HouseNews

It’s always good to read.

Finding the best book and the best spot to immerse yourself in the magic of the written word, is key. It was wonderful to see P4 doing just that when I was doing my daily wander last week. The Library has been a hive of activity; Recess and Lunchtime… after school, and our scheduled Library lessons. And there was Ms McIntosh surrounded by yet another pile of new books to cover and accession.

Please remember the value of students spending an hour or more after school, in the library; the focus, and support for maths on Tuesdays and Thursdays, allows for a highly purposeful attack on homework tasks. This opportunity for students from Year 5 to Year 12 is such a worthy option. Do consider this routine for your sons and daughters.

Engagement and opportunity. Two constants for our students. Taking a walk, I was keen to see the posters and notice boards encouraging the students to sign up or attend some of the growing array of lunchtime and after school activities.

The Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme needs no introduction, beginning as it did in 1956 in the UK and 1959 in Australia, and being taken up currently in 144 nations. Ms Fonso has been working with students who are undertaking their Bronze, Silver or Gold level Award. A group went away at the end of the Christmas break to do their expedition which is one of the areas needing to be signed off. In short, students need to select and set objectives in volunteering, a physical activity, skill development and planning, training for, and completing an adventurous journey. The value of this Award is immeasurable. Open to anyone aged 14 to 24, it provides excitement and importantly the opportunity to set your own goals, engage with communities and develop key leadership skills. As the organisation says of its outcomes, the long-term benefits include… “improving participants’ confidence, resilience, leadership skills, creativity and innovation, planning and problem-solving, and communication skills. These soft skills act as key attractors in improving employability.” I encourage families to discuss this program and seek further information from Ms Fonso sarah.fonso@tphs.nsw.edu.au to take up the challenge and get started!

I continue to be so impressed with our students’ preparedness to volunteer. Whether it is the House Heroes of C10 who this year will be working with students in Years 5 and 6, or our Sustainability Group who are eager to prepare their garden for the next planting that will eventually make their way into student lunch orders, or our Cadets whose core aim is service; Pittwater House continues to serve our community. The Prefect Team is very focused on charity and the Term 1 Head Above Water event is running for the third year. Head Above Water is centered on Men’s Mental Health and has a special place in our hearts given it was established and continues to be run by a group of Pittwater House Alumni. So please watch this space for information on the Swimathon to be held on 20-21 March at the Collaroy pool, together with an additional event that our Deputy Head Prefect of the Grammar School, Sam Kinnealy is arranging. The key is our engagement with this important activity on the Northern Beaches. It is the state of mind that is important.

…being aware of this, I happened upon the Friendology Wall in the Junior School. Alongside the Friend-o-meter were balloons galore. Looking closely to see what students valued; their gratitude was shown through an impressive array of balloons that formed the basis of Mrs Tickle’s Strength and Reflections Assembly last week. And as our Resilience Project asks of us… “what 3 things are you grateful for today?” Try to answer this question daily; you will feel better for doing so. 

Welcome to the Pittwater House Community

It is time in the term to begin my introductions of new Staff. This week, I am delighted to share some thoughts from our new Maths Staff: Mrs Rouse, Miss Smith and Mrs Tristram. I know how much they have appreciated their introduction to Pittwater House and in the coming weeks I am sure you will hear more of their work in the classrooms with your children. Please make them feel welcome to our School.

Radio Pittwater House

Each Monday morning at 8.30, Lauren and Molly start our week with their dulcet tones… welcoming all, sharing birthdays for the coming days, Canteen specials and giving notices and reminders.

This new addition to our program will grow as Lauren and Molly listen to the student voice and make this brief time one of meaning and fun. Congratulations to the girls for their great initiative. 

Supporting Cambodian children…

Mike Pawley has this week collected once more, many boxes of uniform from the Clothing Pool. These items are now wending their way to a village in Cambodia.

We who are so blessed, have this opportunity to support children whose lives are challenged from birth, in many ways.

Pittwater House uniforms that are no longer current, have been accepted as prized possessions by many Cambodian children for some years now. Just look at those children’s smiles. They are priceless. Pittwater House families, I hope you can see the precious gift that has been given, and the gratitude displayed.

Swimming Carnivals

And of course, Weeks 3 and 4 were a swimmers’ delight. We were so grateful to be able to run three carnivals in a COVID safe fashion. We hope you enjoyed our Facebook posts following each of these carnivals. 

With every good wish for the weeks ahead.

Years 5-12 Family Zone App and Cyber Safety

In order to keep our students safe whilst online at the School, we use a product called LineWize by Family Zone to filter our internet during school hours. However, there are times when a student may use their mobile phone to ‘hot spot’ to the internet to avoid being filtered. In order to provide a safe environment at the School, we are deploying a small piece of software to each student computer called the ‘Family Zone App’ that will apply the same internet filtering policies to a student computer when they are hot spotting during school hours.

Family Zone can provide parents with the capability to manage their child’s devices whilst at home once the Family Zone App has been installed, this is completely optional. Some families may already have active accounts with Family Zone, nothing will change, the internet policies at home will remain in place.

However, some families have previously signed up to Family Zone but have not subscribed properly to the system, when we roll-out the Family Zone App at school, some internet filtering policies will become active at home. To avoid any unexpected restrictions, it is important if you have previously signed up with Family Zone to log into your Family Zone account and check that you are still happy with the polices affecting your child. The polices applied are targeted at specific age groups, so you may want to adjust the age group or turn them off if you no longer wish to apply them at home. Or if you do wish for the policies to apply, please discuss this with your child so they know what is going to happen.

To login, please go to the Pittwater House Cyber Safety Hub at: https://www.familyzone.com/pittwaterhouse#  - click Sign In, or you can recover your password. There are a lot of guides and information regarding the Family Zone App and Cyber Safety in general on the site.

Please contact Family Zone for assistance with filtering at home or if you are new to the system and wish to use their products at home, they can be contacted on: 1300 398 326. Each Family is entitled to a free license to monitor up to 6 devices at home under our current agreement. Please note that the filtering at home arrangement may change over time and is between you and Family Zone.

It is important to note that the School has no visibility over student internet usage before 8am and after 3:30pm on school days, or at any time on public holidays and school holidays.

We are planning to do a phased in roll-out of the Family Zone App from Years 5 to 12 from Weeks 7 to 10 of Term 1.

There are two letters from Dr Hiller below on this matter, one is for people that are new to Family Zone or have working active accounts, and the other is for families that have accounts, however never properly subscribed to the system as explained above.

If you have any questions about the system, please email me at: chris.maker@tphs.nsw.edu.au .

Years 3-6 Swimming Carnival

Although in a different format this year, the Junior School Swimming Carnival(s) still provided an exciting atmosphere with talented and courageous students, trying their very best to earn those all-important House Points that would put them in the lead. Thank you to Mrs Grigg and her Sports Office team for their organistaion, Mr Whisson, for his management of the events and all teachers involved in the smooth running of the day.

Students who qualified at our Junior School swimming carnival will represent Pittwater House at the HICES Swimming Carnival at SOPAC on Monday 8 March. We wish them all the very best in their races.

J3 and J4 Excursion to Kimbriki recycling and Eco Centre

As part of their unit of work on sustainable practice, Years 3 and 4 visited the Eco Centre at Kimbriki Tip in Week 4. The students experienced firsthand the impact of waste on the world and learned about simple yet thoughtful ways to reduce, reuse and recycle. Hopefully we will see their passion for their work reflected around the School. In support of their work there are now bottle, can and carton recycle bins in the Junior School playground. Students will be encouraged to sort their lunch waste into general and recyclable bins.

What is Scientific inquiry?

In the Science Faculty we are working towards our students using inquiry-based learning in the classroom, but what is inquiry-based learning? "Inquiry-based science adopts an investigative approach to teaching and learning where students are provided with opportunities to investigate a problem, search for possible solutions, make observations, ask questions, test out ideas, and think creatively and use their intuition. In this sense, inquiry-based science involves students doing science where they have opportunities to explore possible solutions, develop explanations for the phenomena under investigation, elaborate on concepts and processes, and evaluate or assess their understandings in the light of available evidence." (Dr Robyn Gillies, 2021)

How is this being implemented in the classroom? We are providing students with more opportunities to be able to discover answers for themselves through research collaboration and peer to peer learning. This will give the students the opportunity to explore their own understanding and more importantly be wrong but look for the correct answer. This also will require the students to be covering content in their own time so that we can devote the time for them to explore the ideas and concepts that we are covering in the class.

This is a new and exciting process for both students and teachers alike and we feel that it will lead to students developing more critical thinking skills as well as being more curious about their surroundings. We hope that you will help to support your child through this, and if you wish to have a conversation regarding this the Science Faculty, we will be happy to talk.

The Pittwater House Years 7-12 Chess Club will be running every Wednesday, at lunch, in room S24. Students of all skill levels are welcome to learn and play. The first session will began today. Mr McKee has co-ordinated the chess club at Pittwater House since 2018. Recent restrictions imposed by COVID-19 have presented new opportunities for evaluating how we will run our co-curricular programs. The emphasis in 2021 will be for our students to learn, improve and enjoy the game at Pittwater House. Mr McKee was taught how to play chess from a young age, and became interested in the game approximately 11 years ago. He expanded his knowledge and played in university and club competitions. Presently, Mr McKee plays against competitors from all over the world via the internet. He has a current blitz (speed chess) rating of 2006 on chess.com, placing him at the 98.6 percentile. He hopes to introduce new students to the game and to help existing players improve. Our Chess Club setting will be a welcoming environment where students will be engaged in discussions about the fundamentals, principles, openings, and strategies of the game. Mr McKee intends to introduce our students to interesting puzzles and famous games played by former World Champions. Furthermore, the students will be invited to create an account on chess.com where they will be shown how to play against students in our club, or players residing in another country. He wants our students to realise that the principles they learn can be used against any opponent, whether they are in Russia, India, Kenya, or the United States. The students will be instructed to turn off their chat functions, so their focus is on the game, in a safe and supportive environment. 

On Sunday, February 14th, the SUO, Christopher McClean and the RSM, Jared Buckton, attended the Commander’s Conference for 2nd NSW Cadet Brigade. Both the SUO and RSM met with and discussed ideas and issues within the Unit with other cadets in the same role at their units. The results of those discussions will be implemented within the Cadet Unit over the next two terms.

After the conclusion of the discussion periods, both the SUO and RSM participated in a memorial service for Lt. Col. Ian Cavanagh who passed away last year. Lt. Col. Cavanagh has been a Reviewing Officer in the past and has the distinction of being the longest serving Cadet Officer in the country (62 years of service), something that earned him an Order of Australia Medal in 2018.

Join Cadets

All students who will turn 13 years of age, or older, in 2021 are eligible to join the Cadet Unit. All uniform components are free of charge but must be returned to the Unit at the end of a student’s time in the Unit. Enrolment forms are available at Reception. Enrolment is closing at the end of this month.

Last week we had to cancel our 2021/22 Major Production of ‘High School Musical’ due to several factors related to COVID and the uncertainty of restrictions.

This is not the end of major productions and events for the performing arts at Pittwater House. This is a great opportunity for those students who were involved or looking at getting involved to direct their passion for the performing arts into one of the many ensembles that we offer.

We have several dance and music ensembles that are open for students across the school - no audition required. In addition to these opportunities, we are looking at exploring Theatre Sports and Drama Ensemble.

Ensembles Updates

In preparation for future Major Productions, students should consider developing their vocal skills and come along to Show Choir (Years 7 to 12) at Friday Lunchtime. The Senior Choir meets at the PAC and currently rehearses outside. This ensemble doesn’t only develop students’ vocal skills, it is also a great place to meet other students from across the school. 

‘Singing has also been shown to improve our sense of happiness and wellbeing. Research has found, for example, that people feel more positive after actively singing than they do after passively listening to music or after chatting about positive life events. Improved mood probably in part comes directly from the release of positive neurochemicals such as B-endorphin, dopamine and serotonin. It is also likely to be influenced by changes in our sense of social closeness with others.’ https://www.ox.ac.uk/research/choir-singing-improves-health-happiness-%E2%80%93-and-perfect-icebreaker 

Registration for 2021 Ensemble Membership

The ensembles’ structure has changed in 2021 to allow for greater inclusion and engagement throughout the entire school. If you require any further information, please email performingarts@tphs.nsw.edu.au

We welcome current ensemble members and new members to join our 2021 Instrumental and Dance ensembles, and hope 2021 proceeds with fewer interruptions caused by Covid than last year. Access the Ensemble Registration form here.

Private Music Tuition

We have a group of private tutors who are experienced teachers and achieve great results.  If you are interested in having Private Music Lessons at Pittwater House during the school day please fill in the Private Music Tuition form here. If you have any questions, please email us at: performingarts@tphs.nsw.edu.au. 

Enrichment Opportunities

We are looking for students to perform in our Senior School Assemblies. If your child is interested in performing please email your child’s interest to performingarts@tphs.nsw.edu.au  

Student Achievements

Tilman Ahrens – G8 – Grade 6 Euphonium received a Merit

Lachlan Savage – G10 – Grade 4 Violin received an A

Year 6 Performing Arts Film Studies

Lights. Camera. Action! Year 6 Performing Arts students have launched into studying stop motion film animation and creating their own short films. While experimenting with filming techniques and creating narratives they have already blown staff away with their creativity, initiative and collaboration in groups. In this unit they will also go on to learn editing skills and elements of musical production. We are looking forward to the production of their final individual films!

The PHPA Clothing Pool (Second Hand Uniform Shop) will continue with appointments only, for the foreseeable future.

Please email: phpaclothingpool@tphs.nsw.edu.au to organise and a Volunteer Parent will meet you at the Clothing Pool on Tuesdays between 8.00am to 9.15am or on Thursdays between 2.00pm to 3.15pm. Parents with an appointment will need to go directly to and from the Clothing Pool without visiting other parts of the School. All visitors will be requested to use the hand sanitiser provided before entering the Clothing Pool.