HouseNews

As we have shared on our Facebook page, the past three weeks have seen many students engage with their peers and undertake a range of exciting, challenging and life changing activities. 24 students from Years 7 to 9 experienced an ‘out of this world’ opportunity with their two-week Space School trip to Orlando and Houston; coming as it did to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the landing on the Moon in July 1969! An enormous vote of thanks to Mr Hobson and Ms Fonso who escorted the trip, providing round the clock support to all the students. I have already heard of students who are keen to be a part of the planned 2035 NASA Trip to Mars! 

Mr McKee, Ms Lee, Mr Cuno and Mr Hart accompanied our ski team to Perisher for the annual competition week; a week with blizzards, buckets of snow and success; 2nd place in the Secondary Co-educational School Compitition. 

Our C12 Basketball team, the Diamonds, defeated their arch nemesis Stella Maris in the final of their competition, coming from behind and a nail-biting finish, to win by 2-points. The past four years have pitted these two finalist teams against each other and so the victory was particularly sweet. Once again, it demonstrates the power in a team playing together virtually unchanged for years. Congratulations to this fine group of young women. And this year, their coach Harrison Fisk brought his skills from the very same concept; playing with the Pittwater House Bulls for 6 years until his graduation in 2018.

We are still finalising some sporting finals washed out at the end of last Term. This week the U14A Netball team defeated St Lukes to take out the Grand Final place and the U14B Team were runners up to Stella Maris. Congratulations to both teams.

And I was so proud of our Prefect team who came in during the break to bag-up the 80 winter care packs with the huge collection of items collected toward the end of Term 2. These deeds are where Pittwater House can really make a meaningful difference to those in need in our community. 

Our HSC students have used these weeks to study with their Trials beginning in two weeks; some have been attending holiday revision classes at school, whilst others have been working in study groups in local libraries. Studying alone can be a lonely existence; everyone must find their preferred way to study and there is research that suggests the shared study time and challenging each other and explaining problems to others, is a great support to deep understanding. 

As is our custom, we begin Term 3 with a commemoration of our School’s Foundation in 1962. Whilst our focus is always on our current students; their understanding of what a Pittwater House education means, a ceremonial moment to reflect on our future, is important. Our theme this year, was the evolution of our uniform. We are fortunate in having a collection of uniforms from across the decades which current students modelled, much to the enjoyment of the Assembly. With our Head Prefects Lara and Naveen as MC’s, we also heard from Alumni Staff (Mr Browning and Ms Visser) as well as the Rev and PHAA President, Mr Anthony Buckton) who shared their memories across the decades. 

And following the Assembly, we all gathered on the oval for the Foundation Day Relay. There was wonderful spirit at play as each selected student from Kindergarten right through to Year 12 House Captains ran this special race. Congratulation Orrock for the girls’ and Butterworth for the boys’, it was a magnificent win for you… House Captains Daya and Mitchell have every reason to be thrilled.

Happy Birthday, Pittwater House. 

Year 10 Immunisation Clinic for Meningococcal ACWY will be held on Tuesday 30 July (Week 2). Consent forms have been sent home and must be returned to school completed if you would like your child immunised. If you have any questions, or require another consent kit, please call the Health Centre on 9972 5734.

The Year 11 and 12 Studies of Religion students enjoyed an overnight excursion to 'Nan Tien Buddhist Temple' just outside Wollongong on the last 2 days of term. The students participated in meditation workshops, calligraphy, tai chi, chanting, a blessing ceremony, dharma classes and most importantly experiencing being part of the Sangha, the Buddhist community. It was a wonderfully enriching experience, seeing theory and content not on only in action but experiencing and living within a dynamic religion.

There is a great notion of School and self-respect associated with wearing our uniform. Starting as a 3 year old in the ECC, the children learn from a very young age what it means to have the privilege to wear the uniform. It means they belong; they belong to a school that promotes and demonstrates dignity and integrity in themselves and for the whole School community. When the students are dressed appropriately for the day it sets the standard for achievement and reinforces the clear expectation that they come to this School to participate, belong and achieve.

Welcome back to what we trust will be an exhilarating term. A special welcome is extended to all new families joining the Pittwater House Family.

Parent Interviews

During Week 2, parent teacher interviews concerning Junior School students will be conducted in the classrooms. An online booking system has been created for you to select a suitable time to meet the teachers, this information has been sent to you. These meetings are a wonderful way of planning the future goals for the students so please ensure you complete the Student Evaluation Sheet that was sent to you.

Mobile Phones

In February, I wrote to all parents about mobile phones and the many reasons why children in Primary School do not need these devices at our School. There was only one reason I could cite in their favour and that was around student safety travelling home outside of school hours. Any contact with your child during the school day needs to be done via the School office. It is not only a common courtesy, but also alerts all necessary staff to the needs of your child.

Since February there has been a steady increase in the numbers of phones coming to School for which I have no permission slip. If you are uncertain, you will have received an email response from me acknowledging the phone. There are currently 45 students whose parents have requested permission for them to have a phone for safety purposes. Thank you to those families.

Please review with your child the reason you have given them a phone with the understanding it is not to leave their bag unless it is in an emergency. Apple watches with telephone capacity are not to be worn.

I look for to an inspirational term of learning, and, welcome you warmly to Term 3.

STEM is alive in P5!

In Term 2, P5 were given the challenge of working in teams to design and build a ramp and launching device that would enable a car to travel the furthest distance.  We had so much fun designing and testing our prototypes during our investigation that we could not believe how much we were learning about forces and how they act on an object. As we embarked on each phase of the design cycle, we discovered the importance of learning from our ‘failures’ to make our design solutions the best they could be by testing and redesigning. P5 enjoyed ‘joining forces’ with our friends in J5 to collaborate on our design ideas and come up with the most successful solutions. The penultimate moment was coming together as a grade to showcase our prototypes and determine whose car would travel the furthest using our ramps and launching devices. The record was over five meters!

Designing and building chance experiments and games was another learning challenge in STEM this term that gave us an opportunity to be hands-on and ‘take a chance’ working collaboratively with our peers on an effective design solution.  We learnt about chance events and the probability of these events occurring when we tested our games using dice, coins, spinners, playing cards and more. At the summation of the unit, we hosted a chance tournament where we played and tested out each other’s chance games – and even won some yummy prizes!

This term, STEM has taught us to be resilient and resourceful learners and that mistakes are a vital part of the learning process. 

All students who will turn 13 or older in 2019 are able to join the cadet unit. Enrolment forms are available at Reception or click here.

Welcome back to Term 3,

We hope that you have had an enjoyable and restful break and are raring to go for the second half of the year!

We have a few fabulous events happening over the next 2 terms and look forward to seeing you then, if not before in the Canteen and/or Clothing Pool.

• Together with the Pittwater House World Challenge 2020 team, we will be hosting our first ever Comedy Night on Saturday 24th August @ 6pm in association with Comedy for a Cause. The night will feature comedians from Sydney & Melbourne Comedy Festivals - this is an 18+ event for parents and the local community.  

• As well as the fabulous entertainment, we will be aiming to raise some much needed funds for the Nepalese communities the 2020 teams will be working with. There will be a bar and food available for purchase on the night well as a silent auction and raffle.  
• Tickets now on sale at www.comedyforacause.net/PHPA - Book early to avoid disappointment as space is limited.

• On Friday 30th August, we kick off our Fathers’ Day Breakfast nice and early at 7am.  Tickets are available at www.trybooking.com/BDCON where you can also buy raffle tickets!

•  Mum-unteers, it’s our turn to show up and help make Fathers’ Day Breakfast a success.  It’s short and sweet, please sign up at volunteersignup.org/LC8XL to help out.

•  We are back in Term 4 with the PHPA Golf Day & Dinner @ Mona Vale Golf Club on Friday 8th November.  If Golf with a view is not your thing, join us non-golfers for dinner and some fun on the dance floor!  Details to follow shortly.

• Finally to close the year out there will be a Family Christmas Camp-out on the Oval on Saturday 30th November. Save the date - more info coming soon

In the meantime, you can also get involved by volunteering in the Canteen and supporting the Clothing Pool by selling and/or purchasing all 2nd hand uniforms.

Have a fabulous Term 3,

Best wishes,
Kate & Connie
PHPA Co-Presidents

A fun morning for students and Dads/Carers to come together for breakfast before getting on with the day.  

Bacon and Egg rolls, Pastries, Hot Chocolate, Coffee and Juice will be on offer, alongside the Book Fair and our first ever Fathers' Day Raffle. 

We look forward to seeing you there! For tickets, go to: www.trybooking.com/BDCON

Mum-unteers, it’s our turn to show up and help make Fathers’ Day Breakfast a success. It’s short and sweet, please sign up to help out here: volunteersignup.org/LC8XL

Each week is allocated to different year groups however you can still volunteer for any shift during the year regardless of which year your children are in.

To volunteer for a slot, please visit volunteersignup.org/J847W and put your name next to the time/date that suits you best.

Canteen Manager is Amanda Corbett - Phone 9972 5718 after 8am.

Thank you for your support!

For the latest menu and to find out the weekly specials visit the Canteen folder on the Skoolbag app.

Tuesdays from 8am-9.15am and Thursday from 2pm-3.15pm

Located next to the School Uniform shop the Clothing Pool is run by volunteer parents.

Please Note: Purchases cannot be charged to your School Account.

The Clothing Pool has a 7 day Return/Refund Policy.

Pittwater House PHPA and World Challenge Teachers invite you to join them on Saturday 24 August  for a night of fun and laughter at our fundraiser event, ‘Comedy for a Cause’. We also ask all families whether they may have any items (big or small) that may be suitable to donate to either a raffle or silent auction. Proceeds will go to the children and communities students will visit and work with in Nepal on their World Challenge Expedition in September 2020. 

Note: For more information on the 'Comedy for a Cause Evening, please see the flyer in the PHPA section of this newsletter.

Please Note: The School Uniform Shop will be closed from 2pm onward on Monday 29 July. 

In Stock Now! - Fleeces (all sizes available)

Pittwater House is committed to using student images in a safe, dignified and responsible manner. If you DO NOT want images or film of your child/children engaging in School activities to be published to promote Pittwater House School please ensure you complete and submit the Photo/Film Opt Out form on Skoolbag. Similarly, if there are restrictions around using your child’s image please ensure you complete and submit the Photo/Film Opt Out form on Skoolbag. You may opt out at any time. No action from you will be taken as implied consent. Please email marketing@tphs.nsw.edu.au if you require further information.