Each year PCS endeavours to bless our mums and grandmums. Although this year we needed to do things a little different, it was still a huge success.

The students who visited the Mother’s Day Pop-Up stall had a fabulous time picking out special gifts to show their love for their wonderful mums, grandmums and even aunts. Our virtual Mother’s Day event was also well received so a huge thank you to all those who participated.

My heart’s desire is for you all to treasure and value your contribution to your children and to our PCS family. 

Although we were unable to hold a Mother’s Day event onsite this year, we still wanted to bless our mums and grandmums with a special ‘virtual event’. The video below was posted live on Facebook via 3 sessions (7.00 am, 10.00 am and 2.00 pm), with many people joining the sessions and interacting via comments.

A big thank you to all the students who participated (at short notice!) in the making of this video (Noah, Asha, Kohen, Aria, Riley, Amy-lee, Henry, Briarna, Isaac, Olivia, Oscar and Rachel). Thank you to our Principal, Tracey Deal, for her lovely message to mums. And thank you to staff members Sherilyn Freeburn (for a beautiful prayer), Sharon Tuft (for coordinating the event) and Jarrad Meney (for video producing and editing).

We are blessed with a wonderful community of people at PCS, and we hope this 'virtual event' has been a blessing to all our mums and grandmums. Happy Mother's Day!

Welcome to Episode 2 of PCS Video News! View this weeks Video News for updates from Assistant Principal, Mr Grice on current happenings, including roadworks, Mother's Day activities and an interview with Mr Favs.

At the end of Term 1, Year 4 wrote brief letters of encouragement as part of their daily devotions. Every student from Kindy to Year 4 still on-site on the last day of Term 1 received a copy of one of these letters with a ‘Jesus Loves Me’ balloon.

In the school holidays, these letters were also sent to two local Nursing Homes (one set via email and one set of 100 delivered in person to the front door of a nursing home for the staff and residents with a bunch of flowers). In addition, they were emailed to Divine Junior School Uganda.

These letters are short but powerful, heartfelt words of encouragement.

Are you looking for Mother's Day gifts? We have compiled a list of businesses owned by PCS families (as well as a few charity organisations) from which you can purchase a gift for mum. Consider supporting our School community businesses!

Paint and Sip Studios

A gift voucher for the arty mums - they are even running virtual painting sessions at present. Paint and Sip Studios Australia runs time limited accessible Art classes for everyone from children to adults. 

Facebook

As many students have now been learning offsite for quite a few weeks, we thought you would like an update about what's been happening onsite. View the video below to hear from Assistant Principal, Mr Grice and get a virtual tour of our new Junior School building (that is very close to completion!).

Sadly, we are unable to hold a Mother’s Day event onsite this year. Instead, we are putting together a special ‘virtual event’, which we invite ALL our mums and grandmums to join.

The ‘virtual event’ will be broadcast via ‘Watch Parties’ on our Facebook page throughout the day (with a duration of approximately 15 minutes). Choose the time that best suits you around work, child care, or schooling at home, and join us!

FRIDAY 8 MAY, 20207.00 am, 10.00 am or 2.00 pmJoin us at: www.facebook.com/penrithchristianschool 

Due to the current pandemic, our traditional Mother’s Day Stall looks a bit different this year! We will be operating a ‘Pop-Up’ Mother’s Day Stall located in front School Reception, for students schooling off site. All gifts are $5.00 each, and your child can drop in on:

Thursday 7 May OR Friday 8 May, 202010.00 am - 12 noon

In order to minimise the number of visitors onsite, please adhere to the following:

Our traditional Mother’s Day Stall will be operating for our Early Learning Centre students on Wednesday 6 May AND Friday 8 May 2020. The stall is an opportunity for PCS to bless our school community and for students to choose a special gift for their mums.

If your child would like to purchase a Mother’s Day gift, please send in $5.00 on the day of the Stall with your Preschool or Prep child.

We ask that students bring a carry bag so they can buy their Mother’s Day present at the Stall and then take their chosen gift home.

With a view to students returning onsite at some stage in Term 2, the Uniform Shop will reopen in Week 1, Term 2.

The Uniform Shop will open normal Term 2 trading hours (see below). Please also note:

Online purchases preferred.

Please observe social distancing when visiting the shop.

Only one (1) family is permitted in the Shop at a time – longer waiting times are to be expected.

PCS would like to remember and pay tribute to the men and women, both past and present who have served, and continue to serve our country during times of conflict and crisis. Although we can’t gather physically, we wish to take time to reflect upon their selfless sacrifice and honour their memory.

And beyond that, we give praise and thanks to our Living God, by whose grace, alongside their sacrifice, we can live in a free and peaceful country. Lest we forget.

As you know, this week there have been further announcements and advice about the delivery of education both at a Commonwealth and State level moving into Term 2.

We appreciate the complexity of this situation and for you, as parents, the need for clarity as you plan what your days may look like too.

As I mentioned in my video message last Sunday, we are looking forward to the time when we can all safely connect physically again and have all our wonderful students back onsite. In the meantime; however, we have heeded the advice of the Premier and Minister for Education, along with the Health Authorities, and have come up with a plan of what we see Term 2 looking like at this moment.

Tracey Deal, PCS Principal, with a message for our whole School community, including updates on latest Government announcements for schools in general, and expected learning arrangements in Term 2.

Our Junior School staff have put together a video for students and parents, which explains how learning will be happening in Junior School at PCS from Term 2. 

The video was posted on the Junior School Instagram. If you don't have an Instagram account, you can still view the video via the link below in a browser. However, we do recommend signing up to Instagram, as we will be posting more information via that platform in the future. It's free to join and you can remain private/anonymous.

CLICK HERE to view the video

On Wednesday 1 April, Junior School participated in a National Fundraiser for Autism – Light it up Blue. Even though all of our students are learning online at home or at school, we had a tremendous amount of students and families participate in this event.  Check out the cool photos some of the parents have sent in as well as our students on site. Thank you to those families who gave at school or online.

If you missed it out and would like to donate, PLEASE CLICK HERE and you can give 10c, $1, $2 or an amount you choose. Please put Penrith Christian School in the comments.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD an information sheet about Autism in case your child asks any questions.

Connection is really important within our Early Learning Centre, and to help foster this throughout this time of isolation, we have embarked upon a Zoom Story Time journey.

This allows the children and families at home to stay connected with us, and is just as great of an importance for us as educators, as it is for the children that we are entrusted with during this situation we find ourselves in. For us to facilitate the children being able to see each other, interact in a limited way, and have something special just for them at this time, became real-world problems that we needed to overcome.

We are so blessed to live in an age of technology, where platforms like Zoom and Storypark have become crucial to maintaining this connection. The thought of moving into this digital platform was a little confronting, but with so many avenues moving online now, it was an easy step to take when we made it.

CLICK HERE to read an article that deals with the very important topic of maintaining your mental health during social isolation.

It provides tips and links to great websites to help you and your family navigate this very tricky situation we are all in covering topics like staying connected, structuring your day, and seeking additional support.

This is a situation that we have never been in before, so let’s face it together, with as much help as we can get.

With most of the world in various levels of lockdown, many creative and interesting resources have emerged that we can use to stay connected.

Please find below some great links to resources that you may find helpful:

Story Time From Space - 1

During this period of off site schooling for most students, we will be featuring stories from families learning from home. If you have a story (funny, serious, informative, etc) to submit for consideration, please email (preferably with a photo or two) luisa.martinez@pcs.nsw.edu.au. Your story might be something new your family has never tried before, a benefit you didn't expect from learning at home, technology bloopers, a photo of teddy bears in your front window (for those contributing to the 'Going on A Bear Hunt' fun!), or a great 'cooking with kids' recipe - we'd love to hear what you've been up to.

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As we all adjust to our new way of living and doing online school, here are some ideas our family have put in place to maximise learning from home.

Is your child missing their regular library time? The iCentre has a solution!

This term we are offering a new way to get your book fix: Drive-thru Library! (Would you like a bookmark with that? You never know, that might happen!)

This will operate on an opt-in basis, and we will put together packs of age-appropriate books for those students who wish to participate. We have a new email address dedicated to Drive-thru Library so that we can best serve your family. To opt in to Drive-thru Library, please email us at drive-thru.library@pcs.nsw.edu.au, and let us know the name and grade of your child/ren so that we can provide them with books.