From the Principal
MRS NICOLA TAYLOR
PRINCIPAL
Welcome to our first Lion’s Roar for the year. 2019 ended with the
crippling effects of the drought and pall of smoke from bushfires
shrouding our region. 2020 has begun with a challenge of a different
sort, maintaining perspective, sourcing factual information and
formulating plans to keep people safe and healthy.
Wuhan is a large city in Central China through which the Yantze River
flows. Undergoing transformation as a central transportation hub it is
the capital city of the Hubei province. It is the city of a growing
school, the Wuhan Australian International School whose students have
enjoyed study tours to PLC Armidale over the past two years. It is also
the source of the Coronavirus, the spread of which is almost
unprecedented.
Our planning for managing any potential risk of exposure to the virus
commenced before any advice was received from public health agencies. We
have sought to contain, clean and screen. Quarantining those who have
travelled in countries where the virus is active, requiring students and
staff to be vigilant with hand washing or sanitizing and ensuring
quality face-masks are worn by those in quarantine.
Our approach is more rigorous than the NSW Government Health advises to
schools and we have been commended by the local health authorities for
it. Thank you to those families who responded to our recent request for
information regarding travel plans during the holidays.
At our Term One Commencement Service, students were informed of our
safeguard plan against the coronavirus.
However, I also addressed a
virus of a very different nature. One that causes decent, usually
responsible people to act in foolish and foolhardy ways creating an
indelible stain on reputation.
TikTok has become the app of choice with the potential for just the
right dance, music or hashtags to go viral. However, TikTok isn’t a safe
playground and in the quest for gaining a following, privacy settings
may be are ignored, actions are taken impulsively, creating a digital
tattoo a student may not be so proud to wear in the future.
I’m not so sure how many parents have read the fine print terms and
conditions regarding how content posted innocently by their daughter may
be used in the future by the app developer?A fine of 8 million dollars awarded against the company in 2019 by the
US Federal Trade Commission for breach of Privacy Protection law may
indicate that it is worth doing so.
Commonsense Media recommend that
this is an app suitable for 16+ year olds due to mature content and
explicit song lyrics of publicly available content. TikTok allows users
over the age of 13 to set up an account.
Integrity and respect are two of our core school values. Integrity
requires the person to be the same in their digital world as they are in
the real world. Respect requires the person to consider the impact of
their actions and behaviour upon others. These are two values which are
often easier said than lived. I am thankful for the willingness of the
wider PLC Armidale community to alert the College to the online
behaviour of some of our students which may have seemed funny at the
time to them, but risky, unsafe and denigrating by others.
All students were addressed and reminded at our Commencement Service
about acceptable use of digital technologies and social media whilst
enrolled students of PLC Armidale. I understand that there has been a
flurry of activity on some girls’ accounts to delete TikTok videos. I
would ask parents to actively support the College in ensuring the safety
and integrity of our students by being informed and aware of your
daughters’ social media access and placing boundaries around it use,
especially in out of school hours.
I found the following articles regarding TikTok useful as I sought to
educate myself about this new viral phenomena. I trust they may be
helpful to you also.
I would also like to extend a very warm welcome to the new students who
have joined us at the College. Having to add chairs and tables to
classrooms to accommodate new students is a problem we are delighted to
have!
I would also like to wish the following staff a very warm welcome as
they commence with us this term.
- Ms Tam Ramsay, Chaplain (replacing Jen Leahy who is on leave for
Semester One)
- Ms Ros Moore, Design and Technology (replacing Paula Goode who is on
leave for Term One)
- Mrs Margarita Perez-Garcia, Languages (replacing Madame Peters who has
relocated to Melbourne)
- Ms Emma Rice, Duty Mistress
Mrs Sally McCook, Enrolments Manager is on extended leave for Term One.
All enrolment and scholarship enquires should be emailed to
enrolments@plcarmidale.nsw.edu.au or in person to Mrs Shona Eichorn,
Director of Development.
It was lovely catching up with so many families at the Welcome BBQ and I
look forward to seeing many more at the various events of the College
this term, especially our Community Open Day on Friday, 28 February. In
keeping with 2020 being an Olympics year, I am delighted to announce
that PLC Armidale is partnering with the Olympics Unleashed Program as a
key feature of our Community Open Day. Ms Leisel Jones and Ms Holly
Lincoln-Smith will be part of our celebrations as special guests of
honour at the event. Please save the date and start spreading the word
around the region as we welcome the opportunity to have such high
profile female sportswomen share their Olympic story with us.
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Dates for the Diary
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Senior School News
MRS ANNA CALDWELL
HEAD OF SENIOR SCHOOL
Welcome back 2020
A big welcome back to all our PLC Armidale families and an especially
warm welcome to those who are joining the College in 2020. PLC is a
truly amazing place! From its’ foundation in 1887 through to the present
day, the College has inspired generations of girls to immerse
themselves in academic study, cultural and sporting endeavours and to
express their intellectual, creative and physical ability, and this year
is no different.
It was lovely to see so many families at the welcome BBQ on Tuesday
evening. The girls have enjoyed their first week back at school and it
has been energising to hear and see their positivity and enthusiasm for
the new term and year ahead.
As you wrestle with your daughter’s homework schedules, sporting and
co-curricular commitments, and as we commence the new school year,
remember you are not alone! Your daughter’s happiness and progress are
the central reason for our existence and there are many specialist staff
you can contact and with whom you can discuss any issue.
New Staff
It is wonderful to welcome new staff members to our fabulous team this
year. Miss Tam Ramsay, Mrs Margarita Perez Garcia and Miss Roslyn Moore.
Recognising Leadership at the College
Our Commencement Assembly sets the tone for the year and it is an event
where we celebrate our Year 12 Students, the leaders of our student
body, with the presentation of their Year 12 badges. A mark of
recognition of how far they have come and how important this year is in
their educational journey at PLC Armidale.
Our new Year 11 Peer Support Leaders for 2020 were also recognised and
inducted during our Commencement Service. They started their duties on
Wednesday morning with meeting and greeting the new Year 7 Class and
helped them to settle into Senior School.
Connect@PLC
Having a connection with others is the building block for developing a
sense of belonging, sense of commitment, a sense of confidence and the
building of trust in others. It also assists with the development of
academic self-efficacy, collaborative work and team building and
developing a sense of perspective. Having connections with others is
vital for our happiness and wellbeing.
To connect is to bring together, to join, to relate. We connect through
communicating, networking, getting involved, engaging with others,
immersing ourselves in everything that we do and interacting with
others.
The start of the Year is the perfect time to establish connections at
the College. This week has been our Connect Week at PLC Armidale, where
everyone has connected through a variety of different activities in
Pastoral Care, Guild Meetings and in class time.
Year 7 Friendship ‘Connect’ Camp
Our Year 7’s have had a fabulous start to the year with their Year 11
Peer Support Leaders taking them under their wing. This week saw them
all undergo a full Connect orientation program and Digital Connect IT
Bootcamp and next week their Connect week continues, as they will head
off to Echidna Gully for Friendship camp where they will have lots of
fun!
Upcoming Events in the Senior School
We have an action-packed term so please make sure you read the School
Calendar which can be found on the school’s website and also on Edumate.
School Photographs
Next week on Tuesday 4th February we will be having our Individual, class and whole school photos taken. An envelope will have been sent
home this week with all the information for you to purchase these
photographs. Please follow the instructions on the envelope and make
sure that they are returned to school by Tuesday Morning.
Girls are to wear their full Summer uniform and wear their blazers for
all photos. Their hair is to be neatly tied back off their faces, no
make up is to be worn and their uniform neat and tidy, and shoes are to
be polished please.
Whole School Swimming Carnival
The Whole School Swimming Carnival will take place at the Monckton
Aquatic Centre on Thursday 13th February in Week 3. Please ensure that
your daughters have a hat, plenty of sunscreen and school swimwear,
which is available from the Clothing Shop. They are to be dressed in
their Guild shirts and sports uniform to travel to and from the
Carnival.
Student Representative Council Elections
Each Pastoral Care Year group will elect Student Representatives in Week
2. The girls will prepare a manifesto and present their speeches during
their pastoral care morning sessions.
Uniform
I would like to remind parents and girls of the uniform policy. The
uniform guidelines can be found in the student diary and the Student
Handbook, which was emailed to you all during the holidays.
The only jewellery that is permitted to be worn is a wrist watch and
only one pair of either gold, silver or pearl small stud earrings. No
other facial jewellery is permitted and all earrings are to be worn in
the ear lobe.
Girls must wear their hats and have their blazers with them whenever
they are out of school grounds. The Blazer is to be the outermost
garment worn for warmth.
It is extremely important to teach our girls that this is not just a
breach of uniform but speaks about their willingness to support the
standards and values of the College as a whole and take pride in their
appearance. When in uniform and out in the community, they are
representatives of the College and the public see the girls as PLC
Armidale girls. If they respect the uniform policy it shows that they
respect the standards and values of the College. We appreciate your
support in this matter.
Lockers
Every girl must have a lock for their locker. Code combination locks are
available at the clothing shop. Key padlocks can be purchased easily in
town. Spare keys can be given to the Head of Senior School in a named
snap lock bag for safe keeping, for those occasions where keys have been
forgotten or misplaced.
Year 9, Bronze Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award
Bronze Duke of Edinburgh’s Award training commences Saturday 8th
February at school in the AAC, 9.30am. New Bronze Participants are to
wear comfortable clothing that they can be active in and bring a hat,
their laptop, water bottle and morning tea with them.
9.30am – 12.30pm AAC
Saturday Feb 8, 15, 22, 29
Saturday Mar 7 being the final session with Equipment Check, camp set up
and cooking session. All girls MUST attend this session on this day and
have all their equipment with them. They will need their equipment for
camp in Week 8.
Adventurous Journeys /Expeditions
Bronzes will have two expeditions this year, Yr 9 Camp Term 1 Week 8 and
June 6th & 7th, which is the June Queens Birthday Long Weekend.
Silver and Golds:
April 18 – 21
June 27 - 30
September 29 - 1st Oct
December 6 – 9
Venues TBC
Week 8 Excursion Week
Our compulsory Excursion Week is in Week 8 this term. Years 7, 8 & 9
will be heading off to Camp Somerset, on the Colo River for a week of
Outdoor Educational challenges and Year 10 will head to Canberra for
their HSIE excursion. Camp dates are Monday 16th April to Friday 20th
April. Information, letters and all required forms will be sent home in
due course.
Years 11 & 12 will remain at school for normal lessons and
assessments.