Penrith High Towers-Alumni

Welcome to our first edition of Towers Alumni for 2022.

A lot was completed around the school in 2021. These projects included updates to the school honour boards, a 70th Anniversary mural highlighting our history and excellence in the main A block stairwell, finalisation of the Captains Book that includes a large number of profiles from former Penrith School Captains and a full list of school prefects. The signage of our Art Gallery named in honour of former Principal, Mrs Wendy De Paoli was installed and we will wait for COVID numbers to settle before officially opening this wonderful space.

On the final school day of 2021, I advised staff, students and families that I have been seconded by the Department of Education to relieve as the Director, Educational Leadership for the schools in the Sutherland network. The 12 month appointment leaves the school in the very capable hands of one of our Deputy Principals, Jaclyn Cush and I will return to Penrith as Principal in 2023. I thank Jaclyn for stepping into this role at short notice and for all that she has done so far and will do this year. The principalship at Penrith is without a doubt one of the very best jobs within the Department of Education.

I look forward to seeing many of you at a number of events this year including our first school musical in many years (Little Shop of Horrors), the official opening of the Wendy De Paoli Gallery and the 70th Anniversary Luncheon, now earmarked for September.

Congratulations to the newest members of the special club of Penrith Alumni; the class of 2021. Your HSC results were outstanding after a challenging 2 years and a record number of students were awarded many of the most prestigious scholarships on offer, including 5 UNSW Co-op scholarships. A simply remarkable effort and evidence that high academic standards and attainment, alongside the well-rounded development of students through our exceptional offering of Co-Curricular, Student Clubs and Enrichment are supporting students well both at school and beyond.

Please enjoy this edition, the articles that follow and with events now running please let us know if you are organising a reunion and would like to visit the school with your group. We would love to welcome you and your classmates back for a tour.

Warm regards,

Mark Long

Principal

Welcome to our first edition of Towers-Alumni for 2022.

It is my privilege to contribute to this edition of Towers-Alumni as Relieving Principal of Penrith Selective High School. Having grown up in Western Sydney from birth, I was determined to return here in my teaching career to give back to the community and ensure the students of Western Sydney have access to the very best education possible. I was appointed to the school as Head Teacher, English in 2014 and then Deputy Principal in 2019 and I hope I am able continue to move the school forward as Relieving Principal during substantive Principal, Mark Long’s, secondment in 2022.

Welcome to our new students and our 2021 Alumni

The school year has started well as we are joined by 150 truly exceptional Year 7 students and families as well as our new 8-11 enrolments. In addition to this we welcome 13 new staff members to the school in 2022. Despite a delay in the 2021 HSC exams and results which were not released until late January this year, the 2021 HSC class performed incredibly well. Our rank improved from 45th to 33rd with 289 high scores and 5 students awarded UNSW Co-op Scholarships. It is a pleasure to share that in 2021, we have not one, but two school duxes. Congratulations to Anav Prasad and Yash Mishra who achieved outstanding results and a very impressive ATAR of 99.40. A further 7 names will be added to the HSC Excellence Honour Board in the School Hall. This board acknowledges students who achieve the top band (Band 6 or E4) in all courses. Congratulations to Nashrah Samrin Alam, Alyna Arago, Darren Pradhan, Anav Prasad, Paul Sebastian, Savera Shabih and Vishwa Shah. Congratulations to all of the 2021 cohort who now join the PSHS’ Alumni.

Alumni wanted! Participate in our 2022 Alumni Night at PSHS.

Each year we invite Alumni back to the school to share their life experiences with current senior PSHS students as they make important decisions regarding their future.

Alumni Night is set to take place on June 28 between 6:00 and 7:30pm with a Principal’s Welcome in the school's Common Room prior to the event at approximately 5:30pm. If you are willing to give up some of your precious time for our students, please fill in the brief expression of interest found here: https://forms.gle/kvn7c3s599wPGzus7

World Teachers’ Day Awards and Honorary Fellowships

My congratulations to the impressive staff at PSHS who were presented with “2021 World Teachers’ Day Awards and Honorary Fellowships” by The Teachers’ Guild of New South Wales on Friday, 11 February, 2022. Brian Ferguson, Anthony Vassallo, Dimity Scardanas and myself were the recipients of these awards and further details of these achievements are reported on below.

A special message from Dr Ken Silburn, President LAZSTA :

It was great to see Penrith High strongly represented at the NSW Teachers Guild awards. It demonstrates the awesome things that are worth celebrating. Can you please pass on my congratulations to those award winners and the entire school for the positive ethos that I know exists at your school. In a room mostly filled with teachers from the private sector, it was also great to see your staff as robust ambassadors for public education.

School Temporarily Ceases Operations - Severe Weather

I want to start by acknowledging that many schools, students, families and staff in NSW continue to face very difficult times due to the unprecedented severe weather that ravaged NSW in March. We offer our thoughts and support and extend a very big thank you to the Penrith Selective High School community as they worked with us after the Department of Education made the decision to move the school status to ‘non operational’ for two days to keep our community safe. To my knowledge, this is the first time this has happened outside of the COVID-19 global pandemic lockdowns.

2022 Intergenerational Alumni Interview

Our School Functions Prefects are hosting an Intergenerational Alumni interview where they have invited various alumnus to share their personal experiences within the school environment. Current students are excited to hear from our wonderful and inspiring Alumni and we value the opportunity to remain connected with multiple generations of past students.

Celebrating the 2020 70th Anniversary in 2022

The long awaited 2020 reunion to celebrate the school’s 70th Anniversary has been rescheduled for Saturday 10 September 2022. This is a general reunion for Alumni who attended the school for any length of time between 1950 and 2010. Tickets are only available through Eventbrite.

There will be tours of the school hosted by the school between 10:00am and 11:30 am on the day. The doors at the Paceway open at 12 noon and a two-course lunch will be served from 1:00pm followed by tea or coffee and a slice of reunion cake.

School Upgrades

We are excited to share many upgrades that have, and will continue to happen around the school. Worth of mention are:

• Former Principals’ photo gallery located in the the front reception area

• Stairwell mural capturing our 70 year history

• Flagpoles to celebrate house system

• Garden upgrades and a new pathway to the Alumni Garden to increase accessibility

• Wendy DePaoli Art Gallery (lower A block hallway)

• New Honour Boards including The Honourable Penelope Wensley AC FAILA Award for the most proficient female student in HSC English.

School tours will be occurring this year with the first scheduled for Tuesday, 5 April starting at 10am. If you would like to see some of these upgrades as we commemorate and celebrate the past, present and future through our school upgrades, please register your interest via the link on the school website here: https://penrith-h.schools.nsw.gov.au/about-our-school/visit-us.html

Inaugural Award Recipient - The Sami Azmol

It was with a heavy heart that we commemorated Alumnus Sami Azmol who passed away unexpectedly at the age of only 37 by unveiling a plaque in his honour in the School Library. As mentioned in edition fourteen of Towers-Alumni, the Azmol family and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia and New Zealand honoured Sami’s memory by establishing a major award in his name - The Sami Azmol Award for the top student in HSC Economics or Business Studies.

On 15 March, 2022 members of the school leadership team and senior executive were joined by Mark Rice, Geraldine Magarey and Rene Feltrin from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia and New Zealand and the Azmol family (joined by Rekel Ahmed, Sami’s wife who travelled from London) to unveil the plaque and announce the inaugural award recipient, Alyna Arago who was joined by her family for the occasion.

Alyna came first in HSC Economics with a HSC mark of 95 and overall ATAR of 99.25 in 2021. She is currently enrolled in a Bachelor of Commerce at the University of NSW. Alyna received and accepted a co-op Scholarship under the Accounting and Business Management Program and is a worthy recipient of this award.

From Mr Golam Azmol:

“We feel a great consolation amid our grief that our beloved son, Sami will remain alive through the ‘Sami Azmol Award’ and plaque at Penrith Selective High School for the years to come.”

Thank you as always for sharing these Towers-Alumni updates. If you are holding an event this year, trying to reconnect with former students or know of any news that could be added to our Term 2 edition, please email it through to the school (penrith-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au) and attention the email to our editor, Cathie Fayle.​

Warm regards,

Jaclyn Cush

The school is happy to announce that, once again, our exceptional teachers have been recognised for their outstanding work across many areas from curriculum to leadership to wellbeing to co-curricular and enrichment. Jaclyn Cush, Brian Ferguson, Anthony Vassallo and Dimity Scardanas were the worthy recipients of the Teacher’s Guild of New South Wales “World Teachers’ Day Awards and Honorary Fellowships” for 2021. On Friday, 11th February, 2022, the Awards Ceremony was held at The William Inglis Hotel, Warwick Farm.

Below is a description of each recipients’ contribution to the school’s continued excellence in teaching.

Jaclyn Cush - Relieving Principal

Jaclyn is an exceptional leader and exemplary teacher, instrumental in leading and implementing the professional learning in our school. Her organisation of the School’s Literacy Program has led to greater staff awareness, collegiality and confidence in delivering high quality and targeted lessons to improve the literacy skills of students. Her work has resulted in improved syllabus connections and considered formative and summative assessment practices. In her role as Deputy Principal of Penrith Selective High School, Jaclyn has worked across faculties to build capacity among staff and provide opportunities and networks for teachers to work together to improve their professional knowledge and practice. Jaclyn demonstrates exceptionally high levels of interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence that allow her to interact with the vast range of staff who are at differing levels of experience and expertise. This enhances the Professional Learning, ensuring it is relevant to individual teacher goals and school priorities. Jaclyn Cush is a worthy recipient of the 2021 Teachers’ Guild of NSW World Teachers’ Recognition Award.

Brian Ferguson - Deputy Principal

Brian is an outstanding leader and exceptional teacher, who has been fundamental in developing a new curriculum structure to allow for greater student choice in subjects in Stage 5. Brian’s focus is to deliver high quality and engaging courses to meet the individual needs of High Potential and Gifted students. As a result of his work, students now have access to subjects such as: Critical Thinking, Philosophy, accelerated courses and the Young Experts Program based off the Bridges Academy model, catering specifically for 2e students. Brian is a highly effective manager who leads the Penrith Selective High School Wellbeing Team. This has allowed student welfare to be at the forefront of every aspect of School life with staff having a greater understanding of the educational research that underpins the need for a coordinated wellbeing approach that uses the Seigle and McCoach model of achievement for gifted students. Brian Ferguson is a worthy recipient of the 2021 Teachers’ Guild of NSW World Teachers’ Recognition Award.

Dimity Scardanas - English Teacher and Stage 6 Academic Adviser

Dimity is an outstanding English teacher and Stage 6 Academic Adviser. Her positive impact on our School is evident within her faculty and around her work with Stage 6 students. Dimity has been instrumental in leading and implementing academic processes for Years 11 and 12 including the introduction and logistics of Wednesday afternoon study groups. Dimity’s work within the Wellbeing Team has allowed all staff to understand theoretically and practically how to support students in their final years. Dimity has created resource materials for studying, timetables, strategies to encourage student motivation, research that underpins collaboration and running regular programs with case management students to target areas for improvement across subjects. Her dedication to students and her work within our School, has ensured that every student is engaged and challenged to continue to learn. Dimity Scardanas is a worthy recipient of the 2021 Teachers’ Guild of NSW World Teachers’ Recognition Award.

Anthony Vassallo - Head Teacher CAPA

Anthony is a highly engaging and dedicated teacher who has changed the culture, nature and lifted the profile of the CAPA Department at Penrith Selective High School in his short time as Head Teacher. The outcome of his work is evident in the 20 plus enrichment opportunities available weekly, to all students, from Private and Group Tutoring in Vocals, Guitar, Piano, etc to Ensembles in Dance, Drama, Band, Choir and many more. His vision is clearly aimed at allowing students to excel in their areas of passion and master their gifts. Anthony is also an outstanding leader who has led, supported and nurtured his early career faculty. As a result, numbers and classes have increased, with his staff delivering high quality, differentiated lessons focusing on the individual needs of High Potential and Gifted students. Anthony has been instrumental in reviving the creative and performing arts at Penrith Selective High School. Anthony Vassallo is a worthy recipient of the 2021 Teachers’ Guild of NSW World Teachers’ Recognition Award.

Past Penrith High awardees have included: Lisa Andreatta, Sue Briggs and Antoinette Pipio.

Congratulations to all Penrith High School Class of 2021!

These students gained Band 6 or E4 in all the courses they studied:

Nashrah Alam

Alyna Arago

Darren Pradhan

Anav Prasad

Paul Sebastian

Savera Shabih

Vishwa Shah

Of particular note also are:

Alyna Arago: UNSW Co-op Scholarship

Shrey Bhagat: UNSW Co-op Scholarship

Daniel Biswas: Sydney Scholars

Anav Prasad: MACU co-op Scholarship

Kokulaan Santhakumar: St Andrews College Academic and Bursary Scholarship, Sydney Scholars, University of Sydney Leadership Award

Elizabeth Santoso: UNSW Co-op Scholarship

Rana Singh: UNSW Co-op Scholarship

Plus the following students and ATARs:

Nashrah Alam -96.9 Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Civil)

Ishaya Costa -89.05 Bachelor of Architectural Design

Ram Ganesh -90.85 Bachelor of Engineering (Renewable Energy)

Alison Joseph -87.15 Bachelor of Arts (Western Civilisation)/Bachelor of Law. ACU Ramsey Scholarship.

Haryum Kang -93.55 B. Law/Int Studies

Diya Kapoor -95.4

Siddak Kisana - 93.65 Bachelor of clinical science

Aditya Kumar -93.95 Engineering Honours/Commerce Double Degree

Cedric Kutschera -84.4 Bachelor of Business/ Bachelor of Law

Robin Lu -92.35 Bachelor of pharmacy and management

Prithviraaj Paramasivam Balachandar -91.7 Bachelor of Science (Computer Science)

Jamima Rumey Jiffrey -98.3 Bachelor of Commerce/Law

Irene Santillan -88 Bachelor of Media (Screen and Sound Prod)

Congratulations!

On Friday evening March 18, I had the privilege of attending the UNSW Co-op Program Induction Ceremony for 2022. Scholars are selected for this program largely based on their personal skills, leadership potential and motivation, as well as their academic achievements. It provides strong partnerships with industry and enables the student to work with their industry partner whilst studying.

Each year we have at least one of our students receive a co-op scholarship. Incredibly, this year, five of our students were successful. Penrith Selective High School had the most scholarships of any school in the state and we are enormously proud of them.

The scholarships were.

Accounting and Business Management

Alyna Arago

Shrey Bhagat

Actuarial Studies

Rana Singh

Marketing

Savera Shabih

Computing Science

Elizabeth Santoso

Congratulations to the students of Class of 2021!

Brian Fergusion

Deputy Principal

Penrith High School's 70th Anniversary Reunion is to be postponed to Saturday 10th September 2022.

Tickets already purchased will be transferred to the new date. If the new date is not suitable for you, a full refund will be made.

Venue: Penrith Paceway.

Years: 1950-2010

Time: 12 noon, for lunch at 1:00 p.m.

Tickets went on sale on Monday 21st June and will continue until all sold and will cost $75 each.

Tickets are only available from Eventbrite

https://www.facebook.com/events/729113704638758

We are proud to announce that the first edition of the school's Captains Book is now available for purchase. Please follow the instructions below to order your copy now.

Price: $40 - Please pay on the website under Make a Payment (in the top right of the home page)

Note- you will need to fill out the questions marked in an asterisk *

Keep a record of your payment

Postage within Australia will be free. Contact the school with proof of purchase and mailing address.

For overseas mail, you will need to contact the school and emails/calls can be directed to Lisa Howarth in the Accounts Office.

Nonetheless, we would still like to hear further from the Captains that are not in edition one.

For more details, please use this link

Those Captains who will appear in full in the First Edition of the Captains Book

1950 - James Smith*, Ann Combet

1952 - John Day, Jill Fraser (now Farnsworth)

1954 - Margaret Schubach

1955 - James Short*

1959 - Brian Lewis, Diana Stewart (now Van Der Zande)

1960 - Barbara Fretwell (now Piirsalu)

1961 - Robert Munro*

1962 - David Henderson-Smart*, Juliet Clark (now Lloyd)

1963 - Peter Coburn, Penny Wensley

1964 - Christine Roberts (now Walker)

1965 - Gillian Anderson (now Kahl)

1966 - Ian Coleman

1967 - Ian Coleman

1968 - Paul Hansen, Prue Charlton

1969 - Gary Nelson, Linda Carr

1970 - Margot Jensen (now Legosz)

1971 - David Dunbar, Jane Reffell

1972 - Rodney Morphett

1973 - Peter Jackson, Sandra Warn

1974 - Patrick Shiels, Ann Hardy*

1975 - Michael Rosier, Kim Chandler (now Whealey)

1977 - Merrick Spicer, Manuella Pusic

1978 - Trevor Williams

1980 - Colin McDonald, Alison Monk (now Adams)

1981 - Tracey Aldred (now Lawson)

1982 - Michael Trist, Bronwyn Chalmers

1986 - David Dawson

1987 - Stephen Keens(VC), Madeleine Pusic

1989 - Donna Healey (now Fletcher)

1990 - Tara Van Dyk (now O'Connell)

1993 - Donald Frost -Last Comprehensive

1994 - David Tucker, Chantelle Vella (now Barber- photo only) - First Selective

1995 - Rajan Thangavelu, Dawn Harrison (now Comber)

1996 - Isaac Kuruvilla

1997 - Corryn McKay

1998 - Matthew McCarron, Angela Tillot

1999 - Mark McCartney, Amy Richardson (now Munro)

2002 - Anthony Samson

2004 - Nicholas Brenner, Emma Woods

2005 - Jude Holroyd, Georgina Fuller

2006 - Kirby Bryson (now Atwood)

2007 - Martin Robinson, Meg Ebelt

2008 - Stuart Bryson, Vashti Maynard

2009 - Alvin Tan, Elizabeth Cameron

2010 - Emily Stone

2011 - Geeth Geeganage

2012 - David Stone, Imogen Clark

2013 - Ross Penninkilampi, Grace White

2015 - Simone Ferreira

2018 - Adam Evans, Grace Faulder

2019 - Soham Desai, Aryenish Kavarana

2020 - Sophia Hadjimichael

An asterisk(*) denotes deceased

The latest episode of The Penrith Perception is out. In this episode, we hear from some of last year’s High Achievers, All Rounders, Accelerated and transfer students. This episode details the trials and tribulations around the HSC in 2021 in an unprecedented year of learning. We also hear from a number of transfer students and their experiences here a Penrith High School.

Thank you to Holy Kuriakose in Year 10, as this episode is the first one she has produced.

Dimity Scardanas

Great work William Gao - Class of 2019 (right)!

One of two teenagers who have sealed Australia's largest pre-seed round to launch the online checkout of the future!

William Gao (class of 2019) and Liam Millward might be the youngest founders that venture capital firm Blackbird has ever worked with.

Millward had already launced a number of business enterprises.

William Gao spent school holidays working for ASX-listed Wise Tech Global before going on to study computer science and creating a pet accessories business as a side hustle.

That early experience led the duo to create Instant, an online checkout platform that has closed out a $2.2 million pre-seed raise with backing from well-known investors,, including Blackbird Ventures.

"Anywhere you see an item, we want to give you the ability to purchase that item instantly. We're sticking away from being a one-click checkout and want to be the Amazon Marketplace of ecommerce," Millward says.

The company's core product is a one-button payments platform that can be used anywhere online. Customers fill out their payment and delivery details once and then every time they shop at a store that uses Instant, they can make purchases instantly.

Instant's raise is the largest known pre-seed round in Australian history.

Good luck boys!

Excerpt from the Sydney Morning Herald

by Emma Koehn February 2, 2022

Recently we welcomed Barrie Brown, his wife Beryl and their daughter Kirrily to the school.

Barrie's first year of high school was spent on the top floor of Penrith Public School(1949) before moving across to the existing building we now recognise as Penrith Selective High School (1950-1953).

Barrie was a member of the RAAF from 1957-1966, serving out of the Richmond Base '58-'60 and '64-'66 and serving in Vietnam -'65-'66.

Later Barrie worked with QANTAS from 1966-1989.

The love of flying obviously is shared in his family with his daughter Kirrily being a pilot with QANTAS and a grandson already showing interest.

Barrie was very pleased to see his name on the Defence Service Honour Board in the hall and sighting the paver he had purchased in the Alumni Garden.

It was wonderful to hear stories from Barrie of his time at PHS and enjoying performing on the stage.

He also managed to find the names of other schoolmates on the pavers in the Alumni Garden.

We hope you enjoyed reminiscing, Barrie, and it was lovely meeting you and your family.

We are in the process of updating the Honour Boards in the hall.

We would like to confirm the Duxes:

1.from the 50s and early 60s (see below)

2. 1966

In Addition, we are also trying to find the Junior Sportsman and Junior Sportswoman of the year for;

1987

1990

1991

1992

1993

If you can help please email the school on:

penrith-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Attention Cathie in the library.

Thanking you

If you or someone you might know could elaborate further regarding the information below please contact Cathie in the school library or via the school email:

penrith-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au ATTENTION Cathie

Duxes in the 50s and early 60s

During the 50s the Fletcher Award was given to students in all years to encourage them

to continue their studies. It included a monetary donation.

Students in 5th Year sat for the Leaving Certificate.

In 1950 - Margaret Duncan and Alan Holswich received the Fletcher Award in 4th Year.

In 1952 - Marcia Kirkness and John Day received the Fletcher Award in 5th Year.

John Day came 2nd in the state for Physics and Chemistry and was placed

in the top 30 in the state for the Leaving Certificate

In 1953 - M. Eckford and A. Bills received the Fletcher Award in 5th Year

In 1954 - PHS held its first Speech Day in April at the Nepean Theatre

Jocelyn Cooper and Anthony Walker received Fletcher Awards

In 1955 - Jill Reid and Anthony Walker were named Duxes of 4th Year

In 1956 - Dawn Morgan and Jim Finnimore were named Duxes of 4th Year

In 1957 - Dawn Morgan and Jim Finnimore were named Best in the Leaving Certificate

In 1958 - Joyce Anderson and Robert Cuckson were named Best in the Leaving Certificate

Robert Cuckson was mentioned in the state group of the Leaving Certificate

In 1959 - Margaret Finnimore and Michael Walker were named as Duxes of the School

In 1960 - Michael Smith and Meryl White (Prox. Acc.) were named Duxes of the School

In 1961 - Bob Munro and Yvonne Fripp (Prox. Acc.) were named Duxes of the School

In 1962 - Ian Jay was named Dux of the School

In 1963 - Elizabeth Finnimore was named Dux of the School

In 1964 - Richard Douglas was named Dux of the School

In 1965 - Herman Nacinovich was named Dux of the School

In 1966 - no Dux recorded in Towers

In 1967 - Stephen Johnson and Ian Coleman named Duxes of the School

The servicemen and woman shown are a few whose names have been recognised or are on the list to be updated.

If you are interested please email the school on: penrith-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Attention Cathie in the library for further details

NOTE: the school was not established until 1950 so bear this in mind

In addition, if the Alumni listed below could also reach out to update some details:

Harry Grimes

Jason Peterson

Stephen Thompson

Brian Carney

Alan Ormerod

David Stevens

Ian Dickens

Email: penrith-.school@det.nsw.edu.au
Website: http://penrith-h.schools.nsw.gov.au
Location: 158-240 High Street, Penrith NSW, Australia
Phone: 02 4721 0529
Facebook: facebook.com/penrithselectivehighschool