No Images? Click here Dear Friend of PLC This week, our new Head Prefect, Maxi Ford, has written an article for Links. Starting at PLC in Year 8, I followed in the footsteps of my two older sisters. These last four years, as a PLC girl, have been truly rewarding. I came from a very small and casual Primary School. With a total of 11 students in my Year 7 class, I was definitely overwhelmed to enter the PLC world of uniform and timetables, after having boys, chickens and free dress. However, I loved my small and quirky Primary School, as it’s where my appreciation of a sense of community, independence and individuality came from. At home, we have something called the tea room. Sitting on four green chairs, sipping on English breakfast tea, every day my mum, two older sisters and myself talk about the day’s events, and express our worries, trials and triumphs. Here, I have learnt how important it is to listen, be considerate, and have confidence in expressing your own stories and opinions. The PLC community, in my eyes, is a big tea room. You express your opinions, and people want to understand and appreciate them. Ever since I arrived at PLC, the girls have warmly welcomed me with open arms and have been a true source of support and motivation, making me realise one very important thing: the girls are the true fiery spirit of PLC. This year, I want to advocate the feeling of being a part of a sisterhood that I have found myself belonging to, ever since joining PLC in Year 8. For 2019, one of the main goals of the Student Council and Year 12 cohort is to focus on improving the relationship between the Junior and Senior School students, as well as encouraging the creation of friendships between different Year levels. Knowing you have the girls around you to rely and count on, whether it be from another House or another Year level, can truly show acceptance and appreciation of every girl’s individuality. With an ethos of support, girls feel free to express themselves, knowing they have a family of PLC girls ready to embrace them. With a fiery 2019 Year 12 class, I can say with confidence, that this coming year is certainly going to be a memorable one. I can’t wait to see what these girls achieve and I am certain that they will leave an influential mark on PLC. Next year, I want every girl to feel they are valued and recognised as an individual, knowing they are considered, heard and belong to the tea room that is PLC. - Maxi Ford, Head Prefect PLC Term 4 Christmas AppealChristmas is a time of the year that can be especially tough if you are experiencing financial hardship. Our Christmas Appeal supports local community members who are experiencing financial crisis, homelessness, domestic violence and mental health issues. Food donations for Senior School are collected through House Tutor Groups, Junior School at Junior School reception and will close on Monday 26 November in readiness for delivery through UnitingCare West. Please click here for the list of donations for this appeal. Year 10 and 11 Parent / Daughter Red Cross Soup Patrol InductionWe encourage parents and daughters in Years 10 and 11 to attend the induction, allowing the opportunity to take part in this amazing Service-Learning experience. The Red Cross Soup Patrol Fremantle operates every night of the year and has predetermined stations of soup collection and locations in Fremantle and Perth serving the homeless. When: Wednesday 21 November We recommend parents bring a current Working With Children card on the night or you will be given a form to complete during the induction evening. Further information on the Red Cross Soup Patrol can be found here. Please contact Head of Service, Matt Donaldson Matt.Donaldson@plc.wa.edu.au if you have any inquiries. #OWNYOURTONEAs the days are heating up and summer is fast approaching, we would like to challenge the PLC community to #OwnYourTone and embrace your natural skin tone. We want our community to make the pledge to protect themselves from UV radiation and abstain from tanning. Next week, 18 to 24 November is National Skin Cancer Action Week. Unfortunately, two in three Australians will be diagnosed with skin cancer by the age of 70, and Melanoma is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in Western Australia in those aged 15 to 19. Too many of our young people still like to get a sun tan and are not doing enough to protect themselves from ultraviolet radiation. The action week is an important reminder of the risks of exposure to UV radiation, the need for sun protection and early skin cancer detection for all Australians. Good sun protection can prevent most skin cancers. However, many Australians still refer to a “healthy tan”. A tan is not a sign of good health or wellbeing. It signifies that you have been exposed to enough UV radiation to damage your skin which will eventually lead to premature aging and increases your risk of skin cancer. During National Skin Cancer Action Week and throughout summer, whenever the UV index is three or above, use the five forms of sun protection and #OwnYourTone by:
A combination of these measures, along with getting to know your skin and regularly checking for any changes, are the keys to reducing your skin cancer risk. -Chonny James, Director of Wellbeing Author, Meg McKinley, inspires the Junior SchoolWhat do you get when you have a golden star, a toy penguin, a Chinese fan, a miniature football and a whizzing balloon? Squeals of laughter and the perfect ingredients for a story! Having an Author in Residence is a privilege and one which students in Years 1 to 6 embraced with enthusiasm last week when the Junior School hosted Meg McKinley, children’s writer and poet, as a result of a Parents at PLC grant. How lucky were we?! This was Meg’s second residency at PLC and she continued to share how she collects ideas and how she turns them into stories. She did however, make it very clear that her intention was to ‘steal’ as many ideas as possible particularly for Bella and the Wandering House! I think it is safe to say she left with enough ideas for several more books. Meg explained her writing process, saying her imagination developed funny ideas until she had whole stories. Interestingly, she also described writing like ‘driving in the fog…I’m just waiting to see where the words take me next’. She encouraged anyone who wanted to write to ‘just write’ but acknowledged that you need to develop a thick skin because not everyone is going to like your book but that doesn’t make it a bad book. You can’t listen to the comments. Do what you have to do, write what you want to write and it will find its audience. This year we were able to offer whole class presentations in addition to ‘flash fiction’ workshops where students were challenged to write a story in 100 words, no more, no less! - Michelle Clayton, Gifted and Talented Teacher Chinese Support GroupLast Thursday, we held our first Chinese Support Group meeting for our Chinese Families from across the Junior School and Senior School. This lovely gathering took place in The Lighthouse Community Room. The event consisted of an afternoon tea, time to get to know one another, information regarding future events and time for general questions. This event took place as a result of a focus on our provision for PLC’s EAL/D students and families and their feedback. The next gathering will take place on Tuesday 27 November at The Lighthouse. We look forward to further enhancing our relationship with our Chinese families and providing support in whatever we can to best support their daughters at PLC. Thank you to all of our Chinese families and wonderful PLC colleagues for their fabulous support of this very worthwhile meeting. 2019 BooklistsAs advised in last week’s Links, there is now an online process for the purchase of the 2019 Booklists for Years 1 to Year 6. On home.plc.wa.edu.au there is a link for each of the booklists on the booklists tile. Each booklist outlines the requirements for each particular Year level and explains the process for purchasing the resources. This can be done entirely online and the materials will be delivered to your doorstep. Bulk orders will still be placed by the Junior School for the Early Years (Pre-Kindy to Pre-Primary). - Jennifer Rickwood, Deputy Head of Junior School - Teaching and Learning JUNIOR SCHOOL KEY EVENTSJunior School Orientation Day Years 2 - 6 Date: Friday 16 November Pre-Primary Nativity Date: Wednesday 21 November Year 6 Final Assembly Date: Friday 23 November Year 6 End of Year Celebration Date: Friday 23 November Suzuki Christmas Concert Date: Tuesday 27 November Junior School End of Year Assembly Date: Tuesday 4 December Last day of Term 4 – Thursday 6 December Please note the early finish time – 1.00 pm Girls and LeadershipOn the back of our Everest Leadership Workshop for Year 11 girls that we hosted two weeks ago, I read an article published in the Washington Post on girls and leadership. The article focusses on enabling girls to develop leadership capacity by celebrating each others’ accomplishments rather than seeing each other as threats. Researchers have found that women often cite the biggest challenges in leadership as coming from other women. This may be because of the perception that there are fewer positions for women in leadership than there are for men. This means that girls see each other as competitors, not as colleagues. This shouldn’t be the case – they can be both! The author of the article, Phyllis Fagel, proposes a number of ways in which we can guide girls toward being supporters and encouragers of each other. One is to use social media for good! Unfortunately, girls generally believe they are valued more for their physical appearance than their intellect or abilities and skills. This plays out in their activity on social media, with postings of selfies and party activity the dominant discourse. We can change that by encouraging girls to share one another’s achievements on at least two social media outlets and to post ‘shout outs’ for their friends who have achieved personal bests instead. Girls will reciprocate and this creates a positive cycle of support for each other. A second suggestion is to encourage girls to use body language that says ‘I am strong’. Psychologist, Amy Cuddy, says that “when girls feel strong, they see one another as allies rather than predators”. I witnessed in my own daughter, the difference physical stance can have. Pleasingly, when she came to PLC, she found the confidence to stand up straight and lose her former shrinking stance. Taking up space is good – girls need to understand that it is ok for them to do that and that posture can affect mood and self belief. The idea that it is good to give and to seek help also needs to be normalised. Building and maintaining connections with older women as mentors, be they aunts, grandmothers or mentors in fields of mutual interest, is a powerful support for building confidence in young women. So is focussing on doing their best, rather than relying on competing against someone else and beating them for personal validation. There is nothing wrong with being competitive - competition helps people accomplish goals they otherwise wouldn’t achieve. However, being competitive and supporting others shouldn’t be seen as ‘mutually exclusive’. Identifying strong but kind female role models or even female characters is important in developing belief in their ability to lead. Psychologist, Lea Waters, author of The Strength Switch suggests that girls need to choose their friends with care. As parents, you can’t choose your daughter’s friends, much as sometimes you’d like to, but you can encourage them to focus on the people in their corner, and only bring new people into their life who cheer them on. Finally, being part of a team, learning to set aside egos and instead, invest in each other’s successes is proposed as essential in developing leadership capacity. That is why we encourage girls to engage in sports, debating, music ensembles or dramatic productions. They help girls develop confidence in themselves, the ability to lead and to work together as colleagues. They learn to build each other up rather than tear each other down and in so doing, develop self–belief and confidence to lead themselves and others. Year 8 ScienceBeing close to our beautiful Swan River, we are very lucky indeed! Our Year 8s will be walking to the river with their Science teachers during their lessons across next week to examine the geological features of the rocks in this area. Seeing them in situ will help the rocks bring to life the story about the environments that existed over 240,000 years - up until today. I am told the area just down the road from us is quite famous, not just in WA but for rock fanatics all over Australia! - Sharon Anderson, Head of Senior School IGSSA Tennis & Volleyball TrialsStudents in Years 6 - 11 (Years 7 - 12 2019) received information on how to register for IGSSA Tennis and Volleyball trials being held this term. Registrations to attend the trials close Monday 19 November, 3.30 pm. Trials dates are as follows: Years 7 / 8 (currently in Years 6 / 7)
Years 9 / 10 (currently in Years 8 / 9)
Years 11 / 12 (currently in Years 10 / 11)
IGSSA CricketStudents in Years 6 - 11 (Years 7 - 12 2019) received information on how to register for Term 1 2019 IGSSA Cricket. Students will be advised next year if trials are to be held. A draft training/game schedule is available for download via the PLC Senior School Sports page. IGSSA RowingStudents in Years 8 - 11 (Years 9 - 12 2019) received information on how to register for Term 1 / Term 2 2019 IGSSA Rowing. No prior experience required, (ie. you did not need to have attended the Learn to Row programme this term). A draft training/regatta schedule is available for download via the PLC Senior School Sports page. Non-IGSSA Sporting OptionsStudents in Years 6 - 11 (Years 7 - 12 2019 ) received information advising the non-IGSSA co-curricular sporting options available for Term 1 next year. Registrations for the various sports are open and do not close until end of Week 1 / Term 1, providing students the opportunity to check their other co-curricular commitments prior to signing up. Students wishing to participate in the January Holiday Swim Programme will, however, need to register this term. If you have any questions in relation to co-curricular sport at PLC, please email Ms Annette Pearce, Head of Sport & Head of Rowing (Annette.pearce@plc.wa.edu.au). Student AchievementsTahlia Hanikeri (Year 10), Meg Henschel (Year 10) and Bryzlyn Sin (Year 8) have progressed to the next round of UN Voice! Khansa Naura (Year 9) performed at The Bonjour Perth Festival last weekend. Her performance of Les Feuilles Mortes was very well received by the audience. Khansa was one of three winners! Bryzlin Sin (Year 8) was the joint winner of the Outstanding Instrumentalist of the Eisteddfod Award. Sisters, Bryzlin Sin (Year 8) and Kaitlyn Sin (Year 5) have returned back from New York where they performed at Carnegie Hall! Both performances were very well received. Congratulations, girls! Boarding House NewsWhenever there is an opportunity to dress up in the Boarding House... Read more in Boarding House News. SENIOR SCHOOL KEY EVENTSParent - Daughter Caving and Abseiling Weekend Date: Saturday 17 November and Sunday 18 November Advent Service and Awards Assembly Date: Monday 3 December Christmas Assembly Date: Thursday 6 December Speech Night Date: Thursday 6 December Upcoming Parent EventsYear 12 Parents End of Year Drinks EveningDate: Saturday 17 November Year 5 Parent Christmas Drinks Date: Saturday 17 November |