The Vine Newsletter

2022 HSC Showcase Nominations

We have had nominations in a number of HSC Major Work areas. Please note, these are only nominations and they are not confirmed for inclusion in the final programs.

Dance

The following Year 12 Dance students have been nominated for ‘Callback’

Core Composition – Caterina Furfaro and Anna Smith

Core Performance - Caterina Furfaro, Emma Tarbert and Anna Smith

Major Study Performance - Caterina Furfaro and Anna Smith

Drama

The following Year 12 Dance students have been nominated for ‘OnStage’

Group Performance 'Tunnel' – Elijah Lackey, Eliza Marshall, Grace Patterson, Annalise Taylor and Josiah Van-Stolk

Individual Performance - Eliza Marshall, Grace Patterson and Josiah Van-Stolk

Music 

Hannah Stanford has been nominated for the Music Showcase ‘Encore’. 

Staffing Updates

At the end of Term 3, we are farewelling a number of staff.

Miss Sophie Tucker, English/Drama Teacher and Head of Ridley House has accepted a Drama Teacher role at The Kings School. Miss Tucker has served the College for over 6 years and has played a significant role in the development of Drama and Performing Arts at the College. She has been the Director of some of our most memorable musicals including ‘Beauty and the Beast’, ‘Mary Poppins’, and most recently, ‘Highschool Musical’. We thank her for her passion and professionalism.

Mrs Kimberley Crawford, English/Dance Teacher has accepted a role at Menai High School. Mrs Crawford has served at the College for the past 5 years. She has contributed to the development of our Dance program in the Secondary School. She has challenged our students’ creative expression and the students have been well supported to perform to the best of their ability.

Mrs Helen Muller, Primary G&T Teacher, will be commencing Maternity Leave as she awaits the birth of her 2nd child.

Year 12 Graduation

It was wonderful to be able to come together on Wednesday morning to celebrate the graduation and achievements of the Class of 2022.

The Year 12 graduation marks the end of formal schooling and is a rite of passage into the next stage of life. For some that will be getting an HSC or a particular ATAR. For others, it is securing an apprenticeship or getting a job and, for some, taking a year off to explore the world. 

WHAT they want to be is, in some ways, answered by whatever they have planned for the coming year. However, I challenged the Class of 2022 at their Graduation to think further ahead; think about not just WHAT they want to be but WHO they want to be and the character they are developing.

The film "Chariots of Fire" tells the true story of Eric Liddell, “the Flying Scot,” who was favourite to win the 100 metre sprint at the 1924 Olympic games in Paris. He famously refused to compete in the heats scheduled on a Sunday, believing it to be breaking God’s commandment to keep that day set apart to spend time worshipping Him. When Liddell withdrew from the 100 metre event, another athlete and his fiercest competitor, Harold Abrahams, competed and won, bringing Britain glory. 

Liddell was then allowed to run the 400 metre race, an event for which he had limited training and, as a 100 metre runner, an event in which Liddell was considered unlikely to finish well. Liddell ran brilliantly, and he ran right into the history books, winning the gold medal with a personal story that shocked the world, even in the 1920s. His intensity of Christian conviction was already out of style and often ridiculed. Still, Eric Liddell became one of the most famous men in the British Empire and the larger world of athletics. 

Those who have seen “Chariots of Fire” may remember that at the end of the film, the screen fills with these words in text: 

“Eric Liddell, missionary, died in occupied China at the end of World War II. All of Scotland mourned.” 

Those two sentences hide perhaps the most important message that Eric Liddell’s life has for each one of us. Although he was an Olympic champion runner, Liddell firmly believed that God made him for mission work in China. During World War II, Japan occupied China, and missionaries and foreigners like Liddell were thrown into internment camps. 

An article in the Washington Times about Liddell said, “Shortly before the camp ended, Liddell became very ill with a brain tumour and died. The entire camp, especially its youth, was stunned for days, so great was the vacuum that Eric’s death had left.”

In Colossians 3:12-14 Paul says, 

12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

These verses say nothing about money or status; nothing about owning a big house, driving a great car, or being well known. They talk about clothing yourself in the characteristics that will make you a person who impacts those around you….

Compassion

Kindness

Humility

Gentleness

Patience

Tolerance

Forgiveness as great as God’s forgiveness of you

And over all of these things a Love for others which will bind and strengthen all of those other virtues.

As the Class of 2022 sets goals for the years ahead, I want them to not restrict themselves to immediate and worldly outcomes. To keep their eyes on a bigger prize, the prize of being the person of faith who leaves a vacuum when they are no longer there simply because of who they were. A person whose beliefs in the redemptive power of Christ and service to others means that you are God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothed with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  

The College hosted its annual Clean Up Australia Day a little later than usual in 2022, on Sunday 18 September. As much of the Penrith area was flooded back in March, we waited for warmer weather in Spring to try again. As Regatta Park was being redeveloped by Penrith City Council and unavailable, we chose Hunter Fields as the spot to clean up.

Over 70 students and parents came to collect rubbish on Sunday morning, amassing a variety of different rubbish and showing care for the local environment. It was lovely to see families out and about on a beautiful day and learning the value of service to the community. Families showed initiative in heading to different areas around the park to find rubbish and collect it safely.

Many Thanks to Mrs Grima and Mr Pullen who gave up part of their weekend to facilitate the event.

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. 

Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,

not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others."

Philippians 2:3-4 NIV

Please pray for:
 Those families in the College community experiencing times of hardship and stress.
Our Year 12 students as they undertake final preparations for the HSC examinations over the holidays.
Times of rest and refreshment over the holiday break.

Praise God for:
Our fabulous Class of 2022 and being able to celebrate them with friends and family,
and the Graduation Service and Valedictory Dinner.
Holidays which give students and staff the chance to enjoy a slower pace for a couple of weeks.
God’s gift of Jesus to us.

Miss Adele Crane - Director of Student Wellbeing

The importance of Traditions and Rites of Passage for our Students

Throughout a student’s time at Penrith Anglican College, there are a number of key milestones and moments for students to look forward to and enjoy. Many of these occur during Year 12, particularly in the final term of our student’s schooling journey. The last couple of weeks we have enjoyed watching students visit Kindergarten classes, have their last lessons, embrace their Year 12 Concert and shine at their Graduation Service and Valedictory Dinner.

These events are rituals that help us to recognise how we are growing, evolving, and transforming. They help us recognise and celebrate changes. They are also key events that can help to strengthen both individual and community wellbeing.

Our College embraces the opportunity to mark these transitions into new stages in life. These allow our students to strengthen the connections they have to each other and our community. As students move on in lives, ensuring that the know and feel that they belong to our College Community can bring a stronger sense of self and security.

In Seligman’s research about positive psychology, there are 5 foundational pillars that are listed below. All these pillars are incorporated into our College’s rite of passage events for our Year 12 students:

• Positive Emotion – the celebrations and fun, such as their last Tabitha picnic, build on joy and happiness to encompass all in the year group.

• Engagement – students are involved in contributing to these events, such as the Year 12 Concert where friendship groups and different classes combine to have fun on stage and perform.

• Relationships – watching the students sign their year books and reflect on the many different friendships they have built during their time here, as well as high-fiving and embracing their peers as they walk through the College guard of honour demonstrates the depth and breadth of these relationships with peers and younger students.

• Meaning – hearing from the students, what they have learnt and what it has meant to them during their Year 12 Chapel and speeches at various events highlights and amplifies this aspect.

• Accomplishment – it is important celebration event to recognise that the students have completed their HSC course (except for the last exams) and all that they have needed to finish to get to this point, it needs to be publicly acknowledged and celebrated.

Rites of passage events grow and strengthen a person’s sense of belonging and connection with the community. This in term helps students to be more confident and to build up their self-esteem. When students complete their final HSC exam, they have a final rite of passage in our community, of ringing the bell found at the front of our College. Friends, family, and many of our community gather around to celebrate with each student when this time comes. We can embrace and value these opportunities that continue to build up the wellbeing of our senior students, as well as enjoy the way that it builds up our College Community as a whole.

Miss Adele Crane
Director of Student Wellbeing

Mrs Ljubica Mansell - Deputy Principal (Primary)

Dear Families

It has been such a wonderful term and I am incredible proud of all the achievement students have made this term.

It has also been such an exciting term with camps, excursions, fundraisers, charity days and sporting events and it’s been a remarkable sigh to see so many students participating in a range of these activities.

Poetry Competition
Congratulations to all the students who have submitted their Poems as part of our Poetry Competition. I am looking forward to reading the submissions we have already received and even more so listening to the poems recited by the students in Term 4.

Thank you to the families for supporting your child enter this competition and I do look forward to seeing more participating in the future.

Stage 2 and 3 Camps
I had the pleasure of attending the Stage 2 and 3 camps in Term 3 and I am incredible proud of our students. The camp activities organised by Youthworks were designed to allow students to connect, be challenged and grow within their own confidence and I can confidently say that I saw so much growth at each camp.

It was such a special time for Stage 3 as it was their very first time at an overnight camp due to the restrictions in place due to the pandemic and the excitement echoed not only during the camp but in the days and weeks that followed. Memories were made, stories were shared and friendships were strengthened and formed, which will be etched in their hearts and minds for a long time to come.

Thank you to Miss Fowler, Ms Horner, Miss Willick, Mrs Thompson, Mr Hall, Mrs De Almeida, Mr Rodgers, Mr McMurray, Miss Anderson  and Mr Wright for supporting the students throughout the camp.

Stage 2 camp to Port Hacking was definitely a fabulous experience for the students. Similarly to the stage 3 camp, students were faced with challenges they haven’t experienced before in terms of activities and problem solving, to which they excelled in with the support of their teachers and the Youthworks Leaders.

It was sight to see students making their own damper, orienteering, fishing and building rafts but one experience that will forever have a place in my hear was the time we shared around the campfire learning more about Jesus. Also, a special treat for stage 2 was when Mr Rodgers played his guitar and lead us all in a sing-a-long. Thank you to Mrs Karp, Miss West, Mrs Munce, Miss Ekladios, Mr Asplin, Mr Wright, Mr Rodgers, Miss Fowler and Ms Horner for assisting the students on camp.

Grandparents Day
We warmly invite all families to our Grandparents Day on Wednesday 19 October 2022 in the lighthouse Theatre followed by classroom visits. There will be morning tea for our grandparents as well as our Book Fair which will be in the hospitality space. More information will be coming home to families with specific information about the day.

School Holidays
I pray that the upcoming school holiday break is a time for your family to rest, recharge and spend a lot of time together.

Here are some ideas to keep your child learning in the holidays:

• keep a journal to record your daily activities and then bring it to your teacher to share some of the highlights of your holidays.
• Choose your favourite book, find a comfortable spot in or around your home and just immerse yourself in that story
• If you are travelling to a new location these holidays, ask your child to research some interesting facts about the location by heading to the local museum, information centres or even reading plaques that are situated around the town

Most importantly, rest and enjoy your time together. 

Afternoon Pick up
Just a friendly reminder that all students can be collected from the Primary Assembly area of an afternoon or via the Kiss and Run. If you are collecting your child form their classrooms, we ask that you wait until the children have been dismissed. Any early leavers will need to be signed out from the front office.

Please be reminded that students are not permitted to be playing any games in the afternoon and must be seated in primary assembly area until their see their families or are collected. Once you have collected your child, please head to your cars.

Uniform
All students will return to full Summer uniform in Term 4. 

A friendly reminder that the new sports jacket is not to be worn with the Summer uniform.

Thank you for a wonderful term and I look forward to seeing you all ready for Term 4 on Monday 10 October 2022.

Warm Regards and God Bless,

Mrs Ljubica Mansell
Deputy Principal (Primary)

We travelled to Deer Park at Port Hacking in the Royal National Park by bus. We cooked damper and it was really nice, even though I thought it was going to be horrible! We also went fishing, but no one caught anything. The people running the camp were great too. We played awesome games and had an adventure hunt.

Eli Ingerson and Lillian Kosic
Year 3 Students

I liked that on camp there were fun activities and nice staff. Though it took a long time to get to Port Hacking, it was worth it. When we got there, we had a meeting about camp, got sorted into our cabins and then had some free time.

During morning tea, we got sorted into our activity groups. My group’s first activity was indoor rock climbing. Two people made it to the very top and the rest of us freaked out when there weren’t enough rocks to grab on to. To get to the climbing centre, we had to walk from Rathane to Deer Park. It was a nice walk because there was a lot of nature to see.

After climbing, we had lunch which was a Greek Chicken Wrap. I didn’t finish it because it was very big. Once we had all finished, we had free time to get ready for our next activity and play. My group next did catapults with Group E. We had to assemble a catapult and then we versed Group E with our catapults. We had to shoot objects to the targets to get points. We won! After that, we had to take them apart so the next group could build them.

We were meant to do pool canoeing after that, but it got changed to fishing. We were with Group E again. No one caught a fish though. The exciting part was, down underneath the dock, there was a stingray lying on a rock. We had two choices for bait, squid or bread. Most people used squid. Since we were using hand reels, when we had to pack up, we had to wind back up and some people, like me, got the hook stuck in their finger. Luckily, mine didn’t get stuck too badly.

A good thing about camp was meal service. Group A (my group) and E were on it for dinner. For dinner we had beef lasagne with beans and garlic bread. It was really good. After dinner, we went to the campfire. We roasted marshmallows, sang camp songs and heard some stories. The best part about the campfire was Mr Rodgers played the guitar!

For breakfast we had cereal and pancakes which were delicious! After breakfast was Christian Discovery. I liked that they taught us more about God and Jesus in a way we could understand. We were meant to go sailing next, but it was too cold and rainy to even go on the waterslide! So instead, we had… Mini Olympics!!! We were jumbled up and put into five different teams. I was in team Three and our team name was Champions! Team One won though, but it was really fun completing all the challenges. Despite the fact my team lost, I really enjoyed it.

I really loved camp and would tell all younger children to go in Year 4 and not miss the opportunity to go because it was awesome!

Aaleyah Hassan
Year 4 Student

Jacob and Charlie Williams have been actively living out our College value of compassion through a wonderful family initiative. Jacob and Charlie have been eagerly collecting cans and bottles from friends, family and neighbours to cash in at Return and Earn stations. The money they are raising from their recycling is being collected and then generously donated to the Kindergarten and Year 4 Compassion children supported by the cohorts of Jacob and Charlie at the College. So far Jacob and Charlie have raised nearly $100 by cashing in one thousand cans and bottles! If you are looking for ways to help your child develop compassion and kindness as well as raise money for the sponsor children at the College, why not try this initiative like Jacob and Charlie? How much money can you raise to support children in need?

Mrs Jessica Johnson
Primary Teacher

This month in the library we are asking RUOK?
Life can sometimes feel overwhelming. It’s so important to check in with friends and family and you don’t need to be an expert to listen. Every day is a good day to ask someone are you ok?

2022 Scholastic Book Fair – COMING SOON!
After a 2 year break we are excited to announce our Book Fair will be held next term on Wednesday 19 October.

This year’s Book Fair will be held in the Hospitality Space to coincide with Grandparents’ Day.

We look forward to welcoming back College friends and family to our Book Fair which helps provide valuable resources for our library. While shopping for your own families, you are also welcome to purchase books and donate them to the College library. EFTPOS facilities will be available at the Book Fair.

2022 Premier’s Reading Challenge
A huge congratulations to the 240 students who completed this year’s Challenge. What an awesome result! We are delighted that so many students have been reading through the year and we thank all teachers, students and their families for their efforts in not only reading so many books but also in logging them on the Challenge website.

On Friday 9 September Vin and Nancy Cosgrove, from the Vietnam Veterans Association St Mary’s Branch, came and enriched our Year 10 students with stories about their experiences during the Vietnam War.

Students made the following reflections:

• “I found it very helpful and informative. I found that it was a good overview of the topic and will be very helpful in understanding the context of the Vietnam War.”
• “I found the equipment that they brought really interesting because we could see what the actual equipment looked like.”
• “I found the talking and interaction interesting and also the stories and the impact of agent orange on the veterans after the war had ended.”

This was the 11th time we have had the Vietnam Veterans Incursion and as usual we were very appreciative of their insightful and engaging presentation.

Mr Al McCallum
Head of HSIE

Congratulations to all our athletes who attended the CIS Athletics Carnival on 20 September. The day was sunny and warm and perfect for competing.

Our students did such an amazing job with the competition proving to be very tough.

Well Done again to Nathaniel Grima, Harper Egglestone, Owen Morris, Jacob Raphael, Alana Jackson, Caleb Ritchie, Alexander Godwin, Jaxson Willmington, Adelaide Grima, Caelan Green, Lincoln Stratford, Rugbertha Williams, Estelle Ferro and Alice Braga for representing our College and NASSA proudly.

Mr Chris Hall
Primary Sport Coordinator

Congratulations to Jack Berwick (Year 6) who was selected as part of the CIS Boys Softball Team.

Jack travelled to Mudgee to play Cball between 30 August and 1 September. The team played well with Jack hitting a home run and scored a cycle (1 home run, 3 base run, 2 base run and single base run) on his first day. On the last day he took a couple of catches in the outfield to help the team win. The team won 50% of their games and came 8th overall. 

Well Done Jack!

Mr Chris Hall
Primary Sport Coordinator

Congratulations to College Vice Captain, Isabella Degei, on her outstanding performance at the All-Schools Netball Challenge on Monday, 12th September. Bella’s CIS team won the day, and are the 2022 All-School Champions. Bella’s on-court performance saw her named as a member of the NSW Open Netball Merit team. We are so proud of your netball achievements, Bella!

Mrs Amanda Houison
Director of Sport

Congratulations to Isla Puri (Year 8), who represented PAC and AICES at the CIS Athletics Championship. Isla earned a Bronze Medal in the 14s 400m race - an outstanding result, Isla, and we are so proud of your achievement!

Mrs Amanda Houison
Director of Sport

It was colourful chaos on the oval today for the P&F Colour Run! Thank you to the P&F for organising this fundraiser, to the businesses who sponsored the event and to all the families who raised money to participate. Thanks also to the staff and volunteers who assisted to make the afternoon run smoothly. Money raised will go towards Athletics equipment for the College.

Primary school students have had fun unleashing their creativity in designing logos for the P&F Colour Run.  Here are the results of their hard work.

Please note that school photos should be delivered in Week 1 Term 4.

PCYA Penrith is launching a new program in Term 4 called 'Alpha Girls'! This program is for women aged 12-19 with the aim to empower and strengthen through learning all things self-defense, engaging wellness exercises and meaningful group discussions. This program will every Thursday from 4pm - 5.30pm. 

Requirements for this program include: 

•   $100 for the program (runs for the full term | 10 weeks). We do take Active Kids Vouchers: see attached booking form.

Each week will be a new theme/goal:

Week 1: Meet and Greet

Week 2: Inspiration

Week 3: Mindfulness

Week 4: Breaking Down Walls

Week 5: Self Belief

Week 6: Wishful Thinking

Week 7: Loving Yourself

Week 8: Support Systems

Week 9: Setbacks to Success

Week 10: Future Goals

By doing this program participants also receive a free PCYC Membership for 12 months. We hope that you take this on board to join in on this amazing journey!

PCYC Penrith
100 Station Street
Penrith 2750
www.pcycnsw.org.au

The latest version of our Community Business Directory is now available for download.

The Community Business Directory acts as a link for business and families to support each other.  This initiative has been created by the Parents & Friends Association for businesses of Penrith Anglican College families rather than a general advertising site to assist our College Community during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Each business in the Directory has a direct link with a College family.

Please note, the Parents & Friends Association, Penrith Anglican College and their staff will not be liable for any interactions or transactions that occur between any parties connected through this P&F Initiative. The Parents & Friends Association has not vetted the information, products or offerings provided by these businesses. 

We will continue to update this document and post a link to the updated version on the website and the College App.  If you would like your business to participate in the Community Business Directory, please fill out the form via this link. There is no cost involved.

We are excited to be able to support our College families in this way, and hope you find this Directory helpful.

Students from all years across the school were able to enjoy games, food and fashion on the Latimer House Charity Day held in Week 7 of this Term. There was a fun-filled atmosphere during lunch as students knocked over tin cans, went fishing for treasure and threw sponges at some brave teachers.

Latimer students put in a huge effort to collect clothing donations, get over 500 sausage sizzles out to hungry students, and run the carnival-style games. Most importantly, as a school, we were able to donate over 200 bags of clothing to Take Love and over $2600 to SHIFT. These donations will help people in need of clothing, financial support, and temporary housing.

We would like to thank all students who dressed up, purchased food, drinks and tokens and made this day a success. A huge thank you also to all the families who got onboard with ordering food online and cleaned out their wardrobes.

Mr David Thurlow
Head of House - Latimer