When speaking with prospective new families on school tours, or simply having a conversation with friends and family outside of work, I am often asked ‘why should we pick an all girls education?’ To those outside of our ‘world’, we can easily and proudly list off a range of reasons and justifications as to why we believe an all girls educational setting is the best. However, it’s not something that is always spoken about in our daily interactions and practice while at work. Our norm is all girls, and we know it’s important but sometimes forget the reasons why.

The International Coalition of Girls Schools, to which Saints belongs, states that ‘a school for girls is better than a school with girls’. Every opportunity, learning environment, leadership position, sports team, music solo and lead role in a play is designed for and held by a girl. Girls aren’t locked into one area, instead they are encouraged to be active, to enjoy STEM, to take a stand for social injustice, to be creative and passionate, to lead and to take risks. Saints Girls are the perfect example of this. I can recall countless students who have excelled in physics or specialist maths while also being accomplished musicians or athletes. They have taken on leadership opportunities, striving to help those in our community who aren’t as fortunate. An all girls educational experience enables students to be well rounded individuals, who believe they are capable of doing and being anything they want. Research has shown that graduates of girls schools when compared to their co-ed counterparts are six times more likely to consider majoring in math, science, and technology and three times more likely to consider engineering. A key reason for this is role modelling. When younger students see older students taking part in science and high level maths, they believe that they can also take part and be successful in previously male dominated fields. This peer-to-peer role modelling fuels a student’s belief in their own capabilities. It’s not just in maths and science that this is evident but across all facets of school life. An all girls school means that every student is a role model for others.

An all girls setting such as Saints provides a place for academic growth and excellence, a place where girls are free from gender stereotyping and are instead empowered and encouraged to become bold leaders who are confident to stand up for themselves and to voice their opinions. Who wouldn’t want to be part of that!

Lauren Sutton
Deputy Principal and Head of Senior School

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St Peter’s Girls Maths at Home

Over the past few years, up levelling the learning and teaching of literacy and numeracy has been a significant focus for Junior School teachers. They have been involved in many hours of professional learning, working with local and national experts, honing their skills, deepening their knowledge and understanding of English and Mathematics as subject areas, and reflecting on and refining their pedagogical practice. Alongside whole staff learning, some of our teachers have played a lead role in supporting specific aspects of this work. In Mathematics, Meg Jordan has worked with teachers on an assessment process to help identify students’ misconceptions in the ‘big ideas’ of number; these being ‘Trusting the Count’, ‘Place Value’, ‘Multiplicative Thinking’ and ‘Partitioning’. It’s absolutely crucial that children gain a deep understanding of each big idea and are confident in applying their understanding in multiple ways, before working with the next. This year, Zoe West and Michael Monda have extended this work by creating a fabulous new resource for families to use to enrich our students’ understanding of these four big ideas. With the help of some of our girls, a series of videos has been created demonstrating quick, fun and engaging games to play at home. Using just dice, counters, ‘school friendly’ playing cards, occasionally a 1-100 chart, and with options for reducing or extending the difficulty, the games are easy to learn and help to build the vital foundational skills and understandings of the big ideas. The games can be accessed via QR codes, and each can be played in five minutes or less. This week, Junior School teachers packed close to 350 ‘St Peter’s Girls’ Maths at Home’ packs, containing everything you will need to play these games at home, including the QR codes linking you to the demonstration videos. The packs will be officially launched and provided to all Reception to Year 6 families at the Meet the Teacher evening in February next year. Just as reading skills only improve with frequent practice, numeracy skills need the same attention. We are very proud and excited to be able to share this work with you and we hope that you and your daughters find the packs useful.

Suzanne Haddy
Head of Junior School

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Excitement and Team Spirit at R to 3 Sports Morning

Last Friday our Reception to Year 3 students took part in the Sports Morning. The girls were excited to showcase the Fundamental Movement Skills they’ve been mastering throughout the year. Amidst the joy and cheers, our students demonstrated exceptional team spirit and camaraderie. The oval was packed full of smiles and laughter, with the girls enjoying exactly what sport should be about.

The Year 6 Leaders not only facilitated the day, but also contributed to the design of the games. This gave the Year 6 girls an extra sense of ownership for the day, one that they relished as they enabled the day to be a great success.

Thank you to all the parents who attended and cheered on our young athletes. Your encouragement and presence added to the atmosphere, making the event even more special. A big thank you also goes to the class teachers and supporters who managed their girls, kept their spirits high and led by example in what it means to participate in such a day.

As we celebrate the active participation and team spirit displayed by our young stars, we eagerly anticipate more opportunities to come together and witness the growth and achievements within our School community.

Alastair Eglinton
PE Teacher

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Year 12 Arts Exhibition

On Thursday 9 November, the Year 12 Visual Arts Exhibition was held in the Elizabeth Pike Art Studio. This exhibition celebrated the artistic achievements of the graduating 2023 Visual Art students. The Year 12 Visual Arts Exhibition provided other students and their families the opportunity to see the artistic talent we have at Saints Girls. The exhibition included their final piece and practitioner’s statement positioned next to each work, which gave context to the works on display. The diversity of ideas and concepts reflected in the exhibition demonstrated a wide range of individual interests with students all creating authentic pieces, rich in meaning and personal significance.

Kirsten Mansfield
Visual Arts Teacher

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Athlete’s Foot Burnside – Putting Our Best Foot Forward

This week the Director of The Athlete’s Foot Burnside, Byron Davis, presented 2024 Prefects Daisy Kennett (Head Prefect) and Amelia Lucas (Sports Prefect) with a cheque for $1,370 for the School. We warmly thank Byron for his ongoing support.

This fantastic community initiative will see The Athlete’s Foot Burnside donate over $15,000 back to local schools this year.

Another worthy initiative is the sports shoe recycling program.  See the attached flyer for information on how to participate in this program.  When buying your new sports shoes, take the old ones back to Athletes Food for recycling – these are used to manufacture new products such as gym mats, floors and playgrounds.

All members of our community are invited to support The Athlete’s Foot Burnside with this ongoing promotion. When purchasing shoes in store, please let the staff know that you are from St Peter’s Girls and $5 from every pair of shoes purchased will be donated back to the School.  Click here for further information about this program.

Fiona McGregor
Events and Community Relations

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Animals and Adventure at Year 3 Camp

In week 4 the Year 3 students spent three fun-filled days on camp at Adare in Victor Harbor. The trip kicked off with a Horse Drawn Tram ride to Granite Island, with a chance to climb the boardwalk and soak in the views, getting our bearings of the surrounding area. Clydesdale and Isabel were a crowd favourite, safely guiding us back to the mainland in time for some beach games.

The next day we had team-building activities which included water courses, guided blindfolded rope challenges, an amazing race and dominoes. It was wonderful to see how each tribe progressed and strengthened their skills, problem-solving and strategising to ensure their tribe was victorious!

On the last day, we visited the Urimbirra Wildlife Park where we were given the opportunity to pat a koala and explore the areas where wombats, crocodiles, emus, dingoes and lizards were housed. We even got to hand feed kangaroos, including a joey in a pouch.

We returned to School a little bit tired, a bit more grateful and a smidgin taller. The girls demonstrated joy, resilience, friendship, persistence and organisational skills in spades. They should be very proud of themselves and how they conducted themselves throughout.

Jodie Heath & Sarah Mulraney
Year 3 Teachers

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Cultural Experience in Chinatown

On Wednesday 15 November, the Year 9 Chinese students headed off to Chinatown in the city centre to apply their Chinese language skills in real-life scenarios. Each student used their knowledge to order bubble tea in Chinese from their store of choice. Afterwards, we went to the central market, where we participated in a scavenger hunt and discovered a wide variety of items from different cultures. Overall, it was an eye-opening experience in which everyone had lots of fun whilst also applying the skills we acquired throughout the year.

Eliza Brill Reed and Madeleine Battye
Year 9 Students

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Friends of Rowing Riverland Dinner

The Friends of Rowing invite the Saints Rowing community to attend our Riverland Dinner on Saturday 9 December, from 6.30pm at Eleni’s Restaurant, Mallee Estate.

As part of the Riverland Regatta, it is traditional for the Friends of Rowing to arrange a social event. The Riverland Dinner is an opportunity for the Rowing community to socialise and celebrate the end of the year.

The event will feature a banquet-style meal, including lamb and chicken souvlaki, spanakopita, chips, and Greek salad. Children’s meals are also available to be pre-ordered for children 12 and under. Drinks and refreshments will be available to purchase at the venue.

Saturday 9 December, 6.30pm arrival for 7pm start
Eleni’s Restaurant, Mallee Estate
20055 Renmark Ave, Renmark

Tickets can be purchased here.  Ticket sales close 5.00pm Sunday 3 December

Brynley Millward
Director of Rowing

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Vacation Care Bookings Open Now

With the School Holidays just around the corner why not take a look at our Vacation Care program and join in on one of the many exciting adventures planned to keep the children entertained.

Click here to book, places are limited so get in quick!

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Immunisation Program 2023

As the school year ends, we would like to send a reminder to all parents/legal guardians of students in Year 7,8 and 10 to catch up on any vaccines their children may have missed throughout 2023.

The 2023 School Immunisation Program consists of the following vaccines:
Year 7 and 8 – a single dose of Gardasil vaccine (human papilloma virus)
Year 7 and 8 – a single dose of Boostrix vaccine (diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough)
Year 10 – a 2 dose course of Bexsero (meningococcal B)
Year 10 – a single dose of Nimenrix (meningococcal ACWY)

Most students would have completed the program this year through our school visits but due to absenteeism/illness, there may be outstanding vaccines for some students.
If you would like to follow up on any missed vaccinations for your children, click here to please make an appointment or you may contact us at Eastern Health Authority on 81323600

Rebecca Haysman
Senior Nurse/School Immunisation Coordinator

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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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Bushfire Action Plan

It is important 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.

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School Health Centre Notices

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

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).
• 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.

Sports News

Sport Results

Wednesday 15 November – Tuesday 21 November

AFL

Year 4-6 Blue: Saints (66) v Year 5/6 Walford White (0)
Best Player: Mikayla Rundle
Superwoman: Violet Tulloch

Year 3-4 White: Bye

BASKETBALL

Open A: Saints (32) v Walford Senior B (39)

Middle A: Saints (32) v Westminster Middle A (35)

Middle B: Saints (22) v Westminster Middle B (18)

Middle C: Saints (12) v Immanuel Middle C2 (33)
Best player: Imogen Wallace as she scored several baskets, rebounded well, got lots of intercepts and was great in offensive transition.
Superwomen: Eva Murphy for her great work in defence, getting lots of deflections, steals, fantastic passing and dribbling up the court throughout the game. Rishita Raghav, scored several baskets, rebounded well and played hard even after she had rolled her ankle.

Middle D: Saints (44) v Wilderness Middle White (2)
Best Player: Sindy Song as she scored the team’s two points of foul shots, gave 110% the whole game, used her strong dribbling skills to carry the ball down the court throughout the game even under pressure.
Superwoman: Christina Zhu as she made some great passes to her teammates to great scoring opportunities and for her consistent effort throughout the game.

WATER POLO

Open A: Saints (15) v Seymour Senior A (4)

Open B: Bye

Middle A: Saints (4) v St Ignatius (6)
Best Player: Grace Marschall. Grace was incredible in goals, she saved so many shots, even several one-on-one contests.
Superwoman: Ruby Marschall. Ruby was our Superwoman, swimming hard in attack and shooting strongly, but also transitioning into defence and swimming back straight away.

CRICKET

Senior B White: Saints (85/3 (12)) v Seymour Senior B (65/8(12))

Year 3-6 Internal: Cancelled

TENNIS

Senior Open A: Saints (1/18) v Pembroke Premier League (8/51)

Experienced: Bye

Senior Division 2: Saints (53) v Wilderness White (22)

Senior Division 4.1: Saints (9/9/54) v Wilderness Div 4 White (0/0/7)
Coach’s comment: Our opponents only had three players so only three matches were played. Luna won both her games, but I would like to nominate Vivian for superwoman. She did not have her contact lenses, but she fought hard and hit the yellow blur (her words) to victory. I would also like to thank Sanvi for coming out again and with the permission of Eva and Matt I would like to bring her into the 4.1 team.

Senior Division 4.2: Cancelled

Senior Division 4.4: Internal game

VOLLEYBALL

Senior A: Saints (3/75) v Walford Senior B (0/37)

Senior B: Bye

Senior C: Saints (0) v Concordia Senior C4 (3)
Best player: Amelia Sutherland, excellent pressure in the net, served and passed well.
Superwoman: Sophie Upton as she cheered everyone on.

Middle A: Saints (2/64) v Woodcroft Middle B1 (1/53)
Best player: Naomi Meng
Superwoman: Valerie Ng, for coming out of her comfort zone and showing enthusiasm and support for teammates

Middle B: Saints (1/47) v Woodcroft Middle B2 (2/74)
Best player: Chiara Ranasinghe as she was calm and collected, executing her skills with great accuracy and consistency.
Superwoman: Xizhen (Anny) Zhang. Being the youngest in the team it took a bit of time for her to settle in, however, she found her voice this game and confidence, allowing her to get around her teammates and execute skills (serving in particular) with greater consistency.

Middle C: Saints (3/75) v Woodcroft Middle C1 (0/53)
Best player: Olivia Lu
Superwoman: Jasmin Cetinkol

Middle D: Bye

TOUCH FOOTBALL

Middle A: Saints (3) v Mercedes (2)
Best player: Eliza Brill Reed – Eliza’s game improves every week. She was instrumental in our defence today. Abbey Phillips – a key player who puts in 100% every week. Abbey demonstrates great positive communication both on and off the field.
Superwoman: Kaylisiah Jang filled in for the A’s and scored a try late in the second half of the game. Maisy Ion works really hard every week at trainings and game day. Her skills are really building and proving her worth in the team.

Middle B: Saints (4) v St Dominic’s (4)
Best player: Ivy Pratt
Superwoman: Sandithi Pussellage for scoring her first Try!

Open B: Saints (1) v Pembroke Open A (4)
Best player: Chloe Richardson
Superwoman: Anna Russell

Open C: Bye

An Interview with Mathilda Thomas

In September, Year 11 student Matilda Thomas travelled to the Gold Coast to participate in the Touch Football National Youth Championships, she played for the U18 Girls South Australia Heat Team.

Mathilda gained a lot of experience from the trip and feels it has made her a better player. She faced challenges including playing against girls who are two years older than her and who have been playing since they were very young, but she used resilience and positivity to shine through the harder games. Unfortunately, she was carrying an injury throughout the tournament which made it painful to play each game, but she dug deep and was determined to continue even when the going was hard.

Communication and positive talk from teammates helped her keep a positive mindset during the competition, she said ‘if someone was ever having a bad game or felt down, others in the team would ensure they felt supported so they could continue to reach their best.’ She also highlighted how support from coaches was really beneficial in maintaining a positive mindset.

Mathilda thoroughly enjoyed playing interstate teams including the reigning National Champions. ‘The best thing about Nationals was all the people you meet and the memories you make. Going away with a bunch of girls on such a trip helps you make strong friendships, and the experience of both playing as a team and then having downtime where you do heaps of bonding, makes it all so much fun.’ She loved that they all got to play the game they love while making long-lasting friendships.

Mathilda aims to use her experience at Nationals to create a closer Touch Football community at Saints this summer by encouraging everyone to work together and support each other through the ups and downs.

Emily Ketteridge
Touch Football Captain

PE Week Wrap Up

Monday – Ninja Warrior
The Ninja Warrior course was set up in the school gym for the Junior School girls to participate in. To begin, the girls used their balance to walk across a bench and then zig zagged through four cones, touching each one as they went. Next, they progressed to the rope swing, where they used their upper body strength to hold themselves up as they swung across holding onto the rope.

From here, they ran through a line of cones, changing directions each time so they didn’t knock them over. The bean bag section was next where the girls used their aim to throw bean bags into a variety of hula hoops. This progressed onto attempting to shoot a basketball in the hoop. Next, they were given a tennis ball and had to hit the targets on the wall 15 times before sprinting to the finish line!

This activity was very popular amongst the girls as they were able to successfully complete each task whilst having fun with their friends.

Tuesday – Staff vs Students Basketball
The staff vs student basketball game that was a very engaging and exciting competition between the two teams. The staff team, led by Ms Perkas, got off to a very strong start and dominated throughout the court with star-player Mr Durant scoring several spectacular three pointers from all over the court!

The Open A team, led by our own basketball captain Ashlyn May, put up a very strong fight as well. Adding to the atmosphere was a very exciting half-court shot competition during the half time break that many students attempted but only one person could score it, Mr Durant!

While the staff took home the win convincingly, the students still put in a great effort and all speculators loved the game.

Wednesday – Dodgeball
Our Middle and Senior School girls took to the court in a very competitive dodgeball game. Girls were ducking and diving to try to avoid the flying balls from the opposition. A few staff joined in as well and fired some rockets at the students, and they happily returned the favour! Not sure we’ll be winning any dodgeball championships any time soon, but it was a great way for the girls and staff to interact and have some fun.

Thursday – Staff vs Students Touch Football
The Open A team played a tough Touch Footy match against the Staff. The game was great fun to watch and even better to play in. The teams both brought amazing skills and fitness to the game and it was so much fun to play against the staff. Although the score came very close until the last quarter at 3-3, the students managed to get one more try and bring home the win. Both teams set up some really good sets of six touches and even managed to score trys off some of them. It was great to see both teams continuously encouraging each other even though the subs were limited on both sides. Thank you to all the staff that participated and congratulations to the student team!

Friday – Classis Catches
Classic Catches was held on the oval for Junior, Middle and Senior School girls. Sports captains and teachers used tennis rackets to hit tennis balls high into the air, while girls from all year levels came and tried their best to catch one of the many balls.

In return for their efforts, girls were rewarded with a Zooper-Dooper, perfect for the sunny day! The girls loved the competitiveness, and having to run and react quickly to wherever the ball was hit to. It was great to see girls from older year levels helping younger girls improving their catching skills and showing them how to use the tennis rackets to hit the balls. Classic Catches was a fun and exciting end to a great PE week!

Lara Maione, Daisy Braithwaite, Sophie Edwardes & Mathilda Thomas
Sports Captains

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