No Images? Click here Dear Friend of PLC Open Garden DayThe lawn mowers are humming, the hedges are being clipped and the sprinklers have jumped into action! It is such a glorious time of the year to enjoy the weather and more importantly, the amazing gardens. Open Garden Day is so much more than an event in the school calendar. In many respects it symbolises and highlights what is special about our warm and welcoming culture. Culture and ConnectionsAn article published by the Harvard Graduate School of Education, highlights that culture is about connections and the opportunity to make connections. Strong cultures are created and sustained through overlapping and cohesive interactions. It is these interactions which provide the building blocks of an organiation’s character and fundamentally creates a sense of belonging. The article suggests that culture is shaped by five interwoven elements: beliefs and assumptions, shared values, norms, patterns and behaviours and tangible evidence. Bridwell-Mitchell has argued that these components all influence and drive the others, forming a circle of reinforcing values and actions. Thank YouOpen Garden Day does not happen without an enormous team working behind the scenes. Can I especially acknowledge the Open Garden Day Co-ordinators, Susannah Evans and Kate McGee; the Open Garden Day Committee, Chrissy Miller-McKinley, Jane Day, Erin Corner, Tanya Stonier, Lisa Seaburne-May, Emma Tongue, Cher van Schouwen, Charmaine Le Roux, Anne-marie Mallon, Jayne Middlemas, Celia Patrick, Liza Blakiston, Felicity Wright, and Donna Jackson; PLC Parents; the large number of parent volunteers; and all the PLC staff, in particular, the Communication and Engagement Team and Maintenance Team who are involved in making this such a wonderful day. I hope that you all have the opportunity to attend Open Garden Day and make connections with the extended PLC community. Noise During Pick-Up and Drop-OffAs the Year 12 exams are commencing soon, please be mindful of the noise when picking up or dropping off your daughter/s to school. - Dr Andrew Cousins, Deputy Principal Open Garden DayDate: Friday 25 October Principal’s Thank You SundownerDate: Friday 8 November Junior School End of Year AssemblyDate: Monday 9 December Speech NightDate: Thursday 12 December Peppermint Grove Carols by CandlelightDate: Sunday 15 December Please note that all parent events are listed in the Communications & Engagement section of Links. When Things Don’t Go According To PlanEveryone is fallible and to make mistakes is human. Our only hope is that the negative impact on our own lives, and those of others, would be limited. When evaluating my own and other people’s failures, I ask: What is someone characterised by? If someone is characterised by doing the right thing and they make a mistake, the mistake/failure shouldn’t define them. Past failures could keep people from trying again, fearing they might fail. Numerous famous people had more failures than successes. May we stay focussed on trying our best, have the courage to acknowledge when we get things wrong and seize the opportunity to learn. - Rev Manie Strydom, Chaplain PLC Partnerships - Directory of Businesses and ServicesThe PLC community forms the heart of PLC Perth. We are proud to have such engaged and passionate families supporting our students and staff. To further link together members of the PLC community we are very proud to be launching PLC Partners run by PLC families, for PLC families. Wellbeing WeekWe have been celebrating Wellbeing Week this week! Our new Wellbeing Captain, Erin Marstrand, has worked together with the new prefect team to put together a week filled with activities for staff and students. Blue Tree ProjectOn Monday, Erin partnered with Cassidy Emmot, our new Senior Boarder, to launch the Blue Tree Project at PLC. This continued the work of outgoing Senior Boarder, Georgia Kopke, that saw the Year 12 boarders paint a tree on a farm this year. The Blue Tree Project was founded by a PLC Old Collegian and is an initiative to raise awareness about mental health. Please listen to the podcast of Erin interviewing the Blue Tree Project founders. Wear Your StrongOn Tuesday, PLC Old Collegian, Sophie Rodda came back to PLC to promote mental health awareness. Sophie has a not-for-profit organisation called Wear your Strong and you can listen to an interview with Sophie here. Learn About Meditation at PLCPlease join Lesley Kaye and Jess Lethbridge to find out about Meditation at PLC. Lesley Kaye is the Head of Science, Yoga Instructor and Mindfulness Meditation facilitator. She is passionate about meditation and is completing a Masters’ Thesis at UWA investigating the effect of Mindfulness Meditation on an adolescent’s wellbeing and stress. She aims to educate PLC students about the benefits of mindfulness meditation and offer them tools to manage their wellbeing in daily life. Jessica Lethbridge is a Clinical Psychologist with a passion for wholistic intervention and preventive work. Jess previously taught Mindfulness skills in a hospital setting and since working at PLC, has facilitated Mindfulness classes with our parent community and taught our Years 7 - 9 students about the benefits of Mindfulness in their Flexi classes. The evening will comprise of a 20-minute presentation with a Q&A session and then a 15-minute guided meditation. Date: Tuesday 29 October What a fantastic week in the Junior School! On Monday we had two teams represent PLC at the Da Vinci Decathlon. It was a wonderful day as our teams worked their way through diverse and multi-disciplinary problems. Our Year 6 team was victorious on the day and the first girls’ school team to win the Junior Competition. The Inter-House Athletics Carnival was a huge success, with the sun shining and the girls performing their best. Congratulations to Baird for winning the day and Stewart for winning the coveted War Cries. My thanks to Ms McGurk and Miss Harris for their amazing organisation of the day. Today we hosted over 650 girls from co-educational and girls’ schools across the metropolitan area for the Inaugural Girls’ Leadership Forum. A diverse array of speakers provided messages of inspiration for the future, that were engaging and informative. Our Year 5 and 6s attended and I hope they all walked away from the event with something they will employ in their futures. Playgroup@PLC Cancelled TomorrowPlease note that there will be no Playgroup@PLC session tomorrow, Friday 25 October. We apologise to anyone this may inconvenience. - Richard Wright, Head of Junior School Extend NewsFind out what the students at Extend (after-school care) have been up to! Junior School Assembly Date: Friday 25 October JIGSSA Athletics Carnival Years 5 and 6Date: Tuesday 29 October Year 6 Exhibition Date: Wednesday 30 October JIGSSA Athletics Carnival Year 4Date: Thursday 31 October Junior School End of Year Assembly Date: Monday 9 December 2020 Student LeadershipOn Monday we welcomed our new Student Leadership for 2020. These girls will now turn their attention to the goals that they have set for their year ahead, working with each other and the rest of the student body to put plans in place. They will face challenges across the next year, but I am sure that with the support of each other, and the support of our staff and the students, they will succeed admirably. Stay FocussedAs the girls settle in for the last term of the year, anticipation for the holidays that await them can be a little distracting. I would ask that our parents assist the girls in keeping their focus on their academic studies and to ask them to continue to apply themselves right to the end of the term. There is still much learning to be done before the end of the year. Year 7 Quiz NightThe Year 7 girls enjoyed a night of food and questions in their annual visit to Scotch College for the Year 7 Quiz Night. All reports of the night reveal that our girls behaved impeccably, and the night was enjoyed by all. Summer UniformThe girls are now wearing their summer school uniform. Can I please ask parents to assist us in having our girls present themselves in perfect uniform? Every girl should be wearing her Panama to and from school. Hair needs to be tied up if it reaches the shoulders and should have a white scrunchy or ribbon, or a striped ribbon in place. Perhaps the biggest battle that we have is around the wearing of jewelry. The allowance for jewelry is quite specific in the school handbook – only one earing in each lobe. It can be a pearl, gold or silver ball stud, silver or gold sleepers. No sparkles in the studs. There should be no necklaces or coloured bands on the wrists. There should also be no rings on fingers. We have been stressing to the girls that wearing the correct uniform is an expression of the pride that they have in being a PLC student. I hope that we can ask our parents to reinforce this with your daughters. Year 10 Academic AwardsOur Year 10 Academic Awards Ceremony will be held on Monday 4 November at 8.30 am in the Hazel Day Drama Centre. We would like to invite all of our Year 10 parents who are able to attend, to be there for the presentations. The ceremony will begin promptly at 8.30 am. Year 12 Support Your Daughter EveningThis will be held on Wednesday 6 November at the Hazel Day Drama Centre and will commence at 6.30 pm. We are very pleased to advise that Elevate Education will conduct a session on Study Skills for our parents, which they will follow with a session for the students on the following Friday during school. We invite all parents of our 2020 Year 12 students to attend the evening. - Jennifer Crisp, Acting Head of Senior School 2020 Year 10 Quest Programme & 2019 Year 9 Innovation ProjectThe current Year 9 students will soon have the exciting opportunity to select their nominated Quest programme for 2020. We have scheduled the Quest Information Evening for Year 9 students and parents to be on the same evening as the Year 9 Innovation Project Launch. The event will be held on Thursday 21 November, 2019 in the Beth Blackwood Senior School. The Quest Information segment will run from 6.00 pm – 7.25 pm, followed by the Innovation Project from 7.30 pm – 8.30 pm. It is compulsory for students to attend both events. Quest Programme Information SessionDuring the Quest Information session there will be two presentations on each of the Quest programmes on offer in 2020. After the Quest evening, students will go online and submit their top three preferences in order of which programme they would most like to participate in. By the end of term, students and parents will be advised of their successful 2020 Quest programme. Prior to the Quest Information Evening, extensive details on each programme on offer in 2020 will be available on the Student and Parent Connect (SEQTA) from Monday 4 November 2019. The Quest programmes offer a wonderful opportunity for students to learn beyond the walls of the School campus. Each option offers students many opportunities to learn about themselves, others, and the world around them. The experiences will build resilience, independence, interdependence, and for overseas ventures, cultural awareness and international mindedness. Year 9 Innovation Project – Key Changes WorkshopsFurther to the letter sent out on 27 September, small group workshops will be running next week for any parents who would like a run down on some of the key changes to the Year 9 Project this year. The sessions are available to any Year 9 parents who are interested in attending, and will be structured very informally to cater to the needs of each group. Perhaps you have older daughters that have been through the Personal Project or Defining Project, and would like to know what is different this year? Maybe the idea of a Year 9 project is entirely new for you, and you would like to get your head around what is involved. Regardless of your interest, it might be well worth coming along to find out what the Innovation Project is all about. Workshops:
Please RSVP to Christopher.Scholten@plc.wa.edu.au. A video capturing the most important information covered in the sessions will also be available for those who can’t attend or would prefer not to. Details on how to access will be in next week’s Links. 2020 Canberra TourStudents who are currently in Year 8, please find information regarding the Year 9 Canberra Tour below. Lower Senior School Production of The TempestDates: Tuesday 29 October and Wednesday 30 October Frame of Mind - Creative Arts and Technology Exhibition Opening NightDate: Friday 1 November Frame of Mind - Creative Arts and Technology Exhibition Opening HoursDate: Saturday 2 November Date: Monday 4 November – Wednesday 6 November Year 10 Academic AwardsDate: Monday 4 November Year 12 (2020) Support Your Daughter EveningDate: Wednesday 6 November PLC Parents Annual General MeetingDate: Friday 8 November This will be our Annual General meeting and all executive positions will be declared vacant. If you wish to become involved via the Executive and have any queries, please contact Michelle Barrett plcparents@plc.wa.edu.au . Our current Treasurer and Secretary have given notice that they will not be re-nominating due to other commitments, so we will be seeking volunteers to fill these, and all other positions for 2020. Agenda items can be sent through to plcparents@plc.wa.edu.au for discussion at our next meeting. |