Being the first face most people encounter when they come to the School, I’m sure most of our PCS family would have had an opportunity to meet me; however, you may not know much about me so I’ll share a little of my world.

I was born in Penrith and have lived in the area all my life. I attended Kingswood South Public and Kingswood High where recent PCS retirees, Mrs Janis Jackson and Mr Bruce Nevill, taught. I have been a committed Christian from a young age attending GFS (Girls Friendly Society) and Sunday School at St Phillips Church in Kingswood. Since then I have attended Imagine Nations, Hillsong and LifeSource churches.

I live for my family, and have been blessed with two amazing sons Benjamin and Joshua, who I’m extremely proud of, a beautiful daughter-in-law Hayley, who attended PCS, and a long-awaited, and very precious and adorable granddaughter, Aria Joy.

It has been an exciting start to the 2020 school year, especially for our Kindergarten students. Starting school can bring many mixed emotions from excitement, wonder and curiosity to uncertainty for both the children and their parents alike. To our great joy the Kindergarten children have settled so very well into the new world of ‘big school’. The parents did very well too, although we did see a few tears shed by them.

There are so many firsts when starting school and we already have experienced quite a few of these including: learning to read words, writing sentences, reciting poetry, engaging in PE in the Sports Centre, borrowing three books from the Library, caring for our hermit crabs, attending Chapel in the Auditorium, sharing News, playing musical instruments, participating in daily Devotions, exploring a variety of digital technology, creating Monet inspired impressionist paintings, just to name a few.

But beyond these, we have witnessed the development of new friendships, enquiring minds, the discovery of skills and talents and an absolute love of learning amongst the children.  For the children in Kindergarten, so much of their learning is new. Sometimes this new learning will come easy while others will be challenging. It all takes patience, practise and persistence on the part of the children, teachers and families.

Did you know that only around 6% of Australian children eat enough vegetables? To help our community do better, our Junior School and Middle School will be taking part in The Big Vegie Crunch (part of Vegetable Week) at 10.00 am on Thursday 5 March.

Primary schools across NSW will be joining together to break the record for the most students crunching vegetables:

50 260 students crunching simultaneously (2018 record)

14 991 students crunching at other times over Vegetable Week (2019 record)

Junior School and Middle School families are invited to join us for ‘Meet The Teacher 2020’ on Tuesday 11 February 2020, 7.00 pm - 8.45 pm.

We warmly invite all parents of students from Kindergarten to Year 8 to come along and meet your child’s teacher/s for the year. You will learn about class themes, culture, special events, daily schedules and learning expectations.

INTRODUCTION: 7.00 pm - 7.15 pm in the AuditoriumThe Introduction session will provide important information for all Junior and Middle School families.

Following the Introduction, there will be two duplicate sessions to allow parents with children in multiple parts of the School the opportunity to attend both sessions.

Early Learning families are invited to join us for ‘Meet The Teacher 2020’ on Tuesday 11 February 2020, 7.15 pm - 8.00 pm.

We warmly invite all parents of students from Preschool and Prep to come along and meet your child’s teachers for the year.

We will be running one session of information for the evening, to allow parents to meet the teachers of older siblings as well.

Our visit to Divine Junior School Uganda was an amazing, successful trip. Our Uganda team was comprised of Richard and Jenny Mahoney, Cait and Hamish Burke, Peta and Elsie Wilson, Belinda and Megan Garratt, Christalle Champion and Jake Richards.       

Thank you for your support through prayer and giving to Coins for Missions in 2019. Divine Junior School students, families and teachers send you their love and greetings. They were so touched by the generosity of Penrith Christian School who have helped bless and improve their school dramatically.

Our team was joyfully welcomed by Divine Junior School community and it was a delight to meet face to face after partnering with the school since 2017. I am extremely proud of our PCS team of students, parents and teachers who represented our school in an exceptional manner, serving willingly, helping and teaching wholeheartedly in the school community.

Welcome back to a new year and new opportunities to strive for the highest.  Mr Ollis and I are very excited about all of the great Boost activities that we have planned for the year.  Stay tuned for different Boost opportunities, competitions and excursions.  I am also very excited that Mrs Peña is now dedicating her week to stretching our students in the areas of technology and STEM, which are so essential for our 21st Century students.

Over the Christmas holidays we ran our very first Summer Reading Challenge in Junior School. I am very excited about the number of students and families who participated in the challenge and the feedback from parents who were happy about their child’s enthusiasm for reading over the summer break. I have photos of students reading on planes, upside down on monkey bars, in trees and in shops just to name a few.  Every student who participated will receive a prize, which will be handed out soon.

Thank you to all of our families here at PCS who support our different programs as we endeavour to educate our students and prepare them for life in the 21st Century.

The summer break is well and truly over and we are back to school, homework, and many of the normal daily routines. Going back to school after weeks of fun and relaxation is never easy, but kids aren’t the only ones who struggle with it. Parents also find it difficult when their kids head back to school, and many experience emotions ranging from sadness to anxiety and even resentment.

With the holidays behind us, returning to school can involve a big adjustment. For those families who are new to PCS a special welcome. It’s going to be a busy time with lots of new things being added into the routine of school Hopefully getting well-prepared a few days in advance can make easing back into the normal school routine a lot less overwhelming for both parents and kids.

Easing into routine

The iCentre runs Scholastic Book Club each term. The children love Book Club and the School benefits from all purchases.

Leaflets are distributed through the iCentre and class teachers, and can also be found online at https://www.scholastic.com.au/book-club/book-club-parents/. Please note any credit card payments can be made online using the Scholastic LOOP system. Full details about this are available via http://parentpayments.scholastic.com.au/.  All orders that are paid by cash will need to be sent back to the iCentre in an envelope with the correct money included and the envelope marked 'Scholastic Book Club'.

A wide selection of books are available, and the School has no say as to what is included. Please read the brochures carefully to ensure that the books your children are hoping to buy are books that you would want them to read. It goes without saying that you will need to choose carefully to avoid any disappointments, however, Scholastic will refund for any unsuitable books.

It was a big first day for 21 new students in Middle School. We are thankful for our Peer Support Leaders from Years 8, 9, and 10, who took time with our Year 5s and Year 7s to make them feel welcome and show them how to use their timetables and get around the school. Our Peer Support program will continue once a week throughout this term.

Mark Gee

Head of Middle School

What is Crunch&Sip?

Crunch&Sip occurs during class when students can refuel on fruit and vegetables, and rehydrate on water. This assists students with physical and mental performance, and concentration in the classroom. Students who are not hungry and are well hydrated perform better in the classroom, show increased concentration, and are less likely to be irritable and disruptive.

Benefits of Crunch&Sip

Crunch&Sip encourages fruit and vegetable snacking and drinking water. Healthy eating behaviours are modelled in the classroom and reinforce the nutrition messages in the PD/H/PE curriculum. By making fruit and vegetable eating and water drinking normal in the classroom, healthy habits can be formed and continued into adolescence and adulthood. Many students are not eating enough fruit and vegetables for optimal health. Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables promotes growth in children and protects them against disease later in life.

A message from our Principal regarding the Novel coronavirus, including links to current information:

UPDATE: PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR ONGOING UPDATES from the Department of Education

Dear Parents and Caregivers

As you would be aware from the media reports, many countries are in the grip of an outbreak of Novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).

The virus is known to have originated in mainland China and has spread to many other countries, including Australia, which now has 7 confirmed cases.

As a school community, we have been sent through an information fact sheet from the Australian Government Department of Health outlining the symptoms and things to do to prevent the spread of the virus, as well as a number of phone numbers to call for further information if needed. CLICK HERE to download the fact sheet.

In accordance with national public health guidelines, mandatory exclusions apply for those who are:

• A Confirmed case of Novel Coronavirus – exclude until medically cleared
• In ‘close contact’ with a confirmed case of Novel Coronavirus – exclude for 14 days since last contact with the confirmed case

‘Close contact’ is defined as living in the same household, 15 minutes face-to-face contact with a person with confirmed coronavirus in any setting, or sharing a closed space with a person with confirmed coronavirus for more than two hours.

NSW Health and NSW Department of Education advise that school and early childhood centre students, teachers and support staff who have travelled to mainland China and Hong Kong can be excluded from school until 14 days after departing mainland China or Hong Kong.

If you or your children have been to mainland China within the last 14 days, the School will require a doctor’s certificate confirming you are fit and healthy to return to school.

We are praying that the spread of this virus will be very quickly contained.

Yours in Christ

Tracey Deal

Principal

The Uniform Shop is open for additional days (by appointment only) at the start of the 2020 school year:

Tues 28 January 7.30 am – 11.30 am

Thursday 30 January 2.00 pm – 6.00 pm

Sat 1 February 8.00 am – 12.00 pm

Mon 3 February 7.30 am – 11.30 am

What a fantastic night at our inaugural Middle School Graduation Dinner! Thank you to all the parents who joined with us on Monday 9 December, 2019 to celebrate the graduation of Year 8 students from Middle School.

160 parents, students and staff enjoyed a meal together at Hawkesbury Function Centre, as we remembered some of the great moments and achievements of our graduating class, and celebrated together.

Thank you to Mr Favretti, Mrs McClement and Mr Gee for organising this event, and thank you Year 8 for being such a great bunch of young women and young men!

Code Camp has been a raging success on Monday afternoons in the iCentre.The sounds of students playing and enjoying their own computer game creations has been infectious.

As such, we are pleased to be able to offer the opportunity to students from Years 2 to 6 again in Term 1, 2020. Depending on numbers, Code Camp will run from Monday 10 February until Monday 30 March.

CLICK HERE to download the flyer OR go to www.codecamp.com.au for further details, including how to register.

In 2020, the Science and HSIE faculties are planning a joint learning initiative for students in Year 9 exploring content around ecosystems, biomes and food production. To increase the relevance of this unit of work we are hoping to partner with individuals or organisations who are involved in the agricultural industry, particularly those with an interest in managing or increasing the productivity of the land.

If you are involved in, or have contacts in this field who might be able to speak with our students, be interviewed by our students or be open to students presenting work to them, then we would be most interested in discussing this opportunity with you.  The project will be running from late June to August next year. 

Please make contact with either Mrs Denise Bailey at Denise.Bailey@pcs.nsw.edu.au, or Mrs Sharon Hogan Sharon.Hogan@pcs.nsw.edu.au if this is an area in which you can assist.

Last week Junior School was visited by Ditto the Lion Cub from Bravehearts.

Bravehearts is a Queensland based organisation whose vision statement is ‘to make Australia the safest place in the world to raise a child’. The children were taught about Ditto’s rules for being safe and what those rules look like in a practical and engaging manner. The rules are:

We all have the right to feel safe with people.

It’s ok to say NO if you feel unsafe or unsure.

‘Art with Punch’ is an exciting event that showcases Year 11 and Year 12 bodies of work, and was held this year on Thursday 21 November. Students help plan and curate this formal exhibition and are an integral part of the energy and dynamics of the evening. ‘Art with Punch’ is a celebration of the Year 12 students' hard work and a welcome to the emerging young artists of 2020.

Students created a diverse range of thrilling artworks ranging from wearable art, film, sculpture, embroidery, photography to printmaking. They created series and collections of pieces exploring their themes and concepts that strongly articulate their ideas within the postmodern, cultural, structural and subjective frames.

Students, families and friends had a fantastic time enjoying the artworks, canapés and community involved in this profoundly engaging and exciting occasion.

Please be advised that there will be changes in regards to term dates for 2020.

Typically, students have had a free day at the start of Term 2 and Term 4.  From 2020, we will have all staff AND students return on the first Monday of these terms.

Please find below term dates for 2020.

On Wednesday 27 November, twenty Year 3 and Year 4 Missions students went to visit Governor Phillip Nursing Home. They performed a dance, sang songs and Christmas Carols, and presented the gospel through poetry in front of the residents. Afterwards, we gave out handmade Christmas cards.

I am proud of the kindness our students displayed when interacting with the elderly residents. Missions students gave up their lunch time throughout the term to make the cards and prepare for our trip. Thank you to each and every student for your heart for others. Thank you also to Vanessa Renny for coming along to help support the students.

Be kind to one another and tender-hearted. Ephesians 4:32