Issue no. 13
From Our Deputy Principal / Head of Senior School
Unsurprisingly, the first three weeks of Term 2 have passed remarkably quickly, and the girls have been enthusiastic in their approach to academic work, co-curricular activities and school events. It was wonderful to attend the Senior Drama Production this week. The girls’ hard work and dedication was evident throughout their performances. Also of note is the Prefect-led Assembly for Years 7 – 12 that occurred in Week 2. Over the past three years, the Prefects have been required to broaden their leadership skills through the coordination of additional events. These events are important as the Prefects must have opportunities to engage and connect with younger students. Their collaboration with girls in many year groups to provide a very memorable ‘Saints Got Talent’ was appreciated by students and staff. The highlight was no doubt the inaugural performance by the newly-formed staff band. On reflection, the wide participation in the Assembly was another example of the wonderful sense of community that is so embedded within Saints.
Our bespoke ‘Career.Ready’ program continues to move forward. This term will see the delivery of our Careers curriculum to students in Years 10 – 12. Lessons for Year 11 will focus on a number of ‘career deep dives’, where the girls thoroughly explore a range of industries and professions they have identified as areas of interest. It is important that they gain a deep understanding of the work that occurs within a profession. This must go beyond a simple explanation and should involve an exploration of the dynamic nature of the profession across a number of years. Furthermore, it is vital that they are able to assess the transferrable skills that are required within each profession and determine if these are areas of personal strength or require improvement. Year 12 students will complete a ‘university deep dive’. Research indicates that many students are unprepared for university life. Specifically, regarding the independent nature of university work, assessment processes, HECS and administrative requirements. Our intent is that our girls should not be surprised by the tertiary environment and are able to engage in a smooth transition to university life.
This week also saw the launch of our ‘JobChat’ initiative where we hosted Simone Hogarth who talked with a number of girls about her career in the health sector. JobChat is an individualised and flexible program where the School facilitates discussions with industries and fields of interest identified by the girls.
Finally, I encourage you to talk with your daughter regarding her involvement in the many activities and units of work that we are covering this term through our #EMPOWHER and Service Learning programs. I spent this past week working with Year 10 Patteson, who will later this term be cooking a three-course meal for patrons of Moore Street Drop-In Centre. Their willingness to be involved, organisation and attention to detail are impressive and I am confident they will do a fantastic job. Year 11 will next week be completing an intensive ‘study skills workshop’ in preparation for their semester exams. A reminder that our #EMPOWHER content can be viewed via our CANVAS course, and parent resources are available on our myLink parent portal.
Kate Mortimer
Deputy Principal/Head of Senior School
The Second Commandment – First Class!
Bravo to our Year 12 Drama and Theatre students for their magnificent production of The Second Commandment.Written and directed by Michael Butler-Wills, the 70-minute show told the classical Greek tale of Narcissus and Echo. The production was an evocatively poetic exploration of self-love that immersed audiences in a feast of sights and sounds.
Noteworthy Success for Music Ensembles
Congratulations to our fabulous ensemble Enchante (pictured above) who achieved a Gold award and were crowned overall winners in Division 1 at the Vocal JAZZ Fest 2021. We are also incredibly proud of Stage Band (pictured below) who competed against 17 schools in Division 3 at the 2021 SA Schools Jazz Festival and came away with 2nd place.
This time of year, the Music Department is usually in full ‘swing’, preparing for our trip down to Mt Gambier for Generations in Jazz. Last year and this year, the event was cancelled due to COVID. Many SA music teachers felt it was important to find alternative events for our passionate music students. The Vocal JAZZ Fest and SA Schools Jazz Festival were created through the combined efforts of three wonderful South Australian volunteer associations: ANCA (Australian National Choral Association), ABODA (Australian Band and Orchestra Directors Association) and AHOMINGS (Association of the Heads of Music in Non-Government Schools).
A huge congratulations to Music teacher Sari Noble and Old Scholar Chelsea McGuinness (Kilburn 2016) for their amazing work in helping Enchante deliver such an engaging and masterful performance.
We hope to have Generations in Jazz back in 2022 and look forward to heading down to Mt Gambier and competing in such a wonderful community event.
Sally Rounsevell
Director of Music
Matilda’s Taekwondoful Achievement!
Year 4 student Matilda has achieved an amazing result, claiming 3 Bronze medals in her first interstate competition at the Mooto Gold Coast Taekwondo Open last weekend.
She competed in the female red belt U12 youth division across three events in which she was awarded for her sparring, jump kicking and form.
Matilda says:
“I think I did well on my jumping front kick because I kicked 1.82m which is good because I was the second smallest in my division. My sparring was a little bit tricky because the girl I was partnered against was much taller and a higher grade belt than me. When she punched me in the face it put me off a little bit, but I kept going until the very end.”
Well done Matilda, we are very proud of you!
Touch Footballers’ Knockout Performances
Our Middle A Touch team participated in the SASSA Knockout Competition this week and enjoyed an incredible day of success, growth and development. The girls have provided a recap of the event:
On Thursday, the Year 8/9 Knockout tournament took place at the Greenhill Road touch fields. We sent a team of 10 girls to compete against four other teams. Our first game against Woorabinda went well with a solid 3 – 0 win. We made sure to spend our breaks powering down and doing some drills to warm ourselves up.
Our second game against Unley also resulted in a well-deserved win, with the score 4 – 0. Our rucks were top notch and our talk was up the loudest it has ever been. After having a bye and some much-needed time to cool down, our third game was against our strongest competitors, Wilderness. Once the match started, we made sure to play at full intensity; however, Wilderness came out on top with the final score of 1 – 4. We kept our heads up going into our final game against Botanic and claimed a 4 – 0 victory. After winning 3 games, we ended up placing 2nd, scoring us a spot in the finals.
Well done to everyone who played and thanks to Mr Searle for coaching us!
Career Connections at First JobChat
On Wednesday, Saints Girls welcomed our first ‘JobChat’ guest, Simone Hogarth. While eating lunch together with a group of students from Years 10 – 12, Simone shared her experience across several careers as a diagnostic pathologist, a medical scientist and a director of business development for a large healthcare organisation. The girls really enjoyed the chance to hear from someone working in a field of interest to them:
I found Simone’s expertise really insightful because I never knew that working in a hospital laboratory was so hands-on and that pathology leads to so many different areas of work. – Lara, Year 12
By attending the JobChat, I was able to challenge previous career stereotypes and be enlightened to the countless opportunities and pathways available in a medical science field. – Annabel, Year 10
It was really good because I learnt about different pathways through a degree and how your career can change. – Gemma, Year 12
I found the JobChat really eye-opening. Hearing Simone’s first-hand experiences helped me understand what being a medical scientist and pathologist is like and will definitely help me make career decisions in the future. – Chi Chi, Year 11
A big thank you to Simone and those who have expressed interest in participating as we have many more JobChat sessions planned. If you would also like to join in our JobChat sessions to share your career experiences, please contact me via cfarr@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au.
Carolyn Farr
Careers Coordinator
IB EXPO 2021
Next Tuesday 11 May 5.30 – 7pm
Would you like to learn about the IB Diploma Programme? In Years 11 and 12, students can undertake the excellent and world-renowned IB Diploma. Before they do, it is important to understand the structure of the programme, as well as its courses and assessments, so your daughter can choose the pathway/courses that best suit.
The IB EXPO will be held next Tuesday 11 May from 5.30 – 7pm in the Middle School. As well as our Year 9 and 10 parents and their daughters, all members of our community and the public are also welcome.
As the IB Diploma Coordinator, I will present the structure of the Diploma, including differences with SACE and how universities recognise IB Diploma achievement. Another amazing way to understand the benefits and experiences that the Diploma offers is to hear from our graduates who have completed it and our students who are currently undertaking their Diploma. IB teachers will also be available to share their perspectives from a subject specialist point of view.
5.30 – 6.15pm
Carolyn Farr, IB Diploma Coordinator: What is the IB Diploma?
6.15 – 7pm
Chat with current IB students, IB teachers, IB parents and IB graduates
Year 9 and 10 students will also have smaller information sessions during this term; however, the IB EXPO experience is a great way to hear from different people all in the one place.
Please contact me if you have any questions. I look forward to seeing you and sharing my passion for this programme.
Carolyn Farr
IB Diploma Coordinator
Year 6 Leaders Grow STEMs
Our Year 6 iChampion Leaders are participating in a Girls in STEM program at the University of Adelaide. It consists of six sessions based around Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, with this week focusing on Science.
This incredible opportunity has been facilitated by our Digital Technologies teacher and STEM Coordinator, Monique Green. The girls undertook an activity where they were challenged to create something to protect an egg from a drop using only the provided materials and within a set timeframe. They now have a greater appreciation of kinetic energy!
Kim Butler-Nixon
Year 6 Teacher