Penrith Selective High School
February Newsletter 2021
From the Principal
Welcome to our first school newsletter for 2021.
When the staff returned to school on Wednesday 27th January, they completed 2 days of intensive professional learning focussing on Gifted Education, Data Analysis and Literacy as a key focus on continuing to improve results, opportunities and all round achievement for all students again this year.
Since then, there have been a large number of important events that have been completed and many appear later in this newsletter. The Swimming Carnival was reduced to a competitors only event with Year 12 enjoying their final aquatic event of their time at school.
The Prefects hosted other school leaders from across a number of selective and local schools and did a wonderful job welcoming our visitors.
In 2020, we were not able to conduct our leadership ceremonies for Prefects, SRC, House Leaders and other student leadership positions so it was a pleasure to host this formal event last week as one large event. Over 100 students hold formal leadership roles and have made a very positive impact on the life of the school and opportunities for their peers as well as members of the wider community. We hope to welcome parents back onsite for the Induction event of the 2021/22 Prefects, SRC and House Leaders in early Term 3.
My particular thanks to the staff who organised and attended the Year 7 and 11 camps. For Year 7, the camp was the final phase of the initial induction process and as a group they have settled into school life well. Thank you to their Year Adviser, Melissa Royal, Deputy Principal, Jaclyn Cush, Anthony Vassallo, Karl Serrato, Annabel Goodman, Zubaida Alrubai, Alan Burns, Ryan Phung, Teresa Battistella and Jack Rolls for ensuring Year 7 could have this opportunity.
Year 11 students attended Collaroy for their 2 day camp and balanced an intensive program of study sessions and wellbeing sessions during their time away. Thank you to their Year Adviser, David Elias, Deputy Principal Doris Lee, Dimity Scardanas, Tom Hoekstra, Gi Kim, Rebecca Ross, Andrew Nemeth and Carole Wallace for taking time to support Year 11.
It has been a pleasure to share that our 2020 Dux is Eugenia Kim who achieved outstanding results and a very impressive ATAR of 99.80.
The results from Year 12, 2020 reflect their hard work as well as the hard work and expertise of their teachers and support of their families. A record 8 names will be added to the HSC Excellence Honour Board in the hall. This board acknowledges students who achieve the top band (Band 6 or E4) in all courses. Congratulations to Eugenia Kim, Holly Epps, Holly Gerrard, Sophia Hadjimichael, Junyi Ma, Hasanga Malalasakera, Erick Rajan, Ethan Shackley and Anna Sharma.
Finally, thank you to a very large number of parents who attended our first P&C meeting 2 weeks ago. Our week 7 meeting which will be the AGM onsite and a forum from some of our 2020 HSC High Achievers joining us via zoom to share their insights and experiences from their HSC and how they have navigated so successfully into university. Details will be sent to families prior to the event.
Thank you to all who have contributed to the newsletter below. Our school is a vibrant, busy and exciting place to work and learn each day. Parents are reminded to keep their email contacts current with the school as we use this mode for the bulk of our communication.
Warm regards,
Mark Long
Principal
7 and 10 Deputy Principal Report
I hope all of our Year 7 and 10 students and families have had an enjoyable start to the new school year. 2021 marks a critical time for both cohorts as our Year 7 community transitions into high school and Year 10 become senior members of our school.
Year 7
It has been a busy start to the year for Year 7 as they completed their high school induction, attended camp and met what might seem to be their many, many teachers and new classrooms. In the coming weeks our Year 12 Prefects will be publishing a ‘Meet the Year 7 Teachers’ document so parents can put faces to names. We have such an incredibly talented team teaching Year 7 this year and we are excited for you to get to know them!
Year 7 are about to head into some intensive NAPLAN preparation sessions during their timetabled wellbeing periods. Parents can help support their child by reassuring them that NAPLAN is just one part of their school program, and reminding them to do their very best. Past NAPLAN test papers are located on the ACARA website.
Year 10
Thank you to all of our Year 10 Peer Support Leaders who, while the rest of Year 10 enjoyed one final Friday of holidays, came to school one day early to help with Year 7’s transition to high school. I trust your own transition to the senior school has been equally as smooth.
In Week 6 of Term 4 last year, we celebrated the fact that you were half way through your high school career! This year we will begin your post-school planning and very quickly you will realise how critical Year 10 is to your success in Years 11 and 12. For many of you, it is time to do some extremely deep reflection on what worked well in the first three years of high school and what didn’t. There is no better time than a new year (with a crisp white shirt) to make positive changes or trial something new.
And finally, welcome to all of the new Year 10 students who have joined our school community in 2021.
I look forward to seeing what 2021 holds for each of you.
Ms Jaclyn Cush
ATTENDANCE MATTERS
At Penrith Selective High School, student attendance is promoted and supported by all staff to ensure our students achieve their educational best, preparing them for success in and beyond school. Attendance is actively monitored: common barriers to attendance are addressed; improvements in attendance are recognised; and early interventions are actioned. Our comprehensive attendance strategy is captured below:
The ‘Gold Standard’ of attendance is expected before students can be considered for leadership positions, entry into accelerated classes and other important opportunities in the life of the school.
Arriving at school and class on time is expected for all students in order to:
• ensure that students do not miss out on important learning activities scheduled early in the day
• help students learn the importance of punctuality and routine
• give students time to greet their friends before class
• reduce classroom disruption
Students should aim to arrive at school no later than 8:45am and 7:45am for classes scheduled before period 1. Lateness is recorded as a partial absence and must be explained by parents in the Sentral Parent and Student Portal (https://penrithhs.sentral.com.au/portal/login). Students who are late are required to present themselves to the Head Teacher Educational Achievement on the same day.
The educational impacts of lateness and repeated absence from school is shown below. Please discuss this with your child as they prepare for the year ahead.
Ms Ross, Head Teacher Educational Achievement
Below are Teachers New to the School in 2021 or the End of 2020
Meet the Head Teacher PDHPE
Name: Andrew Rutherford
Previous School: The Ponds High School
Subject Area: PDHPE
University Education: Bachelor of Exercise Science (ACU), Graduate Diploma of Education (ACU)
Interests: spending time with my family (wife and 3 young children), a variety of physical activities (such as canyoning, indoor rock climbing, mountain biking, gym training, running), observing the night sky with my telescope
Favourite Sport: Australian Rules Football
Favourite Food Dish: either pizza or a Thai curry
Anything Else? I was a former student of the school, graduating in the HSC class of 2003. My claim to fame at the school is being in the year group that put the time capsule in the IA garden and being crowned Junior Sportsman of the Year in 2001 (my name is on the shield hanging in the corridor of A block)
Meet the Head Teacher Social Sciences
Name: Bronwyn Kelly
Previous School: North Sydney Girls High School
Subject Area: Social Sciences (eg Economics, Commerce, and Geography)
University Education: University of Newcastle (with Prize in Economics)
Interests: Adrenalin sports; Africa; drawing art and timber carving
Favourite Sport: Surfing
Favourite Food Dish: Bolognaise
Anything Else? The Social Sciences Faculty ROCK!
Meet the Teacher
Name: Grahame Andrews
Previous School: Lithgow High School
Subject Area: Information Technology, Engineering
University Education: Computer Engineering, the University of Wollongong
Interests: Skiing, Tennis, Skiing, Table tennis, Skiing, Chess, Skiing, Shogi (Japanese chess)
Favourite Sport: Skiing, Tennis
Favourite Food Dish: Japanese Shabu Shabu
Anything Else? I like skiing, Japan, currently learning Japanese, planning a ski trip to Hakuba Japan in 2022.
Meet the Teacher
Name: Helena Bolle
Previous School: Auburn Girls High School
Subject Area: History
University Education: BA (Hons) MA (Teaching), PhD (Ancient History).
Interests: History of ideas, History of medicine, Ancient languages, Fungi, Plants.
Favourite Sport: Extreme reading.
Favourite Food Dish: Dosa and Avial
Meet the Teacher
Name: Samantha Chapman
Previous School: Penrith High School 2014-present, Cranebrook High School 2010-2014
Subject Area: English, History & Modern History
University Education: Bachelor of Arts (History & English), Masters of Education Secondary
Interests: Bushwalks & getting out into nature, travelling, baking.
Favourite Sport: I am very unathletic which has led to me not favouring any sports! But the Olympics always capture my interest.
Favourite Food Dish: I make a particularly excellent & completely homemade chicken & leek pie! And desserts are a high priority for me.
Anything Else? I look forward to getting to know all of my students this year!
Meet the Teacher
Name: Christopher Forwood
Previous School: Glenmore Park High School
Subject Area: Social Science
University Education: Bachelor of Education Dip Teach
Interests: Riding my E Bike and travelling
Favourite Sport: Tennis
Favourite Food Dish: Chicken Salads
Meet the Teacher
Name: Stephanie King
Subject Area: History and Geography
University Education: Australian Catholic University – Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Teaching
Interests: Music, History, Creative projects
Favourite Sport: Netball
Favourite Food Dish: Nachos
Meet the Teacher
Name: Anne-Maree Magi
Previous School: Nepean Creative and Performing Arts High School
Subject Area: English (*also trained in Drama)
University Education: Bachelor of Performance, Theory and Practice in Theatremaking (University of Western Sydney)
Graduate Diploma in Secondary Education (University of New England)
Interests: Theatre, Film, Reading, Writing, Singing, Travel, Design, History, Baking
Favourite Sport: Dance
Favourite Food Dish: Chocolate Brownies with Raspberries
Meet the Teacher
Name: Tegan Richardson
Previous School: Chatswood High School
Subject Area: Business Studies/Economics/Commerce/Geography
University Education: The University of Newcastle (Bachelor of Business – Marketing) and The University of Technology Sydney (Bachelor of Teaching in Secondary Education -Commerce, Business Studies and Economics
Interests: Watching movies and bike riding
Favourite Sport: Basketball
Favourite Food Dish: Italian (especially pasta)
Meet the Teacher
Name: Iain Wallace
Previous School: I still work part time at Fort Street High School.
Subject Area: Visual Arts …but have taught Photography, Design and Careers (also I am an Archivist on the sly).
University Education: Bachelor of Education (Honours), Graduate Diploma in Careers Education and halfway through a Master of Information Studies …I am hoping to one day achieve my Doctorate in Suess.
Interests: I am currently experimenting with all the flavours in the T2 range (Pumping Pomegranate is the leading favourite); I paint portraits by entering the Archibald Prize every year; and I can be addicted to the power-trip of Cities Skylines (no judgement).
Favourite Sport: Someone introduced me to the sport of extreme ironing, but I opted for sending gifs of Moira Rose while on a coffee run instead.
Favourite Food Dish: If I could eat Ben & Jerry’s Peanut Butter ice cream all day, without slipping into a diabetic coma, I probably would (again, no judgement).
Anything Else? I am attempting to write my first novel …at this rate it should be ready to be published by 2033.
Meet the Teacher
Name: John Yasmineh
Previous School: I did a few casual weeks at my last prac school, Robert Townson High School, while waiting for 2021 to start. That’s all of my experience so far.
Subject Area: TAS (computing) (and Maths though I’m not teaching it at Penrith)
University Education: Telecommunications Engineering at UTS followed more recently by Teaching at UNE (by distance)
Interests: Judging by what I spent most of my time doing it would have to be changing nappies! If we’re talking what I’d LIKE to be spending my time doing, it’s probably fencing or playing video games or reading science fiction.
Favourite Sport: probably fencing
Favourite Food Dish: authentic French eclairs. Or Zaatar. Or Black Forest cake. Or maybe dolmathes.
Anything Else? I’m really excited to be starting my career as a teacher!
SRC 20/21
Vice President - Alan Steny
Treasurer - Luke Byun
Secretary - Athena Xin Tian Auw
media Liaison Officer - Soo Jung Yoo
SRC Update
After finishing off 2020 on such a high note with various exciting events, the SRC have spent the holidays brainstorming and taking student suggestions for more event ideas. We are more excited than ever to be back at school to work with our new SRC coordinator Mrs Xiberras, and are already in the midst of planning our first few events coming up this term. The SRC have made the decision to create a system where grade representatives facilitate school wide events, as well as a deeper focus on catering to each grade’s needs. This has come in the form of a survey which has been sent out to year groups specifically, and each representative has been busy taking in feedback and implementing new ideas to provide a specialised service to their fellow peers.
The Tri-Sport tournament has begun in Week 5, this is a collaboration with the House Leaders, where each term a round robin of a chosen sport is played over the course of the term. This term the sport is basketball, and many grades have created several teams to participate in this tournament. Some of these games have already been played, and we anticipate a further exciting series of events.
The World’s Greatest Shave is an initiative that supports those suffering with leukemia, which PSHS students regularly participate in. Previously, our school community has raised over $16 000, and we would love to beat it again this year. This event will be commencing on March 17 and the link to sign up or donate to this wonderful cause has been emailed out to students. We hope to see everyone contributing in any way they can, whether it be shaving their head, cutting or colouring their hair, donating, or even just spreading the word!
The Bandaged Bear Appeal is an initiative aimed at supporting sick children and their families at Westmead Children’s Hospital. This term, the SRC will be collaborating with this initiative and will be holding many events on March 5 at school to fundraise for this rewarding cause.
Finally, the SRC are in the process of planning some thrilling activities for the school’s annual School Spirit Week! This event has been running at PSHS for many years, and continues to be one of the biggest events of the school year. The theme of this year’s School Spirit Week will soon be announced, along with the many engaging activities planned for this exciting occasion. Keep your eyes and ears open for more information on these in the coming weeks.
Athena Xin Tian Auw
SRC Secretary
House Captains 2020/2021
VICE CAPTAINS: Dev Batra & Alisha Ahmed
LAWSON CAPTAINS: Jerald Jose & Ashley Mao
VICE CAPTAINS: Christopher Kwon & Zoe Elizalde
MITCHELL CAPTAINS: Rynan Michael & AlisonJoseph
VICE CAPTAINS: Lachlan Stone & Halis Khadija Rishamsulkamal
WENTWORTH CAPTAINS: Guntash Singh & Vedika Sathiasothilingeswaran
VICE CAPTAINS: Siththarth Sivasaththy & Rhytham Swami
Mathematics
2021 has seen no changes in Mathematics staff.
Since we now are a BYOD school, chapters from the textbooks are uploaded to the Google classrooms for the students to access. If you would like your child to have a hard copy of the textbook, then they can just ask their teacher if they can borrow a textbook for the year. The textbooks need to be borrowed through the library.
Here is some important information and dates:
Problem solving is being taught to Year 7 and Year 8, once a fortnight throughout the entire year. It will occur in their Friday Week A Mathematics lesson. The students are being taught various problem-solving strategies and techniques to better prepare them for the APSMO and AMC competitions.
Euler Enrichment is taught on Wednesday mornings at 8am in A.1.5. Cost is $130 for 3 terms.
Gauss Enrichment is taught on Wednesday mornings at 8am in A.1.6. Cost is $130 for 3 terms. There are still some places available, please see Mrs Briggs in the Maths Staffroom if you are interested in being involved.
Noether Enrichment is taught on Monday mornings at 8am in A.1.6. Cost is $130 for 3 terms. There are still some places available, please see Mrs Briggs in the Maths Staffroom if you are interested in being involved.
Olympiad Training is on Fridays at lunchtime in A.1.7 for all talented Mathematics students Years 7 to 12. Please be prompt.
APSMO is made up of 5 papers given throughout Terms 1, 2 and 3, each paper is between 23 and 30 minutes in length. In 2021 all of Year 7 and Year 8 will compete in this Olympiad. The cost is $6 and this covers all 5 papers. The results of these Olympiads go towards their yearly report mark.
The C.A.T. – Computational and Algorithmic Thinking Competition will be held online on Tuesday 20 March, Week 9 of Term 1. It is a one-hour competition held from 7:50am until 8:50am, cost is $6.50, (the accounts office will invoice the students who have been entered). The competition has a mixture of multiple-choice and integer answers and incorporates unique ‘three-stage tasks’ that encourage students to develop informal algorithms and apply them to test data of increasing size or complexity. The original problems are designed to be quick to solve and highly approachable, and range in difficulty from very easy to challenging. Some questions test the ability to perform procedures, others require logical thought, while the more challenging problems require the identification and application of algorithms. If your child is interested in participating in this competition then they need to register with me (Mrs Briggs) asap.
Maths Peer Tutoring is FREE for any student who would like some extra help with their Mathematics classwork or homework. Please either see Mrs Briggs in the Maths staffroom or email mathspeertutoring@gmail.com to get a student assigned to help you. The Maths Prefects will also be organising a couple of group Tutoring sessions just before the Term 1 Assessments, please keep an eye out in the Daily Bulletin for when and where!
Important Dates:
Computational and Algorithmic Thinking (CAT), 1hr paper, 23/3/21
Australian Maths Competition (AMC), 75 min paper, compulsory, Thursday 5/8/21
Australian Informatics Olympiad (AIO), 3 hr paper, 26/8/21
Australian Intermediate Mathematics Olympiad (AIMO), 4 hr paper 9/9/21
APSMO, 24th of March, 5th of May, 16th of June, 28th of July, and the 8th of September.
Ms Briggs
HT Mathematics
PSHS Swimming Carnival
On February 5 our school’s Annual Swimming Carnival was held. Although it was year 12 and competitors only due to restrictions, it was a fabulous day with excellent weather, making it a memorable last swimming carnival for year 12s.
Once again, Blaxland has maintained its position of 1st place with 380 points, followed by Wentworth 270, Lawson 229 then Mitchell 170. This year a new record was made from Joshua Chung in the 14 years boys 50m Freestyle, finishing at 28.90s and beating the previous record of 29.88s from 1997.
Congratulations to all competitors who participated throughout the day with great enthusiasm and house spirit making the carnival a success! A big thank you to all the teachers who helped organise and run the day. We wish everyone who made it into the Zone Swimming carnival all the best.
Boys 12 years Age Champion
Tommy Bowen
Runner-up
Ishan Singh
Boys 13 years Age Champion
Joshua Darmawan
Runner-up
Varish Aravinthan
Boys 14 years Age Champion
Joshua Chung
Runner-up
Ryan Wen
Boys 15 years Age Champion
Owen Jose McCann
Runner-up
Isaac Ng
Boys 16 years Age Champion
Parth Purohit
Runner-up
Alex Vella
Boys 17+ years Age Champion
Falekava Mahe
Runner-up
Daniel Biswas
Girls 12 years Age Champion
Sinthuri Prashanth
Runner-up
-
Girls 13 years Age Champions
Barenya Satapathy /
Ravdeep Behl (tied)
Runner-up
-
Girls 14 years Age Champion
Bianca Zhang
Runner-up
Joanne Kim
Girls 15 years Age Champion
Cassidy Lauguico
Runner-up
Dharani Sutharsan
Girls 16 years Age Champion
Jessie Pranadjaja
Runner-up
Amanda Exley
Girls 17+ years Age Champion
Olivia Bock
Runner-up
Ashvini Dolamulla
New Record:
14 Years Boys 50m Freestyle
Joshua Chung (2021)
28.90s
Previous Record
David Chantler (1983) Adrian Khaw (1997)
29.88s
by Alison Joseph and Jennifer Cho
Year 7 Camp 2021
Reflections by Students
Below are a couple of year 7 reflections from their recent camp at Yarramundi. Thank you to all the staff who gave up their time to supervise the students and thank you to all the Year 7 students for stepping out of their comfort zones and applying themselves to each activity.
Dr Royal
Year 7 Adviser
Mitali Garg
Camp was amaaazing! Even though everyone says that, it is actually applicable this time. I mean, it isn’t everyday that you get to climb a ten metre vertical wall with barely anything to grip onto or get suddenly released from twenty metres in the air on a giant swing! Aside from all the awesome activities, staying with my friends in cabins was so adventurous, I felt like a bushranger and sleeping in sleeping bags was like being in a cosy cocoon. The camp made me much more social, especially during the night music trivia, teaching us how to work together and put our heads all in.
The food was brilliant in my opinion with dessert after every meal and so many juice poppers and ice-blocks. Other fun activities included alpine rescue, archery and sports in our free time. Overall, the camp was fun and a great way to start the year. Instead of not knowing everyone’s name and only sticking to my best friends, I can freely communicate with more people because of the three jam packed days that are probably always going to be the highlight of year 7.
Adish Kuthyar Supreeth
Hi! I’m Adish from 7S and I am going to talk about my experience in Camp Yarramundi. So, Camp Yarramundi was a very exciting place for every year 7 student. Due to Covid 19 last year, most of the year 7 students didn’t have camp in year 6. This is the first camp since 1 ½ years ago and all of the year 7 students were excited. The thing I enjoyed the most about camp was that I went to the top of the giant swing. It was entertaining to me. While I was swinging I saw scenic views and saw a van. The next thing that was amusing and a bit challenging was orienteering. So in orienteering we had to find some square tablet etched into trees and signs. It was all over camp Yarramundi.
In this whole camp I learned 2 new things. For the first part, try to trust your instincts. This was what I learned individually. Where I learned it was when my group and I were orienteering and was trying to find the number 18 square tablet. On the map it says it's this way whereas there was grass and bush. We had to trust our instinct and went through there and we found the tablet. The 2nd new thing I learned about is to try step out of the comfort zone and don’t step into the panic zone. For each of the activities the instructor was telling us to do this. This meant we gave a 100% while doing all the activities. These are the most exciting parts of the camp and this was what I learned.
Aksheeka Aksheeka
My experience at camp was the best. This has been the first camp I have been to and I learnt a lot of new things and different activities. My favourite activity at camp would have been the giant swing. The tension and anticipation just keeps me more and more excited for the giant swing. The most challenging activity was the high ropes course as the part of the course with tyres was really hard and dangerous. One false move and you would just be dangling by the harness.
I made lots of friends in my cabin and a group which I had never met before. They came from different cultures and backgrounds but it was really fun talking to them and laughing with them. They would make constant jokes which would make my day brighter. I thought that we were doing lots of activities but I never knew we were making life-long memories with my friends.
Year 11 Study Camp 2021
The UN International Day of Women and Girls in Science
PREFECTS REPORTS
Yr 7 Prefects
We’re the current Year 7 prefects and are assisting Dr. Royal with helping the new Year 7 transition into high school. As of now, we have attended a year meeting and introduced ourselves, and are working with Dr Royal to produce a ‘get to know your teachers’ for the parents of the Year 7 students.
Jola Canlas
Sinduja Sureshkumar and Tamara Jaglica
Yr 8 Prefects
We are Rana and Darren, the current year 8 prefects. Darren and I have attended the Wellbeing Assemblies to introduce ourselves and ensure the grade has us as their voice for their issues.
We are planning to run some future events with the year 8 students to help build their habits in order to set a good foundation for future years.
Rana Singh
Darren Pradhan
Yr 9 Prefects
As Year 9 Prefects, we help the Year 9 cohort. Recently, we have provided a presentation on how to study for subjects they are currently doing, as well as potential subjects they wish to pursue in senior years. As well as this, we will continue to assist and organise activities to encourage more connectedness within the grade.
Eugene Chen
Nicholas Whelan
Yr 10 Prefects
Olivia Bock
Jahin Khandoker
Yr 11 Prefects
We are Leeanna and Marco, the Year 11 Prefects. This term, Year 11 has been occupied with multiple events such as camp and adapting to new subjects. With the hectic transition into senior school, we have been helping Year 11 and providing advice on how to deal with stress and maintaining a healthy wellbeing. Likewise, we will continue to help Mr Elias plan new events and activities in order to further social connections.
Leeanna Yao
Marco Perri
Science Prefects
Darren Pradhan
Aditya Kumar and Sara Saleh
Mathematics Prefects
We are Abhijith, Leeanna and Yash, your Maths Prefects! As the Maths Prefects for 2020/21, we have been working closely with Ms Briggs and the Maths Faculty. This term we have been focusing on our school’s wonderful Maths Peer Tutoring program. Where students can seek the assistance of senior students with any troubles they are having with Maths.
We will also be running exam help sessions soon in preparation for each grade’s Maths exams. The Maths Faculty is also holding a range of enrichment programs and competitions students can sign up to, including the CAT, AIO and AIMO competitions. Be sure to sign up to these wonderful opportunities! Be on the lookout for more news from us soon. We would also like to quickly welcome Ms Mikhail, whom we did a small interview with!
Previous School?
“Windsor High School for a year and a half”
University Education
“Bachelor of Arts Majoring in Mathematics, with a Bachelor of Education Secondary. I did Maths all the way up to my last year of University. I also did a philosophy unit on ethics.”
If you were an animal what animal would you be?
“Dogs, they're really really awesome and loyal, caring and learn things quickly.”
Favourite composer?
“Beethoven”
Favourite food?
“I love all food! I love Thai food and any type of Thai curry I could have that every day of my life”
Hobbies?
“I used to play piano when I was younger and in university, reading and learning about different forms of thinking and perspectives, the thing I’m into right now is Tiny Houses and Tiny Living, walking my dog, spending time with people and Maths!”
Favourite Maths Topic?
“I love all of them, I don’t have a favourite Maths topic. Say for example Algebra, but when you see that come up again in Area, Perimeter Volume it starts to get more interesting. When you get into the applications of pure maths, then it gets more enjoyable.”
If you weren’t teaching what would you pursue?
“Working with people or something applied, like coding and engineering, Data analysis or even becoming a Statistician.”
Abhijith MaliakalLeeanna Yao and Yash Mishra
CAPA Prefects
Madeleine Reeves
Ana Maksimovic
TAS Prefects
The TAS Prefects, Marco the leader and Luke the assistant, have been trying to revive and keep many clubs around the school running. Clubs play an integral part in the school community and we love to see all the hard work the leaders put into them. We have also had to say goodbye to a much loved Mr. Mel and welcomed Mr. McGovern as the new Head Teacher. We also welcomed the new TAS teachers, Mr Andrews and Mr Yasmineh.
Marco Perri
Luke Boyes
English Prejects
The English Prefects, Fairy and Jamima, have been working with Mr Lidster to introduce and plan new ideas for the upcoming year. However, we are continuing to run English peer tutoring for all students who may require assistance in all aspects of English.
Fairy Patel
Jamima Rumey Jiffrey
Social Sciences Prefects
We are Paul, Shameer and Abhijith, and we are the prefect leaders and assistants for the Social Sciences portfolio. Our role is to help with organising YMCA Junior and Youth Parliament, assisting with Breakfast Club, and MUNA, as well as competitions, such as ASX Shares, and Politics Club. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to come see us directly or drop a suggestion in the prefect box. We would also like to welcome new teachers, Ms Richardson and Mr Forwood.
Paul Sebastian
Abhijith Maliakal and Shameer Iftikhar
LOTE Prefects
Happy New Year (and Lunar New Year!!) from your LOTE Prefects, Sara and Cedric. The LOTE Faculty has been busy preparing for OzClo including gathering trainers, tutees, and managing a training program for them. This will be a great way to prepare for the Australian Computations and Linguistic Olympiad! We are also aiming to get an incursion up and running this term for the LOTE students, a wonderful event that we will be looking forward to.
Sara Saleh
Cedric Kutschera
History Prefects
Luke Boyes
Eugene Chen
Duke of Ed Prefects
Zach and I (Sinduja), the Duke of Ed Prefects, have been having regular meetings with Miss Andreatta to discuss the future prospect of Duke of Ed at Penrith High School. Towards the end of 2020, we were helping Miss Andrietta with upcoming journeys and organising the equipment required. Behind the scenes, a Duke of Ed website with online forms and online information regarding the program at our school is being generated, along with the planning for a fundraiser to occur in 2021. The aim of this fundraiser is to financially support the students who are going to complete Gold Duke of Ed in the future.
Sinduja Sureshkumar
Zach Wan
Canteen Prefects
Hey, we’re Nicholas and Rana and we’re the Canteen Prefects. As Canteen Prefects, we’re in charge of all things Canteen and food related. The Canteen is central to the Penrith High Community and we help to create new menus and promote them through emails, announcements and newsletters. We also help to make posters for food promotions and weekly specials. Loretta and the canteen staff work extremely hard and we’re here to help lighten the load for them. We’re looking forward to creating new initiatives for the canteen this year.
Nicholas Whelan
Rana Singh
Uniform Prefects
Jahin Khandoker
Olivia Bock
Social Justice and Equality Prefects
The Social Justice prefects have focused this term on access to education for refugees. Namely, we partnered with the Blue Mountains Refugee Support Group on their Youth Shoebox Initiative, gathering stationery to decrease the cost of schooling for young refugees.
Jamima Rumey Jiffrey
Ashvini Dolamulla
Alumni Prefects
Hey, we are your Alumni Prefects, Adi and Liz :) We've been busy making a present for the alumni, and finding ways to welcome them back into our school despite current events.
We’ve been writing an article for the Towers Alumni, so look out for Towers Alumni Newsletters,
published quarterly, where our article will feature, about multigenerational
families at Penrith!
The Alumni Garden is now open for your use (when directed) and admiration! It was opened last year when we celebrated our 70th Anniversary.
Aditya Kumar
Elizabeth Santoso
Wellbeing Prefects
We are Hana and Kokulaan, and we’re the Wellbeing Prefects. As of 2021, we have been planning a wellbeing day to take place in either term 1 or 2. The aim of this will be to raise awareness about mental health and wellbeing, as well as to promote daily mindfulness. We have also been keeping in close contact with the counsellors, and making sure the students are aware of the counselling support offered.
Hana Hallani
Kokulaan Santhakumar
Volunteering Prefects
Welcome back to a new year! The Volunteering Club has got a lot planned for this upcoming year, so please look forward to hearing about it soon.
Our focus is still on giving back to the Penrith community around us and assisting everyone as best we can.
Thanks.
Cedric Kutschera
Jola Canlas and Isaac Chang
Public Relations Prefects
Tamara Jaglica
Hana Hallani
PAT Prefects
Prefect Afternoon Teas are a fantastic opportunity and day to increase connections and relationships with both local schools and other high performing Selective Schools through the activities scheduled for the day. They ultimately serve to both inspire and be inspired by the leaders of other great schools and ensure positive interconnections for everlasting times to come.
This term, we have managed to become the first school to run a successful and safe Prefect Afternoon Tea (Tuesday February 9), which could be considered a great success especially due to the various COVID-19 restrictions we had to adhere to for it to run. We are now looking to release the photos taken on the day through our various social media platforms and assist other Prefects with their respective events.
Isaac Chang
Paul Sebastian
Towers Prefects
Hello from Ana, Fairy and Maddy, your Towers prefects and we’re in charge of all things that have to do with the Towers Magazine! This term, we have been waiting for the arrival of the 2020 issue. We’ve managed to get over 120 pre-orders for the magazine this year, which is one of the highest amounts yet!
Ana Maksimovic
Madeleine Reeves and Fairy Patel
SRC Prefects
Hello everyone! We are Yash and Alyna, your 2020/2021 SRC Prefects.
From the time after the summer holidays, we have been hard at work bringing events to the school community. With great collaboration with the rest of the SRC, Prefects and House Captains, we have been able to organise and help with the running of numerous events. These include the Prefect Afternoon Tea, which was a massive success thanks to our PAT leaders Paul and Isaac, assisted by our prefects and SRC. We have also been planning a big day for World’s Greatest Shave, an event where we have the opportunity to raise money to charity. Furthermore, we are working on planning for School Spirit Week, Multicultural Day and a Bandaged Bear Appeal - all magnificent events to raise school and community spirit. We are also working alongside the House Captains to bring a Tri-sport tournament to the school, in late term 2. Overall, we have been kept quite busy and will be sure to keep you guys posted in the weeks to come.
Yash Mishra
Alyna Arago
CLUB AND ENRICHMENT EXPO
The Club and Enrichment Expo was held on the Friday of Week 4, at lunchtime. It provided students with the opportunity to exhibit the clubs, co-curricular programs and enrichment opportunities offered at Penrith Selective High School. It was also an occasion for students to sign up and become involved in the various programs run by our school, including (but not limited to) the Breakfast Club, Art Club and Peer Tutoring.
Our school values extra-curricular activities because of their critical role in enabling students to develop confidence, gain leadership and social skills, as well as become more active within the school community. A diverse range of benefits are offered by our club and enrichment programs, including:
Opportunities to demonstrate your ability to work in a collaborative setting through effective teamwork, leadership and communication.
A time to develop social skills and build new friendships by interacting with students who share similar interests.
An opportunity to provide service and give back to the school and broader community by taking on the initiative and paving the way for positive change.
An option to use one’s involvement as evidence for well-rounded skills and interests, necessary when applying for university scholarships or other post-school programs and opportunities.
The Success of the 2021 Semester 1 Club and Enrichment Expo
The Different Clubs at the Expo
This year’s Semester 1 Club and Enrichment Expo was an exceptional success, showcasing all of the clubs, co-curricular programs and enrichment opportunities offered at our school. We proudly introduced many new clubs such as the Creative Solutions Club, Harry Potter Fan Club, Acts of Altruism and Mindfulness Club, all of which now have numerous enthusiastic students ready to participate. After a trying 2020 that disrupted many extra-curriculars, it was great to see eager students from all year groups attend and enrol themselves into various clubs as well as step up and lead new programs. We anticipate a pleasurable and productive year ahead!
The Focus on Enrichment Opportunities
The enrichment programs available at our school, such as Drama Ensemble, Dance Ensemble, Maths Enrichment and Art Enrichment, aim to extend students with a focus on their key interest areas. These opportunities promote student collaboration by allowing them to work together to improve their critical thinking skills and pursue their own areas of strengths.
Furthermore, these enrichment programs have successfully allowed students to unlock future opportunities in the workplace or university. Programs such as Maths Enrichment give students the opportunity to achieve a deeper understanding of the subject and receive certificates - an excellent achievement to display on resumes. Although these enrichment opportunities are beneficial, it should be noted that attendance is taken to ensure students remain diligent and committed.
Click here to access the timetable for the various clubs and enrichment opportunities. For queries and more details, please contact the Head Teacher, Ms Antoinette Pipio or Ms Carole Martin, our Administration Officer in the Co-Curricular Office.
By Year 11 Co-curricular Leaders 2020-2021 (Avyukta Anand, Niyati Shah, Rachel Mathew, Shreya Patel, Sharanya Adaikalavan, Veerja Patel)
LUNAR NEW YEAR 2021
Traditionally, red envelopes containing money are presented at family gatherings and social gatherings as a gift. These envelopes symbolise good luck and for evil spirits to go away.
With this idea in mind, the prefects organised messages in red envelopes students and teachers could send to each other.
Additionally, we had Celis Pascual create a Colouring Competition for students to partake in. The winners were: Mela Hoffman, Jerrin Jomon, Celis Pascual, Umadee Wanniarachchi and Sinthuri Prashanth.
In the hall, the prefects and SRC set up red lanterns across the hall, our wishing wall and a wonderful photo booth where the students could take pictures. Throughout lunch, students came in to take pictures. Our Maths Faculty also came to the photobooth and won our teacher's photobooth prize.
This is the first of many events the prefects have initiated and we are looking forward to celebrating and commemorating more cultures and special days.
Ashvini Dolamulla
School Captain
PSHS PAT
A massive thank you to Ricky Rangra for returning and entertaining us with his amazing speech.
Rowing Update
Congratulations team!
The Duke of Edinburgh Award Update
The last term has been a busy time for the Duke of Edinburgh participants. Early in Term 4 2020 we thankfully had the all clear for excursions again, with a few modifications of course, of which everyone took in their stride. They were just extremely happy to put into practice what they had been planning for most of the year.
The Bronze group completed their qualifying trip spread over two weeks to accommodate all students. The students have begun to understand the importance of teamwork and good communication and have learnt the basics of navigation.
The Silver group completed both their practice and qualifying journeys before the end of 2020. For many of them this will be the end of the line for their involvement with the program and their qualifying journey was a great way to bring everyone together to celebrate these achievements.
The Gold group managed to complete their practice journey in 2020, with their qualifying journey planned for the first week back this year. They were lucky enough to have perfect conditions for their practice journey along the section of the Great North Walk and the Northern Beaches, only to have almost the opposite for their qualifying journey! The group have worked hard on their communication and leaderships skills. They understand the importance of sleep and they all reset their body clocks during their qualifying journey. They appreciate each other for who they are, for all their quirks and accept each other as ‘family’.
Well done to all participants and don’t forget to keep your regular commitment to your other sections.
Gold Duke of Ed
“If a plan doesn’t work, change the plan but never the goal” - this quote really sums up the hike to Mt Kosciuszko for the 2021 Gold Duke of Ed students. On January 27 2021, 13 students, Miss Andreatta and Mr McNally set off on their journey to summit the 12 highest peaks in the Kosciuszko National Park. However, little did they know that instead, they were going to summit the highest peak (Mt Kosciuszko) in Australia twice in three days(photos below).
Nevertheless, the journey was fun, memorable and most of all, the students established a new ‘family’ bond with each other. As their Duke of Ed journey experiences comes to an end, their bond has just started to grow. Each student has learnt something new about themselves and has grown to be better and more responsible individuals over the four years of Duke of Ed.
All this would have not been possible without Miss Andreatta and the other supporting teachers, such as Mr McNally, Mr Chapple, Ms Reid, Mr Cantlon and Miss Walker , who have always ensured to keep the students safe and happy. Miss Andreatta has always stuck by the group and has always presented a calm and collected spirit to the students. Without Miss, a lot of the students would have not got passed Bronze Duke of Ed.
Sinduja Sureshkumar
Students in active study in the library - Friday Week 3 Period 6
Canteen Summer Menu
Penrith Selective High School
Email: penrith-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au
Website: http://h.schools.nsw.gov.au
Location: 158-240 High Street, Penrith NSW, Australia
Phone: 024721 0529
Facebook: facebook.com/penrithselectivehighschool