Issue no. 31
From Our Principal
If you look closely at the exterior of the northern wall of the Gym, you’ll see that some silhouettes have magically appeared over the holidays. Our talented Junior School Art Teacher Sarah Casson is a practicing artist in her own right and has produced some wonderful street art during her career. Over the break, Sarah has drawn the silhouettes of 18 athletes, representing the sports currently played here at Saints Girls. A figure will be coloured in for every $50,000 raised for our new Gym, as demonstrated above. When all 18 athletes have been painted, we’ll be just $100,000 shy of our target. Once the slam dunk is filled in, you’ll know we’ve reached the $1M mark, allowing construction of the new facility to be brought forward to the end of next year. We are off and running; on the back of the tax appeal and The Long Lunch, we’re hoping to paint four of the figures at the Family Day this weekend.
Keep a lookout for the next edition of Saints Alive in your letterbox. In it, you will find an invitation to be a Saints Girls All Star. By donating to the fundraising campaign, you will be able to customise a star of your choice to appear inside the new Gym. You can even add your House colour as a trim. It will be interesting to see which colour dominates the wall. I’ll certainly be adding a touch of green!
Our final fundraising event for the year will be the Sports Lunch at the Alma on Friday 12 November, featuring exclusive sporting insights from SA footy icon Mark Ricciuto, Olympic rower Olympia Aldersey (Kennion 2011), and Executive Director of Events SA Hitaf Rasheed (Selwyn 1986). Tickets can be purchased via TryBooking. A Giving Day and Gala Ball will round out the campaign in the first half of 2022.
In light of the ongoing density restrictions, we have made changes to our traditional end of year events. The Carols Service will be held in the School Chapel on Monday 6 December, commencing at 7pm. Seats will be offered to Year 12 girls and their parents in the first instance, prior to determining which other year levels can be accommodated. The event will be live-streamed.
Presentation Night has been moved to the Influencers Church in Paradise, the site of the very successful Choral Night earlier in the year. Presentation Night is compulsory for all girls in Years 7 – 12 and will be held on Tuesday 7 December from 7pm. The performances will be exceptional, so please come and help farewell our 2021 Year 12s in true Saints Girls’ style.
Classes for all girls in Reception to Year 6 will finish on Friday 3 December. However, some Junior School girls will be required to perform at the Carols Service and Presentation Night and attend rehearsals on Monday 6 December and Tuesday 7 December. Classes for all girls in Years 7 – 11 will finish on Tuesday 7 December. Their school year officially concludes at the end of Presentation Night.
Have a great term!
Julia Shea
Principal
Music Judges Single Out Saints’ Songwriter
A huge congratulations to Georgie Raftopoulos who last night won 1st place at the Songwriters, Composers and Lyricists Association (SCALA) Festival of Original Music (FOOM) for her song ‘No Erasing Us’. Georgie wrote this song for the Year 12 cohort, and we are incredibly proud of her achievements.
This song competition encourages the writing of new material, and is showcased live and through the release of SCALA CDs and online downloads. Entries came from Australia, the US, Canada, New Zealand and Europe.
Georgie is also a nominee in the South Australian Music Awards for People’s Choice and Best New Artist in the Pop Category. These awards celebrate the achievements of local musicians, venues and industry workers. The winners will be announced next month and we wish Georgie all the best!
Perfect Prize for Budding Poet
Well done to Amy Dillon who has won the ‘Inspired by Trees’ Poetry Competition for Secondary School Students run by Burnside Council. The honour includes a $500 grant to go towards a nature-focused activity. This month, Amy’s poem is being exhibited in the Burnside Civic Centre Atrium Space as part of the council’s ‘Inspired by Trees’ exhibition. Have a read of Amy’s prize-winning poem here:
Rise and Fall and Rise
Slivers of sun peek through the canopy of green,
The songs of birds float through the air, joyful and serene.
The wind twirls lazily, the leaves rustle and dance,
From the sun’s glare I’m protected, by the leafy expanse.
Then green is replaced with splashes of red, orange and gold.
And the leaves all dry out. Withering. Turning old.
The wind becomes harsher. Leaves drift to the ground.
Soon the trees will be empty. Not a leaf to be found.
Exposed, skeletal, and seemingly frail.
They stay standing strong and proud, through wind, rain, and hail.
Water streams down their branches, gathering in beads at the end,
Where it waits in anticipation, before beginning to descend.
But then the air becomes warmer, the rain starts to go,
The days become brighter, flowers and trees start to grow.
Once barren branches display buds, pink and white,
The buzz of bees fills the air and baby birds take flight.
Like the seasons, the cycle of life rolls on by,
Sometimes all things must fall before they can fly.
Linguistics Learners Crack the Code
Congratulations to our Year 10 ‘Mighty Multilinguals’ for achieving Gold at the inaugural South Australian Computational Linguistics Olympiad (SACLO). They were amongst 15 teams from seven schools, including fellow Saints Girls the ‘Lingo Fighters’ who also did our School proud, receiving a special mention for their excellent analysis of grammatical rules governing samples of the Basque language. The ‘Mighty Multilinguals’ consisted of Ellie Humphrey, Madison Liddy, Lady Murphy and Annabel Ryan, and the ‘Lingo Fighters’ were Saffron Chen, Kathy Chen, Amy Hu and Helen Zhang.
SACLO was designed as a South Australian version of a national competition held in Term 1 each year. The girls spent several lunchtimes practising linguistics problems and discussing the various ins and outs of obscure languages. This was their first foray into the world of linguistics.
The competition questions took a variety of forms. A common type involved the students being given a number of words and sentences in a minority language to which they would not have been previously exposed, together with their English translations. The task was to then make hypotheses about some of the vocabulary and the possible rules that govern that language. Next, they needed to translate some further sentences both from the language into English and vice versa. This was higher-order thinking at its finest, a great exercise in code-breaking and pattern-seeking, and one that the girls thoroughly enjoyed. They didn’t need to be language students as such, but the fact that most of these students are studying a language at Year 10 level meant they had a sound understanding of how at least one other language besides English was put together.
The state rounds for the Australian Computational and Linguistics Olympiad (OzCLO) will be held in March next year. We are looking forward to entering teams from a range of Middle and Senior School year levels and will be counting on our successful teams from the 2021 SACLO competition to mentor the girls. We look forward to hearing what linguistic hurdles are presented to them in the national competition.
Cindy Pitkin
Head of Languages
Podium Finish for Young Philosophers
Terrific teamwork by our Saints Girls who came 3rd in the Australasian Philosothon. Competing against 14 schools, our students also recorded some remarkable individual results with Holly Wallman-Craddock placing 1st in Year 11/12 and 2nd overall, Alvie Iley achieving 3rd in Year 9, and Alison Francis 2nd in Year 7/8.
Jessica Zhang provides a recap of the event:
‘During the first week of school holidays, eight students represented Saints Girls at the Australasian Philosothon held online. It was a challenging competition that ran over two days. We took part in four ‘Communities of Inquiry’ involving philosophical discussions with students from across the country. We considered many questions regarding cultural appropriation, such as Descartes’ famous statement, ‘I think, therefore I am,’ and whether parents have an obligation to create the best child.
Since the purpose of the Philosothon is for students to engage in philosophical discussions collaboratively, we were required to think critically about each other’s points, come up with creative and original ideas, and work together by encouraging, developing and evaluating each other’s perspectives.
The judges commented that this year’s Philosothon was probably one of the toughest in recent years. At the end of the competition, we were all exhausted. However, we were delighted to hear about Holly, Alvie and Alison’s results. With these outstanding achievements under our belt, we were also thrilled to be rewarded with 3rd place overall. The Philosothon was an exceptionally worthwhile competition, and it gave us all a more profound knowledge and understanding of Philosophy.’
Swimming Sensation’s Historic Haul
Saints’ swimmer Alyssa Tran broke two State records at the recent South Australian Short Course Championships. She collected Gold with a time of 1:10.70 in the 13 Years 100m Breaststroke and 33.60 in the 50m Breaststroke.
Well done Alyssa, we are very proud of your achievements!
Tommy Peak
Director of Sport
Strings Concert Tonight – Don’t Miss this Free Performance!
Saints Girls’ Music students are excited to present the Strings Concert tonight.
This free performance will feature Junior, Intermediate and recent ABODA Gold Award winners Senior Strings, soloists and special guest composer/performer Belinda Gehlert.
Join us at 6pm tonight in the Arts Centre.
Language Fun for Storytelling Saints
Some of our young EAL/D (English as an Additional Language/Dialect) students have been learning about THRASS phonemes.
In our exploration of native Australian animals, I have integrated puppetry as a gateway to extend imagination and language-rich vocabulary. Students have gained fabulous success through puppetry conversations where they have been storytellers and sharers of knowledge.
These delightful images highlight how our Reception EAL/D girls have thrived in their oral language development through participating and communicating in fun, interactive role-play learning experiences.
Trish Tynan
EAL/D Specialist
Family Day Fun – This Sunday!
Join us this Sunday 17 October for the Saints Girls’ Family Day!
From 11am to 2pm, Chiverton Lawns will host a fun-filled gathering including a dodgeball competition, live mural painting, coffee van and food trucks.
Whilst this community event is free to attend, we ask families to please book tickets for our planning purposes via TryBooking.
Proudly brought to you by the St Peter’s Girls’ Foundation
Sports Lunch 2021
St Peter’s Girls’ Foundation is thrilled to present the 2021 Sports Lunch on Friday 12 November from 12 – 4pm at the Alma Tavern, Norwood.
Enjoy an exclusive afternoon of sporting insights and a sports panel discussion with football icon Mark Ricciuto, Olympic and World Champion Rower Olympia Aldersey (Kennion 2011), and Executive Director of Events SA Hitaf Rasheed (Selwyn 1986).
The afternoon includes a delicious 3-course meal and drinks package, and funds raised will go towards our new Gym!
Be quick to secure your tickets via TryBooking.
Friends of Rowing – Season Opening Picnic
The Friends of Rowing invite you to attend the Season Opening Picnic on Sunday 24 October from 5 to 7pm on Chiverton Lawns. This event will be an opportunity to welcome our new and returning Rowing families for the 2021/22 season, as well as christen our newest boats!
As part of the event, we will be welcoming special guests and Old Scholars Olympia Aldersey (Kennion 2011 – World Champion and Olympian, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020) and Peta White (Selwyn 2009 – Junior World Champion and Senior World Championships Silver Medallist) who will be speaking at the event.
All rowers are expected to attend, and Rowing families are strongly encouraged. The event is open to the School community; Old Scholars and friends of the Rowing program are very welcome.
Tickets can be purchased via https://www.trybooking.com/BUECQ
$25 per adult
$20 per student/child
Tickets include nibbles, yiros and soft drinks. Refreshments will also be available for purchase.
Brynley Millward
Director of Rowing
Community at Saints Girls
Parents are a vibrant and integral part of the St Peter’s Girls’ community.
Many opportunities are available to become involved with the School, connect with other community members, and build strong and lasting friendships.
Friends of The Arts Community Group Meeting | Term 4
Wednesday 20 October
7pm
AGM
Senior Art Room
Contact: Danielle Parker – dslparker@gmail.com
Friends of Rowing Group Meetings | Term 4
Tuesday 19 October
6.30pm
Senior Art Room
Tuesday 16 November
6.30pm
Senior Art Room
Contact: Ed Parker – edontheroadagain@hotmail.com
Melissa Westgate
Foundation Manager
Entertainment Membership
To support Saints Girls and secure your Entertainment Membership, click here.
Terms and conditions apply. Visit www.entertainment.com.au for more information.
Health Notices
A message from the Eastern Health Authority: EHA provides the School Immunisation Program and offers a free immunisation catchup service for current students who may have missed any of these doses this year or during prior years at school, or who may have missed any early childhood vaccinations and be eligible for the adolescent free vaccine catchup program for those under 20 years. For more details, click here.
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A message regarding COVID-19 vaccinations from SA Chief Public Health Officer Professor Nicola Spurrier: click here
Growth and Development Education Evening
You are warmly invited to the Kidz Biz Growth and Development Education Evening on Tuesday 26 October in the Arts Centre.
Kidz Biz Growth and Development Education is for both students and their parents. The sessions are designed to be fun, informative and easy to understand. It is highly interactive, providing parents/guardians and students with an introduction to basic personal growth and social development education. Traditionally known as the ‘Birds and the Bees’, these sessions will be presented in a manner that is not awkward or threatening, where students can learn about the human body and the amazing things it can do. The evening will be broken into two sessions for the following year groups, and the cost will be covered by the School.
Years 2 – 4
Where Did We Come From? – 6 to 6.50pm
• Myths about where babies come from
• Conception
• Fertilisation
• The nine month foetal development
• The birth process
Years 5 & 6
What’s Happening To Me? – 7 to 7.50pm
• Puberty (physical and emotional)
• Body image and media influences
• Dealing with parents
We hope to see many parents and students attend these valuable sessions.
Suzanne Haddy
Head of Junior School
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 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.
It is absolutely imperative to keep unwell children at home until they have recovered, even if symptoms are mild. This is not only for their own health and safety, but for that of all students and staff.
We thank all of our families for their cooperation.
Sports News
TENNIS
Open A: Saints 5 (35) v Concordia 1 (14)
Open B: Saints 3 (31) v Concordia 3 (27)
Our Open Tennis teams have got off to a great start in Term 4 with both notching up wins against Concordia. The Open As had a particularly strong performance, netting a 5 – 1 victory, with Sienna Glazbrook, Ruby Deakin and Tahlia Cahill taking out 6 – 1, 6 – 2 and 6 – 2 wins.
STUDENT SUCCESS
Elodie de Wit and Lucy Lowry have been selected to represent East Adelaide in SAPSASA Aussie Rules and Cricket. We look forward to hearing more about their achievements.