Monthly Archives: October 2018

Enews – Celebration Day Edition – Week 2, Term 4 2018

Issue no. 32Enews-banner

From the Deputy Principal / Head of Senior School

Farewell Year 12

Today we said farewell to Year 12 and they certainly approached the week with great enthusiasm and energy. Their light-hearted approach, tongue-in-cheek humour and the variety of outfits and hairstyles that have been on display, have provided the staff and the girls with a consistent level of comic relief.

Kate MortimerWhat though, is most significant about today is how it highlights the strength of community that is so engrained in the culture of the School. All girls from Reception to Year 11 are a part of our Year 12 farewell celebrations and it is a day that provides a wonderful opportunity for all students to come together.

Another truth is that there would not be many schools in which the staff would willingly take part in a play that is written by the students, for which the sole purpose is to exploit the particular habits of those staff. Not to mention rehearse and perform a dance for the girls where, yet again, talent and timing are somewhat lacking.

It is the connections between staff and girls, the mutual respect and the safe environment within the School, that allows such experiences to happen.

The Celebration Eucharist service this morning provided us the opportunity to listen to a personal anecdote about each girl. This, I believe, was the most telling aspect of the day. It is extremely rare in a school that each graduating student is spoken of and it certainly demonstrates how St Peter’s Girls – is different. Thank you to Mr Roger Mills who provided us with so many memorable stories.

This is also the time to reflect upon the impact the leadership of the Year 12 girls has had on the School and wider community. My sincere thanks to all of Year 12 for their fabulous leadership, in what is always a challenging year. At Choral Night, sport carnivals, Interhouse events, House meetings and House Dinners, to name just a few, their inclusive and caring approach ensured that these were events that were enjoyed by all girls, regardless of age.

Finally, tonight the Year 12 students, their parents and the staff will attend the Valedictory Dinner, which will be a wonderful closure to their time as Saints Girls.

We wish you well Year 12. Good luck in your final exams, but more importantly, go forth with the drive to challenge yourselves in every aspect of your lives.

Kate Mortimer
Deputy Principal/Head of Senior School

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2019 Leaders’ Induction Service

This week saw the induction of our 2019 Student Leaders. Our Prefects, Deputy House Captains and Co-Curricular Captains were presented with their badge of office and made a formal commitment to serving the School.

Congratulations to all of those girls; we are excited to see the differences you can make over the next 12 months.

Kate Mortimer
Deputy Principal/Head of Senior School

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Young Dancers Dazzle Crowds

W2 - Dance 2

During Terms 2 and 3, the Reception and Year 1 students took part in weekly dance sessions with Kirsty Battersby. The girls learnt and practised new skills to increase their flexibility, body awareness, spatial awareness and to develop their motor skills. Coordination and cooperation were key factors in each lesson to enable the girls to assist Kirsty with some of the choreography.

Each class had a theme and learnt two dance routines to incorporate the skills they had learnt from each lesson. RMK were mesmerising mermaids, RML performed as cool cats, 1LS were radical rainbow colours and 1RG were wonderful woodland creatures. The girls thoroughly enjoyed each and every dance lesson and were excited to showcase their magnificent skills to their families and friends.

Rebecca Greenhalgh
Year 1 Teacher

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Guest Dancer’s Steps to Success

W2 - Dance

Last Friday Jack Ziesing, a dancer and choreographer from Dance North company in Queensland, came to take a workshop with some of our Year 9 and SACE dancers. After an energetic and vigorous warm up, the students engaged in some floorwork – expanding their knowledge of how to move fluidly across the space. Next, Jack taught the students some repertoire of one of Dance North’s latest performances, Rainbow Vomit. The SACE students were fortunate enough to see this performed at the Odeon Theatre in July – such a creative and visually exciting show.

I was so impressed with how quickly the girls learnt the choreography and executed the quirky, unusual steps with energy and style. It was such a worthwhile experience for the students to learn from a wonderfully talented male dancer who now goes on to Canberra to create his own work.

In addition, the SACE dancers were awarded second place at the South Australian Stage Dancing Society’s annual Secondary Schools Showcase in the holidays. There were 12 other competing schools and our girls performed beautifully. Thank you to Charlotte Cohen (Year 9) who replaced one of the dancers on exchange.

Kate Burnett
Head of Arts

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Anzac Discoveries in Vietnam

W2 - Vietnam

Earlier this year, I entered the Premier’s Anzac Spirit School Prize. Through this history competition, I researched a World War One nurse called Ethel Sarah Davidson and wrote two written pieces about her life and the way that she demonstrated the Anzac spirit. I was lucky enough to be one of the winners of the competition, so in the recent school holidays, I was given the opportunity to travel to Vietnam with 14 other students from South Australia who also wrote winning entries.

Through this trip, we each researched an Australian soldier who died in the Vietnam War and told their stories as we travelled around Vietnam, seeing significant sites from the war and being immersed in Vietnamese culture. We travelled through Ho Chi Minh City, Vung Tau, Hoi An and Hanoi, and walked the footsteps of many of the soldiers that we had researched, seeing battle sites such as Nui Dat and Long Tan. I researched a soldier called Graham Leonard Norley, who was sadly killed on Australia Day in 1968 during Operation Coburg.

The trip was an incredible opportunity to see the places where many Australians, including Graham Norley, fought in the Vietnam War. It was a truly unforgettable experience that changed statistics to stories and brought history to life.

Holly Wallman-Craddock
Year 9 student

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Cultural Exchange on Japanese Journey

W2 - Japan

On 23 September, seven Saints Girls travelled to Japan for the Senzoku Gakuen Japanese exchange trip. There was uncontrollable excitement in the air and even though we were quite nervous to go to Japan without our family members, we were also very excited.

We went to school with our host sisters and joined their classes, as well as participating in after-school club activities. Portia and I, with the other Saints Girls, joined a range of different clubs including badminton, soft tennis, tennis, tea ceremony and also flower arranging. It was amazing to see and experience the differences between the Japanese culture compared with Australia’s. Senzoku Gakuen’s club activities are run by the S2s (second-year seniors – Year 11s) and these students teach the younger students how to do their club activity. There is also a ranking system where the younger students must bow to the older students which surprised me when I first arrived.

On the weekends and after school, we were able to travel around the city and visit various places such as Tokyo Disneyland, many restaurants, shopping centres and Loft. I also went to Kaminarimon where I was lucky enough to wear a kimono. I was able to try many different kinds of Japanese food, including sushi, which all tasted amazing! By the end of the trip, all of us were very sad to say goodbye to our host families and wished we could stay for a bit longer.

Tiffany Zhou
Year 9 student

It was interesting to see the different ways in which Japanese students travel to school daily. All seven Saints Girls took on the challenge of using different forms of public transport, most commonly bus or train. Some were lucky with only a 10 to 20 minute train ride; however, I had the experience of travelling one hour and 45 minutes before arriving at school and home. This meant I was waking up at 5.15am each school day and arriving home at 7.15pm after participating in after-school club activities. The activities at Senzoku were taken seriously but it was a fantastic way to interact with the Japanese school girls and have fun.

The trip was highly worthwhile and we recommend it because it is an amazing experience to learn Japanese culture, meet new people, step outside your comfort zone and experience life in a foreign country. This exchange allows you to travel to exotic places, taste new (and in some cases peculiar) foods, advance your learning, have more courage as well as being able to cope better in difficult situations. It is no secret that being away from your family for three weeks in a foreign country is tough. This is one of the main challenges the girls faced whilst in Japan where homesickness became a small issue towards enjoying the experience, but through this, we were able to become stronger as Saints Girls, and there is nothing more comforting than the amount of love and support you receive from your proud parents. I believe this exchange allows you to improve your social skills as well as becoming closer with your family in both Japan and back home in Australia. I, with the other six Saints Girls who went to Japan, highly recommend this exchange trip as you are able to make lifelong friendships and experience life in a completely different way.

Portia Maerschel
Year 9 student

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Christmas Drinks on the Lawn

Christmas Drinks on the Lawn_FB-1

We would like to thank all members of the St Peter’s Girls’ community for your support by inviting you to celebrate the successes of 2018. Drinks and nibbles will be provided. We encourage children to attend, however they will need to be supervised.

RSVP by 5 November – this is one event not to be missed!

www.trybooking.com/YTTB

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Community Golf Day

W10 - OSA Golf Day 2018_eNews

Hosted by the St Peter’s Girls’ Old Scholars’ Association

Friday 2 November 2018

Mount Osmond Golf Club | 60 Mount Osmond Road | Mount Osmond
Stableford Competition | 18-hole round | Multi-tee start 8.30am

Golf and Lunch: $80
Golf and Lunch (Mount Osmond Golf Club Members): $60
Lunch only: $20

Book via www.trybooking.com/TJZS or contact Megan McCormack on 8334 2239.

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National Meeting of the Minds

W2 - Philosothon

During the holidays, the Saints Girls’ philosophy team participated in the Australasian Philosothon at St Peter’s College. It went for three days, with 12 schools and over 80 students participating. As it was a national Philosothon, only the top two schools from each state were invited, although a few states had only one school representing them. Each school participating entered a team of eight students across different year levels. It is not often that we get to compete in a mixed year group team and this is one of the strengths of the Philosothon.

On the first day, we did a practice Community of Inquiry (COI) which was about whether we believed ethical relativism is true. We sat in a circle and all contributed to the discussion by sharing ideas and forming points of argument. We were able to build on what each other said to ultimately come up with a final conclusion to the topic. We all came together at the end of the evening for dinner, which I really enjoyed as we were able to meet lots of other students from other parts of Australia. The second day went from 7.30am – 8.30pm and had five different COIs, with four of them being marked and used in the scoring component of the competition. We spoke about philosophical issues such as whether civil disobedience could ever be morally justified, the moral considerations regarding casting actors in certain roles and whether some scientific research should be censored.

I was very appreciative that we were able to meet so many new people and I enjoyed listening to everyone’s different perspectives and considerations on the same philosophical topics. On the third day, we found out the results and listened to a final presentation. Overall, Saints Girls came sixth which was quite an achievement considering it was our first ever National Philosothon and we were competing against schools that have participated for over five years. Year 8 student Emily Teague was recognised for her philosophy skills, gaining a second place in the Year 8 category. We are excited to go to the State Philosothon at the end of October and hopefully we will go back to Nationals next year and perform even better!

Ammi Yagnik
Year 11 student

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Saints Girls Visit Saints Boys

W2 - Year 6

On Wednesday 24 October, our Year 5 and 6 classes visited St Peter’s College to work with their Year 6 students. This was an opportunity to foster friendships and understanding among the students and strengthen the relationship between our two schools.

We undertook collaborative activities such as the Paper Plane Challenge and a Kahoot quiz, as well as participating in minute-to-win-it and Mind Lab games. Lots of fun was had by all!

Kim Butler-Nixon
Year 6 Teacher

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Oarsome Season Opening BBQ

W2 - Rowing 2

The Friends of Rowing hosted the Season Opening BBQ last Friday night and it was a huge success!

More than 100 parents, siblings and rowers came along to the Arts Centre to enjoy delicious yiros, the presentation of caps to the seniors, throwing water bombs at the coaches and fundraising for new equipment. Approximately $5000 was raised to purchase new cox boxes and three new bikes, so well done and thank you to everyone who participated.

What a fantastic way to open the season!

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Students set for Musical Triumph

W2 - Musical

Zara Blight (Year 7) and Daisy Kennett (Year 6) have been cast in an upcoming production of Anne of Green Gables. The musical will be performed from December 14 to 16 at Collingrove Homestead, Angaston. Tickets can be purchased here. We asked the girls to tell us about their upcoming performance and their extensive experience in The Arts.

“I am playing Gertie Pye, the sister of the mean girl Josie Pye, in Anne of Green Gables by Emma Knights Productions. I am looking forward to the season as we will be performing outside at the beautiful Collingrove Homestead with horse carriages, which will be a new experience. I have previously worked with this company singing on Popeye with Floating Melodies and also in the Adelaide Arcade as part of Haydn Seek. I’ve been performing in theatre since I was six and was lucky enough to make my professional debut in Girl Asleep for Windmill Theatre when I was seven at the 2014 Adelaide Festival.” – Zara Blight (Year 7)

“My first show with Pelican Productions, when I was eight years old, was Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Since then, I have been a soloist in many musical theatre camps, playing roles such as Jojo from Seussical, Margot from Legally Blonde and Penny from Hairspray. Last year, I played a wickersham in Seussical and Mufasa in the Year 5 Production of Disney The Lion King JR. I also performed in Musical Moments in the 2018 Fringe. This year, I was in Annie and Hairspray. I dance with Soul Dance Studio and have been dancing since I was three. My favourite styles are contemporary and musical theatre classes. I have trained with Matthew Lee Robinson and have had vocal lessons for the past four years. I will be playing Tillie Boulter in Anne of Green Gables and I cant wait to start rehearsing next month.” – Daisy Kennett (Year 6)

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Sports News

W2 - Sport

ATHLETICS

Results from the All Schools Athletic Championships:

Rose Pittman – U18 400m Gold, U18 800m Gold
Nicolette Miller – U18 Discus 7th, U18 Shot Put 6th, U18 Javelin 5th
Milly Wood – U18 High Jump Silver,
Keeley Fahey – U16 Javelin 5th, U16 High Jump 4th
Sophie Barr – U16 Shot Put 4th, U16 Discus Gold, U16 Hammer Silver, U18 Discus Silver, U18 Hammer Silver
Olivia Kelly – U16 High Jump 6th, U16 100m heats, U16 200m heats

BADMINTON

Year 8/9 Knockout – Saints 11 sets defeated Brighton 1 set
Saints progressed to the State Finals with a comfortable win against Brighton Secondary School and will face some tough opposition in the round-robin carnival in Week 3. All girls played well, led by number 1 Gloria Gao. She was supported by other team members Tiffany Zhou, Candy Feng, Cheri Wong and Angela Feng. – Sonya Risbey (Badminton Coordinator)

BASKETBALL

Open B – Saints 13 defeated by Immanuel 51

Middle A – Saints 21 defeated by Immanuel 27
Our best game of the year where we showed a lot of improvement. We introduced some structure which the girls picked up really well and we kept with them all game. Defence was particularly impressive. Everyone contributed and a special mention to Bella Parton for her offensive output and Sophie Norman for her shot blocking and rebounding. (Bella Parton 11, Ashlyn May 5, Ellie Humphrey 2, Sophie Dansie 2)

Middle B – Saints 6 defeated by Immanuel 33
The scoreline does not reflect that the game was a lot closer than this. We created a lot of good scoring opportunities however we just kept missing easy goals and Immanuel were good at scoring off the fast break. If we work on our shooting, we should be far more competitive.

Middle C1 – Saints 19 defeated by Wilderness 48
In warm conditions, the girls got off to a good start but unfortunately Wilderness played well in the second half to stretch the lead out. – Sarah Turnbull (Coach)

Middle C2 – Saints 36 defeated Wilderness 28
The girls played a great team game and deserved a win. Their passing ahead and finding open team mates for shots worked well throughout the match. – Sarah Turnbull (Coach)

ROWING

On Friday night, we had the Season Opening BBQ which was a great way of bringing everyone together. It is a tradition for the Senior Squad to receive their visors, which is an achievement for many of these girls who have rowed all through school. I would like to thank the FoR committee for all the hard work in setting it up, also Fiona McGregor in events. Thanks also to all the girls and parents who attended, making it a fantastic night.

Saturday 20 October saw the first regatta of the season. We had five crews represent the School – two in Year 8 and three in Year 7, which was their first regatta. The race was over 800m and all girls negotiated the course really well. For the Year 7 crews, it is all about learning the craft and skill of racing and I think they would have learnt a lot from just that one regatta. Our Year 8s, for many at the start of their third season, rowed really well at this early stage. One of the crews, stroked by Annie Bradshaw, ended up getting in the Final which is between only three crews. Our other Year 8 crew, stroked by Maddie Symon, ended up missing the Final by a mere two seconds. The crew that made it through ended up winning the Final – a great result for them, especially with Charlotte Parker being new to the sport. Well done to all the crews, it was a great way to kick off the season. – Ben Flannagan (Director of Rowing)

This season, we are shifting our focus to the program as a whole, strengthening the bond between girls from learn-to-row to seniors. With an inclusive program, we will be more likely to achieve success as a whole squad and have a very memorable season. Other than support within the girls, this season, we are looking to see the parents out there every Saturday. Rowing is a very demanding sport that requires a high level of commitment and hard work. I can say from experience that the support of the Saints Girls’ community has a huge impact on the motivation and the success of the girls. So, we hope to see many of you out there to witness the incredible atmosphere that comes with the culture of rowing. Positivity is also crucial in achieving success and enjoying the season. This mindset will create an environment that will encourage girls to reach their full potential.

Congratulations to the 8/9A crew for their win on Saturday morning – a great start to the season girls! – Amy Carrodus (Captain of Rowing)

SOFTBALL

Open A – Saints 8 defeated Pulteney 5
A terrific start to this term’s softball results, with a great win for the Open A team. The girls showed excellent team work and proved their skills out on the field. I’m looking forward to seeing how the team goes for the next few games. Good luck girls! Let’s take home the shield again! – Lulu Tierney (Captain)

Year 5/6 Blue – Saints 14 defeated Seymour 12
Saints played exceptionally well as a team, working together to secure victory in their first game of the season. Highlights included Ruby Adams’ first innings home run, where she was able to hit the ball into the outfield, sending three runners home as bases were loaded. Jenna Maione is to be congratulated on her consistent pitching and team leadership in the absence of their coach. – Sarah Mulraney

Year 5/6 White – Saints 14 defeated Seymour 3
This was a great effort by all of the girls, both batting and in the field. It was terrific to see players volunteer to have a go at pitching or catching, plus doing some very good base running. Some highlights were a home run by Mathilda Thomas and a “triple play” to end the game. – Louisa Mitchell

Year 5/6 Silver 7 defeated St Ignatius 6
The first game of the term is always a tough one but Saints was able to utilise some catching, running and batting to score a win this week. Kate Thomas did well on the pitching plate, additionally catching the last out of the inning. Madeleine Penley tried pitching for the first time and had some excellent strikes. Everyone utilised team batting that was covered in training which helped our run count. Congratulations to all players on their first game back! – Claire Hale (Coach)

Year 5/6 Gold – Saints 2 defeated by Pembroke 7
Although the team lost, they all played really well, with some great batting shown. Best players: Lauren Parton and Alannah Godfrey. – Victoria Gilroy (Coach)

TENNIS

Open A – Saints had a bye

Open B – Saints 5-37 defeated Pulteney 1-19
Singles: Maiya Jakupec 6-7, Mia Dodd 6-3, Ruby Deakin 6-0, Annabel Baldwinson 6-3

Division 1 Blue – Saints 3-26 defeated Pulteney 3-25
Singles: Imogen Nienaber 6-5, Taj Shahin 4-6, Daniella Dnistriansky 1-6, Georgia Langley 6-2

Division 1 White – Saints 5-35 defeated Wilderness Blue 1-17
Singles: Chelsea Staples 6-2, Georgia Mallick 6-1, Bridgette Leach 5-6, Charlotte Staples 6-1

Division 2 Blue – Saints 3-38 defeated Pulteney 3-33
Singles: Issy Harker 7-5, Annabelle Langley 4-6, Amelie Eaton 4-6, Milly Wood 7-6

Division 2 White – Saints 2-24 defeated by Wilderness White 4-31
Singles: Adele Eaton 6-3, Cheri Wong 3-6, Eva Young 3-6, Chase Hocking 2-6

Division 3 Blue – Saints 4-28 defeated Pulteney 2-26
Singles: Stella Clark 6-2, Orla Clayton 6-4, Anneliese Thomas 3-6, Faye Ma 6-4

Division 3 White – Saints had a bye

Year 5/6 Division 1 – Saints 4-24 defeated Wilderness Gold 2-13
Singles: Mathilda Thomas 4-1, Winnie Vartuli 1-4, Chloe Richardson 4-0, Sophie Blight 4-1

Year 5/6 Division 3 – Saints 6-24 defeated Pulteney Blue 0-8
Singles: Gloria Zou 4-2, Jerrie Wu 4-1, Emily Bates 4-0, Charlotte Thorpe 4-2

Year 6/7 Knockout – Saints 3-29 defeated Burnside Primary 3-25
Singles: Maiya Jakupec 4-6, Georgia Mallick 3-6, Charlotte Staples 6-2, Bridgette Leach 6-4

TOUCH FOOTBALL

Open A1 – Saints 4 defeated Wilderness 1
This was an excellent effort from the whole team as each player contributed to a range of new set plays allowing us to push through the opposition’s defence quickly. Holly Cunningham and Thandi Murada both scored in the game. It was a great way to start the term and for the Year 12s (Ebony-Jade Nash-Smith, Holly Cunningham, Olivia Harby and Thandi Murada) to end on. Looking forward to the rest of the season! – Eve Habel

Open A2 – Saints 3 drew with St Dominic’s 3
The game was very close, with St Dominic’s scoring their final try in the last minute. It was a great opening game to the season, and the girls showed great skill and persistence throughout. Special mention to Olivia Goldsmith and Ehi Oyugbo (2), our try scorers. – Anna Pryor and Olivia Law

Open C1 – Saints 2 defeated Marryatville 2
An admirable start to the season, especially given half of the team had not played before. The first period was a bit patchy, having forgotten what we have been practising, however after regrouping at half-time, the girls were dominant. Holly Cardone, Poppie Goldsmith and Ashley Piper ran the ball up the middle, Ellie Anderson, Sarah Wishart and Amelia Pudney were elusive on wings, while Isabella Bernardi and Paris Robinson converted the hard work of others. All played well, and we look forward to next week. – Ben Goldsmith

Open C2 – Saints 0 defeated by St Aloysius 3
Our team has many new girls who are also new to Touch Football, having never played before. After the first few minutes of the game, we were a little taken back by how much running was actually needed to play. Some things that were really good included the rucking, with the girls successfully picking up the ball and passing it off to the players out wide. In defence, we ran back quickly, which allowed us to then touch the opposition and not be off-side. Some things we can improve on is running straight for the opposition and taking the touch. Unfortunately, we didn’t win the game, however, for many of us playing for the first time, we were all really proud of ourselves and how we picked up the rules easily. There is always room for improvement and we are all keen to learn and develop more skills throughout the season. – Alice Girdler

Year 7/8 – Saints 0 defeated by Marryatville 2
This was the first match for the majority of our players and it was great for the girls to experience a real game and put their newly-learned Touch skills to the test. Everyone played exceptionally well and received positive comments from the umpire regarding their attack on the ball and defensive skills. We were unlucky not to score, with Madison Liddy breaking through the defense on the wing on three occasions, but not quite making the try line. Ellie Humphrey and Adele Russell also had a couple of opportunities which were cut short by the opposition. Our defence was exceptional for three quarters of the game, but with the girls showing signs of tiredness, two quick tries were scored. It was great to see the improvement in all of the girls who played in Term 1. We will work on attack within 10 meters of the try line and defending on the line. – Tracey Hunt

VOLLEYBALL

Open A – Saints 3 defeated Pulteney 0 (25-17, 25-11, 25-15)
The team played a great first game back on the weekend, defeating Pulteney Grammar 3-0. A big well done to Nicolette Miller who played brilliantly in the front court. Anna White served fantastically and used her voice very well and Georgie Keough set and spiked perfectly. The team is looking forward to having wins like this in the final term. – Brooke Elliott

Open B – Saints 3 defeated Pulteney 0 (25-16, 25-13, 25-12)
The team spent a good deal of time warming up outside before the match, and results showed straight away on court. Players were challenged playing out of their comfort positions, causing some confusion. Clair Kao righted the ship with a serving run that Pulteney had little answer for. Tilly McCormack debuted in the Open Bs and slotted in well with a long serving run and great blocking in the second set. The improvement continued in the third set and the team needed little encouragement from me as they cheered for each other on the court, and ended with a fantastic display of volleyball to close out the match. – Alistair Keough (Coach)

Open C1 – Saints 1 defeated by Immanuel 2 (23-25, 12-25, 25-20)
In what was a see-sawing scoreline in the first set, the Open C team were defeated on paper only. A tense and close first set saw the lead change a number of times, with Pulteney edging away just at the end. The second set started close until Pulteney brought out a server that we struggled to return, losing 13 points in a row. We recovered towards the end of the set but could not return the same serving pressure. Amelie Dunda was able to put the heat on Pulteney in the third set with a great serving run. The rest of the team rallied and took out the third set with great team play. – Alistair Keough (Coach)

Open C2 – Saints had a bye

Middle A – Saints 3 defeated Pulteney 0
At the start of the year, this team was in the Middle B competition, however, due to such improvement, the coaches decided to bump them up to the As. Therefore, we expected this game to be tough and everyone was enthused. As expected, the opposition was really good and gave us a run for our money, yet, due to our strong serving, we were able to hold them off and come home with the win. – Victoria Neale

Middle B – Saints 2 defeated Woodcroft 1
It was a close game for the Middle Bs, but thankfully, we came out with the win. We set some goals at the beginning of the match and achieved every single one of them which is great to see as a coach. – Victoria Neale

Middle C – Saints 0 defeated by Pulteney 3
Unfortunately, Middle Cs lost to a really hard opposition with Pulteney needing four players from their A grade to fill-in. The girls put up a good fight and showed strong determination the whole game. Watching this young group playing such a tough and older opposition and keeping it a close game proved how much potential this team has. – Victoria Neale

Year 6 – Saints 4 defeated Wilderness 0
Lauren Pearce, Ruby Adams and Ruby Powell had amazing serving skills which definitely got the girls the victory. However, all girls played their best and deserved their win. – Ankita Rajbhoj

Year 5 – Saints 0 defeated by Wilderness 5
All five students played an amazing first game despite the loss. While each set progressed, there was clear improvement from each team member as serves more regularly went in and digs/sets went over the net. Overall, a great first game. – Isabella Villani

WATER POLO

Open A – Saints 7 defeated Seymour 3
Saints defeated arch rival Seymour, showing very strong defence with girls dropping back on their centre forward whilst also sticking close to other players. The team developed a strong attack, pulling away from Seymour in the second half. Well done to Alexia Politis for a fantastic effort in her first game in the As. Best player was Nicolette Miller. The girls worked very well together – well done for the first game of the season!

Open B – Saints 11 defeated Mercedes 4
A great effort from the B grade in a very good game with many girls scoring goals. The highest scorer and best player, shooting 5 goals, was Matilda Braithwaite. Great start to the season girls!

Open C – Saints 11 defeated Wilderness 4
With some girls playing at the Adelaide Aquatic Centre for the first time, the nerves quickly settled with all playing very well, spreading out in attack and putting a lot of pressure in defence getting many turn overs. The best players were Tara Young and Ella Waltham. Tara was extremely good in attack, whilst Ella saved many goals when put into goalie. Good game girls!

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Enews – Week 1, Term 4 2018

Issue no. 31Enews-banner

From the Principal

JuliaShea_web-200x300Welcome back to Term 4

NAPLAN
Prior to the holidays, the 2018 NAPLAN results were released. I welcome transparency in student progress and achievement and hence don’t have an issue with NAPLAN per se. Education is a serious business and, like all schools, we should be held accountable. I welcome all data that can be used as a diagnostic tool for teachers to better understand the gaps in their students’ knowledge. NAPLAN does not replace the much deeper, more sophisticated and more frequent formative or summative assessments of student learning conducted by our teachers. It is simply another tool in our toolbox. And let’s keep it in context – it’s a tool utilised for a few hours across three days at four points in a child’s school journey.

That said, there are two issues from my point of view. Because the tests are held in May, and the results not provided until September, they have limited diagnostic value for individual students. The main benefit for the School is to track its performance over time. But even when taking that wider view, mean results can vary significantly given our small cohorts. And with Year 5 and Year 7 in particular being entry points for new students, is it fair for outsiders to conclude that the results of a test taken only months after commencement genuinely reflect the quality of teaching at our School?

The main issue remains with the media and its insistence on generalising about school achievement based on figures obtained from the MySchool website. There is no value in pitting one school against another, particularly when they’re not even on a level playing field. The website compares ‘similar schools’ where ‘similar’ relates to the socio-economic background of its students. But in recent years, some of our similar schools have been academically-selective schools – schools in which the students sit an examination in order to gain entry. How can they be considered similar when we have a comprehensive enrolment policy? And of course this year, we have the added complication of some schools completing the tests online and others using the pen and paper version. The media has been filled with debate around whether results from these two types of tests are comparable.

My point of view is that they are not – they are incomparable. The online version of the test was tailored to the students’ ability. If they answered the first stage easily, the questions would become more difficult; if not, the questions would get easier. In the pen and paper version, a highly capable student may not have left time to attempt the harder questions at the end of the paper. If they’d completed the online version, the harder questions would have been completed. And there were links across the online testing with students who achieved high scores in reading prompted to answer more difficult grammar and punctuation questions. Not so in the pen and paper version. Results indicate that those who completed the writing task online performed better on average than those who used pen and paper. This is most probably due to a student’s ability to easily review and edit their work online in a way that is not possible with a paper test. Apparently, a scaling system was used to bring the results from the two modes of assessment into line. But the transparency around this process has been non-existent.

So, I won’t be placing any value on the comparisons that appear on the MySchool website later this year. I prefer to look at the joy on the faces of the Year 5 girls who performed Mary Poppins JR. and feel the excitement of the students who were part of the Athletics team crowned IGSSA champions for the third year in a row. You cannot reduce those things to a score on a league table and argue that one school is better than another. Such a reductionist view of what we as a School seek to deliver reduces our daughters to a malleable commodity designed to make the School look good.

Next year, we will move to the online version of NAPLAN. Hopefully, this will see a faster turnaround in results allowing staff to actually utilise the information in a meaningful way. And, as a consequence, the media’s temptation to succumb to simplistic headlines will simply move to an earlier time of year!

If you have any concerns with your daughter’s NAPLAN results, please contact the relevant teacher, that being the classroom teacher in Years 3 and 5 and the Maths or English teacher in Years 7 and 9.

Building Works
Thank you to each and every one of you for adhering to the new car park regulations. As you can see, the builders are on site and work on the new Science Centre, including upgrades to the Visual Arts and Pool areas, is about to begin. Obviously, the safety of our girls is paramount, so please stay alert and resist the temptation to be on your mobile phone whilst driving through the car park. Apart from Reception, classes conclude at 3.30pm. The girls then need time to pack their belongings and make their way to the car park. Please arrive after 3.35pm so that your daughter is ready to be collected. Girls in Middle School and Senior School are encouraged to meet their parents in the surrounding streets, thereby limiting the volume of traffic entering the School grounds.

Year 12
It’s hard to believe but this time next week, we’ll be saying farewell to our Year 12 girls. Formalities commence next Wednesday when the Year 11 girls are inducted into their leadership roles. As usual, the staff dance for Celebration Day is looking a little uncoordinated but rest assured, we’ll pull it together on the day! It’s an incredible privilege to watch a group of girls develop into such amazing young women and I look forward to celebrating their incredible achievements with them and their families next Friday.

Staffing
I would like to congratulate Brian Parsons on his appointment as Head of Learning and Teaching at Walford Anglican School for Girls. Brian will take up the position in January next year.

Have a great term!

Julia Shea
Principal

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Year 10s Show Care and Compassion

W1 - Kilburn

“In the second week of the school holidays, the Year 10 Kilburn girls visited the Flinders Cancer Council Lodge as part of the Service Learning program. We decided we would like to support the work of the Cancer Council in a more practical way rather than just fundraising. It was arranged that we would supply morning tea by bringing some baked goods for the patients and their families, as well as providing some board and card games so that we could interact and provide some entertainment for the residents.

I think all of the Kilburn girls would say this was an enlightening experience as we received an insight into some of the vital work the Cancer Council is doing here in South Australia. It also gave us a chance to just talk to someone, a patient or a relative, and learn about where they are from, as many of the people travelled from regional areas to the lodge. Their appreciation and gratitude for the accommodation and facilities and what the Cancer Council does was really inspiring and made us realise how important organisations like this are and why helping is so critical. It also motivated us to want to find more ways to support this vital organisation.” – Siena Kulinski

“It was a good experience as we were able to get to know the organisation we are supporting and understand why we are helping such an important cause.” – Millie Wilkin

“The scones were a delicious way to create an ice-breaker between the patients and families staying at the lodge.” – Hannah Freeman

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Bright Outlook for Solar Rollers

W1 - Year 6

This term, the Year 6 students are required to engage in a collaborative transdisciplinary inquiry process where they will identify, investigate and offer solutions to real-life issues. This unit will also give students the opportunity to apply all the knowledge and skills they have learned while being a part of an IB school. This year, the central idea of focus under the transdisciplinary theme of ‘Sharing the Planet’ is, ‘Global citizens can take action for the future of our planet’.

We were fortunate to have the opportunity this week to investigate the benefits and limitations of solar energy in our world. Through an incursion with Nick from Active Ed, the girls were challenged to build a solar-powered car using their knowledge of electrical circuits. The group enjoyed testing and racing their creations.

Sarah Braithwaite and Kim Butler-Nixon
Year 6 Teachers

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Voyage of Learning for Year 4

W1 - Year 4a

On Tuesday 16 October, the Year 4 students visited the South Australian Maritime Museum. This excursion linked with our central idea, ‘Exploration has led to discovery and change’ through the transdisciplinary theme, ‘Where we are in place and time’.

The students participated in five activities; viewing the museum’s current exhibition through a self-guided tour, a walk up the Port Adelaide Lighthouse, a tour of a replica ketch, an iPad trail on explorers and a boat ride on the Archie Badenoch on the Port River. A major focus was the exploration of Matthew Flinders, Nicholas Baudin and James Cook. This included looking at the artworks from Nicholas Baudin’s voyage, scientific specimens and the navigation instruments that were used.

They really enjoyed:
• The tug boat ride on the Archie Badenoch and seeing the view out of the hatch, then climbing up the lighthouse and looking down at Port Adelaide. – Adjoa
• How we got to see the tiny little kitchen in the ketch because it’s like an oven and stove in one and there was only a tiny little window. – Alyssa
• Looking at all of the ship cabins and how they would have lived in those conditions. They got a lot better over the years. – Emily
• Learning about Matthew Flinders and how he was so important to Australia. – Olivia

Rebecca Riley and Louisa Mitchell
Year 4 Teachers

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Year 10’s Starring Role in Musical Theatre

W1 - Musical Theatre

I have been dancing for 13 years and performing is something I am very passionate about. I have been fortunate enough to have been selected alongside three other performers from Adelaide Youth Theatre (AYT) to head over to Newcastle for a week to attend a Pilot Workshop program for the musical Sister Act JR. I will have the opportunity to work with many other theatre people from all over Australia to put together a 10-minute musical.

As well as this, over the past few months, many other performers with AYT have worked extremely hard to put together two other 10-minute pieces which we will showcase to everyone at the end of the week. This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I am very excited.

Alyssa Tacono
Year 10 student

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Christmas Drinks on the Lawn

Christmas Drinks on the Lawn_FB-1

We would like to thank all members of the St Peter’s Girls’ community for your support by inviting you to celebrate the successes of 2018. Drinks and nibbles will be provided. We encourage children to attend, however they will need to be supervised.

RSVP by 5 November – this is one event not to be missed!

www.trybooking.com/YTTB

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Community Golf Day

W10 - OSA Golf Day 2018_eNews

Hosted by the St Peter’s Girls’ Old Scholars’ Association

Friday 2 November 2018

Mount Osmond Golf Club | 60 Mount Osmond Road | Mount Osmond
Stableford Competition | 18-hole round | Multi-tee start 8.30am

Golf and Lunch: $80
Golf and Lunch (Mount Osmond Golf Club Members): $60
Lunch only: $20

Book via www.trybooking.com/TJZS or contact Megan McCormack on 8334 2239.

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Important Music Dates – Term 4

Basic RGB

Week 2
> Friday 26 October – Celebration Day

Week 4
> Friday 9 November – JS Arts Assembly – Junior Choir, Junior String Orchestra, Just Jazz and soloists – Arts Centre
> Friday 9 November – 11am – Remembrance Day – Year 9/10 Music classes – Arts Centre steps

Week 5
> Monday 12 November 6pm – Wendy Hopkins’ Concert – Years 1 to 5
> Tuesday 13 November 6pm – Wendy Hopkins’ Concert – Years 6 to 11
> Friday 16 November – Year 10 Lunchtime Concert – Arts Centre steps

Week 6
> Friday 23 November – Reception Christmas Assembly – Arts Centre

Week 7
> Monday 26 November – Lesson 1 – Choir – Arts Centre
> Wednesday 28 November 7.30pm – Friends of the Arts AGM – Arts Office
> Thursday 29 November 6.30pm – Years 1 and 2 Nativity – Arts Centre
> Friday 30 November 2.30pm – Year 9 Graduation – School Orchestra, Chamber Choir and Concert Choir – Arts Centre
> Friday 30 November 3.30 – 7pm – Music CD recording – School Orchestra and Chamber Choir – Arts Centre

Week 8
> Tuesday 4 December 6pm – Enchanté live recording – Enchanté – Wizard Tones
> Wednesday 5 December 2.30pm – Year 6 Graduation – Junior Choir – Arts Centre
> Thursday 6 December 7.30am – 3.30pm – Music rehearsals for Carols in the Cathedral and Presentation Night – Chapel and Arts Centre
> Friday 7 December – all day rehearsal and 7pm performance – Presentation Night – Adelaide Town Hall
> Monday 10 December – all day rehearsal and 7pm performance – Carols in the Cathedral – St Peter’s Cathedral

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Friends of Prince Alfred College Present Livvy & Pete

W1 - PAC Livvy & Pete Cabaret

TONIGHT at Prince Alfred College at 7pm!

Book tickets via www.pac.edu.au/news-events/

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Sports News

W1 - Sport

SPORTS FIXTURES

Please note that all of the Term 4 sports draws can be found on the myLink parent portal, which also contains links for match venues. Any changes and cancellations will be conveyed in advance via email and, where possible, directly to parents.

WEATHER POLICY

With summer quickly approaching, a friendly reminder of the Sporting Hot Weather Policy:

Reception to Year 6 (training and matches)
• If the forecast temperature on the Bureau of Meteorology website is 35 degrees or higher, checked anytime before 9am on the day of training or a match, sport is automatically cancelled.
• Morning sessions, Rowing and Water Polo are usually not affected.
• In the event that matches are cancelled due to inclement weather or any unforeseen reason, such as the playing surface is deemed unsafe, the decision to cancel will be made by the Sports Coordinator at the host school no later than 2pm. (refer to cancellation procedures)

Years 7 to 12 (training and matches)
• Mid-week: if the forecast temperature on the Bureau of Meteorology website at 9am predicts the day’s maximum to be 36 degrees or higher, sport will be cancelled.
• Weekends: if at 12pm on the Friday the forecast temperature for Saturday is predicted to be 38 degrees or higher, ALL Saturday morning sport will be cancelled (see below for rowing).
• Inclement Weather: matches will only be cancelled due to rain or inclement weather if it is considered that the conditions determine that the playing surface is unsafe or player safety is compromised (refer to cancellation procedures).
• Morning trainings and Water Polo are usually not affected and ARE NOT to be cancelled.

Rowing
• Cancellations of Rowing training and regattas will be advised by the Director of Rowing.

BASKETBALL

Open A – Saints 29 defeated by Westminster 37
A close game for the team. The girls played with persistence and skill up against a strong side with two State players. Unfortunately, the girls lost but it was a thrilling game to watch and the girls kept their heads up through it all. Bella Bernardi came to fill in for us and was a great member of the team. Best players go to Paris Robinson for her ever-growing persistence and hard work, and to Sivani Sivasuthan for some excellent 3 point shots. I would also like to extend my congratulations to Sarah Matheson who is the new Basketball Captain for 2019, a top team member who very much deserves the position. – Ella Robinson (Captain)

Middle A – Saints 21 defeated by Westminster 60
A tough game against a team full of Division 1 District players and Willow Stewart-Rattray going down with a bad arm injury early in the piece. Taking all of that into account, I was really happy with the way the girls played; they gave 100% effort and improved as the game went on, scoring 16 in the second half. All players contributed and scorers were Bella Parton 9, Indya Dodd 6, Ashlyn May 2, Ellie Humphrey 2 and Sophie Dansie 2. – Brenton Davies (Coach)

Middle B – Saints 18 defeated by Westminster 33
Saints had a good start to the game and were only down by 4 at half-time but were overwhelmed by the opposition’s speed and gave up a lot of lay-ups. Due to short numbers, we had Sophie Dansie and Ellie Humphrey play their second game for the day; they tried gallantly but ran out of legs. Special mention to Sophie Norman who was fantastic all game in rebounding and blocking shots, and Ellie Humphrey who had her best game for the year. Scorers were Sophie Norman 10 and Ellie Humphrey 8. – Brenton Davies (Coach)

LACROSSE

From 30 September to 7 October, Stephanie Smalls and I travelled to Melbourne for the Under 15s National Lacrosse Tournament as part of the Comets team. The Comets are one of three South Australian Girls’ State Development teams and are an IGSSA team introduced in 2013 to encourage more independent school girls to participate in tournaments outside of their school and club teams.

The eight-week training period in the lead up to the tournament proved a huge challenge as our team appeared significantly younger and less experienced than the majority of the other SA girls (our coaches and coordinators later admitted their hope for us was low in the beginning as well!).

Despite this, we trained hard and were determined to play the best lacrosse we could from the beginning of our time together. The teams we played in Melbourne included Fire (VIC), Sparks (VIC), Stars (WA), Waikato (NZ), Ice (VIC) in the Semi-Finals and Storm (SA) in the Grand Final.

Both games against Fire and Ice came down to just one goal. The Comets fought extremely well against some very tough, experienced teams and did very well to make it to the Grand Final.

For a team that many people underestimated initially, we are proud of the progress we made and how far we went into the competition. The week unfortunately ended with a loss to Storm, which meant SA placed first, second and fifth in the tournament overall. Despite this, the Grand Final was our first loss of the week as we had beaten all of our previous competitors. The Comets placed 6th in the tournament last year and to make it to the end this year entirely exceeded our expectations of what our team could do.

I was lucky enough to be elected as one of three Co-Captains of the team and have loved watching each player develop and improve their skills throughout the training period and the tournament week. Stephanie and I are very grateful for the opportunity we were given and the awesome time we had in Melbourne. – Isabelle Norman

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