The Vine Newsletter

Mrs Felicity Grima - Principal

Strength of Character

As Principal, I have many interactions each day that make me proud of the strength of character our students are developing at the College.

Last week, as I walked through the playground, I reached down and picked up some rubbish that was on the ground. A student walking past, immediately put their hand out and insisted they take it from me and put it in the bin. 

Earlier in the week, a parent took the time to contact the office to share their own experience of their interaction with one of our Year 12 students. Their Primary aged child had caught the bus for the first time and missed her stop to get off. One of our senior Secondary students, noticed that she was looking very worried and assisted her, hoping off the bus at the next stop with her. The senior student then called the Primary students’ mother and waited with her until she was able to be collected.

These moments reveal the heart of the culture of the College, and it is wonderful to see our students growing in humility and compassion. 

Importance of Arriving on Time

As we head towards the end of Term 1, we want to highlight the importance of ensuring your child arrives at the College on time each day. Being punctual sets a positive tone for the entire school day and significantly contributes to your child's learning and overall well-being.

Students who arrive late miss out on crucial opening announcements and important academic activities. This can lead to confusion and feeling unprepared for the day's lessons. Furthermore, by arriving late, your child receives fewer hours of instruction than their peer . Teachers may also need to re-teach missed content, which can disrupt the learning of the entire class.

Tardiness can also impact your child's social development. Arriving late means they may miss out on opportunities to connect with their classmates before the day begins, potentially leading to feelings of alienation.

We understand that various factors can sometimes cause delays. However, it's important to recognise that for our younger students, arriving late to the College may often be a result of adult behaviour. Over the holidays, we encourage you to establish routines for the Term ahead that support timely arrivals.

By working together, we can ensure all students benefit from every minute of valuable learning time. Your support in prioritising punctuality plays a vital role in your child's academic and social success.

Full details here.

Mrs Melinda Richardson - Head of Primary

As we near the end of a big and wonderful term, we have so much to celebrate! It’s been amazing to watch our students grow, settle into their routines, and embrace new learning with such enthusiasm. Whether they’ve been discovering something new or tackling a challenge, our children have shown so much determination and joy. I want to take a moment to thank our incredible teaching team for creating such fun and engaging learning experiences that help our students shine.

With Easter fast approaching, we are reminded that this season is one of hope, renewal, and joy. Easter is at the heart of our faith—a celebration of Jesus' love for us and the new life He brings. His resurrection is a powerful demonstration of God's love for humanity, reminding us that God keeps His promises and is always faithful. Through His resurrection, Jesus offers forgiveness and a fresh start—His victory over death means we can be forgiven and live in grace.

Easter Hat Parade & Cross Country – Wednesday 9 April

We are looking forward to a wonderful day of celebration and activity on Wednesday 9 April. Please refer to previous communications regarding parking and follow the directions of our Property Team.

• Easter Hat Parade, 9am: Our students (Pre-Kindergarten to Year 6) will showcase their creativity in this year's Easter Hat Parade, with the theme "Jesus is the Hope of the World." Families are warmly invited to join us on the Oval for this special event.
• Cross Country, 11:20am: Students in Years 2 – 6 will also participate in the Cross Country on the same day. To help keep our runners safe, we kindly ask families to enjoy the event from the designated spectator areas and avoid stepping onto the track. Your support and encouragement mean so much to our students as they give their best effort on the day!

Save the Date – AIS Numeracy Project Parent Information Session

Our staff are actively participating in the Primary Numeracy Project, a comprehensive professional learning initiative developed by the Association of Independent Schools of NSW (AISNSW). This year-long program focuses on the explicit and systematic teaching of numeracy skills. It includes school-based professional learning sessions, online self-paced modules, consultancy support, and the use of numeracy screening tools to monitor student progress. Through this project, our educators are enhancing their instructional strategies to foster a deeper understanding and love for mathematics among our students.

We invite parents to a special AIS Numeracy Project Information Session on Wednesday 14 May, commencing at 6pm. This session will provide valuable insights into how we support students in developing strong numeracy skills and ways families can be involved in their learning journey. More details will be shared closer to the date.

Wishing all our families a blessed and joyful Easter!

There were teddy bears everywhere as our Pre-Kindergarten students enjoyed a delightful Teddy Bear Picnic! With their favourite stuffed toys in tow, they spent the day playing games, singing songs and sharing a special picnic in the playground; complete with fairy bread!

Laughter and excitement filled the air as our youngest learners created precious memories with their cuddly companions and friends. It was a beautiful way to celebrate friendship, fun and the joy of learning through play.

Thank you to our wonderful staff for organising this magical day! 

Mr Anthony Kelshaw - Head of Secondary

Uniform:

Just a reminder to families that we will continue to address uniform issues across the secondary school. Details regarding this were shared in an email from the College dated 28/03/2025.

Cross Country:

A big thank you to Ms Housion and her team for the 2025 edition of the secondary cross country. It was a fantastic sight to see students dressed in their house colours. Ridley made a memorable entrance by marching onto the oval to make their presence felt.

Students participated in reverse order, starting from our oldest athletes through to our youngest. We are fortunate to have such talented athletes who performed exceptionally well at the top end of the competition. Most impressive was the number of students who encouraged others throughout the day, despite the competitive nature of the event.

Well done to everyone involved, and a special thanks to the staff who helped make the event a success.

ANZAC Service:

College students took centre stage at the Penrith RSL ANZAC service on Tuesday, 8th April.

The RSL stated: "Over 1,500 students and teachers attended the ANZAC School Service at Penrith Paceway today. The service, which is an annual tradition in Penrith, was attended by over 50 local schools, each of which provided representatives to lay their respective tributes during the wreath-laying ceremony."

PAC bands were the main performers for this event and took centre stage. This was a wonderful opportunity for our students to serve the community through music and to gain valuable performance experience.

We also had a number of our Cadets take part in the parade, representing the Australian Air Force Cadet Squadron 345, which meets on the College grounds every Thursday evening.

Well done to all involved, and thank you to Dr Watson and his team for their dedication in preparing the bands for this important event.

Easter Break:

As the term draws to a close, many staff, students, and families are looking forward to the Easter break. This period represents a significant celebration in the Christian calendar.

I hope the Easter season offers a time of reflection and gratitude for the sacrifice Christ made for us all. May it be an opportunity to spend meaningful time with friends and family, and to remember the saving power of Jesus' death and resurrection. What a precious gift this is for sinners like you and me.

Praying for safety and a time of rejuvenation for all our families.

Last week (Week 7 Thursday) the Secondary Leadership Team was able to put on PAC’s first Harmony Day for the secondary school! It was an extremely successful and joyous day that we were all very excited to put on, and proud to be a part of. The day included sharing culture through wearing traditional clothing, it was wonderful to see so many students (and teachers!) in such a variety of vibrant and unique dress, and even more so, spotting people talking and explaining to others the significance of their clothing. Thank you to all the wonderful students who put in the effort to wear and share their culture! At lunchtime the leadership team and student volunteers served traditional cultural food. This was a big effort by many and was just beautiful to see so many students working hard to bring in and share their cultural dishes. Not only was there a lot of laughter and smiles within the BFG area at Thursday lunch, it was delightful to also hear the variety of conversations happening as students and teachers learnt about different cultural customs and meals as they were served. Harmony day then concluded with the wonderful collection of cultural performances performed by students in the gym. Students varying from Year 7 to 12 shared their culture to the school through performances of dance, singing and drumming. These students were incredibly brave and talented, and brought in a large crowd! The gym was packed as cheers and clapping ensued each presentation, it was lovely to witness the encouragement and eagerness to learn from others that was fostered on the day. The leadership team would like to say a very big thank you to all teachers and students who helped plan, organise help, as well as all the secondary students and teachers for getting so involved on the day. We believe it was greatly successful and look forward to future leadership teams continuing this event for the future.

Josephine B.

Last Saturday Year 11 Health and Movement Science students heading down to Nepean River Parkrun to learn about communities of exercise. As part of their study they interviewed around 70 participants on why they do Parkrun and how Parkrun builds a sense of community. A big thank you to Nepean River Parkrun for having us down!

On Monday Week 8, Year 10 PASS students had the opportunity to participate in a surfing lesson at Manly Surf School, developing surfing skills, learning about ocean safety and embracing the thrill of the waves. Amongst the wipeouts there were lots of victories, with many students saying they would love to continue surfing going forward. Everyone gave their best and celebrated the successes of their peers.

Tuesday, 1 April, the Year 9 and 10 French Elective classes attended the Alliance Française French Film Festival at Palace Central Cinemas. They were enjoyed the film ‘Tous Toqués’ – All Stirred Up. This film was particularly relevant to Year 9 as they had just completed a unit of work about food and restaurant dining. Following the film, students went to The Little Snail restaurant in Pyrmont where they partook in a three-course meal. It was encouraging to see some students try ‘les Escargots’ for the first time. Students also took the opportunity to practice some French phrases in a realistic setting making the excursion both culturally and linguistically beneficial.

Year 11 Textiles and Design students on 2nd April, had the incredible opportunity to visit the TEA TexStyle Exhibition, where they explored exemplary Band 6 HSC works, including an outstanding piece by Ava Kobus from the Class of 2024. This visit provided students with a firsthand look at the high calibre of craftsmanship, creativity, and innovation that is possible in their own major projects.

A highlight of the excursion was the mini embroidery workshop, where students engaged in hands-on activity. Additionally, they attended a folio documentation session led by a senior HSC Marker, gaining valuable insights into the requirements and expectations for their own portfolios. The session provided practical strategies for effective documentation, reinforcing the importance of detailed and structured design processes.

This experience was both inspiring and educational, encouraging students to set high standards for their own work. They left the exhibition feeling motivated and appreciative of the opportunities offered at the College.

Flying pigs, girl detectives, battling brothers and sisters, demolition dinosaurs and fluffy white police dogs came to visit our PreK to Year 6 students during Weeks 8 and 9, as our visiting authors shared jokes, stories and much more. RA Spratt is the award-winning author of series including Nanny Piggins, Friday Barnes and the Peski Kids. Her visit entertained us and taught us what it takes to be an author. She sang, we laughed and she opened up her brain to let us into the process behind the magic she creates on the page. Lesley Gibbes and her menagerie of dinosaur dads, Fizz the police dog, and many other creatures joined us for fun, games and lots of questions. We thank Lesley and Rachel for sharing with us and generously signing our books as well as answering all our questions

CASA Primary Swimming

Congratulations to all our swimmers who attended the CASA Swimming Carnival on 24 February. Our swim team competed extremely well throughout the night. Our Junior Girls and Senior Girls teams won their 4x50m Freestyle relay and the Junior Boys team placed second. Penrith Anglican College came second overall which is a fantastic result. Well done to Pippa A, Colin B, Maddison C, Harper E, Mia E, Harrison H, Ava H, Spencer H, Jacob K, Charlotte N, Matilda R, Scarlett S and Charlie W who have qualified for the CIS Swimming Championships.

CIS Primary Swimming

Congratulations to Pippa A, Colin B, Maddison C, Harper E, Mia E, Harrison H, Ava H, Spencer H, Jacob K, Charlotte N, Matilda R, Scarlett S and Charlie W who represented CASA at the Primary CIS Swimming Carnival at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre on 26 March. CIS events are always competitive, and these students swam hard and with great determination in their events.

AFL Paul Kelly Cup

Students of Stage 2 and 3 recently participated in the Penrith Paul Kelly Cup at Jamison Park. They had a fun-filled day showcasing their handballing, marking, and goal-scoring skills. The Junior team was invited along to develop their skills and be exposed to the competition when they reach Stage 3. Our Girls team exhibited exceptional gameplay and managed to make it to the Grand Final. Though they were narrowly beaten in the final.

CASA Primary Touch Football

Thursday 3rd April turned out to be a great day for the CASA Primary Touch Football Gala Day. Students from Stage 3 excitedly travelled to Milperra to compete against the other schools. Both teams showing off their flick passes, side steps, slide dives and long balls. On the day both teams came in second place which is a fantastic achievement.

Nepean Shield Gala Days

The rain threatened to cancel the day before it even began, however, the weather held off and students from 3-6 were able to participate in the Summer Nepean Shield Gala Days.

Students took part in Newcombe Ball, Cricket, Basketball and League Tag and had fun competing against other schools in the Penrith region. These gala days were part one of the Summer competition with the second half being held in Term Four.

State Little Athletics Championships

Congratulations to Jacob K at the recent State Little Athletics Championships. He achieved 1st place in the 10 Years 800m race becoming the State Champion. Looking forward to seeing you in action at the Primary Athletics Carnival.

Our Cinema Under the Stars event is fast approaching. Screening Jumanji – Welcome to the Jungle, hire a bean bag, enjoy woodfired pizzas by Little Sauce Co and lots of movie snacks available for purchase on the night. Grab your pre-sale tickets on the Flexischools app! This event is for College secondary students only and will be supervised by College staff.

Kindergarten families have you ordered your 2025 Tote Bag keepsake? Our little artists have been busy drawing themselves and carefully writing their names to create the perfect keepsake for you!  Last orders for Tote Bags 12 April 2025. Click the QR code to place your order on Humantix or follow this link https://events.humanitix.com/kindergarten-tote-bag-fundraiser?hxchl=hex-qrc&hxref=evt

We invite you to the next Parents & Friends Meeting, Monday 7 April at 7:00pm in the College Staff Common Room.  All are always welcome!

PAC will be hosting students from Kumamoto Marist School in Japan, in August this year. The opportunity exists for families to host a student during their stay. 

Please see the link for further information https://www.vsoceania.com/host-families/homestay-requirements#homestayform or contact Mr Rheinberger.

More information is available here.

Newsletter attached here.

Holiday Program details attached here.

Full details here.