Congratulations to our Years 7-12 representative sports teams who, once again, produced some outstanding results:
Soccer
Open Girls vs Wycliffe CS
6 -1 (Win)
Goal scorers: Belle C x 2, Hayley, Zara S, Amelie and Mia J
U15 Boys vs Nepean CS
0 - 4 (Loss)
Congratulations to Adelaide, Matilda and Zara who have been selected to represent CSSA at the upcoming CIS Touch Football Championship. For the sixth consecutive year, Adelaide has achieved this honour, whilst her sister Matilda will represent CSSA for a third consecutive year. Zara, in Year 7, is a talented touch player and will join Matilda in the U15s Team.
We wish the girls all the best for Wednesday 16 June as they compete to be selected.
Caroline Bartlett
PDHPE Teacher
On Wednesday 19 May it was National Simultaneous Storytime. At 11.00 am on this date, over a million children from all around Australia were reading or listening to the book ‘Give Me Some Space’ by Phillip Bunting.
National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS) is held annually by the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA). Every year a picture book, written and illustrated by an Australian author and illustrator, is read simultaneously in libraries, schools, pre-schools, childcare centres, family homes, bookshops and many other places around the country. Now in its 21st successful year, it is a colourful, vibrant, fun event that aims to promote the value of reading and literacy, using an Australian children's book that explores age-appropriate themes, and addresses key learning areas of the National Curriculum for Foundation to Year 6.
This year was extra exciting as the story was read by astronaut Dr Shannon Walker from the International Space Station! Our Preschool, Prep and K-4 students gathered in the Auditorium to watch this event. The students were very excited and many have been borrowing books from the library about space this week.
Our school is using the Perspectives: Your school in focus suite of surveys developed by AISNSW to support our school improvement endeavours. The information gathered will assist in furthering the growth and development of our school community. We will use the survey results to help inform and direct future school planning and improvement strategies.
These surveys have been specifically designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of stakeholders’ perceptions of five important areas: School Environment, Teaching and Learning, Student Wellbeing, Leadership and Community. All staff, students, parents/caregivers, leaders and Board members are invited to participate.
The surveys will be available from 31 May to 13 June and are conducted online, taking approximately 15- 20 minutes to complete.
Issue 4 of Scholastic BookClub is out now and the brochure is available online at: https://www.scholastic.com.au/book-club/book-club-parents/.
Please note Bookclub is now ONLINE - we no longer send leaflets home or take cash orders
All orders should be placed online by Friday 4 June.
Year 7 spent three days enjoying some time together in the beautiful surrounds at Galston. We were reminded that we cannot control the weather but we can be resilient and resourceful in difficult circumstances.
Our leaders showed great love, kindness and patience towards our students as they shared their passion for Jesus. As a Christian School we are very excited to know that our students were challenged to think about their relationship with God at a deeper level.
Here are just some of the comments and reflections expressed by Year 7 students:
It was good to see the sun shine and sport resume this week from the wash out that we experienced in Week 3.
This week our representative teams put together another strong performance. Our U15s Soccer boys dominated their game with a convincing win over the Lakes Christian School 15-0. Congratulations to the goal scorers: Oskaa, Louis, Tosin, Joshua, Rory, Cooper and Phoenix. It was great to see our Senior Boys and Open Girls teams cheer on the Under 15s team while they had their bye.
In our Netball games this week, it was again good to see our girls encourage and support each other both on and off the court. The girls were impressive with their efforts coming away with two wins and one loss.
Year 8 students attended a camp at CRU Lake Mac, Lake Macquarie. The three days of fun included scaling and abseiling the artificial climbing wall, canoeing, and various group activities. Students participated in numerous Christian Discovery sessions to hear and ask questions about Jesus.
Enthusiastic CRU leaders were dedicated to the students and encouraged each student to challenge themselves physically and/or spiritually. The CRU camp experience provided opportunities for students to be positioned outside their comfort zones for personal growth and to build positive relationships with peers.
Year 8 students were asked many camp reflection questions, including:
Year 9 students dissected a cow’s eye last week. They skilfully extracted the eye lens and performed experiments with it.
They then related the structure of each part of the eye to its function. We marvelled at the complexity and ingenuity of this amazing organ. How great is our God!
Well done Year 9 Science students.
Join us on 20 May 2021 for our annual OPEN DAY! Prospective families are invited to attend from 10.00 am for tours and other activities (see Program for details). PCS families are invited to visit from 11.30 am to visit Open Classrooms, and enjoy a BBQ lunch with student performances.
ALL VISITORS (including current PCS families) MUST BOOK by 19 May (12noon) via:
www.trybooking.com/BRIBT
OPEN DAY PROGRAM
9.40 am - Arrival
Penrith Christian School has a strong commitment to bless and nurture our community ‘anywhere anytime’! Our Mother’s Day Breakfast and gifts stalls held last Friday provided an amazing opportunity to celebrate and honour our PCS mums for all that they are and do ... Cornerstone of our Community.
The morning was filled with much love, gifts, great food, games, laughter, a few tears, new friendships, and an uplifting and inspirational message from our Deputy Principal Mrs Geraldine Paynter. As grandmothers, mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts, we are ALL connected with one another and this is what makes PCS family! The following quotes I believe express the essence of motherhood.
‘The influence of a mother in the lives of her children is beyond calculation.’
On Wednesday 5 May 2021, both Year 9 and 10 students had a visit from Olympic Clay Shooter Suzy Balogh as part of their Personal Learning Lab lesson. In these lessons we take the time to explore a variety of topics which will further the learning and development of our students at PCS.
Suzy Balogh’s visit was part of the Olympics Unleashed program, presented by Optus, which takes Olympians and athletes aspiring to the Tokyo Games and beyond, into Australian schools to inspire and motivate students to be their personal best.
Suzy Balogh competed as an alternate at the Sydney 2000 Olympics. She won Gold in the Olympic Trap competition at Athens in 2004 and made the Olympic Trap final at the London Olympics in 2012. Suzy shared her amazing story with the students, highlighting the importance of finding your passion, goal setting, and not giving up in the face of adversity. PCS students were greatly encouraged and asked some fantastic questions in relation to overcoming fear, setting goals, and the importance of training. Suzy also brought in her Gold Medal to show the students and she explained the meaning behind the engravings on both sides of the medal.
Thirty-two students from PCS competed in the Science and Engineering Competition at the Hall of Champions at Homebush on 25 March 2021. The students, in teams of four, constructed: bridges, earthquake-proof towers, hovercrafts, bionic hands, power turbines. They also solved problems in coding, communication and power grids.
Congratulations to the team who achieved third place on the day.
Special congratulations to the following teams who achieved first place in their challenge:
Year 10 and Year 12 Drama students attended a performance and participated in a three hour workshop with Playback Theatre at Riverside, Parramatta. It was a full on day filled with energetic participation.
Here are some thoughts from our students:
‘A very informative workshop. We were able to grow as a Drama team. It gave us confidence with working on the physicality for our HSC Group Performance.’
Chess has officially kicked off for the term with a tournament, lollies, ambient music, warm rooms, and keen chess players! Even though chess wouldn’t be commonly considered a ‘sport’, it is very much an intellectual sport. So far, every student has shown and grown their interest in chess – the rising global phenomenon. I have collected some testimonials and ‘quotable quotes’ from some of our very own PCS students.
‘Checkmate, Mrs Rhee.’ – Jake H (Y9)
‘I should have chosen a real sport.’ – Ashton G (Y9)
‘Chess inspires me.’ – Jordan S (Y9)
Twenty four (24) students represented PCS and Nepean Zone at the CSSA State Secondary Swimming Carnival on Tuesday 30 March 2021 at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre. All students gave their best and represented PCS in an honourable and diligent manner. There were a number of incredible individual and team results across the day, including the 15-16 Years Girls 4 x 50m Free Team placing 5th. The relay team members were: Charlotte B, Matilda T, Mackenzie C and Kiera A.
CLICK HERE for full list of results.
I would like to also congratulate Lily J (Year 7). Lily placed 3rd in 100m Freestyle, and 4th in 50m Fly, at the CSSA State Secondary Swimming Carnival. These results earned her a spot in the NSW CIS Swimming Carnival for 50m Freestyle, and as a stand-by in the 50m Fly. Lily represented PCS and CSSA wonderfully at the NSW CIS Swimming Carnival held at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre on Wednesday 28 April 2021, placing 12th in the 50m Freestyle.
On Monday 3 May we participated in the first ever Nepean Zone Cross Country held at Nepean Christian School. An exceptionally challenging course was developed for our 92 students from Years 2-10 who participated with many others from schools in the Nepean Zone. We were truly blessed with a fantastic day of glorious sunshine after the misty and foggy morning.
Our Primary Team placed 4th in the overall School Championship and Secondary Team placed 3rd overall. We have 23 primary students and 25 secondary students now headed for the CSSA State Cross Country to be held at the Sydney International Equestrian Centre on Friday 28 May 2021.
A special mention to the following students for outstanding results:
On Wednesday Year 11 Studies of Religion students visited the Jewish Museum, a memorial to those six million Jews killed in the Holocaust, and we were fortunate to hear from a 95 year old survivor who was in concentration camps from the age of 13.
We toured the museum and saw the religious artefacts display, including a Torah scroll.
A moving and memorable learning day for us all.
Japanese has been a blast this year and the Year 7s have had a lot of fun learning the Japanese language and about the culture. On the last day of Term 1, we learned about the Setsubun Bean Throwing Festival. This is a festival celebrated on February 3 where Japanese people wear demon masks and throw soybeans at each other to ward off bad spirits. Of course, we have the assurance that Jesus Christ conquered sin and death on the cross and that He is greater and more powerful than any demon – even the demons trembled at His name! It was fun to partake in this cultural festival by throwing plastic balls (we didn’t have soybeans) and designing masks, as you can see in the photos. We now have these masks stuck up in our Japanese room.
In Week 1 this term, students learned about how Japanese people celebrate Valentine’s Day and White Day by making origami hearts. In a nutshell, Valentine’s Day is for the girls to give gifts, whereas White Day is for the guys to give gifts, 1 month later. Year 7s had to think about one person to give their heart to – friend or family.
It was a privilege for 20 girls from Years 3 to 6 to participate in CSSA Primary Girls Soccer Gala Day at Jamison Park in Penrith last Friday.
Eager to compete after the restrictions cancelled games last year, there were 20 teams for Seniors and 10 teams for Juniors. All of our PCS students played wholeheartedly and represented our school with excellence. One of the girls commented, ‘This is the BEST day ever!’
All teams played four games throughout the day. The Senior team played gallantly in a competitive field but were unable to secure a spot in the semifinals. The Junior team successfully made it through to the sem-ifinals! In a very close and fast paced match, they were able to win 2-1 after going into extra time twice.
