Penrith Selective High School

Dear Families,

Welcome to our final newsletter for 2020. By this stage, we know of the challenges that 2020 presented and can proudly say that we came through it together.

This week was a big finish to the year. Our Annual Presentation Night was moved to become a 2 part Presentation Day. The quality of the award recipients was incredibly high and I extend my congratulations to all students for their work in 2020.

A big thank you to the SRC for arranging 12 enjoyable days of activities and community service as part of the 12 Days of Christmas event. It was wonderful to see performances, charity drives, sporting events and a range of social events.

A family update will be sent directly to families outlining the organisation for Term 1 and other important details. For quick reference, school resumes for students in years 7, 11 and 12 on Friday 29th January and students in years 8, 9 and 10 will return to school on Monday 1st February.

I am happy that our staffing for 2021 looks to be in place and that the high level of expert quality teaching will continue from the very talented staff, supported as always by our administration team. I am beyond thankful for the work that all staff did this year to ensure students at Penrith High did not fall behind. They are an exceptionally talented group of professionals.

This week we farewell some of our staff who are moving to other schools or concluding their temporary contracts with us as a result of positions being filled permanently. A big thank you to the following staff for all of their work at the school:

Mr Colin Stead - moving to Baulkham Hills HS as Head Teacher TAS

Mr Mel Coburn - moving to The Ponds HS after merit selection

Mr George Lowery - who returned from retirement in 2020 to help in Social Sciences

Ms Alex Watts - School Psychologist who is moving to another school for 2021

Mr Ray Bell - who worked in TAS this year and will move to a new school in 2021

We also wish Mrs Elias and Mr Elias a happy first few months with there soon to be born baby. Mrs Elias will be away in 2021 and Mr Elias will be at school.

Finally, my sincere thank you to every member in our school community. A number of parents worked on the front line during COVID and we continue to be appreciative for all of your work. At a school level, I would personally like to thank everyone for working with a very dynamic set of guidelines from NSW Health and the Department of Education. The high level of understanding and cooperation allowed us to get Year 12 through the HSC and the rest of the school engaged in their learning.

I wish every family an enjoyable summer break, a Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year.

Warm regards and sincere thanks,

Mark Long

Principal

2020 marks the 70th Anniversary of our school and in true Penrith spirit, 2020 has seen us rise collectively to the many challenges and obstacles presented to us. In the midst of a global pandemic, we have found new and better ways of doing things.

By the end of March, every single one of our teachers had to adapt very quickly to new ways of working. They moved resources online, faced the challenges of working remotely and they changed the way they supported each of our students as well as one another.

Our students have equally risen to the challenge of 2020. They not only adapted to remote learning with ease but many have thrived. The return to on-site learning in the second half of the year has seen students return with energy, optimism and buoyancy.

A highlight this year has no doubt been the many opportunities Zoom has afforded us – seeing entire families “zoom in” for Parent Teacher Evenings, Post School Planning Nights, Open Night and the many, many information and subject selection sessions. Despite being physically distanced, we have found ourselves in a situation where teachers, parents and students have worked more closely than ever as an educational team.

This year has taught us about our fragility as a human race but it has highlighted the gifts that each of our students and staff members bring to Penrith High School every day.

I am profoundly grateful for the vital role our staff and students have played over our 70 year history. Despite what 2002 has thrown us we have continued to do what we have done over our 70 year history – we have kept teaching and learning going too so teachers can continue to teach, students can continue to learn and all students can continue to be supported and cared for.

Jaclyn Cush

Deputy Principal

The year has almost drawn to an end. We are now getting ready for Christmas, the classrooms were decorated so well, our winning classroom was A.2.10 decorated by 7m5!

Enrichment:

The Mathematics Enrichment application forms have been sent out for Years 8, 9 and 10 in 2021, but if your child/children would like to participate, they can come and see me in the Mathematics staff room for an application form. The invoices will be sent out very early in Term 1 2021.

The Enrichment program runs once a week before school. We run Euler for Year 8, Gauss for Year 9 and Noether for Year 10. The program is taught by our Alumni, former students who themselves excelled in Mathematics. It is designed to extend laterally the mathematical skills of the students who are excelling in their day to day Mathematics. There is a fee of $130 involved, and this covers the tuition fees and resource materials from Canberra for the three terms. If your child starts the program you are liable for the whole fee, so please discuss the program with your child before entering them. If you need financial assistance please contact Mrs Ryan our Business Manager.

Peer Tutoring:

However, if your child is struggling with Mathematics or just needs a little more help with their work, then I highly recommend our Peer Tutoring Program. This is free, and is a program designed to have our senior students help their fellow students address their area/s of weakness. If you would like your child to take up this offer they can either send me an email or send an email to: mathspeertutoring@gmail.com

ESSI Financial Mathematics Competition

Our winners were:

1st Place Bhupen Raina, (9m2), who earned $39 426.78

2nd Place Sam Barakat, (9m5), who earned $38 789.14

3rd Place Ayaan Shaikh, (9m2), who earned $36 743.83

Each winner was presented with their certificate, canteen voucher and a Casio water bottle.

Winning Stem Group:

This year the Year 10 students redesigned the History Block and included a lecture theatre in their designs. The designs had to include 8 classrooms, 2 staff rooms and meet Council and Department of Education requirements. As part of their submissions each group had to write a Grant letter and record a Podcast.

The Grand Final was held period 4 on Friday the 10th of December. There were 6 teams in the Grand Final and each group had unique ideas. The 2020 STEM winning group consisted of Aditi Bhave, Balia Saha, Afrin Zahan and Shayaan Rahman. The winning design will be uploaded to our school Face Book page.

Compaction 2021

In 2021, we will be starting up a compaction class. The class consists of 24 keen students who will be compacting Year 10 5.3 Mathematics and the Preliminary Mathematics Advanced courses. They will sit the HSC for Mathematics Advanced in 2022 and then sit the HSC for Mathematics Extension 1 and Extension 2 in 2023. The students were chosen based on their Year 9 performance, AMC results and their ability to work independently and achieve and understand outcomes quickly. We wish our first compaction class well as they commence this journey!

Rubix Cube Challenge

At the end of Term 3 we held our annual Rubix Cube Challenge. This year it took on the form of a relay. Our reigning school champion, Abinav Chennupati of Year 8 took on them all and remained victorious!

Finally,

On behalf of the Mathematics staff, I would like to take the time to say thank you to the students and parents for being so supportive throughout this eventful year.

I would like to thank our amazing Mathematics staff for the incredible way in which they adapted to all the challenges that occurred this year and to wish them a well-deserved break.

If you celebrate Christmas, I wish you a very happy Christmas, if you do not celebrate, I hope you have a good New Year.

I wish you all a wonderful relaxing break!

We look forward to seeing you again in a safe non-pandemic 2021!

Merry Christmas,

Mrs Briggs

Head Teacher Mathematics

Term 4 of 2020 has been an exciting flurry of planning, organising and carrying out of many school events for the SRC. In particular, our festive finish to the school year with the ‘12 Days of Christmas’ has lifted the school spirit of Penrith students and teachers as we delivered something special every day for the last 12 days of school. We started off with Day 1: decorating the school and classrooms, introducing the Christmas spirit that the SRC aimed to maintain and grow throughout the last days of school. With the Tinsel Competition, classrooms were soon sparkling with tinsel, globes and christmas lights. Day 2 was ‘the Season of Giving’ where students recognised the hardships and hard work of others through donation drives and writing messages of gratitude to our local frontline workers. Day 3 held a Santa Hat Competition followed by Day 4 where students took amazing photos with a dressed up Santa and elves! The Christmas Fair was held on Day 5 with a Christmas themed mufti and stands in the quad with hair spray, Krispy Kreme donuts and lolly bags. Day 6 was the movie screening in the gym, where students came and watched ‘Home Alone 2’ with delicious popcorn and lollies provided by the SRC. On Day 7, we held a Trivia and Day 8 was for Teacher Thanksgiving. Day 9 and 10 were taken up with the Christmas Concert performances and the Perfect Christmas Card delivery. The last day of school, Monday, was also the last day of our ‘12 Days of Christmas’, the House Cup of 2020. Never held before, the SRC collaborated with the house captains to bring this much anticipated event to life. Unfortunately due to wet weather, some activities were cancelled. However this did not take away from the spirit of students as we continued to run activities indoors. We hope the SRC has successfully delivered something special for the last days of 2020 to all students and teachers after a hard year. Finally, the SRC would like to express our gratitude towards the SRC coordinators Miss Zhou and Mr Coburn for guiding us since the mid of 2020.

A big thank you to everyone who contributed via the Mufti days, Cookie and Gelato sales and in other ways towards the Penrith CBD Corporation Christmas Toy Drive for local children. Above is a photo where our students dropped off our donations to Gai Hawthorn, CEO.

Well done everyone!

We are the Year 7 prefects, and are assisting Ms Horsley with the current Yr 7s and later in the term we also helped the incoming Yr 7s. As of now, we have been attending the JRC meetings and helping to put together a video for the Yr 7s to remember their first year of high school and to present to the Yr 7s of 2021.

Jola Canlas(Leader) Sinduja Sureshkumar(Assistant) Tamara Jaglica(Assistant)

We are the current year 8 prefects. For this year, we have helped Mr Huynh, isaac and Satvik set up a handball tournament. Darren and I have attended the wellbeing assemblies to introduce ourselves and to ensure the grade has us as their voice for their issues.

Rana Singh(Leader) Darren Pradhan(Assistant)

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.

Eugene Chen(Leader) Nicholas Whelan(Assistant)

We are the Year 10 Prefects. This term we have been helping Mr Elias with events such as Valentine's Day, as well as helping with presentations to help improve study habits

Olivia Bock(Leader) Jahin Khandoker(Assistant)

We are the Year 11 Prefects. We have just completed our first HSC Assessment Block and we tried to look at ways to combat the pressure of these exams to maximise our results. Despite the stressful time, we have also been working closely alongside Ms Grice to organise fundraisers for the grade to raise money for the school and for future events.

Leeanna Yao(Leader) Marco Perri(Assistant)

We are the Science Prefects 2020/2021. Throughout this year we have worked closely with Miss Lam to organise some spectacular events. Last term we had a fun-filled Science Week. There were some great activities such as escape rooms, geysers and elephant toothpaste. In week 3, we planned and conducted School Halloween. During Halloween, students were given the chance to dress up and represent the four houses of Harry Potter. Looking forward to next term, where we would like to establish a Science Peer Tutoring facility for students at Penrith. Planning is currently underway, and we hope to offer a very helpful outlet for junior students while also strengthening and reinforcing our school value of helping and collaboration.

Darren Pradhan(Leader) Aditya Kumar(Assistant) Sara Saleh(Assistant)

As the Maths Prefects for 2020/21, we have been working closely with Ms Briggs and the Maths Faculty. In term 4 we had been working with Maths Peer Tutoring and the organisation of exam help sessions in preparation for year 7-10 yearly exams. As we prepare to move into 2021, we will continue to work with Maths Peer Tutoring and hope to bring more engaging activities, where students can hone various skills in Maths as well as having some fun.

Abhijith Maliakal(Leader) LeeannaYao(Assistant) Yash Mishra(Assistant)

The English prefects 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(Leader) Jamima Rumey Jiffrey(Assistant)

We are the History Prefects for 2020/2021. We have been working hard alongside the History Faculty to collaborate with past Penrith High School captains to hopefully interview them in the future. Recently, we worked with Mr Stone to organise the Remembrance Day Ceremony, and alongside the school community, pay our respects to the fallen soldiers of World War 1.

Luke Boyes(Leader) Eugene Chen(Assistant)

The TAS Prefects 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. Mell and welcomed Mr. McGovern as the new Acting Head Teacher.

Marco Perri(Leader) Luke Boyes(Assistant)

As the LOTE Prefects, we are excited to work with Ms Pipio as well as Ms Sullivan for the LOTE Faculty 2020/21. Upcoming plans include; OzClo (Australian Computational and Linguistics Olympiad), planning Japanese incursions, starting language trivia, Italian/Japanese Peer Tutoring, as well as preparations for Subject Selection Night.

Sara Saleh(Leader) Cedric Kutschera(Assistant)

We are the prefect leaders and assistants for the Social Science 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 and see us directly or drop a suggestion in the Prefect Box.

Paul Sebastian(Leader) Abhijith Maliakal(Assistant) Shameer Iftikhar(Assistant)

The CAPA Prefects have been working with the CAPA department on improvements to both the clubs and the co-curricular programs. The CAPA department is looking forward to making improvements and we, the prefects, are excited to be involved in these great changes!

Madeleine Reeves(Leader) Ana Maksimovic(Assistant)

The Volunteering Prefects have been working hard on two initiatives this year.

The Clothes Drive held in Term 3 was a massive success thanks to the contributions of everyone in the school and also the Christmas Food Drive was of equal success.

Cedric Kutschera(Leader) Jola Canlas(Assistant) Isaac Chang(Assistant)

As Canteen Prefects, we have been working hard with Loretta and the Canteen Staff to help develop Canteen posters, as well as advertise the canteen to the school! This term we have a new Summer Menu and new specials for the school. We’re looking forward to getting suggestions from the student body as to what to add/change to the canteen going into 2021.

Nicholas Whelan(Leader) Rana Singh(Assistant)

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 continued planning for our 2021 PAT and have successfully sent out invites to each school as per COVID guidelines. We will progress from here by finalizing details for the actual PAT event on-site.

Isaac Chang(Leader) Paul Sebastian(Assistant)

As Duke of Ed Prefects we have been working with Ms Andreatta to assist in preparing for the various Bronze, Silver and Gold journeys coming up this term. We have also been working behind the scenes on some fundraiser ideas to financially assist those students undertaking award levels.

Sinuja Sureshkumar(Leader) Zach Wan(Assistant)

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(Leader) Ashvini Dolamulla(Assistant)

We are your Alumni Prefects and we have 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 Term 4 2020 Towers - Alumni which is published quarterly, where our article will feature.

Finally, we are celebrating the school’s 70th Anniversary this year. The Alumni Garden was opened prior to the Year 12 Graduation for the use and admiration of students and staff past, present and future.

Aditya Kumar(Leader) Elizabeth Santoso(Assistant)

As SRC Prefects, we have been working closely with the SRC to amplify the positivity and successfulness of school events. In our short time as SRC Prefects, we have helped with the organisation and running of events such as Pink up Penrith, Warm and Fuzzies for teachers and Christmas cards for all. We also helped with the Twelve Days of Christmas and Variety Night.

Yash Mishra(Leader) Alyna Arago(Assistant)

Hello from the Towers Prefects! This semester, we have been working with Ms Reid in order to create the annual Towers Magazine, so we have been having frequent meetings in which we have been writing articles. During this term, we have been gathering photos which are also going to be included in the magazine, which is set to arrive early next year.

Ana Maksimovic(Leader) Madeleine Reeves(Assistant)Fairy Patel(Assistant)

We are the Public Relations Prefects and we ensure the entire student body is aware of the various events occurring across the school! We are currently working on a project so that everyone can meet all our prefects and get a brief insight into their personalities and goals!

Tamara Jaglica(Leader) Hana Hallani(Assistant)

We are your Uniform Prefects! Our job is to regulate and promote the Uniform Shop at PHS. This term we have been very busy with the Year 12’s donations and prepping for the upcoming Year 7s and their potential uniform needs. The uniform shop sells second-hand uniform pieces at a cheaper price and is located on the second floor of A block. Anyone is welcome to sell, borrow or donate pieces at any time if they contact us.

Jahin Khandoker(Leader) Olivia Bock(Assistant)

We have been working with the counsellors to promote wellbeing in these times of adversity. As of now, we have ordered and hung up posters around the school to provide students with links to organisations such as Headspace which provide easy access to help if needed.

Hana Hallani(Leader) Kokulaan Santhakumar(Assistant)

In order to spread Christmas cheer in these trying times, Year 11 has been working hard on the Christmas Project. Delivering hand-drawn Christmas cards around the school, the team of Santa and his helpers went from class to class on Thursday the 10th of December.

Thanks to everyone who helped out on the day, and we hope those who bought from us enjoy their cards.

Happy holidays, Penrith Selective High School!

Congratulations to Sidra Afroz and Aishani Sivashankar in Year 12 2020, who were both successful in the Woke: Me, My Culture and NSW Competition! Woke is an online publishing platform that focuses on empowering young voices and celebrating diversity.

Sidra Afroz received 3rd place in the competition for her beautiful poetry titled 'Falling Apart at the Seams'. This is the third time that Sidra's poetry has been published and we hope she continues to write and release her work.

Aishani Sivashankar was also shortlisted for her story titled 'Red to Black’.

Both pieces are published on the website: https://www.ourwoke.com/me-my-culture-and-nsw

We are so proud of both their achievements and for never silencing their voices.

Like everything else this year, Dukes was set out a little differently. Restrictions had meant that we (the Bronze kids) didn't have a practice journey outside of the school, but it didn’t stop Ms Andreatta from working to ensure that we were prepared for our Adventurous Journey.

The Journey was certainly the highlight of the Award for the two of us, and is likely true for our peers as well. It was great to spend time outside of school, surrounded with nature and like-minded people. We made some unforgettable memories; making s’mores, playing UNO in the dark, swimming in the Nepean and near Jellybean Pool, and we grew closer with one another. We got to reunite with Mr. Chapple, which was very nice.

As a part of the 2nd walking group, Group 2 aka the pretzel sanderwitches, we spent our first day with Miss Walker. It was very hard at times, but we got a few breaks along the way and made it through the checkpoints pretty fast (still around 6 hours of walking). Miss Walker was very enthusiastic about the trip, and let us lead the way while she followed behind, and gave us small hints when we were going the wrong way. She encouraged us to talk to each other and make conversation, and gave us these horrible riddles which weren’t even riddles because they required no logic whatsoever. Most people didn’t have pockets or access to their pockets because of their rucksacks, so it would have been inconvenient for them to take photos. However, I got one of the new rucksacks with the fanny packs and was able to use my phone to take lots of photos. My highlights of day one are:

• Swimming in the Nepean
• Tim trying to bury himself standing up
• Beach sculptures of mammaries
• Watching the rich people with boats show off their boat skills/lack of boat skills
• Celis’s food (family sized portion of plain white rice with sad canned tuna)
• Tanish making a nice communal clothesline
• The food - we had yummy food including wraps and noodles (not together though)
• Daming’s screaming - whenever he was scratched by a spiky plant we screamed, which was very frequent. At 10:45am, the first fall was made by Daming when he fell off the bench at Red Hands Cave as he tried to stand up after resting on the bench (sitting) and failed.
• We made s'mores around the stove at around 8 pm (I got a few photos)

Day two started off with us waking up to the hubbub of our tent “village” (something about cucumbers?) at the late hour of three in the morning. We were quite literally burning to speed through our checkpoints in order to maximise our swimming time, and so the pretzel sanderwiches decided to do just that. We rested our weary legs in the cool water, dreading the moment we had to get out and go home.

The Adventurous Journey was a wonderful experience that we’ll never forget, and we encourage others to consider doing the Duke of Ed program for the skills, friendships and memories you will make on this trip.

Mia Heredia and Shiyao Lin

In week 7, Thursday and Friday, we, the Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Group B students completed our qualifying journey. We went to the Blue Mountains National Park in Glenbrook for a two day expedition in the bush. Our days were filled with long yet rewarding hikes, teamwork, application of navigational skills, comradery and a very enjoyable overnight camp.

The weather was fairly hot but there was still some cool breeze amongst the humidity. The birds or insects were also fairly loud when we went out hiking and there were lots of different plants and trees in the bush, which were fascinating to inspect. One of the most informative and interesting parts was when Mr Chapple explained to the group about the divots in the rocks from the axe of the Indigenous people who sharpen the axe to catch the yabbies. Other interesting information we learnt was how to read bearings and correctly find the grid reference of our location. When we went hiking, the terrain was always different and new, challenging our physique, on top of the roughly 12kg bag on our backs.

Our team, while having a rough time by going in the completely wrong direction for the first track, worked well together and kept up team morale when we all collectively felt light-headed and fuzzy, as I’m sure did other groups. The teamwork only got stronger during the course of the journey. It has made me realise that teamwork is immensely important and I only fully understood the extent of that when thrown into the bush with only our food, clothes, equipment and most importantly our teammates.

Camping was definitely one of the most… interesting experiences I had ever had. I had never imagined camping with such a diverse and unique group of people than this one. One corner someone was eating while simultaneously in the other corner someone was burning food. In one corner someone was singing while in the other corner someone was snoring. Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable experience except for the birds that woke us all up at 5:00 in the morning.

Imagine walkathon but with an extra 12kg on you, and with steep paths going in different directions. Yes, it sounds very difficult, and it was, but that was what was so rewarding about it. After seeing the park entrance after walking up the steep hill nothing feels more relieving than that.​

Manasa Anbu and Shreya Shrestha

On December 9 - 11, 20 Silver Dukes students hiked and camped on the Central Coast and Northern Beaches for their Silver Duke of Edinburgh Qualifying Adventurous Journey, only 4 weeks after their practice journey. We were accompanied by five

teachers, Mrs Andreatta, Miss Reid, Mr Chapple, Mr McNally, and Miss Walker (and Mr Cantlon on the Wednesday) as well as 13 Gold Dukes students.

The first day started early for everyone, around 4:30 am for many people, before we took the train to Strathfield and then Wondabyne where we would start the walk on the Great North Walk. The weather was perfect as we hiked through the vibrant bushland, reaching Mt Wondabyne by lunch time to experience the incredible views of the bush and beaches in the distance and to meet the Gold students. We kept on walking, using navigation and mapping skills to navigate the many trails and an off track section, and by the end of the long day the only thing keeping us going was the knowledge that a pool and hot showers were waiting for us at the campground. After a swim and wash we cooked dinner and had a quick meeting before crawling into our tents for much needed sleep.

The next day started early again, despite the fact that we didn't need to leave until 8:30, because we got up to watch the incredible sunrise. After breakfast and a game of beach volleyball we set off for the bus. It took us to the start of the walk along the coast, which unfortunately was several kilometres less than we had planned in our weekly morning meetings due to trackwork. However, we made good use of this extra time, and, after a beautiful walk through the bush along the coast, swam, painted and played games at Maitland Bay. We set off again after lunch for Putty Beach campground, arriving at 3, leaving us plenty of time to set up and shower and cook our three course meals. After dinner we played games and had a small meeting to discuss the upcoming day. Finally, we got ready for bed and went to sleep.

We got up at 5 am on the final day to heavy rain, but thankfully it stopped in time for everyone to pack up their tents and bags. We set off at 6:30 for the wharf in Killcare,

where, after a stop at the corner store, we took a ferry ride to Palm Beach. We walked up the Barrenjoey Lighthouse to admire the view of the ocean before coming back down to Palm Beach. From there we caught a bus to Dee Why to start the final leg of our journey. Feeling sleepy from half an hour on the bus we set off. The track followed the coast the entire way to Manly Beach, providing breathtaking views of the ocean that stretched on forever. The urban streets provided a good opportunity to work out for ourselves which way we wanted to walk to reach the end and, at 2:30, we finally did.

Despite the challenging walking and accompanying exhaustion the three days gave everyone the chance to improve their physical and mental strength and work on skills such as teamwork and navigation. Overall, the hike was an incredible and rewarding experience providing memories we will all remember.

Mela Hoffman

​

As we near the end of a hectic year, the Gold Duke of Ed students, Ms Andreatta, Mr McNally, Mr Chapple, Ms Reid, Ms Walker and special guest Mr Cantlon (for a day) along with the accompaniment of the Silver Duke of Ed students, completed their Practice Journey from Cowan Station on Tuesday the 8th of December to Manly Wharf on Friday the 11th of December. To sum it all up, it was a great way of ending a challenging and unexpected year with heaps of memories and many, many blisters. Despite the countless cuts, bruises and aches, the Gold Dukes kids completed their hike with smiles on their faces. They viewed one of the most spectacular sunrises on Wednesday, swam in one of the most stunning coves of the Central Coast, camped in a glorified ‘resort’ and shared a countless number of stories with one another.

All 13 of the Gold Duke of Ed students are very grateful for the support from the 6 assisting teachers, and especially Ms Andreatta for dealing with them throughout their Duke of Ed Award Journey. They are nearing the end of their awards but the memories are continuing to grow.

As they unpack and rest, they will also continue to get prepared for their Qualifying journey in Kosciuszko first week back next year. Hopefully, they are all ready to climb the top 12 peaks in 4 days!!

Sinduja Sureshkumar

Another Rowing filled weekend recently for Gauri Kotera!

Below is an email sent to Mr Long by her mother.

"I am very pleased to inform you that Gauri won two Medals at NSW Sprint Championship held at Sydney International Regatta Centre.

She won - Singles Under 16 and Doubles Under 17.

Today was by far Gauri’s best performance competing against the top rowers of the state, from some of the best schools and clubs.

Here are some photos from today of her race, medals and her winning tally.

I can’t thank you enough for this opportunity. Gauri is not only improving as an athlete but also learning some great experiences of life.

Regards,

Charu Kotera"

Congratulations Gauri!

On Thursday of Week 9 The CAPA Faculty finished the year with a display of Carols, Drama, Dance and Retrospect. There was:

• Music in the quad at recess
• Music in the quad at lunch
• Dance in the hall at lunch
• Drama in the hall
  
• Visual Arts Exhibition in the CAPA courtyard
  
• Music in the front garden at 4:00pm​

So many students were involved and their talents showcased in many aspects.

Thank you CAPA for such an entertaining day!

Also, here is a link to the choir video for 2020! As you might be aware, choirs faced a unique and tricky challenge with Covid-19.

However, our Choir Director, Clare Richards has rehearsed and filmed the following video to give our students a fun project for Semester 2.

Hopefully it will make you smile as much as it made everyone in CAPA smile

https://youtu.be/94RyhxKjQHg ​

Email: penrith-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au
Website: http://penrith-h.schools.nsw.gov.au
Location: 158-240 High Street, Penrith NSW, Australia
Phone: 02 4721 0529
Facebook: facebook.com/penrith.selectivehighschool