Student Representative Council 2

Staff News 3

Junior School Auxiliary 3

Liaison Parents 3

Year 4 and 5 Camp 3

GirlPower Workshops 4

Canberra Experience 4

Swimming and Diving Success 4

Year 6 Leaders 5

The Gateway Project 5

Parent Teacher Interviews

Hamilton Cross Country

Thursday 17 March

Junior School Easter Service

Thursday 24 March

Taste of Year 7 (2017) Day

Wednesday 30 March

IPSHA Cross Country at The King’s

School

Saturday 2 April

Last Day of Term 1

Friday 8 April, 3.05 pm

Mothers’ Day Breakfast

Tuesday 3 May

Open Day and Fair

Saturday 7 May

ICE BLOCK DAY

Thursday 17 March

HOT CROSS BUN MORNING TEA

Wednesday 23 March

HOMEWORK FREE WEEK

Weeks 11A

Resilience: Managing life’s ups and downs and learning

to keep a balance.

The girls have settled into the busy routines and challenges of their new classes and are enjoying the exciting events and activities of Term 1. It is a delight to see them engaged in their work and relationships.

Recently, Junior School staff completed training with Peer Support Australia and we will be implementing their program in Terms 2 and 3 this year. Peer Support Australia is dedicated to providing dynamic peer led programs, which foster the physical, mental and social wellbeing of young people and their community. This program also develops key skills in resilience, assertiveness, decision making, problem solving and leadership.

All Year 6 students will be trained as Peer Leaders and work with small groups of girls from Kindergarten – Year 5. In the sessions, the students are involved in a structured series of interactive learning experiences guided by their Peer Leaders. This year, we will focus on Moving Forward, an eight session module on resilience. Evidence confirms that resilience can be developed within students by recognising and utilising protective behaviours, and employing a range of strategies in challenging situations. The experiences in the Peer Support Program provide opportunities to develop and practice strategies to enhance wellbeing.

Information about the sessions will be posted on the class blogs. This will give an outline of the activities, the research behind the program and strategies to promote resilience in your daughter.

Student resilience and wellbeing are essential for both academic and social development. Confident, resilient children with a capacity for emotional intelligence perform better academically, create strong social bonds and maintain healthy relationships and responsible lifestyles. While the majority of a student’s development in resilience is influenced by support within the family, the Junior School provides an environment which encourages and promotes resilience.

………….

On Thursday 24 March, Junior School families are invited to join us for our Easter Chapel Service at 2.00 pm in the Audrey Keown Theatre. An invitation has been sent home with your daughters and we look forward to welcoming you to this special service.

Have a blessed Easter with your family and friends.

Kind regards

Deryn Smyth Melissa Watters

Head of Junior School Deputy Head of Junior School

EASTER TREATS

On Wednesday 23 March the JSA

has organised an Easter Hot Cross

Bun morning tea for the girls to

share together and we thank them

for this special treat. As the girls

prepare to celebrate Easter they do

like to bring Easter eggs to school

for their class mates. We request

your support to limit the amount of

chocolate the girls bring in as we

have a number of girls with allergies

and some chocolate contains traces

of nuts. Thank you.

______________________________

PLC OPEN DAY and FAIR

On Saturday 7 May, PLC will hold its

Open Day and Fair. This is an

exciting day in the school calendar

for the whole community and an

opportunity to showcase PLC.

Attendance by Junior School

students is compulsory and girls

should wear their summer school

uniform, including Panama hat, on

the day. A roll call for each class will

be taken at 11.00 am. If your

daughter is unable to attend due to

extenuating circumstances, a letter

of explanation should be written to

Mrs Smyth prior to Open Day.

______________________________

On Friday 12 February, the Years 3-6 Swimming Carnival was held at Ashfield Pool.

The girls participated wholeheartedly in their events, demonstrated great House

spirit and the morning was most successful and enjoyed by the girls, parents and

staff. We thank the PDHPE Department, in particular Ms Virginia Shearer, Ms

Belinda Harden and Miss Melissa Johnston, and the class teachers for their

organisation and involvement. The IPSHA Swimming and Diving Carnival was held

on Wednesday 22 March at Homebush. Congratulations to our representative

swimmers and divers.

The Junior School Student Representative Council, referred to as the SRC, actively

initiates and coordinates activities for the benefit of all students at the school.

Congratulations to the following students who will take their place on the SRC this

semester.

Term 1 Parent/Teacher Interviews will be held over the next few weeks. Parents

are able to book interviews through an online process. This is the first of a series of

three formal Parent Teacher Interviews for the year, the second one in Term 3 after

the Semester 1 reports have been received and the third one (optional) following

the Semester 2 reports at the end of the school year. Staff are always happy to

meet with parents at other times. Please do not hesitate to contact your daughter’s

class teacher to arrange a meeting.

Year 6

Tatyana Ishak – 6W

Isabella Chanine – 6G

Nicole Jiang – 6K

Year 5

Bailee Winton-Murray – 5T

Alexandra Reid-Queeney – 5P

Olivia Stavrakis – 5L

Year 4

Chloe Sargiss – 4M

Meadow Milner – 4B

Angelina Foley – 4G

Year 3

Naomi Webb – 3P

Amelia Lai – 3C

Eva Travers – 3M

Year 2

Irie Mui – 2A

Elisa Chamoun – 2G

Ruby Stephenson – 2S

Year 1

Sienna May – 1O

Eva Vouziotis – 1E

The Hamilton (Years 3-6) Cross Country will be held on Thursday 17 March at

Centenary Park. Some girls at each level will go on to represent PLC at the IPSHA

Cross Country on Saturday 2 April at The King’s School. We wish them every

success.

Information about the Hamilton Cross Country was sent home to families from the

Sports Department.

YEAR 4 and 5 CAMP

The next Junior School Auxiliary meeting will be held on Wednesday 16 March at 8.30 am in the Macindoe Research Centre (top floor). The 2016 Junior School Auxiliary meetings are listed in the School Calendar on the website/App.

The JSA Committee for 2016:

President - Lara McPhee

Vice President - Alicia Yorke

Vice President - Rebecca Edwards

Secretary - Jiselle Harb

Treasurer - Sophie Arkelidis

On the evening of Monday 22 February, the parents who volunteered to take on the role of Liaison Parents met to discuss their role and how they can approach their various duties. Please see the list of Liaison Parents below:

Pre-Kindergarten

Manda Vulic, Ashika Verma

Kindergarten

Georgie Moodie, Tamara Yap, Jaimee Lieu, Rebecca Hayes

Year 1

Sophie Arkelidis, Fiona Kypreos, Nikki Kotsis

Year 2

Karen Kwan, Frances Jewell, Charmain Steventon

Year 3

Naomi Miller, Emma Cope, Marcia Lai, Virginie Colosi, Mary Ronis, Fiona Walker

Year 4

Victoria Sydun, Carina Kypreos, Lisa Milner, Maria Al Hassan, Dianne Di Cristo, Christina Watson

Year 5

Heidi Schmidt, Victoria Cummins, Peter Ronis, Helen Constantinou, Connie Drivas

Year 6

Judith Coombes, Helen Constanzo, Jennifer O’Connor, Christine Hammond

We thank the Junior School Auxiliary and the Liaison parents for the contribution they will be making throughout the school year.

We are delighted to share with you that two of our Evandale teachers have recently announced their engagements.

Congratulations to Miss Hilary Scandrett and her fiancé Adam and to Miss Emily Hobson and her fiancé Rob. Our best wishes to the happy couples.

Years 4 and 5 students really enjoyed their three days at the Berry Sport and Recreation Centre.

The girls took part in fabulous group activities that promote key learning through relationships, outdoor challenges, action and resilience. Some of the experiences included; rock climbing, canoeing, archery, a giant swing and a flying fox.

CANBERRA EXPERIENCE

Year 6 spent three busy days in Canberra learning more about Government and visiting many places of interest in our National Capital. These included Old and New Parliament Houses, the War Memorial, Australian Institute of Sport and Questacon. The girls thoroughly enjoyed this very special opportunity and we thank the staff who accompanied the girls on their learning journey.

PLC is committed to creating a safe and caring environment for your child. We want to ensure our students are set up for success and that our school culture is one of respect and kindness.

On Monday 14 March we hosted a GirlPower Day for Years 1 to 6. This skills-based program empowers girls with the skills, language and self-confidence to be better friends and develop healthier friendships.

The day began with a Parent/Daughter Breakfast for Years 1 and 2 students under the camphor laurel tree. In the afternoon from 4.00 pm to 6.00 pm we invited parents with their Years 3-6 daughters to attend the ‘Language of Friendship Workshop’. In the workshops, the girls learnt language to express their feelings and how to stand up for themselves in an assertive manner and extinguish, what GirlPower refers to as, ‘Friendship Fires’.

A key element of GirlPower’s program is teaching students the difference between normal conflict and bullying. We strongly believe that GirlPower’s focus on teaching the skills to develop healthy relationships, starting at a young age, is the preventative approach and, ultimately, the best way to deal with this issue. GirlPower also helps students, parents and teachers establish a common language so that they can identify ‘Friendship Fires’ and learn to better communicate solutions.

As social-emotional learning and holistic education are already such an integral part of our school’s philosophy, this friendship program for girls aligns well with our values. Research clearly demonstrates that girls who have healthy friendships are involved in more leadership opportunities, have higher self-esteem, have a more positive body image, and make wiser decisions in future relationships.

Thank you for your continued support at home. For more information about GirlPower, please visit www.urstrong.com.

The IPSHA Swimming and Diving Carnival was held on 2 March at Homebush. We were very proud of the efforts of our representative swimmers and divers with Junior School girls achieving outstanding success. PLC Sydney has a large number of representatives in the IPSHA team for the Combined Independent Schools Swimming and Diving Carnival on Tuesday 22 March. Congratulations girls!

Date: Wednesday 23 March 2016

Time: 7.30 am - 9.30 am

Venue: Second-Hand Uniform Shop (located next to the JD Oates Aquatic Centre)

Many items will be generously discounted. Be quick to grab your size!

Examples: Blazers $50, jumpers $20, all tunics $10 off, tracksuit jackets $25 and pants $20. Evandale blazers sizes 4, 5 and 6 as low as $35. All shirts $10 and PE shorts $10.

Cash, credit cards and cheques are accepted for payment.

For more information regarding all second hand sales - please contact the Coordinator photini.christoforou@gmail.com

GIRLPOWER WORKSHOPS

Leadership is a significant aspect of our Social Skills program and has particular relevance to our Year 6 students who are all leaders of the Junior School. On the 29 February, we had the opportunity to take the Captains and Vice Captains to the National Young Leaders’ Day at Allphones Arena, where they joined with more than 6,000 other primary school leaders from across the state. Motivational speakers included Nathan Dubsy Want, TV presenter, the NSW Police Commissioner, Andrew Scipione and Ben Austin, a Paralympic swimmer. The girls were challenged to reflect on the theme for the day, Master the Little.

On the same day Year 6 leaders at school enjoyed a Leadership Day organised through yLead. Throughout the day, students were involved in activities that aimed to develop healthy relationships, encourage a team approach to leading the school and demonstrate effective communication.

All Year 6 will take part in the Peer Leaders’ Training to prepare them for their roles as Peer Support Leaders. The training is part of the school’s commitment to create a safe and happy environment for everyone.

Thank you for your assistance and support as we seek to move cars in an orderly manner through the roundabout each morning and afternoon. A letter, with a detailed map, was emailed recently to outline the flow of traffic and the procedures for drop off and pick up times. We acknowledge the increased traffic challenges in the surrounding area and appreciate everyone following the procedures for the safety of all students, staff and parents.

The excavation work has taken place along the College Street side of the site. It has been very exciting to see the placement of underground services and concrete trucks pouring footings for the new Hamilton buildings.

Five large, air conditioned, carpeted classrooms and two bag storage rooms have been placed into position on Drummond Field ready for the Years 4 and 5 classes. The girls are looking forward to the next step in our building adventure and Stage 2 of Camp Hamilton.

Dr Burgis has communicated information about some changes to the school uniform. (Please see Issue 4 of PLC Sydney Connections ).

It is hoped that students who are new to the College in 2017 will be the first to wear the new uniform. Changes to Sports uniform will be staged in over a 24-month period. We do not want to increase costs. Thus it is envisaged that students will be able to wear their current uniform in 2017 and into 2018 with a full changeover anticipated by 2019.

Parents are reminded that Earlybirds operates in the Hamilton playground from 7.30 am. There is no supervision prior to this time. Students should sign in on arrival and there is no cost for this service. At 8.00 am a teacher is on duty in the playground and at the verandah of Shubra Hall. Evandale girls may go to the Hamilton playground or Macindoe Research Centre from 8.00 am.