In Focus - Vol 6 - Edition 3 - 5 June 2018

Week 5

The School is a busy place as always, with NAPLAN drawing to a close, the Book Fair, ACC and Junior School Cross Country carnivals, KSSA Winter sports, RKAS Sports, KIC Brightsparx and iMen projects, the Year 4 excursion to Fremantle, all occurring since my last newsletter. The Junior School Recital evenings at Calista showed a delightful display of musical endeavour. We are very proud of these emerging musicians and look forward to further recitals next week. Congratulations to Riley Ogilvie and Tristan Lethorn for graduating from the iMen project on Wednesday night. 

Our Service Learning programme continues to grow, with our Anglicare Ambassadors joining the Wontok Conference this week to learn more about poverty, social justice and advocacy. I attended the Anglicare Winter Appeal Launch on Monday night at the Archbishop’s House. Our School makes a significant difference to the lives of Western Australians through its support of Anglicare. In the coming months we will reach out to assist with some local Anglicare services to make a difference in our own neighbourhood. 

ASC Schools Visit

I had the pleasure last week of travelling to visit our eastern states schools. Principals and Chairs from all 14 Anglican Schools Commission Schools joined the tour, visiting Cobram Anglican Grammar, Trinity Anglican College, Albury and Cathedral College, Wangaratta. We were also joined by Mr Chris Solomna and Mrs Rachel Hunt of All Saints Anglican School in Samoa. The collegiality and sharing of ideas about the education and care of our students was very nourishing. I am pleased to say that PCACS grounds and educational programmes sit well in comparison to our fellow ASC Schools.

Parents

Thank you to the P&F for their generous support of the School. This week the P&F have provided refreshments at the Junior School Recitals and they hosted a Friendraising Morning Tea at Wellard. I would encourage you to consider joining this vibrant and active group of parents to assist in their important work. The P&F form a vital link between the parent body and the School. It would be great to see more parents at the next P&F meeting.  

I also wish to thank the parents who joined Ms Stringer, Mrs Natascha Clark and myself last week for our informal afternoon to explore the offerings of the Senior School, starting with a Q&A and finishing with a tour of the Senior School. The afternoon provided a valuable opportunity to explore the details of the workings of the Senior School. Parents who could not join us on this day who would still like to find out more about the Senior School are encouraged to contact Ms Jude Stringer to arrange a time. If we receive multiple requests, we will hold another information session for a group of parents. We are very proud of the growth and development of the Senior School, and we are excited to share this evolution as we continue to offer more opportunities moving into the future, including STEM, Music and the Arts. We offer a solid suite of ATAR, General and Certificate (VET) courses in Year 11 and 12.

We are currently interviewing for 2019 places. If you have not made an application for sibling places, could you please complete the enrolment forms. Welcome Mornings are held regularly at both campuses. If you know any families who are interested in finding out more about our School, encourage them to attend. Details can be found on our website.

Staff News

Mrs Maggie Dunnill has returned from Long Service Leave, ready to complete her final term at PCACS. Maggie’s contribution to the School over the last 8 years has been extraordinary. We are blessed at PCACS with a talented staff and I thank Miss Kierin Janes for Acting in the role of Head of Junior School whilst Mrs Dunnill was on leave.

I also share news that Reverend Melanie has finished her tenure at PCACS. I wish her well in her future endeavours and thank her for the ministry she has provided for our community. Chapel Services will continue across the School and our Founders Day Service on June 15 will be presided by The Right Reverend Jeremy James tssf – Assistant Bishop of Perth, assisted by The Reverend Flewker-Barker from All Saints, Kwinana. The Most Reverend Dr Peter Carnley AC will also join our Founders' Day Service and, parents are very welcome to attend.   

Ms Felicity House
PRINCIPAL

Speaking Out About School and Learning

Last Wednesday, I was privileged to hear the Commissioner for Children and Young People, Mr Colin Pettit, deliver a most engaging presentation on the views of WA children and young people on factors that support their engagement in school and learning.  If you get a few minutes, visit the website below and browse through some researched findings from the ‘voices’ of students.  I was particularly interested in “what did students say about their engagement?”

While there is much information in this 45-page report, I thought I would share a few images that focus on the Student Engagement Framework that features nine factors and their inter-relatedness.  I also thought it is worthwhile sharing some information about the Commissioner and his role to support our children’s engagement in learning and their wellbeing.  Our schools and all who work in them in partnership with our parents and the wider community must work together to develop and to harness the essential relationships to engage our future generations.  This is our duty and our responsibility!

PCACS is focussed on student engagement and their well-being and we will continue to strive for a safe and supportive environment where learning for all students is accessible, exciting and enjoyable. 

https://www.ccyp.wa.gov.au

Senior School Examinations

We wish all Senior School students the best of luck for their Semester 1 Examinations.

A reminder to parents and students that the School Student Services must be notified of all absences prior to any examination and a medical certificate must be provided to avoid incurring any penalties.

Parents are welcome to contact the School for further information.

God Bless

Ms Judith Stringer
HEAD OF SENIOR SCHOOL

Term 2 fees and Music Fees are now overdue and need to be paid promptly.

Thank you to all the families that have paid or organised payment arrangements.

Please contact the Finance Office on 9439 3499 or finance@pcacs.wa.edu.au if you have any queries.

We will be celebrating our Founders’ Day on Friday 15 June. A service for all Years 2-12 students will commence at 10.00am in the Keith Lindbeck Centre. Parents are most welcome to join us for this celebration of our School.  Please RSVP to info@pcacs.wa.edu.au if you will be attending.

On this day the Junior School will be holding their annual Lapathon to raise money for the Bintang Timur School, Nusa Dua, Bali. The Lapathon will commence at 1.45pm and conclude at approximately 2.45pm. Information regarding this event and uniform requirements for the day, has been sent home to parents this week.

Senior School students will be taking part in a variety of activities after the service. All Senior School students are required to wear formal uniform for the service and will change into their Physical Education Uniform, with House shirt, later in the day.

A reminder to all students and parents that the School Canteen is closed at Recess on Founders’ Day and only open for Senior School students at lunchtime.

Should you have any questions regarding Founders’ Day, please contact the School.

Mr Shane Parnell
HEAD OF IT & OPERATIONS

Last day of trade for this term will be Wednesday 27 June 8.00am – 11.00am

Come in to make purchases before the end of term.

Opening times over the school holidays Monday 16 July 8.00am – 12.00pm appointments only

Click here to make an appointment.

https://www.sustainableschoolshop.com.au/petercarnleyacs/appointments/manage

Winter uniform in Term 3 there will be no change of the uniform.

The new financial year will also bring a price increase to some items in the uniform shop as we have not had an increase in 2 years.

Parents,

Please note that numbered bays at both Calista and Wellard campuses are reserved for staff only.  

When visiting Wellard campus, please park at parking bays parallel to Wellard Road (near student drop off area).  When visiting Calista campus, parents are free to park in unnumbered parking bays.

Thank you.

PCACS Administration

Students who can move through a series of steps independently to be organised, feel a sense of accomplishment and pride. 

Does your child need support to learn how to do things independently?

Consider a written (or pictorial) list of steps for them to work through:

• Getting bag packed the night before
• Getting ready in the morning
• Doing 20 minutes of homework, then stop, then break, then 20 minutes of reading etc
• Being organised for sport or extra activities.

Write the steps together, and then display this list visually for them to move through independently.

Chat with them about their progress and success.

INCLUSIVE EDUCATION TEAM

Last week the library hosted the Scholastic Book Fair at the Calista Campus.  The crates were filled with a fantastic selection of fiction and non-fiction book.  Each class was given a session to come to the auditorium to complete a wish list.  It was lovely to see the excitement on the children’s faces when they saw the books.

‘Clifford the Red Dog’ made an appearance during the wish lists and was even seen popping his head into the classrooms.

The Book Fair was a huge success thanks to the many parents who volunteered to assist with the event, a BIG thank you to you all.

Thank you also to the many parents who purchased a book to donate to the Calista Library, a donation slip with your family details will be placed inside the book.

A few popular items did sell out and have now been reordered.  As soon as these items arrive at the school they will be brought to your child’s classroom.

In total, the Calista Book Fair sold books and posters to the value of $4654 which will give the Calista Campus a commission of approximately $1200. This amount is a national record for an early childhood school bookfair, as recognised by Australian Scholastic Manager, Suzanne Turl. 

This money will be spent on books and teacher resources.

The feature book for National Simultaneous Book Week was "Hickory Dickory Dash" by Tony Wilson as presented at the Early Learning Assembly.  If you missed out on a copy at the Bookfair, it will be available through the Scholastic Book Club.  Contact Mrs Melanie Hill for more details:  mhill@pcacs.wa.edu.au

Mrs Melanie Hill
LIBRARY OFFICER

Hello Parents and Friends,

We held our committee meeting on 23 May 2018 and unfortunately we have had two members who are no longer able to continue with their positions on committee.  I would like to take this opportunity to thank both Diane Jagla and Dion Harris for their contribution over the many years that they have been a part of committee.  We will miss their input greatly.  As a result of Diane’s resignation from committee, the role of Treasurer was left vacant.  As per our Constitution, committee voted to fill this position and we have had a bit of a reshuffle as a result.  Our current committee is as follow:

President: Clarissa Thomson
Vice Presidents: Matt Rowse and David Thomas
Treasurer: Simone Watkins
Secretary: Bec Clarke
General Committee: Kelly Howard, Meegan Bullock and Sylvia Reed.

As it stands, we currently have two vacant general committee positions which we would love to fill as soon as possible.  If you have been considering getting more involved with school activities and would like to join the P&F we would love to see you at our next meeting on Wednesday June 20 at 6.00pm.  Meetings are held in the admin building at the Wellard Campus.  If you would like to discuss joining committee, please feel free to contact me via our P&F email pcacspf@gmail.com or call me direct on 0404 440 594.

Thank you to all that attended our Friendraiser Morning Tea on Friday 1 June in the Year 2 Hub at the Wellard Campus. These morning teas are a great opportunity for parents to come along, have a chat and get to know each other.  All parents and friends are welcome so we hope to see you at one in the future.

The school is also hosting Grandparents' Day on Wednesday 6 June. This is a great opportunity to showcase the school and the students' activities to their grandparents and let them be involved in our community so make sure grandma, grandad, granny or pop head down and enjoy a lovely morning with us all. The P&F will provide light refreshments at both campuses so we hope to see lots of grandparents or other special people next week.

Details will soon be released in relation to the Winter Movie Night which is being held on Thursday 28 June (the last day of term) at United Cinemas in Rockingham.  Make sure the pencil the date into your diaries as you are not going to want to miss this one!

That’s it from your P&F this week, hope to see you all out and about over the next two weeks.

Mrs Clarissa Thomson
PRESIDENT - PCACS P&F

As part of our HASS studies, we have been learning about bushfire safety and the impact on the environment and the community.  We were lucky enough to have members of the Kwinana Fire Department visit us on Thursday 24 May. The students were shown some of the equipment on the firetrucks that the firefighters use on a daily basis, as well as the protective clothing they are required to wear. All the students were able to practise their firefighting skills, using the hoses to wet down targets. The students were able to connect what they have learnt in class, to real world experiences during a discussion about the impact that the Yarloop fires had on the community.

We would like to thank Maddison Brophy, who is Mrs McDonald’s Pre Service teacher, for organising such an informative and engaging incursion, as well as to Mr Shannon Brophy and the Kwinana Volunteer Firefighters for taking time to visit us. The students and teachers thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Mrs Morphew, Ms Butler and Mrs McDonald

Recently, our Junior School instrumental musicians performed as a part of the Peter Carnley ACS Instrumental Recital Series. Held across two evenings, these informal concerts were designed to give our music students the opportunity to showcase the many skills they have been developing in their weekly instrumental lessons while also developing their performance technique. 

Over 70 students from the Junior School performed on a variety of instruments.  It was exciting to see so many enthusiastic young musicians on stage, from beginners through to our more advanced players.  It was also fantastic to see the amount of support from the many staff, parents, family, and friends that attended the concerts.  

A big thank you to our hard working instrumental staff for preparing our musicians, and congratulations to all the students involved. The recital series continues next week with the Senior Recital on Wednesday evening at 5.00pm and the Calista recital on Thursday afternoon at 2.00pm.  All recitals are held in the Calista Auditorium.  

Ms Alicia Walter
LEARNING AREA COORDINATOR - MUSIC

On Thursday 24 May, the Year 4s went on a historical excursion to Fremantle.  Over the course of the day, all classes visited the Maritime Museum, where they explored what life would have been like for an early sailor coming into Australia.  Students had the opportunity to jump aboard a replica ship and they realised how little living space the sailors had!  They visited the Shipwreck museum and saw part of the original Batavia shipwreck! They learnt about the early explorers Dirk Hartog, Willem de Vlamingh and Abel Tasman through images, bulletins and replicas.  They went for a walk down historic High Street and visited the Round House. Teachers and some students were placed on the pillory, awaiting sentencing!  Students returned to school exhausted but enthusiastic to learn more about these early European expeditions.

YEAR 4 TEACHERS

Following on from the Year 6 sleepover at the end of Term 1 which had a strong focus on leadership, Class 6D have continued to refine their skills by integrating them now within our school community. 

Last week, Classes 6D and 2W came together for one period, for an activity based on leadership. The Year 6 students were responsible for thinking of a skill they could teach their Year 2 buddy within a set amount of time. They had to consider the age of their buddy, their ability level, the space available and the resources needed -  And what a marvellous job they did! 

The Year 2 class had a fabulous time and were keen to show off their new skills to the teachers and to one another. We had quite a mixture of tasks taking place such as making slime and paper aeroplanes, kicking goals, learning the multiplication tables, skipping backwards and much more!

An enjoyable afternoon for all those involved.

Mrs Dunn (6D) and Mrs Warner (2W)

Recently our Director of Upper Learning, Miss Kierin Janes, attended a community event for local businesses to launch the Paint Kwinana REaD project.  This is a community initiative designed to support parents and carers to talk, read, sing, rhyme and play with children, so they are ready to read and write at school.  This fantastic initiative aims to place red book boxes in as many local businesses as possible for families to have greater access to children’s books.  You are able to pick out a book, take it home to read and then bring it back and swap for another book.  The red boxes can currently be found in 36 businesses in Kwinana, including our Calista Campus.

After writing about our wonderful libraries last week and reinforcing the importance of reading to and with our children, this initiative provides further support for our children’s literacy development.  Keep an eye out for the red boxes in our community.  Please take the time to look through the book box in the foyer at Calista Campus or any of the local businesses where you spot a red book box.  What a great way to continue to develop a love of reading!

Other ways to support your child’s reading are:

• Read to your child every day, even for a few minutes
• Take your child to the library for story telling sessions and to choose books to borrow
• Find picture books without words and make up the story together
• After a scary bit in a story, stop and let your child talk about it
• Help your child to find words in their surrounds, signs, food packets, menus, recipes etc
• Talk to your child about the things you read (such as the newspaper), so that they see reading is important to you
• Model reading as not only useful, but also fun.

On Tuesday  5 June,  Karrak, the mascot for Paint Kwinana Read, will visit our Calista Campus during assembly.

Keep on reading!

Mrs Donna Farmer
DIRECTOR OF EARLY LEARNING

This year’s Senior School ACC Interschool Cross Country Carnival was held on the surrounds of Perry Lakes on Thursday of Week 6.  65 students from Years 7 to 12 were selected to compete in the gruelling course of 3km for the girls and 4 km for the boys.  Over 5000 students competed in one of Australia’s biggest school sporting events.  The conditions where harsh, with strong gusts of winds, intermittent rain and cold weather.  They were not ideal for the carnival, but our students put on a brave face and competed to the best of their abilities.

Once again the stand out performance for our School was Madison Good of Year 10 who came 2^nd in her hotly contested race. Madison’s race came down to the wire and was less than one second behind the first place getter.  We also had Charis Kingston and Lataya Lawrence of Year 7 who came 13^th and 32^nd respectively.  In a race which had over 300 competitors this was a magnificent effort.

Congratulations to all students who competed and proudly represented our School.  Students all trained hard prior to the carnival coming to either early morning or after school training sessions. Thanks to Mrs Layman and Mr Radulovic and our student helpers Annalise and Lona who helped on the day.

All results can be seen on the ACC website. Follow the link http://www.accsport.asn.au/carnivals/cross-country/results/2018

Mr Roh Weddikkara
HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION COORDINATOR

On Friday 1 June the Year 2 – 6 students participated in the Interhouse Cross Country Carnival.  Led by our House Captains Anna Sawicki and Shai Ziemann Langley of Lindbeck, Krystle Paschini and Byron Newton of Laurence, Nikkita Sheridan Clarke and Anotida Chiyangwa of Moody Madison Hall and Ryley Malaquin of Murray students warmed up and prepared to run their fastest over the 850m (Year 2) or 1.85km (Year 3 -6) course.

For the first day of winter, we were treated to blue skies and perfect running conditions. The morning was filled with many close finishes and excellent cheering by students, staff and parents and sing a long to various Disney songs. After all the competitors returned and the points had been tallied the winner of the 2018 PCACS Cross Country Carnival is:

1^st Murray - 570 points

2^nd Moody - 537 points

3^rd Lindbeck - 492 points

4^th Laurence - 464 points

Congratulations to the following students who achieved Champion medals:

All the students who participated and completed the track should be very proud of themselves.  A big thank you goes to our Year 6 Captains who helped warm up all the runners and guided students on the track. To all the staff who helped ensure no one was lost and spurred on the students to keep going. Lastly, a huge thank you goes to family members and friends who came to cheer the students or help during the carnival, your support is greatly appreciated.

Mrs Rhiannon Chapman
TEACHER

Ten students from Year 10 and 11 were selected to attend the One World Wontok Conference at All Saints’ College along with 100 students from other Anglican Schools.  The students were involved in presentations and workshops to learn about the current status of poverty in our world and discuss how the Sustainable Development Goals are helping to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all.  Students were challenged and given time to reflect on their part in this issue and how they could be part of the solution.  Some reflections from the students are below:

Through our involvement with the One World Wontok Conference I was able to broaden my knowledge on global poverty and the great complexities which come with it. Throughout the whole day, I’d sit in every workshop and ponder on the thought of, what can I do? How can I help the people who have less than me? I feel so small. At the age of 16 I have little power. 

If I took anything away from the conference today would be that no matter what I do, if it’s as small as a $1 donation to a certain charity to assist people suffering from poverty or physically going to countries affected and assisting hands on, I will make an impact. 1+1=5 if two people with a shared idea work together to make that idea into a reality then that reality will now impact and influence 5 other people.

Dakota Franz (Year 11)

This event made me reflect on myself and how lucky we are for what we have and the difficulties that other people living in need of basic resources face, such as the need to search for food and water. I have come out of this with a much more educated perspective of the problem of poverty in the world and future solutions.

Dean Leech-Hines (Year 11)

Rocking up this morning I thought today was just going to be people talking to us about what we should be doing in the world and why we aren’t doing it, but it was quite different. The messages were amazing; the diversity in different speakers and leaders was amazing as it gave many different views on how varying people have made a difference in the world. The activities in our groups gave us a chance to delve deeper into the issues as well as having to answer some confrontational questions about the infant mortality rate, fresh food and water as well as poverty.

Jack Austin (Year 11)

The Wontok Conference for me was a real eye opener, learning the different variations of well-being we have in the world. I also learned that just us speaking about it to someone we know can make a small difference. Knowing how hard people in other countries have to work, e.g. the Philippines, and how they get sick because of how hard they work is heartbreaking. I hope that today helps me to be more grateful for what I have. 

Annelise Morton (Year 10)

Anglicare Sleep Out WA

Students in Years 10, 11 and 12 are invited to participate in the Anglicare WA annual ‘School Sleep Out’ taking place on Friday 3 August at Optus Stadium.

The event is designed for students to experience homelessness for a night, learning first-hand about the challenges faced by young, disadvantaged and homeless Western Australians.  To be involved, students are asked to raise funds through sponsorship for Street Connect, Anglicare WA’s mobile youth outreach service.  The Street Connect team supports young people with counselling, referrals and resources to help connect them with the services they need.

For more information and to collect a registration form, please see Mrs Weddikkara.  Forms must be returned no later than Tuesday 26 June to confirm your attendance.

Mrs Rebecca Weddikkara
SERVICE LEARNING COORDINATOR

On Sunday the Walkabout Cambodia pilgrims had their first official meeting.  The afternoon began with a uniform fitting at Kathmandu in Mandurah followed by a meeting at Secret Harbour Anglican Church with all of the pilgrims from Frederick Irwin Anglican School and John Wollaston Anglican Community School.   It was a night filled with excitement, fun and a few nerves.  The students participated in a speed dating style game to get to know the other pilgrims and had to create and perform a song in small groups.  The students are starting to form relationships with the other pilgrims and staff, and this will be invaluable as they face the challenges on their pilgrimage next year.  Following the team building session, the students shared dinner with their parents.  

Over the next 11 months, they will continue to meet regularly with the other pilgrims as they learn more about their trip, plan their lessons and bond as a group.  The preparation for a trip such as this is key to its success.

Mr Dewhurst will be joining the students on this pilgrimage and I thank him in advance for his enthusiasm and commitment.  I have no doubt that this experience will be invaluable for him as well.

Watch this space for more information on the tour, how you can support the pilgrims and upcoming fundraising events.

Mrs Rebecca Weddikkara
SERVICE LEARNING COORDINATOR