Dear valued member of the PLC community,

A Message From the Deputy Principal

Over the last few weeks, Senior School teachers have been checking in with Year 11 students to discuss their progress over Semester 1, helping them to think about the way forward for future terms. It has been such a wonderful process, not only because it is inspiring to hear them talk about their studies with such energy and enthusiasm, but also because they have been genuinely reflecting on their own experiences, processes, and approaches. Self-reflection is no doubt a powerful tool, but it takes a high level of maturity and bravery to be carried out effectively.

In an interview for the careers documentary series Capture Your Flag, leadership guru and motivational speaker, Simon Sinek, advocates for being the observer in your own situation. He describes self-reflection as “the ability to look at oneself critically, to say you were good in that situation…you could have been better in that situation… to be able to separate yourself as if you were the third party evaluating it”. This is a challenging skill that requires honesty and balance. We all have things we don’t easily recognise in our own behaviours and reflecting can be somewhat confronting as a result. Many students can give harsh self-criticism and in reflecting, may need to be kinder, evaluating successes as well as areas for improvement. If we can step back and look at ourselves as objectively as possible, we can set goals and make plans for how to move forward but can also celebrate our achievements; both are equally important.

Hearing their honesty and clarity of thought about their own situations has reinforced for me how resilient and self-aware many of our students are and how important it is to have opportunities to engage in these discussions, giving them the space to develop the skill of self-reflection.

As we approach the end of Term 2, I will be reflecting on what I have achieved so far this year and what my next steps need to be to make the improvements I want to see in myself in the second half of the year. I encourage all members of our community to follow the excellent example of our Year 11s in doing the same.

Neil Walker - Deputy Principal (Teaching and Learning)  

Co-curricular Sign Up for Term 3

The SignUps for enrolment in Term 3 co-curricular activities will be going live at 7.00 pm tonight.

Click here to view the Junior School options for Term 3.

Parent-Teacher Interviews & 3-way Conferences

Parent-Teacher Interviews for Pre-K to Year 2, and 3-way Conferences for Year 3 – 6 will be held on the afternoon and evening of Monday 27 June.

If you have missed making a meeting time via the School Interview website, please contact the teacher directly via email to arrange a meeting time.

No Assembly Friday 1 July

Please be aware that there will be no Junior School Assembly Friday 1 July.

Early Finish Friday 1 July

As school will close at 1.00 pm Friday 1 July, the Junior School will finish at the following times.

• Kindergarten and Pre-Primary will be dismissed at 12.45 pm; and
• Years 1 to 6 will be dismissed at 1.00 pm.

If you have children in both age groups (Kindy/Pre-Primary and in Years 1- 6), the older child is welcome to join their Kindy or Pre-Primary sibling and leave a little earlier.

If your daughter/s require supervision from 1.00 pm – 3.30 pm, please fill out this form. 

Uniform Shop

For your convenience, the Uniform Form shop will be open on Monday 25 July from 8.30 am – 4.30 pm. Please click here for more information and for contact details to make a booking. 

Thank You 

Thank you to all the families who so generously donated items for the care bags for the Sunshine Project. The Sunshine Project provides foster children with a backpack full of items such as toiletries, pyjamas, toys, underwear, socks, water bottles etc. Often these children arrive at out-of-home or foster care with only the clothes they are wearing, so these backpacks help to preserve dignity, provide comfort, and show they are cared about.

Our International Baccalaureate students collected boxes of these items and backpacks last Friday and will assemble the backpacks ready to hand out. 

Meredith Beer – Acting Head of Junior School

While runners pushed themselves to achieve in their races, they also made sure that they were trackside to cheer on all competitors – no matter what school – as they crossed the finish line. It was an example of excellent sportswomanship. Thank you to all our staff who have been working hard to prepare our team for this event.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

It was truly a world of pure imagination last week with our PLC students sharing the stage with our brother school, Scotch College, as they performed the musical Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The performance was witty and engaging and I was in awe of our talented students who rehearsed tirelessly and performed professionally. Well done to all involved.

Co-curricular Sign Up for Term 3

The SignUps for enrolment in Term 3 co-curricular activities will be going live at 7.00 pm tonight.

Click here to view the Senior School Co-curricular options for Term 3.

Years 7 – 12 IGSSA Sport Trials for Term 3

Students received information to register their names for IGSSA Basketball and Soccer trials which commence next week. All trials will be held at PLC.  Dates and times are listed below. A final trial will be held in Week 1 of Term 3.

• Years 7/8: Monday 27 June & Wednesday 29 June 3.45 pm – 5.00 pm
• Years 9/10: Tuesday 28 June & Thursday 30 June 3.45 pm – 5.00 pm
• Years 11/12: Tuesday 28 June & Thursday 30 June 6.45 am – 8.00 am

Please contact Mr Maxwell, Head of Sport at sam.maxwell@plc.wa.edu.au if you have questions regarding Sport at PLC.

Uniform Shop

For your convenience, the Uniform Form shop will be open on Monday 25 July from 8.30 am – 4.30 pm. Please click here for more information and for contact details to make a booking. 

Head of the River

This weekend, we wish our rowers the best of luck for the Head of the River. No matter the result on Saturday, we are so proud of the way our students have trained hard, embraced PLC's values, and worked together as a team. Special thanks to our rowing staff and to the parents of our rowers – we know that the early morning training makes rowing truly a family commitment.

Our whole PLC community is encouraged to come and cheer on our oarsome rowers at this year's Head of the River!

• Date: Saturday 25 June
• Time: 8.30 am – 12.30 pm 
• Venue: Champion Lakes Regatta Centre

Click here for more information including the schedule of events and the live stream link for those watching at home. 

AMC Maths Competition 2022 – Years 7 to 12

Would you like your daughter to enter the Australian Maths Competition for 2022? Here’s what you need to know:

• Online Sitting Dates: Wednesday 3 August OR Thursday 4 August (choose one that suits) 
• Time: After school 3.45 pm – 5.15 pm
• Applications Close: Friday 1 July (no late entries accepted)
• Cost: $7.50 (added to school account)

If you would like your daughter to participate, please email Ms Shelley Stewart at shelley.stewart@plc.wa.edu.au no later than Friday 1 July. Please indicate your preferred date (choose one).

Further information may be found here. 

Rebecca Watts – Head of Senior School

Performing Arts Showcase

• Date: Friday 24 June
• Time: 5.30 pm – 6.30 pm
• Venue: Hazel Day Drama Centre
• Tickets: RSVP here

Head of the River 

• Date: Saturday 25 June 
• Time: 8.30 am – 12.30 pm
• Venue: Champion Lakes Regatta Centre
• More Info: Click here

Early Finish for the Last Day of Term 2

• Date: Friday 1 July
• Time: 1.00 pm 

Instrumental and Vocal Lessons – Term 3

Congratulations to all our music students for their hard work and dedication to their music lessons this term.

Please note that any cancellations of instrumental and/or vocal lessons for Term 3 should be received by the Music Department via music@plc.wa.edu.au by today, otherwise students will automatically be timetabled for Term 3 lessons and tuition fees applied.

If you missed out this term, we would love for you to join the PLC Music family in Term 3.

Please click here for instrumental and vocal options available. 

Boarders of the Week:

• Michelle Hu (Year 11) - For being a consistently friendly, polite, easy-going, and respectful member of the boarding community.   
• Rose Redman (Year 9) - For being helpful around the Boarding House, following routine, and being a great member of her cohort. 

Room of the Week: 

Georgina Roberts (Year 7) - For her fabulous room.

Busy Boarders

Over the past seven days, our boarders have been very busy! Between the Inter-House Athletics Carnival, the boarders' annual photo, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, IGSSA Cross Country, a tour of Fremantle Prison, Glow Volleyball, and various sporting events, the girls have had a blast. On top of many of these commitments, we also have rowers who are training hard in the lead-up to the Head of the River this weekend. We wish them the best of luck.

Our Year 12s are planning our annual Boarders Ball event coming up in Term 3 whilst our Year 11s are secretly working away on the annual Year 12 boarders’ farewell. These planning activities are pivotal in developing our girls' leadership and teamwork skills and, although staff work alongside them, we try our best to ensure the girls are learning the full scope of what goes into planning these big events. We are pleased to report that they are thoroughly enjoying the process so far.

Susie Edwards – Director of Boarding & Katherine Hazlewood - Deputy of Wellbeing and Pastoral Care

Birthing Kits Service Opportunity Year 7 – 11 

This is the fourth year that PLC is participating in the Birthing Kits for Australia (BKFA) Project led by IB CAS students. In 2022, it is led by Year 11 students Izi Harrold and Kavita Bisht.

Birthing kits are small packages containing seven fundamental items for women in developing countries to have a safe and sanitary birth. The not-for-profit NGO offers volunteers to either donate or build birthing kits, which BKFA then sends to particular countries around the world that are less economically developed and have high maternal mortality rates due to unsanitary births. The organisation’s goal aligns directly with the UN’s Goal #3: Good Health & Wellbeing - By 2030, reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births.

If your daughter is interested in participating in this project on Wednesday 10 August:

• Complete and return this permission form containing further information
• Pay your $25 birthing kit fee plus the booking fee (total of $26.16) here 

Applications and payments close tomorrow Friday 24 June.

There are only 40 spots available, therefore it’s first-in, first-served! If you do not manage or are unable to take part in this project but you still want to get involved with the organisation, then you can either donate directly to BKFA or arrange your own Birthing Kit Assembly Day at home.

Chantelle James – Director of Wellbeing

Teaching Kids to Navigate Friendships

Friendships are something that we all need support with at one point or another. Often no one teaches you how to be a good friend, but rather it’s a trial and error process for each individual and friendship. Sometimes a behaviour that is acceptable with one friend, may not be with another friend. This means that we need to be constantly adapting our learning based on the feedback we get back from our social situations. This article highlights a few helpful reminders.

No friendship is perfect. I’ve always believed that the grass isn’t greener on the other side, it’s green where you water it. It’s important to invest the time to learn about our friendships, and conflict resolution can be a huge part of that process. The article refers to conflicts as “Friendship Fires”, and in overcoming these, you can increase your connection with that person. It's important not to avoid these conflicts with an unhelpful approach such as ignoring the other person. This tends to make things harder for everyone and is not a healthy way to deal with conflict. Instead, it’s important to reflect on what went wrong in your communication with that person, to strive to understand how the other person felt, determine what needs to happen to make it right, and then, as the article suggests, put out that fire! 

The article continues, explaining the difference between normal conflict and what is called “Mean on Purpose Behaviour” – a very important differentiation when reflecting on your friendships and how they make you feel. One common theme that is shared in friendships is that people just want to be liked and to get along. When children learn to manage conflict, it becomes part of their core. It fundamentally shifts our culture to a place of kindness and respect. 

Claudia Del Borrello – Senior School Psychologist

Performing Arts Showcase

The Performing Arts Showcase will focus on a selection of the work Year 7 – 10 students have created in their Dance and Drama classes this semester. These pieces have been created collaboratively under the supervision and training of their Dance and Drama teachers. They would love to share their work with you and hope you will add this date to your diary.

• Date: Friday 24 June
• Time: 5.30 pm – 6.30 pm
• Venue: Hazel Day Drama Centre