The Vine Newsletter

Mrs Felicity Grima - Principal

Dear Families,

After a thorough process, the College is pleased to announce the appointment of Mrs Melinda Richardson as the Deputy Principal (Primary). She will commence a transition next week and will commence full-time from Monday 28 August.

Mrs Richardson joins us from St Peter’s Anglican Grammar School in Campbelltown where she currently serves on their Executive team as Head of Learning and Music (PYP Coordinator). In this role, Mrs Richardson has significant experience in leading effective pedagogy in the Primary Years. She has been involved in leading teams of staff and leading change and new programs in this role to improve student learning. We believe her experience in this area will continue to allow the development and ongoing implementation of our College Learning Culture in the Primary School.

Prior to this position, Mrs Richardson has also been a Grade Coordinator and has demonstrated experience in the pastoral care and well-being of students. She is passionate about the Creative and Performing Arts and has also led many initiatives for staff well-being.

Mrs Richardson is excited to join our team and continue to build a culture where students are known and valued and where every student is taught that learning is learnable. As an educator passionate about young people laying a solid foundation for their future, Mrs Richardson is a committed Christian who currently attends and serves at Picton and Wilton Anglican Church.

We look forward to Mrs Richardson joining the College and I know that she will be keen to meet many of you before the year concludes.

Mr Phil McMurray will continue as the Acting Deputy Principal (Primary) until Mrs Richardson commences. We thank him for his professionalism and service to the College during this time.

I would also like to farewell Mrs Kate Tai and Mrs Sharon Beaton, who are leaving us at the end of Term 2, and thank them for their contributions the College. 

Mrs Felicity Grima
Principal

The College would like to acknowledge and thank all the students who applied for a position on the College Student Leadership Team. 

Congratulations to the incoming College Student Leaders for 2023-2024. We wish them all the best as they take on their new positions and pray for God's grace and guidance as they serve the College community with humility, compassion, perseverance, courage and integrity. We look forward to watching them grow as leaders over the next 12 months.  

There will be a formal Student Leader Investiture Service occurring at the College on Thursday 27 July, commencing at 9:00am in the Lighthouse Theatre. 

1 Corinthians 16:13 NIV
Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.

Please pray for:

Year 11 2023 Dusty Boots Team.
Year 8 students as they select their Years 9 and 10 elective subjects.
Duke of Edinburgh overnight hike.
Those families in the College community experiencing times of hardship and stress.

Praise God for:
Events held recently with students: PAC’s Got Talent, Staff v Students Soccer,
Artist in Residence activities in Primary and Inter-School HSC Workshop in Secondary.
The appointment of new Student Leaders.
A successful TASC Choral Festival.

Mr Philip McMurray, Director of Teaching and Learning P-12

Our College Learning Culture is what we do. It’s the way that students and staff approach learning. It describes our attitudes and skills that need to be developed for success in life.

Over the semester, we as staff have been working on thinking deeply about questions and how we promote inquisitive learning. Just this week we concluded the process by reflecting on the role teachers play in helping students learn. It’s been so helpful as the following email extract from one of our staff shows.

I was reflecting this afternoon during the meeting on how in my first year of teaching I felt I should put students off from asking questions because I was not ready with a response to left-of-field answers or answers that were so wrong. I could not comprehend their response.

So, I did what any good teacher would do and asked someone with a lot of experience what they do. She said,  I would say, (Quote) ‘’That is an interesting response, how did you get that answer?” and went on to explain that in her experience students will often misinterpret your question or the context in which it is asked. It made me realise that when it comes to engaging students we can sometimes assume or presume that students understand what we are saying.

The lesson is there for us all. How are we using questions to help students clarify and describe, interpret and analyse, and in particular, actually evaluate and assess what the answers mean? Learning is not always about the right answers or even the right questions, but it is about empowering learners with tools that allow them to “dig” into information, data, opinions or ideas and think through what they find. Hopefully, it will then lead to the logical question – what might we do from here?

Mr Philip McMurray
Director of Teaching and Learning Pre-K – 12

Mr Philip McMurray - Acting Deputy Principal (Primary)

In my last article, I talked about reading and the value of helping your child decode the world of communication. That is at the heart of English – the skills of understanding a range of communication devices (books, articles, news, multimedia, social media, films, posters, advertisements, poetry, and songs). When you think about it like that, students have a lot to learn so they can be proficient in both understanding the meaning of these different genres and having the skills and competencies to contribute their own compositions or responses. It is this continual dialogue and support between parents and teachers which will help students develop their ability to decode, “read between the lines” and gain joy and enjoyment from understanding the world better. And that’s just in English, we haven’t begun to consider Mathematics or other subjects in the NSW syllabuses.

This year the Primary School has been working on integrating the latest changes to these documents into our teaching practices. It means updating content and adjusting materials to ensure students receive instruction based on the latest researched and agreed-upon standards. This is the job of the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA). They review and revise the basis for all subjects, including Literacy and Numeracy, setting clear outcomes via curriculum to ensure that students are being taught, challenged, and evaluated according to the most informed and considered educational standards.

The consequence of these changes is that often parents feel disconnected – unable to relate to ways that students are learning compared to how it was when they were at school. It is important to recognise that the changes are designed to best equip students for the ever-changing world we now find ourselves in, but at the same time, it would be pertinent to remember that the need to think, analyse and evaluate ideas, reasons and propositions hasn’t changed. You play a vital role in encouraging, modelling and motivating your child to think, adjust and persist even when things change. This partnership is an essential part of making sure that “Learning to learn” is much more than a slogan. Thank you for the continued efforts, engagement and encouragement you provide to your child and the partnership we share in ensuring that our community is committed to supporting all in the journey of learning and growing.

I trust that the upcoming break will be a time of refreshment for your family, even if it is simply a slowing of routines. My prayer is that you enjoy a safe holiday period.

Mr Philip McMurray
Acting Deputy Principal (Primary)

Our Primary School took part in the Heart Foundation Jump Rope for Heart Jump Off Day on June 2nd.

Students in Years 3-6 and K-2 participated in an 11-station rotation. Students in 5W had lots of fun demonstrating the skipping skills for each station. Pre K students had their own Jump Off Day in Week 6 with students in Year 5 assisting and having fun with them.

The Primary students have been skipping enthusiastically for months in PE lessons and also during recess and lunch. Skipping is a great way to keep fit and healthy.

The Heart Foundation raises money for research to fight heart disease and this is a fantastic way for them to raise much needed funds to make this possible. Heart disease is one of the biggest killers in Australia so researching can help reduce the numbers of people affected by this crippling disease.

Our Primary School has participated in a Jump Off every two years since 2007.

This year we have raised $28,388 which places us as the second highest fundraising school in Australia! Wow, what an awesome effort from our PAC families!

Thank you for your amazing support!

Mrs Sue Munce
Primary Teacher and JRFH Coordinator

Miss Meg Anderson
Primary Teacher

This week Year Two had an ambulance incursion where we invited a paramedic to visit to support our learning in Personal Health and Development. We have been learning about how to keep ourselves and others safe. The students learnt how to call the emergency services and help keep people safe through learning CPR. They were encouraged that they could be life savers too.

Miss Meg Anderson
Primary Teacher

Year 4 students loved selling lollies at the Primary Athletics Carnival to finish off their Compassion Fundraiser. The Sweet Treats Stall brought to you by Year 4 students in Term 2 raised a total of $1250 for our Primary Sponsor Children! We thank you for your support. 

Mrs Samantha Dearden
Primary Teacher

Holiday Reading
As the end of term approaches, don’t forget to borrow something from one of our Library centres to read in the holidays. Winter is a great time to stay home and unwind with a good book.

We have lots of new titles including 2023 CBCA shortlisted books, so don’t miss out!

Term 3 Highlights
We have much to look forward to next term, as we participate in the Premier's Reading Challenge, cast our votes in the KOALA Awards, celebrate Book Week and hold our annual Book Fair.

This year our Scholastic Book Fair will be held on Grandparents' Day, Tuesday 8 August in the Hospitality Space from 8-11am. There will be lots of bargains for all ages and every book purchase earns rewards for our library.

Mr Leighton Corr - Deputy Principal (Secondary)

The Students of PAC continue to impress me with their talent and their willingness to be involved. In the last few weeks we have had the return of our Performing Arts event, this year titled PAC’s Got Talent. This event was run by our student leaders and showcased some fantastic performances. I was impressed not only with the talent on display, but also the courage of student to be up in front of others and performing. My commendations to everyone involved and in particular to the leadership team for the way in which they worked as a team to make something quite significant happen. We hope in the post covid world, that we can continue an annual event showcasing our students as positively as PAC’s Got Talent did.

I was reminded this week that I am getting older as I tried, along with 10 other staff to keep up with our Year 12 students in our Staff v Student soccer game. On a cold afternoon, it was a great game with a 1-1 seeming like a victory for an exhausted staff team. Well done to the staff and students involved.

Along with these excellent examples of the good things happening at the College, we continue to encourage our students to show respect to their peers, the staff and the College property. Unfortunately, in the last few weeks we have had a number of times where bathroom areas have been left in a messy state or not used properly. This is not a regular occurrence at our school and therefore stands out quite significantly. We will not tolerate people or property being poorly treated and those responsible will be held accountable for their actions.

We look forward to a positive final week of term next week.

Mr Leighton Corr
Deputy Principal (Secondary)

Ever since I got inducted into the role of Performing Arts Prefect, I had high hopes of bringing back the talent quest. It has been a long time since we have had one due to Covid restrictions. I knew that it brought great House spirit and competitiveness between the Houses. It was also a great opportunity for the students of PAC to showcase their diverse talents. 

From the first chat, I had with Mr Corr about PAC's Got Talent, I knew it was going to be a success. There were roadblocks that the leadership team ran into in the journey of organising PAC's Got Talent, but on the day, the Lighthouse Theatre was a kaleidoscope of green, red, yellow and blue. The day came quick and the stage was set, and the dreams were ready to shine.

The event kicked off with us, being the MCs, introducing the judges Mrs Grima, Mr Corr, Mr Wright and Mr Optland to the Secondary School audience. The classic California Love helped to hype up the crowds and set the tone for the rest of the afternoon.

The first round of acts included Alex Doyle who did an amazing aerial performance on the lyra, Harrison Canning who did an energetic bush dance, and an entertaining dance by Halle Fleischner and Tasia Reynolds. Dom and I then proceeded to the next segment - a roast of the Houses, throwing shade at all of the Houses including our own.

After the brutal roasting of the Houses our second round of acts commenced with Mattew Braga rickrolling the whole school with his performance of Fur Elise, Rachel Dawes singing the bittersweet song All I Ask, followed by a spectacular performance of Master of Puppets by Jack Walker.

After that there was another roast segment by Dom and I where we brutally roasted the teachers. My apologies to all the teachers - I hope you are fully recovered! After this was Makaylah Carrol singing Careless Whisper followed by an amazing duet from Ava Mika and Cooper Lees with A Million Dreams. 

Aled Young
Year 12 Prefect and Talent Quest Co-MC

There were so many great musical acts after the chant off. These musical acts in Round 3 were followed by the Heads of House telling the audience their best and highest quality Dad jokes. We then got to see two great bands perform, followed by the school’s leadership team performing their own twist on "Grease". The final three acts rounded out the talent quest perfectly with another three great musical acts which included the world-famous (or more precisely, Year 12-famous) band ‘The Red Frogs’ who performed the final act of the talent quest.

To give the judges some time to decide who the winner was going to be, four random people from each House came up on stage to do a House logo drawing competition. It was a close call but the contestant from Ridley won with their drawing. After much suspense, the judges came back with their decision and crowned Kaleb Irawan from Ryle, with his lively rendition of Pirates of the Caribbean on the piano, the undisputed talent quest winner for 2023.

Dominic Cinello
Year 12 Student and Talent Quest Co-MC

The Staff v Students Soccer game lived up to the expectations, ending in a tight 1-1 tie.

It was a back-and-forth game with good chances created by both teams. The teachers got off to a quick start with Mr Bingham streaking away to score the opener, which was then matched early into the second half as the students got one back. Lots of desperate attacks in the dying minutes were not enough for either team and the game ended in a well-fought draw.

A 30-minute game still proved to be plenty of time for some good action. All in all, it was a thrilling event which brought many spectators to the oval in support of both teams, as well as continuing on the tight Staff v Students series into the final term.

Alexander Wright
Year 12 Student

Stand Tall is an event held at the ICC in Sydney that all of Year 9 students had the privilege of attending. Stand Tall had multiple speakers to inspire, motivate and show us how our lives are easy. As one of the speakers, Michael Crossland said ‘Some kids would do ANYTHING to have your ‘bad’ day. This is just one of many helpful things that gave the Year 9 cohort some perspective. The first speaker was a girl called Molly Croft who was only a year older than us. She talked about her struggles with cancer and how she lived in hospital for nearly a year. After they were struggling to get money, many of the hospital staff helped out. With the help of the Giants, Molly has now co-founded an organisation by the name of The Tie Dye Project. The Tie Dye Project not only helps to fund finding a cure for cancer but also raises money for the local hospitals.

The next speaker was the Daly M Medallist from last year, Nicho Hynes. He talked about racism in sport and why he became a professional NRL player. His grandfather had always been really keen on Nicho playing NRL. One day his grandfather passed away and at his grandfather's funeral, the then 10 year old took the stand and talked about all the good times he had had with him and how he would not stop until he was wearing a Blues jersey. As you may know, a few weeks ago Nicho debuted for the NSW Blues and completed his dream and what he swore to his grandfather.

Michael Crossland had the saddest story that I have ever heard. After multiple cancers and other life threatening issues, Michael had a 96% chance to die multiple times. The one that had the most effect on him was Stage 4 Neuroblastoma which he was diagnosed the day before his first birthday.  He was put on a trial medication in his early teens with 24 other people. Every single day his mother had to inject a drug which burned him. After a few months of him being in constant pain, every other person on the clinical trial had died. The doctors said it would be a miracle if he made it to his teenage years. Now in his 50s and having experienced throat cancer that had wrapped around his throat multiple times, he has started a charity for kids in Haiti and has opened multiple orphanages and schools and many more.

There was a blind person called Derek Rabelo who surfed at the most dangerous place, a professional soccer player who lived in England to practice to become good at soccer despite being labelled as the worst soccer player they had ever seen. After years of practice Craig Johnston played for Liverpool. There was also a guy by the name of Matt Purcell who is going to teach 1 million kids social Kung Fu.

This day was very eye-opening for all people and also contained a concert from an artist whose name is Timomatic. He performed the loudest and most hyped concert. This day was very useful and I hope that next year's Year 9 cohort will have a good time as my year group did.

Christopher Oliver
Year 9 Student

On Thursday 22 June, Year 10 held a cake stall as part of their Charity Ball fundraising. Cakes, slices and cookies were available for purchase at recess and lunchtime, with money going towards Rare Cancers Australia. We had an amazing turn out of students and staff to support this event. Many of the goodies sold out at recess however there was a small amount left for sale at lunchtime. Year 10 were happy to see all their baked goods sold and the amount raised was over $900! Thank you to our entire school community for their support of the Year 10 fundraising endeavours. Stay tuned for more fundraising fun next term. 

Mrs Renata Lackey
Year 10 Charity Ball Organiser

Year 12 Advanced and Standard English students have recently studied Module C: The Craft of Writing. Throughout this module students appreciate, examine and analyse short texts, as models and stimulus for the development of their own complex ideas and written expression. Their assessment task was a Writing Portfolio where they crafted three pieces of writing, each in a different style, and a Viva Voce where students reflected on their writing process their choices and inspiration. The English Faculty have thoroughly enjoyed reading the range of creative compositions and hearing students share what they have learnt throughout this module. Here are three examples from this task for you to enjoy - Miss Lauren Kenny, Head of English.

Imaginative by Arnav Shrestha
Stimulus: “We penetrated deeper and deeper into the heart of darkness” - Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad

The sun was setting, casting a golden glow across the sea. Solum rested on the rock pools gazing out at the endless stretch of water. He sat alone, distant from the world on an island that seemed to have no end. He had been there for weeks, maybe even months he didn’t know as time had lost all meaning to him. All that mattered was survival.

He thought back to when he first washed up on the shore. Isolated and struggling with this new life, with the endless cycle of survival. He caught his reflection in a rock pool. He was unrecognisable to when he first got stranded on the island. He was an educated man that lived a city life, with the manners and customs of civilisation. But as the days turned into weeks, and the weeks into months, he noticed that he had become disconnected from the world he was once familiar with. Solum let go of everything that had ever defined him, in order to reincarnate as something more primitive.

The countless storms and the sharp thorns of the bushes had tattered and tore his clothes, but he had no way to replace them. He was forced to wander around the wilderness naked, unprotected and exposed to the elements. Yet, he felt freedom unlike ever before. He felt alive. Feeling the rain, sun and wind on his bare skin was a revelation. He had been coddled and sheltered his whole life, but now he was free.

Next to leave him was his speech. Solum initially tried to preserve some aspect of language but as time passed, he found it difficult to articulate his thoughts and feelings. His vocabulary dwindled and what was left was just grunts and gestures. Except he found out that he could communicate with the island’s animals in a way that he never could with any human. He felt understood, and he understood them.

As the light faded and night snuck over the island, Solum realized that he had become someone completely different. He was no longer the same man he was when he first arrived. He had left behind a world which followed rules and laws, a world with a structured way of living. On the island however, there was only one rule, survival. Solum had to kill and harvest to eat, protect himself from predators, and establish his own presence among the island’s inhabitants. He had no idea he was capable of such aggression, but it arose effortlessly to him. Solum was now stripped down to his raw primitive elements. He has left civilisation behind but that did not matter. The only thing that mattered was his life.

In the darkness, he was at peace with himself. He was one with the island, and the island was one with him. He could hear the animals of the island crawl around him, their presence comforting him like a blanket. He was no longer alone. As the darkness intensified, he closed his eyes, letting the world around consume him.

Persuasive by Ethan Kambar
Stimulus “I will share your joy and sorrow / Till we’ve seen this journey through”- When Breath Becomes Air, Paul Kalanithi

We’re all journeying through life, but are some of us really? Or are we just present, not climbing up a mountain of joy and sorrow, aiming to reach the peak?

We must collectively have goals for ourselves, whether these be daily, weekly, yearly, or lifelong. Although it doesn’t sound drastic, without goals, we fall into a spiral of feeling purposeless.

Although a large amount of time has passed since the early days of mankind, humans are still simple, primordial beings all striving for the same biological needs, food, water and shelter. The act of having goals which we work towards is already prewired within our brains naturally. We live in a generation which is enriched in all of these things. Anyone with even a small income can afford a comfortable place to live, a wide variety of foods and drinkable, filtered, clean water.

All of our prewired needs and wants are automatically met, so, now what?

When we possess no needs, we only rely on our wants, and when our wants are met, we do not rely on anything to carry us forward. Drifting through life without any goals leads to one feeling hopelessness, feeling as if they have no purpose, feeling like this for a long time can result in mental conditions such as depression. The Global Burden of Disease conducted a study on the amount of people suffering from depression over the years. The study concluded that the number of incident cases worldwide increased from 172 million in 1990 to 258 million in 2017. The World Health Organisation (WHO) states that roughly 5% of all adults currently experience some form of depression. The increase coincidentally parallels with new advances in technology, food, health and entertainment, all made with the intention of making our lives easier, fulfilling our needs and wants more efficiently and effectively.

By incorporating goal setting into our lives, we are providing a purpose for ourselves, separate from our primordial needs and wants, specified to our desires and interests, allowing us to have a reason to get out of bed in the morning. We must be aware that there is a mountain we are climbing.

A way of incorporating goals into our daily lives can be simply writing them down, putting them into words assists us in specifying what exactly it is we want to achieve, and by when. The results of a study done by Professor Dr Gail Matthews showed that 76% of participants who wrote down their goals and provided weekly progress to a friend successfully achieved these goals, while only 43% of people with goals which weren’t written or accounted for achieved theirs. You must hold yourself accountable, like a schoolteacher checking homework.

We’re all journeying through life. The act of setting goals and holding ourselves accountable allows us to extend beyond our primordial desires, reach for new purpose and define our own end to this journey so as to govern our everyday actions. So, I ask, where’s your mountain?

Discursive - Should we listen to the voices in our heads? by Amelia Forti
Stimulus: “It’s everything and nothing… It’s like the absent moment between night and day.” – Breathing Under Water, Sophie Hardcastle

Have you ever thought about where that obnoxious voice inside your head comes from? No, I’m not some crazy person with voices in my head. I’m referring to your guilty conscience.

One time, I was struggling (possibly dying) in a maths exam. Conveniently, I sat next to the smart kid. Question 4 was considerably tough. One quick look couldn’t hurt. I was about to turn to Einstein’s paper when- “Don’t look at their test, you know better than that.” That insufferable voice cut in. Now I was obliged to listen to it. 

I had a dilemma. Do I peek at their test? Do I not, because that’s cheating? What if the teacher catches me? What if I fail because of this question? Time was limited. After some violent internal conflict, I let my conscience have this one. At least I didn’t feel guilty, or dishonest. I felt pretty good.

My guilty conscience seems to always show up at the most convenient of times. Sometimes this can be good. For instance, say I wanted to go skydiving without an instructor for the first time. That little voice comes in handy when it yells, “Stop thinking like an imbecile and have some common sense!”. Conscience is a navigation system of morality. It tells you where the destination is and the right way to get there. There’s also that sense of satisfaction from getting to your final destination in one piece, isn’t there? I must confess, I did bomb out on Question 4, but I was content with my honesty.

Guilt makes you stronger. Even if you make mistakes, there is always something you can gain from feeling guilty. Healthy levels of guilt occur when you feel bad about something you have done wrong. In the moment, this may feel like a burden, but after bouncing back quickly, you reflect, learn, and persevere. Da Vinci said, “I love those who can smile in trouble, who can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection.” Who knew disobeying a subliminal voice could make you a better person, not only for yourself but for others who fall victim to your dumb decisions?

But sometimes, your conscience can lead you down a path of guilt. We’ve all gone through the “I’m going to start eating healthy” phase. During this phase, I ate one single, tiny family-size bag of chips. I felt awful. I beat myself up over and over until I had no energy to try and eat healthy ever again. A lot of the time, we let our conscience get the better of us. A slight wave of guilt can turn into a tsunami within milliseconds, causing a downward spiral of shame and regret for our actions. This type of guilt is unhealthy. It makes us feel incapable of meeting impossible expectations and forces us into a cycle of self-punishment.

However, we are human. Shockingly, we are allowed to make mistakes. Although that little voice inside my head tries to steer me in the right direction, I try not to beat myself up when I decide to go the other way.

On Wednesday 21 June, HSC English students attended the English Teachers’ Association Student Day at the University of Sydney. Advanced and Standard English students attended thought-provoking lectures presented by expert teachers which covered the different modules assessed in Paper 2.

Here is a reflection from Year 12 student Monique Tierney.

As students it was beneficial to get new ideas and skills to build upon our existing knowledge. A new perspective helped us to challenge or affirm our understanding and knowledge of the texts. The lecture style lessons were also helpful in giving us a taste of what university will be like in the next couple of years. Overall, the day was valuable for us to gain a deeper understanding of the modules we have studied and helped prepare us further for our upcoming exams.

Miss Lauren Kenny
Head of English

As a part of our Careers Program at Penrith Anglican College, our Year 12 students had the opportunity to attend the Western Sydney Careers Expo at Sydney Olympic Park on Thursday 22 June. This Expo is the largest of its kind in Sydney and gives our students the opportunity to gather information and ask specific questions of representatives from local and interstate Universities, Tertiary Colleges, TAFE NSW, Apprenticeship and Traineeship providers, the Defence Forces, the Australian Police Force, Academic Support Organisations and Professional Organisations. Students had a great time speaking with exhibitors and gained valuable information to assist their decision on the next exciting phase of their lives. There were also some great prizes up for grabs at some of the displays and many students managed to snag some goodies!

Fiona Wright
Director of Student Development 10-12

On Thursday 25 May, 64 students from the Primary School competed at the NASSA Cross-Country event at the Sydney Equestrian Centre. All students ran well with some students benefitting from our Tuesday afternoon Kilometre Club. PAC finished in a close 4th on the day. Well done to Audrey Morris in Year 3 that won the 8/9 Years Girls event and Sabella Whelan in Year 5 who finished 3rd in the 10 Years Girls. A big congratulations to Madison Carter, Airlie Howard, Jacob Kurniadi, Edward Morris and Harper Egglestone who have also qualified to represent NASSA at the CIS Championships.

NASSA Primary Cross-Country Team: Methuja Amarasena, Pippa Aris, Arnav Aujla, Ellyse Bayada, Koen Bayada, Darcy Bernuetz, Emma Beshay, Rueben Bleasdale, Archie Bond, Mia Borger, Sarah Broad, Noah Brooks, Maddison Carter, Jeremy Clark, Bailey Clifford, Ethan Cullen, Grace Cullen, James Darcy, Layla Davidson, William Edwards, Harper Egglestone, Mia Egglestone, Ella Fox, Rory Freeburn, Beau Gerace, Charlotte Green, Nathaniel Grima, Levi Holden, Airlie Howard, Loki Howard, Sophie Howland, Joshua Kim, Jacob Kurniadi, Joel Lamplough, Ace Lee, Isaac Leung, Piper Luscombe, Lucas Marland, Alice Marshall, Chelsea Membreno, Amarissa Middleton-Swart, Matthew Morphett, Audrey Morris, Edward Morris, Eva Nercessian, Grace Nicholls, Benjamin Niya, Evie Orwin, Sienna Ovington, Mitchell Pap, Ariana Peikos, Caleb Ritchie, Max Rolles, Bianca Rossetto, Sophia Rouggos, Dhwaneil Sharma, Milly Sturt, Scarlett Sturt, Ruby Sutcliffe, Chloe Turner, Chloe Vella, Jack Whelan, Sabella Whelan and Jacob Williams.

Congratulations to Sabella Whelan, Harper Egglestone, Audrey Morris, Maddison Carter, Airlie Howard, Edward Morris and Jacob Kurniadi who represented NASSA at the Primary CIS Cross-Country Carnival at Sydney Equestrian Centre in June. These students competed hard and showed great determination in their event.

8/9 Girls: Audrey Morris - 28th, Airlie Howard - 40th, Maddison Carter - 92nd.

8/9 Boys: Jacob Kurniadi - 39th, Edward Morris - 77th.

10 Girls: Sabella Whelan - 37th, Harper Egglestone - 88th.

The Primary School Athletics Carnival held at Narellan Sports Hub on Friday 9 June was an impressive display of athletic prowess. The weather turned out to be great for the day with all students bringing great competitive spirit and energy. There was loads of participation across the day in the All Day Novelty Challenges with Latimer taking out this particular event. Congratulations to Jake Farrugia for breaking the Junior Boys Shotput record with a distance of 8.61m. The final points are still being tallied to give us our overall winner of the carnival. Well done to all students on your efforts and participation throughout the day.

Mr Chris Hall
Primary Teacher and Sports Coordinator

National Judo Championships
The 2023 National Judo Championships was held on the Gold Coast over the June long weekend where more than 1,000 athletes competed to find out who would be crowned Australian Champion. Jacob Raphael represented NSW in the u45kg division in his first year as a Senior Boy. Being the youngest in the division, it was going to be a tough competition as 18 of the best young judo players across Australia battled for the title. Jacob was undefeated until the final where he gave it everything he had, winning a Silver Medal for NSW. With his sights firmly set on the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, Jacob’s just getting started! 

CSSA Gymnastics Championships
Penrith Anglican College had eight Primary students competing at the CSSA Gymnastics Championships on 8 June. The students performed in the four areas of Vault, Beam, Floor and Bars and showcased amazing skills.

Congratulations to Milly Sturt 1st Place in the Level 3 Division 1 category, Mia Egglestone 2nd place in the Level 3 Division 1 category and Harper Egglestone 3rd place in the Level 4 Division 1 category.

Level 3 Division 1: Milly Sturt - 1st, Mia Egglestone - 2nd, Phoebe Thoms - 8th.

Level 3 Division 2: Sophie Howland - 8th, Sophia Rouggos - 10th.

Level 4 Division 1: Harper Egglestone - 3rd, Frankie Lee - 10th

Level 5 Division 1: Alessandra Horst - 5th.

Some of these students backed up their efforts at the Country Capital Cup held in Tamworth over the June long weekend. Well done to Alessandra Horst who won the Level 5, Division 5 with a 1st in Bar, 1st in Beam, 3rd in Floor and 6th in Vault.

NSW Futsal Schools Championships
On Tuesday 13 June our Junior and Senior Boys and Girls competed in the NSW Primary Futsal Schools Championships at Penrith Valley Regional Sports Centre. The students enjoyed the new challenge of the shorter format and quicker gameplay. This however didn’t stop them from showcasing their skills. Congratulations to our Junior Girls and Junior Boys Penrith Anglican Blue teams who will be competing at the next level in September.

Junior Girls: Airlie Howard, Sophie Howland, Ava Issa, Audrey Morris, Sophia Rouggos, Aria Stanford, Chloe Walker and Rugbertha Williams.

Junior Boys: Methuja Amarasena, Koen Bayada, Noah Brooks, Logan Cagliostro, Jeremy Clark, Jake Farrugia, Levi Holden, Joshua Kest, Ace Lee, Isaac Leung, Jasper Leung, Bryson McKenna, Edward Morris, Knox Murphy and Jack Whelan.

Senior Girls: Ellyse Bayada, Gwen Dai, Aaleyah Hassan, Esther Hutchings, Piper Luscombe, Aveesa Saadati, Chloe Turner, Chloe Vella and Havana Williams.

Senior Boys: Hague Asare, Benji Brard, Lewis Clark, Ethan Cullen, Beau Gerace, Nathaniel Grima, Leo Horne, Loki Howard, Fynn Howland, Joel Lamplough, Alfonzo Micallef, Owen Morris, Nathaniel Nott, Caleb Ritchie, Max Rolles, Jacob Williams and Jeremiah Yoo.

I am excited to announce the results from the recent Secondary Athletics Carnival - what a day that was!

Congratulations to Latimer House!! House points are as follows:

1. Latimer – 1,684 points
2. Ridley – 1,362 points
3. Cranmer – 1,294 points
4. Ryle – 1,026 points

And congratulations to the following Age Champions and Runners-Up: 

 
2023 Athletics Records:

• 12 years boys 200m – Timothy Hammond – Ryle – 28.05
• 12 years boys 1,500m – Ishan Aggarwal – Latimer – 6:05.06
• 12 years girls 200m – Abigail Stanford – Latimer – 29.62
• 15 years boys Shot Put – Connor O’Shannessy – Latimer – 12.34m
• 16 years girls 100m – Elizabeth Godwin – Cranmer – 13.02
• 16 years girls 200m – Elizabeth Godwin – Cranmer – 25.09
• 16 years girls 400m – Elizabeth Godwin – Cranmer – 1:04.72
• 17 years girls Discus – Isabella Degei – Cranmer – 28.80m
• 17 years girls Shot Put – Isabella Degei – Cranmer – 10.79m

Certificates will be presented at next Thursday’s Secondary Assembly.

Mrs Amanda Houison
Director of Sport

On Friday 16 June our Year 10-12 Volleyball teams travelled to Minto to participate in a NASSA Volleyball Gala Day.

Enthusiasm was high and the temperature was low, so both teams began warming up as soon as they arrived at the venue!

Our girls’ team played well, growing in their ability to work as a team and communicate well over the course of the day. Their results improved alongside their sense of team.

Our boys’ team came together as a team quickly and worked together really well, achieving a very creditable 4th place.

All students represented the College well and enjoyed a great day of sport together. Thank you to Mrs Fiona Wright and Mr Steven Lindeback for taking care of the teams on the day.

Girls Team: Isabella Degei (Year 12), Willow Hampton (Year 12), Savannah Jeffrey (Year 12), Teagan Kumar (Year 10), Hayley Metcalfe (Year 12), Caitlin Mu (Year 12), Elizabeth Murrell (Year 12), Claire Nicholls (Year 10).

Boys Team: Zane Beard (Year 12), Michael Calopedis (Year 10), Harrison Canning (Year 10), Harfateh Deol (Year 12), Ranveer Dhaliwal (Year 10), Alex Lam (Year 11), Joshua Lim (Year 12), Patrick Weir (Year 10), Arnav Shrestha (Year 12), Samuel Wright (Year 10).

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

The Community Business Directory acts as a link for business and families to support each other.  This initiative was 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.

CodeCamp is back at PAC during the July school holidays! Held over two days 6 - 7 July, it is catered for students ages 7-13. Please refer to the attached flyer.

The Australian Government Department of Education (the department) would like to advise all staff, parents and guardians that it will collect certain information about your school, its staff and student body as part of the 2023 Non-Government School Census collection (the Census).

A copy of the Notice is attached for families. It explains:

• what information the department collects in Census and Special Circumstances Applications
• why the department collects this information
• how the department can use the data

Please see the attached letter for information regarding the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD).

Cold weather has definitely arrived! Long Sleeve Polo Shirts are now available for purchase from the Uniform Shop. Prices range from $41 - $44.