Issue no. 3
From Our Deputy Principal/Head of Middle School
We place great value on the holistic education we engage in here at St Peter’s Girls. Whilst our students are given every opportunity through the support, guidance and inspiration from excellent teachers to reach their full academic potential, that is far from all that we offer. Alongside our bespoke wellbeing program, #EMPOWHER, our students also have the opportunity to enrich their experience through involvement in a top class co-curricular program.
After the disruptions to parts of this program at times in 2020 as a result of COVID-19, I have been delighted to see a return to a full program for the start of this year. It has been great to see students having the courage to sign up for something new, with ever-growing numbers in our Environment Club, Philosophy Club and in APEX, our media production consortium.
We have a full sport program for 2021 up and running under the guidance of new Director of Sport Tommy Peak, and it was a pleasure to see so many students involved at school last Saturday morning, even though the weather did present a number of challenges!
Our Music co-curricular program goes from strength to strength, with students attending our annual Music Camp this week at Malvern – a chance to maximise the time available to introduce initial repertoire for the year and to start making firm bonds between new and returning students in their various ensembles.
The sense of loyalty, belonging and friendly competition that our House system engenders will be on full display next week at Swimming Carnival. For our many new students in Years 4 to 12 this may well be their enduring memory of Term 1. I distinctly remember my first Saints Girls’ Swimming Carnival…and not just for the noise! The mass participation, enthusiasm and sense of fun, combined with many high-quality performances, was a mixture that I’d not experienced elsewhere in my career. Despite the venue’s COVID-Safe Plan limiting the number of spectators, I feel sure our girls will rise to the occasion as they always do.
Finally, it was a pleasure to meet with so many parents this week at our Year 7 and 8 Information Evening. It’s an important chance for parents to meet their daughter’s Home Group teacher, as well as finding out about all the experiences that the girls have on offer throughout the year.
Richard Lisle
Deputy Principal/Head of Middle School
Meet Our Class of 2021!
Our Class of 2021 is ready for an epic year ahead at Stonyfell.
In what’s become a tradition here at Saints Girls, our Year 12 students took part in a hat throwing photo shoot, proudly marking 2-0-2-1. We look forward to seeing the girls lead with courage, creativity and compassion.
Year 6 Students Take the Lead
The Year 6 girls are working through a nomination process whereby they will all be allocated a Junior School leadership role. There is a wide variety on offer, ranging from Art Leaders to SRC and House Quiz Captains.
Across the year, the students will work in teams relevant to their leadership area. After setting goals, each team will work through a continuous cycle of planning activities, putting these into action and evaluating how they are progressing towards their leadership goals.
The ‘Who we are’ unit of inquiry, focusing on the central idea that ‘Everyone has the ability, opportunity and responsibility to demonstrate leadership’, will run across the year, providing opportunities for the students to reflect upon and learn more about leadership throughout their time as Junior School Leaders.
We have already been fortunate to have guest speakers present to us: Old Scholars Bella Bernardi (Kennion 2020) and Tilly McCormack (Kilburn 2020) (pictured above), as well as our Principal, Julia Shea. Their thoughts were certainly valuable in getting the cohort started in their thinking about how they will be leaders this year and beyond.
Louisa Mitchell
Year 6 Teacher
Tick of Approval for TOK Day
On Tuesday, students from St Peter’s College, Seymour, Woodcroft and Walford joined our Year 11 IB girls for a day of TOK activities. TOK, or Theory of Knowledge, is part of the IB curriculum wherein students learn to understand the meaning of knowledge and truth, how they impact us, and how they are interpreted by different people and cultures across the world and throughout history.
Saints Girls’ first ever TOK Day included theory building discussions, thought provoking activities and a panel of teachers who discussed how knowledge and language impact each other in their different fields. There was also a guest speaker from Adelaide University.
The day was a huge success and we were lucky to be able to share the experience with IB students from across Adelaide. The IB girls are now looking forward to our next TOK Day with these schools and students in Semester 2!
Arabella Hawking
Student
From Our International Student Prefect
To the beloved Chinese community, parents and school friends, I sincerely wish you a lovely Lunar New Year and all the best! ( 新春快乐，牛年大吉，工作顺利，学业进步，身体健康，万事如意！) The Lunar New Year is the most important festival of the year in China and parts of East Asia. It is the time for people from far away to return home to celebrate the harvest, honour the households and deities, and feast during the festival. Although our international students cannot return to their hometowns to celebrate the Lunar New Year, the School will organise dumpling tasting for them at lunchtime on Tuesday. We will also have a traditional New Year activity of solving the lantern riddles. We welcome all students in the School community to come and participate in lantern riddles solving.
Cynthia He
International Student Prefect
All Aboard Year 9 Aquatics Camp
Last week, the Year 9s headed to the Murraylands to embark on our first camp for the year. From the minute we arrived, everyone was so excited to get in the water and start all the new and interesting activities. A range of water sports were offered including knee boarding, stand-up paddle boarding, kayaking, waterskiing, sailing and boat driving. Everyone had a go at each of the activities, even if they were nervous, and ended up having a great time.
We experienced cold and windy weather which made some activities harder, but we quickly overcame these challenges. We also couldn’t sleep in tents because of the rainstorm that came at night, so the Year 9s had to resort to the cabins on site. Although the weather wasn’t what we wanted, it didn’t stop us from having a blast and trying our best.
It was a great opportunity for us all to connect and bond doing activities with other classes as well as our own. Many girls were able to create deeper relationships and get to know each other better. Everyone really enjoyed their time in the Murraylands and loved the honest and united space that was created across the whole year level.
“Camp was a lot of fun and a great experience to get closer to new people and I’m really glad I went.” – Jasmin
“I really enjoyed all of the activities that were available; my favourite was knee boarding.”
– Labrini
“It was a great bonding experience to get to know everyone better and be able to try new activities like skiing and sailing.” – Naadiya
The girls had an amazing two days and really enjoyed just taking time to communicate with everyone.
Ruby Adams
Student
Community Unity at Welcome Drinks
Last Friday, the School hosted our annual Welcome Drinks for parents and staff. This hugely popular event did not disappoint as we celebrated the start of the 2021 school year. Despite the unseasonable weather, the turnout was fantastic as guests enjoyed socialising over drinks and pizza. It was lovely to meet so many of our new families for their very first Saints Girls’ community event. Thank you to everyone who came along. Many thanks also to our Year 12 Prefects, Fiona McGregor and our Property Services team for making the event happen.
Melissa Westgate
Foundation Manager
Swimming Carnival House Merchandise
Students have the opportunity to purchase House merchandise for Swimming Carnival next week. Orders must be received by C.O.B. Tuesday 16 February through TryBooking. Items will be delivered to classrooms on Thursday 18 February so the girls can bring them to Swimming Carnival on Friday.
Items available for purchase:
House Bundle (hat, water bottle, 2 tattoos and wristband) – $26
House Hat – $25
2 House Tattoos – $1
Tattoos will also be available for purchase next week from the School Shop serving window during recess and lunch. Purchases can be made by Flexi Card or gold coin.
Thank you for your support
All proceeds support the School via the Saints Sport Support Group.
To view and purchase the House merchandise, click here.
Melissa Westgate
Foundation Manager
Head of the River Dinner 2021
The Friends of Rowing invite all rowers, family and friends to celebrate the efforts, improvements and achievements of our St Peter’s Girls’ rowers throughout the 2020/21 season. The annual Head of the River Dinner will be held in the function room at Next Generation on War Memorial Drive, overlooking the beautiful Torrens Lake. The evening will feature speeches from students and coaches about the season that has been, and will conclude with awards being presented. The dinner includes a two-course menu and soft drinks. Other refreshments will be available for purchase in the foyer upon arrival, and from the bar throughout the event.
To comply with COVID requirements, all adults will be required to sign in to the venue by QR code upon arrival.
Next Gen Memorial Drive
War Memorial Drive, North Adelaide
Saturday 20 March 2021
5.30pm arrival for 6pm start
Tickets
$45 per person via https://www.trybooking.com/BOVBY
Ticket sales close at 5pm, Friday 5 March.
Please note, this event is compulsory for all current rowers.
Brynley Millward
Director of Rowing
Dad’s Night Out
Friday 26 February from 6.30pm
Tranmere Bowling Club
1 Kings Grove, Tranmere
Tickets are $40 via www.Trybooking.com/BONMD
(includes entry, bowling fees and sausage sizzle)
Bookings close Wednesday 24 February
Drinks and raffle tickets can be purchased on the evening.
Dads will be placed into teams of 4. We will also run a fun competition with 2 games. Dads have an opportunity to win 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th place.
Hope to see you there!
Melissa Westgate
Foundation Manager
Good Soles Support Saints Girls
In November, The Athlete’s Foot Burnside presented the School with a cheque for $890 for our involvement in its school rewards program. We encourage our community members to support this ongoing promotion. When you visit The Athlete’s Foot Burnside, $5 from every shoe purchased by anyone connected to our community will be donated to St Peter’s Girls’ School. Please let their staff know that you would like your donation to go to Saints Girls when you make a purchase.
Thank you for your kind support.
The Athlete’s Foot – School Rewards Program Information
Melissa Westgate
Foundation Manager
CommBank School Banking
CommBank school banking recommenced on Wednesday 2 February for Term 1. Please remind your children to bring their deposit book with their weekly banking into school each Wednesday morning.
In addition, we are looking for one or two parent volunteers to help us process the school banking on Wednesday mornings. We will provide training. If you would like to assist for an hour once a week/fortnight, please contact me via 8334 2244 or mwestgate@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
Melissa Westgate
Foundation Manager
Virtual School Tour
Following the completion of several state-of-the-art building works, St Peter’s Girls will be launching a public, online Virtual School Tour to showcase life at our wonderful School.
Air and land drones and advanced 360 degree cameras will be used to create dynamic aerials and building fly-throughs that capture our facilities as they’re being used by staff and students. An example of the technology can be found here. Filming is scheduled to take place on 1 and 2 March (Monday and Tuesday of Week 6). As always, we ask that all students are neatly dressed in uniform.
If you have any queries or concerns, please contact Communications Director Caroline Kelly via cakelly@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
We look forward to sharing the site with you once it’s completed later in the year.
COVID Measures
With the school year underway, please note the following information regarding our continued COVID response.
The School has a QR code tracing system to facilitate the safe return of parents on site, in line with wider government measures. Parents entering the campus to drop off or collect their children need to scan the QR code provided each time. This also applies to parents visiting the School for events such as parent information evenings or sports training/matches.
Parents and visitors with more formal appointments at the School, such as meeting a staff member, are still required to sign in/out at Front Office and also need to scan the QR code as well for SA Health tracing purposes.
Adults who do not have a device to scan the QR code need to write their details on the paper form provided in the Front Office.
Parents who remain in their vehicles in the main car park do not need to scan in, and students do not need to scan in as the School already tracks daily attendance.
Logistics around events will be shared in due course, dependent upon the latest advice. Attendance numbers, particularly for indoor events, will still need to be restricted to facilitate social distancing.
The following general requirements remain in place:
- Ensure adults maintain a distance of 1.5m from each other.
- Practise sound hand washing and other hygiene measures.
- Students should remain at home if they are unwell; please notify the School of absences by calling 8334 2200, emailing attendance@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au, or texting 0428 601 957.
We thank all of our families for your cooperation.
Health Notification – Norovirus
The School has been notified of some suspected cases of Norovirus, a type of viral gastroenteritis.
SA Health says there have been increased reports of gastroenteritis in South Australia. Symptoms include:
Nausea
Vomiting
Diarrhoea
Abdominal cramps
Headache
Low grade fever
Noroviruses are very infectious and can spread easily from person-to-person via faeces and vomit. Symptoms usually begin 24 to 48 hours after ingestion of the virus, but can appear as early as 12 hours after exposure.
People should be excluded from childcare, pre-school, school and work until there has been no vomiting or diarrhoea for at least 48 hours.
Please keep unwell children home, particularly if they complain of stomach pains in the morning.
For further information on symptoms, treatment and prevention, click here. Please note the recommendations regarding hand washing in particular. The School applies strict hygiene standards for the safety of our community, and we ask families for their cooperation and vigilance.
If your child will not be attending school/ELC, please notify the School via one of the following methods:
Text: 0428 601 957 (save to phone contacts as SPGS)
Email: attendance@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
Phone: 8334 2200
If you have any queries, please contact the Health Centre via 8155 5762 or healthcentre@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
Kind regards
Lara Waltham and Sarah Wilkinson
Registered Nurses, Health Centre
2021 School Immunisation Program
The information below is provided by Eastern Health Authority
Immunisation Information for Parents/Legal Guardians of Year 8 and 10 Students
The SA School Immunisation Program will be offered at your school by Eastern Health Authority.
All Year 8 students will be offered:
2 doses of the human papillomavirus vaccine, Gardasil®9 at two separate visits.
1 dose of the diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough vaccine, Boostrix®.
All Year 10 students will be offered:
2 doses of the meningococcal B vaccine, Bexsero® at 2 separate visits.
1 dose of the meningococcal ACWY vaccine, Nimenrix®.
Immunisation consent packs will be sent home with all Year 8 and 10 students. It is important that you read the information contained in the packs before you give consent for your child to be vaccinated at school. If you have any questions about this program, please contact Eastern Health Authority via 8132 3600 or www.eha.sa.gov.au
All parents/legal guardians are to complete, sign and return the consent cards, even if you do not consent for the student to be vaccinated at school. Students aged 16 years and above can consent for themselves.
If you do not receive an immunisation consent pack from your child, please ask for one at the School’s Front Office.
If you do not want your child to be vaccinated at school, please contact Eastern Health Authority to arrange for your child to receive the free vaccines. If you go to your local doctor for the vaccination, they will need to order the vaccine and may charge a consultation fee.
Remember to keep your child’s School Immunisation Program records in a safe place as they may be required for future employment or travel.
Swimming Carnival 2021 – NEXT FRIDAY
Friday 19 February
A reminder that the Years 4 to 12 Swimming Carnival is scheduled to be held next Friday at the Adelaide Aquatic Centre.
Details including COVID measures and bus transportation have been emailed to parents.
School teams for SAPSASA (Years 4 to 7), SSSSA (Years 8 to 12) and IGSSA (Years 7 to 12) will be selected from the Swimming Carnival results.
Program
To view the 2021 Swimming Day Program Outline, click here.
Sports News
Our first week of sports fixtures has been somewhat of a mixed bag, with rain cancellations, heat cancellations, but most importantly, a whole lot of enjoyment. At our first Assembly of the year, I spoke with students about Saints Girls’ core values – courage, creativity and compassion – and how these are paramount when representing Saints in sport.
So rather than talk about results, for which there have been many positives, I would like to provide some examples of the core values our girls have demonstrated this week.
When watching our Open A Volleyball team take a two-set lead against Pulteney, it was great to see Coach Shaun challenge the girls to play the third set a ‘different way’. This simple coaching instruction tested the girls’ creativity by challenging them to learn a new style or tactic within a game situation. The girls stepped up to the challenge and when the third set was inevitably closer than the first two, it was great to see their perseverance of a new plan which undoubtedly will lead to their growth as a team.
Our Tennis Head Coach, Bill Walter, has informed me of a positive culture developing in our Senior Tennis teams. Order of merit in Tennis can often be a point of controversy, where students are seen to be competing individually to be ranked the highest player in their own team. The girls have been amazing this week, compassionately supporting each other and putting any perceived order to one side with the focus returning to the team and how individuals can support each other through hard games, injuries and form.
Finally, courage. One of the values which I have seen this week in abundance. From comeback wins, to never giving up regardless of the scoreline, to playing in the rain or heat, to trying a new sport for the first time, our girls continue to step up to the plate. I would, however, like to focus on our younger girls today. Our Kelly Sport and Hot Shot tennis programs have been incredibly popular, with new students requesting to join every day! Starting a new sport and stepping outside of your comfort zone can be a challenge for anyone, so I would like to thank our young Junior School students for their enthusiasm and energy when trying something new, well done!
Moving forward, the sports section of the newsletter will aim to provide you with an insight into our department. Our Sports Captains will lead this space, and have some great ideas from ‘meet the coach’, ‘an interview with an athlete’ to ‘pump-up videos’.
I hope you enjoy your connection to Sport at Saints and look forward to serving you.
Yours in Sport
Tommy Peak
Director of Sport