cowra Bus Service Small Schools Swimming Carnival at Cowra Aquatic Centre
Kind Regards, Kris Pagett Principal
Attachments
Cowra Small Schools’ Swimming Carnival Permission note Mrs Graham’s K Class Newsletter Ms Whitty’s 1/2 Class Newsletter Mrs Pagett’s 3/4 Class Newsletter Mrs Knight’s /5/6 Class Newsletter Student Emergency Contact Details Form Media Consent Form Student Computer and Internet User Agreement notes Parent Computer and Internet User Agreement notes Uniform price and order form Book Club Issue 1 Monday Cheese Toastie order form Wednesday Sausage Sandwich order form
P&C Annual General Meeting The next P&C Meeting is set down for WEDNESDAY 7TH OF FEBRUARY. Please note that this is the Annual General Meeting and all parents and caregivers are encouraged to attend. The meeting is being held at Holmwood School commencing at 3.00pm. Your input is valuable to us and we welcome any new members to join our wonderful P&C.
WHAT A WONDERFUL START TO THE YEAR!!!
Congratulations to our Library Monitors for 2018 Leetisha and Grace
Welcome to our new students and their families
Year 2 working diligently in Maths
Congratulations to our School Captains for 2018 Hayley Cameron and Bison Zounis
Everyone enjoyed their first day of sport for the year
Congratulations to our Sports Captains for 2018 Charlize, Montana and Logan
Year 5/6 enjoying their Maths lesson
Fun in the Playground