In the last week of Term 2, Kindergarten celebrated learning with a Teddy Bears Picnic. We welcomed family and friends as children brought in their teddy bears. A special thank you to Mrs Dunn for bringing in her biggest Bear.

To begin the day, our children took their bears out for Walk and Talk, parading and sharing their fabulous bears as parents looked on. Next we moved into our classroom activities.

First we sang songs, read Teddy Bear stories. Then students cut out a challenging bear puzzle, put together a split-pin Teddy Bear craft. Students worked on a descriptive writing task and gathered data on a graph counting out gummy bears. At 10 am we sat out on the grass hill for our Picnic. We had Prep friends join us with their bears and lunch boxes. Many families and students shared picnic rugs, blankets or towels as they ate yummy fruit and recess snacks.

What’s the best way to teach Emotional Intelligence to kids? How can we help them develop self-awareness and empathy? And, how can we help them relate better to others?

Social Emotional Learning, or SEL, is the ‘process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.’

(Denham, 1998; Saarni, 1999):

Please be advised that over the next six to eight months, we will be filming the different completions and major milestones of the current building works at our School.

PCS alumni Callum Meney will be documenting the different stages of these projects with a drone starting Monday 12 August.

Should you have any concerns or further inquiries, please contact Ms Sharon Tuft at sharon.tuft@pcs.nsw.edu.au

As part of our Missions Fundraising commitments for 2019, Junior School will be running ‘Coins for Missions’ throughout Term 3.

All classes from Kindergarten to Year 4 will be encouraged to do jobs at home in order to earn silver or gold coins for Missions. The students are requested to collect the money at home and then either bring in the progressive amount each week OR the final total they have earned on Thursday 26 September. 

The money raised by Junior School will support our sister school in Uganda, Divine Junior School, with educational resources, remodelling and brand new technology.

Our Father’s Day Stalls are an opportunity for PCS to bless our school community and for students to choose a special gift for their dads. If your child would like to purchase a Father’s Day gift, please send in $5.00 ON THE DAY OF THE STALL with each Preschool to Year 6 child.

KINDERGARTEN TO YEAR 6Friday 30 August 2019 (from 9.00 am )in the Canteen COLA

EARLY CHILDHOODWednesday 28 AND Friday 30 August 2019in the Early Childhood Centre

ATTENTION DADS!! Bring your kids to school between 7.30 am and 8.30 am on Friday 30 August, and grab Father's Day Breakfast TO GO!

Grab a FREE EGG AND BACON ROLL, or EGG AND SAUSAGE ROLL, and a bottle of water when you drive through Express Drop Off. Those who walk their kids to the front gates will also receive a FREE BREAKFAST and are welcome to hang around for a coffee in the Cafe.

Teacher supervision will be available from 7.30 am for those who need to come early.

Parents, family, friends and elective Music and Drama students interested in higher level performance are invited to our second HSC Performance Night for 2019.

This event is an opportunity to showcase the talents of our Year 12 Music students as they perform two of their HSC pieces in a high level performance evening setting. Our Year 12 Drama class will also be performing a piece at the beginning of the evening.

When:                  Thursday 15 August 2019

Jayson graduated from PCS in 2016 and started his pathway to a career at Western Sydney University studying Social Work. The great thing about University these days is that just because you start something it doesn’t mean you are locked in, and Jayson is a great example of this.

Jayson decided that Social Work wasn’t for him and was interested in Psychology so he switched to a Social Science pathway, where he knew that if he got really good marks he could enter Psychology. He achieved the results needed and transferred to Psychology, becoming interested in Forensic Psychology as a Masters degree. Forensics wasn’t on offer in his course so he applied through a program called Aim Overseas to study Forensic Psychology for a month at  Maastricht University in the Netherlands. This program is offered to high achieving students from Universities around Australia, and of course his application was successful.

He returned from this adventure recently and this is what he had to say about the experience: 

This term in Junior School we are learning to REUSE, REDUCE and RECYCLE. During Crunch and Sip we are encouraging students to bring their fruit or vegies in  their own skins or use reusable containers.

At recess and lunch we want to reduce gladwrap and single use zip lock bags and plastic packaging by using reusable containers. We are excited to reduce the amount of waste at PCS. We are also collecting plastic bottles to donate to Vinnies and in return earn money for our school. Teachers will give a class dojo for Waste Free Wednesday to students who participate as we help students learn about how to look after their environment and make a change in their world.

On Wednesday 3 July,  31 students from Years 9 and 10 competed against seven other schools at Western Sydney University in the Science and Engineering Challenge.

Students were required to work in teams of four on tasks for four hours, designing, testing and problem solving in such areas as electronic communication, power management, bridge construction, building a model of a working hand, string puzzles, structure, load design and construction, earthquake proof tower construction and Mars rover construction. Students worked tenaciously and extremely co-operatively in their teams and were a credit to PCS. The highlight at the end of the day was the bridge testing in which our School bridge won easily by being able to carry the heaviest load without collapsing.

Our congratulations to the whole team and each student as we were the overall winner on the day. Many thanks to Mr Rob Moor for providing invaluable bridge design advice prior to the competition and for assisting on the day.

Boost Science started with each grade having a crash course using Scratch Junior on the iPads and then displaying their work to their peers on the Apple TV.

Year 3 kicked off by learning about different types of bridges. They found the five following types of bridges:

Arch

Beam

On Tuesday evening 2 July, we held our Senior School annual fundraising event ‘Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is’, raising funds to support Bali Projects, which includes an orphanage and housing for troubled teens. 

We have some amazingly talented and gifted students in our school and I am so proud and grateful that they have spent their evening putting others first, and having a great time whilst at it too.  It was standing room only for a while which was wonderful to see so many of our community turn up to support their children.

Our Junior School Classes, Middle and Senior School students, filled the auditorium with their joyous voices, dancers, singers, and groups performed at their best, and altogether raised a total of $6031.80. 

The sun shone warm, and the swelling chattering of excitement filled the air, as Year 8 students commenced their STEM Solar Car Challenge launch event on Thursday 1 August.

We were privileged this year to not only have, for the first time, Penrith Toyota presenting their hybrid technology, but also honoured to have a member of our school community generously come and share with students the terrific technology of the Tesla.

Students enthusiastically engaged with the Car Show, where they had the opportunity to see up close cars from the early 1900s, right through to current cutting edge technology of the innovative vehicle. The police generously brought four cars this year to our Car Show, including a new Chrysler Highway patrol vehicle and a Charger, which looked like it had driven straight out of a 70s movie.

Sarah has been playing piano for thirty years and has done her Grade 2 AMEB exams and her Grade 7 and 8 GUILD exams. She has a Certificate IV in Creative Arts Songwriting, a Bachelor of Music (majoring in composition) and a Diploma of Education. She is an incredibly qualified piano teacher and her students just love her.

She really enjoys teaching, she has been teaching piano for sixteen years and loves seeing students progress in their skills and passion for playing the piano.

In her spare time while she is not being a Mum or being involved in her church she loves reading, she likes to run for exercise with her dog and she also has a blog.

Leo Sharaf is one of our amazing teachers at Pernith Creative Academy. Here's some more information about Leo!

I love music and am studying a Bachelor of Music at University. I have been playing guitar for 7 years and have gigged professionally for 3 years. I also enjoy playing for my church music team and song writing. I have prior experience teaching guitar to many different ages.

Guitar is an instrument that anyone can learn. It just requires patience, a willingness to learn and a positive attitude, skills we could all use. I offer my services for anyone who is just beginning in guitar or who would like to progress further in their instrument.

Hi! My name is Sarah-Jane Elias and I’m the dance teacher at Penrith Creative Academy. I love teaching at the Academy for so many reasons. It is refreshing to teach students in an environment which is free from the pressures and restrictions of conventional dance studios. I believe the Academy Dance classes allow students with different abilities and backgrounds to flourish in dance. They learn good technique, safe dance practice, choreographic skills and group dances, in a safe, Christian environment.

I have been dancing since I was 5 years of age, and teaching dance in a variety of capacities for years. I’ve taught in Private studios, and in the State and Catholic Education System. I have had extensive training in Jazz, Ballet (RAD), Contemporary, Hip Hop, and Drama. My formal training includes a Bachelor of Arts (Dance and Drama), and a Bachelor of Teaching (Secondary).

The thing I love most about teaching at the Academy is meeting new students and seeing them grow in confidence and ability; fostering creativity, and nurturing children and inspiring their love of dance is extremely important to me. So if you have a son or daughter who loves to dance, please consider the Academy Dance Program for your child.

One of our Academy teachers, Layla Marinos, has some new time slots available to teach singing (classical, contemporary/pop or music theatre), piano (classical or just for fun), violin and music theory.

Current time slots available (for any of the above classes) are from 12 noon until 3pm for group and private lessons, and then again at 6.30pm

Layla is an incredibly accomplished musician who has achieved AMEB grades in Pianoforte (8th), Classical Singing (7th), Violin (5th) and Musicianship (3rd). She teaches at other schools as well and runs her own business teaching music. In her spare time, when she isn’t studying or teaching all of these instruments, she also enjoys learning new instruments, horse riding, acting and performing and studying other languages.

You are invited to a PCS Parent Seminar: 'Selfies, Self-worth and Self-objectification: Helping teens navigate Social Media Culture' presented by Collett Smart.

Tuesday 27 August 2019

7.00 pm

$5 entry

In Term 3, Penrith Creative Academy will have some new group classes, and will be offering a discount for what we are calling an 'Afternoon of Creativity' (three group classes back to back). A student who signs up for an Afternoon of Creativity will be charged $40 instead of $45 a week.

The group classes that the students can choose from (depending on parent interest and actual registration numbers) include:

Dance

Photography

What a fantastic Open Day! We would like to extend a huge thank you to all the students, staff and parents who worked hard to provide a wonderful experience for all our guests. Many visitors commented on the friendly and welcoming atmosphere, and what a lovely community PCS is. 

Our Student Tour Guides did an amazing job, answering questions and showcasing the School from a student's perspective. This impressed many of our guests, as it was obvious their responses were genuine and a reflection of our School's environment.

Thank you to all our performers: the Student Showcase was once again a wonderful example of the breadth of talent across our whole school. Below is a selection of photos from the day!