Issue no. 31
From the Deputy Principal/Head of Senior School
I would like to take this opportunity to commend all of the Year 12 girls on their approach to learning, sense of values and ability to be a close cohort! The girls have embraced the mountainous ups and downs, and have now reached their Lofty Mountain top…. they are ready for SWOTVAC, exams and……………. whatever the future holds.
I was impressed with the girls’ commitment to Choral Night. There was evidence of leadership and all Year 12 students modelled excellence as they embraced a very valued tradition of the School (although I do believe that the staff may have taught them a few new moves at the assembly this morning!). The Year 12 girls participated in Swimming and Sports Day and this cohort ensured all year levels felt involved and participated.
The girls continued the tradition of Spirit Week, and we all learnt more about each House during Wednesday Chapel services and the speeches made by the House Captains. Spirit Week coincided with House Dinners and every dinner ran smoothly and empitomised the community feel of Saints Girls.
The Formal for some reason is always a highlight on the senior girls’ calendar. They ‘scrub up’ quite well – in fact they looked beautiful, behaved impeccably and introduced us to their dates and made the staff feel valued and welcomed on this evening.
The retreat was highly successful, reflective and provided the girls with excellent opportunities to relax and take stock of how to tackle Term 3. After trial exams, we celebrated with a Progressive Dinner. This was a wonderful evening and made possible because of the work of the House Captains, the Deputies and their parents. Thank you especially to Jenni and Stuart Manson, Robyn and James Sarah and Meg and Chris Bleby for welcoming us into your homes.
I would like to congratulate Georgina Sarah and Madison Bateman for their help, support, sense of humour and their ability to work calmly under pressure.
I am most impressed with every Year 12 student and I have thoroughly enjoyed working with them as they progressed through their senior years of study.
These girls are brilliant and are true graduates of Saints Girls, with ethics, morals and values that will lead them far.
I wish these girls every success as they venture out into the world. I hope that our School will hold a special place in their hearts and I say to them…. stay connected and feel proud of being a SAINTS graduate….
Kerry Skinner
Head of Senior School/Deputy Principal
Student Voice: STEM Presentation for Year 9 Students
On Monday 17 October, John Davies, Caroline Chai and Gosia Davis generously gave their time to introduce the Year 9s to the modern world of Engineering. Each engineer spoke to us about the different branches and ways you can get into Engineering.
First was John Davies, who is part of the PEM-GTS Project, which is run by BAE Systems Australia, and is also a project engineering manager. BAE systems is an engineering company for the defence forces: Air force, Navy, and Army. BAE Systems employs aeromechanical engineers, electrical engineers, and software and firmware engineers. John explained to us about the different projects he has worked on. He also explained to us about the new technology with which engineers innovate and create. They design and create machines which will be beneficial for the Australian defence force.
After John, Caroline Chai spoke to us about her career path and what she did during her school and university years. Caroline started with participating in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). Caroline talked about how there are different branches of Engineering. Caroline had only joined BAE Systems two and half years ago; yet while she was telling us her experience at the company, it sounded as if she was there for much longer than this.
Gosia Davis is an Electrical engineer who has a Bachelor of Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Adelaide. Gosia stated, “I have been here for so many years it is hard to count…”. She explained to us how Engineering makes you travel to many different places and to different companies. Gosia told us that Engineering is a job where you don’t work for a particular company; you can shift between companies or even work for two companies at once. Gosia explained that she sometimes has to work at home, as she worked for a company in London and also works for a company in Australia. She explained to us her career path through engineering and how she managed shifting between places. Gosia describes how she started her engineering career path in 1991, when she first joined the Pasminco Smelter, Port Pirie, and up to 2013 when she was positioned as a V&V Manager for the JP 2008 3F. Gosia explained how each engineering field is different and that there are different career paths for each individual person.
Through these presentations, I have learnt Engineering is a career that opens up many different opportunties. I learnt that Engineering is a job which can enable you travel to different places and work for different companies. I believe that Engineering is a career that will be challenging, but enjoyable as well. Overall, the presentation was very insightful and thought-provoking for the Year 9s and myself.
Ankita Rajbhoj
Counsellor’s Corner: Overcoming exam anxiety
Term 4 exams are a stressful experience and almost all Year 12 students feel nervous or experience some anxiety during this time. It is therefore perfectly normal to be feeling anxious right now!
Believe it or not, a small amount of anxiety isn’t bad – it’s actually helpful to be ‘up’ when preparing for and taking exams. For some people, however, too much anxiety – exam anxiety – can interfere with their studying, and they may have difficulty learning and remembering what they need to know for their exams. It can also negatively impact on exam performance, resulting in difficulties demonstrating what they know during the exam.
There are many different reasons why some people have exam anxiety. These reasons can include: overstating the importance of exams; pressure (internal or external); previous negative experience with exam-taking; fear of disappointing others; fear of embarrassment; focussing only on outcome, rather than improvement; having unrealistic performance expectations; poor preparation; and a lack of confidence or fear of failure.
Although each person will experience a different collection of symptoms with differing degrees of intensity, the symptoms of exam anxiety tend to strike in two places: in your head and in your body.
Signs of exam anxiety in your head:
- mental blank-out
- racing thoughts
- difficulty concentrating
- negative thoughts about:
o past performance
o consequences of failure
o how you are doing compared to everyone else - knowing the answers after the exam, but not while taking it.
Signs of exam anxiety in your body:
- diarrhea
- nausea
- feeling light-headed
- perspiring
- headache
- dry mouth
- increased breathing rate
- fast heartbeat
- tense muscles.
The good news is there are many effective strategies you can use to overcome the symptoms of exam anxiety.
Top 5 tips for overcoming exam anxiety
Symptom 1: You panic as soon as you sit down and see the exam.
Tip 1: Learn about the exam and make a plan.
It sounds obvious enough, but the first thing you can do to deal with your exam anxiety is to make sure you know the basic facts about the exam well before you go in. How many questions are in the exam? What format are the questions in (e.g. multiple-choice, short-answer, exam, combination of all three)? How much time do you have to take the exam? How are your answers scored? What topics are covered in the exam? What do some of the questions look like?
Arrive at the exam with a clear plan for how you will start. When the supervisor tells you that you can begin, take a few slow, deep breaths, then take a minute or so to browse the paper, page by page, and look at the questions one by one. Note the point value of each question. Calculate how much time you should allow for each section according to the point value. (You don’t want to spend 30 minutes on an essay question that counts for only 5 points). Try to reserve 10% of your exam time for review (try to resist the urge to leave as soon as you think you’re done – review the exam, make sure you have answered all questions, proofread your writing for spelling, grammar and punctuation etc.).
Before the exam, decide how you will attack it. Will you: answer the questions you ‘know’ first to help build up your confidence for the harder questions? Answer the questions that have the greatest point value first? Answer the questions in order, skipping any questions you don’t know and return to them later? Know what works best for you. That way, on the day of the exam, there will be no surprises awaiting you – just the exam you have been preparing for.
Symptom 2: You allow the test environment to get on your nerves.
Tip 2: Tune out distractions.
The exam supervisor will try to make the environment conducive for taking an exam. However, the reality is that not all aspects of the environment can be controlled. Another student may have a cough or the sniffles, the room may be crowded, or the temperature may be warmer or cooler than you’d like. You can’t control everything that will happen there, but you can help minimise the distractions you might encounter:
- Try to avoid arriving too early or too late
- Just before the exam, don’t chat with others who catastrophise or who are ‘stressing out’. Nervousness and anxiety can be contagious. Instead, only chat with others who are calm and remind yourself that you are well prepared and are going to do well
- Just before the exam, don’t try to learn anything new. By now you should know everything you need to know for the exam, so try to relax and spend the time reading the newspaper, listening to music or some other distraction
- During the exam, don’t worry if others finish before you or where you think others are up to in comparison to yourself; just concentrate on your own exam in front of you
Symptom 3: You have negative thoughts.
Tip 3: Counter them with more balanced thoughts.
As we have discussed, it is perfectly normal to feel stressed about taking exams. However, they can be completely overwhelming if you feel your whole life depends on the results. It is important to remember that your marks don’t define you and that there are many different options, opportunities and career paths – there’s not just one path to your future.
Sometimes, our anxiety is the result of us falling into thinking traps. Thinking traps are unrealistic or overly negative ways of seeing things, for example, thinking: “I know I will mess this up”, “If I don’t get a good mark on this exam, my life is over”, “I’m not good at science”, “I’m so stupid I am going to fail”, or “I bet I am going to do badly on this”.
To overcome these thoughts, you need to first recognise when you are falling into a thinking trap. For example, can you really predict the future? Do you have a crystal ball? If not, then how do you know for certain that you will mess this up or fail this exam?
If you find yourself in a thinking trap, try coming up with alternative statements that remind you how you can cope in a situation. For example:
- If I get anxious, I will try some calm breathing
- I just need to do my best
- I have sat many exams before and I know how to handle it
- This exam is only worth 30% of my overall mark and the result of this exam alone will not determine my future
- I know I can do this
- Everyone experiences anxiety. I can handle this
- I have prepared well to do this exam. I will do my best.
Symptom 4: Your body shows signs of anxiety.
Tip 4: Practise tension-release exercises.
When you feel anxious, tension can build up in your body. You need to learn how to break the cycle of anxiety by teaching your body how to release tension. But this is not something to work on the night before or during the exam! Practise the following techniques in the lead-up to the exam:
- When we are highly anxious we tend to over-breathe (or ‘hyperventilate’) which leads to an imbalance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the brain. To correct this imbalance, it is recommended that you breathe from your tummy, not your chest, and in the counting pattern of 4-in, 2-hold, 6-out cycle – breathe in for 4 seconds (through nose, if possible), hold for 2, and then breathe out for 6 seconds (through the mouth, if possible)
- When you feel your body tensing up, focus on a particular group of muscles (e.g. shoulders) and first contract them for about 10 seconds and then let them relax. Concentrate on the difference in the feelings and repeat the exercise, trying to get the muscles to relax more each time
- Practise mindfulness meditation. Download the free app, ‘Smiling Mind’.
When you become proficient in these techniques through practice you will be able to use them during the exam whenever you feel anxiety creeping up on you. They take only a few seconds to do and can make the exam session a lot less stressful.
Symptom 5: You go blank and suddenly develop exam memory loss.
Tip 5: Use a memory retrieval strategy.
Many people get so nervous when they first open their exam booklet that they suddenly develop a severe case of ‘exam memory loss’. If you develop exam memory loss, there are a number of memory retrieval strategies you can try.
The first thing you should do is to take a deep breath and bring your level of arousal down. Just let your mind go blank, go with it for a few minutes breathing in and out as deeply as you can. Close your eyes if you like and just come around gently once your body is feeling more relaxed:
- A common symptom of exam memory loss is to stare down at the exam paper desperately trying to come up with an answer. There is some research which suggests that the position of our eyes affects which part of the brain we are accessing; and by looking up we access information from our memories. So if you are faced with a mental block, instead of staring down at your exam paper, look up as you try to retrieve that crucial information
- Do a ‘mind dump’ – start jotting down anything you remember about the concept. Anything at all. Write down any formulas, facts, definitions and/or keywords. Can you think of a particular experiment or example that was used to illustrate the point? Did something unusual happen when you covered that topic? Can you ‘see’ the notes in your mind’s eye? Due to the power of association and the triggering of key words, this will help you access the information you need from the networks in your brain. Once you start writing, you are therefore likely to find ideas taking shape in your head. Then you can start to organise your actual response
- Instead of saying to yourself, “I don’t know this …. I don’t know this” and starting panicking (which makes you even more anxious), relax and say, “If I did know the answer, what would I write?”, and see what happens
- If none of these strategies are working, skip the question and come back to it later. Don’t spend precious time agonising over something that will probably return to you as your mind is prompted by other material in the exam.
Sources and for further information:
• Test Anxiety from AnxietyBC
• Reducing Test Anxiety
Term 4 Important Dates
Week 3
Yr 5 Musical all week
Tuesday 1 November
Twilight Percussion Concert – 6pm, MB 120
Thursday 3 November – SACE Music Performance exam, 1 – 4pm, MB 120
Sunday 6 November
Strings Concert at St David’s
Week 4
Monday to Wednesday evenings
Wendy’s Vocal Concerts – 5.30pm, Arts Centre
Tuesday 8 November
Year 9 Dance Class
ADT Open Rehearsal, 10am
Thursday 10 November
Community Drinks on the Lawn, Chiverton Lawns – 5.30pm
String Quartet/Trio
Senior Arts Night – 7pm, Arts Centre
Friday 11 November
Remembrance Day Service , 11am
Week 5
Thursday 17 November
Middle School Arts Night – 7pm, Arts Centre
Friday 18 November
Extra end-of-year rehearsals
Senior Ensembles 3.45 – 7pm
Week 6
Friday 25 November
ELC Christmas Picnic/String Quartet/Trio
Week 7
Wednesday 30 November
Carols rehearsals at School
Friends of Arts – AGM 7.30pm, Arts Office
Thursday 1 December
Carols rehearsal at Cathedral
Carols in the Cathedral – 7pm
Friday 2 December
R – 2 Nativity – 6pm, Arts Centre
Week 8
Wednesday 7 December
Yr 6 Graduation – 2pm, Arts Centre
String Quartet, Junior Choir
Thursday 8 December
Yr 9 Graduation – 2pm, Arts Centre
Stage Band
Friday 9 December
Presentation Night rehearsals
All day, at School
Week 9
Monday 12 December
Rehearsals for Presentation Night – Town Hall, all day
Presentation Night – 7pm, Town Hall
Updating Student Medical Details Online
We have recently upgraded our School’s online parent portal, Link to include ‘My Details’. On the ‘My Details’ tab you can update student medical details, dietary and physical requirements, legal and other information. In ‘My Details’ you also have the ability to update your own personal information including addresses, occupation and other personal details.
Log onto Link, go to ‘My Details’ and check that all personal information is up-to-date and amend if necessary.
How to access the Link Parent portal
Enter your username ID
Visit https://link.stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au/
Enter your username and password
If you do not remember your password or are accessing the Link parent portal for the first time, click on the ‘Forgotten your password’ link, enter your username ID click ‘Send’ and your password will be emailed to you.
If you require assistance to access the Link parent portal, please contact the helpdesk at helpdesk@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au or on 8155 5791.
Don’t miss Christmas Drinks on the Lawn!
Members of our St Peter’s Girls Community are warmly invited to join us for Christmas Drinks on the Lawn.
We look forward to acknowledging and thanking you for your continued support of the School.
We will also have the opportunity to introduce our new Co-Deputy Principal/Head of Senior School Kate Mortimer, as well as exciting initiatives planned for 2017.
Drinks, nibbles and a supervised playground will be available so we encourage children to attend.
This is one event not be missed!
Christmas Drinks on the Lawn:
5.30 – 7.30pm
Thursday 10 November 2016
Chiverton Lawns, St Peter’s Girls’ School
To assist with catering, please RSVP to events@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au by Friday 4 November.
Year 5 Production – The Little Mermaid
St Peter’s Girls’ Year 5 classes will present the Disney Classic, The Little Mermaid early in Term 4. The Year 5 students, the team of teachers and technical crew are working very hard on bringing this amazing production to life.
The Little Mermaid tells the story of Ariel, the mermaid, who desires to be human. The show features many big song and dance numbers including Under the Sea, Kiss the Girl, She’s in Love and the romantic Part of Your World.
The stunning colourful costumes bring to life the creatures from the sea, as the audience is taken on a journey below the ocean’s surface, a storm and a shipwreck with many special effects. Lively song and dance numbers will have people tapping their toes and singing along. It’s guaranteed to be a real crowd pleaser for all ages!
When: 7pm, Thursday 3 and Friday 4 November 2016
Where: Arts Centre
Tickets: Adults $10 Concession $5.
Tickets can be booked by visiting trybooking.com/NGVL.
Olivia Coulter & Shane Davidson
Year 5 Teachers
Sports News
Please note that all of the Term 4 Sports draws can also be found on the ‘Parents’ page of the School website found here.
Any changes and cancellations will be conveyed in advance, via email and where possible directly to students.
Basketball
Open A – Saints 24 defeated by Pembroke 28
In one of the closest games of the season for the Open A side the girls were able to move the ball up the court with confidence. A special mention to Sivani Sivasuthan for an outstanding game, dominating the scoreboard with a number of three point baskets. I look forward to a competitive match against Walford next week as the season continues. Josephine Dal Pra (Captain)
Water Polo
Open A – Saints 6 defeated by St Ignatius 7
After a slow start conceding the first 4 goals of the game the girls really kicked into gear offensively. It became a game of what could have been as we outplayed Iggies for 90% of the match, but struggled to convert our many great opportunities in front of goals. That being said, it was a very encouraging performance from the team as a whole, with special mentions to Katherine Woolley in goals, Carys Jones for a pleasing display scoring, and Belen Swart, who showed super amounts of grit and determination in shutting down the opposition’s top player. Plenty of positives, girls; we will get them next time. Scorers: Carys Jones 3, Sarah Richards, Nicolette Miller, Belen Swart 1. Matthew Martin (Coach)
Open B – Saints 12 defeated Wilderness 1
A fantastic game by all to start Term 4! Antonia Kirsten-Parsch was great in goals and there were many new girls to the sport showing they are very capable players, with Chanel Stefani, Thandi Murada, Carla Lawrence, and Ebony-Jade Nash-Smith all great in their first games. It was an excellent team effort both defensively and offensively – well done, girls! Scorers Katherine Woolley 4, Grace Sampson, Erin Barrera, Thandi Murada 2, Nicolette Miller, Belen Swart 1. Lucy Burg (Coach)
Year 7/8 – Saints 16 defeated St Ignatius 4
In the first Water Polo game of the term everyone played extremely well. Lucy Young picked up the rules very quickly and played really well, even though it was her first time playing. Everyone was sticking to their players and making good leads in attack. Players of the match were Poppie and Olivia Goldsmith. Poppie played very well in attack, scoring 5 goals, and Olivia told the players where to go and motivated us at the beginning of the game (she also brought cupcakes for Coach Christine’s birthday:). We can’t wait for next week to win again! Matilda Braithwaite (Year 8)
Junior Tennis
Division 1 Blue – Saints 5-23 defeated Scotch Navy 1-9
Singles: Maiya Jakupec 4-0, Emily Baldwinson 4-1, Tahlia Louca 4-3
Division 1 White – Saints 4-23 defeated St Ignatius 2-11
Singles: Sienna Glazbrook 4-0, Mia Dodd 4-0, Willow Stewart-Rattray 4-0, Sophie Dansie 1-4
Division 2 Blue – Saints 0-13 defeated by Pembroke White 4-21
Singles: Charlotte Parker 2-4, Adele Eaton 4-6. Unfortunately, time didn’t allow the remaining singles.
Division 2 White – Saints 0-9 defeated by Pembroke Green 6-28
Singles: Olivia Slivak 1-4, Bridgette Leach 2–4, Letitia Page-Thomson 1-4, Madison Harrex 0-4
Division 3 – Saints 4-19 defeated Pembroke 2-12
Singles: Lucy Schirripa 4-1, Pearl Richards 4-0, Sophie Abbott 1-4, Adelaide Murphy 4-2
Athletics
Saints was very well represented at the All Schools Athletics Competition. Congratulations to all girls who competed.
Under 14
Olivia Kelly, Portia Maerschel (Bronze Long Jump), Sophie Barr (Silver Discus, Bronze Hammer, Bronze U16 Hammer, Bronze U18 Discus)
Under 16
Zoe Wilmshurst – (Silver Shot Put, Silver Hurdles), Rose Pittman (Gold 400m, 800m), Jemimah Simpson, Amelia Wood (Silver Pole Vault), Hannah Brown, Nicolette Miller, Charlotte Sellars
Under 18
Rachael Disney (400m Silver), Thandi Murada (Silver Steeplechase), Holly Cunningham, Jasmine Ledgard (Bronze Hammer, Javelin), Katherine Woolley, Bethany Cross (Silver 5000m walk), Anna Cross (Bronze 5000m walk)
Rowing
I want to start off by CONGRATULATING all the Juniors on their fantastic efforts at Henley On Torrens. Despite losing many sessions with weather so far this season, the girls did exceptionally well! The Year 8 crew with Hannah Keough, Caitlin Fidler, Charlotte Sellars, Sophie Johnson and Charlotte Creek made the final and in a really hard fought race got up for the win. For many of the girls who raced yesterday it was their first time and I know they would have been nervous – so WELL DONE and remember to have fun while you row.
Seniors and Inters travelled to Murray Bridge, putting in the kilometres. Both squads are moving along nicely with plenty of work on technique, making sure that they get every centimetre of water through the stroke. They are all great group to work with, always getting out there and giving it a go – something that you can only admire! If they carry that same attitude through the season, it will be a successful one. Ben Flannagan (Director of Rowing)
Softball
Open A – Saints 8 defeated Scotch 1
The team came together for our first game of the term and played an extremely good game after a few weeks of pre-season training. Both fielding and batting was done well, with encouragement throughout from all team-mates. All girls gave their best efforts and adapted well to the Scotch pitcher. Aroha Munroe was exceptional at pitching, allowing Saints to get easy outs from strikes. With only two games left, the girls only have some fine-tuning to make before our shield game where we hopefully come away with a win. Georgia Naughton (Captain)
Open B – Saints 18 defeated Scotch 9
This weekend was the girls’ first game for the term and with a winning result they showed the coaches that they are focussed and are willing to try their hardest to impress and win the shield this year. The game was a good game to watch. The Scotch team did not win but they were a team with good sportsmanship and were prepared to play the Saints team. Overall, the girls played a very great game and are excited about the next game. Congratulations to this week’s best players, Alice Tyson, Millisent Wilkin, Chelsea Walls and Bethany Cross, for playing outstanding games. Lucinda Tierney (Coach)
Open C – Saints 14 defeated Scotch 5
After two terms off, the girls came back fighting harder than ever. There was solid batting by everyone (special mention to Harriet Maerschel for her double and Poppie Goldsmith for sneaky but clever running!) With Saints leading 7-0 Kellie Bested came in with some safe pitches under difficult circumstances. Holly Cardone then stepped up to pitch and was backed up by good fielding, allowing us to maintain our lead. Mimi Long (Coach)
Tennis
A very tough start to the term with 9 players unavailable, forcing many players to play considerably higher than they would usually which meant facing some tough opponents.
Division 1 Blue – Saints 1-13 defeated by Immanuel 5-33
Singles: Chelsea Staples 3-6, Amelie Eaton 1-6, Lily Alexander 0-6
Division 1 White – Saints 1-11 defeated by Pembroke 5-32
Singles: Violette Maris 6-2, Shamilla Dhillon 1-6, Taj Shahin 1-6, Mahala Truscott 0-6
Division 2 – Saints had a bye
Division 3 Blue – Saints 1-11 defeated by Pembroke 5-34
Singles: Renee Lawrence 6-4, Orla Clayton 0-6, Mia-Rose Taliangis 0-6, Louisa Reid 0-6
Division 3 White – Saints 0-5 defeated by Immanuel 6-36
Singles: Stella Clark 1-6, Faye Ma 1-6, Anneliese Thomas 0-6, Olivia Zito 1-6
Division 4 – Saints 1-10 defeated by Immanuel 5-32
Singles: Angela Feng 1-6, Charlotte Stewart 0-6, Siena Zito 6-2
Volleyball
Open A – Saints 3 defeated Walford 0
The Open As played a terrific game on Saturday. From training throughout the winter, the team played to a very high standard, and passing, hitting and serving were outstanding. Particularly, Emily Murdock and Mikaela Georgiadis performed exceptionally well in the back court, scrambling well and setting up seamless play in the front court. Going forward, the final games of the year will be testing; however, the team is focussed on winning the IGSSA volleyball shield for the second year in a row. Georgia Howe and Mila Loechel (Captains)
Open B – Saints 2 defeated Walford 1
The Open B volleyball team played a strong game on the weekend, accounting for Walford 2-1. The girls won the first 2 sets due to excellent communication and movement around the court. Alexandra Murray was a standout, along with Dominique Rigby, Charlotte Carney and Madison Bateman all placing fantastic pressure on the opponents around the net. The game was won here and the girls spiked the ball well. We look forward to this week’s game against Pembroke. Dan Searle (Coordinator)
Open C – Saints 0 defeated by Walford 3 (16-25, 18-25, 20-25)
The girls played a good game, improving in each set. All the girls did well at backing each other up and we had some great set-ups and three hits through the game. Excellent serving by all and everyone contributed to the play throughout the game. It was a good start to the term and we look forward to seeing the girls improve throughout! Ellana Welsby (Coach)
Open D – Saints 0 defeated by Walford 3 (14-25, 19-25, 17-25)
Well done to all the girls on the first game of the term. The girls played well, with some excellent serving by all players. The girls picked up their movement throughout the game and played out some great rallies. The girls should be proud of their efforts this week and we look forward to ramping up the energy! Ellana Welsby (Coach)
Middle A – Saints 2 defeated Walford 1 (25-18, 25-19, 19-25)
The girls set themselves a goal for the game to focus on utilising 3 hits and spiking – which they definitely delivered throughout the match. The first set was a successful win, with the serving done extremely well by all on court. The girls lost some momentum when their opponents started serving well, and missed the balls that dropped just over the front court players’ heads, but fought back and won the second set. All the girls had some great blocking at net, especially Amy Li and Charlotte White, and serving by Ruby Bouhamdan was fantastic to watch. The final set involved the girls really improving their 3 hits in a real game situation. What a start to the volleyball term for the Middle As!
Middle B – Saints 1 defeated by Walford 2 (25-19, 22-15, 21-25)
There was very little energy at the start, but this gradually grew until the closure of the game. The girls won the first set with their steady serving, specifically Chloe Deieso and Mary Brownridge. Sadly, the win in the first set was not able to be continued in the rest of the game. There were some minor things to fix, the balls not getting high enough to enable other team players to get underneath the ball. After calling ‘time’ the girls were able to use this knowledge and successfully improve on their passes to each other, but unfortunately not enough to win us the set. Mille Han had some really great spots where her backing-up was perfect. Looking forward to another game next Saturday; get excited, Middle Bs!
Middle C – Saints 2 defeated Walford 1 (19-25, 25-18, 25-17)
Congratulations to all the girls for their first win for the term! I was very impressed with the girls’ enthusiasm and determination to come away with a win. For most of the team this was their first volleyball game; congratulations and welcome. Great serving from everyone and fantastic back-up of your team-mates. It was a great game to start the term and a great success for all the girls. Looking forward to some more wins! Ellana Welsby
Basketball
Middle C1 – Saints 30 defeated Wilderness 10
The girls put in a great performance to dominate the game from start to finish. Solid team defence was the key. All six players contributed to the win. Keep up the performance for next week’s game, girls. Peter Krantis (Coach)
Middle C2 – Saints 10 defeated by Wilderness C2 42
A very slow and messy first half from our girls who were playing together for the first time this week. The second half was much more settled and positive, with the girls showing greater drive towards the ball and down the court. Team defence was also much more effective throughout the second half. Well done to Grace Dodson who was our top scorer for the match. Vanessa Brooks (Coach).
Tennis
Open A – Saints 5-31 defeated Walford 1-18
Doubles: Tiana & Yasmin 6-1, Jade and Olivia 1-6
Singles: Yasmin Glazbrook 6-5 (7-1), Tiana Glazbrook 6-1, Jade Leyden 6-3, Olivia Harby 6-2
Open B – Saints 3-22 defeated by Walford 3-23
Doubles: Emily and Claire 6-2, Sarah and Chelsea 3-6
Singles: Emily Loh 6-1, Claire Kao 6-2, Sarah Richards 1-6, Chelsea Staples 0-6