No Images? Click here Dear friend of PLC Since Hazel Day first signed off on the introduction of laptops into the School, PLC has been a leader in integrating technology to improve learning outcomes. For many years, PLC has been one of only 400 schools globally to be recognised as an Apple Distinguished School. Our staff are highly accomplished educators and are well-versed in maximising learning outcomes through effective technology integration. This is evidenced by the outstanding uptake of teaching staff undertaking Apple Teacher Badge requirements when these were released in October last year as a means by which to measure competence. In the five months since the release of Apple Teacher Badges, over 90 percent of PLC teaching staff have completed this requirement – a result many other schools would find enviable. At times, we can get lost between technology use to enhance learning and the risks that technology overuse can pose to our children. Dr Ruben Puentedura argues that through transformative use of technology, learning tasks can be significantly redesigned, along with allowing for the creation of new tasks previously inconceivable without the aid of technology. In 2018, PLC’s growth and development for teaching staff will include a focus on continuing to provide excellent learning opportunities for our staff, thus enabling transformative learning experiences for our girls. We look forward to improving the way we communicate with students and families, with a particular focus on effective feedback, as described by Deputy Principal, Dr Andrew Cousins in Links last week. These are exciting and fast-moving times in education and, as always, PLC is at the cutting edge of best practice. - Dr Kate Hadwen, Principal Tuesday 27 FebruaryParents' Committee Meeting, 6.30 pm - 8.00 pm, Scorgie House Boardroom. Please find the Agenda and previous meeting's minutes on PLC Gallery. Friday 2 MarchMid-Term break Monday 5 MarchMid-Team break Thursday 8 MarchInternational Women's Day Breakfast, 7.30 am - 9.00 am, PLC Senior School Quad, save the date Friday 16 MarchParents@PLC Outdoor Cinema Evening, 7.00 pm, PLC Quad, save the date Friday 30 MarchGood Friday Monday 2 AprilEaster Monday Friday 6 AprilPLC Lighthouse Official Opening, 2.00 pm - 6.00 pm, save the date Friday 25 May to Sunday 27 MayPLC OCA Art Exhibition, save the date Thursday 31 MayParents@PLC Annual Tennis Morning, save the date This past Wednesday was ‘Ash Wednesday’, which begins a six-week season of Lent. It remembers the time that Jesus was tempted in the desert; how Jesus resisted the temptation to find identity in an ideology, a philosophy or even the lure of certainty – having to know and be in control. The new religious fundamentalisms popping up all over the world predicate themselves on absolute certainty. In my own spiritual journey, I have always had many questions and doubts, and I don’t think I am alone. I have never considered doubting to be sinful or ‘against the will of God’ and sometimes my questions have led me to a deeper appreciation of Christian truth. As a person of faith, I believe that God is at work in this world. It gives me a certain confidence to face and live with difficult questions without having to resort to easy answers. We need not be threatened by doubts. What is more threatening to our wellbeing is the suppression of them – the inability to recognise that we cannot always be certain! - Rev Gary van Heerden Parent-Teacher MeetingsParent-Teacher Meetings will be held at the Junior School during Week 5 (26 – 28 February). This is an opportunity to speak one-on-one with your daughter’s class teacher about her transition to her new Year level and initial assessments and work commitments. Specialist teachers will also be available if you wish to have a discussion with them. The meetings are ten minutes in duration and children are not required to attend. We invite parents to arrange an individual meeting time with the class teacher and specialist teachers online. Please use this event code to access the bookings: rxqv8 Please note that online bookings open at 4.00 pm on Thursday 15 February and will close on Friday 23 February at 10.00 am. - Louise Peyton, Head of Junior School Science Bites the Junior SchoolHow fortunate are our girls and boys that you, their parents and guardians, chose an IB Primary Years Programme for them! The PYP transdisciplinary themes provide the framework for a highly defined, focused, in-depth programme of inquiry. As science is relevant to all the transdisciplinary themes, all planned science learning takes place within this framework, which means that all of our girls and boys are exposed to, and involved in, science-related learning throughout the year. Scientists are an interesting breed of people: creative, adventurers, critical, and pragmatic, they are driven by constant curiosity and inspired to find truth. Sounds like the ideal IB student! We are aware of girls in the Junior School who have a strong interest in science and the act of inquiry, so in response we introduced ScienceBites, a co-curricular activity presently being offered to girls in Years 5 and 6. This is serious chemical science which aims to delve deep into a range of advanced science topics through hands-on, fun experiments and discussion. Last week saw 24 girls don lab coats to begin investigating scientific principles with Dr Tab. This was serious science and the girls had a great time whilst being challenged physically and mentally, epitomising Edwin Powell Hubble’s famous quote: ‘Equipped with her five senses, woman explores the universe around her and calls the adventure Science.’ - Michelle Clayton, Gifted and Talented Teacher Uniform Shop Closure and New LocationThe PLC Uniform Shop will be moving to its new home in the PLC Lighthouse very soon! As a result, the last day of trading at the Stirling Highway premises will be Thursday 22 February and the Shop will be closed during Week 5. We will re-open on the ground floor of the brand new PLC Lighthouse building on Tuesday 6 March. Please ensure you visit the Uniform Shop by Thursday 22 February for your requirements, especially if your Junior School daughter needs a house shirt, bathers or bathing cap for the Inter-House Swimming Carnival on Thursday 1 March. If you are unable to attend the shop in person, we recommend that you contact Emma or Marcelle on 9460 6243 or by email at uniformshop@plc.wa.edu.au to make alternative arrangements. Socks and ribbons are available from all receptions as usual during the Uniform Shop's closure. JUNIOR SCHOOL KEY EVENTSTerm 1 Week 4 Parent BulletinDownload the Latest Parent Bulletin Community Conversations - new parentsDate: Thursday 15 February and Friday 16 February (repeated session) Chapel Years 2 - 6Date: Monday 19 February Year 6 Outdoor Education ProgrammeDate: Tuesday 20 February - Friday 23 February Year 3 Parents EventDate: Friday
23 February Parent/Teacher InterviewsDate: Monday 26 February - Wednesday 28 February Junior School Inter-House Swimming Carnival (Years 1 - 6)Date: Thursday 1 March ResilienceResilience is an incredibly talked-about word. Generally, it can be defined as one’s ability to bounce back from setbacks. It’s a"can-do" attitude – an "I know what I want and I am going after it no matter what" attitude. There has been one shining example of resilience this week and I congratulate Sahara Clarke. Recently, she trialed for events for the State Athletics team and, while successful in gaining a place in long jump, missed out by a tiny fraction of a second on her prized event, the 100m. Not one to take the result lying down, Sahara put in additional hours of training, re-trialed and is now in not only the 100m as well as her long jump event, but also is a member of the relay team. I know there are many, many girls in our school who work hard and who strive for their personal best. Having patience, tenacity, determination and self-belief can help us to achieve our goals and to be the best versions of ourselves. Parent-Teacher-Student Interviews Tuesday 6 MarchInformation will be sent very soon to Year 12 parents to make their bookings for Parent-Teacher-Student Interviews, using the online booking system. We are keen to address some of the deficiencies in our system, which I believe parents refer to as ‘speed dating’. Whilst time is against us in making wholesale changes, we have adjusted the time allocation from five minutes to seven minutes this year. I also ask, if you have particular issues or concerns that you wish to be addressed in the meetings, that you contact your daughter's Learning Co-ordinator via email ahead of time so that they can flag this with the staff member concerned. This will enable the teacher to prepare adequately for the meeting and provide a more satisfactory outcome. We will also seek feedback and input from parents in due course and I look forward to having your assistance in developing a more helpful process. - Sharon Anderson, Head of Senior School Principal's Assembly Friday 16 FebruaryPlease note that tomorrow's Principal's Assembly will be held in the Junior School Sport and Recreation Centre. Student AchievementsCongratulations to Kirsty Wong (Year 7) who has also qualified to represent WA in the Australian Junior Athletics Championships being held in Sydney in March. Congratulations to Giorgia Chin (Year 10) who will be competing in two Rhythmic Gymnastics events: the Pacific Rim Trials at the Gold Coast and the Prahran International Competition in Melbourne. Uniform Shop Closure and New LocationThe PLC Uniform Shop will be moving to its new home in the PLC Lighthouse very soon! As a result, the last day of trading at the Stirling Highway premises will be Thursday 22 February and the Shop will be closed during Week 5. The Uniform Shop will re-open on the ground floor of the brand new PLC Lighthouse building on Tuesday 6 March. Please ensure you visit the Uniform Shop by Thursday 22 February for your requirements, especially if your Junior School daughter needs a house shirt, bathers or bathing cap for the Inter-House Swimming Carnival on Thursday 1 March. If you are unable to attend the shop in person, we recommend that you contact Emma or Marcelle on 9460 6243 or by email at uniformshop@plc.wa.edu.au to make alternative arrangements. Socks and ribbons will be available from all receptions as usual during the Uniform Shop's closure. Kimberley Tour 2018 (Years 11 and 12)Year 11 and Year 12 students who are interested in participating in the 2018 Kimberley Tour are asked to download the information pack for further information. Proms Concert at the Quarry - Save the DateThe annual Proms Concert at the Quarry Amphitheatre will be held on Sunday 25 March from 6.00 pm – 8.00 pm. Rehearsal information and the ticket booking form will be in next week’s Links. Career NewsRead about the latest university information sessions and other resources, workshops and guides in this week's Career News. Boarding House NewsA group of boarders were lucky enough to watch the Dockers women’s team play Collingwood at Optus Stadium on Saturday. For more news and photos download Boarding House News below.
SENIOR SCHOOL KEY EVENTSPrincipal's AssemblyDate: Friday 16 February Senior School Catch-Up Photography MorningDate: Friday 16 February Year 12 BallDate: Saturday 17 February Year 10 Parents EveningDate: Friday 23 February Parents@PLC Annual Tennis MorningPlease save the date for the 2018 Annual Parents@PLC Tennis Morning. More information will be available shortly. Date: Thursday 31 May Parents' Committee Welcome SundownerThank you to everyone who attended the annual Parents' Welcome Sundowner last Friday. It was a fantastic evening with over 400 parents in attendance. Photos from the night can be found here. If you have any feedback regarding the event, or ideas for next year's Sundowner, please email parentscommittee@plc.wa.edu.au, we would love to hear from you. - Matthew Maxted, Parents' Committee President Parents' Committee School Fees DrawCongratulations to Jamie and Lisa Murdoch , parents of Lucy (Year 11) and Scarlett (Year 9), who are the lucky winners of the Term 1 Parents' Committee School Fees Draw. They will have $6,735 credited to their school fees account. Net proceeds from this term's school fees draw will be used to fund a mentoring programme for Year 7 and Year 8 students in the Boarding House. Thank you to all who participated. |