Published on: 10 August 2023

  • Year 6 author visit
  • IPSHA Junior Speakers’ Challenge
  • Primary Champion Schools Cross Country carnival

On Tuesday afternoon our Year 6 cohort attended an online author visit from Australian youth novelist, Tristan Bancks organised by our teacher librarian Maggie Westbrook. The talk was incredibly engaging, with Tristan sharing insights into the writing process for some of his most popular titles, including his new book Scar Town. While there was much to take away for our students, one of the important messages was the emphasis on the importance of wide and varied reading to improve the writing process. Author visits will continue to be an important part of both the library and literacy program this term.

On Tuesday night James Chang (4TR) and Dhruv Sanjay (4JS) represented the Preparatory School at the IPSHA Junior Speakers’ Challenge held at Wesley College. Accompanied by our Deputy Head (Studies), Jay Pyefinch and Year 4 teacher, Tonia Ranford, both boys spoke well with Dhruv Sanjay being awarded a gold medal in the preliminary round and progressing to the final where he placed third. We are very proud of the efforts of both boys as they spoke confidently and represented the School with pride. Congratulations James and Dhruv.

ICAS Assessments have commenced with Digital Technologies and Writing being completed this week. Well done to our Year 2 boys who have participated for the first time, demonstrating their willingness to try their best in this international competition. Good luck to all boys who will participate in English next week.

Congratulations to Patrick King (Year 5JB) who participated in the Primary Champion Schools Cross Country carnival last Thursday. Patrick finished in 11th place out of 320 runners in the Year 5 boys division running a time of 8 minutes and 48 seconds for the 2.5km course. Additionally, Patrick has been selected to represent Western Australia in the 2023 Cross Country Championship. This team will be competing at the School Sport Australia National Championships in Canberra, ACT from Friday 25 August to Monday 28 August.

This term our Deputy Head (Pastoral), Kim Morcom has continued the focus on the School values, highlighting the importance of the role these values play in our daily lives. Today, all boys across Years 2 to 6 took part in Vertical House Groups with an activity focussing on integrity. Boys spent time learning more about integrity and enjoyed taking part in the interactive activity with a range of questions being posed.

Parents will soon receive an email invitation for Grandparents/Grandfriends Day which is on Friday 8 September. This year we are introducing the Grow the Library initiative in recognition that reading and comprehension are very important life skills. Grandparents are invited to select a book price, size and genre, and then our Librarians will do the leg work and purchase the books. Grandparents will have the pleasure of seeing the books on the morning of the event and sharing their involvement with their grandson. Thank you in advance for being the conduit to this very special group in our community. Go here to RSVP for your parents and to be part of the Grow the Library initiative.

Dr. Steven Males
Head of Preparatory School