Issue no. 37

From the Assistant Director of Early Learning

The ELC community celebrated our amazing year during our ELC Christmas Celebration last Friday evening. The children had been looking forward to this event for many weeks as they practised, learnt dances and marked off days on the calendar. While some naturally gravitate towards the stage and are eager to perform in front of a large crowd, other children are more hesitant and prefer to modify their participation that fits their confidence and stage of development.

In the ELC, we provide numerous opportunities for the children to grow their confidence in performing in front of others. Performing through song and dance develops children’s confidence, wellbeing, self-esteem and social skills. It was heartwarming to watch the School’s youngest students experience the joy of Christmas, sharing their favourite songs with their families.

The event also celebrated our new Learning Community model. The children, educators and families have brought this vision to life each and every day as they have worked in collaboration across the ELC exploring big concepts including sustainability, democracy, Kaurna culture and language, and creating an ELC Community Garden. At our celebration on Friday evening, we shared these investigations with our families through songs in Kaurna, Chinese and Japanese. We shared the joy in singing and dancing together as a community. This year, we have celebrated some wonderful achievements, and in times of need, we have pulled together, held each other’s hand, and walked side-by-side.

We took the opportunity at our celebration to thank Mrs Fiona Patten. Fiona has worked as our ELC Music Teacher for a number of years, and the children have really enjoyed learning music with her. After the celebration performance, our community came together to enjoy a picnic on Chiverton Lawns. It is one of the most loved and enjoyed events on the ELC calendar. The atmosphere was festive as families and educators mingled and shared our Saints Girls’ spirit. We thank Mercato and Chesini House who kindly donated pizza that was shared at the picnic, and the Friends of the ELC for their ongoing support. Our 2020 Prefect Team was a perfect addition to the evening, showing their commitment to their leadership responsibilities within our community.

On behalf of the ELC, we wish our extended community a very Merry Christmas.

Kirsty Porplycia
Assistant Director of Early Learning

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SaintsTV Rocks Red Carpet at ARIAs

SaintsTV, the School’s newly-established show created by and screened to students, has provided an abundance of media production activities for girls in Years 7 – 12. In particular, we were absolutely thrilled to be given the opportunity of a lifetime in attending the 2019 ARIA Awards on the red carpet this week to interview talented music artists. In working with Mr Coulter and Mr Davidson, we spent lunches and recess times to prepare for the big event. This included training on interview skills, question types, camera work and overall presentation.

Upon early arrival at the venue, the Star Sydney, we were surprised at how many familiar faces we recognised before the opening of the red carpet. We were fortunate to introduce ourselves to Khalid’s performing artists and dancers and talk about their experiences. We would never have imagined meeting Daryl Braithwaite, Jessica Mauboy, Scotty Tweedie, the cast of the School of Rock musical, and so many more incredible performers, including Old Scholar Erin McKellar (Patteson 2013), who was there with a new band she’s been coaching, Girl Nation. It truly was an amazing day and one we won’t forget.

Lucy Young and Soph Stewart
SaintsTV students

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2019 Saints’ Sporting Success

At the annual IGSSA Sports Awards evening, Saints Girls topped the ladder as the most successful of the 10 independent girls’ schools in the association in 2019. Across all of the sports played within the association through summer and winter, and including the shields and pennants on offer, 9 of the 10 schools won at least 1 of these, but I am proud to say that Saints won 11 in total, with the nearest rival being Immanuel College with 6.

In addition to the above success, Saints also had winning teams in Touch Football, Water Polo, Triathlon, Rowing, Aerobics, Cross Country, and a State Knockout trophy in Softball.

The success of our program starts at the grassroots where we continue to offer and provide opportunities of skill development through a variety of activities run by Kelly Sports, with specialist coaching also available in Tennis, Soccer and Netball.

As students progress through the year levels, a broader range of sports and activities are available, with many girls trying a variety of these. We seek and employ quality coaches who are supported by a number of keen and experienced staff members and Old Scholars.

I continue to be proud of working at Saints Girls and appreciate the opportunity to work with girls of all ages and watch their progress.

Neil Fuller
Director of Sport

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Back to the Futures – Market and Expo

Our Year 7 and 8 Futures students ran a special Market Day stall yesterday, the culmination of a semester spent developing a social enterprise business that addresses a problem they are passionate about solving. The market was an opportunity for girls to test whether their product has been successful and also whether it achieves their desired social or environmental goal. In the evening, parents and students were invited to attend the Futures Expo to celebrate their achievements.

Awards were given to the following groups:

Best Overall Business – ‘Alofa 4 Africa’
Charlie Piper, Astrid Teague, Zara Blight, Charlotte Norman

Most Likely to Produce Environmental Change – ‘OneStraw’
Mathilda Thomas, Grace Richards, Amelia Lucas, Isabella Lowry

Mentor Award – ‘Packs for a Purpose’
Ayanna Roy, Jordan Siaosi, Georgina Wakeham, Lila Gosse, Zoe Pool

Mentor Award – ‘Blanket Blend’
Grace Beaumont, Jasreet Mavi, Emily Holloway, Lydia Tolley

Mentor Award – ‘Queen Beez’
Lilli Bennett, Olivia Slivak, Georgia Hoskins, Georgia Evans

Mentor Award – ‘GigglePots’
Ayla Blaskett, Stephanie Andrejewskis, Georgia Mallick, Tara Nedumaran

Mentor Award – ‘Second Chance’
Abigail Papps, Madison Liddy, Alysa Trinh, Bronwyn Gautier

Mentor Award – ‘Eco Clutch’
Emilia Libri, Annie Bui, Ruby Croston-Melling, Maddy Penley

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Year 1 and 2 Performers Star at Nativity

Each and every star on stage shone brightly in the Years 1 and 2 Nativity on Wednesday evening. The traditional story of Christmas was re-told through the stage production of I’m Gonna Shine. Storytellers narrated the tale, which began in Heaven with the stars introducing Gloria, the shiniest star of all.

Led by the stars on the long, dusty road, the Wise Men met many folk along the way. Trouble was averted when they wisely avoided visiting King Herod’s Palace for a second time after it was clear that his ruthless and selfish nature could up-end this historic tale. Instead, the ever-shining Gloria led the Wise Men and followers to the stable where little Baby Jesus lay dancing in his manger, bringing peace and joy to the world. This experience provided glorious opportunities for the Year 1 and 2 girls to develop excellent communication skills, which supported great risk-taking and confidence-building. We are so proud of their commitment and creativity in learning their parts for this outstanding performance!

Kathryn Clark
Year 2 Teacher

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New Chapter for Year 5s and their Buddies

Year 5SH students have been working industriously over the past few weeks to create a children’s picture book suitable to share with their Mid-Year Reception buddies.

The process involved a great deal of discussion both at home and school about the content of their proposed stories, as well as in-class discussions about suitable vocabulary. We started the writing as a BIG WRITE in class about the overall storyline, which then was broken down to a picture book of two lines per page. The creation of the books was differentiated to allow the girls to develop them as their learning preference allowed. Some used apps like Book Creator and Sketches on their iPads, others sourced and modified images from the internet, and some drew their books by hand.

This was a great success academically, and at the end point, socially, as the girls enthusiastically shared their books with their buddies.

Shelley Hampton
Year 5 Teacher

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Young Composers’ Award Concert

On Monday evening, Year 7 students Scarlett Dillon, Apurva Ichalkaranje and Naadiya Ishaq performed their award-winning song That’s The Key at the Young Composers’ Award Concert. Joined by Daisy Kennett and Charlotte Norman, the girls did a wonderful job of singing their original song to a packed audience at St Mary’s College Performing Arts Theatre. Many other young composers also performed their original compositions in a variety of styles. It was a truly entertaining evening.

Following the performances, the awards were announced, and our girls claimed 2nd place! The awards are very competitive with hundreds of entrants, so well done girls!

Our School has been entering a large number of original compositions into the Young Composers’ Award over the past couple of years, and we look forward to more fabulous original Saints’ music and performances in the future.

Robyn Habel
Music Teacher

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Meet Our New Board Members

Following an extensive, independent recruitment process, St Peter’s Girls’ School is delighted to announce the appointment of two new members to our highly-experienced, voluntary Board of Governors.

Ms Michelle Kennedy
An expert in infrastructure and project management, Michelle Kennedy is the City of Burnside’s Group Manager, Assets and Infrastructure, and a Non-Executive Director on the Board of Engineers Australia. She holds a Master of Business Administration, and is a Fellow of Engineers Australia, a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and an accredited Engineering Executive. Previously, she has held key management roles with Adelaide City Council and SA Water. Michelle is an advocate for STEM education, having been involved in several initiatives aimed at igniting in girls a spark for STEM, with a focus on engineering.

Mr Paul Sherlock
Paul Sherlock is the University of South Australia’s first Chief Information Officer, with overall responsibility for Library and IT services. Prior to joining the university in 2001, he held senior ICT management roles at the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) and BHP. Paul’s knowledge and expertise as a tertiary education leader are regularly sought within Australia and overseas, and he has conducted independent reviews for several universities. In addition, he has been appointed by the Commonwealth government to boards and steering committees for major research infrastructure projects. Paul is particularly passionate about quality education and the opportunities it provides.

The School congratulates these outstanding industry leaders on their appointments and we look forward to seeing their contributions in lifting St Peter’s Girls to even greater heights.

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Upcoming Events

Carols in the Cathedral
St Peter’s Cathedral
Tuesday 3 December
Students to arrive at 6.30pm, doors open at 7pm
Carols in the Cathedral is a compulsory event for students in Years 4 – 12.

Presentation Night
Adelaide Town Hall
Monday 9 December
Students arrive at 6.30pm (unless advised otherwise by the Music Department)
Doors open at 7pm
Presentation Night is a compulsory event for students in Years 7 – 12.

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Junior School Vacation Care

Our next awesome instalment of Junior School Vacation Care is almost here. We have some great activities guaranteed to keep the children entertained through the break. With an array of excursions and on-site adventures, there is plenty of fun to be had.

Vacation Care – December 2019 / January 2020 Program

Places are limited, so please click here to secure your booking now!

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OSHC Temporary Relocation

Parents of R – 6 students are advised that the OSHC program, which was based in the Food Tech building, has been temporarily relocated to the transportable on the Oval.

To access the transportable, please use the main staircase outside the Stott Wing (with the St Peter’s Girls’ sign). Children will need to be dropped off and collected from the transportable.

Beck Kranz
OSHC Supervisor

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Parent Year Level Representatives for 2020

We are now recruiting and looking forward to receiving nominations for Parent Year Level Reps for 2020!

We thank our 2019 Year Level Reps for their amazing efforts and dedication to the role in our 125th year. There have been so many fantastic year level events which wouldn’t have been possible without our valued volunteers.

In early 2020, Melissa and Fiona from the Community Relations Office will be holding a meeting in which Year Level Reps will be invited to attend, along with the presidents of our community groups at the School. This collaborative information session will set the scene for our 2020 events and give our Year Level Reps the opportunity to appropriately plan their year level events.

If you are a current parent and interested in becoming a Year Level Rep in 2020, or you would like to nominate someone in your year level, please contact us as soon as possible.

Thank you in advance for your kind consideration.

Melissa Westgate
mwestgate@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au

Fiona McGregor
fmcgregor@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au

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IT Hub Holiday Availability

Are you getting your daughter a new device for Christmas that will need to have the School data on it for 2020? What do you do if a device stops working during the holidays?

You won’t need to wait for school to return as the IT Hub will be open for much of the upcoming holidays from 8am to 4pm Monday to Friday. Please note, it will be closed from 23 December 2019 to 3 January 2020.

IT Hub

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School Shop Reminder – Year 3 Parents

Parents/Guardians of Current Year 3 Students:

As your daughter will be in Year 4 next year, there are a few different uniform items you will need to purchase before Term 1, 2020.

The junior blazer (cardigan) is replaced by a navy blue jumper and a blazer. The rash vest and solar pant is replaced by the School bathers.

It is advisable to make an appointment on 8334 2228, as the School Shop is currently working through new student fittings.

School Shop

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Charging for Charity – Cambodia Service Learning Trip

To support fundraising for the Cambodia Service Learning Trip, the fundraising team is selling portable chargers for just $40 via www.trybooking.com/BEYTR.

We are all very excited to take part in this trip, making life-long memories and seeing the impact of our fundraising in a community where we can improve the quality of life.

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The Athlete’s Foot – School Rewards Program

The Parents’ and Friends’ Association is excited to be collaborating with the amazing team at The Athlete’s Foot, Burnside by joining their School Rewards Program.

This is a great fundraising opportunity, with $5 from every pair of shoes purchased being donated back to our School. This applies for each pair of shoes purchased for the whole family, across the complete in-store range of sports, school, work and casual shoes.

So head on down to The Athlete’s Foot at Burnside and check out their exclusive MyFit 3D fitting technology.

Please check the School’s uniform policy to ensure shoes are approved before purchasing.

The Athlete’s Foot – School Rewards Program Information

Bronwyn Bartter
Parents’ and Friends’ Association President

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Sports News

AUSSIE RULES

Year 5/6 Blue – Saints *no score provided
In the last game of the short season, I am proud of the way the girls have developed and worked as a team. The continued improvement each week is a credit to the hard work at training. The constant questions about what makes a good player and, “Am I doing this right?”,  were testament to their eagerness to learn. They played an unreal game including kicking and tackling. I hope the girls had a great time and continue to play in the future; with dedication and determination, they will continue to develop their skills. – Milli Gentle (Coach)

Year 5/6 White – Saints 5.4 = 34 defeated Pembroke Green 4.1 = 25
Playing their last game for the season, all the girls were excited to get out there and have a final run around. With Pembroke only having 9 girls, we played 9-a-side for the match. It started off to be a really tight game, with all Saints Girls tackling hard. It was great to see Lyra Cox, Lucy Shigeno, Valerie Ng, Pollyanna Townsend and Olivia Reynolds make some great tackles, stopping Pembroke from getting a run on. We scored the most goals we have had in a game so far with Januri Wagaarachchi and Anna Venning kicking 2, and Levanya De Silva scoring 1. Jiahui Zhang, Olivia Ng, Penelope Gapes and Kate Thomas all cleared the ball well from stoppages and were able to kick it downfield towards our forward line, setting up scoring opportunities. Finally, a big thank you to Sophia Holoviak for being our cheerleader and coming out to support us in our final game. – Lane Trenorden (Coach)

TENNIS

Junior Division 1 – Saints 4-22 defeated Concordia 2-11
Singles: Chloe Richardson 1-4, Sophie Blight 4-0, Nicole Wang 4-1, Alison Francis 4-0

Junior Division 2 – Saints 3-21 defeated St Ignatius 3-17
Singles: Alexandra Nguyen 4-3, Jerrie Wu 3-4, Shirley Liu 4-0, Charlotte T 2-4

Junior Division 3 – Saints 4-21 defeated Seymour Purple 1-9
Singles: Lily Forby 4-2, Abbie An 4-1, Freya Hermann 4-0, Amelia Olesen 1-4

TOUCH FOOTBALL

Middle B – Saints 4 defeated by Sacred Heart 6
Saints started off in a tricky situation when a try was scored against us in the first few minutes. The team persevered and evened the score, with Amy Dillon being a crucial player, securing two spectacular tries down the wing, including one in the opening minutes of the game. Tries were also scored by Jasmine Segredos and Mathilda Thomas. An exciting moment was when Mathilda intercepted the ball mid-pass and was centimetres from scoring when she was unfortunately touched on the hem of her shirt. It was a well-played match against a strong opponent, and throughout this term, we have really improved as a team. It was the end of an excellent season. – Apurva Ichalkaranje

VOLLEYBALL

Year 5/6 Blue – Saints 2 drew with Seymour White 2
The game was incredibly close with both teams playing so well. Seymour won the first set, and Saints took out the second and third. A fourth set was played, which Seymour won, making the score 2-all. – Ava Loechel (Coach)

Year 5/6 White – Saints 3 defeated Seymour Green 0
My team of Asha, Tina, Chanel, Charlie, and Eala did a great job. I have been very proud of the girls for trying so hard and really focusing during the games, which was demonstrated this week with a 3-set win: 25-13, 25-23, and 25-21. Every week, the girls try to set a goal for the day. In the past, we have tried to high-five every point, cheer on teammates every serve, or work on serves during the matches. This time, the girls tried to master communicating with each other. This has been a season-long challenge and I think they really started to get the hang of it. The girls have learned to be more confident in their abilities and are no longer nervous or afraid to make the call. This has been a great improvement for the team. – Jess Dreswick (Coach)

Year 5/6 Black – Saints 1 defeated by Seymour Purple 2
The team of Alannah Godfrey, Bettina Dal Cin, Ruby Clark and Anna Venning really improved throughout the game, especially in the second set. Anna played well all-round and Alannah did some really great returns off serves. – Georgina Keough (Coach)

WATER POLO

Year 7/8 – Saints 7 defeated by Wilderness 9
The team was unlucky to lose the final game. Despite some outstanding work in goal by Ashlyn May and Scarlett Dillon, there were often times that girls wanted to score more than defend, allowing Wilderness players to find space behind the defence. Lauren Parton and Charlotte Norman both fought strongly against their opponents, and Claudia Pearce and Sophie Ricciuto were continually putting up strong blocks. All of the girls have developed a better understanding of the game; it has been great coaching them and I hope they continue with the sport in the future. – Gemma Rowe (Coach)

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Issue no. 36

From the Director of Teaching and Learning

The importance of feedback in education contexts is generally well understood. Our Continuous Reporting model in Years 7 – 12 is built around the timely and specific feedback that our teachers provide for our students on particular assessment tasks. Teachers are continually reviewing their practices and considering ways in which their feedback processes can be further enhanced so that students have a clear picture of what they did well, and where and how they can improve.

Professor John Hattie’s landmark 2009 study ‘Visible Learning’ identified feedback as a key influence on positive student outcomes. Interestingly, Hattie explained that feedback is ‘most powerful when it is from the student to the teacher…when teachers seek, or are at least open to, feedback from students as to what students know, what they understand, where they make errors, when they have misconceptions, when they are not engaged – then teaching and learning can be synchronised and powerful. Feedback to teachers helps to make learning visible.’

Many of our teachers already seek feedback from their students. Our Learning Management System, Canvas, enables students to post comments about assignments and grades. We also encourage teachers to seek feedback from their classes as part of our annual Growth and Learning Review self-reflection process. This term, we are trialling a more formalised student feedback system with four Year 8 classes. Students will be sent a link to a set of questions about their teacher, and they will be given some time in class to reflect on their learning experiences and then complete their responses. This approach gives the students a voice and is just one of the many ways in which we are continually seeking to refine our practices here at Saints Girls. Our plan is to use these student feedback surveys across Years 7 – 12 in Terms 2 and 4 2020.

Nigel Scoggins
Director of Teaching and Learning

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Performing Arts on the EDGE

Over the past three Monday afternoons, 10 students having been singing, dancing and performing with musical theatre guest artist Michael Griffiths. This launched our Performing Arts EDGE program to extend our ‘triple threat’ students and develop repertoires so they are prepared to perform at various school events.

Michael, who adjudicated our Choral Night this year, brought with him a wealth of knowledge and experience which he has gained from years of performing in musicals around Australia and overseas, and in creating his own highly successful cabaret shows. During these sessions, the students worked hard to develop three musical theatre numbers from Rent, Little Shop of Horrors and Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

Kate Burnett
Head of The Arts

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Christmas Snow Show Melts Hearts

The countdown to Christmas is well and truly underway at Stonyfell!

This morning, our Reception and Mid-Year Reception students took to the stage in the Arts Centre for their Christmas Celebration. Fellow Junior School students, staff and proud parents watched on as the girls brought a merry story to life and shared their favourite elements of the festive season.

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A Message from the 2020 Music Prefect

As a past vocal student of Wendy Hopkins, I always enjoy attending her Junior and Senior end-of-year concerts. Not only are the audience always treated to a wonderful performance from students of all ages, but the students themselves are given the opportunity to perform a solo piece (sometimes for the first time!) in front of a big, very encouraging audience.

Alongside these vocal concerts, last week, Mrs Kitching’s Year 10 Drama class performed their final assessment for the year. The incredibly powerful, hour-long piece titled Same explored generational differences in the use of social media and the strength of relationships. I am constantly impressed by the incredibly talented, extremely hard-working students from younger year levels and am very excited to see what Wendy’s students and the Year 10s have in store for us in 2020! It is valuable experiences in our Performing Arts and Music programs, such as being able to sing a solo in front of an audience and working collaboratively to produce a polished theatre production, that provide us girls with opportunity for self-growth and self-expression. In the lead up to our annual Carols in the Cathedral service and Presentation Night, the improvement of all Music students in what they play and their dedicated, committed nature always inspires me to continue applying myself fully and pursuing what I love. Should we choose to have confidence within ourselves and push ourselves out of our comfort zones, I believe our Performing Arts programs provide something for all students at Saints to enjoy and achieve excellence within. I am very humbled to have been chosen as Music Prefect for 2020 and I am looking forward to being a part of the further growth of our wonderful Arts Department and welcoming more students to the community.

Isabelle Norman
2020 Music Prefect

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Ethics Olympiad Champions

On Tuesday 19 November, two teams of five Saints Girls visited Loreto College to participate in the first Middle School Ethics Olympiad. The girls were challenged to think critically about ethical ideas in a collaborative and creative manner in competition with other schools around Adelaide on topics like caring for the environment, personal privacy and lying.

Many of the those participating were new to philosophy and ethics, so it was particularly exciting when one of our teams placed 1st in the State Finals. We are yet to hear the results of the other team but are immensely proud of all girls for participating and are happy to end the year on a high note.

Emily Teague
Year 9 student

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Volleyballers Dig Deep for Glory

Middle As defeat Immanuel 2-1

Finals time! To finish off a fantastic season, the Middle As played Immanuel College for the school pennant. The girls entered the game with a mix of excitement and nerves.

Unfortunately, Immanuel had a strong start and won the first set. Despite this loss, the girls kept their heads high with encouragement from our experienced players Lucy White, Ruby Deakin and Toni Christiansen. They fought back to win the second set.

In a tight and tense third set, Saints jumped to an early lead. Sivanthi Sivasuthan was a stand-out player; although not as tall as the rest of the girls, she made some important blocks, winning numerous valuable points to secure the win.

It was a great team effort not only from the girls on the court but also those on the bench continually cheering and supporting their teammates. This win was a wonderful end to a very successful year for the Middle A Volleyball team and it has been a pleasure to coach these girls.

Victoria Neale
Volleyball Coach

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Minister Honours Inspirational Saints Girls

South Australia’s Education Minister John Gardner has recognised Sarah Pike, Sabrina Passelli and Mahala Truscott for their remarkable work on the correction of club foot disability in Bangladeshi children by presenting them with the Minister for Education’s Children’s Week Senior Student Contribution Award.

With the assistance of professional mentoring, the girls designed an improved sole which will encourage more dedicated four-year wearing of brace shoes, as is required to complete correction of the disability. The girls donated their $5,000 in prize money from winning the inaugural Shark Tank eSchool challenge to support the cause.

“The achievement of these young citizens is truly inspiring, and they deserve recognition for the great work they are doing in their school life and within their community,” Mr Gardner said.

“These young people demonstrate the ideal qualities that will make them excellent leaders and influencers who will have a positive impact on the future of our State.”

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Saints Girls Learn the Art of Giving

On Friday 15 November, the Year 10 Patteson girls travelled to Splashout Art Studios in support of our House Charity, Little Heroes Foundation. Little Heroes is a South Australian-based, non-for-profit organisation that supports seriously ill children and their families.

The aim of our excursion was to produce a series of six artworks that could either be auctioned to provide funds for the foundation, or be displayed in the foundation office to uplift the spirits of the families. We were fortunate enough to be mentored by the co-owners of Splashout and experienced artists Krystyna and Jenny, as well as foundation ambassador, Olympic Cycling Gold medallist Anna Meares. Speaking with Anna was so insightful; all the girls learnt so much about her sporting career and the many life lessons she has experienced throughout her journey.

In order to produce these artworks, we worked in pairs and spent half an hour on each piece in rotation. This was challenging as we had to all add our own touch to every painting, whilst respecting the work of the other girls.

Amongst the many highlights of the day was presenting Anna with a cheque which totalled the sum of all of the fundraising efforts of the Patteson girls over the past few years. The day was a wonderful opportunity for the Home Group to bond, learn some important lessons from Anna, gain some artistic skills from Krystyna and Jenny, assist Little Heroes, and produce some amazing artworks!

Lara Wakeham
Year 10 student

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Wave of Knowledge for Year 5s

In Science, the Year 5 girls have been exploring marine ecosystems, learning about adaptations and human impact on our oceans. They have found this study fascinating and have been highly engaged with their learning, creating infographics to raise awareness about plastic pollution, climate change, habitat destruction and rising water levels. On Friday of Week 5, we travelled to Christies Beach to undertake a beach ‘clean-up’.

We were delighted to find a relatively clean beach, but still managed to rid it of plastic. At school, the girls went through the rubbish, sorting the items into recycling and landfill, using mathematical thinking questions to reflect upon the data they’d found.

The girls also visited Port Noarlunga Reef, where they had the opportunity to embark on a guided tour along the shoreline and venture out to sea onto the reef. They thoroughly enjoyed exploring the reef, learning about the creatures that inhabit this environment and understanding the differences between grazers, predators and filter feeders. They enjoyed learning about the formation of the reef, intrigued by the Dreaming story, detailing how a spear was thrown off a cliff by indigenous Australian Mullawirraburka, with the spear head breaking to form the reef, providing an abundance of fish forevermore.

Olivia Coulter, Shelley Hampton and Sarah Mulraney
Year 5 Teachers

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Foundation Community Golf Day

 
A huge thank you to our 13 sponsors and 56 community members who attended our St Peter’s Girls’ Foundation Community Golf Day at Mount Osmond Golf Club on Thursday 14 November. Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors and our major sponsor Southern Cross Cleaning, over $8,000 was raised for the Foundation, which will go towards our ongoing building works around the School.

On the green, the competition was fierce with a great mix of Old Scholars, current parents and supplier groups from our fantastic and supportive School community.

Congratulations to our winning Ambrose Team of current parents Toby and Primrose Langley, Bec Farquhar (Selwyn 1988) and Pieter de Witt. The winner of our annual Old Scholars’ Cup was Pam Hamilton (nee Cherry, Patteson 1966) – amazing work Pam!

We are currently in the planning stages for our 2020 events. If you have an interest in golf, feedback or advice and would like to participate in future years, please get in touch via mwestgate@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au.

Melissa Westgate
Foundation Manager

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Bushfire Action Plan

In light of recent fire danger, it is timely to remind families about the School’s Bushfire Action Plan.

The policy was developed in consultation with the CFS, MFS, Education Department and other stakeholders to ensure staff and students are prepared in the event of an emergency. A routine bushfire drill initially scheduled for Wednesday was postponed due to weather conditions and was instead conducted today. Staff guided students to the Arts Centre, which is the designated Bushfire Ready Building for St Peter’s Girls.

For more information, you can access our Bushfire Action Plan on the myLink parent portal by clicking the ‘School Documents’ menu item, followed by the ‘Whole School’ tab.

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IT Hub Holiday Availability

Are you getting your daughter a new device for Christmas that will need to have the School data on it for 2020? What do you do if a device stops working during the holidays?

You won’t need to wait for school to return as the IT Hub will be open for much of the upcoming holidays from 8am to 4pm Monday to Friday. Please note, it will be closed from 23 December 2019 to 3 January 2020.

IT Hub

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Gingerbread Challenge Spices Up

As part of our final unit on ‘Celebrations’ in the Year 10 World of Food class, we have been designing and creating gingerbread houses. Students have researched the many designs of houses with the aim of creating their own unique product. They have been required to create the templates for each of the walls and roof of their structure to ensure it fits together. They have also planned and ordered all aspects of the product such as the decorations and ingredients. They have considered the time available and appropriate storage and temperature control to ensure their creations are completed to a hospitality industry standard. This year’s creations have certainly been very impressive such as a reproduction of the School Chapel pictured above.

Jenni Manson and the Year 10 World of Food class

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Geography Students Sample Food Forest

On 13 November, the Year 9 Geography cohort made their way to the Gawler Food Forest as part of an ongoing investigation surrounding permaculture and the overarching themes of sustainability that have underscored all the topics we have studied throughout the year. At the Food Forest, we were greeted by Graham Brookman, the Co-Founder of the farm who, alongside his wife Annemarie, aims to demonstrates how an ordinary family with a typical Australian income can grow their own food and create a productive and diverse landscape. Listening to Graham explain the various facets of permaculture and the way the family has built their farm up from nothing was an incredibly valuable experience, as he is clearly very passionate about the work he does. We were then given the opportunity to purchase produce from the Food Farm, and we all agreed that there was an immense difference in the quality and taste of this produce compared with that which you would buy at many shops. This visit was one that I’m sure our class will value for a very long time, and the information we learnt from Graham will be applicable well into the future.

Lucy Moten
Year 9 Geography student

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Parents’ and Friends’ Association AGM

Thank you to everyone who came along to our AGM on Monday 18 November at the Feathers Hotel.

Our 2020 Executive for the Parents’ and Friends’ Association is:

President – Bronwyn Bartter
Vice President – Neil Pahuja
Treasurer – Maria Caruso
Secretary – Danielle Giuliani-Palmieri

We’d like to take this opportunity to thank Malcolm Godfrey for his terrific work as Treasurer in 2019.

Looking forward to a fantastic 2020 with lots of P&F Association events to celebrate our wonderful St Peter’s Girls’ School community!

Bronwyn Bartter
President of the Parents’ and Friends’ Association

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Junior School Vacation Care

Our next awesome instalment of Junior School Vacation Care is almost here. We have some great activities guaranteed to keep the children entertained through the break. With an array of excursions and on-site adventures, there is plenty of fun to be had.

Vacation Care – December 2019 / January 2020 Program

Places are limited, so please click here to secure your booking now!

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OSHC Temporary Relocation

Parents of R – 6 students are advised that the OSHC program, which was based in the Food Tech building, has been temporarily relocated to the transportable on the Oval.

To access the transportable, please use the main staircase outside the Stott Wing (with the St Peter’s Girls’ sign). Children will need to be dropped off and collected from the transportable.

Beck Kranz
OSHC Supervisor

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Year Level Representatives for 2020

We are now recruiting and looking forward to receiving nominations for Year Level Reps for 2020!

We thank our 2019 Year Level Reps for their amazing efforts and dedication to the role in our 125th year. There have been so many fantastic year level events over the past year which wouldn’t have been possible without our valued volunteers.

In early 2020, Melissa and Fiona from the Community Relations Office will be holding a meeting in which Year Level Reps will be invited to attend, along with the presidents of our community groups at the School. This collaborative information session will set the scene for our 2020 events and give our Year Level Reps the opportunity to appropriately plan their year level events.

If you are interested in becoming a Year Level Rep in 2020 or you would like to nominate someone in your year level, please contact us as soon as possible.

Thank you in advance for your kind consideration.

Melissa Westgate
mwestgate@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au

Fiona McGregor
FMcGregor@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au

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School Shop Reminder – Year 3 Parents

Parents/Guardians of Current Year 3 Students:

As your daughter will be in Year 4 next year, there are a few different uniform items you will need to purchase before Term 1, 2020.

The junior blazer (cardigan) is replaced by a navy blue jumper and a blazer. The rash vest and solar pant is replaced by the School bathers.

It is advisable to make an appointment on 8334 2228, as the School Shop is currently working through new student fittings.

School Shop

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Charging for Charity – Cambodia Service Learning Trip

To support fundraising for the Cambodia Service Learning Trip, the fundraising team is selling portable chargers for just $40 via www.trybooking.com/BEYTR.

We are all very excited to take part in this trip, making life-long memories and seeing the impact of our fundraising in a community where we can improve the quality of life.

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The Athlete’s Foot – School Rewards Program

The Parents’ and Friends’ Association is excited to be collaborating with the amazing team at The Athlete’s Foot, Burnside by joining their School Rewards Program.

This is a great fundraising opportunity, with $5 from every pair of shoes purchased being donated back to our School. This applies for each pair of shoes purchased for the whole family, across the complete in-store range of sports, school, work and casual shoes.

So head on down to The Athlete’s Foot at Burnside and check out their exclusive MyFit 3D fitting technology.

Please check the School’s uniform policy to ensure shoes are approved before purchasing.

The Athlete’s Foot – School Rewards Program Information

Bronwyn Bartter
Parents’ and Friends’ Association President

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Sports News

AUSSIE RULES

Cancelled due to weather

BASKETBALL

Middle C1 – Saints 12 defeated by Pembroke 24
The girls played their best but, unfortunately, went down by 12 in the end. Lilli Bennett hit a 3 for the first score of the game. I decided to try the girls in a 2-3 zone to see how they’d go; we had never run one before and, surprisingly, the girls understood it very well. We were able to stop Pembroke from scoring and went on a 6 – 0 scoring run! – Sharnee Jones (Coach)

Middle C2 – Saints 2 defeated by Pembroke 38
This was the last game to wrap up basketball for the year. The girls improved in their defence as the game went on but, unfortunately, were not able to sink baskets despite several close shots. They enjoyed some party food afterwards to celebrate the end of the season. They should all be very proud of how far they have come in such a short period of time. Well done! – Louise Neale (Coach)

Year 6/7 – Harry Long Carnival
Saints entered the annual Harry Long Carnival for Primary Schools in the shortened round-robin format. Saints won the first game against Pembroke easily then lost by 5 points to Trinity, who had many district girls playing, so to be that close was a great effort. The next two games could have gone either way, with the first against St John’s close throughout, but we lost by the 1 point. The following game, we drew with Seymour. In both of those games, the results could have been wins if we had shot better from the foul line.

In our final game, we met the undefeated Westminster and played our best game for the day, winning by 7. It showed how well the girls can play when they are on their game and making foul shots. Westminster went on to win the Grand Final, so it makes our final game win even better. The team gelled well as the day progressed to finish with 2 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses to place 4th overall. – Brenton Davies (Coach)

ROWING

Saturday 16 November saw two regattas take place at West Lakes: Round the Island and a Junior Regatta. Unfortunately, our Senior crews were forced to withdraw from Round the Island due to illness. Round the Island is a major early-season target and a good indicator of form. Our Seniors were disappointed to not contest the event, but will have ample opportunities to test themselves throughout the rest of the season.

Our Junior crews competed in the Junior Regatta that followed. It was very satisfying to see the Year 8/9 A Crew of Chloe Porter, Maddy Harrex, Lilly Maerschel, Isabel Burmester and Alicia Toh (Cox) win their first round and notch their first race win of the season. However, at this stage of the season, process is more important than outcomes, and it was even more promising to see how all of our crews rowed. They showed substantial improvement from their performances at the two previous regattas of the season (Murray Bridge Regatta and West Lakes Regatta). The technical improvements that all of our Junior crews have made were reflected in their performances, both in times and placings. If our Junior crews can continue to make improvements at this rate, I look forward to seeing what they are capable of achieving later in the season! – Brynley Millward (Director of Rowing)

RESULTS SUMMARY

8/9 A
SG 8/9 A 4x+ [Round 1] 1st
SG 8/9 A 4x+ [Round 2] 2nd

8/9 B
SG 8/9 B 4x+ [Round 1] 4th
SG 8/9 B 4x+ [Round 2] 4th

8/9 C
SG 8/9 C 4x+ [Round 1] 5th
SG 8/9 C 4x+ [Round 2] 4th

8/9 D
SG 8/9 D 4x+ [Round 1] 4th
SG 8/9 D 4x+ [Round 2] 3rd

7/8 A
SG 7/8 A 4x+ [Round 1] 4th
SG 7/8 A 4x+ [Round 2] 4th

TENNIS

Division 1 – Saints 4-31 defeated Pembroke 2-15
Singles: Ella Dnistriansky 6-0, Grace Beaumont 6-2, Adele Eaton 5-6, Bridgette Leach 6-0

Division 2 – Saints 4-30 defeated Pembroke 2-27
Singles: Ariel Spartalis 6-4, Eva Young 3-6, Sophie Abbott 6-3, Chase Hocking 6-4

Division 3 Blue – Saints 3-26 defeated Pembroke 3-22
Singles: Stella Clark 6-0, Lilly Alexander 6-1, Victoria Thorp 4-6, Zihan Huang 0-6

Division 3 White – Saints 1-19 defeated by Pembroke 5-33
Singles: Ayanna Roy 6-3, Helen Zhang 1-6, Gloria Zou 4-6, Nathara Perera 2-6

Division 4 – Saints had a bye

Junior Division 1 – Saints 628 defeated Wilderness 0-5
Singles: Chloe Richardson 4-1, Sophie Blight 4-1, Nicole Wang 4-0, Alison Francis 4-1

Junior Division 2 – Saints 3-14 defeated Wilderness 0-4
Singles: Alexandra Nguyen 4-3, Shirley Liu 4-0

TOUCH FOOTBALL

Open A – Saints 1 defeated by Marryatville 3
The girls held consistent momentum in both attack and defence throughout, rucking the ball down with intent and shooting up in defence. They were able to keep the scores level by half-time, with 1 try each. An amazing try was scored by Ehi Oyugbo in the first half, breaking free and catching the opposition offside, allowing her to sprint and score. This game showed that the team is improving a lot since the first round against Marryatville. – Hannah Freeman (Captain)

Open B – Saints 6 defeated Mercedes
Saints had a fantastic finish to the season beating Mercedes’ top team! Our strong defence stopped the opposition from scoring on multiple occasions. In attack, we rucked quickly up the field and were able to implement many of the plays that we had been practising in training. Our team pressure resulted in the other team making mistakes which we were able to use to our advantage. Poppie Goldsmith and Ellie Anderson scored 2 tries each and Stephanie Smalls and Holly Cardone scored 1 each. The girls have had an amazing season and should be proud of their efforts! – Stephanie Smalls

Open C – Saints 5 defeated Seymour 0
The team came home with a convincing win against Seymour. The defensive pressure was strong and sustained, preventing any opposition from breaking through. In the first half, our attack was slow and it lacked momentum but, as the game progressed, it improved. Increasing our depth led to us hitting the ball at pace, creating a better sequence of rucks. We played a much more technical second half as we included wraps and quickies, moving the ball the width of the pitch to monopolise on the speed of our wingers. It was great to hear an improvement in the team’s communication, which contributed to the fluidity of play. – Olivia Kelly

Middle A – Saints did not play

VOLLEYBALL

Middle A – Saints 2 defeated Immanuel 1
Finals time! To finish off a fantastic season, the Middle As played Immanuel College for the school pennant. The girls entered the game with a mix of excitement and nerves. Unfortunately, Immanuel had a strong start and won the first set. Despite this loss, the girls kept their heads high with encouragement from our experienced players Lucy White, Ruby Deakin and Toni Christiansen. They fought back to win the second set.

In a tight and tense third set, Saints jumped to an early lead. Sivanthi Sivasuthan was a stand-out player; although not as tall as the rest of the girls, she made some important blocks, winning numerous valuable points to secure the win.

It was a great team effort not only from the girls on the court but also those on the bench continually cheering and supporting their teammates. This win was a wonderful end to a very successful year for the Middle A Volleyball team and it has been a pleasure to coach these girls. – Victoria Neale (Coach)

Middle B – Saints 2 defeated Immanuel 1
The team showed some strong network, consistent digs and serves to take the win against Immanuel. Well done to Lilli Bennett on making a seamless move up to her first game in Bs. MVP this week was Rebecca Holloway for improved attacking front court play. – Vicki Dent (Coach)

Middle C – Saints 0 defeated by Immanuel 2
The girls were on home turf and demonstrated the unexpected. There were numerous blocks from the girls high at the net, and Kathy Chen scored a number of points in a row from a serve she has been working on all term. Despite the loss, the girls, including many new to Volleyball this term, implemented skills they had been working on at training. – Alana Glapa (Coach)

Year 5/6 Blue – Saints 0 defeated by Seymour Purple 3
The team played against Seymour and had a great game, with incredibly close sets, but ultimately, just couldn’t get in front on the scoreboard. – Ava Loechel (Coach)

Year 5/6 Black – Saints 3 defeated Seymour Yellow 0
The team, consisting of Bella Chen, Alyssa Bo, Chanel Palmieri and Annabel Keough, came together to defeat their opponents in straight sets (25-18, 25-16 and 25-18). All four girls served and defended well, and their support and encouragement of each other was fantastic. – Kim Butler-Nixon (Supervisor)

Year 5/6 White – Saints 3 defeated Seymour Blue 0
The girls did a really great job of improving on elements we have been working on. The team of Alannah Godfrey, Charlize Cameron-Chilver, Tina Xiao and Asha Eaton started off very strongly, winning 25-6. In the second set, our communication was great, and we worked on more advanced spikes and still managed to win 25-14. Seymour put up a good fight in the last set, but our solid team pulled ahead, winning 25-23. I am very proud of the girls and their efforts over the past few weeks. – Jess Drewick (Coach)

Year 5-6 Silver – Saints 0 defeated by Seymour Green 3
This week the team of Eala Arthur-Slattery, Anna Venning, Abiola Ajao, Lucy Kitching and Sophia Langley showed lots of determination. Anna played a great all-round game and Sophia showed great team spirit (encouraging and high-fiving her teammates). – Georgina Keough (Coach)

WATER POLO

Open A – Saints 17 defeated St Dominic’s 0
The girls had an amazing finish to the 2019 season with a brilliant win against St Dominic’s. This ensured the girls finished the entire year undefeated. Throughout the game, the team worked hard in defence to limit the shots on goal, and when these did occur, goalie Saskia Jonats stopped many attempts. The large lead saw the mercy rule implemented in the last quarter, with Saints a player down and Saskia Jonats coming out of goals. Despite this, the girls managed to turnover any attempt made by St Dominic’s, resulting in no goals scored by them. Best player was Olivia Goldsmith, who showed why she is described as the ‘heart and soul of the As’ due to her constant support in both attack and defence, as well as scoring 2 goals. It was an outstanding finish to the year! – Fiona Lethbridge (Captain)

Open B – Saints 19 defeated St Ignatius B 1
The Bs reigned triumphant over St Ignatius with an 18-goal winning margin. Once again, we saw the mercy rule implemented at half-time due to the high score, which at that point was 16 – 0. The girls worked hard together to have many counter attacks on goal and were constantly making an effort to assist each other in both attack and defence. Best player was Sophie Dansie for her amazing skills in attack, where she was able to complete many interceptions, and turn them into successful attacks on goal. Top goal scorer was Tara with 6 incredible goals. An awesome effort girls, well done! – Fiona Lethbridge (Captain)

Open C – Saints had a bye

Year 7/8 – Saints 7 defeated Seymour 6
The game showcased the impressive skills the girls have developed this year, with Scarlett Dillon and Olivia Reynolds scoring their first goals for the season. The girls were incredibly strong in both defence and attack, with all working together. – Gemma Rowe (Coach)

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Issue no. 35

From the Head of Junior School

Knowing the parts of a piano and how they work doesn’t make me Mozart! Likewise, knowing facts, formulae, and rules of Mathematics, while useful, does not make someone a mathematician.

I read an article a while ago by a university mathematics professor, who suggested that knowing the formulae or techniques to apply in particular mathematical situations can be likened to erecting the scaffolding of a building project. The scaffolding is an important part of the process. It enables workers to move around at height and provides a place for materials and tools, but it has no purpose by itself. The building is the real project. And the ‘building’ in a mathematical sense is the mathematical understanding – the ability to understand mathematical ideas, transfer knowledge into new situations, apply it flexibly to new contexts and justify one’s reasoning.

We don’t want our students believing that they are learning and ‘doing’ Mathematics when, in fact, they are only erecting scaffolding. We want them to build the whole building. We want them to understand the complexities of each project, consider the possibilities, the potential problems to be solved, have flexibility in their thinking as they go about their work, and be able to justify their reasoning with the understanding that their approach and that of another student are unlikely to be identical. With this, we need to strengthen the flexibility with which they can manipulate numbers and provide them with opportunities to see the important place that Mathematics plays in understanding and explaining our world.

We are all born with an innate curiosity about the Mathematics of the world around us. As babies and infants, we were fascinated by blocks – we would arrange them, line them up, create patterns, count them, then count them again and be in awe that the resulting number was the same! We were constantly thinking mathematically. With our continued focus on delivering quality foundations in Literacy and Numeracy, it is our aim to keep that mathematical curiosity alive and to develop students with positive mathematical mindsets, deep mathematical understanding and flexibility in their approach to mathematical situations.

The attached video explains a little more about Mathematics in the Junior School.

Suzanne Haddy
Head of Junior School

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School Song Pride

Earlier in the year, we invited some Old Scholars back to the School to participate in a special video celebrating the School Song, which was written in 1920 and has been sung with pride ever since.

In the video, each line of the School Song is spoken by a former student, beginning with our oldest Old Scholar, 105 year old Lorna Henstridge (nee Paterson, Selwyn 1932). She’s followed by Old Scholars from the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and finally ending with Lauren Zwaans (Patteson 2004). Year 1 student Amelia Bartter also played a special role that she was very excited about!

As we celebrate our 125th year, “Let’s keep the School flag flying, with its colours white and blue.”

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PE Week Flexes its Muscles

PE Week 2019 involved a number of year levels participating in a range of activities. It began on Monday with the Year 2s attending the Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation’s fun skills day, experimenting with various sports and activities. The Year 4s enjoyed a similar day on Tuesday. On Thursday, The Year 6s ran a health hustle for the Junior School during Home Group. Each lunchtime throughout the week featured activities organised by the Sport Captains and led by Sport Prefect Millie Wilkin. Games of dodgeball, a mini-Olympics, and classic catches involved many younger year levels, and activities concluded today with a Staff vs Student Ultimate Frisbee match. Many students watched an entertaining contest, with the staff eventually coming out on top against the Sport Captains.

Today also saw the R – 3 Sports Morning, where the girls developed skills and competed in games. Many parents were on hand to spectate and then take part in the parent/daughter egg and spoon event; see highlights below.

“PE week is a great way for kids to stay active during the school day. Each day at lunch, activities were run for girls of different age groups to come out and try. Overall, this week has been great and has given the girls opportunities to play a new sport while learning new skills.” – Millie Wilkin (Sport Prefect 2020)

With the Year 5s and 6s beginning a self-defence unit next week, Middle School students involved in group dynamics activities, and the pool looking fantastic, a variety of learning activities building the girls’ physical literacy will continue through to the end of term.

Good luck to the Year 12 PE students also, who had their exam on the final afternoon of PE Week!

Dan Searle
Head of PE, Health and Outdoor Education

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Young Composers Find Winning Notes

This semester, a number of our Middle School students submitted compositions to the Young Composers’ Award competition. We are proud to announce we have won an award in the Rock/Pop R – 7 category!

Year 7 students Scarlett Dillon, Apurva Ichalkaranje and Naadiya Ishaq were recognised for their group composition of an original Rock/Pop song entitled ‘That’s the Key’. The awards are very competitive and there are hundreds of entries, so congratulations girls!

The Year 7 Music classes have been studying songwriting this year. The unit involves the students writing lyrics, creating a harmonic backing track of piano, bass and drums on an iPad, and recording the song’s vocal melody to the backing. The girls have learnt a great deal about songwriting and composition in general.

“Writing and recording this song was an interesting process, which I really enjoyed.” – Apurva Ichalkaranje

“During the songwriting process, we all took on different roles which helped us to be successful. I really enjoyed writing this song and would recommend younger students to give this a try.” – Scarlett Dillon

On 25 November, the winning Year 7 group will be performing their song live at the Young Composers’ Award ceremony at St Mary’s College at 6.45pm.

Robyn Habel
Music Teacher

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Year 1 Connections Talk About Their Generation

As part of our ‘Who we are’ inquiry, the Year 1s have explored how ‘Family relationships contribute to shaping our identity’ by having each girl invite a family member or friend who is two generations older than themselves to visit and share what life was like when they were six years old. Through a presentation from each girl’s grandparent or friend, the cohort identified similarities and differences with their own life.

The diversity of presentation styles was a highlight of this year’s inquiry, with some grandparents being interviewed via Skype or FaceTime as they were overseas. Our International Student Coordinator Ann Li acted as a translator for some guests, and we even had one Chinese-speaking student ask the questions of her grandfather in Chinese and then translate his answers into English. Our study concluded with an afternoon of sharing learning in our classrooms followed by a delicious afternoon tea.

Liz Sandercock and Michelle Liddy
Year 1 Teachers

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Junior School Vacation Care

Our next awesome instalment of Junior School Vacation Care is almost here. We have some great activities guaranteed to keep the children entertained through the break. With an array of excursions and on-site adventures, there is plenty of fun to be had.

Vacation Care – December 2019 / January 2020 Program

Places are limited, so please click here to secure your booking now!

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OSHC Temporary Relocation

Parents of R – 6 students are advised that the OSHC program, which was based in the Food Tech building, has been temporarily relocated to the transportable on the Oval.

To access the transportable, please use the main staircase outside the Stott Wing (with the St Peter’s Girls’ sign). Children will need to be dropped off and collected from the transportable.

Beck Kranz
OSHC Supervisor

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PE Excursion Proves a Hit

As part of PE Week, the Year 2 and 4 classes attended a ‘Come and Try’ day organised by ACHPER (Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation) at Park 25.

The girls participated in golf, rugby, hockey, lacrosse, baseball, bowls, netball and volleyball activities.

“I enjoyed playing Rugby League because it was competitive and we got to do a lot of running around.” – Zara

“I really liked trying golf for the first time.” – Grace

“I enjoyed the rugby because it was really fun when we got to pull the tags off when tackling and doing a touchdown.” – Sasha

“My favourite activity was the tennis because we got to see how many we could get in a rally.” – Charlotte

Rebecca Riley
Year 4 Teacher

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Cambodia Service Learning Trip

On 7 December, 20 Saints Girls will travel to Cambodia for our Service Learning Trip, along with the PAC boys. We will be building houses and volunteering at the New Hope for Cambodia Village, an orphanage for children who suffer from HIV and AIDS. Over the past few months, we have been raising money at Bunnings barbecues and a Feathers Hotel pizza night, as well as selling Jolly Socks, portable chargers and raffle tickets – all of which can still be purchased before we leave! All funds go towards building supplies and donating to the orphanage so they can purchase food and educational tools for the children. We have had an amazing response from the Saints Girls’ community, which will be greatly appreciated. This would not have been possible without the generous donations from our numerous sponsors, including those listed below – we thank you for your contribution and we know that it will go a long way.

Clark Property Group
Northpoint Toyota
Corporate Mechanical
Younger Optics
Remedy Drinks
Paelleria
Johnston Withers Lawyers
Holyoake Air Management Solutions
Foodland Norwood
Braithwaite Family Garden Care and Home Maintenance

Matilda Braithwaite
Year 11 student

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Year Level Representatives for 2020

We are now recruiting and looking forward to receiving nominations for Year Level Reps for 2020!

We thank our 2019 Year Level Reps for their amazing efforts and dedication to the role in our 125th year! There have been so many fantastic year level events over the past year which wouldn’t have been possible without our valued volunteers.

In early 2020, Melissa and Fiona from the Community Relations Office will be holding a meeting in which Year Level Reps will be invited to attend, along with the presidents of our community groups at the School. This collaborative information session will set the scene for our 2020 events and give our Year Level Reps the opportunity to appropriately plan their year level events.

If you are interested in becoming a Year Level Rep in 2020 or you would like to nominate someone in your year level, please contact us as soon as possible.

Thank you in advance for your kind consideration.

Melissa Westgate
mwestgate@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au

Fiona McGregor
FMcGregor@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au

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School Shop Reminder – Year 3 Parents

Parents/Guardians of Current Year 3 Students:

As your daughter will be in Year 4 next year, there are a few different uniform items you will need to purchase before Term 1, 2020.

The junior blazer (cardigan) is replaced by a navy blue jumper and a blazer. The rash vest and solar pant is replaced by the School bathers.

It is advisable to make an appointment on 8334 2228, as the School Shop is currently working through new student fittings.

School Shop

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Barefoot Bowling

Join us for an afternoon of barefoot bowling! This is a fundraising event hosted by the Friends of Rowing, and all School community members are welcome to attend.

Sunday 1 December 2019
3pm onwards
Sturt Bowling Club
Corner of Trimmer Tce and Edmund Ave, Unley
Tickets: $25 via www.trybooking.com/BGOGO

Includes entry, bowling fees, BBQ and nibbles. Drinks available for purchase at the bar.

Bookings close 9am Friday 29 November.

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Charging for Charity – Cambodia Service Learning Trip

To support fundraising for the Cambodia Service Learning Trip, the fundraising team is selling portable chargers for just $40 via www.trybooking.com/BEYTR.

We are all very excited to take part in this trip, making life-long memories and seeing the impact of our fundraising in a community where we can improve the quality of life.

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The Athlete’s Foot – School Rewards Program

The Parents’ and Friends’ Association is excited to be collaborating with the amazing team at The Athlete’s Foot, Burnside by joining their School Rewards Program.

This is a great fundraising opportunity, with $5 from every pair of shoes purchased being donated back to our School. This applies for each pair of shoes purchased for the whole family, across the complete in-store range of sports, school, work and casual shoes.

So head on down to The Athletes Foot at Burnside and check out their exclusive MyFit 3D fitting technology.

Please check the School’s uniform policy to ensure shoes are approved before purchasing.

The Athlete’s Foot – School Rewards Program Information

Bronwyn Bartter
Parents’ and Friends’ Association President

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Sports News

AUSSIE RULES

Year 5-6 Blue – Saints 2.0 – 12 defeated by Immanuel 11.1 – 67
This was our best game so far with all players showing immense improvement. The results does not reflect how well the girls played, with tackling, pressure and skill development improving. – Millie Gentle (Coach)

Year 5-6 White – Saints 2.6 – 18 defeated by Walford Gold 7.8 – 50
With Walford kicking the first few goals, our back lines worked hard to prevent as many goals as possible. Valerie Ng, Lucy Shigeno and Alannah Godfrey all made some great tackles to stop Walford running into open goals. Smothers were made by both Lyra Cox and Kate Thomas which we then got the turn over and moved the ball towards our forward line. It wasn’t until the third quarter that our hard work turned into goals as Januri kicked our first goal for the match followed by a second moments later. Well done to all the girls, you are improving out of sight. Keep up the good work! – Lane Trenorden (Coach)

BASKETBALL

Middle C1 – Saints 12 defeated Immanuel 10
Saints led for much of the game and worked hard to create opportunities. In the final minutes, Immanuel edged closer but Bella Sanders-Wills managed to score the last bucket, securing the team the win, but, of course, it was a great team effort. Lilli Bennett was a standout at both ends of the floor, as was Emily McCorley. Everyone is improving in leaps and bounds and I am really proud to coach all of these girls! – Sharnee Jones (Coach)

Middle C2 – Saints 20 defeated Concordia 0
Unfortunately, Concordia did not have enough players and forfeited the game. The girls had fun playing a scratch match and were able to continue to work on their individual and team skills. – Louise Neale (Coach)

TENNIS

Division 1 – Saints 2-26 defeated by Wilderness 4-26
Ella Dnistriansky 6-0, Grace Beaumont 4-6, Adele Eaton 2-6, Bridgette Leach 3-6

Division 2 – Saints 3-30 drew with Seymour 3-30
Ariel Spartalis 5-6, Eva Young 2-6, Sophie Abbott 6-4, Chase Hocking 6-3

Division 3 Blue – Saints 2-12 defeated Wilderness 0-5
*only doubles was played

Division 3 White – Saints 3-25 defeated by Seymour 3-26
Astrid Teague 6-2, Helen Zhang 2-6, Amy Hu 3-6, Gloria Zou 6-4

Division 4 – Saints 4-30 defeated Seymour 2-17
Ayanna Roy 6-0, Nathara Perera 6-1, Lydia Tolley 6-5, Jasmine Baker 1-6

Junior Division 1 – Saints 3-16 defeated by Pembroke 3-18
Chloe Richardson 0-4, Sophie Blight 1-4, Nicole Wang 4-2, Alison Francis 4-1

Junior Division 2 – Saints 6-28 defeated Pembroke 0-7
Alexandra Nguyen 4-0, Jerrie Wu 4-2, Shirley Liu 4-0, Charlotte Thorpe 4-1

Junior Division 3 – Saints 1-10 defeated by Scotch 5-21
Lily Forby 1-4, Lilly Michelon 4-1, Abbie An 0-4, Amelia Olesen 1-4

TOUCH FOOTBALL

Open A – Saints 2 defeated by Wilderness 6
Another tough game for the girls, playing yet another one of the top teams in the competition. The team had an amazing first half, defending extremely well and restricting Wilderness to only two tries. Goals scorers were Olivia Goldsmith and Hannah Freeman. Olivia was able to break away and catch them offside, enabling her to score a try. Best player goes to Ella Liddy for her constant defending and attempts at setting up plays. – Hannah Freeman (Captain)

Open B – Saints 2 defeated by Marryatville 3
Saints had a great game against Marryatville. We started off strongly with solid rucking up the field, and the half-time score was 2-2. It was great to see the set plays we have been working on in training, allowing Maggie Bailey and Poppie Goldsmith to score 1 try each. Towards the end of the game, we began to miss opportunities which restricted our chances of a draw. – Poppie Goldsmith

Open C – Saints 1 defeated St Aloysius 0
The team played very well in defence, applying what we had learnt in training. With improvement still required in attack, the team is progressing in this area. Kendra Ware scored the try. Overall, the team has a good basis of improvement from trainings this term, which is evident in our games. – Imogen Parkinson

Middle A – Saints 1 drew with Seymour 1
The girls played a great game. Grace Richards scored a try within the first minute with the help of Ruby Richards and Annie Warrick. In the first half, the girls were rucking really well and working together in defence with 1-3-5 and 2-4-6. In the second half, the team began to make silly mistakes, so we had to go back to basics with the normal 3 rucking to find our rhythm again. The girls did a great job at stopping Seymour from scoring multiple tries. – Charlie Piper

Middle B – Saints 4 defeated St Aloysius 1
All the girls played really well and, with only one sub, our teamwork and determination was great across the whole game. Our defensive tactics worked really well and we gained lots of ground in attack. Special shout outs to Apurva Ichalkaranje, Amy Dillon and Jasmine Segredos who scored the tries. Well done to the team for a well-deserved win. – Jasmine Segredos

VOLLEYBALL

Open A – Saints 1 defeated by Pembroke 2 (24-26, 24-26, 15-14)
With everything on the line to get to the Grand Final for both teams, it was always going to be a hard-fought contest and it did not disappoint. Featuring a line up of State representative stars in both teams playing opposite each other, it started as a slugfest of epic proportions and did not let up. Playing at the Saints’ ‘dome’, the crowd gathered and were appreciative with their cheering but often silent with anticipation. Power serves and monster spikes had both teams marking their line in the sand, with neither giving an inch and neither able to gain ascendency. Volleyball Captain Charlotte White, Isabella Villani (libero), Brooke Elliott (setter) and Ankita Rajbhoj (hitter) put everything on the line in what was possibly their last match in Saints’ colours. All played out of their skins and were exceptionally backed up by Clair Kao, Anna White and Georgina Keough. The first set went down to the wire 24-26. Saints stepped it up in the second with good serve and block pressure. Pembroke countered with their own onslaught of serves and we battled hard. Again, Pembroke finished the set in front 24-26. Having lost the match, the girls kept at it in the third and enjoyed their last school match together and, with time completed, finished 15-14 in front. It has been a privilege to coach this fantastic group and I wish the Year 12s all the luck for the future. – Alistair Keough (Coach)

Open B – Saints 2 defeated Pembroke 1 (25-23, 25-23, 10-15)
Pembroke, coached by 2019 State League Women’s Coach Greg Lehmann, were always going to be a tough ask. A number of players away for the beach competitions allowed Milly Brett and Joss Forster to join the team. Both added height and depth with Milly having a great serving run to ensure we stayed in the match. The girls played well as a team, fought hard and were able to close out both sets in front to win. Communication and match play improved as the game progressed. Having won the match, the girls enjoyed the third and final set for the year. All girls played outstandingly well, improving their individual skills and coming together as a team. – Alistair Keough (Coach)

Open C – Saints 2 defeated Pembroke 1 (17-25, 25-19, 15-10)
The difference in players from the start of the match and the end was phenomenal. It took the first set to get organised and work on some match play and communication. Putting it together in the second set, along with some great serving runs by Ellen Zhang and Candy Feng, the team’s confidence grew and they won the second set. They stepped it up in the third with great net-work, and the match was closed out with great joy and fervour. Thank you for allowing me to coach; it was great to see the team hungry to learn and willing to try new options. A great way to finish the season. – Alistair Keough (Coach)

Middle A – Saints 2 defeated Pembroke 1
This was the last round game for the year, and the Middle As needed to win to secure their spot in finals. Pembroke is a very competitive team who really challenged us, coming out strongly and winning the first set. This threw our girls off and made them realise that it was going to be a hard match that would require a big effort to make a comeback. After a rocky start, the girls finally got into the groove, just beating Pembroke in the last two sets. This win allows these girls the chance to play in finals and hopefully come away with a trophy. – Victoria Neale (Coach)

Middle B – Saints 1 defeated by Pembroke 2
It was pleasing to see principles covered at training applied to games, with Yang Yang making some impressive spikes. MVP was Efua Yawson for strong serves and consistent passes. – Vicki Dent (Coach)

Middle C – Saints 1 defeated by Immanuel 2
The girls won the first set in a nail-biter round. The next two sets were close calls, only losing by 2 points in each. Lilli Bennett scored from an impressive spike, while Stephanie Andrejewskis put her blocks to the test to score 2 consecutive points. Alysa Trinh served 3 successful balls in a row, and Monica Isaac dominated close to the net. Overall, a game to be proud of. – Alana Glapa (Coach)

Year 5/6 Blue – Saints 1 defeated by Seymour Yellow 3
The team started off strongly, winning the first set, but were overcome by a consistent opponent. All the girls put in such a great effort and continue to gain experience. – Ava Loechel (Coach)

Year 5/6 Silver – Saints 2 defeated Seymour White 1
A good performance from the team. Anna Venning’s passing was great, as she was able to direct the ball to her teammate to hit it over. Abiola Ajao served really well. – Georgie Keough (Coach)

Year 5/6 Black – Saints 3 defeated Seymour Pink 0
Annabel Keough, Sophia Langley, Ellie Tosolini and Evelyn Gautier worked together as a team, supporting each other and communicating well. In the first two sets, the girls were put under pressure, only winning by 2 points in each. They demonstrated a great ability to stay calm. Throughout the game, the girls’ serving started to improve and we were serving balls that Seymour struggled to return. The highlight was when the girls managed to get their first 3 touches, dig, set and spike over the net to win the rally. – Anna White (Coach)

Year 5/6 White – Saints 2 drew with Seymour Green 2
Tina Xiao, Asha Eaton, and Alannah Godfrey used their height to their advantage, learning to jump and even spike. Charlize Cameron-Chilver, Chanel Palmieri and Eala Arther-Slattery have all developed their serves. One of our biggest challenges has been communicating and calling for the ball, and the more we work together, the better this has become. The girls all really seemed to be enjoying the sport and are supporting each other throughout the matches. – Jess Drewick (Coach)

WATER POLO

Open A – Saints 8 drew with St Ignatius 8
The girls had a tough game, resulting in a draw against Ignatius. They worked hard to recover from many attacks on goal and turn them into successful attacks for Saints. Best player was Alexia Politis for her constant work in defence where she completed many turnovers. Top goal scorer was Nikki Miller with 4 goals. Good work girls! – Fiona Lethbridge (Captain)

Open B – Saints 17 defeated Walford 0
In the girls’ Intercol match against Walford, the team worked tirelessly in defence, intercepting many passes and using their skills to turn these into successful attacks on goal. Best players were Emily Baldwinson and Sophie Dansie for their amazing work in attack. Sophie, a left-hander, used that to our advantage by aiding many of the girls to score goals, as well as scoring a goal herself. Emily showed her skills in attack, scoring 4 goals. An excellent effort girls! – Fiona Lethbridge (Captain)

Open C – Saints 16 defeated Wilderness (C3) 4
The last game of the season for the Cs saw the girls pull through with an incredible win. They managed to score an average of 4 goals each quarter, while keeping Wilderness to 1 for each. Best players were Lila Gosse and Mathilda Thomas for their outstanding work in attack. Lilia managed to score 8 goals from many successful counter attacks and assists from other team members. Mathilda had an amazing game, constantly assisting the girls in attack and defence, while managing to score 4 goals. Overall, a brilliant way to finish the season! – Fiona Lethbridge (Captain)

Year 7/8 – Saints 11 defeated Seymour A 4
With the season coming to a close, the team has shown significant improvement. The girls played exceptionally well with almost all players scoring. Claudia Pearce played another terrific game with 4 goals. Charlotte Norman and Lauren Parton have shown incredible improvement throughout the season, with both scoring multiple goals. The girls played with excellent sportsmanship and determination. Very proud of their efforts! – Gemma Rowe (Coach)

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Issue no. 34

From the Deputy Principal / Head of Middle School

This week all Year 8 students and Home Group teachers joined their counterparts from Walford Anglican School for Girls for their annual Co-Education Day at St Peter’s College. The day is an opportunity for all students to start building positive and respectful relationships, ahead of the more formal wellbeing sessions that occur in the Senior School.

The day is structured so students experience 10 different activities across the day, working with a group of students from both Walford and St Peter’s College. This year, once again, there were a great variety of activities, all connected by the need for collaboration, teamwork and careful intentional listening. Whether our girls were working with boys and girls from both schools in small groups to solve unusual problems they’d not seen before or engaging in large group collaboration tasks that required them to take a variety of roles, it was pleasing to witness them rise to such a variety of challenges in a way that was both respectful of the views of others, and also showed a determination to have their voice heard, and to contribute and lead where appropriate. A number of the activities also allowed the students’ competitive streak to shine, which was enjoyed by many.

The day was punctuated by the opportunity for free time for all students to mingle freely. It was great to see so many students from all three schools socialising in a positive way, with many clearly building on pre-existing friendships with students from both schools, whilst others getting to know each other for the first time. With perfect spring weather, it was also an opportunity for some of the girls to kick a football, or just sit and enjoy the sunshine – all without the distraction of any technological devices.

Richard Lisle
Deputy Principal / Head of Middle School

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EDGE Day

This term the withdrawal element of EDGE took a slightly different shape in the form of EDGE Day. On Tuesday, students came together to develop skills in the area of ideation and design-thinking. This approach is human-centred, allowing students to work collaboratively to identify and solve complex problems.

Students identified issues facing native wildlife in South Australia, and critically selected the issue and solution they wanted to focus on by reading a range of research materials and listening to talks given by experts. This experience allowed them to build skills in creative and critical thinking whilst also developing their empathy. It was amazing to see students of all ages working together towards a common goal, sharing and learning in unison.

Becca Burton-Howard
EDGE Coordinator

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A Message from the Head Prefect 2020

This year, in Term 3, I was fortunate enough to receive the news that I had obtained the role of Head Prefect for the Class of 2020. I knew I wanted to apply for this role because of my ambition to help people and to lead our fantastic Saints Girls’ School community.

To me, leadership is about putting others before myself, and constantly striving to assist others both in and out of a school setting. I am a firm believer in the idea that leadership is not something that is defined by a badge, but rather the ability to be compassionate and authentic when motivating others. I feel that the entire Prefect team for 2020 will be an excellent group of leaders who reflect and demonstrate these qualities.

For the Prefect team’s first group session, on 26 and 27 October, we participated in two workshops focusing on the importance of others within our School community, brainstorming ideas of the initiatives we would like to implement throughout 2020. I would definitely say it was a successful weekend, and the students should be excited for what we have in store for them next year.

Some main ideas we want to enhance throughout the School community next year is for the girls to embrace themselves for who they are, to recognise and appreciate the girl in the middle, and to try the plethora of opportunities that are offered here at Saints. We believe, with the right mindset and the determination to create change, we will be able to implement new initiatives that encourage these messages.

We cannot wait for the opportunities we will receive next year and the new memories that will be formed. The Prefect team and I are so excited to see what impact we can make on the School community before our high school journey here at Saints comes to its conclusion.

Isabella Bernardi
Head Prefect 2020

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National Award for Music Education

It was a privilege to attend the ASME (Australian Society for Music Education) XXII National Conference and a true honour to be presented with the ‘Music Educating for Life Award’ which recognises exceptional contribution to music education at a national level.

For me, the biennial national conference held at the University of Western Australia invoked a kaleidoscope of ideas and thoughts. Some were enlightening, others challenged pre-conceived notions, and many reaffirmed what we as music educators already know: that Music is pivotal to a child’s education. Perspectives explored included the connection between literacy, language development and music learning; the importance of music in maintaining and establishing cultural identity; Dalcroze methodology and its inherent integration of numeracy and spatial awareness; and Indigenous viewpoints and respectful use of Indigenous elements within music making.

Reflecting upon each of these perspectives led me to pause and truly consider why I chose and continue to teach Music, after 29 years of sometimes uplifting, but more often than not, challenging work.

Why? Because I love music for music’s sake. Because I love the way music creates life-long bonds with my students. Because I love knowing that I am passing down the legacy of those that taught me what I know today. Because I love watching the development of confidence that comes with music-making. Because I love the sense of community that music-sharing establishes. Because I love knowing that I am making a difference in the literacy and numeracy skills of young children. Because I love watching children have the ability to express themselves through creativity. Because I love what my students teach me. And… because I love that I am making a difference.

Sari Noble
Music Teacher

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Primary Maths Challenge Success!

Congratulations to four Junior School students – Evelyn Gautier (Year 5), Lois Burton-Howard (Year 3), Caitlyn Sam-Ling (Year 3) and Edwina Cannon (Reception), for receiving awards in the 2019 Primary Maths Challenge. Last Friday night the wonderful achievements of our girls were celebrated in front of several hundred invited guests and mathematicians of all ages at the Findon Function Centre.

Below are a mixture of the glowing comments from Lisa-Jane O’Connor on stage and the judges detailed feedback.

Evelyn Gautier – State Winner – Individual Open Category
‘The Munchkin Story’ – Congratulations Evelyn on an outstanding investigation. You used mathematics in an extremely powerful manner to determine that your Munchkin Kitten, Loki, was the best choice. The judges particularly loved your use of probability to guide you in the selection process. You made your mathematical thinking crystal clear and your reflections were relevant and extremely comprehensive. You have created a beautifully presented and amazingly clear 86-page folder of which you should be enormously proud. Best of all, your amazing investigation process enabled you to welcome Loki into your family! Evelyn’s reflection: “Before this challenge I was convinced that Maths was just another subject at school, but after the PMC, I realised that maths is essential and it is truly everywhere”.

Lois Burton-Howard – State Winner – Individual Maths and Literacy Award
‘Number Girl’s Icecream Mystery’ – Congratulations Lois! After your first book in the Number Girl Series last year, we were so excited to receive the second instalment this year! We loved that you have created a fabulous way to help girls see themselves as mathematicians and show that Maths is just everywhere! Through creating and writing your story you were able to learn about budgets, averages, distance and speed and apply this knowledge well. Amazing use of the power of technology too!
NOTE: This award is only awarded occasionally to outstanding entries that celebrate mathematics through literacy.

Caitlyn Sam-Ling – Highly Commended – Individual Set Task
‘Epic Flight Centenary’ – You have certainly learned so much about this journey of these adventurous pilots. The way you chose to present each panel with the display of the journey leg and details made it really easy to follow and explore. There is currently much public interest in this ‘Epic Flight Centenary’ and we thought lots of people would love to read your entry. Your entry provides much information about the distance travelled in the journey and your comparisons about what this trip would look like if we tried it today. Congratulations!

Edwina Cannon – Highly Commended – Family Entry Open Category
‘Tessellation and Pattern Discovery’ – Wow Edwina, that certainly looks like a fantastic book and you spotted lots of different tessellations. Your movie was a great way of sharing your mathematical thinking – we could see all of the things that you explored and thought about. Congratulations on taking us on a wonderful mathematical learning adventure!

Ishana Roy and Charlotte Di Giorgi in Year 1 also created wonderful mathematical investigations and a superb poster and model. Whilst they didn’t win a prize this year, they should both be enormously proud of their fabulous efforts and learning.

I’ve loved being part of the Primary Maths Challenge for the past 14 years and can’t wait to see what amazing investigations our girls become involved in next year!

Catherine Kelly
Junior School Learning Strategies

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Winning Words for Saints Girl

 
Congratulations to Emma Pool who was the Year 8 winner of Debating SA’s Debater of the Year for 2019. Emma was presented with her medal by His Excellency the Honourable Hieu Van Le AC, Governor of South Australia.

“Debating has always been a part of my life, particularly since my sister joined the family! Whether it’s debating the existence of a word or putting forward arguments for my favourite movie, it seemed only natural that debating would catch my eye. I first started debating in Year 6 and quickly discovered that I loved being able to rebut an opposition’s case as well as form clever arguments with my teammates. As a third speaker, I do have the tendency to run overtime because I spend too long trying to pick apart any flaws in an opposition’s case, but this is something I’d like to work on.

This year I worked alongside an exceptional team – Zara Blight, Angel Li and Lilly Maerschel – who have supported me and worked with me to create the best speeches in order to challenge our opposition. I also had the best coaches in the school – Isabelle Norman and Ellie Anderson – who have helped and guided me along the way. I could not have won this award without any of these people, as it takes a great team to win anything worthwhile. I was very excited and grateful to receive the Year 8 Debater of the Year Award for 2019 and can’t wait for many more debates in the future!”

Emma Pool
Year 8 student

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Pawsitively Fun Lesson for SACE Stage 1 Biology

The SACE Stage 1 Biology girls have learnt how to calculate the surface area to volume ratio of cells and animals. They put their new knowledge into action this week to calculate the surface area to volume ratio of two very special visitors – Baxter and Tilly! With the final results in, it is clear Baxter needs to reduce his volume!

Christopher Carey
Science Teacher

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OSHC Temporary Relocation

Parents of R-6 students are advised that the OSHC program, which is currently based in the Food Tech building, has been temporarily relocated to the transportable on the oval, effective Monday morning.

To access the transportable, please use the main staircase outside the Stott Wing (with the St Peter’s Girls’ sign), move through the corridor between the Stott Wing and the Middle School, and the transportable can be found to the right. Children will need to be dropped off and collected from the transportable.

Beck Kranz
OSHC Supervisor

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Year Level Representatives for 2020

We are now recruiting and looking forward to receiving nominations for Year Level Reps for 2020!

We’d like to thank our 2019 Year Level Reps for their amazing efforts and dedication to the role in our 125th year! There have been so many fantastic year level events that have taken place over the past year and these events wouldn’t happen without our valued volunteers.

In early 2020 Melissa and Fiona, from the Community Relations Department, will be holding a meeting in which Year Level Reps will be invited to attend along with the Presidents of our Community Groups at the School. This collaborative information session will set the scene for our 2020 events and give our Year Level Reps the opportunity to appropriately plan their year level events for 2020.

If you are interested in being a Year Level Rep in 2020 or you would like to nominate someone in your Year Level please contact us ASAP as we are already planning for next year.

Thank you in advance for your kind consideration.

Melissa Westgate
mwestgate@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au

Fiona McGregor
FMcGregor@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au

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Year 6 Buddies Explore the Golden Rule

As a part of the Year 6 Leadership program, students have spent time working with Ms Haddy exploring the ‘Golden Rule’ and its ancient and universal history. This has led to the girls now teaching their younger peers about the rule during their buddy sessions with some Reception and Year 1 students. Through Ilene Cooper’s picture book, the girls have further explored the timeless rule of treating others the way you would like to be treated. They are learning that the rule is golden, as it is such a simple and valuable rule to live by. Although it may not always be easy, the Golden Rule is something everyone can do; young or old, everyone can act to make the world a better place.

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Guitar Ensemble Rocks the ELC!

Last week Saints’ Guitar Ensemble performed for the children and staff of Learning Community 1 in the ELC. The children were delightful! They sat quietly through the whole performance and many were mesmerised by the guitars. A few of the children asked if they could strum the instruments, and our girls happily obliged. The guitar ensemble is made up of Daisy Kennett (Year 7), Mikaela Udall (Year 8), Chi Chi Zhao (Year 9) and Amelia Pudney (Year 10). We look forward to a long and fruitful relationship with the ELC, providing many more concerts to this very appreciative audience!

Robyn Habel
Music Teacher

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SciWorld Visits our Mid-Year Receptions

On Wednesday 6 November, the Mid-Year Receptions were lucky to have Natalia from SciWorld run a senses workshop in our classroom. As a part of our inquiry unit ‘We experience and learn about the world through our senses’, the girls engaged in hands-on activities using their senses of sight, hearing, touch and smell. Activities included blindfolded activities to enhance our sense of touch with feeling bags, trying a range of glasses and googles which modified our sight, and matching different smells with their pictures. A highlight for the girls was the listening post where, blindfolded, they listened to a recording of someone giving them a ‘haircut’, which almost felt real without our sight to tell us otherwise. Thank you to SciWorld for an exciting opportunity to deepen our experience of our senses.

Sarah Lane
Mid-Year Reception Teacher

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Japanese Exchange

It was the second time that I have been to Japan on an exchange and it was absolutely amazing. My host family was so nice and caring, and they took me to lots of fascinating places. My favourite one was the Tokyo Skytree, which was the highest tower that I had ever been to and it was fantastic to observe the entire city from the top. In order to improve my Japanese skills, I tried to speak as much Japanese as possible. I enjoyed chatting with my host family and we had many interesting conversations of the similarities and differences between the cultures of China, Australia and Japan. I was so glad to see my old friends at Senzoku Gakuen and I also made many new friends this time, they were such friendly girls who always took good care of me. I got the chance to experience a number of club activities such as tea ceremony, flower arrangement and Kendo (a traditional Japanese martial art which descended from swordsmanship and uses bamboo swords and protective armour). I was amazed by the beauty of traditional Japanese culture. All in all, it was such a valuable exchange and, compared to last year, I was more confident this time. If you are considering going on exchange to Japan next year, I strongly recommend it!

Hannah Shao
Year 11 student

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Year 1 Stay Back

There was a countdown last Friday as 30 excited Year 1s, their teachers, Ms Haddy and Mrs Smith waited for the Stay Back to begin! At 3.15pm the girls quickly changed into casual clothes before meeting in 1ML to welcome two very special guests: two small joeys being hand-reared by the Richards family. The girls were besotted! Then we headed to Bell Yett Reserve for some fun on the playground whilst Ms Haddy got the surprise craft activity ready. The girls loved hearing Ms Haddy read The Paper Bag Princess then had so much fun making a puppet of one of the characters. Their wooden spoon puppets were very creative and lovingly constructed. When it was time to eat dinner, it was like a swarm of locusts had landed. In no time, nine massive pizzas were demolished! The girls enjoyed a little ice cream tub for dessert, followed by a quick play on the playground. Then, before we knew it, parents were arriving as it was 7pm. A fantastic time was had by all.

Liz Sandercock and Michelle Liddy
Year 1 Teachers

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Year 9s Get Creative for Animal Awareness

Animal Week is a fun week that has occurred every year of Middle School within our Year 9 cohort. Animal Week is a week where every day, anyone who wants to participate, wears the assigned hairstyle which represents an animal. We started off the week on Monday with Ponytails for Ponies, then on Tuesday it was Pigtails for Pigs, followed by Plaits for Platypuses, Buns for Bunnies and finished off with Fishtails for Fish. Animal Week really is a fun week and it’s nice to see so many people joining in. I have big plans for this event and I hope in the future we could, as a year level or even as a school, use this event to raise money for animals in need.

Amelie Gray-Combe
Year 9 student

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School Shop Reminder – Year 3 Parents

Parents/Guardians of Current Year 3 Students

As your daughter will be in Year 4 next year, there are a few different uniform items you will need to purchase before Term 1, 2020.

The junior blazer (cardigan) is replaced by a navy blue jumper and a blazer. The rash vest and solar pant is replaced by the School bathers.

It is advisable to make an appointment on 8334 2228, as the School Shop is currently busy with new student fittings.

School Shop

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Barefoot Bowling

Join us for an afternoon of barefoot bowling! This is a fundraising event hosted by the Friends of Rowing and all School community members are welcome to attend.

Date: Sunday 1 December 2019
Time: 3pm onwards
Venue: Sturt Bowling Club
Corner of Trimmer Tce and Edmund Ave, Unley
Tickets $25 via www.trybooking.com/BGOGO

Includes entry, bowling fees, BBQ and nibbles. Drinks available for purchase at the bar.

Bookings close 9am Friday 29 November.

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National Recycling Week

National Recycling Week is coming up between 11 – 17 November. To promote this, we will be encouraging our School community to take advantage of our e-waste recycling. If you have any e-waste items please drop them off into our two purple TechCollect bins. These bins are located near the entrance/exit to the School (in front of the Property Services sheds). They will be out for the duration of National Recycling Week. They will come out again on the first Friday of the new month.

The Environment Club

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The Athletes Foot – School Rewards Program

The Parents’ and Friends’ Association are excited to be collaborating with the amazing team at The Athletes Foot Burnside by joining their School Rewards Program.

The School Rewards Program is a great fundraising opportunity, with $5 from every pair of shoes purchased being donated back to our school. This applies for each pair of shoes purchased for the whole family, across the complete in-store range of adults and/or kids sports, school, work and casual shoes.

So head on down to The Athletes Foot Burnside and check out their exclusive MyFit 3D fitting technology and the school approved range of shoes.

Please check with your school’s uniform policy to ensure shoes are approved before purchasing.

The Athletes Foot – School Rewards Program Information

Bronwyn Bartter
President
Parents’ and Friends’ Association

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Charging for Charity – Cambodia Service Learning Trip

To support fundraising for the Cambodia Service Learning Trip, the fundraising team is selling portable chargers for just $40 via www.trybooking.com/BEYTR.

We are all very excited to take part in this trip, making life-long memories and seeing the impact of our fundraising in a community where we can improve the quality of life.

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Sports News

AUSSIE RULES

Year 5-6 Blue – Saints defeated by St Ignatius
The girls again showed great determination with their skills constantly improving. A couple of girls had injuries, resulting in us playing short of players, making the task more difficult against a structured team. Our defensive pressure was good with Emily Bates and Savannah Walls. Coco Dimond and Nellie Ion continue to improve and Lucy Tulloch and Lucy Kitching both had great games up forward. – Millie Gentle (Coach)

Year 5-6 White – Saints 1.0-6 defeated by Wilderness 6.6-36
The match started very tight with the ball going up and down the field with no scores as of yet. Wilderness got a few quick scores at the end of the first quarter to put them in the lead, however, Levanya kicked a goal at the end of the quarter to even up the scores. At quarter time, I gave the team a goal to stick their tackles and put defensive pressure on Wilderness. Throughout the second quarter we saw some great tackles from all girls out on the field and some that stopped certain goals. Our defensive pressure was the best that it had been all season, with all girls tackling, smothering the ball and doing 1-on-1 defence. In the forward lines, Kate Thomas, Pollyanna Townsend and Valerie Ng all had opportunities to kick goals, however, the Wilderness defence proved to be too strong. – Lane Trenorden (Coach)

BASKETBALL

Middle A – Saints 12 defeated by Wilderness 52
It was our last game for the term and the girls played hard against a very good and tall team. Transition was good but we just could not finish off the good shots we did take. A special mention to Sophie Norman who was outstanding at the defensive end and would have had at least 15 blocks. With most of the team moving up to Open next year, I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their efforts this year. It was greatly appreciated. – Brenton Davies (Coach)

Middle B – Saints 8 defeated by Wilderness 52
A tough game against an extremely tall team. Our effort levels were good but we struggled to shoot over them, and they scored easily at the end due to their height. Once again Helen played a great game and her ball handling was outstanding. I would like to thank the girls for their efforts this year. – Brenton Davies (Coach)

Middle C1 – Saints 16 defeated by Concordia Gold 24
Saints were missing quite a few players, but those who played, played their hearts out, showing even more improvement in all areas of the game! Emily McCorley top scored this week with 10 points, followed by Bella Sanders-Wills with 4. Saffron Chen also scored her first bucket! We played some really good basketball and kept the score close for most of the game. – Sharnee Jones (Coach)

Middle C2 – Saints 12 defeated by Concordia Blue 44
There was an exciting start to the game with Rosanna Stone sinking the first basket and taking Concordia by surprise. Monica Isaac also got more involved in offense this week by getting her first ever basket. The Sanders-Wills sisters (Bella and Hope) were our two leading goal scorers, but could not have done it without the consistent support from teammates working hard to create these scoring opportunities. Concordia is a strong team to face but the girls’ energy and enthusiasm to strive for their best is inspiring, and resulted in a lot of fun had by all despite what the scoreboard says. Very proud of them all! – Louise Neale (Coach)

TENNIS

The Open A girls played another tough match against Seymour College, losing 5-1 in very windy conditions. I want to congratulate each girl for their exemplary sportsmanship, both on and off the court. All players improved on their scores from the last match against Seymour, showing lots of promise for 2020.

The Open B players played an extremely close match against Scotch College, only narrowly being defeated on games. All girls played well and demonstrated amazing team spirit. Everyone played well, tried hard and had fun at the same time. Well done!

I am so proud of all the girls, with the As finishing fourth overall and the Bs finishing eighth overall. Good luck to all players on Saturday and I am looking forward to seeing everyone back in the Tennis Program in 2020! – Annabel Baldwinson (Captain)

Premier League – Saints 1-16 defeated by Seymour 5-30
Singles: Ruby Deakin 2-6, Annabel Baldwinson 2-6, Maiya Jakupec 6-0 (forfeit), Emily Loh 1-6

Premier Reserves – Saints 3-24 defeated by Scotch 29
Singles: Charlotte Staples 6-5, Imogen Nienaber 2-6, Georgia Mallick 1-6, Tahlia Louca 6-3

Junior Division 1 – Saints 4-25 defeated Seymour 2-20
Singles: Sophie Blight 2-4, Nicole Wang 4-0, Alison Francis 3-4, Chloe Richardson 4-3

Junior Division 2 – Saints 5-24 defeated Pulteney 1-11
Singles: Alexandra Nguyen 4-2, Jerrie Wu 4-0, Shirley Liu 4-0, Charlotte Thorpe 0-4

Junior Division 3 – Saints 4-20 defeated Seymour Blue 2-14
Singles: Lily Forby 4-1, Abbie An 4-1, Freya Hermann 0-4

TOUCH FOOTBALL

Open A – Saints 5 defeated Pembroke 4
What an outstanding win! Saints Girls defeated Pembroke, one of the top three teams in the ‘A’ Division. The team played with absolute enthusiasm and determination, with every girl playing their part. At the beginning of the second half, we were 4-2 down. Yet with strong communication and lifted spirits, the girls were able to perform as a united team, winning by one. Goal scorers were Ehi Oyugbo, Eve Habel, Olivia Goldsmith and Hannah Freeman. This game has proven Saints Girls are a force to be reckoned with. – Hannah Freeman (Captain)

Open B – Saints 4 drew with Wilderness 4
The Bs played a great game on Saturday against Wilderness, and were very strong in defence. It was clear the skills we have been working on in trainings were used during the game, which was really good to see. We were able to see areas we can improve on in future games, but also got to see the areas where we have improved on from our previous game. – Amelie Eaton

Open C – Saints 3 defeated by Gleeson 4
Gleeson were strong competition. We had a good show of sportsmanship, with some of our players playing for the opposing team due to them being short of players who were stuck in traffic. In the first half we presented a strong attack, with Kellie Bested scoring a try and Olivia Kelly scoring two. In the second half, however, our defence weakened which created gaps and opportunities for the opposition to gain momentum. This led to tries being scored as gaps opened up. Looking forward to future games, we need to work on consistently hitting the ball at pace and depth to create momentum and space. Defensively we will focus on running to them to shut down their attackers. – Becca Burton-Howard (Coach)

Middle A – Saints 1 drew with Pembroke 1
Last Saturday the Saints Middle A team played Pembroke in a particularly wet match. All girls played well with the wet conditions, and Lady Murphy made the first try for Saints early in the first half. The girls went on to maintain a strong defence against Pembroke only let them score one try. After half time the rain bucketed down, yet the girls held strong. Not too far into the second half the match was called off due to the rain. Outstanding effort by all girls. Final scored ended in a tie with one each way. – Isobel Yelland and Madison Liddy

Middle B – Saints 3 drew with St Ignatius 3
During Saturday’s game we played St Ignatius and tied 3-3. Our tries were scored by Amy Dillon, who scored 1, and Jasmine Segredos, who scored 2. Our tries were scored by a quick run down the wing. During the match we put everything from training into the game including quickies and switches which we have definitely improved on. Our rucking was also really good and Charlie Piper did some particularly good rucking which helped us move up the field. Our communication during the game was fantastic especially Scarlett Dillon who was instructing the team well and incredibly loudly. This week, our defence was perfect, and in the first half the other team didn’t score any tries. The girls all played really well and we will continue working on our skills during this weeks training. – Scarlett Dillon

VOLLEYBALL

Year 5-6 Blue – Saints 2 defeated Seymour Pink 1
Saints played in a close game but managed to come out victorious, winning 2 of the 3 sets. All the girls did such a great job, their serving winning us the game. – Ava Loechel (Coach)

Year 5-6 Silver – Saints 3 defeated Seymour White 0
The team played really well and are already showing great improvement. Annabel Keough played really well and Ellie Tosolini’s serving improved a lot from last week. – Georgina Keough and Anna White

Year 5-6 Black – Saints 0 defeated by Seymour Green 3
St Peter’s Girls’ Black hurriedly came together to make a fourth team and although they went down (16-25, 14-25 and 13-25), they all played to the best of their abilities. Bettina served particularly well and Abiola called clearly. Keira successfully returned a couple of tricky serves and Ruby’s movement towards the ball greatly improved. – Kim Butler-Nixon (Staff Supervisor)

WATER POLO

Open A – Saints 13 defeated Wilderness 7
The A’s had a triumphant win against Wilderness with a margin of 6 goals. The girls managed to control their many attacks to maintain a constant winning streak throughout each quarter. Best player went to Nicolette Miller and Lara Wakeham. Nicolette had many successful shots on goals and was a constant force to be reckoned with in attack. Lara was constantly available in attack, and showed her ability to outswim anyone many times, allowing her to have multiple shots at goal. Keep it up girls! – Fiona Lethbridge (Captain)

Open B – Saints 11 defeated Mercedes 6
The girls played a strong game against Mercedes, winning by 5 goals. The B’s dominated in both attack and defence, and maintained a strong lead throughout the game, with Mercedes scoring only two goals each for the last three quarters. Best players were Sophie Dansie and Georgina Wakeham. Sophie always made herself available for her team in attack and provided support in every opportunity she got. Georgina was a key player in attack, leading her to have multiple goals. Overall a good effort girls! – Fiona Lethbridge (Captain)

Open C – Saints 5 defeated by Wilderness 8
The girls had an amazing game, winning the first two quarters; 1–0 and 3–2. While the girls unfortunately lost the game, they played a brilliant game and showed their skills. Best players were Ashlyn May and Lila Gosse. Ashlyn was constantly determined and showed resilience throughout her time in both goals and on field, where she became a key person in offence. Lila played a persistent game where she supported her team by always being there in both offence and defence. Keep up the amazing work girls! – Fiona Lethbridge (Captain)

Year 7-8 – Saints 0 defeated by Pembroke 19
Last Thursday the Year 7/8 girls played a very challenging game against Pembroke. Despite the loss, they never gave up. After each break, the girls listened to my advice and tried their hardest to improve. Each quarter the girls improved, meaning they were able to keep Pembroke to only 2 goals in the last quarter and were able to get many shots themselves. I am very proud of the girls efforts and look forward to this week. – Gemma Rowe (Coach)

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