Issue no. 8

There is a widely held belief, backed by research, that investing in early learning, by both governments and families, promotes children’s development, lays strong foundations for future learning, develops positive wellbeing, and from a community perspective, reduces later expenditure on health, welfare and justice. What is not as widely communicated is that these benefits are often only realised if children are participating in learning opportunities that are of sufficiently high quality. Not all early learning experiences are created equal.

The evidence is clear that effective teaching by educators who can skilfully combine explicit teaching of skills and concepts, along with teacher-child interactions that are sensitive, kind and respectful, are central to quality early education.

Through carefully constructed learning opportunities, and sustained and reciprocal interactions, educators nurture children’s communication skills, extend their thinking, develop their ability to manage emotions and relationships and instil the skills and confidence to be effective learners. Designing the right learning opportunities at the right time requires skill and expertise. Educators require deep knowledge of the learning capabilities and processes of children through their different development stages.

We pride ourselves on the consistency and excellent quality of the learning environments, educator expertise, carefully constructed educational opportunities, and the genuine and warm relationships that children experience through our ELC and Reception programs. Children’s joy for learning, connection with their School and educators, social and emotional development, and their strong foundations in Literacy and Numeracy are tangible benefits for children fortunate to begin their educational journey through this route. These benefits are strengthened through the wonderful transition experiences the children enjoy in the months before they move seamlessly from the ELC, up the path, to the Junior School classrooms, and the ability for our teachers to regularly share knowledge about the children before, during and after they start school.

Quality in early education has many components, but ultimately, it’s the attributes of our educators, their depth of knowledge and our self-driven high expectations that see our children flourishing in those crucial early years and beyond.

Suzanne Haddy
Head of Junior School

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Warm Reception for Our ELC Graduates

One of the most treasured traditions in both the ELC and Junior School calendar is the ELC Reception Transition program. At the beginning of a new year, students, staff and families comment on just how quickly the newest Reception students have settled into school life. They are amazed at how comfortable and confident our youngest Junior School students are, whether they are walking up to school independently alongside the Prefects, participating in co-curricular activities or navigating their way past the older girls to collect Tuck Shop orders.

There are many reasons these ELC students are so ready for the next step in their schooling journey. The most important will always be the strong transition program which includes classroom sessions, visits to the Junior School throughout the year, established relationships between students and staff, and the cherished ELC Hat Ceremony. When the girls finally arrive for the first day, they are filled with the kind of excitement and confidence that comes from such a strong foundation developed over their years at the ELC.

This year’s Reception girls have continued to impress everyone as they have fully embraced school life and being Saints Girls. In class, they are already working independently during Literacy groups which focus on building their THRASS knowledge and phonological awareness. In Mathematics, the girls are continuing to develop their number sense through Number Talks concentrating on subitising and the concept of more and less. They have also started their inquiries into commemorations around the world and their own personal histories.

The Reception girls recently commenced their weekly dance lessons with Kirsty Battersby, which is always a highlight. Hopefully, they will be able to share their amazing dance moves with their ELC friends at a performance later in the year. It has been a very exciting start to 2022 and we are so proud of the girls’ confidence and sense of agency. We can’t wait to see what they achieve in their first year of school because it has been a remarkable first eight weeks!

Meg Jordan and Alana Lesiw
Reception Teachers

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Staffing News

After more than four years of valued service as Director of Teaching and Learning, Nigel Scoggins will leave Stonyfell at the end of next term as his family relocates to Mount Gambier.

In his time with us, Nigel has made a significant contribution to our teaching and learning platform across the Middle and Senior Schools, as well as providing expert advice for our Early Learners’ Centre and Junior School to enhance the ELC – 12 educational journey. Highlights include overseeing the introduction of Continuous Reporting to provide our parents with more up-to-date student assessment feedback, and the development of a sophisticated data dashboard that allows our teachers to better track the progress of each girl and constantly improve classroom practice.

The search for our next Director of Teaching and Learning is underway and we will share news on that front in the not-too-distant future. In the meantime, we look forward to Nigel’s continued contribution to Saints Girls, and we wish him and his family all the best for their adventures to come in the State’s stunning South-East.

Julia Shea
Principal

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Saints Girls’ Rowers Represent with Pride

Last Saturday’s Head of the River event marked the culmination of an inspiring season for Saints Girls’ Rowing Program.

Our rowers displayed courage, determination and clean rowing on the day in a tremendous show of their hard work throughout the season. All our crews made A-Finals in their events, with our Year 7/8 C and D crews coming home with Bronze and Silver medals respectively.

Congratulations to the entire Saints Girls’ Rowing community!

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Oarsome Old Scholar Rowing Achievement

There was some exciting Old Scholar news from the Rowing SA State Team presentation on Sunday where the Queen’s Cup (QC) Crew was announced. The QC crew is the Open Women’s 8+ that will represent South Australia at the 2022 Australian Rowing Championships next week. Three Saints Girls’ Old Scholars are in the crew – that’s one third of the crew from a single school – what a phenomenal achievement!

These girls found their love of rowing at Saints Girls and continued on to be the best in the State. Congratulations to Carys Jones (Kennion 2017), Sophie Barr (Kilburn 2021) and Amy Carrodus (Selwyn 2019). In addition, Clare Romaniuk (Patteson 2021) was selected for the U21 Youth crew.

We are extremely proud of these Old Scholars as they promote a lifelong passion for sport.

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Old Scholars Take Plunge with Water Polo

This year, we have been excited to launch an Old Scholars’ Water Polo team. The season runs February to April and the team, which has a close association with SPOC Water Polo, plays every Sunday afternoon in the social competition for Water Polo SA with training on Mondays from 6.45 – 7.45pm at St Peter’s College.

Last Friday, the inaugural Lynne Spry Cup was held at St Peter’s College between our current Open A Water Polo team and the Old Scholars’ Water Polo team (SPGS V SPGOS). In a terrific contest, the Open As claimed victory 5 – 2. The cup is named after Old Scholar and current staff member Lynne Spry (Selwyn 1974) in recognition of her long-term commitment to the Water Polo program at Saints Girls.

If you are interested in joining the Old Scholars’ Water Polo team, please contact Community Relations Manager Megan McCormack via mmccormack@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au

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Caring for Our Planet in the ELC

At St Peter’s Girls’ ELC, we are committed to exploring and actioning sustainability every day, and we want to help the children develop a strong relationship and appreciation for the world they will soon inherit. We believe, through our commitment to sustainability in the ELC, we are helping the children to build a foundation of skills and knowledge they can use as they grow into environmentally responsible adults.

As part of our ongoing sustainability journey, we engage the children in many different activities including growing fresh produce in our ELC Community Garden, preparing and cooking our ELC-grown food, exploring our neighbouring Ferguson Conservation Park and the native flora and fauna it contains, and engaging children in games and discussions about waste and recycling.

As educators, we believe it’s important to teach our children about waste, landfill, and the lifecycle of our rubbish. Through our intentional learning experiences, our goal is to help children understand that after we throw something in the bin, it does not just disappear – this rubbish has a life and ends up somewhere on our planet.

By exploring this concept, we are educating our community to understand that, together, we can generate change by composting, recycling and reusing as much waste as possible. The children are empowered and feel proud when they can put their knowledge into practice by placing their leftover lunch or food waste into the right bin, or using something recycled when making their creations.

Watch our video to see how we have been exploring ways to sustainably manage waste.

Nell Tierney
ELC Teacher (Learning Community 2)

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Choral Night – New Date

Friday 29 July (Week 1, Term 3)
Influencers Church, Paradise

Please save the date for our rescheduled Choral Night which we hope will be an electrifying way to start Semester 2.

Further details will be provided next term.

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Stirring Strings Honour at Cathedral

It was an honour for the Emily Strings to play at the 30^th anniversary of the Ordination of Women as Priests in the Anglican Church of Australia this week.

The group consists of our most extended players and is named after Mother Emily Ayckbowm, the founder of the Community of the Sisters of the Church which established our School.

The service was held in St Peter’s Cathedral, and church members expressed their deepest gratitude for our girls’ beautiful music.