HouseNews

The past week has been a showcase of creative talent with accolades due across the entire school.

Congratulations to all the students who have performed with distinction at an array of events from the long established and heralded da Vinci Decathlon, the Junior School Musical Evenings and the large groups of dancers who performed at the Extreme Eisteddfod. Additionally, Pittwater House gained central position on the winner’s podium at the Northern Beaches Eisteddfod for our Junior School Cantabile Choir. 

At each of these events, we have sent large numbers of students who have represented our School admirably. Pitting our collective talent against others is a great opportunity for bringing out the best and our placings in each of the events should be appreciated, not only for the individual efforts of students but for the wonderful support from their teachers. Full reports can be found throughout this edition of HouseNews.

Moving from the creative talents to sport, this week sees both the Junior and Secondary Schools Athletics Carnivals. These are marvellous community events and demonstrate fine student leadership from our House Captains. 

Food can open the doors to foreign language immersion. Keep the experience fun by learning language while you eat. Use recipes from around the world in your weekly meal rotations. Staff from the Languages Faculty have shared some of their favourite recipes (click on the 'Download' button below). Try pronouncing the names of the food like the natives do! Bon Appétit! Qing Man Yong!

In Week 5 of Term, students from Years 5 to 11 represented Pittwater House in teams of 8 students at the NSW State da Vinci Decathlon, an academic competition spanning ten tasks in a range of disciplines. Each year group has approximately 50 teams competing, and places are reported for the first 16 teams in each task. This year the theme was Landscapes.

We can report the following results for Pittwater House:

Year 11
2nd in English
7th in Creative Producers (Drama Skit)
9th in General Knowledge

Year 10
13th in Cartography

Year 9
6th in Creative Producers
12th in Art and Poetry

Year 8
16th in Code Breaking

Year 7
14th in General Knowledge

Year 6
3rd in Creative Producers
13th in Ideation (Design-based Problem Solving)

Year 5
5th in Engineering

Well done to all team members who contributed to their team’s overall performance in all areas and stretched themselves academically.

Please Note: There will be no Maths Study Centre on Tuesday 18  June (Week 8) due to Year 12 Parent/Teacher Interviews.

I look forward to seeing you all at the upcoming Creative Arts Night, on Thursday 27 June. This event is a compulsory attendance for all students as their classes are a team and all students are needed to play their part and support each other.

I would once again like to congratulate all students for their magnificent efforts both representing the school and gaining their personal bests in all areas of academic pursuit, the creative arts as well as sport. I sincerely thank all parents for their magnificent support and the teachers for their skilful tuition and guidance. 

Year 4 has recently returned from the most exciting adventure!  As we pulled in to Camp, the chattering stopped and the excitement took us.  Ms Webster, Mr Whisson and Ms Matkovic struggled to round up the troops.  As we scrambled to grab our bags we saw  green trees and blue skies surrounding us.  The sunshine sprayed the land with light and joy.  Stanwell Tops was beautiful.  We stopped on a patch of grass and we were introduced to the leaders, Dan, Matt and Emma.  We were as hungry as lions and devoured morning tea before being sorted into our cabins. We were all ready to go.

We played some memorable games and had a few laughs.  Then we found out who was in our group and who our wonderful leader was.  One of our favourite activities was the giant swing which was as big as a jumbo jet.  Everybody had a good laugh at the hilarious faces people made whilst swinging. We also did ponding which involved catching little fish and insects in a net and then freeing them again.  The bushwalk was long but lovely.  We found lizards, rare deer and a lovely view.

At night, Mr Whisson told us an amazing (but sadly untrue) story about Mr Kanahopoliss, his students and a cave.  Another great story was about Apahi rocks, an aboriginal rock, said to turn invisible when touched.  Another great experience was going on the dreaded rock wall!  It was a 10-18 metre wall with three challenging levels with green being the easiest and red being the hardest.  Many people went higher than expected. We were all very responsible in the belay bank, making sure our friends were safe. All in all, the rock wall was extremely fun.

After three days of beautiful weather, fond memories and new friends we returned to School exhausted yet happy.  Our Year 4 camp experience had ended but the memories are etched in our minds.  Until next year…!

Congratulations to all students involved in these Ensembles for their outstanding performances and achievements at the Eisteddfods over the last couple of weekends:

Stage 1 Ensemble achieving 2nd Place, Extreme Dance Competition

Stage 2 Ensemble achieving 3rd Place Extreme Dance Competition and Highly Commended IRBD Challenge

Stage 4 Ensemble achieving 3rd Place Extreme Dance Competition Senior Contemporary achieving 3rd Place Extreme Dance Competition

The Dance teachers are extremely proud of these students and their hard work and commitment to the groups. All the best for the next competitions: August 3rd –The Ultimate Dance Challenge – Dural and August 25th – DanceSpec Challenge – Wahroonga.

Year 11 Visual Arts students have spent the weekend at art camp, totally immersed in art making at Bundanon for their current unit ‘representations of the land’.

Students participated in an educator led tour of the Australian landscape painter Arthur Boyd’s homestead where they were able to learn firsthand about his artmaking practice, influences and observe his studio environment. They also engaged in a number of workshops giving them sustained time to develop a range of skills and learn new techniques. These workshops were: super panoramic drawing -  with a focus on light and dark compressed charcoal, utilising mark making techniques and different viewpoints, en plein air painting based on a loose Impressionist style using the Shoal Haven river as our backdrop, taking natural materials from the bush and other sculpture mediums to develop construction techniques such as lashing and weaving to make a sculpture in the form of a vessel and, working collaboratively with skulls, lens balls and prisms to develop a series of  photographic images looking at focal point, light, composition, pattern and textures.

It was a fantastic experience to also be able to encourage students to work out of their comfort zones and I think a few of them have perhaps discovered a hidden talent for an expressive form they may not have tried before.

A group of Year 6 to 9 Creative Arts students were offered the opportunity to perform at VIVID 2019 at Barangaroo. It was a cold and chilly night, but our students warmed the general public with their puppetry and commitment to the indigenous story of Marri Dyin (pronounced Mahr-ee Djin), meaning ‘Great Woman’ in Sydney Aboriginal language. Our students were one of only a few schools chosen to participate in this significant event. Marri Dyin is one of the largest puppets constructed in Australia, this six-metre tall contemporary spirit reveals the influence and importance of First Nations women, including Barangaroo after whom the site is named. From Monday to Wednesday, Marri Dyin sits in still contemplation by the campfire. During Thursday to Sunday evening performances, in which the Pittwater House students participated, she invites audiences to join in the practice of hunting and gathering before kneeling down so children (performed by our Creative Arts students) can share a magical moment with her. 

This term we will be showcasing our HSC Dance, Drama and Music students. This will be held over two nights: Wednesday 19 June - Dance (Hall) and Music (CAC); Tuesday 25 June - Drama (CAC). This is an excellent night that allows the students to perform their works in front of a supportive audience. 

2019 has seen a significant increase in membership throughout all instrumental ensembles. We do expect that all students have practice copies of their music and take these to their private tutor between ensembles rehearsals to assist them preparing for the coming weeks. Please ensure that your students have a folder for this music and brings it to every rehearsal. If they require practice copies or have misplaced their music, it is responsibility of the student to email musictutor@tphs.nsw.edu.au and ask for a copy. When emailing please ensure that they include the title of the piece and the part required. If they have misplaced their entire folder please replace the folder and email musictutor@tphs.nsw.edu.au to gain replacement parts.

At Pittwater House we offer an extensive internal Instrumental Music Tuition Program. We offer instrumental tuition in all String, Wind and Brass Instruments, Percussion which includes Drumkit and Tuned Percussion, Vocal Lessons Guitar, Bass Guitar and Piano Lessons. For more information about private music tuition please email musictutor@tphs.nsw.edu.au.

Congratulations to Cameron (G11) who has been selected to be part of the Under 2Os Sydney FC squad to play in two tournaments in Japan. This will be an amazing opportunity to compete at a high level of soccer internationally. This is a wonderful opportunity for Cameron; well done.

Alumni Sporting Success
Gianni Stensness from our graduating year of 2017. Not only one of our top academics, but an incredible footballer. He has moved through the football world with incredible achievements; recently playing for Wellington Phoenix in the Hyundai A-League. To complement this, he has been selected in the New Zealand Under 20’s World Cup squad that is currently being played in Poland.

New Zealand played Norway and won 2-0, with Gianni scoring an absolute screamer of a goal. Below is the link to the match highlights, but if you fast forward to 1:08, you will be amazed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=kgQT3J4NzkI&feature=onebox

• Term 2 Nominations
• Sports Reports
• Tern 2 Calendar Dates
• Sports Office Contact Details

Below are photos from the following Sport Reports: CIS U12 Rugby Union Trials and CIS Open Boys Soccer Championships

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.

A Huge Thank You to those of you who braved the elements and joined us for our Term 2 PHPA Community Update on 7th June.

If you were unable to make it, we sadly cannot provide you with a piece of Ariarna’s delicious lemon cake but we are pleased to share a copy of the Information pack provided.

It will give you an insight into all the work undertaken by the  PHPA Committee, Network Parents and Volunteers so far, where your generous donations are being spent as well as what is coming up for the remainder of 2019 and further into 2020.

Happy reading,

Kate and Connie

Term 3 Community Update - Friday 6 September @ 9am

Comedy Night - Saturday 24 August @ 6pm

Fathers' Day Breakfast - Friday 30 August @7am

Golf Day and Dinner - Friday 8 November

Christmas Camp Out - Saturday 30 November

Term 4 International Volunteer Day celebration - Thursday 5 December @ 9am

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 https://www.volunteersignup.org/YCM4X 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.

In Stock Now!

Tracksuits (sizes 4-8) have just arrived and are available for purchase from the School Uniform Shop.