Issue no. 21
From Our Principal
I hope this finds you all safe and well, and I’d like to extend an enormous thank you to our families and staff for supporting each other during our remote learning journey together. Whilst we know there’s no substitute for in-class teaching and learning, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with terrific attendance and engagement. Let’s continue to work together in the days ahead, and we hope we can all be back at Stonyfell soon.
We are aware that some girls have been enduring the exhaustive queues at COVID testing sites. If this is the case, please email attendance@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au to let us know, and hop back online when you’re able.
The Power of Career Education
Many years ago, I completed my undergraduate Science degree, majoring in Pure and Applied Mathematics. I was fortunate to receive a number of job offers, one of which was a graduate position to train as an actuary with what was then called National Mutual. The problem was that I had no idea what an actuary actually did! Convinced that I’d be stuck in a windowless office calculating morbidity rates to set insurance premiums, I bailed and failed to board the plane to Melbourne as planned. Instead, I returned to university, completed a teaching qualification and the rest, as they say, is history. I now know that an actuary applies a unique set of skills and harnesses mathematics to solve complex problems, advising on future risks, opportunities and options across diverse fields and industries. If I’d had access to a quality careers program at school, I would have been much more informed.
Career education must be a priority for schools. Unlike my generation, the girls today will need the skills and capabilities to navigate multiple career opportunities in their lifetime. Traditionally, ‘careers’ was something you touched on briefly in Year 12. We know that career education must start early, and it must be comprehensive. As such, our new bespoke Career.Ready program is designed from Year 7, allowing girls to confidently choose subjects and review career choices in the later years of school and beyond. Importantly, the program engages our girls with industry – perhaps even talking to an actuary – as these connections are vital to assist them in making informed career decisions. Just as it is for Mathematics or English, career education at Saints Girls features a carefully planned program of learning experiences. It remains a strategic priority and will continue to evolve over the years ahead. Please have a look at the video below for an overview of our Career.Ready program.
I still do wonder what my life would have been like if I’d joined National Mutual. But I couldn’t be more grateful for where I’ve landed. Each day I come to work, I get to be part of something special. Too few people have the honour of shaping a future generation, of working with the country’s most exciting minds, and feeling the job satisfaction and personal pride that comes with my role. Spending every day with the girls is a true privilege and I hope that they too will find a career which brings them as much joy.
Best wishes for the term and I look forward to seeing you all in person again soon.
Julia Shea
Principal
Experience Our New Virtual Tour
Whilst we’re already missing being together at Stonyfell, as fate would have it, we’ve just put the finishing touches on our new cutting-edge Virtual Tour.
Saints Girls is the first school in South Australia to enjoy this amazing platform which features captivating fly-through video and advanced 360 degree imagery. We’re extremely proud to showcase our stunning spaces and facilities which have undergone a remarkable transformation in recent years, and we thank our students and staff for taking part in filming at the start of the year.
Watch a snapshot in the video below, and take the tour for yourself via: https://stpetersgirls.youtour.com.au/
Old Scholar Olympia Goes for Gold!
Photo credit: News Corp
Good luck to Old Scholar and Rowing World Champion Olympia Aldersey (Kennion 2011) who’s donning the green and gold for Australia at the Tokyo Olympics which officially opens tonight.
In what will be her second Games, Olympia will compete in the Women’s Eight, with the heats scheduled for this Sunday. Rowing Australia says the 28 year old seemed destined for the Games as her parents named her Olympia after she was born on the opening night of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
We caught up with Olympia in 2019 following her Gold medal performance at the World Rowing Championships with the Women’s Four.
Take a look at the video, and let the Games begin! Go Olympia, the Saints Girls’ community will be cheering you on!
Introducing Our Newest Saints Girls
In a silver lining to this week’s developments, our newest Saints Girls were still able to enjoy their first day of school on Tuesday!
Our Mid-Year Receptions wore their School uniforms with pride and had a terrific time with each other and their new teacher Zoe West.
Amongst our newest students is Nina (pictured bottom-left), whose great great grandmother, grandmother and mother attended our School. As Nina starts her journey at Saints Girls, we relish the shared history, and now future, of this Kilburn family.
We look forward to seeing the girls back at Stonyfell and we bet they can’t wait to return!
Highlights of Term 2
What an epic Term 2 it was at Saints Girls!
Featuring da Vinci Decathlon titles, the Senior Drama Production, SACE Dance Choreography, our School Musical, Women in STEM, service learning, sustainability, cultural connections and so much more, Stonyfell was a hive of activity.
Check out just some of the highlights:
Crazy Hair and Hat Day
Term 2 concluded with our Junior School girls organising a ‘Crazy Hair and Hat Day’ to raise funds for the ‘Light Up Vanuatu’ campaign which aims to provide almost 50,000 solar lights to children living in energy poverty.
It was great to see the girls get behind this incredible cause!
If you’d like to donate, head to www.schoolaid.org.au/stpetersgirlsschool
Saints Girls’ Movement Movement
With South Australia in lockdown, we should treat this as a chance to either kick-start or kick-on with our physical health. One upside to lockdown is that it provides us with a rare opportunity to reflect on our current lifestyle, allowing us time to make positive changes.
By eliminating the time of commuting and reducing the access to our regular leisure activities such as shopping or meeting with friends and family, we are in a situation like no other. Last year, Saints Girls created a fantastic resource for times like this: Witness the Fitness. The document contains a catalogue of workouts that can be completed at home, including HITT, cardio, body weight, dance, yoga, pilates and mindfulness sessions.
So, whilst sport is currently postponed, I encourage you to use this wonderful resource, be creative with the space and equipment you have at your disposal, be courageous in stepping outside of your comfort zone and trying something new, and be compassionate by encouraging and supporting your family to also get involved.
Personally, I’ve turned my living room into a home yoga studio and will be practising daily to improve strength and flexibility, with the goal being to complete a 30 second ‘crow pose’ with stability and composure.
Please get involved, and together, we will create a movement movement that inspires the Saints’ community.
How to get involved?
Choose your exercise session, set up and send a workout photo to the Sports Department via tpeak@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au – we’ll then create a collage of the Saints Girls’ movement movement!
You can find the #EMPOWHER Witness the Fitness resource here.
Tommy Peak
Director of Sport
Orchestra of Support for Saints’ Musicians
I was fortunate to have been introduced to classical music at a very young age. Being able to play such great and well-known orchestral pieces in the Adelaide Youth Orchestras has really grown my passion for music and my performance as a soloist.
In 2018, I successfully auditioned for the junior orchestra of the Adelaide Youth Orchestra (AdYO), the Adelaide Youth Sinfonia (AdSI). My sight-reading improved significantly and I developed the skills to communicate with my section, blend with the surrounding musical landscape, and pay attention to tempo, dynamics and, most importantly, intonation.
My first season in the senior orchestra, AdYO, was in 2019. Here, I was able to further develop and demonstrate the skills I learned from AdSI on a much higher and sophisticated level under the artistic leadership of our conductor, Keith Crellin OAM. AdYO’s diverse repertoire features pieces from various cultural, historical and political backgrounds that were written in different stylistic forms and techniques. The repertoire includes the orchestral and symphonic works of great composers like Beethoven, Shostakovich, Rachmaninoff, Mozart and more.
Playing these pieces and being part of the orchestra has helped me recognise the powerful influence of classical music on the modern musical era and acknowledge how the universal understanding and appreciation of classical music creates unity in today’s society.
AdYO provides a number of unique opportunities and experiences, such as the chance to receive sectional tutorials led by professional musicians from the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra (ASO). I find great assistance in learning a new repertoire.
Furthermore, one of the most memorable and thrilling experiences I’ve had in AdYO was accompanying the ASO’s principal clarinet, Dean Newcomb, in his solo concerto. Lastly, I’ve always valued performing with AdYO as it is a great learning opportunity to determine what helps me maximise my level of performance when performing under stress. The rush of fulfilment and joy I feel when playing in AdYO never fails to amaze me, and I’m extremely honoured to be part of this orchestra.
Matilda Chu
Student
At the end of 2019, I successfully auditioned for the 2020 season of AdYO. As this was my first time being part of a full orchestra, I didn’t know what to expect. Over the past two years, I’ve noticed that my ensemble playing skills have increased tremendously. I have learnt so much about ensemble playing, such as how to blend sounds smoothly and how to balance sounds when playing in a large group.
AdYO has also benefitted my playing as a solo performer and when writing or arranging music. Our conductor, Keith Crellin OAM, always makes sure to give us background on the music, and from this, I have learnt about classical harmonic motion and cadences, orchestration techniques and so much more. I would highly recommend musicians of any level to audition for one of the AdYO groups because you will benefit incredibly from it.
Lauren Parker
Student
Click here to watch the Adelaide Youth Orchestra Festival video.
Important Reminders
Email Notifications
It is timely for all parents to check their email account settings to ensure email notifications from the School will not be diverted to junk/spam folders or blocked entirely.
For many platforms, you can check whether stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au has been blocked by accessing Blocked Senders via your account Options. You may also be able to add stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au to your Safe Senders list. If you require assistance, please contact our IT Department (details below).
Personal and Medical Information
It is vital that personal, medical and other important information on the myLink portal is up to date and complete. This also covers photo/video permission where imagery is used in print and online communications to celebrate student success, share exciting news with our community and promote the School more widely. In the digital era, this may also extend to some events being live-streamed on public platforms. Please note, if permission is not granted, the School will work diligently to implement specific measures, which may include temporarily withdrawing the student from certain activities.
Please follow this pathway to check and/or update your details, and your child’s details: myLink > Community Portal > My Details > select the appropriate tab (child or parent name).
Policies
It is also imperative that families are familiar with the School’s current policies, as new ones may be introduced and existing ones are periodically reviewed and updated. You can view our policies on myLink via the ‘School Documents’ page.
Assistance
For tips on how to navigate myLink, take a look at our instructional videos by clicking the ‘Help’ tab on the Welcome page.
If you have any issues accessing myLink or are not receiving our email notifications, please contact our IT Helpdesk via helpdesk@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au or 8334 2227.
IB Recognition Scheme
The University of Adelaide is delighted to announce our International Baccalaureate (IB) Recognition Scheme, to acknowledge the international perspectives, academic preparedness, critical thinking and complex problem-solving skills that graduates of the IB Diploma Programme possess.
We understand that the International Baccalaureate is a robust, pre-university qualification that has rigorous academic assessment, extended learning opportunities, and a learning and teaching format comparable to the tertiary sector. This new scheme will recognise the academic achievements of IB graduates by granting credit or exemptions for first year courses based on curriculum equivalency and academic performance, and will run alongside our existing ATAR and non-ATAR entry schemes (Year 11 Entry Pathway and Year 12 Subject Based Entry).
Please contact our IB Diploma Coordinator Carolyn Farr if you have any questions via
cfarr@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au.
Out of the Blue Arts Journal – Call for Entries
Out of the Blue is our annual Arts Journal that celebrates the best of artistic endeavours at St Peter’s Girls’ School. We are looking for new entries for this year’s journal. They can take almost any art form such as photographs, art, poetry, cakes, song lyrics and tapestry. If you can think of others, please chat with Ms Burton-Howard.
We can take photos of people playing their instrument, as well as performing dance or drama. We can also attach a QR code to link to a performance video/recording. Any film that we include needs to be owned by the person submitting it, and it must include royalty-free music. It is also important that our Arts Journal reflects our whole community; therefore, we are interested in poetry written in its original language along with a translation.
We accept entries from ELC to Old Scholars and staff. The closing date for entries is Friday 20 August (Week 5, Term 3). Successful artists will be notified, and a celebration with awards will be held in Term 4. Our journal was a huge success last year, featuring more than 150 submissions and selling over 125 copies. We look forward to receiving more submissions this year. All entries need to have your name and year level written clearly, and the work must be original. Entries can be placed in the Out of the Blue boxes in classrooms or in the Library.
We are also looking for new committee members from the student body in Years 9 – 11. If you are interested, please email Ms Burton-Howard.
Jessica Zhang and the Out of the Blue Arts Journal Committee
Parents and Year Level Representatives Meeting and Community Group Meetings
All community group meetings are on hold and will be rescheduled after the School re-opens depending on restrictions at the time.
Melissa Westgate
Foundation Manager
Laptop Bags Available at School Shop
Laptop bags are now available at the School Shop. They offer two zipped compartments: one for your laptop and the second for other belongings. They also feature top handles plus an adjustable and removable shoulder strap. Students are welcome to purchase a laptop bag for $29 each.
School Shop
Year 5 Production – Singin’ in the Rain JR.
Our students are excited for another show-stopping Saints Girls’ Year 5 Production in the last week of Term 3: Singin’ in the Rain JR.
Eloise will play the iconic tap-dancing role of Don Lockwood made famous by Gene Kelly, and Maisy will play the hilarious character of Cosmo Brown portrayed by Donald O’Connor.
Tickets will go on sale in early Term 3. As always, they will sell fast, so make sure you get in quick to snap up the best seats in the house.
Shelley Hampton
Director
The Long Lunch – Sunday 19 September
Join us for a tantalising Asian Fusion at The Long Lunch. Enjoy an afternoon among friends and colleagues with entertainment, auctions and delicious food paired with exceptional refreshments.
Sunday 19 September 2021
12 noon – 5pm
Tickets are $150
Only 200 available
Book now via www.trybooking.com/BQADN
Road Safety Alert
The School is extremely concerned by reports of dangerous driver behaviour including speeding through the car park. All drivers must obey the 10kph speed limit.
Please also note the speed limit along Hallett Road has been reduced from 60 to 50kph.
Road safety and courtesy is everyone’s responsibility and is of the utmost importance in a school setting. We appeal to all of our families to take extra care in our car parks and on the roads for the safety of our students, parents, staff and the wider community.