No Images? Click here Dear Friend of PLC Inspiring is a word that’s often used within our community, and rightly so. This week, we celebrate with Rev Gary as he is admitted as a Minister of the Word in the Uniting Church in Australia. Originally a Methodist minister, this transition has been a journey for Gary over the past almost seven years, since he began working at PLC in 2011. Gary has served in seven Churches in South Africa along with spending two months working as a gardener in a silent community in Switzerland and three months as the van driver on the Isle of Iona in Scotland. In addition to serving as a minister, Gary is a qualified psychologist and has lectured in this subject at the University of Fort Hare. At a quick glance, synonyms for inspiring include encouraging, heartening and uplifting. Far greater than his qualifications or experiences, Gary brings to our PLC community an unparalleled combination of humility and inspiration. Perhaps this is what makes him so unique and so loved by staff and students alike. Gary leading circle conversations with small groups of girls is one of the most powerful experiences to witness. His passion for outsider witness practices and narrative therapy is such a gift to our students. For the past three years after the student leadership retreat when we ask the girls what was the most powerful experience they had, most cite the session with ‘Rev’. Beyond the knowledge and skills he brings to the role, is his strong sense of service and humility. In speaking after the Service of Admission, in true Gary form, he thanked the Uniting Church for ‘taking a chance on me’ and spoke of his desire to serve both the Uniting Church and PLC. At times, we look to famous role models to find inspiration when often the ones in our lives who are most inspiring are right beside us, in the background, quietly encouraging and lifting us up. This week, I encourage you to find a few minutes in your busy schedules to write to Rev Gary and congratulate him on becoming a Minister in the Uniting Church and on being a wonderful role model to all within our community. To assist you in this, Gary’s email address is as follows: Gary.vanHeerden@plc.wa.edu.au - Dr Kate Hadwen, Principal Thursday 15 MarchLighthouse Leaders - Dr Peggy Kern, 7.00 pm - 8.30 pm, PLC Lighthouse, Friday 16 MarchParents@PLC Outdoor Cinema Evening, 6.00 pm, movie starts at 7.00 pm, PLC Quad (no bookings required) Saturday 17 MarchMindfulness Masterclass, 10.00 am - 1.00 pm, PLC Lighthouse, $95, Book now Friday 30 MarchGood Friday Monday 2 AprilEaster Monday Wednesday 4 AprilPLC Foundation AGM, 6.00 pm, RSVP: Suzanne Pelczar, PLC Foundation Co-ordinator, 9424 6534 Friday 6 AprilPLC Lighthouse Grand Opening, 2.30 pm - 5.30 pm, PLC Lighthouse Saturday 7 AprilTanzania Parent Quiz Night, 6.30 pm, Hugh Baird Sports Centre, Book here Friday 13 AprilBoarders Market, 7.30 am - 11.30 am Friday 25 May to Sunday 27 MayPLC OCA Art Exhibition, find out more here Thursday 31 MayParents@PLC Annual Tennis Morning, save the date Over the years, I have attended many different church services… from the colour and majesty of Greek Orthodox liturgy, to the lovely simplicity of a Quaker Meeting; from the aroma of incense of a Coptic Church in Cairo to the drums and ululating of an African Independent Church under a tree in the veld (bushland) on the Mozambiquan border; from the bellowing Dominie (minister) in a Dutch Reformed Church to the silent reflection in a silent community in a converted barn in Switzerland. In all these places and times, I have felt and believed myself to be part of the body with which I was worshipping. I know that my spiritual understanding can be enlarged and made more authentic through contact with other traditions. While the rituals may be different, each facilitates the journey to find fulfilment, to find enlightenment, to discover Christ. As we make the journey towards Easter, may our differences be celebrated, diversity valued, where the stranger may be the source of God’s blessing: “As the lark says in her song: often, often, often, goes Christ in the stranger’s guise” (‘Rune of Hospitality’ in The Iona Community Worship Book). - Rev Gary Van Heerden 3.14 = PiYesterday marked the date, 14 March. If we wrote this another way, we would get something resembling the value of Pi, 3.14. To mark this special date, the Year 6 Academic leaders provided a number of opportunities for students in the Junior School to engage in Pi activities. These included videos about the beauty of Pi, paper chain making to illustrate the Pi ratio and a hula hoop competition. Congratulations to the girls on their initiative. National Day of Action Against BullyingOn Friday 16 March, we will be marking the National Day of Action Against Bullying with a focus on the topic during House meetings. Students are encouraged to consider their responsibility should they be the victim of bullying behaviour, witness bullying behaviour, or be the perpetrator of bullying behaviour. We hope this conversation will be able to continue at home with family members and, perhaps, opportunities for role play about friendships and healthy relationships. Parents@PLC Outdoor Cinema EveningDon’t miss the opportunity to see the delightful movie, Beauty and the Beast tomorrow night, Friday 16 March, showing in the Quad. The film will start at 7.00 pm, so bring blankets or bean bags and settle in for a fun family night! In case of inclement weather, the venue will change from the Quad to the PLC Hugh Baird Sports Centre. Parking is available at the View Street Car Park. Ride/Walk 2 SchoolOn Friday 23 March, the PLC Junior School will participate in the Ride/Walk 2 School initiative. Students are encouraged to walk or ride to school that day or, for those who live considerable distances from school, families are encouraged to drop students at Leake St or the PLC Lighthouse to walk to school in groups. Parents might like to walk with their children. See the poster for more information. Once at school, students can have their names recorded with the House leaders. The aim of the initiative is to reduce traffic on our roads, especially around school zones, and to provide opportunities for increased physical activity. Students participating in the event will be in the running for a bike generously donated by Mercer Cycles in Fremantle and with support from the Shire of Peppermint Grove. The student whose name is drawn out at assembly can choose to keep the bike, or we can make arrangements to have it donated to a worthy cause. - Louise Peyton, Head of Junior School April School Holiday ProgrammeFrom Monday 16 April to Friday 27 April, Camp Australia will be hosting a holiday programme at PLC. With a mixture of unique and engaging activities, your child is sure to have a fun-filled holiday. Gifted Awareness WeekFrom Monday 19 March to Friday 23 March, the Junior School will be celebrating the diversity of abilities in the PLC community! JUNIOR SCHOOL KEY EVENTSTerm 1 Week 8 Parent BulletinDownload the latest Parent Bulletin Parents@PLC Outdoor Cinema NightDate: Friday 16 March PLC/Scotch Games and Movie Night (Years 5 & 6)Date: Friday 23 March, 2018 Ride/Walk 2 SchoolDate: Friday 23 March, 2018 Parents@PLC Junior School Family Colour RunDate: Thursday 12 April Study Skills by Dr Jane GenoveseI am sure the parents who attended the Study Skills seminar presented by Dr Jane Genovese this week gained a lot from it. There was a question about how much time was advisable to spend on one piece of homework and I thought I would add to the conversation. Research presented by Dr David Sousa at a Thinking conference I attended, indicated that, along with the fact that the capacity of the brain to store information in the working memory is limited, so too is the average time a person is able to process information before switching off. An adult brain is able to process items in the working memory intently for a maximum of 45 minutes, if there is a high level of motivation and interest in the topic, before becoming fatigued. For young people, this is different. Sousa’s research found that children between the ages of five and 13 can concentrate fully on one task for between five and ten minutes. Children 14 years of age and older have a greater capacity – 10-20 minutes. Of course, this is dependent on a number of things – motivation and disruptions being two examples. He pointed out that our attention spans have not been impacted by technology per se – rather it is the number of demands competing for our attention that has increased. He suggested dividing learning time up into chunks that correspond with the brain’s capacity to work with information in the working memory. As Dr Genovese suggested last night, changing the environment in which your daughter studies is also a good idea. Sousa would support this. He says that because the brain is a novelty seeker it is a good idea for students to change what they are doing with the material they are learning to assist in keeping the brain interested. Finally, Sousa recommends that students move every 20 minutes or so. This is because the ‘blood pools in the seat and the feet’ so, to get it moving back to the brain, he recommends getting up and moving or simply doing toe raises and other simple exercises. His research found an increase of 15% in the oxygen and glucose uptake by doing this, and long-term storage sites in the brain increasing activity with the movement of feet and legs. Just as lighting is specific to winding down and preparing for sleep, it is also the case for preparing to stimulate the brain for study. Increasing the light to 150 lumens gets rid of melatonin, thus waking the brain ready to get to work! Neuroscience is not my area of specialty, but reading about it is fascinating and relevant to us all as we support your girls to be the best learners they can be. (David A. Sousa; 2006 How the Brain Learns. Hawker Brownlow Education, Victoria.) National Day of Action Against Bullying and ViolenceOn Friday 16 March, I hope to see a flood of orange ribbons as our girls support the National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence (NDA). The National Day of Action is Australia’s key anti-bullying event for schools, and as we also launch our Big Sister Programme on this day, we are inviting the girls to imagine a world free from bullying and share their big ideas. Over the next few weeks, this will be the focus for our newly formed paired Year groups with activities being led by the older girls in each group. Year 12s will be paired with Year 9s, Year 11s with our 8s and Year 10s with our Year 7s. We aim to work together to prevent bullying and build meaningful relationships between the girls so that they have all the support they need. Parent - Teacher - Student EveningsThe Year 8 Parent-Teacher-Student Evening (PTSE) is on Monday 19 March in the Beth Blackwood Senior School building. Enter through any of the sliding doors – McNeil Street entrance, doors either side of the Auditorium or the middle level verandah until 7.00 pm when they will be automatically locked for security reasons. Please be aware of timing – we have increased the length of each interview to seven minutes in the hope that this makes for a more productive discussion. As advised in previous Links, if you have specific items you wish to discuss, please contact your daughter’s Learning Co-ordinator. They will forward your queries to the relevant teacher. Please do so ahead of the event to allow sufficient time for the teacher to prepare. Year 9 PTSE is on Monday 26 March and Year 11 on Wednesday 28 March. A map of the building is provided for your convenience. - Sharon Anderson, Head of Senior School The Wolves - A play by Sarah DeLappeThis April, the Year 11s bring you a 2017 Pulitzer Prize finalist production, The Wolves, a fly-on-the-wall look at a girls’ high school soccer team as they go through their warm-ups. From the safety of their suburban stretch circle, the team navigates big questions and wages tiny battles with all the vim and vigour of a pack of adolescent warriors. A portrait of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for nine American girls who just want to score some goals. "The scary, exhilarating brightness of raw adolescence emanates from every scene of this uncannily assured first play by Sarah DeLappe." - The New York Times Date: Tuesday 10 April & Wednesday 11 April 2018 Please note that due to mature themes and the use of some strong language, this play is not suitable for audiences below Year 10. Service & WellbeingPLC Waste AuditThe PLC Environmental Committee is calling all student volunteers to participate in our inaugural PLC Waste Audit on Tuesday 20 March. The process will help us determine how much and what type of waste our school produces. Harmony DayIn celebration of Harmony Day on Wednesday 21 March, we invite PLC students and staff to wear orange ribbons or socks to show their support of cultural inclusivity and diversity within our community and Australia wide. Harmony Day is an opportunity for all Australians to come together and celebrate the amazing diversity that has enriched our nation and makes Australia such an exciting place to live. Please take some time and reflect on how lucky we are to experience so many different cultures and traditions, both old and new, within our everyday life. Our PLC community is one where we strive to eliminate discrimination of any kind and include everyone no matter where they have come from. We hope you can join us and show your support on Happy Harmony Day! PLC Scotch Games & Movie NightIn support of the 2018 Matipwili Service Building Project, PLC will be hosting a combined PLC and Scotch College Games and Movie Night. Download
the poster for further information. The World's Greatest Shave at Scotch CollegeOn Monday 26 March, we are once again inviting Years 7 - 12 students as well as PLC and Scotch College staff, to shave or cut their hair to raise funds for the Leukaemia Foundation. Students who wish to participate will need
to complete and return the permission form and join the PLC Team online by visiting this link. As well as shaving or cutting hair, there will be a range of activities and a sausage sizzle with a drink for $5.00. All proceeds will be going to the Leukaemia Foundation. Congratulations to Team PLC who have already fundraised over $14,000 for this great cause! Tanzania Fundraising Parent Quiz NightThe Tanzania tour, in partnership with Scotch College, travels to Matipwili, a remote rural village north of Dar es Salaam to complete work aimed at improving educational opportunities and building structures to create opportunities. In 2018, we are aiming to provide funding which will build infrastructure to boost the internet service and the construction of facilities in the School village. This should allow us to keep in closer contact when back in Perth. We are currently fundraising to purchase materials to assist in building and to buy equipment to boost the internet and software systems which will be raised at the Quiz Night on Saturday 7 April. For more information, click here. Date: Saturday 7 April, 2018 Career NewsRead about the latest university information sessions and other resources, workshops and guides in this week's Career News. Boarding House NewsLife in the Boarding House is never dull! Read all about our adventures in this week's Boarding House News. SENIOR SCHOOL KEY EVENTSPrincipal's AssemblyDate: Friday 16 March Year 7 Parents SundownerDate: Friday 16 March Year 12 Parent EventDate: Friday 16 March Year 8 Mums EveningDate: Thursday 22 March PLC/Scotch Games and Movie Night (Years 7 & 8)Date: Friday 23 March, 2018 The World's Greatest ShaveDate: Monday 26 March, 2018 Old Collegians Art ExhibitionWe are thrilled to announce that this year’s PLC OCA Art Exhibition, showcasing emerging and established artists, will be held from Friday 25 May to Sunday 27 May. We would like to warmly invite all artists from the PLC community to register to include their artwork in the 2018 exhibition. Artists receive 70 percent commission on sales. To register your interest to exhibit and/or to buy tickets to the opening night, please go to plcoca.org.au. Miniature ArtworkArtists who register to exhibit are asked to also create a miniature work which will be for sale at the exhibition. We welcome anyone else who is feeling creative and wants to participate in this much-loved part of the Exhibition. Miniature canvases can be collected from the Communications and Engagement office and returned there once you have created your special artwork. It is a great way to support this event. |