The Penrith Perception

2021 saw the construction of Penrith High School’s Yarning Circle, built by the Eather group. Our school has a rich history of success achieved by its Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and we want to celebrate that. The construction of the Yarning Circle allows all students to deepen their collective knowledge of First Nations People and culture. The artwork design tells a story and provides opportunities for collaboration. The project involved 6 indigenous companies including design, landscaping, artwork, and cultural consultation.

This episode we talk to students who compete in exceptionally high levels of sport in cycling and rowing, to discuss what it takes to sustain an athletic mindset. The team also chats to Mr McGinnis who played professional football in the 80s and 90s and when he was just starting off in his professional career.

To finish off this term, we bring to you a discussion about DUKE OF EDINBURGH with Mrs Andreatta and Mela as well as two special alumni of Penrith High School - Jola and Alison. Duke of Ed is an internationally recognised award that began in Penrith High School in the late 1900s. We talk all about the program from the camps to all other aspects of Duke Of Ed that you may not know of. Make sure to listen until the end to hear about some fun stories from all our Duke of Ed journeys.

Penrith High School put on its first musical in over 30 years - The Little Shop of Horrors. The shows’ pop/rock musical journey takes audiences from the rough neighbourhood of Skid Row, right through to fleeting fame when Seymour’s flytrap plant gains him star botany status BUT can only thrive on human blood and grows bigger and bigger! In this episode we chat to the people involved in putting on a musical and hear all about its success.

To kick off the year we thought we’d chat to some of last year’s High Achievers, All Rounders, Accelerated students and transfer students. The 2021 HSC year was rocky to say the least, with a large portion of their year 11 work disrupted, more remote learning in year 12, and a delayed start to the HSC examinations. But through the fog of it all, our Penrith High students came out the other side with glowing results and acceptance letters. This episode details their trials and tribulations and how they got through an unprecedented year of learning. We also hear from some transfer students and their experiences at our school.

To close off the year, it's time to meet our new Penrith Prefects for 2022 as well as hand over the baton to our new year 9 recruits to the podcast.

Welcome to Lockdown Diaries Part Two: The Light at the End of Lockdown. With the multitude of stories we received last time for this episode we knew we had to do a follow up to capture the full voice of those in lockdown but also now with the roadmap out, there is light at the end of the tunnel. School return dates are up. Businesses are opening. Some sense of normality will be resuming and we cannot wait to hear your stories about how things will look afterwards.

Back at it again, just in time to close off the term. In today’s episode, we’re hearing about the highlights of online school from our very own students and teachers in this lockdown diary segment. Thank you to everyone who participated. Stay tuned to the end to hear who won the coveted jingle competition and ETERNAL GLORY (oh, and a $20 canteen voucher!)

Prefects, Elizabeth and Sinduja, talk about the real-world application of people challenging expectations in high school and beyond.

Welcome to a STEM-centric chat with none other than Ms Alrubai who is a Mathematics teacher at Penrith High School, AND an advocate for renewable energy through Sydney Alliance’s ‘Voices for Power’ initiative. In this episode, we talk all things STEM-related including the inspiration for working in the field, the corresponding hardships and what's in store for the future of STEM.