Issue no. 18
In this edition
A Day in the Life at Saints Girls
We recently spent time with some of our Year 7 students to capture a day in the life in Middle School at Saints Girls.
From working together in the classroom, to hitting the sporting field or perfecting dance performances, one thing was clear: the girls are truly living our values of courage, creativity and compassion. They’re also making the most of our wonderful new Middle School, especially when it comes to group work in our breakout spaces.
We thank all the girls involved and we hope you enjoy the video:
From the Head of Junior School
Children with strong social and emotional capabilities will do better at school.
Last week, we welcomed our new Mid-Year Reception students with their parents for their first orientation visit and they are now well into their transition program, enjoying half-days experiencing life as ‘big school’ girls. With behind-the-scenes work building the Junior School structure and content for the R – 6 #EMPOWHER wellbeing program currently underway, it’s timely to reflect on the importance of developing strong emotional capabilities in our children at an early age.
The work we are doing centres on evidence-based research and practice, and it is reassuring to see an increasing amount of research coming from the Australian context. The research tells us that young children who know how to cope with their emotions go on to do better in school across a range of measures, including academic.
We know that those who are able to take life in their stride are going to be better off than those who ‘sweat the small stuff’. But what does the research tell us about how we, as teachers and parents, can build capacity in students to navigate personal and academic challenges?
Dr Rebecca Collie is a Scientia Fellow and Senior Lecturer in Educational Psychology at UNSW Sydney. Through her extensive research, she has found that the following five attributes are key:
• Self-awareness – the ability to be aware of and understand our emotions, values, strengths and weaknesses (such as being able to identify feelings of frustration or anger when they occur)
• Self-management – the ability to control or adjust our emotions and behaviour as needed in different situations (such as being able to control one’s temper)
• Social awareness – the ability to understand other people’s perspectives and feel empathy (such as being able to consider how a situation may be perceived by others)
• Relationship skills – the capacity to listen effectively, communicate clearly, cooperate with others and offer help as needed (such as being able to work well in a group)
• Responsible decision-making – the capacity to make choices in diverse settings that are respectful and constructive (such as understanding that actions appropriate at home may be different from those appropriate at school)
Dr Collie says these skills help children thrive, both in school and in life. “Researchers have also been able to link these skills in childhood with positive mental, physical and financial outcomes in adulthood”, she states. “Whether we look at our personal lives, school, work or sport, interpersonal interactions are critical to our capacity to integrate and succeed.”
We currently focus on developing these skills in our R – 6 students, and they are being incorporated into the newly-scoped wellbeing program. Families can bolster them at home too, by helping children reflect on these attributes and giving them opportunities to practise them. By helping our children develop these five key skills, we will empower them to achieve better outcomes in school, and to live more fulfilling lives.
It’s an exciting time to be leading the advancement of our Junior School students’ holistic educational outcomes and very fulfilling to know that our newest students will reap the benefits of the current development and future delivery of the R – 6 #EMPOWHER wellbeing program.
Suzanne Haddy
Head of Junior School
A Message from our Debating and Public Speaking Captain
There are a few things that distinguish the winter terms from the other parts of the year at Saints Girls: Hallett Road becomes invisible under fog, volleyball nets are swapped for netball goals and, most excitingly for me as Debating and Public Speaking Captain, the debating season commences.
Perhaps one of the most team-building activities the School offers, groups of about six girls work cohesively to formulate an argument and present it, as well as rebut the case of an opposing team from another school. The benefits of debating are clear. Girls who debate develop critical thinking skills, refine their writing and speaking, learn to respond to arguments on their feet and, through research, are exposed to a variety of topical issues and invited to develop their own opinions. This year, age-appropriate topics have ranged from the question of parental autonomy, the current voting age and Brexit to free-range eggs, Hogwarts as an ideal school and responsible rubbish management.
Quite considerably, debating is a way in which people who perhaps aren’t as confident in other extra-curricular activities such as sport and music can contribute to and represent the School in competitions.
This idea of finding ways to contribute to school and community piqued my interest when I was considering the sorts of initiatives I could undertake as Debating Captain, which led me to creating the first-ever Interhouse Debating competition. I wanted to devise a way in which girls could contribute to their House and offer their skills, and for talented girls who don’t often receive all the accolades they deserve due to the way debating operates outside of school hours to be recognised. So, in Week 4, the Houses debated “that Instagram’s negative effects outweigh its positives”. The successful houses, Kennion and Selwyn, battled over “reality TV is pointless”.
The teams consisted of girls from Years 7 to 12, which effectively promoted inter-year level cohesion. The age differences were barely discernible as each speaker was of an incredibly high standard and spoke with remarkable confidence. The debates were engaging and fun, and it was great to see some displays of House spirit, especially from the House Captains! This event also promoted debating to girls who perhaps would not have otherwise known about it or had any interest in it, so this exposure was beneficial to both those participating and watching.
Thank you so much to the audience for listening and engaging, thanks to all the girls who debated for your time and effort, and well done to Selwyn for taking out the contest!
Emma Bleby
Debating and Public Speaking Captain
Multi-talented Junior Musos
In the Junior School, we are fortunate to have many budding young musicians. On Wednesday, four of these talented students participated in a high-profile concert at Pilgrim Church, held by the Accompanists’ Guild of SA. These girls are each multi-instrumentalists and are incredibly dedicated to their music, practising for hours each day in order to perfect their craft.
Elaine Chen is 10 years old and plays flute (grade 6), piano (grade 8) and cello (grade 5). Angela Cai is a talented young pianist (grade 8) and cellist (grade 4). Samantha Li is only in Year 3 but is already a confident young performer who has been learning piano since the age of 6 and cello since the age of 8. Jerrie Wu also plays piano, violin and flute.
The aim of the concert was to highlight and promote Adelaide’s youngest musicians while celebrating their dedication and commitment. Congratulations to our girls on their fine performances.
Sari Noble
Acting Director of Music
A New Path for our ELC Children
Yesterday morning, our Early Learners’ Centre was a hive of excitement as we celebrated the official opening of the ELC path created by Artist in Residence Christine Cholewa and the ELC children. Families braved the frosty conditions, sampling coffee and cupcakes as they watched Christine and two ELC friends cut the ceremonial ribbon, allowing the children to embark on their very first journey along the path.
One of the key reasons we’ve designed this path is to collect memories from Ferguson Park and bring them into our ELC grounds. The path has been a true collaboration, as Christine listened to the children’s memories and gently let their ideas lead the design. One of the most special parts is the red Palti circle, which is a reminder to ensure we sit together and hear each other’s stories.
We warmly invite you to visit the ELC to look at our path and see all the learning and possibilities that collaboration can bring.
Totally 80s Trivia and Disco Night – TOMORROW!
Join us for our ‘Totally 80s Trivia and Disco Night’ tomorrow at 7pm in the St Peter’s Girls’ School Gym.
Tickets – $25 per person (includes welcome drink)
Paella • Raffle • Trivia • Games • Prizes
• DJ playing 80s Disco • BYO food only
Tickets via www.trybooking.com/VGUH
Junior School Vacation Care
Our next installment of Vacation Care is almost here. We have three weeks of 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.
Some of our home-based days will include an indoor glamping party and jewellery making!
Vacation Care – July 2018 Program
Places are limited, so please click here to secure your booking now!
Middle School Arts Showcase
Our Middle School students and teachers have been working very hard in their Arts classes this term, busily preparing for ARTScollab.
On Wednesday 27 June, students involved in Music, Dance, Drama or Visual Arts will showcase their learning in a night of creativity, collaboration and fun. Performance is an extremely important aspect of the Arts curriculum, giving students an opportunity to share their achievements, express themselves in an alternate way and engage with a live audience. Students soon learn to appreciate the effort, training and practice that occurs before finally reaching the point of performance.
Walk into the Arts Centre at any given lunchtime at the moment and you will find girls working together to achieve a common goal: preparing their performance pieces.
The confidence, creativity and problem-solving skills that The Arts provide are why it is such a valuable subject area for developing the whole child.
“The Arts aren’t just important because they improve Maths scores. They are important because they speak to parts of children’s being which are otherwise untouched” – Sir Ken Robinson, author and international advisor on education in The Arts
I hope to see many families and friends coming along to support their daughter’s Arts journey at ARTScollab. The foyer will be open from 7pm, with the show starting at 7.30pm.
Kate Burnett
Head of Arts
SACE Music Concert – Simply Stunning
The word that comes to mind when I think of this concert is simply….WOW! This week, seven SACE Music students took to the Arts Centre to present a contrasting program of musical works as part of their first summative assessment.
These students have been an extremely important part of the Music Department for many years, and each is seen as a leader within their instrumental/vocal fields. Whilst these students have shed tears of frustration along the way, they have all demonstrated first-hand, the grit, determination and resilience that it takes to be a true performer.
The culmination of many years of hard work and dedication, our students displayed the remarkable level and depth of talent we have at St Peter’s Girls, with some truly stunning and memorable performances.
Congratulations to Ava Loechel, Tiffany Babidge, Emma Bleby, Hannah Brown, Cheri Wong, Mary Brownridge and Marley Banham. We look forward to your next summative performance and wish you the best in your musical endeavours as you work toward this goal.
Sari Noble
Acting Director of Music
Saints Café Update
Thank you to everyone who purchased items from Saints Café in Week 5. We were busy selling over 250 drinks while the da Vinci Decathlon was on. This week, we began producing protein balls and are hoping to introduce more food in the future. Just a reminder that Week 7 was the last week of Saints Café for Term 2 due to Year 10 exams and work experience. We would like to thank everyone for your patronage in supporting this student-led initiative. We look forward to seeing you in Term 3!
The Saints Café Team
Code Camp at St Peter’s Girls’ School
St Peter’s Girls’ School will be hosting Code Camp Spark and Code Camp Ignite for students in Years 2 to 6 on 10, 11 and 12 July from 9am – 3.30pm. The cost is $349 for three days.
Visit the Code Camp website for more information
Visit the St Peter’s Girls’ School booking page
Order Your 2018 | 2019 Entertainment Membership
Order your NEW 2018 | 2019 Entertainment Membership and continue to support St Peter’s Girls’ Parents’ and Friends’ Association.
Your 2017 | 2018 Entertainment Membership is about to expire. If you haven’t already, please continue supporting our School by purchasing the 2018 | 2019 membership from us today. Hurry, they’re selling fast!
As a St Peter’s Girls’ School Parents’ and Friends’ Association fundraiser, part-proceeds from every book sold will go to a special element of our Master Plan which will be announced soon.
You can order via the form at the Front Office or pre-purchase online: Order your Entertainment Book here!
The Entertainment Book and new phone app offer our community members a great way to try out restaurants and activities around SA, save money and, at the same time, support our girls.
Thank you in advance for your kind support and consideration.
The Parents’ and Friends’ Association
Sports Uniform Reminder
Currently, a number of students are continuing to wear outdated PE/Sports uniform items including culottes and polo tops. This clothing has not been stocked in the School Shop for five years and is not part of our current uniform guidelines. Please ensure your daughter is not wearing these items at the commencement of Term 3. We thank you for your support in this matter.
Sports News
CROSS COUNTRY
State Championships
A number of Saints Girls recently travelled to Oakbank to contest the State Cross Country Championships. Primary students represented East Adelaide and Years 8 – 12 represented the School. In typical Cross Country weather, the first race started with a heavy downpour before clearing and providing the runners with better conditions.
Top Results:
10 Year old – Chloe Richardson 11th from 165 runners
11 Year old – Carla Massicci 53rd from 157 runners
12 Year old – Molly Dwyer 9th from 144 runners, including a team bronze medal
13 Year old – Emily Baldwinson 88th from 144 runners
14 Year old – Imogen Elliott 3rd and Portia Maerschel 19th from 101 runners
16 Year old – Matilda Braithwaite 3rd, Hattie Maerschel 22nd, Isabella Bernardi 32nd and Emily Downie 43rd who finished 4th in the team event by just one place
Open Girls – Michelle Cheung 10th, Bethany Cross 14th, Sarah Carrodus 27th and Portia Maerschel 29th. Thanks to Portia for running a second race with the team also finishing 4th overall by just one place.
GYMNASTICS
Congratulations to Emily Bryce (Year 7) who had a successful Level 6 gymnastics competition in Port Pirie over the long weekend. She placed 2nd in beam, 3rd on bars and 5th on floor and vault, elevating her to 3rd overall in her group.
KELLY SPORTS
This term, we have had 40 students from Reception and Year 2 enjoy a variety of activities through Kelly Sports. The program allows participants to try a variety of sports and gain an understanding of the skills and concepts needed when they progress in later years. Introduced in 2017, it continues to grow and is certainly benefitting those who take part.
NETBALL
The Year 8/9 Knockout Netball Team ventured to Cedar College to take on both Cedar and Gleeson College in the first round. Our initial match started very closely, with Saints up by 2 at the first break. We then went on a goal spree in the second quarter, outscoring Cedar College 22-5 to sit comfortably ahead at half time, 33-14. Our dominance continued and we ran out winners 62-21.
Our second match against Gleeson was a tighter affair. For much of the first quarter, scoring went goal for goal with Saints just pulling ahead in the final few minutes to take a lead of 3 into the quarter-time break. Another strong second quarter saw us outscore Gleeson 13-5 to see us lead 23-12 at half-time. Gleeson kept coming at us, but the girls held their composure really well and stuck to our game plan coming out eventual winners 41-26.
We now move onto the second round, where we will take on Endeavour College and Henley High School. – Alice Johnswood (Director of Netball)
Year 6 Blue – Saints 39 defeated Wilderness Pink 0
The girls had a really good win, working well as a team and improving each quarter as they took on feedback. Even though they had an advantage over the other team due to age difference, they still played their hardest. The girls had a good 3-feet distance like we had practised at training and worked on slowing down through the match. The shooters also performed amazingly with a new strategy that led to plenty of goals. It was a great effort from each of the girls. – Charlotte Adams
Year 6 Silver – Saints 13 defeated Walford Gold 9
The team played a tough and close game. A big well done to Ayla who shot and defended brilliantly and to Zoe Pool who passed and led very well in the goal ring. Also to Zara for her outstanding and ongoing effort and enthusiasm throughout the game. The third quarter was a match-winning one, and the team played incredibly! We’re looking forward to another game like this. – Sivi Sivasuthan
Year 6 White – Saints 0 defeated by Walford Gold 16
Year 5 – Saints 11 defeated Seymour White 6
The girls played extremely well. The attack in the first quarter was really good, leaving the defence with little work, and they all worked hard getting the ball down the court. The score for the first quarter was 5 to 1 our way. In the second quarter, it was 1-all and the girls were amazing as it was hard work. Their attack was extremely good in the third quarter and shooting was excellent. Mid-court helped by bringing the ball down to the shooters, finishing this quarter 5 to 1. In the last quarter, we were unlucky with a score of 0 to 3, but still came out on top. The spirit shown was wonderful and every girl was proud of each other. – Izzy Gilroy
SOCCER
The Knockout girls had a strong start to the day, defeating Cedar College 2-0; goal scorers were Olivia Law and Lucy Benn. The girls were able to display the skills that they have been developing this season. Chloe Deieso, Millie Wilkin and Siena Kulinski were some of the strongest players, creating many options for our forwards Ankita Rajbhoj, Funto Komolafe, and Olivia Law.
The second game against Adelaide High School wasn’t as successful and we suffered a 6-0 loss. We faced a much stronger team who had multiple club, State and national players. Ellie Anderson and Isabella Villani constantly made strong tackles and blocked many of Adelaide’s attacks. In addition to this, Taylah Simpson stepped up to the position of goalie and Talah Gobell came onto the field, impressing everyone with her strong tackles and determination. The girls should be really proud of their performance, and all the best for next year’s Knockout tournament. – Dom Rigby (Captain)
Open A – Saints 2 drew with St Michael’s 2
Open B – match cancelled
Middle A – Saints 0 defeated by St Michael’s 3
Middle B – Saints did not play
Year 6/7 – match cancelled
Year 5 – match cancelled
Year 3/4 – Saints 1 defeated by Pembroke 4
The girls came across their first real challenge this season in their match against Pembroke. Everyone in defence played really well and saw a lot more of the ball than they had in previous games. Alyssa Piantedosi impressed in her first game for the season; she was a real superstar in defence moving the ball nicely up the ground and dazzling many opposition players. Alyssa Piantedosi and Chloe Richardson provided many opportunities for the forwards but, this week, Pembroke were just too good. Emily Bates scored one goal in the first half. Pembroke had a number of really classy players and moved the ball across the pitch. A huge thank you to Carrie Pyne who stepped in to the role of Coach for the first half until I arrived. – Mark Routley (Coach)