Penrith Selective High School
May/June Newsletter 2020
From the Principal
With students about to start their third full week back onsite for school, it is quite amazing to think about what students, staff and parents have worked through together and achieved.
COVID-19 Update
In the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, we collectively planned for the shift to remote learning. Staff rotated through 30 minute professional learning sessions led by other Penrith teachers and focused on how to deliver lessons remotely. A careful focus on ensuring the most hygienic classrooms was underpinned by scheduled hand-washing and a quick decision to purchase pump bottles at Bunnings so that each teacher had one to carry from lesson to lesson, along with a roll of paper towel. Before and after each lesson, the tables and chairs were wiped down and this is continuing now that classes are back.
Lessons, year based wellbeing assemblies and our weekly whole school assemblies moved to Zoom and it was great to see merit assemblies and student performances held even when students weren’t onsite. Even now, our assemblies in the quad have changed to become video based led by student leaders as each week, the assemblies are broadcast into classrooms ably overseen by our prefects and other students.
Parent Meetings via Zoom
So far, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive about the shift to Zoom for our parent teacher evenings, subject selection/post school planning session and even our P&C meetings. We will wait to carefully evaluate the surveys before deciding on how we can increase access for families to school events. Early indications suggest that a number of these new models are very popular with families and staff. We would welcome your feedback when the surveys are sent to families.
Co-Curricular and Enrichment Programs
A number of our student clubs are back operating while our large co-curricular and enrichment programs continue after a small hiatus. We are eagerly awaiting the advice that face to face programs for coding, maths enrichment, debating and arts (music, dance, visual arts and drama) can move away from Zoom delivery.
School Upgrades
While the absolute main focus was and continues to be in curriculum delivery and student well-being, we planned strategically so that when students started working from home we undertook a large number of upgrades around the school. The longest break each year is over the summer holidays when trades are rarely available. The 8 week window (including the school holidays) gave us an incredible opportunity to ensure that when students came back, that the school was as tidy and organised as possible. Our new outdoor learning space in the IA quad turned a very dark and run down space into a stunning table tennis and seating area. New seating and sun protection was installed near the basketball courts, many rooms were painted, 13 classrooms received new furniture, additional seating was placed in the Alumni Garden so it can be used as an outdoor learning area and year 12 only space at recess and lunch while updated signage reflecting the school’s values and the top 12 quotes from the 2019 student voice competition have been placed in A block.
There are a number of other upgrades that have given the school a fresh look and two large projects are still to come: the air-conditioning of the gym and reconstruction of the 40 year old cricket nets at the back of the school. Both projects are large and are being managed by the Department of Education’s Infrastructure Unit.
A collective thank you to the P&C, current families and the alumni body for their donations of time, payment of fees and generous donations for making these projects possible so that students have access to such modern facilities.
Assessments and Reports
With students back, the updated and published assessment booklet remains in use and we are still needing to make decisions on a fairly regular basis to adapt to changing announcements. Year 12 are mid-way through their third assessment block and school reports will be published in line with the normal time-frames.
A number of events including Multicultural Day, Quad Schools, Walkathon, weekly sport and work experience continue to be on hold. We continue to look at all of these things carefully and in line with advice of the government and relevant public officials.
P&C Forum- Tuesday June 9 @ 7pm (via zoom)
Thank you again for your ongoing support of the school and I hope that many families will take the chance to join us for the week 7, P&C Forum tomorrow night on Zoom at 7 pm. Four of our very successful Alumni from 2018 and 2019 will share insights about their time at high school, how to prepare for life beyond school and what they are doing now at university in 4 very different fields of endeavour. Families will be sent an outline of the P&C forum and the Zoom link will be sent on Tuesday afternoon. Log in will be via students' @education accounts.
Warm regards,
Mark Long
Principal
P&C Committee 2020/2021
Please find the Penrith Selective High School P&C Committee 2020/2021
President: Praba Maheswaran
Treasurer: Shivkumar Ramachandra
Secretary: Soma Goswami
Vice President I: Tanzin Ahmed
Vice President II: Jagadesh Subburayalu
Other Executive Committee Members:
1. Hema Anand
2. Sri Pillai
3. Tanzin Ahmed
4. Priya Rodrigues
5. Anupriya Mehra
6. Kim Li
Auditor: Janine Peters
Week 7 P&C Forum (Panel Discussion for parents and students)- Hearing from former students about what they learnt at school and getting ready for life after it... (Tuesday June 9 @ 7pm via Zoom)
Alana Barbaro (2018)
Alana Barbaro graduated in 2018 and was incredibly consistent at the highest level during her time at school. A model student who generously shared her knowledge with classmates and was held in the highest regard by her teachers, Alana scored an ATAR of 99+.
Currently Alana is studying combined Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws at the University of Sydney.
In year 12, Alana received the Wendy de Paoli award for Excellence in Research, a Premiers’ Award for All-Round Excellence for her HSC results, and also a Certificate of Excellence from the History Teachers Association for her Extension History major work.
Recently, Alana was presented with the Walter Ernest Savage Prize for Foundations of Law from Sydney Law School and continues to give back by volunteering for the International Social Media Association where she writes guides and articles relating to Australian social media law and current issues in social media. Alana also volunteers for a local Community Legal Centre, and tutors disadvantaged children who are referred by FACS for having fallen behind in literacy and numeracy.
Ricky Rangra (2018)
Ricky Rangra is a 2018 graduate who has made a big impact in the world of finance.
Currently a scholarship student at the University of Sydney, he proudly represented Penrith High School in public speaking, debating, sports and academic competitions at zone, regional and state levels when he was a Prefect.
Ricky's interest in finance was catalysed by his selection for the UBS Investment Banking Academy in Year 11, and since leaving high school he has been working full-time - previously as a trainee in Commercial Banking at Westpac and currently as an analyst in Wealth Management at AMP.
He is also a former Director of Finance at UN Youth Australia, one of the country's largest non-profits run by individuals under 25.
At the end of Year 12, Ricky was awarded the NSW Minister's Award for Excellence in Student Achievement and the NSW Order of Australia John Lincoln Award.
William Gao (2019)
William Gao graduated in 2019 and during his time at school, created an incredible number of professional networking opportunities that ensured a successful transition after school, including internships, various university opportunities and scholarships.
He was awarded the NSW Minister's Award for Excellence and not only undertook university subjects at both USYD and UNSW while at school, but achieved at such a high level that he was asked back to work as a tutor at UNSW while still in school.
Will is currently studying a Bachelor of Computer Science at UNSW and combines this with full time work as a Software Engineer at WiseTech Global, a leading Australian software company for the logistics industry.
Keshna Jeyandrabalan (2019)
Keshna Jeyandrabalan graduated in 2019 and is currently studying Medicine in Western Australia after a very successful HSC.
Widely respected and admired for her commitment to a number of causes, Keshna is possibly the only student to be award the 3 major awards open to students in NSW.
In 2019, she was awarded a Minister's Award for Excellence, The John Lincoln Award by the NSW OAM committee and the Dame Marie Bashir Peace Award from the NSW Women's Council.
Keshna's ability to balance her studies and strong commitment to serving others was inspiring.
Congratulations Senior Leaders and Prefects!
Students at school were in different classrooms, supervised by prefects who were supported by teachers, watching on the large screen while Mr Long and the captains conducted the assembly and musicians in the music rooms performed an item. Also awardees were acknowledged from our best ever CAT Competition and we had a chance to reflect on National Sorry Day and Reconciliation Week.
It was great having everyone back and seeing adaptability every day so that we can all stay connected. The key theme for Reconciliation Week is a perfect fit for this year.
Well done!
Legal Studies Evening
Thank you Deputy Ambassador Yates and the History staff including Mrs Grice for this incredible opportunity.
Congratulations Ricky Ranga(Class of '18)
Congratulations to Ricky who has been selected in the 2020 cohort of the Banking and Finance Oath of Young Ambassadors – a Program encouraging and supporting students, graduates and young people to contribute to a strong ethical foundation as they begin their careers in the banking and finance industry. Ricky, a former Prefect is the only undergraduate student from all of Australia to be selected for this program.
The program was instituted in 2010, by executives from Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, Rothschild & Co, AMP Capital, Westpac, MLC Australia and the Commonwealth Bank who came together to form the Banking and Finance Ethics Panel.
The Banking and Finance Oath was the founding initiative of this panel. The organisation today leads the advocacy of ethical conduct by individuals & institutions within the financial services industry, encouraging them to do right by all stakeholders as well as the general public.
The Media release outlining the 2020 program can be found here:
Ricky is pictured below when he was at school in 2018!
The New Look TAS Area!
TAS Area Upgrade
The PE classes are already making use of the new outdoor Table Tennis area as well as Year 12 using the study area.
We all can now see the plaque for the time capsule which was put into place in 2000 and marked by a plaque in 2003 among the new landscaping.
An outstanding area finally getting some use by our students!
A Work in Progress!
Basketball Courts Upgrade
Penrith Selective High School
Email: penrith-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au
Website: https://penrith-h.schools.nsw.gov.au
Location: 158-240 High Street, Penrith NSW, Australia
Phone: 02 4721 0529
Facebook: facebook.com/pshschool