Issue no. 32
From the Deputy Principal / Head of Senior School
Today, we say farewell to Year 12. They have certainly embraced the week with great excitement and fanfare. Their light-hearted approach, wonderful sense of humour and the variety of outfits and hairstyles on display have provided the staff and the girls with a consistent level of comic relief. My congratulations also on the fact that they managed to keep working this week. Their ability to continue with their learning, whilst being so close to the end, has been impressive.
I did talk to the girls last week about the differences I have noticed this year. What has been evident is that these girls have maintained their perspective. There is no doubt that they have felt the additional pressure that accompanies Year 12. But, what has been obvious to me, is that they were able to effectively manage this pressure and navigate their way through the academic challenges they have faced.
In reflecting upon their leadership, they have continuously led from the front and participated widely in the co-curricular life of the School. Sport, music, debating and all co-curricular activities are an integral part of school life. The girls certainly demonstrated that a balanced approach to Year 12 is possible, setting an excellent example to younger students.
My thanks to the Prefect team; their work behind the scenes and their organised and diligent approach ensured the success of whole-school events including Choral Night, Swimming Carnival, Sports Day, House meetings and a significant number of school assemblies.
My thanks to Mr Dan Searle and Mr David Stuart who, in the Eucharist this morning, presented a personal anecdote about each girl. Whilst it was evident they had managed to conceal a great many antics from staff over the years, the sharing of these stories is what distinguishes St Peter’s Girls’ School from others. It is extremely rare in a school that each graduating student is celebrated, and taking the time to do so is reflective of the strong relationships between the girls and the staff. The staff also took part in a play written by the students, where I must say they certainly identified all traits that could be exploited. The highlight for many girls was, as always, the Staff Dance. I would like to say we felt no pressure, until Ms Shea ordered us into extra rehearsals last night.
Finally, this evening, the Year 12 students will attend the Valedictory Dinner with their parents and staff, which will be a wonderful closure to their time at Saints Girls. We wish you well Class of 2019. Good luck in your final exams and make your lives count for the greater good of our world.
Kate Mortimer
Deputy Principal / Head of Senior School
A send-off tradition is the Year 12 run through the School watched on by staff and younger students; take a look at the Class of 2019 in action:
Head Prefect Reflects on Her Journey
As we farewell our Class of 2019, our Head Prefect Isabella Villani this week took time out to reflect on her incredible journey at Saints Girls.
Have a listen to some of her personal highlights dating all the way back to her commencement at the School in Year 1:
Congratulations to our 2020 Student Leaders
There were moving scenes at the School on Wednesday as our 2020 Student Leaders were inducted in a Chapel Service where they were presented with their badges of office by our outgoing Prefects.
Families watched on with pride as our new Prefects and Co-Curricular Leaders pledged to serve St Peter’s Girls with distinction.
It was a touching occasion, and we can’t wait to see how the girls lead the School in 2020.
School Community Glitters at 125 Gala Ball
Celebrations for St Peter’s Girls’ School’s 125th anniversary reached a stunning crescendo last Saturday when 600 guests converged on Adelaide Oval for our Gala Ball.
Current and past parents, staff, Old Scholars and other community members shared a spectacular evening in the William Magarey Room.
Highlights included stirring speeches by Principal Julia Shea and Chair of the School’s Board of Governors Jeremy Schultz, a sensational student musical performance and a spectacular SACE Dance routine showcasing historic uniforms.
Past Principals Diane Nicholls OAM and Fiona Godfrey were in attendance, as well as our oldest Old Scholar, 105 year old Lorna Henstridge (nee Paterson, Selwyn 1933), who received a standing ovation.
Another focal point was this nostalgic presentation to mark 125 years of excellence in education:
Birthday Bash for the Ages
The School is still on a high following last Friday’s birthday celebrations at Stonyfell which featured a momentous ‘Generations’ photo with Old Scholar mothers and grandmothers of current students, and a special Assembly where our oldest Old Scholar Lorna Henstridge cut the birthday cake with one of our youngest students, Emma Corbet.
Watch the video for highlights:
Lorna’s Starring Role in Celebrations
As well as playing a starring role at our birthday Assembly last Friday, our guest of honour Lorna Henstridge (nee Paterson, Selwyn 1933) also enjoyed a tour of our new Science Centre before its official opening. In addition, Lorna was delighted to visit a class of Reception students and take a walk down memory lane in the School Museum.
Lorna’s remarkable visit was captured by Channel 7’s Today Tonight, which produced this touching story:
E-Waste Collection Reminder, Friday 1 November
A reminder to bring your e-waste to school on the first Friday of every school month. The first collection for this term is next Friday 1 November and the last one for the school year will occur in Week 8, on Friday 6 December.
You can drop off your e-waste into the purple Tech Collect bins, located near the entry/exit of the School’s car park, between 7.30am and 5pm.
Any old electronics can be dropped off, such as:
· Personal and laptop computers and all cables
· Tablets, notebooks and palmtops
· Computer monitors and parts (e.g. internal hard drives and CD drives)
· Computer peripherals and accessories (e.g. mice, keyboards, web cameras, USBs)
· Printers, faxes, scanners and multi-functional devices
The Environment Club
Charging for Charity – Cambodia Service Learning Trip
To support fundraising for the Cambodia Service Learning Trip, the fundraising team is selling portable chargers for just $40 via www.trybooking.com/BEYTR.
We are all very excited to take part in this trip, making life-long memories and seeing the impact of our fundraising in a community where we can improve the quality of life.
Inaugural China Exchange
Three students recently returned from the inaugural China Exchange Trip, where they spent time at Qingdao Grand International School.
“China was an incredible experience that brought me out of my comfort zone and gave me the chance to experience a new culture. I had a great time meeting new people, visiting new places, trying new foods (like eel, jellyfish and mealworms!) and going to a school that works very differently from our own. We would arrive between 6.30 and 7am every morning for breakfast, eat all three meals of the day at school, and finally go home at 8pm, which was an hour earlier than the other students. Spending more than 13 hours at school every day was almost double our normal school hours, which was quite a tiring new routine, but it allowed us to make plenty of friends and get to know what school life is like in China. Regardless of being a bit tired at the end of the day, I had a really good time trying a bunch of new things like calligraphy, Tai Chi and Peking Opera mask painting.” – Victoria Thorp (Year 10)
“The Chinese Exchange has been the best two weeks of my life. We participated in a variety of activities with the students and were warmly welcomed by the school community. Although the school day structure was long and sometimes a bit tiring, partaking in the classes and activities was beneficial and provided us with a lot of opportunities to learn and improve our Chinese skills. The school community is very similar to our school where all of the teachers and students treat others with respect and everyone receives equal opportunities. Teachers also offer students a lot of support in and out of school time academically and socially because all of the students in the international department have to board at school. The trip provided us with many new experiences in a different culture and I wish it could’ve been longer.” – Candy Feng (Year 10)
National Philosothon Success
During the Term 3 holidays, the National Philosothon team, composed of eight girls spanned across four age categories from Year 8 to Year 11, embarked on a trip to Canberra for three days to compete in the Australasian Philosothon. During the competition, we discussed philosophical theories such as free will versus determinism, knowing a person, a fair society, and digital death, and were marked on the criteria of creativity, critical thinking and collaboration. After placing 1st at the State competition in October 2018, we were privileged enough to be able to compete against the best teams in the country. Following months of practice, we came 4th overall out of the 20 teams present, with Holly Wallman-Craddock performing particularly well, placing 1st in her age group!
While in Canberra, we were also lucky enough to visit Questacon, the National War Memorial, Cockington Gardens and many other tourist destinations; however, I can definitely say the highlight for me and the rest of the team was placing 4th and finding out that all our hard work had paid off!
Sara Peak
Year 10 student
Community Golf Day
Don’t miss out on our upcoming Community Golf Day on Thursday 14 November. Individual players or teams of 4 are welcome.
It’s shaping up to be a fantastic day!
Register now: www.trybooking.com/ZZHE
If you have any questions, please contact Melissa Westgate via 0407 394 183 or email mwestgate@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
Space School Information Evening
St Peter’s Girls’ School is offering students the opportunity to join the CASE Space School International Study Program in December 2020.
Students return with big dreams and lasting confidence, inspired by the ultimate STEAM experience at NASA.
CASE Space School is an amazing opportunity for students seeking to pursue success in a STEAM career. Students will be immersed in enriched and exclusive space science activities to explore the multi-facets of STEAM. Students will also learn and engage in an inspiring personal and leadership development program to truly empower them for changing times.
Space School is an engaging, hands-on adventure. Students learn about space travel and the development of space-related technologies, and are led through several simulated missions.
Students are meticulously cared for by dedicated Group Managers who are trained and certified by the California Association for STEAM Education. All Group Managers are Working with Children and Australian Federal Police checked, and hold current CPR, asthma and anaphylaxis certification.
A combined Alliance of Girls’ Schools information evening will be held on Wednesday 30 October in Hender Hall, Wilderness School, where students and parents can learn more about the program. Click here to RSVP.
Sports News
AUSSIE RULES
Year 5/6 Blue – Saints defeated by Seymour Blue
The girls’ first game is done and dusted. We faced a very strong Seymour Year 6 team which contained girls playing football at club level. The girls continued to improve throughout the game. Savannah Walls and Jodhi Pincombe held down the backline with lots of strong tackles and good runs into the midfield. Nellie Ion and Millie McDonald both had an awesome game and gained confidence. In the forward line, Shirley Liu and Lucy Kitching took some good marks and contested the ball. The girls had a really good game and I’m looking forward to seeing how they develop throughout the season. – Millie Gentle (Coach)
Year 5/6 White – Saints 2.0-12 defeated by Seymour Green 4.7-31
The team had their first game in hot and sunny conditions against the Year 5 Seymour team, in which we played 9 a side due to low numbers. It was a great first game in which we played a very solid team. Lucy Shigeno and Anna Venning were our goal kickers with 1 goal each. In defence, JiaHui Zhang, Levanya De Silva and Alannah Godfrey made some really good tackles to stop certain goals. Anna Venning took some excellent marks in defence. Great work to all the girls and hopefully we can have another cracking game next week! – Lane Trenorden (Coach)
BASKETBALL
Open A – Saints 33 defeated Pembroke 22
The girls worked well to defeat Pembroke in their second match back. They made lots of shots from fast breaks and worked well in defence, setting up many traps and creating numerous turn overs. – Emma Matheson (Captain)
Middle A – Saints 19 defeated by Pembroke 67
A slow start really cost the team and, at half-time, we only had 2 points. Afterwards, Sivi Sivasuthan lit up the scoreboard with three consecutive 3-pointers and the team found their shooting form to put points on the board. We battled hard but were just outclassed by a much taller team. – Brenton Davies (Coach)
Middle B – Saints 8 defeated by Pembroke 33
This was a bit like the A grade game with a slow start and trailing 14-nil. From this point, we picked up our intensity and the team hussled in defence which created some scoring opportunities. Once again Helen Zhang was outstanding with the ball and had good support from Gloria Gao and Lilli Bennett. – Brenton Davies (Coach)
Middle C1 – Saints 13 defeated by Concordia 14
The girls have shown amazing improvement since Term 1. They were up all game until the last 5 minutes and ended up losing by 1 point. We had an opportunity to win with the last possession and 10 seconds left on the clock, but the ball rattled in and back out. Lilli Bennett top-scored with a total of 7 points, very impressive for her first game ever although she couldn’t have scored all those points without the efforts from the team giving her the ball! Very proud of them. – Sharnee Jones (Coach)
Middle C2 – Saints defeated by Concordia
Unfortunately, the girls lost but all played with their best effort. Many had never played a game before. Nonetheless, improvements in teamwork and spatial awareness were evident over the course of the game as they adjusted to the complexity of a new sport. Special mention to Rosanna Stone who scored her first 2-point basket and imparted knowledge of the game to her teammates from the previous season – well done! – Louise Neale (Coach)
LACROSSE
Millie Wilkin (Year 11) was awarded the Margaret Pallant Trophy for the second year running at the LAX SA awards on Friday night for being the Best and Fairest in the Under 18 girls’ competition.
Saints Girls in National Lacrosse Tournament
Congratulations to Year 7 students Dani Cox, Jenna Maione and Ashlyn May who represented South Australia in the Under 15 National Lacrosse Tournament in Adelaide during the holidays. The girls’ team, the ‘Hurricanes’, an Under 13 development squad, were exceptionally competitive and held their own against much older and experienced teams from New Zealand, Western Australia, Victoria and South Australia. Well done girls!
TENNIS
The Open A and B teams played a tough match against Seymour College, with the As losing 6-0 and the Bs losing 5-1. All players did well, with the overall scores not reflecting the hard-fought matches. The girls had a tough time adjusting to the grass courts, as this was a new surface for many. A special congratulations to Charlotte Staples of the Open Bs who won her singles 6-2, an excellent effort. All girls showed amazing sportsmanship and gave the match their best efforts. Good luck for all the remaining teams tomorrow! – Annabel Baldwinson (Captain)
Premier League – Saints 0-9 defeated by Seymour 6-36
Singles: Ruby Deakin 2-6, Annabel Baldwinson 1-6, Emily Loh 1-6, Maiya Jakupec 1-6
Premier Reserves – Saints 1-14 defeated by Seymour 5-32
Singles: Imogen Nienaber 2-6, Charlotte Staples 6-2, Georgia Mallick 1-6, Tahlia Louca 0-6
Division 1 – Saints 1-27 defeated by Pulteney 5-34
Singles: Ella Dnistriansky 6-4, Grace Beaumont 5-6, Adele Eaton 4-6, Bridgette Leach 5-6
Division 2 – Saints 3-25 defeated Scotch 3-20
Singles: Ariel Spartalis 6-0, Eva Young 0-6, Chase Hocking 3-6, Sophie Abbott 6-0
Division 3 Blue – Saints 2-22 defeated by Pembroke 4-26
Singles: Stella Clark 4-6, Lilly Alexander 6-0, Zihan Huang 0-6, Helen Zhang 4-6
Division 3 White – Saints 2-15 defeated by Pembroke 4-28
Singles: Astrid Teague 6-0, Nathara Perera 2-6, Tara Nedumaram 1-6
Division 4 – Saints 2-14 defeated by Concordia 4-27
Singles: Amy Hu 6-2, Jasmine Si 0-6
Junior Division 1 – Saints 5-23 defeated St Ignatius 1-8
Singles: Sophie Blight 4-1, Nicole Wang 4-0, Alison Francis 4-0
Junior Division 2 – Saints 4-20 defeated Pembroke 0-1
Singles: Alexandra Nguyen 4-0, Shirley Liu 4-0
Junior Division 3 – Saints 1-5 defeated by Scotch 5-22
Singles: Abbie An 0-4, Amelia Olesen 1-4, Freya Hermann 0-4
TOUCH FOOTBALL
Open A – Saints 2 defeated by Wilderness 11
Despite the score, the girls played an impressive game, working as a unit against much of the State team. They incorporated some new attacking set plays learnt in training while maintaining a strong defence down the middle of the field. The team is very united and supportive which meant the girls never lost spirit and still enjoyed themselves. We will look to build on some set plays at training and get better each week. – Eve Habel
Open B – Saints 2 defeated Mary MacKillop 0
We competed in our first game of the season against Mary MacKillop College, resulting in a 2-0 win! The girls all played a great game, especially being the first time everyone has played together. Special mention to Holly Cardone, who scored both of the tries. It was great to see the girls implementing some of the skills that we’ve been working on in trainings. We did a top job of rucking up the field and performed very well in defence. There are definitely areas to improve, but the girls display great potential and I’m looking forward to the season ahead! – Ellie Anderson
Open C – Saints 3 defeated by St Michaels 4
The whole team played very well, communicating and ensuring our defence was tight. Imogen Elliott scored 1 try and Kendra Ware made 2. The girls all agreed there was room for improvement when it came to catching and passing the ball on the run, making sure that, in future, they come from depth and at pace. Next time, the team will also ensure that there is support for players who make breakaway runs towards the try line. The match was very successful for the fact it was the first time some of the team members had ever played touch. – Kendra Ware
Middle A – Saints 2 drew with Marryatville 2
The Middle As played a great first game of Term 4 against Marryatville. The first half was difficult because many girls hadn’t played together and it was the first game since Term 1. Once we got into the swing of things, we played exceptionally well. In defence, we were a bit slow and weren’t shooting very well, but once we put some tactics into play, it became a lot easier. In attack, we pushed forward and gained ground really well. The score was 0-1 at half-time but Ellie Humphrey and Grace Richards both scored tries in the second half, resulting in a draw. – Grace Richards
Middle B – Saints 2 defeated by Sacred Heart 5
The try scorers were Mathilda Thomas, who succeeded with a quick run and a dive, and Apurva Ichalkaranje who scored through an amazing run, passing three players before getting low and diving over the line. The girls played a strong attacking game and are now working or their defence, which leaked too many tries, ready for the next game against St Michaels. – Lauren Parton
VOLLEYBALL
Five Saints Girls recently represented South Australia at the Australian Junior Volleyball Championships in Canberra: Charlotte White U19, Anna White and Georgina Keough U17, and Lucy White and Ruby Deakin U15. Congratulations to all players.
Open A – Saints 2 defeated Immanuel (A2) 0 (25-19, 25-20, 13-13)
A sluggish start to Term 4 Volleyball with players taking it a little too easy against Immanuel’s second team. Anna White stepped up with a serving run to steady the ship in the first set. Two Year 9 players, Lucy White and Ruby Deakin, were welcomed into the side for their first appearance in A grade. Both players started on the bench but had immediate impact when substituting on the court. We were able to stay ahead for the first and second sets, with any balls overpassed by the opposition sent back with thunderous power and lighting speed by Charlotte White. Due to the Immanuel multi-court layout, there was a number of replayed points, cutting short some good rallies. Switching off having won the match with limited time left in the 3rd set, the girls allowed the opposition to get in front. Anna and Clair Kao with strong serving made sure we did not give away the 3rd set to take the points in the end. – Alistair Keough (Coach)
Open B – Saints 3 defeated Woodcroft 0 (25-9, 25-13, 25-17)
A number of players backed up from the Middle A game to assist with numbers in Open B. They were warmed up and eager from the starting whistle. Standout serving runs by Lucy White and Charlotte Cohen made sure Woodcroft were on the back foot from the start. Tilly McCormack captained the side with her infectious energy, and the girls carried their superior teamwork and skills into the second set, with Woodcroft having little answer to Ruby Deakin’s serves. The girls scrambled really well to win rallies and set up points, making it a fun match to watch and coach. – Alistair Keough (Coach)
Open C – Saints 2 defeated Immanuel 1
Term 4 has seen a couple of changes to the Volleyball teams. Open Cs, in particular, have welcomed a handful of Year 9s. Despite the introduction of these younger girls, the team looked strong and confident. Martha McCormack looked especially confident, serving 19 points in a row to start us off in the second set. Throughout the game, the girls were energetic and looked like they were enjoying themselves, which is always the best outcome. – Victoria Neale (Coach)
Middle A – Saints 2 defeated Woodcroft 1
The Middle As had a comfortable win over Woodcroft. The girls set up their three hits well and put their opponents under pressure early. Once securing a win in the first and second set, the girls relaxed a bit and used the third set to practise new skills. Unfortunately, this resulted in us losing the third set; however, this didn’t matter as we had already won the game. Hilary Clark particularly impressed me during the match as she showed a lot of leadership and maintained a positive attitude throughout. – Victoria Neale
Middle B – Saints 2 defeated Woodcroft 1
Although we dropped the last set, we had a convincing win, by over 15 points one set, due to consistent serving from all players to put the opposition under pressure. MVP to Eliza Monaghan for making some really good saves and a concerted effort not to let the ball touch the court. – Vicki Dent (Coach)
Middle C – Saints 1 defeated by Woodcroft 2
The Middle Cs started strongly, winning the first set with the girls showing Immanuel what they were made of. In the second set, it was a close finish but the girls lost that round. In the last set, it was neck-and-neck with Lilli Bennett notching up 6 points in a row with a killer serve followed by Yang Yang Gu. Unfortunately, the girls lost their final set 16 – 25, but it was a wonderful performance by all involved – Alana Glapa (Coach)
WATER POLO
Open A – Saints 12 defeated Pembroke 3
The As had a triumphant first game. The girls played a strong defence-based game, resulting in Pembroke only scoring 3 goals. Best players were Emily Baldwinson and Lara Wakeham. Emily played a strong attack, scoring 3 goals. Lara was a key part of our relentless counter attacks. It was a good game and a fierce start to the season. Fantastic effort team!
Open B – Saints 9 defeated Loreto 4
The first game of the season saw the Bs winning by 5 goals. The girls won every swim-up, leading to a strong and effective first attack. Best player was Georgina Wakeham for her strong defence work, stopping many attempts at goal. The result could not have been achieved without Tara Young’s formidable speed, spearheading a successful offence for the team. Good work, girls!
Open C – Saints 6 defeated by St Aloysius 18
The girls had a tough first game. This was their first outing together as a team, and they played amazingly, completing each attack with the same level of determination no matter the outcome. Best players were Ashlyn May and Emily Whittaker. Ashlyn was an absolute powerhouse in goals, and when coming onto the field for the second half, she worked hard to support the ongoing attacks by the team. Emily was the top goal scorer for the team with 3 goals, and constantly supported the girls with her lightning-fast agility in offence, leading to many scoring opportunities. A great effort, keep it up girls!
Year 7/8 – Saints 9 defeated St Ignatius 7
The girls won a thrilling game against St Ignatius. For many, it was their first-ever game. They showed excellent resilience and sportsmanship, and played a wonderful attacking game. Claudia Pearce, one of our more experienced players, stood up and played exceptionally, scoring 6 goals, and Lauren Parton scored a goal in her first-ever game. I am very proud of the girls’ efforts and look forward to a fantastic term ahead. – Gemma Rowe (Coach)