Dear valued member of the PLC community,

A Message From the Deputy Principal

Assessments

The past few weeks have seen students demonstrating quiet stoicism as they faced NAPLAN assessments in Years 3, 5, 7, and 9 and Semester 1 examinations in Years 11 and 12. Where their schedule had to be changed to accommodate absence, students were adaptable and resilient, and they supported each other with kindness and empathy. While our oldest students have already put significant effort into their preparation, there will be as much work to be done when they receive feedback on their performance, and they will require our support in discerning how to move forward.

The feedback on any examination or assessment is always more instructive than the summative mark. A mark is a snapshot of a moment in time and while students all work towards improvement in their marks, this only comes about if they can digest and act upon feedback on how to improve. Unfortunately, the mark is often the part that is focussed upon and, in doing this, we do not fully take account of teachers’ constructive comments. All students have areas of strength in their subjects and areas in which they can improve; the challenge for them is to really hear what teachers are saying about both areas.

Adrenaline and emotion are bound to affect students’ initial responses to the return of any assessment. If we can help them to move past this so that they are objective in assessing their current position, genuinely taking account of what they have done well, but also reflecting on teachers’ constructive feedback on how to improve, they will be able to formulate a plan for their next steps. It is this action on the next steps that will bring about improvement. Every student will be at a different stage on the ladder of learning and, as such, every student’s next steps will be different. Our job as teachers and parents is to help them find the next rungs of their ladder. 

Disruptions Due to COVID-19

This year has presented considerable challenges and throughout, we have focused on maintaining continuity for students’ learning. With the current high caseloads of COVID-19, we will endeavour to continue to minimise disruption to students’ programmes. However, I do want to make you all aware that as case numbers in Perth are currently peaking, we are experiencing higher levels of staff and student absences than normal. While we will continue to maintain continuity of learning, we do envisage that there may be some disruptions. We thank you in advance for your support as we manage this situation. Please know that the best interests of the students will be at the heart of our decision-making, as always.

- Neil Walker – Deputy Principal (Teaching and Learning) 

ELC to Year 2 Information Learning Technology (ILT) Refresher

We warmly invite parents of students currently in Pre-Kindergarten to Year 2 to attend an ILT  learning session in the Junior School Library on Wednesday 25 May at 9.00 am.

The following topics will be covered across the morning:

• home.plc.wa.edu.au
• Parent passwords and ID numbers
• SEQTA
• Seesaw
• PLC App

The morning will run until approximately 9.30 am. Please bring along either your laptop, iPad, or smart phone. 

Transdisciplinary Learning

How fortunate we are to have such hard-working staff who approach their jobs with a growth mindset, continually striving to provide outstanding student-focussed learning opportunities for our students. Each day, I am very appreciative of the effort, thoughtfulness, and commitment that our staff put into the children’s pastoral care and learning engagements.

Teaching is a complex and demanding profession; however, the PLC staff continually rise to meet new challenges and are willing to further develop their teaching skills and understanding of how our children might best learn. As a PYP school, the teaching staff are always looking for ways to integrate the children’s learning, finding those transdisciplinary links so that the learning is significant, relevant, challenging and authentic.

Over the course of this year, Year 4 Teachers Beverley Spencer and Kerri Cresswell and Art Teacher, Colleen Garland, (currently on Long Service Leave), have engaged in an AISWA (Association of Independent Schools of Western Australia) learning project entitled, Purposeful Pedagogies: Global Competencies in Action.

These incredible teachers have used their knowledge of the curriculum areas of Humanities, English, Science, Technologies and The Arts to involve the students in project-based learning where they were able to explore real-world issues to develop an evidence-based perspective on a global issue.

This Friday 20 May, Year 4 students and teachers will attend the opening of an exhibition of student work generated from this outstanding professional development. The exhibition will be open for public viewing for one week. Please see the information in the attached flyer for more details. I encourage members of our community to take the time to visit Herdsman Lake Discovery Centre to view the displays from the participating schools.

Congratulations to all members of our community who have supported this Year 4 unit of learning. It has been a wonderful team effort driven by deeply dedicated, highly energetic, and committed teachers.

- Meredith Beer – Acting Head of Junior School

Year 6 Winter Games - Session 1

• Date: Friday 20 May
• Time: 12.00 pm - 3.30 pm 
• Venues: Basketball Centre – 201 Underwood Avenue, Floreat (Basketball)
  Alderbury Reserve – Oceanic Drive, Floreat (Hockey and Soccer)
  Mathews Netball Centre – 200 Selby Street, Jolimont (Netball)

Junior School Assembly 

• Date: Friday 20 May
• Time: 8.40 am  
• Venue: Junior School Sport & Recreation Centre

Year 6 Winter Games - Session 2

• Date: Friday 27 May
• Time: 12.00 pm - 3.30 pm 
• Venues: Basketball Centre – 201 Underwood Avenue, Floreat (Basketball)
  Alderbury Reserve – Oceanic Drive, Floreat (Hockey and Soccer)
  Mathews Netball Centre – 200 Selby Street, Jolimont (Netball)

Free Dress Day

• Date: Thursday 2 June
• Theme: Inspiring People 
• Tickets: Here

Mid-Term Break 

• Date: Friday 3 June to Monday 6 June inclusive 

Junior School Photographs

• Date: Tuesday 7 June
  More information to be communicated in the coming weeks.

Junior School Winter Concert 

• Date: Wednesday 8 June
• Time: 6.00 pm - 7.00 pm 
• Venue: Junior School Sport and Recreation Centre 

Junior School Photographs - Catch Up Day

• Date: Friday 10 June

Good Luck To Cross Country Runners

We wish all the students competing in tomorrow's West Australian All Schools State Cross Country Championships, good luck. 

For those families wishing to attend, more information including a schedule of events can be found here. 

Year 11 Dinner Dance

Tomorrow night, our Year 11 students will enjoy their rite of passage Year 11 Dinner Dance and we cannot wait to welcome them to a delightful evening of fun, friends, and dancing. 

- Rebecca Watts – Head of Senior School

Year 11 Dinner Dance

• Date: Friday 20 May 
• Time: 7.00 pm
• Venue: Coast, Port Beach

Senior School Arts Assembly 

• Date: Friday 27 May 
• Time: 8.55 am 
• Venue: Hugh Baird Sports Centre

Year 12 PJ Party 

• Date: Friday 27 May 
• Time: 5.00 pm
• Venue: PLC Lighthouse 

Rowing Regatta 3

• Date: Saturday 28 May
• Time: 8.30 am (first race starts) to 12.00 midday
• Venue: Champion Lakes Regatta Centre

Year 10 Parent-Teacher-Student Interviews

• Date: Wednesday 1 June
• Time: 3.45 pm to 7.00 pm
  Further information, including how to book, will be sent out later in the term.

Mid-Term Break 

• Date: Friday 3 June to Monday 6 June inclusive 

Free Dress Day

• Date: Thursday 2 June
• Theme: Inspiring People 
• Tickets: Here

Boarder of the Week:

• Megan Brown (Year 10) - For her friendliness and positivity and embracing the Boarding House community so openly.

​Room of the Week: 

• Isabel Kent (Year 10) - For her beautiful room.  

This is a first for the PLC boarding community and we hope the girls wear their pins, specially designed by this year’s prefects, with great pride. We also commenced our annual game of sock tag, in which each boarder is assigned a target to eliminate using a special sock. On Tuesday, the girls hosted a boarding quiz at the school and on Wednesday they challenged the day girls to a ‘get ready for school race’ mimicking the last-minute dash to school, mastered by our boarders. We look forward to sharing photos of the remaining activities next week.

- Katherine Hazlewood – Boarding House Deputy (Wellbeing and Pastoral Care)

Free Dress Day Thursday 2 June

Theme: Inspiring People

Junior and Senior School students contributed $10 each earlier this year for the privilege of participating in all three Free Dress Days for 2022. Contributions will support two World Vision children, 12-year-old Josephine from Zambia and 11-year-old Margaret from Kenya, with any surplus going to other PLC-supported charities.

Free Dress Days are non-compulsory, however, if your child would like to participate but has yet to secure a ticket for 2022, tickets are still available here. 

Click here to view the poster for further information.

National Volunteer Week

This week is National Volunteer Week. The 2022 theme is Better Together.

Over the past couple of years, the PLC community, like all communities, has had to adapt to the changes in how we live, work, and learn together. 

PLC school volunteers are an essential part of the community, whether they are students volunteering with other community organisations outside of the campus, Old Collegians providing a myriad of supports to the school, parent groups whose fundraising efforts assist with new and existing initiatives, or individual families providing support to their children during Remote Learning.

To everyone in our PLC community who volunteers their time and to those who will volunteer in the future we say thank you. At PLC we are Better Together.

- Chantelle James – Director of Wellbeing

Dance Showcase - I Am

Join the PLC dancers at this year's Dance Showcase. With three shows taking place, it is looking to be another spectacular show. 

• Date: Thursday 9 June – Saturday 11 June
• Time: 7.00 pm – 9.00 pm
• Venue: Hazel Day Drama Centre
• Tickets: $25 per person

How would you complete the sentence “I am…”?

Identity refers to how one describes the self but is so much more than a list of variables. It is a personally constructed understanding of who we are. Identity for dancers is embedded in the body, performance, training, aspirations and messages of the dance culture with all its trimmings. “I Am” is not just a showcase of the skill of PLC’s dancers but also a glimpse into their journey as artists and how dance forms a unique part of who they are and what they feel.