Issue no. 2
In this edition
Full Return to School Update
Following the State Government’s confirmation of a full, on-site return to school next week, we can’t wait for our Years 2 – 6 and Years 9 – 11 students to join the rest of our girls here on Monday.
We expect Monday morning’s drop-off will be busier than usual given many of our students who’ve been learning from home will be unloading additional resources. Therefore, we ask drivers to be patient and adhere to the 10kmh speed limit. Our wonderful Prefect Team will be on hand to assist the girls in carrying their bags into school.
Schools are still awaiting advice and timings on elements such as the return to interschool sport, events and having parents back on campus. All activities will be reviewed in line with the latest advice and we will communicate relevant updates with you. At this stage, we have rescheduled Drinks on the Lawns, so please save the new date: Thursday 10 March, 5.30 – 8pm.
Whilst having all of our cohorts back here together at Stonyfell will be incredible, we must be even more vigilant in minimising COVID-19 transmission.
As such, please be reminded of the following:
Face masks are required indoors for students in Years 7 to 12 and strongly recommended for students in Years 3 to 6, unless an exemption applies.
Children are to be kept home if they are unwell, even mildly.
If your child tests positive to COVID-19, notify us immediately. Please also provide the date your child’s test was taken and the date symptoms started (if no symptoms, note ‘asymptomatic’).
Where possible, to help limit the amount of telephone traffic, please notify us via email or text:
Email: attendance@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
Text: 0428 601 957 (save to phone contacts as SPGS)
If you do need to notify us over the phone, please call the Front Office on 8334 2200.
If there are COVID cases within the school setting, parents of classroom contacts will be notified, and these children can continue to attend school provided they have no symptoms.
For families who choose to keep their children home or if they are required to isolate, we will be unable to deliver a formal remote learning program. However, we will provide support where practical, which may involve sharing some online resources but not direct teaching.
Once again, we thank our families for your fantastic support and cooperation, and we look forward to seeing all of our girls in three days’ time!
Julia Shea
Principal
Drinks on the Lawns – Save the New Date
From Our Deputy Principal /
Head of Senior School
I have always encouraged the students in my care to try something new, to take risks and to continue to build their resilience. As the year commenced, I found myself thinking of all those students who followed my advice, and suddenly had an even greater appreciation of the courage they displayed taking on something new and different, as I prepared to join a new school community.
Any nerves that may have been present in those early days were quickly laid to rest as students, families and staff warmly welcomed me to St Peter’s Girls. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for the lovely welcome I have received. I could tell from the very start that Saints Girls is a place of excellence, a place where people care for one another and a place of fun. The first few weeks have certainly lived up to those early sentiments
While the start of the 2022 school year isn’t quite as we had hoped it might be, I look forward to welcoming back our remaining cohorts and to meeting more families over the coming weeks. I believe the partnership between home and school is vital to ensure our girls flourish throughout their school journey.
As an educator, I am passionate about girls’ schools and girls’ education. Places such as Saints Girls provide opportunities for students to grow in confidence as learners and as young women. Our girls are encouraged to take risks and to develop resilience. They take on leadership roles and see other young women leading. Girls’ schools are truly a wonderful place to be!
There are many things I am looking forward to at St Peter’s Girls, but how could I go past Choral Night?! An event that I have already heard so much about, I look forward with much excitement to see what our girls can produce. While there are certainly lots of big events I am eager to experience, it is perhaps the smaller moments in each day that I am just as excited about. I look forward to chatting with the girls and getting to know them, and meeting families as we watch the girls compete in sport, perform on stage, or simply in the mornings at drop-off.
I wish you all a happy, safe and successful 2022 and look forward to working in partnership with our families.
Lauren Sutton
Deputy Principal/Head of Senior School
Greetings from Our ELC in 2022
Welcome to 2022 at St Peter’s Girls’ Early Leaners’ Centre!
As we look forward to another amazing year together, we extend special greetings to our new families and a warm welcome back to familiar faces.
Talented Rider Jumping for Joy
Congratulations to Imogen Lindh for placing Runner Up as the Australian Children’s Champion at the recent Australian Jumping Championships in Victoria.
Imogen proudly rode her horse Blackall Park Koraleigh at the three-day event and came in only 1 point behind the winner.
Photo credit: Derek O’Leary
Academic Athlete at International Olympiad
During the summer holidays, I travelled to Canberra for nine days to participate in the International Junior Science Olympiad. My team quickly got to know each other and developed relationships through activities such as board games and various challenges like building a spaghetti tower. The team then spent three days before the competition revising material and doing practice practicals.
The competition itself consisted of a multiple choice exam, a theory (short answer) exam and a practical exam which were completed in two teams of three. Each exam covered all three disciplines of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, so we needed to be well-rounded in our knowledge of these areas. The exams went for three hours and were held on separate days with rest days in between. As a joke, our practical teams were unofficially named after popular conspiracy theories. On the rest days, we visited popular spots around Canberra such as Questacon at the National Science and Technology Centre, the particle accelerator at the Australian National University, the shopping mall and the lake. We also rode the scooters. My favourite visit was the ‘Within Without’ James Turrell Skyspace Exhibition at the National Gallery of Australia.
The International Junior Science Olympiad and the work to prepare for it were incredibly challenging, but it was such a rewarding experience to learn and be exposed to so many new things.
Heidi Gong
Year 10 Student
Important COVID-19 Notice
As we embark upon a very different start to the school year, we must all work together to minimise the risk of COVID transmission. Please note the following:
Children are to be kept home if they are unwell, even mildly.
If your child tests positive to COVID-19, notify us immediately. Please also provide the date your child’s test was taken and the date symptoms started (if no symptoms, note ‘asymptomatic’).
Where possible, to help limit the amount of telephone traffic, please notify us via email or text:
Email: attendance@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
Text: 0428 601 957 (save to phone contacts as SPGS)
If you do need to notify us over the phone, please call the Front Office on 8334 2200.
If there are COVID cases within the school setting, parents of classroom contacts will be notified, and these children can continue to attend school provided they have no symptoms.
We thank all of our families for your continued support and cooperation.
Be Involved in ‘Our Saints’ Community
Would you like your daughter’s Grandmother, Grandfather, Aunts and/or Uncles to receive our biannual Saints Alive magazine and our weekly eNews updates? Sign up for the free ‘Our Saints’ membership for Grandparents, other treasured family members and friends.
For more information and to join this unique group, please click here and email the completed form to Foundation Manager Melissa Westgate via mwestgate@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au.
Dad’s Night on the Green
Friday 4 March from 6.30pm
Tranmere Bowling Club
1 Kings Grove, Tranmere
Tickets: $40 via www.Trybooking.com/BWKLE
Includes entry, bowling fees and sausage sizzle
Drinks and raffle tickets can be purchased on the evening
Bookings close Wednesday 2 March
Participants will be assembled into teams of four. Bring a mate and meet other Saints Girls’ dads!
Supported by the Saints Sport Support Group
Support from The Athlete’s Foot Burnside
We once again invite our community members to support the School and local business by purchasing your shoes at The Athlete’s Foot Burnside.
$5 from every pair purchased by anyone connected to our Saints Girls’ community will be donated back to St Peter’s Girls’ School. This is an ongoing partnership, so please let their staff know that you would like your donation to come to Saints Girls when you make a purchase.
As part of this fantastic community initiative, The Athlete’s Foot Burnside donated over $13,000 back to local schools last year. For more information, click here.
Monday to Friday: 8am – 4pm
(closed for lunch 12 – 12.30pm)
Swimming Requirements for Years 4 to 10
We ask parents to check that their daughters have correctly-sized bathers for Swimming activities for all girls in Years 4 to 10.
If your daughter requires new bathers, we highly recommend making an appointment with the School Shop on 8334 2228 and purchasing soon.
Year 10, 11 and 12 Jumpers
Jumpers are now available for Year 10, 11 and 12 students to purchase from the School Shop.
2022 School Immunisation Program
The information below is provided by Eastern Health Authority
Immunisation Information for Parents/Legal Guardians of Year 8 and 10 Students
The SA School Immunisation Program will be offered at your school by Eastern Health Authority.
All Year 8 students will be offered:
2 doses of the human papillomavirus vaccine, Gardasil®9 at 2 separate visits.
1 dose of the diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough vaccine, Boostrix®.
All Year 10 students will be offered:
2 doses of the meningococcal B vaccine, Bexsero® at 2 separate visits.
1 dose of the meningococcal ACWY vaccine, Nimenrix®.
Immunisation Consent Packs will be sent home with all Year 8 and 10 students. It is important that you read the information contained in the packs before you give consent for your child to be vaccinated at school. If you have any questions about this program, please contact Eastern Health Authority on 8132 3600 or www.eha.sa.gov.au
All parents/legal guardians are to complete, sign and return the Consent Cards, even if you do not consent for the student to be vaccinated at school. Students aged 16 years and above can consent for themselves.
If you do not receive an Immunisation Consent Pack from your child, please ask for one at the school’s Front Office.
If you do not want your child to be vaccinated at school, please contact Eastern Health Authority to arrange for your child to receive the free vaccines. If you go to your local doctor for the vaccination, they will need to order the vaccine and may charge a consultation fee.
Remember to keep your child’s School Immunisation Program records in a safe place as they may be required for future employment or travel.
Bushfire Action Plan
It is timely to remind families about the School’s Bushfire Action Plan.
The policy was developed in consultation with the CFS, MFS, Department for Education and other stakeholders to ensure staff and students are prepared in the event of an emergency.
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.
General Absences from School
If your child is going to be absent, late to school or leave early, please use one of the following methods to notify the School, providing the student name, Class/Home Group and reason:
Text: 0428 601 957
Email: attendance@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
Phone: 8334 2200
Feel free to include the Class/Home Group Teacher when emailing. It would be appreciated if notifications could be made prior to 9am.
New Sports at Saints Girls
Whilst the start to sport has once again been disrupted, our student sign-on has been very positive with growth in several sports including Volleyball, Touch Football, Water Polo and Basketball. We have also introduced two new programs which we are excited to watch develop.
These programs fall in line with our sport strategic plan, to tier our sporting opportunities into three categories; START, TRAIN, PERFORM. The introduction of Yoga and Hiking as two START sports has two intentions. Firstly, to provide an opportunity for girls who struggle with the time commitment of team sports to continue to be active in a social school-based setting, and secondly, for girls who participate in several sports, an opportunity to recover whilst challenging themselves with a new activity. These sports have had a strong uptake, with over 25 girls registering an interest in Hiking and 70 Year 10 – 12 girls register for Yoga.
Our next step in START, TRAIN, PERFORM is to identify high performing teams and/or individuals and to develop programs which offer additional growth opportunities. These will come in the form of sport psychology, high-performance mental skills, physical conditioning and recovery. Where possible for these PERFORM-based teams, we will develop short and medium-term plans which will include Knockouts, carnivals and, where appropriate, sports tours.
By creating programs that meet the motivations of our girls, we hope to inspire lifelong participation and to develop a centred growth mindset where students strive to improve in a healthy self-focused way.
Tommy Peak
Director of Sport