The Vine Newsletter

I think we are all guilty in the month of December of bemoaning how quickly a year passes. As a child I felt like it took forever to get to Christmas each year, but now I feel like we no sooner get the year started than we are at the end.

Steven R Covey, author of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People said, when talking about time, that "The key is in not spending time, but investing in it." Time has not just been spent in the 2022 school year, it has been well invested, and the returns have been genuine engagement in learning, the joy and excitement of coming to school each day and the character each student is developing that will last a lifetime.

Our Yearbook The Harvest went home to families yesterday. I am sure you will enjoy reading about the breadth of learning and opportunities that have returned life and colour to learning and the school experience this year.

As we finish the 2022 school year we are already looking forwards to 2023. We will see a growth of over 100 new students in the next school year and the start of a 5 stream Secondary School.

We have also engaged Leaf Architecture to work collaboratively with the College to develop our Master Plan. This will include plans to develop new buildings, renovate existing facilities, and enhance areas by integrating indoor and outdoor spaces more effectively.

At the start of next year, we will be launching our next Strategic Plan which will span the next five years and captures the strategic directions for the next chapter of our College. 

Let me thank you for the part you play in our Penrith Anglican College Community. It is a pleasure to work in partnership with each family for the education and care of your children. 

I pray that you have a blessed Christmas and we look forward to welcoming you back in 2023.

At the end of January 2023, our contract with Camp Australia expires. We thank the staff at Camp Australia for the provision of outside school hours care at the College over many years.

After much research, parent feedback, and consulting with other independent schools, we are pleased to announce that the outside school hours care at the College will now be provided by TheirCare. TheirCare is an Australian-owned and operated service. They are committed to delivering a high-quality service through qualified and inspired team members and through outstanding relationships with schools and families.

TheirCare will commence operations on Monday 30 January. Please note, there will be no before- or after-school care on the first day of Kindergarten, Friday 27 January 2023.

A detailed information pack was emailed to families, including the cost of each session and booking information. Staff from the service will be presenting at the Primary Parent Information Evening on Wednesday 1 February. Further information can also be found at www.theircare.com.au If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Mrs Mansell, Deputy (Primary). We look forward to working with TheirCare in the coming years.

Term Dates for 2023 is available for download here.  It is also available on the College website.

Each year the College community comes together to support people in need through Anglicare's Toys n Tucker drive.  This year was no exception, with the College bringing in generous donations of non-perishable food items and gifts.

We are excited to share that, with your donations, 31 Christmas hampers and 60 food boxes were packed by Year 10 students, and delivered by Mr Stephen Kuo from the Western Region of Anglicare to the Whalan Anglican Church to be distributed to those in need this Christmas.

Thank you to the whole College Community for your great generosity, your prayers, and for showing that Penrith Anglican College community cares!

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.
Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord.
This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

 Luke 2:8-12 (NIV)

Please pray for:
Those members of the College Community experiencing times of hardship and stress.
A safe and healthy end to 2022.
The good news of Jesus to be heard throughout our community at we approach Christmas.

 Praise God for:
A wonderful Graduation and celebration for Year 6.
Celebrating with Year 10 at their Charity Ball in support of Motor Neurone Disease Association NSW.
A lovely time celebrating all our students with their families at Presentation Events.
Celebrating the gift of Jesus as a whole College community at our Christmas Chapel.

The Uniform Shop will be operating with the following holiday opening times in January 2023:

Tuesday 10 January 8am-11am

Wednesday 11 January 12pm-5pm

Friday 12 January 8am-11am

Tuesday 17 January 8am-4pm

Wednesday 18 January 9am-5pm

Friday 20 January 8am-4pm

Monday 23 January 8am-4pm

Tuesday 24 January 8am-4pm

Wednesday 25 January 9am-5pm

Friday 27 January 8am-4pm

We have enjoyed some wonderful celebrations in the last few weeks of school including the Year 6 Graduation Chapel, dinner and disco, the Pre-Kindergarten Presentation and the Christmas Chapel which has been such a lovely way to end our year together.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our families for your continued support in 2022. It has been a year where we have been able to return to pre pandemic routines and share so many milestones and special events together, and I know just how much the students have enjoyed getting back to singing, dancing and learning with their friends each day.

A special thank you to the incredible Primary staff for all their hard work and efforts in 2022. The teachers have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know your children, helping them with their learning and supporting them as they grow.

My prayer for everyone is that you are able to have a restful break with your loved ones and enjoy the special time together. As we celebrate the birth of Jesus, may the conversations be filled with love, joy and happiness that allow memories to be made.

Thank you again for a wonderful 2022 and I look forward to welcoming you all back in 2023 for another spectacular year of school.

There was much excitement as families gathered on Thursday 1 December to celebrate our youngest students completing their first year of schooling at the College. Students sang and danced beautifully on stage in the Lighthouse Theatre, received their certificates of completion and were congratulated by Mrs Grima. The afternoon ended with a sausage sizzle at the Sails Area. We cannot wait to see the students in Kindergarten classrooms in 2023!

Year 3 had a blast trying out instruments for the Year 4 Band Program in Week 8! This process ensures the best instruments are selected for our Year 4 Band next year. Our skilled music staff and tutors go through a thorough process of allowing each student to try a concert band instrument before they put their preferences in. The process for selecting our instruments involves:

• Timbre testing: Listening to the different instruments and selecting their favourite tone colour.
• Embouchure Testing: Students try make an initial sound on the instrument.
• Preference Testing: Students select their instrument and answer follow up questions.

Testing will be completed early in Term 1 next year, so please do not be concerned if your child has not completed the testing before the end of the year. Thank you to the wonderful staff and music tutors – Joanna Watson, Adrian Munn, Narelle Robertson, Diana McIntosh, Irene Samuels and David Thurlow, for all their work with the students.

Mr Nick Lane
Head of Performing Arts

What's that buzzing coming from Year 4?

Well, in Science this term, we have been learning all about bees, how important they are for our environments and how they help in the process of pollination. Last week we had the opportunity to see them in real life during a presentation with beekeeper, Mr McCullough. We learned about bees’ habitats, what they eat and how they survive in the wild. We also learned how people can keep and look after bees in their back yards. Did you know that from just four commercial hives 100 kilograms of honey is produced in a year? We thought that was a pretty sweet fact! We even got to try on a bee keeping suit and bee keeping gloves. For many of us, we are hoping we can convince Mrs Grima to put the buzz into our College with some hives in the future. It was an amazing experience!  
Mahie Kehal 4B

Year 4 really enjoyed the Bee Presentation from Mr McCullough last Tuesday morning. He dressed up for us in his Beekeeping outfit and showed us slides of his Beehives. It was great that he brought in part of a live Beehive for us to view the bees on the wax. He also brought in a jar of honey and he said that his bees could make 100 kilos of honey in one year. We got to hear the bees buzzing at the end. Mr McCullough taught us how to stay safe around bees. 
Zakariya De Souza, Zane Clifford and William McKeown Year 4R

Mr McCullough came to talk to us about bees. He brought some bees so we could see them in action, and the equipment he uses to take care of them. He told us about the hives and the colonies. We also learnt about what to do if a hive is in the cavity between the walls in our homes. We learnt how to scrape, brush away the honey and spin it to take it out when it’s finished. Beekeepers wear an outfit to protect themselves from bee stings. Some of us even got to try on the beekeeping gear which made us feel like astronauts. Some students were a bit scared the bees would escape but they didn’t and the whole presentation was so cool and really interesting. Thank you Mr McCullough.  
Cruz Hunt and Lamar Tefaili 4W

Mrs Munce's class has had an incredible time preparing and delivering a mini lesson to Kindy students about kindness.

We worked with a partner to prepare a mini lesson to teach Kindy children about loving people and not getting even when someone hurts us. We had so much fun getting our songs, games and videos ready to show the Kindies. We loved teaching the Kindies. 
Nathaniel Grima

We had so much fun teaching the Kindy children. They asked us lots of questions. 
Loki Howard

We went to Kindergarten to teach them that we should never pay back when someone hurts us and to always be kind. It was a great opportunity to teach little kids. We learned lots too while we were working with our partners preparing what we were going to teach them. I think they really enjoyed it and we had fun too. 
Emma Seaman

In Week 7, Year 6 travelled to Canberra for Thursday and Friday. While we were at Canberra, we were able to visit many places thanks to the PACER Program. These places helped us to consolidate our learning from the Year 6 History Unit from Semester One.

“On Thursday we arrived at school at 6:45am and we left school around 7 o’clock. The bus ride was fun and tiring. Our first stop was Questacon! Questacon was fun and awesome! It was filled with different exciting activities that challenged our brains. My favourite part was the moon room because it was a really calm space.”

Ibrahim Farage 6 Black

“Our second stop for Thursday was at the Electoral Office where we learnt about voting. We were introduced to our tour leader and he taught us about voting and the history of voting in Australia. Then, we moved into a mini movie theatre and we watched a video about voting in Australia. We played a voting video game which was fun because we did it in pairs. After that, we got to have a role play vote where we voted for different fruits and the winning fruit was apple!”

Henry Grewal 6 Black

“For our night activities, we had our annual Canberra Cup. Canberra Cup is a competition between the four houses that happens each year at Canberra. It was lots of fun with many amazing games organised by the house captains. It was extra exciting because Latimer won for the first time ever.”

Ruby Manning 6Black

“We started our second day at the War Memorial. The War Memorial was filled with stunning architecture and style! While we were there, we learnt about the soldiers that served in war and how we commemorate them. The Tomb of the Unknown Solider was one of the highlights of the visit, because of the beautiful mosaics and the style of art. It was clear that a lot of work had gone into it. It was a great place to remember the people that have died in war.”

Simeon Radmanovic 6Red

“Our final stop was Parliament House. We started by going into a room with a giant exact replica of Parliament House made from Lego! We then split into groups, and we went to see the Senate in action! We watched the house pass a bill which was exciting. We then went to see the House of Representatives and we got to pretend that we were politicians during a role play”

Anthony Al Gharib 6Black

Year 6 were highly commended by tour leaders and coach drivers during the excursion for their outstanding behaviour and enthusiasm during the trip.

We celebrated our Year 6 students on Tuesday 29 November as they graduated from Primary School.

Mrs Grima presented students with their certificates and a keepsake teddy bear at a formal Service in the Lighthouse Theatre with Kindergarten buddies and parents in attendance. The event was followed by morning tea in the Hospitality Area.

That evening, students donned their party clothes and celebrated together with a dinner and disco.

We wish all our Year 6 students well as they move into Secondary School next year.

Over 240 students have received their Premier's Reading Challenge certificates in 2022! 

It has been our pleasure to serve students and staff in 2022 through provision of library services from book borrowing to research help, library classes, lunchtime library spaces, our 2022 Book Parade, National Simultaneous Storytime, Author Visits, the Book Fair and many more literary adventures. 

We wish all of our community a blessed, happy, healthy and safe Christmas break.

Library Staff:  Mrs Deborah Brown, Mrs Jillian Killeen, Mrs Ruth McCullogh, Mr Mark Pullen (Head of Library Services)and Mrs Leah Rayner.

What a pleasure it has been to work with the staff in the Secondary school in 2022. Let me take this opportunity to thank the teachers for their work and willingness to go above and beyond to serve our students. In particular, I thank Mrs Wendy White, Miss Adele Crane and Mr David Janzen who finish up at the College this week. They have been wonderful members of the Secondary School Leadership Team who seek to serve Christ and model our College values in all they do. 

Our students have had a wonderful Year in 2022 and our Presentation afternoon highlighted so much of what has been achieved this year. It is clear that our students are ready for a well deserved break and I wish all of our students and families a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year. 

God Bless and I look forward to seeing you all in 2023.

Mr Leighton Corr

Deputy Principal (Secondary)

An email has been sent to families of the Year 7 - 12 Senior Choir and Concert Band with the Try Booking link for our 2023 Music Tour to Orange and Bathurst. We look forward to working with your children on this exciting musical experience.

Limited places are available for students who are not currently in the Senior Choir but are interested in joining - sign up now and join the tour next year! If you have any questions please email [email protected]. 

Mr Nick Lane
Head of Performing Arts

On Wednesday 23 November, the Ridley community came together to put on the Ridley House Charity Day and raise money for the Convoy of Hope.

Over 350 hotdogs were consumed, wet sponges were thrown at teachers and Ava Borger from Year 6 won the Primary lolly guessing competition and Matthew Braga in Year 8 won the Secondary lolly guessing competition.

This is the first Ridley House Charity day that we have been able to have in a number of years and it was fantastic to see the College community coming together for a day of fun and food in aid of a great cause.

At the end of the day Ridley raised just over $1500 to support the vital work of Convoy of Hope, supporting children and those affected by natural disasters across Australia.

Mr Ben Andison
Head of House - Ridley

Following the Yearly Exams, Year 8 participated in the annual PAC Education Perfect French Competition. The battle was fierce with quite a few students sacrificing some precious sleep to win one of the many prizes on offer.

Aryan Patial took home the trophy as well as a gift voucher.

Daniella Muscat and Nihar Suthar were hot on Aryan’s heels but just couldn’t catch him.

Other major prize winners were Matthew Braga, Chris Oliver, Aleksandar Mansell, Alexander Fox, and Maddie Deane.

Year 9 French also participated in their own PAC Competition with Aahana Saha edging out Rishelle George by the smallest of margins to take home the trophy.

Well done to all the participants.

Joyeux Noël et bonne année à tous !

Miss Debra Anderson
Head of LOTE

Students in Year 10 completed the Australian Business Week program in Week 7 of this term. As a part of the program, students were placed in companies where they were tasked with designing, creating, marketing and selling (through a computer simulation) a sports product. Students were engaged in creating trade displays, video advertisements, company reports and shareholder presentations. Students also made decisions within the computer simulation that determined the level of success for their business venture.

A hearty congratulations to Company 8, led by Chief Executive Officer Ivana Stefanovski, for winning this year’s Australian Business Week.

Mr Timothy Pigot
ABW 2022 Coordinator

At the conclusion of their time at the College this year, Year 10 served for two days. On Monday, teams served the College spreading 32 cubic metres of mulch, removing all piles of leaves from the carpark, renewing and protecting the Secondary Veggie Garden and washing all the College utes and buses. So much was achieved!

On Tuesday, some groups stayed onsite and sorted and packed all our Toys’n’Tucker donations and wrapping all the books for Kindergarten Presentation. 

Two groups also went off-site. One worked with past College Parent Lisa Harrold and Mulgoa Landcare. These students had a productive day removing Mother of Millions, African Love Grass and Crassula. Students learnt that restoring the health of this small bushland area improves habitat for terrestrial fauna and the diversity of plants that give rise to the diversity of water bugs and macro-invertebrates in the creek which is food for the platypus which have been recorded in Mulgoa Creek this year.

The final group went to serve at a local Church, planting trees, spreading topsoil and decorating for Christmas! Our students worked so hard and represented the College beautifully. Many of them used these service hours as the last volunteering hours for the Certificate I in Active Volunteering. 

Mrs Fiona Wright
Director of Student Development 10-12

Throughout 2022, Year 10 students have worked together to raise money for Motor Neurone Disease NSW. Through cake stalls, selling snacks and drinks at High School Musical, feeding the Primary School at their Disco and selling chocolates, they raised $8100. On Wednesday 30 November, Year 10 celebrated their achievements at their Charity Ball and were able to announce to Graham Opie, the CEO of Motor Neurone Disease NSW that as an anonymous donor had also donated $6500 to MND NSW in honour of both the association and Year 10’s efforts this year, the total amount raised for MND NSW was $14600!

Mrs Fiona Wright
Director of Student Development 10-12

Congratulations to Colby Carroll who was one of the award recipients at the 345 Squadron's Cadet Parade, held at the College on Saturday 26 November 2022.

Airforce Cadets meets at the College every Thursday from 6pm - 9.30pm. Students who are interested in joining the squadron in 2023 should refer to the Cadet's website.

Mathematics Homework Club will not be operating on Tuesday 6 December 2022. 

Mrs Nimmi Martin
Head of Mathematics

CIS Rugby League 7s Gala Day
PAC sent two teams to the inaugural CIS Rugby League 7s Gala Day, and whilst neither team made the finals, an excellent day was had by all. Mr Wright and Mr Stratford ably coached the team, commenting on the great team work displayed, and the growth of skills over the games played. We look forward to supporting this CIS Gala Day in the coming years, and hope for more opportunities for our Rugby League players.

NASSA Year 7 Netball Gala Day
Our Year 7 Netball team represented the College with great skill and enthusiasm at the recent NASSA Gala Day. Miss Kenny proudly managed the team, who placed 4th overall, finishing with three wins and three losses. It was wonderful to see our senior students in a coaching role – thanks to Charlotte Bradford and Ava Mika (Year 11) for their work with our Year 7 girls.

NASSA Years 7-8 Cricket Gala Day
A tough day on the pitch for our Year 7 and 8 cricket players at the NASSA Gala Day, finishing 6th overall. Despite finishing further down the ladder than wished, Mr Bingham reported some great catches in the field, and awesome 4s hit by our players!

NASSA Years 9-11 Cricket Gala Day
Congratulations to the Years 9-11 team who finished in 2nd place at the NASSA Gala Day – according to Mr McCallum, only two tough overs restricted our otherwise dominant batting line up, and this was the difference in the final. Special mention to the team’s Captain, Alex Wright (Year 11), who averaged 104 runs over the three games played!

Mrs Amanda Houison
Director of Sport

Congratulations to Sandra Stojanovic, who competed at the AICES 15s Tennis Championship on Thursday 17 November. Sandra showed off her winning form, playing all the way through to the semi-finals, where she was defeated in a deciding tiebreaker, by the competitor who ultimately won the Championship.

Well done, Sandra – we can’t wait to see what 2023 holds for you on the court!

Mrs Amanda Houison
Director of Sport

NATIONAL CHAMPIONS! Over the past weekend, Alecia Jones (Year 7), Amelia Marland (Year 7) and Chloe Turner (Year 4), members of Excite Dance and Cheer, competed at the National Championships in Queensland. Alecia and Amelia received 1st Place in Youth Level 1 Division for Cheerleading, and their team was invited to compete at the Pinnacle Championships, which is an invitation-only event from the judges where teams compete against the best of the best. This team also took out 1st Place at Pinnacle! Chloe is a two-time National Champion, with her Junior Level 2 Stunt team and Junior Level 1 Cheer team. Chloe’s Junior Level 1 Cheer team won a Silver Medal at the Pinnacle Championships. Alecia and Chloe also received 2nd place in Junior Level 1 division for Cheer. Congratulations to our dedicated, talented National Champions!

Over the last two weeks, Luke Attard (Year 6) competed in the 2022 School Boys and School Girls Junior Tennis Tournament in both the Singles and Doubles.

In the Singles competition, Luke made it through to the Round of 16. Luke and his doubles partner were able to make it through to the Semi-finals before going down to the doubles pairing that went onto win the tournament.

Well done Luke on your achievements. We are looking forward to you serving up some more aces in the future.

Mr Chris Hall
Primary Sports Coordinator

Congratulations to Maddison Carter (Year 2) who recently competed in the AASCF National Championships on the Gold Coast. She had a successful trip with her teams both placing overall. Her TIN SOLDIERS team Mini Level 1 placed 2nd in the nation and HIT ZERO as well as her team MERCURY placing 5th overall!

Miss Meg Anderson
Primary Teacher

Christmas Chapel is an institution of our College, since its inception, this event has brought together our community in celebration of Jesus Christ and His great love for us. For the first time in 3 years, our College was able to come together at Christmas, Secondary, Primary and Families to enjoy our Christmas festivities together.

This year we watched a dragon try to work his way into the nativity, and we saw how Jesus was able to defeat him! We sang carols together, watched and listened as our senior and junior choirs lead us in beautiful song and were entertained by students from ROCK, the Secondary Christian group. 

Above all things we were reminded that Jesus Christ is, as Revelation 19 reminds us, the “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS”. He has defeated sin and death on our behalf, and He calls us to follow Him all the days of our lives. We thank God for Christmas Chapel and pray that everyone in our community remembers that victory of Jesus as they celebrate Christmas this Year. 

God’s richest blessings be upon us all through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Amen.

Mr David Janzen

Chaplain

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.