No Images? Click here Dear friend of PLC With the academic year well underway, the juggle of academic endeavour, co-curricular activities and social commitments has begun. As the web of competing commitments increases in complexity, it becomes important to develop, refine and master simple routines which support learning. Taking the time to consider our approaches toward thinking and the importance it plays in our learning can facilitate this support. Harvard Project Zero has demonstrated that the act of thinking well is not just about mastering cognitive skills, but also about developing a mindset which combines readiness, motivation and alertness. Developing simple ways to approach and engage with ideas can facilitate being study and work ready. Thinking routines are simple structures, designed to be practical, easy to remember and transferable between subjects. According to Project Zero’s approach, fostering good thinking should include:
Fostering a culture of thinking encourages students to undertake close analysis, thoughtful interpretation and stimulates curiosity. Being active, curious and stimulated thinkers is something we strive to achieve for all. - Dr Andrew Cousins, Deputy Principal Staffing UpdateIt is with great excitement I write to inform you of the appointment of our new Director of Performing Arts, Kathleen Plastow. Kathleen is a highly experienced educator, with significant leadership experience both in general leadership roles and in Performing Arts. Kathleen is currently the Head of Faculty – Haileybury (City) in Melbourne. Haileybury is a large non-selective independent day school for girls and boys. In this role, Kathleen is responsible for all aspects of music, including classroom and co-curricular music, she personally leads a number of ensembles (choral, orchestral and bands) and has provided musical direction for school productions. She has a connection with pipe bands through Haileybury’s Pipe Band, and also through her family – her mother being a piper and her father a drummer! Kathleen is an active member of the Kodály community, holds a Master of Education from QUT, and is currently undertaking her Doctor of Education through the Australian Catholic University. Kathleen will shortly be relocating from Melbourne with her husband and will commence at PLC in Term 2. We are delighted to welcome Kathleen and Mark to the PLC community and look forward to catching up with them at the upcoming Quarry Concert at the end of March. - 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, 7.15 am - 9.00 am, PLC Senior School Quad, $15 adults, $10 students, book now Friday 16 MarchParents@PLC Outdoor Cinema Evening, 7.00 pm, PLC Quad, save the date Saturday 17 MarchMindfulness Masterclass, 10.00 am - 1.00 pm, PLC Lighthouse, $95, Book now Friday 30 MarchGood Friday Monday 2 AprilEaster Monday Friday 6 AprilPLC Lighthouse Official Opening, 2.30 pm - 5.30 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 PLC Lighthouse Wellbeing ResourcesThe PLC Lighthouse website is a fantastic tool for parents, students and teachers to find an array of wellbeing resources including apps, websites, books and blogs from our Wellbeing team. Visit the News & Resources page here and use the filters to find evidence-driven resources relevant to you. Mindfulness Masterclass with Annika RoseTo support wellbeing within the community, PLC Lighthouse offers the delivery of a wide variety of research-based wellbeing courses and workshops. In this masterclass, mindfulness expert, Annika Rose, will take you on an exploration of modern mindfulness in an accessible and insightful way. Over three hours, we'll cover:
Date: Saturday 17 March After-School Pick-up: SlipwaysFor those parents and carers who collect their children via the slipways each afternoon, you would be well aware that it is a very busy process which relies on the co-operation of everyone. We do ask families using the Western Slipway to avoid arriving early where possible, as this blocks access to those using the Eastern Slipway. Students are dismissed from the classroom at the times indicated, however, they will not be at the slipway until the allocated pick-up time (please see below). Parent-Teacher Meetings Next WeekA reminder that Parent-Teacher meetings will be held in the Junior School next week (26 – 28 February). Online bookings will be open until 10.00 am on Friday 23 February. Please book here and use the event code: rxqv8 Perplexing Puzzles
Maths causes an amazing amount of anxiety for young and old - somewhat surprising when you consider that you cannot do anything without it! Our daily world is nothing but a collection of patterns and structures: learning about it doesn’t just take place in the Maths classroom. Every day, we participate in many important mathematical experiences, although we don’t perhaps think of the maths involved. Sadly, not everyone sees the beauty of Maths, so starting after Mid-Term Break, girls in the Junior School will be invited to take a risk and participate in ‘Perplexing Puzzles’ – weekly puzzles requiring the synthesis of maths skills in order to solve. Keep your eyes open on the Upper and Lower Courts in the Junior School for more information.
- Anita Roy and Michelle Clayton Parents@PLC Junior School Events - Help NeededParents@PLC are calling for parent expressions of interest to help co-ordinate the following events: Junior School PLC/Scotch DiscoDate: Friday 4 May If you are interested in getting involved, please email Junior School Co-ordinator, Kate McGee using the subject: JS Student Disco kmcgee.001@outlook.com Junior School Adults Quiz NightDate: Friday 10 August If you are interested in getting involved, please email Junior School Co-ordinator, Kate McGee using the subject: JS Adults Quiz Night kmcgee.001@outlook.com JUNIOR SCHOOL KEY EVENTSTerm 1 Week 5 Parent BulletinDownload the Latest Parent Bulletin Junior School Assembly (Years 1 - 6)Date: Friday 23 February Year 3 Parents EventDate: Friday 23 February Chapel Years 2 - 6Date: Monday 26 February Parent/Teacher MeetingsDate: Monday 26 February - Wednesday 28 February Junior School Inter-House Swimming Carnival (Years 1 - 6)Date: Thursday 1 March Mid-Term BreakDate: Friday 2 March - Monday 5 March Year 6 Parents Drinks NightDate: Friday 9 March Parent-Teacher-Student Interviews (Year 12)Year 12 interviews will be held on Tuesday 6 March, commencing at 3.30 pm in the Beth Blackwood Senior School Building. All interviews will take place in classrooms on the second floor (view the map). Please follow these instructions to book your interviews online. This year, we have increased the length of interviews from five minutes to seven. In the interests of keeping the evening running smoothly, there will be an alert to indicate the end of the time-slot. To enable you to get the most out of your interviews, please contact your daughter’s Learning Co-ordinator, Patricia Higgins if there are any specific aspects you would like to cover in your interviews and she will forward them to the relevant teachers. This will enable staff to prepare in advance to address queries more specifically. Having parents involved in the girls’ learning journeys is something we value. Since the conversations will be about your daughter, it is equally important that she be in attendance. If you have any queries about making appointments, please contact Lyn Taylor. NAPLAN (Year 7 and Year 9)NAPLAN Testing for Years 7 and 9 will take place on Tuesday 15 May, Wednesday 16 May and Thursday 17 May. We use information from these assessments to review our own programmes as well as to add to the bank of information we have about our girls’ learning. While parents may apply to withdraw their daughters from these tests, it may only be done so on religious grounds or because of a philosophical objection to such testing. We strongly encourage all girls to participate in the tests. If they don’t, they will be required to sit the OLNA (Online Literacy and Numeracy Assessment) testing in Year 10 (or 11 or 12) to demonstrate their proficiency in these areas. As this is then linked to their graduation from high school, it is to the girls’ advantage to complete NAPLAN testing and potentially avoid the OLNA process. More information will be provided closer to the time, but for now, please note the dates and avoid making appointments for your daughters across these days. - Sharon Anderson, Head of Senior School Student AchievementsCongratulations to Bryzlyn Sin (Year 8) who was awarded third place in the national Junior Writer Club Great Australian Flash Fiction Challenge for her story, My Trusty Thongs. IGSSA Sports Competition ReviewGirls’ participation in the Independent Girls’ Schools Sports Association (IGSSA) programme is a very important part of life at PLC Perth. The eight IGSSA school principals are keen to ensure the schools continue to offer competitive sport opportunities which are relevant and appealing to our girls. We, along with parents, would also like to see more girls across all year groups have the opportunity to participate in IGSSA sporting opportunities. As a result, the IGSSA executive, of which I am a member, decided last year to undertake a major review into IGSSA competition offerings. IGSSA has engaged independent facilitator, Strategy First, which has strong expertise in sports education, to undertake this review. The first stage will be a survey sent to all Year 7 – Year 12 students in the next two weeks to gather feedback about their experience in IGSSA sport and ask for their input into what a future IGSSA competition might look like. No changes to the IGSSA competition will be made this year. We will keep families informed during the review. If you have any queries about the review, please contact me at kate.hadwen@plc.wa.edu.au or through Kate Montague on 9424 6411. - Dr Kate Hadwen, Principal Academic Co-Curricular OpportunitiesWhile PLC has very well-established co-curricular programmes for sports and the Performing Arts, the School also supports a huge range of exciting academic programmes, clubs and competitions for students who are drawn to more scholastic activities. PLC currently runs programmes in Public Speaking, Debating, Creative Writing, and Mooting, and supports the students through a huge range of inter-school academic competitions and various prestigious essay and creative writing competitions. Public Speaking is offered to students from Years 7 to 12 and builds speech writing, presentation and oration skills, and gives girls the opportunity to compete in a number of national competitions. Debating is also on offer to all Year groups, and leads to participation in the West Australian Debating League and Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia debating competitions. In recent years, the Humanities Department has become a key hub for academic co-curricular involvement. In 2018, PLC will have five teams in the Mock Trials competition run by the Law Society of WA. This gives students a working knowledge of civil and criminal trial processes and supports the Year 10 syllabus as well as Year 11 and Year 12 ATAR Politics & Law. Select students will also travel to Bond University to compete in their prestigious High School Mooting Competition. PLC’s Gifted and Talented Co-ordinator, Erica Walker also promotes inter-school multi-disciplinary competitions. While these events are competitive and girls represent the school, they are equally about building thinking skills and teamwork. The World Scholar's Cup increases students’ general knowledge across six subjects through writing, debating and analysis; Tournament of Minds is focused on creative problem solving; and the Australian Computational and Linguistics Olympiad challenges girls in interpretive linguistics. For more information regarding academic co-curricular opportunities, please contact me on Chris.Robinson@plc.wa.edu.au - Chris Robinson, Head of Staff 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. Family Service ProjectsWe encourage all student and parents to engage and immerse themselves in service learning programmes. These projects are a fantastic opportunity for you to work alongside your daughter, build relationships with other PLC families and to contribute and make a difference to others in the community. The Family Projects are based on a sustainable model led by PLC parent representatives for each Year level, who co-ordinate a roster across term dates. Year 7 – Cooking for a causeCommencing Term 2 in the PLC Lighthouse, families will cook meals for a women’s refuge. More details to follow later in the term. Year 8 – Bread RunFamilies assist with the delivery of bread from local bakeries to the food support bank at Hilton PCYC. More information here. Year 9 – RPH Recycle Medical Supplies to Developing CountriesFamilies serve Royal Perth Hospital and Rotary in the packing of medical supplies for health centres in developing countries. More information here. Year 10 – Ronald McDonald HouseTen families per shift, one Sunday per month, volunteers prepare breakfast for families accommodated at Ronald McDonald House in Nedlands. More details to follow next week. Year 11 – Fremantle Soup Patrol with Red CrossParents and daughters are invited to attend the Red Cross Soup Patrol induction training night on Wednesday 28 March from 6.30 pm to 7.30 pm in the Senior School Auditorium. More details to follow next week. Year 12 – Fremantle Soup Patrol with Red Cross Families continue with serving the Red Cross with soup patrols for Term 1. Career NewsRead about the latest university information sessions and other resources, workshops and guides in this week's Career News. Boarding House NewsThe Year 12 girls looked magnificent on Saturday night for the School Ball. For more photos and news please download Boarding House News below. SENIOR SCHOOL KEY EVENTSYear 10 Parents EveningDate: Friday 23 February Year 12 Parent-Teacher-Student InterviewsDate: Tuesday 6 March Principal's AssemblyDate: Friday 16 March Year 7 Parents SundownerDate: Friday 16 March International Women's Day BreakfastYou and your daughter are invited to join this global day of celebration which recognises the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. Members of the PLC community are invited to spend the morning enjoying a buffet breakfast on the Quad and a panel discussion with inspiring PLC Old Collegians. Date: Thursday 8 March Parents@PLC Wish ListEach year, as a result of various fundraising activities undertaken by Parents@PLC (including Open Garden Day), funds are made available to be distributed within the School. Parents@PLC is very proud to support the school community by means of this ‘Wish List’. Wish List applications may be submitted by students, parents and staff and are reviewed by Dr Kate Hadwen. Approved applications are presented and funding is allocated at the Parents@PLC Meeting on Thursday 24 May 2018. Examples of previous ‘Wish List’ items include:
Applications open Friday 23 February and close on Wednesday 2 May. Please submit your completed application form to Kate Montague Kate.Montague@plc.wa.edu.au Unfortunately, late applications cannot be accepted. - Susannah Evans, President Parents@PLC Committee |