No Images? Click here Dear Friend of PLC How time flies when you’re having fun!Term 3 seems to have come and gone in a flash, which is not surprising given the range of activities on offer. This term has seen Arts Day in the Senior School and Arts Week in the Junior School, Grandparents Day, Year 12 Boarding farewells, Officials elections, the Spring Concert, the Athletics Carnival and of course last week, the Senior School Creative Arts Exhibition, just to name a few. In addition to activities during the Term, we currently have trips and tours running internationally in Cambodia, Vietnam and Singapore and locally, in Walpole and Karijini. We also have girls on exchange in France and the United Kingdom. While holidays provide a welcome respite for many, for our Year 12 girls, the September break signals the beginning of Mock exams. Best wishes to the girls as they enter this important stage of their schooling. Congratulations to our Years 10 and 11 girls who have recently completed exam blocks. I hope you can spend time over the holidays resting in preparation for your move into Year 11 and 12 respectively, from the start of Term 4. Farewell to our Head of Junior School, Ms Louise PeytonTomorrow we farewell our Head of Junior School, Ms Louise Peyton. Louise has made a wonderful contribution to our Junior School during her time with us and we wish her well as she returns to Melbourne to be with her family. From the beginning of next term, we welcome Ms Vernita Jaques, Deputy Head of the Junior School (Administration and Operations). She joins Ms Jenny Rickwood, Deputy Head of the Junior School (Teaching and Learning) who will, together, lead our Junior School with the support of Dr Andrew Cousins and myself in Term 4. Mr Richard Wright, our new Head of the Junior School starts with us in Term 1, 2019. Reflect on the Past and Look to the FutureThe end of another Term, another period of time in which learning has occurred and friendships formed, I’m reminded of Hattie and Timperley’s (2007) seminal work on formative evaluation. It is perhaps a pertinent way for each of us to reflect on the past and look to the future. Their approach contains three key components:
For those of you who are getting a break in the coming weeks, I hope you enjoy time with friends and family, including an opportunity to engage in activities that help you to feel good, function well and do good for others. - Dr Kate Hadwen, Principal Friday 21 SeptemberLast day of Term 3 Tuesday 9 OctoberTerm 4 commences Friday 26 OctoberOpen Garden Day, click here to book your tickets. Friday 16 NovemberPrincipal’s Thank You Sundowner, 6.00 pm – 8.00 pm Thursday 6 DecemberSenior School Speech Night, save the date School holidays – a time to focus on balance and self careWe know that during the Term, many young people juggle lots of things like school, chores, sports and friends. It is really easy to forget to look after oneself. Holidays are a great time to re-focus and to foster “a healthy lifestyle". Click the button below to find strategies that students can use to foster a balanced, healthy lifestyle. Term 4 Lighthouse Co-CurricularJoin Term 4 activities that promote fitness, health and happiness. From Boxilates and Zumba, to expressive art activities such as 'Colour My World'. There is something for everyone! Book classes here. - Chonny James, Director of Wellbeing PLC NIDA and Dance Tour 2019An eight day/seven night Drama and Dance Tour to Sydney has been planned, leaving Perth on Saturday 20 April and returning on Saturday 27 April, 2019. The Tour is offered to select WA Schools and is open to Years 11 and 12 Drama and Dance students studying these courses in 2019. Click here for more information. Term 4 Music LessonsWe are looking forward to starting Term 4 Music lessons in the new Music Village. Over the past two weeks, Music staff have been packing up and saying final farewells to the old Finlayson House Music Department. While some are sad to move out, everyone is excited for the future! Senior School Classroom Music has already taken up residence in the View St Building. - Kathleen Plastow, Director of Performing Arts Year 3 STEM Extravaganza!Week 8 was nothing short of a STEM extravaganza in Year 3, with a Thinking Big morning held on Thursday at the PLC Lighthouse. The morning commenced with a short mindfulness session, followed by creative thinking and biomimicry activities with Girls In Engineering at UWA. The latter saw the girls each make a lava lamp and discover the amazing properties of water. On Friday, the Year 3s participated in a Maths Relay with the Year 3 boys from Scotch College. Students worked in groups to problem-solve solutions to a variety of mathematical challenges. Both events saw the girls build a variety of structures as part of their Unit of Inquiry into ‘How The World Works’. Da Vinci Decathlon - Expect the UnexpectedThis year, PLC hosted the Junior Da Vinci Decathlon, in which the theme was ‘Unexpected.’ Each year, the number of participating schools grows and this year was no exception. 22 teams of 8 competed in a variety of high-level challenges in Maths, Engineering, Code-Breaking, Cartography, General Knowledge, Creative Producers, Art and Poetry, Engineering, Ideation and Science. All tasks emphasise higher order thinking skills, assisting students to develop their abilities in analysis, synthesis and creativity. Our girls competed with great enthusiasm and determination, demonstrating all aspects of the IB Learner Profile. They are to be commended for their efforts and performance throughout the day. Most notable were the following achievements:
The PLC team placed second overall!
Congratulations to Zara Ball (Year 6), Laura Kingdon (Year 6), Charlotte Gishubl (Year 6), Eirwyn Siford (Year 6), Madeleine Mayo (Year 6), Ruby Bell (Year 5), Emma Ryan (Year 5) and Isla Mannolini (Year 5). Camp AustraliaJoin in the fun these school holidays! Holiday Club includes a variety of incursions, excursions and in-programme theme days. We will be performing science experiments, going to the movies, cuddling some furry friends at the zoo and many other fun activities! You can come for one day, every day, or anything in between.
A Message From Louise PeytonMy sincere thanks to the PLC community for your support during my time as Head of Junior School over the last 18 months. It is with many mixed emotions that I take my leave to return to Melbourne over these holidays. I especially wish to thank the Junior School staff and families for the privilege of having worked with you and your daughters. I have enjoyed the challenges, the laughs and the fabulous support in all that has been accomplished during my time in the West. JUNIOR SCHOOL KEY EVENTSJunior School Assembly – hosted by Year 5Date: Friday 21 September Last Day of Term 3Date: Friday 21 September Years 1 - 6 Inter-house Athletics CarnivalDate: Friday 12 October Year 4 Outdoor Education programmeDate: Thursday 18 October Year 3 Outdoor Education ProgrammeDate: Friday 19 October
Collective Ground ExhibitionLast week brought us the inspirational Collective Ground Exhibition, which was an outstanding display of conceptual and skilled creative work from our girls. In the Principal’s Assembly last Friday, we asked the girls to stand and be acknowledged for their contribution to the display. Seeing the large majority of girls stand within the student body, was a real delight to observe, highlighting the vast amounts of visual creative talent we have within our school. Congratulations to our award winners from our exhibition this year and to all our girls that exhibited; Friday evening was definitely a huge highlight of the School’s year. Fixed and Growth MindsetsObserving the girls developing their creative projects over the last term has been fascinating to watch as a teacher. Seeing them move through a ‘fixed mindset’ to a more ‘growth mindset’ has enabled a much higher standard of work being produced. Dr Carol Dweck’s research into fixed and growth mindsets 30 years ago, uncovered that some students rebounded better than others due to their mindsets. She uncovered the importance of personal belief, with effort leading to higher achievement rather than intelligence alone. We are able to change a student’s mindset, enabling them to believe they can improve, through perseverance and hard work. This change in mindset increases their motivation in all aspects of their future life. Our use of language within the classroom and at home is imperative in growing mindsets for our girls. Using the term ‘yet’ when they say they can’t do something provides hope and possibility. Praising effort over intelligence brings more focus on the undertaking. Choosing a challenge like an ambitious conceptual painting over a simplified easier solution, supports higher achievement and accomplishment. Students grow from the challenge and learn; it can be difficult and uncomfortable during the journey, but when it comes together, the revelation brings the best sense of achievement! - Emma Haining, Deputy Head of Senior School (Years 11 and 12) Enrolment for Term 4 Co-Curricular activities are now available online. Enrolment is being made via Trybooking for all categories except Sport, which is using the same enrolment format as previous terms. You can enrol in more than one class by clicking on 'Buy More Tickets' after each enrolment. Please use one enrolment entry per child. Students require parental consent to enrol in the activities and there is an online section for parents to approve prior to enrolment. When prompted, please click on each sentence individually to accept them. There is no charge at the time of enrolment. If the course/s you are selecting incurs a fee, it will be charged to your Tuition Fee account. Student AchievementsZara Ball (Year 6), Laura Kingdon (Year 6), Charlotte Gishubl (Year 6), Eirwyn Siford (Year 6), Madeleine Mayo (Year 6), Ruby Bell (Year 5), Emma Ryan (Year 5) and Isla Mannolini (Year 5) were awarded 2nd place at the Da Vinci Decathlon on Tuesday! Years 7 and 8 girls, Jaz Shervington, Estella Weir, Sophia Papandroulakis and Kirsty Wong, will be among 64 aspiring young athletes to take to the field for their State at the 2018 Under 13 Australian Hockey Carnival in Hobart this October. Clara Chen (Year 10) and Stella Vanderzanden (Year 10) achieved a perfect score in the National Computer Science School Challenge, requiring them to write programmes to solve problems using Python (a computer programming language). Tahlia Hanikeri (Year 10) achieved a High Distinction in the National Computer Science School Challenge. Congratulations, girls. Career NewsFor upcoming open days and information sessions, download Career News below. Boarding House NewsOn the weekend, we held the ABC@PLC induction for the Year 7 and 8 Boarders, joining us in 2019! Read more in Boarding House News. SENIOR SCHOOL KEY EVENTSSenior School AssemblyDate: Friday 21 September Last Day of Term 3 Date: Friday 21 September Term 4 CommencesDate: Tuesday 7 October Year 12 BreakfastDate: Tuesday 16 October Valedictory Service and DinnerDate: Friday 19 October Location: Junior School Sport and Recreation Centre (Service) Year 9 Outdoor Education ProgrammeDate: Monday 29 October - Friday 2 November Parent-daughter Caving and Abseiling WeekendDate: Saturday 17 November and Sunday 18 November Year 12 Parents End of Year Drinks EveningDate: Saturday 17 November Radio PLC – Parent Fee DrawHas your daughter always wanted to be on the radio, sharing her voice with the world, well now is her chance! Radio PLC will be starting in Term 1, 2019. Pay your Term 4 invoice in full and the optional Parents’ Committee amount of $25 per child by 4.00 pm, Tuesday 9 October 2018 and you could have $6,375 credited to your account. Net proceeds will be used to purchase equipment for the establishment of Radio PLC. PLC Old Collegians’ Association Bursaries |