Horsley Herald Term 3 Week 3

Dear parents/carers,

We have had a busy first few weeks back to school with NAIDOC celebrations, 100 days of learning, camp and Education week all happening in this short space of time!

You may have noticed as previously communicated our automatic gates became fully operational as of 25th July.  Gate B will remain the main gate for students for drop off in the mornings and Kiss and Drop in the afternoons. During school hours you will be able to enter through Gate A as opposed to walking around to Horsley Dr entrance. We hope this proves more convenient for families. 

WANDERERS SOCCER CLINIC

We have had the Western Sydney Wanderers working with our mainstream classes, upskilling our students with soccer skills this term in three very professionally run soccer clinics. Our students have enjoyed this experience. Thank you to Mrs Dalla for her organisation of this opportunity. Our support unit classes will engage in a 10 week free program with the Wanderers next term which we are looking forward to.

CAMP

Our students have just returned from their Great Aussie Bush camp experience at Kincumber. Students took part in archery, canoeing, orienteering, swung on the giant swing and bonded through raft building and night time activities. I am sure the students will treasure the memories made through this experience. Thank you to Mrs Borg, Mrs Benyameen and Mrs Olmos who gave up their time to ensure our students had a wonderful camp experience. 

DEBATING

Debating season is underway with our team starting with one win and one loss so far. Mrs Khoo and Mrs Benyameen,  our debating coaches have been proud of our young teams’ efforts. The competition is for stage 3 students and the Horsley team is primarily year 4. This is such an exciting opportunity and shows the level of talent we have for our students to be competitive. This year’s experience will certainly hold them in good stead for the years ahead. 

NAIDOC WEEK

We celebrated NAIDOC Week at HPPS during week 2, taking part in an incursion run by Koomurri and embedding First Nations perspectives throughout the week around this year’s theme ‘For our Elders.’ 

Across every generation, our Elders have played, and continue to play, an important role and hold a prominent place in our communities and families. This year, students were encouraged to discuss their understanding and thoughts about what their ‘elders’ mean to them, and what ‘Aboriginal elders’ mean to them. They considered questions like ‘how do we show respect for our elders?’, ‘what would you like to say to our elders?’, ‘what would you like our elders to know about the future?’, ‘how have our elders impacted us?’ They used this to springboard ideas to complete narratives and an artwork to be considered as the school’s entrant to be part of a book that would include pages from all 20 schools around the Network. I am pleased to announce Tyler was the winner, selected by the First Nations committee, Ms Afzal, Ms Cassell and Mrs Dalla, who did a wonderful job not only judging from the fantastic entries schoolwide but for organising a great week of activities and learning for our students.

And in news just in, our design for our school alternate shirt is almost complete. Thank you to the students, staff and community who voted this design as the winner. More information about availability of the shirt will be communicated over the next few weeks. 

EDUCATION WEEK

Thank you to all the parents who came and spent time in their children’s classrooms this week. It was great to also hear from Mr Borg and Mr Christie, two former students who gave us insights into their learning journey which began at Horsley, how it shaped them and their achievements since leaving Horsley many years ago. I enjoyed hearing about their Horsley experiences, the similarities, the differences and most importantly the success they have had from their public Education experience. A big thank you to Miss Abuhamed and her team for their organisation of this event.

BOOK WEEK

Prepare your children's book character costumes as our book week celebrations are happening week 5. Book fair starts on the 10th August through to the 16th August at HPPS. Books will be on sale before school and after our Book Week character parade Monday 14th August. Parents are welcome to join us from recess for a sausage sizzle courtesy of the P & C followed by the parade from 2:30pm. Children can come dressed on this day as their favourite book character. Mrs Campbell and her team have organised some great activities for our students for this day. More information will come home about book week over the next week.

COLLABORATIVE ART PROJECT

Lastly, a big thank you to the P & C for their fundraising efforts over recent times that have allowed the school to request resources to support our students. We are able to purchase 12 new laptops and literacy resources for our students from funds received. 

Reminders:

• Payment for SISA sports program is due- please contact office if you are yet to pay

What's happening next week?

• Wear Green and Gold in support of the Matildas Monday (7/8)
• Debating team round 3 debate (arrive at school by 8am Tuesday)
• PJ Fundraiser Thursday (gold coin donation)

Enjoy your weekend,

Tracy Sweeney

R/Principal

Student Merit Awards

Student Sport Awards

Student Bronze Awards - Achieving 5 Merit/Sport Awards

CONGRATULATIONS