Monthly Archives: April 2023

eNews – Week 1, Term 2 2023

Issue no. 11Enews-banner

Sports Day: and the Winner is…

Congratulations to Kilburn on taking out Sports Day 2023!

House spirit was in full flight at the state-of-the-art SA Athletics Stadium today as eager athletes dominated the track and field. As always, the novelty events were a hit, and the Year 12 costumes lived up to the hype with colour and creativity.

Well done to the girls, staff and parents on yet another fantastic Sports Day!


From Our PrincipalCherylyn Skewes

Welcome back for Term 2 at Saints Girls! I hope you all had an enjoyable break and managed to recharge the batteries from a blockbuster Term 1, highlights of which can be seen in the video below. To kickstart this term, despite a shortened week, we have literally hit the ground running with Sports Day held at the SA Athletics Stadium. What a thrill it was to see our Year 4 to 12 students in action. The camaraderie, teamwork and participation on display as the girls embraced their House spirit was truly remarkable. Congratulations to all involved.

I also thoroughly enjoyed spending part of my day on campus at Stonyfell with our Reception-Year 3 students participating in House Spirit Day. Our younger students were engaged in a rotation of activities in their House groups, including baking scones, creating artwork for House banners, science experiments with our Scientist in Residence, yoga and dance sessions.

There is so much more to look forward to in the weeks ahead. Our Arts students will no doubt do us proud at events such as Generations in Jazz, the SACE Dance Stage 2 Choreography Evening and our Senior Drama Production. Another huge highlight will be our biennial School Musical in Week 7, so make sure you secure your seats for what promises to be a spectacular showcase of our girls’ talents on stage and behind the scenes. Ticket details can be found further down in eNews.

In addition, we once again have the privilege of hosting local schools for the South Australian da Vinci Decathlon and can’t wait to see our amazing decathletes in action. Meanwhile, some of our youngest learners in our ELC will be further developing their confidence and capabilities as they begin Reception transition visits later this term, culminating in our ELC Hat Ceremony which has become another treasured tradition at Saints Girls.

Of course, these highlights are just the tip of the iceberg as we also look forward to camps, excursions and special opportunities to connect with our families and other community members.

In staffing news, Mrs Emma McIntyre will shortly commence her maternity leave and her classes will be taught by Ms Miranda Pallett. Miranda is a vastly experienced mathematics teacher. She has taught in Australia and overseas to the highest level of mathematics both within the SACE and IB. We wish Emma and her family all the best and look forward to welcoming Miranda into the School community. We are delighted that Ms Emily Moxon has once again agreed to take on Emma’s role as Head of Kennion House during her absence.

I wish you all the best for a wonderful term ahead and look forward to seeing you here at Stonyfell.

Cherylyn Skewes
Principal

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Summer Interhouse Results

Summer Interhouse was held on the last day of Term 1, where our House Captains and Sports Captains worked together to plan and execute a wonderful day!

They put together teams that focused on maximum participation across all year levels, wrote the modified rules for each of their sports, planned the fixture, gathered the equipment and organised umpires. They held House meetings and communicated with their Houses to ensure everyone knew what was happening and how they could be involved.

They also ensured each team had a ‘captain’ for the day who was responsible for player rotations and managing their sport.

We saw the introduction of cricket this year, along with Middle School touch football (previously this had only been a Senior School competition), which were both fantastic additions to the program.

All competitions were hotly contested and the girls displayed their skill, competitiveness and strong team camaraderie throughout the afternoon.

Congratulations to everyone who organised, participated, and cheered the teams on. A huge thank you to the staff who assisted in scoring, umpiring and collating results. It was fantastic to see everyone getting involved and supporting each other.

Congratulations to our Interhouse winners:

CRICKET
1st – Kilburn
2nd – Kennion
3rd – Selwyn
4th – Patteson

BASKETBALL
1st – Patteson
2nd – Kilburn
3rd – Kennion
4th – Selwyn

ROWING
1st – Patteson
2nd – Kilburn
3rd – Kennion
4th – Selwyn

TENNIS
1st – Selwyn
2nd – Kilburn
3rd – Kennion
4th – Patteson

TOUCH FOOTBALL
1st – Kennion
2nd – Selwyn
3rd – Patteson
4th – Kilburn

VOLLEYBALL
1st – Selwyn
2nd – Kennion
3rd – Patteson
4th – Kilburn

OVERALL
1st – Kennion
Equal 2nd – Selwyn
Equal 2nd – Kilburn
3rd – Patteson

Alice Johnswood
Sports Administrator

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Saints Girls Create Generations in Jazz History

Come and watch our Saints Girls create Generations in Jazz history with the first ever, all strings, jazz combo! Our newest ensemble, ‘Revolution Strings’ directed by Sari Noble, will hit the ‘The Apple Farm’ stage in Mt Gambier on Saturday 6 May at 11.20am. Capably led by Sam Li, Revolution Strings will perform an entertaining swing number with solos from Chen Chen Han, Sam Li and Lauren Parker; a haunting ballad with an incredible solo by Sam Li; and a burning samba with our Head Prefect Ellie Humphrey on the drum kit.

Also performing is our amazing Stage Band in the MGA Pavilion at 10am, while Esperanza will perform in the Open Small Division on the Allert Pavilion stage at 2.10pm. For the first time, Enchante has entered Division 1 and will compete against specialist music schools and some of the best choirs in the nation. Enchante will perform in the Allert Pavilion at 3.50pm.

For a taste of what to expect, check out the below video for a quick snippet from Revolution Strings!

Sari Noble
Music Teacher

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Old Scholar Hits High Notes as Scholarship Finalist

Congratulations to Old Scholar Izzy Norman (Patteson 2020), who has been announced as a Generations in Jazz Scholarship finalist.

Izzy is our 3rd member from ‘Enchante’ to make the finals of this prestigious national jazz competition, an amazing feat in itself. Izzy’s performances will take place at ‘The Barn’ on Friday 5 May at 8.30pm, and Saturday 6 May at 10am.

We wish Izzy the very best of luck!

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Performing Arts Dinner – Save the Date

We are thrilled to present the inaugural Performing Arts Dinner for 2023!

Held in the Arts Centre on the evening of Friday 26 May, this event is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate our vibrant Performing Arts Community and for parents, daughters and Performing Arts staff to foster connections. Enjoy great food catered by ‘Little Catering Company’ and fun music whilst gaining valuable insight from a range of industry professional guest speakers.

If your daughter is involved in Dance, Drama or Music from Years 9 – 12 or is in the cast of this year’s School Musical, Matilda, we would love to see you there. Bookings and further information will be available via the TryBooking link in next week’s eNews.

Friday 26 May
6:30pm – 9:30pm
Arts Centre, St Peter’s Girls School
Cocktail Dress

Zacharia Henley and Zara Blight 
Performing Arts Captains

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Matilda School Musical – Book your Tickets Now!

In our biggest-ever School Musical, more than 100 Saints Girls are working hard on stage and behind the scenes as we countdown to Roald Dahl’s Matilda in Week 7.

Inspired by the twisted genius of Roald Dahl, with book by Dennis Kelly and original songs by Tim Minchin, Matilda the Musical explores the anarchy of childhood and the power of imagination through the inspiring story of a little girl who dreams of a better life. With high-energy dance numbers, catchy songs and unforgettable characters, Matilda will be a girl-power showcase of our fabulous singers, dancers, actors and musicians.

Matinee Performance: 8 June, 1pm
Evening Performances: 7, 8 & 9 June, 7pm
Arts Centre

To secure your tickets – click here

Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical
Book by Dennis Kelly
Music and Lyrics by Tim Minchin
Licensed exclusively by Music Theatre International (Australasia).
All performance materials supplied by Hal Leonard Australia.
Orchestrations and Additional Music – Chris Nightingale.

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Senior Drama Production – Book Now!

The Year 11 and 12 SACE Drama and IB Theatre students have been busily working on this year’s Senior Drama Production: Amelia Bradshaw Turns Eight.

Suitable for all ages, the play is a poignant comedy that explores the nature of human politics, growing up and the effect of the choices we make on who we become.

7pm
17 – 18 May

Arts Centre

To secure your tickets – click here

Michael Butler-Wills
Head of English/Drama Teacher

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Mobile Phone Policy Review

At St Peter’s Girls, we maintain a register of the School’s policies with a formal review cycle. Our policy for student use of mobile phones at school is due for review this year. We thank several parents who have approached us, wishing to discuss the pros and cons of the School’s current policy.

We know that schools in the government sector are now mandated to introduce policies prohibiting student use of mobile phones during the school day by the end of this school year. One of the many advantages of being an independent school is being able to respond to the needs of our students, staff and parents pertinent to our unique context. Our aim is to educate our students whilst considering the range of perspectives amongst members in our School community. Please be aware that our current policy only applies to students in Years 7 – 12. Students in our ELC and Junior School are not permitted to use mobile phones during the school day and we do not foresee this changing.

During the remainder of this term and early next term, we will commence the review of our Mobile Phone Policy by discussing it with our SRC representatives from Years 5 – 12, and we will be meeting with staff focus groups to seek their views. In the first part of this term, we will also be sending out a survey for parents. We hope that as many parents as possible will find the time to complete this short but important survey, and we look forward to reviewing the results.

Cherylyn Skewes
Principal

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COVID-19 Information

Please find the latest guidance from SA Health:

  • It is strongly recommended that students stay home if they have cold or flu-like
    symptoms, and test for COVID-19.
  • Whether they receive a positive or negative result, they should stay home until symptoms subside (usually five to seven days).
  • It is strongly recommended that parents/guardians inform the School if a student is a
    close contact. For further advice regarding close contacts, click here
  • While face masks are no longer mandated, they are an important physical barrier to help stop the spread of COVID, particularly when indoors.

If your child tests positive to COVID-19, please inform the School. Please also notify the School each day of absence, or provide the expected period of absence.

You can notify us via one of the following methods. Please include the name of the ELC Room, Class or Home Group. If emailing, feel free to ‘CC’ the teacher of the Room/Class/Home Group as well.

Email: attendance@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au

Text: 0428 601 957 (save to phone contacts as SPGS)

Phone: 8334 2200

For more SA Health information, click here

Please note that if your child is unwell, they should remain home until they have recovered, irrespective of the illness.

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School Medical Information Reminder

It is imperative that all medical information, including immunisations, is up to date on the School’s myLink parent portal.

Please follow this pathway to check and/or update details: myLink > Community Portal > My Details > select child name

If you have any questions, please email healthcentre@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au

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Car Park Protocols


Burnside Council has advised it will be conducting routine street parking patrols to support the safety of all people within the vicinity of the School. For council parking information, please find an information brochure here.

A reminder about the School’s car park protocols:

If the car park is full and you are unable to enter, circle the block until it is clear to enter, find a park elsewhere or, where age-appropriate, meet your daughter in a surrounding street.

Please note that, unless special circumstances apply, parents of girls in Years 2 to 12 should not enter the car park to collect their daughters prior to 3.30pm. Parents of girls in Reception and Year 1 have exclusive use of the pick-up zone prior to this time for safety and traffic reasons.

Please also refrain from turning right into or out of the car park at peak times, and please do not queue in the car park’s lanes as this often prevents drivers who are legally parked from exiting.

We have also previously received complaints about cars being parked too close to or in front of driveways, or across from other vehicles in surrounding streets, making it extremely difficult for residents and other road users to navigate.

We ask all community members to show consideration for others. Thank you for your cooperation.

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School Shop Notice

School Shop Opening Hours

Monday to Friday: 8am – 4pm (closed for lunch 12 – 12.30pm)

Parents can also order items via our Online School Shop. This is now accessible via the Flexischools platform which also administers our Online Tuck Shop. To sign in or sign up to Flexischools, click here

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Absences from School

If your child will not be attending school/ELC due to illness or otherwise, please notify the School via one of the methods below.

Please include the name of the ELC Room, Class or Home Group, along with the reason for the absence as the School requires this for government reporting purposes.

If emailing, feel free to ‘CC’ the teacher of the Room/Class/Home Group as well.

Text: 0428 601 957

Email: attendance@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au

Phone: 8334 2200

It would be appreciated if notifications could be made prior to 9am.

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