From the Principal's Desk

Pittwater House paused for our acknowledgement of Remembrance Day last Friday, the 10th of November, ahead of the 11th hour of the 1th day of the 11th month. This should be one of the most solemn days on the Australian calendar. Sadly, I suspect, falling on a Saturday this year, many Australians would scarcely have been aware of its significance. 

I am enormously proud of our students, and community in the respect shown at our service, and the cadets, and band, who provided support at Manly Dam on Friday, and the War Vets on Saturday. We were remembering the 63,000 men lost in battle in the Great War, and the further 40,000 service personnel who have died in subsequent battles, under the Australian flag. Our pausing to remember includes too non-combatants, and civilians killed by bombs or by terrorists… We remember all who fell, not just Australians, and in all wars. We share with our students the bitter knowledge that war is sometimes necessary, but war destroys people, fractures societies, and creates cycles of violence and hatred. War must be the very last option. 

Unlike ANZAC Day, with its meaning specific to Australia and New Zealand, Remembrance Day is inclusive for it has meaning for all Australians in our racially and culturally diverse nation. Whatever one’s heritage, Remembrance Day provides common ground and a time to pause, to reflect on the cost of war to individuals, families, and our nation. 

The floral tributes brought forward by a member from each class, and later taken to the RSL LifeCare ANZAC Village, Narrabeen, help to remind our students that whilst the legacy of war is bitter, peace is precious.

We are in the final throes of inter-school competition for this year. Again, success is occurring for our students. Whether in the fine Touch results, or Basketball, our students are showing great skill, tenacity and will to win. It is always a joy for me to share some of these moments with our students. It is a time too when I can catch up with the now departed team members from the Class of 2023.

And this wonderful group, our newest Alumni, came together for one last time, at the Valedictory Dinner on Tuesday evening. It was a marvellous occasion, showing how close a group they were. Through the speeches, the replies, and the happy, community feel, these wonderful young people knew it was a special occasion… just one last time. These are moments that are treasured, and it was no coincidence that the very next morning, I would be sitting at breakfast with our new Head Prefects and the former President of the Alumni Association, Mr Anthony Buckton, Class of 1985, in what has become a tradition… this event introduces the Head Prefects to the Alumni Association, though this year, it really is not necessary. With Sienna’s parents having come through our School, together with her brother, and also Nic’s older brother and sister as Alumni, these leaders of our student body are very familiar with our hopes for ongoing connection to our School.

Valedictory Dinner

In this edition of HouseNews, I am delighted to introduce our Deputy Head Prefects, Clara and David, and our Heads of the SRC, Vladislav and Yarra. They share some of their vision for the coming year and a little of their journey at Pittwater House. I commend their writing to you.

Clara - Deputy Head Prefect

When I commenced my journey at Pittwater House, as an eager Year 7 student with no knowledge of the Australian schooling environment or the English language, it is safe to say that I was nervous. 

 

When I was 13 years old, my family and I moved across the world, from Sweden to Sydney, Australia. Launched into a foreign setting, I was forced to navigate through an unfamiliar culture and community, all whilst trying to learn to speak the same language as everyone around me.

 

Through the highs and the lows of immersing myself in a strange environment, I learnt to be resilient, patient and to always keep an open mind. The supportive nature of the Pittwater House community has played an astounding role in my academic and personal journey, and is something I aim to recognise and share through my leadership. I wholeheartedly believe in the importance of acknowledging and appreciating the diverse backgrounds in our community, and celebrating the journeys that we are all on.

 

As part of my leadership role, it is within my responsibilities to run the student-mentor program of CUP Groups. This program, along with its Grammar School counterpart, Big Bros, aims to provide a supportive schooling environment, facilitating the exchange of knowledge and guidance between students of different ages. The bonds cultivated during the mentor sessions have significant impact on student well-being and self-confidence, all whilst uniting the different parts of the School community. 

 

As a now Australian citizen, I am truly honored and proud to be a member of this esteemed school community, and country. I find inspiration in the values of Pittwater House, along with its commitment to excellence, and I aspire to ignite motivation and encourage others to reach their full potential.  

David - Deputy Head Prefect

Ever since I began my Pittwater House journey in 2019, as a Year 7 student, I have made the most of the opportunities available to me. In Year 10, along with 27 other students I attended the Red Earth Indigenous immersion to Cape York, where we stayed with two remote Indigenous communities. This trip allowed me to gain a wider perspective on Indigenous culture and was a fun experience to share with friends. Another highlight for me was Year 10 ski camp where we skied, snowboarded, hiked in the snow and camped in a sub-zero climate. I do not regret a single experience I have had with the School, as it has enabled me to try something new, push me out of my comfort zone or allowed me to learn something new about myself. 

 

The next opportunity I have is the privilege of being the Deputy Head Prefect for the Grammar School in 2024. The main part of my role is to coordinate the Big Bros program, which takes place weekly during form time, where teams of Grammar Year 11 and 12 students engage in conversations and activities with their younger peers. The bonds cultivated during these sessions contribute to improving mental well-being and self-assurance, all the while offering valuable guidance and advice on maintaining a healthy and balanced school life.

 

To bring nuance to the program, both Clara and I as coordinators of CUP Groups and Big Bros have decided that our theme for the program is unity. We would like to strengthen connections between the College and Grammar School to ease the transition from single sex classes in Years 7 and 8, to co-ed electives in Years 9 and 10. This will be achieved through occasionally merging the sessions and doing fun activities and discussions with each other. 

 

To conclude, I implore all students to make the most of every opportunity presented to them as they never know what can be gained from it.  

Yarra and Vladislav Student Representative Council (SRC)

As the Student Representative Council (SRC) Prefects for 2023-2024, we aspire to extend the platform for which all students can voice their opinions, creating an environment where the students feel heard. Through our weekly meetings, we are looking forward to discussing initiatives, ideas, and suggestions for the school whilst enabling their propositions to be heard by the school community. One of the current initiatives that will be in action early next year is an O-Day (inspired by universities’ O-week) where the new Year 7 students, and all other students, are able to view the wide variety of extra-curriculars that Pittwater House has to offer. As we have both participated in many extra-curriculars, we are deeply passionate about getting as many students involved in a community greater than their own year group. Although we have been at the School for different amounts of time (Yarra since Kindergarten and Vlad since Year 9), we both recognise the benefits of participating in these activities allowing us to form relationships with like-minded people across the whole School. By collaborating with the Heads of School as SRC Prefects, we strive to put as many ideas in motion as we can. We are incredibly excited to be working with the SRC representatives over the coming year.

Pittwater House continues to be of opportunity in diverse and future-focused ways. I was delighted that our Head Prefect of the Grammar School represented us so well in on such community event.

2023 NSW Constitutional Convention - Nicolas, Head Prefect

On Friday 3 November, I attended the 2023 NSW Constitutional Convention at NSW Parliament House. 

 

The day begun with an informative session in the Legislative Assembly Chamber, featuring a compelling talk by Australian Lawyer, Anne Twomey, regarding the framework of Australia’s Constitution.  

 

Following this, we split into diverse groups of students, delving into collaborative discussions, exploring possibilities and constructing arguments on whether revision of our Constitution is needed. 

 

The dynamic interactions provided me with valuable insights into the ongoing evolution of our constitution and improvements that can be implemented to benefit the next generation of Australians. 

 

It was a great experience travelling to the NSW Parliament House, learning about Australia's political base and meeting a wide variety of new people.

In the photo below, Nicolas is shown with the cohort of senior students from the three sectors of NSW Schools.

Australian National Wheelchair Championships

Isla (Class of 2023), has had a whirlwind post-HSC exam period. Isla has recently played in the Australian National Wheelchair Tennis Championships. Success for Isla came with a win in the Women's doubles, and runner-up in the Women's singles. After attending the Valedictory Dinner on Tuesday night, Isla now sets her sights on her global ranking. She leaves for Turkey on Friday to compete in 4 tournaments to improve further her astounding global ranking. Good luck, Isla from us all.

Prefect Christmas Tree Appeal

Every year, Pittwater House comes together at Christmas time to reach out to the community and help to brighten the Christmases of those less fortunate. This year, we have decided to work with two charities -  Acts Of Kindness Community Outreach and the Peninsula Seniors Toy Recyclers.

Acts of Kindness Community Outreach (AOK) is an organisation which aims to reduce food wastage and help people in need by using surplus food to make meals twice a week for Sydney's homeless population. This Christmas, their goal is to put together 300 Christmas hampers for these people in need, which we are aiming to help them achieve by donating food items to contribute to their hampers. These items as well as the year groups allocated to bring them in are as follows:

Year 7

• Plumrose tin ham 450g
• Tinned fruit/fruit in a jar
• Long life custard

Year 8

• Savoury biscuits
• Large bags of chips
• Sweet biscuits/ shortbread

Year 9

• Lolly/chocolate
• Cordial bottle
• Soft drink 1.25L

Year 10

• Tinned tuna
• Tinned corn
• Tin spaghetti/baked beans

Year 12

• Christmas pudding
• Fruit mince pies
• Christmas bonbons       

Whilst it is preferred that donations adhere to the year level allocations provided, any donations from the list are greatly appreciated! All items can be found in local grocery stores such as Coles and Woolworths.  

In addition to our food drive, we will also be supporting the Peninsula Seniors Toy Recyclers as part of this year’s Christmas Tree appeal. This local charity refurbishes kids toys and games so that they may be reused by various charities that help families and children in need. In order to contribute to this aspect of the drive, students will need to bring in new or gently used toys, such as: 

• Stuffed animals and dolls
• Board games and puzzles
• Musical instruments
• Sports equipment
• Electronic games
• Bicycles
• Dress up clothes. 

We will also be accepting donations on entry to the upcoming College Performing Arts night, so it would be greatly appreciated if those attending could bring a toy, food item or gold coin donation to support the cause. 

The deadline for bringing donated food and toys into school will be on Friday the 8th of December.

If you would like to find out more about the charities that we are supporting, the link to the pages of these organisations are below:

• https://aokcommunityoutreach.com/about-us
• https://peninsulatoys.wixsite.com/my-site2/about-us

And as the year rapidly draws to a close...

Next week our Year 9 cohort are on camp. This is the final camp, for 2023. I wish them well and thank the Staff who will accompany them. It is timely too to acknowledge Mrs Ilsa Carpenter who has coordinated all the camps that have run so successfully through the year. The opportunity to spend time outdoors, with your peers, undertaking a very different style of learning, holds a key place in our offering.

May the week ahead be a positive one for the Pittwater House family.