The Vine Newsletter

Please find attached a letter from Mr Philip Bell - Chair of College Council, and Mrs Grima regarding College fee relief.

PAC COVID Fee Relief

Name: Hannah Stanford                       

House: Latimer

Role on the Leadership team: College Captain

Best thing about being a student at PAC: There are always opportunities to follow your passion. Whether it is in sports, academics, or creative arts, being a PAC student means there's always something for you. 

One thing you feel you contribute to the leadership team: I am enthusiastic and motivated about helping others.

Something you are looking forward to about being a leader: Working with the leadership team to serve others and at the same time creating precious memories of our senior year.

A surprising/random fact about you that most people wouldn't know: I've reached a Grade 8 level in classical piano and have been playing for 10 years... I absolutely love it!

Name: Eve Hurley                                

House: Cranmer

Role on the Leadership team: College Vice-Captain

Best thing about being a student at PAC: The support that the teachers give us. They work incredibly hard to make sure we’re completing tasks to our fullest potential. Coming from a school where the teachers weren’t invested, it means so much to finally have someone who pushes me to my academic limits!

One thing you feel you contribute to the leadership team: I feel as though I’m able to listen and be open to the ideas of the other members. Everyone has something to contribute and all ideas should be taken into consideration.

Something you are looking forward to about being a leader: Definitely the spirit days and building morale, particularly during the pandemic where everyone needs a bit of a “pick-me-up”.

Please pray for:

• Our Year 12 students as they sit their Trial Examinations over the next  2 weeks.
• College families and the College Community as we walk through such uncertain times.
• The current COVID situation to ease and protection for frontline workers.

 Praise God for:

• Being unchanging, trustworthy and faithful to his promises.
• Blessing us with things for which we can be thankful every day like the colours of spring appearing.
• Technology which allows us to communicate and connect.

Miss Adele Crane - Director of Student Wellbeing

Pandemic Fatigue – Navigating this new feeling

As we continue in Off Campus Learning mode, the feelings of pandemic fatigue may be growing in some. Lockdown 2.0 does not have the same novelty experience as last year and we continue to navigate this territory with an undefined end point. Recent research confirms the levels of distress members of our society are feeling, particularly among younger Australians.

We are social beings who enjoy interactions with other people. The interactions we prefer may vary in terms of the size of groups, types of interactions and frequency, but the reduction in these interactions can have a negative impact. Our students are starting to miss everything from incidental social interactions to key transitional events. Within our Off Campus Learning Program, we have built in ways and opportunities for interactions to continue albeit in a different way. Classroom zooms, Mentor Group Check ins, Year Meetings, ROCK lunchtime gatherings and different competitions all assist in creating new ways for students to connect.

Changes to ICAS Sitting Dates for 2021

The ICAS sitting dates have been postponed until Term 4.  The Parent Portal System will remain open until 19 September for families who still wish to register their child.  The new proposed sitting window for testing is between 5 October and 29 October.

Mrs Kathryn Clarke
Secondary Gifted & Talented Co-ordinator

Our incredible Stage 3 Co-ordinator Mr Philip McMurray is currently working to achieve Experienced Teacher Accreditation.  Using the College Learning Culture, Mr McMurray is aiming to improve his students’ creative writing skills by developing their ability to plan, transfer information, review their learning, and innovate new ideas.  Read more about it here http://ow.ly/fPWl50FBVQO  

Mrs Ljubica Mansell - Deputy Principal (Primary)

Being Strong and Courageous
As we enter yet another week in lockdown, I do trust that you and your loved ones are all keeping  safe and well.  Even though we are facing such a struggle throughout this pandemic, we are reminded that God is walking beside us and we need to continue being strong and courageous.  We are reminded that God is with us always. 

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9 NIV 

Being Safe Online
With increased amounts of time on devices, we need to be alert of the dangers with being online.  The eSafety Commissioner has a series of excellent resources and tips that families can access including support networks.  

The key message for all families is to please stay close by to your child while they are online and regularly check their search history.  We receive alerts when a student has searched content that is deemed concerning and we will be in contact with our families if this is to occur.  Please follow this link for helping your child with being safe online  https://www.esafety.gov.au/kids/I-want-help-with/being-safe-online

Celebrating Student Success
I am extremely proud of all Primary students for the effort being used to complete activities during Off-Campus Learning.  A special congratulations to the following students who completed outstanding Olympic Athlete Profiles as part of the enrichment activities during the Tokyo Olympic Games:

Mannat Gill Year 2

Chelsea Balandra Year 2

Methuja Amarasena Year 2

Hannah Crawley Year 3

Emilija Sikavica Year 3

Chloe Vella Year 4

Chloe Georgijevic Year 6

Please remember to email Mrs Mansell any Enrichment work you have completed to l.mansell@pac.nsw.edu.au or you can drop it into the office next time you are collecting packs and I will happily mark it and return it to you.

Wishing you a lovely and blessed week ahead and please continue to reach out if there is anything we can do to better support your family.

Mrs Ljubica Mansell
Deputy Principal (Primary) 

Students in Year 4 have been excited to learn about their daily Zoom themes during Off-Campus Learning.  Popular themes have included bringing pets onto Zoom, trivia quizzes together on Kahoot, dressing up as a future profession, an Olympic Flag Ceremony, crazy hair day and PJ/Oodie Fridays! 

They have also been learning about fractions in Week 3.  Students were given the challenge to convert the fractions used in a cupcake recipe using only a few measuring tools in their kitchen.  They made some delicious cupcakes and cookies, and it looks like they had a lot of fun too!

It's always great to see College students continue to thrive!

1 Black are so THANKFUL to God for so many things!

Ehaab - Everything

Addison - Getting to have Zoom

Sairah - God and Jesus

Grace - My family

Jake - My mum, dad, sister, and brother.

Annika - The Earth

Ella - My Pets

Evie - My Toys

Give Thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever. Psalm 107:1 NIV

Our Year 6 Primary School Captains were invited to attend a Reception with the Mayor on 20 July, but this unfortunately had to be cancelled.

However, Mrs Grima and Mrs Mansell insisted on celebrating this event regardless, presenting Katelyn Ferguson and Elliott Witten their certificates via Zoom..

The College will continue to look for ways to acknowledge and celebrate examples of dedication and leadership during Off Campus Learning.  Well done to all our students who continue to demonstrate a willingness to learn and grow in different ways!

Prince Asamoah is 17 years old and lives in Ghana with his mum and 4 siblings.  His mum does not work.  Prince likes to draw, skip, go to Sunday School and Bible class.  His favourite subject is Art.  At home, his jobs are to carry water, clean and run errands.  

Prince is sponsored by Ryle.  He replaced Gobinda Singha who the current Year 11 had been sponsoring since they were in Kindergarten.

Click and Collect Borrowing
We are thrilled to be offering borrowing of REAL library books from our collection.  To borrow, please email librarians@pac.nsw.edu.au with your requests.  Give us an idea of the type of books you’d like, or specific titles/authors/genres.  You can access our electronic catalogue via your child’s online account (students Year 3 and above) to browse our collection https://pac.softlinkhosting.com.au/oliver/home/news.  We will check availability and attempt to provide similar titles if those you have asked for aren’t available.  Your books will be included with your learning at home pack each fortnight.  Please email by 5pm Wednesdays on pickup weeks and we will confirm via email when your books are ready.

Virtual Storytime from the Library
While we can’t all be together to share in the joy of reading, Library staff are busy with lots of projects to keep stories coming to College families at home and provide accessible resources for our community.  We have been recording Virtual Storytime readings for PreK to Year 6 classes, which go out weekly from our homes to yours.  We hope everyone is enjoying watching stories being read to them by our library staff.

Book Week 2021
We join with the Children’s Book Council of Australia in celebrating Book Week 2021 from 21-27 August.  This year’s Children’s Book of the Year Award winners will be announced on Friday 20 August at 12 noon.

Library Loves...
We love recommending places you can visit to learn and experience the wonder of the world around us.  This week’s suggestion is for a virtual trip to Taronga Zoo via their YouTube channel Taronga TV, which is updated regularly with awesome fun zoo goings-on. Check it out.

To support all students, the following adjustments have been applied to the Premier's Reading Challenge in 2021.  A full list of changes for 2021 can be found on the PRC rules page.

• The Challenge closing date has been extended to allow extra time to finalise student entries and Co-ordinator validations. The new closing date is Friday 3 September 2021.
• Students on all Challenge levels will be able to read 10 choice books – normally this is only 5 free choice books. The extra 5 free choice books will make it much easier for students to complete the Challenge, particularly if they are avid non-fiction readers or the authors they love aren’t included on the PRC list.  A little happy dance from us all in the library at this one!
• Students on all Challenge levels will be able to include books on their reading records that they read collaboratively as a class, in person or online with their teacher or at home with their parents/carers.

Thank you to the families who have already completed their PRC log for 2021, we have over 170 students finished already! The link for the PRC is https://online.det.nsw.edu.au/prc/home.html.  If you have any questions about the Premier’s Reading Challenge, please contact Mrs Killeen or myself via email.

Mr Mark Pullen
Head of Library Services

Mr Leighton Corr - Deputy Principal (Secondary)

As we continue to move through Term 3 remotely, I continue to be impressed with how our students are engaging in their work and doing their best.  I am aware that the expectations to be on a screen all day and losing so many of the ‘good’ parts of school like recess and lunch with your friends, or Tuesday afternoon sport can make things difficult for students, but I commend them for their efforts.

In particular, I have been encouraged by our Year 12 students.  The whole cohort logged on to our Year Meeting on Tuesday as we discussed the information that they would receive about trials.  They asked good questions, they raised good ideas.  They didn’t complain or whinge about what is happening, they were gracious and understanding that everyone is doing the best they can. This isn’t what they planned or hoped for this Term, but they are getting on with things. 

This showed me something about our young people in Year 12.  They aren’t just studious, they aren’t just learners preparing for a test, what I saw (albeit digitally on a screen) was the demonstration of quality character.  They showed a depth of character in their response and demonstrated a strength in who they are that gives me confidence that whatever these next few months bring and whatever their futures may hold, the class of 2021 from Penrith Anglican College will be just fine. 

May you all stay safe and well during this time and thank you for all you are doing to support your children.

Mr Leighton Corr
Deputy Principal (Secondary)

On Thursday 12 August, our Year 12 students had a brief moment back on site to collect their writing booklets for HSC Trials exams.  Each student was also presented with a care package that included chocolate, a stress ball and encouraging Bible verses, among other things.

Year 12, we are very proud of how hard you have worked and prepared in the lead up to your at-home Trial exams. We would like you to know that the whole College community is behind you all the way, and we will continue to pray for you. 

Mentor Groups
Each day our Secondary Mentor Groups meet to check in; it allows students to let teachers know how they are going and also for the groups to encourage one another.  Latimer 7 with Mrs Lackey and Mrs Clarke started with a group fist bump to show support for their fellow group members and to remind themselves that we are all in this together!

Year 10 Photography
Being stuck at home during lockdown hasn't stopped Year 10 Photography from creating some fantastic photographic works.  Using 'Home' as a theme, students have deconstructed some images of where they live.

What are you grateful for?
In Secondary School this week, students participated in online Year Meetings to hear some news relevant to their cohort and to encourage one another.  Year 8 and Year 11 students both listed things they were grateful for.  Friends, pets, family, technology and food all featured as well as many other things.  During this challenging lockdown time, it is encouraging to remind ourselves of the things we can be thankful for.

Although we can’t be together on campus to participate in Tuesday Sport and Tabitha this term, we can still be active! 

The Off Campus Sport (OCS) program is available via Canvas, and is designed to keep Year 7-12 students moving, and take a break from their screens.  By getting involved, students have the opportunity to earn points for their House, and for those students who are regular, committed participants, or go above and beyond with an activity, John Lambert points are on offer, in the Sport category.  Each week new challenges will be added to keep the competitiveness going.  In order to receive House points, students must submit evidence of their involvement via Canvas.  

The OCS program is also open to staff, with each staff member earning three points for their House.  Mrs Grima and Mr Corr have also earned points but since they aren't in a House, ALL Houses have received bonus points!! 

In a remarkable display of teamwork, determination and perseverance, Ridley (lagging in 4th place last week) has challenged the forerunner Ryle house to forge ahead and claim 1st place at the end of Week 4! There is only a 5-points difference between the mighty Ridley and Latimer still clinging to their 2nd position, with Cranmer running in 4th place.  We are at the halfway mark of Term 3...will Ridley maintain their lead this week?

I have been so impressed by how many students and staff have been involved with Off Campus Sport so far…keep up this awesomeness!  Remember that Tuesday is your perfect day to get involved with OCS and support your House.

Mrs Amanda Houison
Director of Sport

Please find information attached regarding Father's Day gifts for this year.

Father's Day Gift Orders

This free mental health information session, funded by the NSW Government is to help parents, carers, teachers and community members to understand warning signs, learn coping skills and build awareness of local services and pathways.  Hosted by Headspace, the next Penrith session will be held on Tuesday 17 August at 7.00pm. 

To register please visit: Penrith, NSW Parent and Carer mental health education session Registration, Tue 17/08/2021 at 7:00 pm | Eventbrite

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.