Issue no. 24
National Tech Win
In news hot off the press, two of our Year 10 girls studying Artificial Intelligence (AI) have claimed 1st place in the National AI for Good Challenge.
Edie McKellar and Jenna Bowden impressed the judges with their concept of ‘NAila’ – an AI midwife who aims to bring education and monitoring to pregnant women living in remote communities and developing countries.
Following their win at the State Finals earlier this month, the girls travelled to Sydney for a shot at the National title and, this afternoon, they celebrated victory!
It’s yet another example of how St Peter’s Girls’ School is taking technology education to the next level. Well done girls!
From the Director of Early Learning
The Community Garden Project
The creation of an ELC Community Garden has been a dream for quite some time. With the support of The Friends of the ELC, we raised enough funds to construct our garden. During the July holidays, Ned from Property Services worked off the plan created by the children to build a sustainable ELC Community Garden. We have been investing time this term to form the relationship with the new space, to share small group experiences with the adults and children to imagine how we might plant our garden and for what purpose. We have invited our community to give us some direct communication about how they would like to see the garden utilised.
As this garden is so much more than just a place to grow vegetables, the educators have been working on a clear learning intention now and moving forward so that we can ensure the endurance of the garden over time and that it is viewed as a learning space and a strong connection to Ferguson Park.
Nurturing and sustaining our natural environment are key roles we have as citizens of our world. We take responsibility for building a foundation of experience for these areas across the Early Learners’ Centre. We embark on embedding cultural, ethical and ecological understandings through our daily life and investigations throughout our learning environment and beyond.
The introduction of our Community Garden provides us with a vehicle for embedding these understandings, taking active responsibility for its care and function. It enables community action for a shared purpose and provides a place for deep connection, relationships and research. Through daily interactions, it will develop as a place where joy, respect, wonder and anticipation are inherent.
Our intention is to create a space where community members are welcomed to participate alongside each other, encouraging the sharing of experience and responsibility. The cycle of learning through our garden will build upon experiences children share within their own families, cultures and beyond.
We look forward to welcoming our School community into our space.
Kate Mount
Director of Early Learning
Chilling Rivalry at Winter Interhouse
The annual Winter Interhouse started in wintery conditions last Friday. The Reception to Year 6 Cross Country needed to be postponed, while Years 7, 8 and 9 braved and then succumbed to the elements, with the 8s and 9s running for any cover they could find as the rain turned to hail at the end of their event.
This continued into the Aussie Rules held after school; every 10 minutes of clear weather was followed by 5 minutes of heavy rain. With spectators doing all they could to stay warm and generate vocal support from the sidelines, the conditions seemed to create even more competition on the field, allowing the bolder players to finish by sliding as far as they could through muddy patches.
Saturday morning was quite a contrast and, despite grim weather forecasts, the morning was cool but clear. Badminton, Hockey, Netball and Soccer were all fiercely contested with many close results.
In Aussie Rules, Patteson prevailed, winning back-to-back titles; Badminton saw Selwyn claim the shield for the first time, breaking Kilburn’s dominance since 2014; Selwyn retained the Netball title; Kennion reclaimed the Hockey shield which they last won in 2016; and in Soccer, Patteson defeated Selwyn on goals to claim victory.
Many thanks to the Saints Sport Support Group for the barbecue and coffee van during the morning which proved great value to the many hungry players and parents.
The final results were:
Aussie Rules – 1st Patteson, 2nd Selwyn, 3rd Kilburn, 4th Kennion
Soccer – 1st Patteson, 2nd Selwyn, 3rd Kilburn, 4th Kennion
Badminton – 1st Selwyn, 2nd Kilburn, 3rd Patteson, 4th Kennion
Hockey – 1st Kennion, 2nd Patteson, 3rd Kilburn, 4th Selwyn
Netball – 1st Selwyn, 2nd Patteson, 3rd Kilburn, 4th Kennion
Neil Fuller
Director of Sport
Year 5 Production Tickets on Sale Monday!
Secure your tickets to see this wonderful show: St Peter’s Girls’ School’s production of Ian Fleming’s Chitty Chitty Bang Bang JR.
Tickets go on sale to the School community at 9am on Monday 19 August. Tickets will sell fast, so book early to snap up great seats.
There is a limit of six tickets per family. Should tickets still be available closer to opening night, families will be able to purchase additional tickets. Grandparents who would prefer to attend a matinee performance will be invited to buy tickets to the School session on Friday 27 September at 1.15pm, which our Junior School students will be attending.
26 – 27 September 2019 at 7pm
St Peter’s Girls’ School Arts Centre
Ticket prices:
Adult $17
Student/Concession $12
Family (2 Adults/2 Children) $42
Visit www.trybooking.com/BDZQK
Young Gymnast Beaming with Glory
Congratulations to Year 3 student Maisy Ion, who achieved incredible results at the Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Level 3 – 5 Interclub 1. In the Level 3 (under 9 years) competition, she finished in 1st place overall, and also received a Gold medal for her beam routine, a Silver for vault, and a Bronze for the uneven bars. In the Level 3 (under 9 years) competition, she finished in 1st place overall, and also received a Gold medal for her beam routine, a Silver for vault, and a Bronze for the uneven bars.
Maisy started gymnastics at the beginning of 2018. Currently, she trains twice a week for a total of five hours.
“I was really nervous but I tried my best. I am now training hard to earn another medal.” – Maisy Ion
Amazing effort Maisy!
Maths Quiz Equals Fun Night
On the night of Wednesday 7 August, many teams from Years 7 – 12 competed in the annual Maths Quiz Night in the Middle School. We competed in maths problems, puzzles and general knowledge quizzes against teams from other local schools.
Everyone brought a lot of food and there was just as much eating as answering questions. It was a great night where everyone really gave it their all and challenged themselves while having a lot of fun. I was fortunate to belong to a winning team – Adele Russell, Rose Guo and I won the award for being the Best Junior Mathematics Team.
Chi Chi Zhao
Year 9 student
Environment Club Minds its Beeswax
Tracy Holtze, a former Food Technology teacher, visited the School to teach the members of the Environment Club how to create beeswax wrappers. These are sustainable and reusable food wrappers that can be used as an alternative to single-use plastic. They can be bought at many stores or can be created by infusing pieces of cotton with a mixture of food-grade beeswax, pine rosin and oil (usually jojoba or coconut oil). This allows the wrapper to easily wrap around an item of food and to be washed with a cold cloth before it is reused.
As we all are aware, packaging has caused an increasing amount of rubbish pollution which has developed into a worldwide issue. This activity has given the Environment Club the skills and knowledge they need to create their own wrappers and help reduce their ecological footprint of this issue.
The Environment Club really enjoyed the activity and we encourage our School community to try beeswax wrappers as an alternative to cling wrap for their produce.
Lucy White
Environment Club Captain
Dance Students Moved by Artistic Outing
Last Friday, 47 dance students from Years 9 and 10 attended a school edition of Sydney Dance Company’s ‘Triple Bill’ at the Dunstan Playhouse. Both classes have been learning contemporary dance skills, choreography and creating their own dance movement in this style. They were fortunate enough to not only view two of the company’s current works – Neon Aether and Cinco – but listen to the choreographers discuss their process for generating original ideas and movement. It’s always a pleasure to take our students to view live dance performance as it is often a first for some students that opens up their minds to this creative and expressive art form.
“The performance was something so unique and I really enjoyed the use of imagination in Neon Aether relating to the space fiction. It surprised me how the artistic directors manipulated the lights to create blackouts so the dancers could make their spots and it impressed me how balanced and strong the dancers were. It taught me the value of putting your visions into action and expressing your imaginative moves into a form of expression like dance.” – Caitlin Middelberg
“This experience allowed me to become inspired by their unique movements and choreographic skills. I liked learning about the artists’ inspirations and techniques for creating the movements. I was surprised by the way they incorporated their choreographic intent through their work by using different stimulus to establish a story that can be interpreted differently by the audience. I was really impressed by the way the day was structured and how we had time to listen to the choreographers talk about their pieces.” – Georgina Keough
Kate Burnett
Head of The Arts
Kilburn and Kennion House Charity Day
Friday 23 August
On Friday 23 August, Kilburn’s Year 10 girls will be selling to Years 3 – 12 a delicious dessert of ice-cream with an array of mouth-watering toppings including chocolate sauce, crushed Oreos, gummy bears and many more! For the Receptions, Year 1s and Year 2s, vanilla dixie cups can be bought for $2.50 using the following try booking link – https://www.trybooking.com/BEPRF
The Year 10 Kennion girls will be serving up sausages and bread ($2.50 each), and for students in Reception – Year 2, these can be pre-purchased via the link above.
Share the Dignity Campaign – Can You Help?
As part of our Health programs, St Peter’s Girls is once again participating in the Share the Dignity campaign. August is collection month for sanitary products to help the 85,000 homeless women and teenage girls who either can’t easily access or afford these necessary items. Collection boxes will be available in various classrooms and the Library for the girls to place their donations. I would love for our School community to be aware of what we are doing and to embrace this charity.
To learn more about the Share the Dignity initiative, click here.
Sonya Risbey
Physical Education/Health Teacher
I, Pandora Plaudits
The SACE Year 11 and 12 Drama students presented their production of I, Pandora in a four-show season last week. Based on the well-known myth of Pandora, the play interwove a classical Greek re-telling of the original story with a more naturalistic exploration of the contemporary tale of Ida Sallinger. Involving an evocative soundscape, clever animations and a magnificent set, the play was a tremendous hit with all who saw it. The actors each gave startlingly impressive performances as they explored complex human emotions, worked together powerfully in an ensemble, and developed captivating characters. The play itself was a completely original work – written in-house, workshopped collaboratively, and developed by the students – and was a testament to the creative talents of all involved.
Michael Butler-Wills
Head of English / Drama Teacher
A Taste of Spain for Language Learners
The Spanish ab initio Year 11 group have taken Spanish learning out of the classroom. They started the project of language immersion in March, when they decided to travel to Spain in 2020. The girls have learnt about the culture of Spanish-speaking countries and are getting ready to visit Instituto Cervantes in Salamanca, Spain which awards the DELE Certification in Languages (Spanish).
Thanks to the support of the Saints Girls’ community, the students raised approximately $200 though the churros fundraiser, which will go towards their certificate in Spain.
Saludos
Flor Groenen
Spanish ab initio Teacher
Visual Arts Students Weave their Magic
The Year 9 Visual Arts students recently completed woven wall hangings. They were greatly inspired by the techniques, colours and materials used in the works created by the Tjanpi Desert Weavers.
Although many students initially found weaving to be challenging, they reported a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment as they mastered practices and reflected upon their finished product.
It was wonderful to see a diverse collection of finished woven wall hangings that effectively showcase the skills and techniques developed in this unit of work.
Artwork by (from left to right) – Tara Young, Dayna Petruzzella, Charlotte Adams, Chloe Venning and Azaan Singh
Kirsten Mansfield
Visual Arts Teacher
P&F Father’s Day Stall
The Parents’ and Friends’ Association will be holding a Father’s Day Stall where all of our Junior School girls will be able to purchase a gift for their father, grandfather or another special person in their life.
We will have a variety of wonderful gifts available for $5 each. They will be wrapped and delivered to class teachers and given out at the end of the day.
The stall will be set up under the Stott Wing Balcony at the following times:
Wednesday 28 August
Recess 10.10 – 10.35am (Reception students)
Lunch 1.05 – 1.40pm (Year 1 and 2 students)
Thursday 29 August
Recess 10.10 – 10.35am (Year 3 and 4 students)
Lunch 1.05 – 1.40pm (Year 5 and 6 students)
If you would like your child to purchase a gift from the stall, please send some money to school with them on these days.
Bronwyn Bartter
Parents’ and Friends’ Association President
Calling all Parents of Saints’ Rowers
AGM: Tuesday 20 August
Time: 6 – 8pm
Location: Chiverton Boardroom
The 2019-20 school rowing season is almost upon us and your girls need your support to ensure a smooth and enjoyable season. Friends of Rowing (FoR) is thriving and we welcome new parents to join our group to support our Director of Rowing and ensure Saints Girls continues to have a successful rowing program.
One of the purposes of FoR is to raise much-needed funds to help reduce the cost associated with rowing. Over the past few years, we have contributed money towards compulsory rowing camps, which has greatly reduced the on-cost charged to parents. We have also purchased training equipment, clothing and hats. Some of the ways we’ve raised money include sponsorship, sausage sizzles and raffles. With the School’s help, we organise the rowing social events such as the Season Welcome and Head of the River Dinner. This committee adds real value to our program and without fundraising, the cost of rowing for parents would inevitably rise.
Throughout the rowing season, FoR meet each month at the School for a short social catch up with staff members and coaches. Everyone is welcome as we work collaboratively to help inform decisions which add value to the program. You don’t need to volunteer for a committee position or attend every meeting; feel free to just come along to hear about the work we do, offer up any ideas you may have, and get to know other rowing parents. The more we support each other, the greater we support our girls and their passion for rowing.
As stated above, our AGM and first meeting for the season will take place on Tuesday 20 August. Please come along so that we can continue to improve the success of the Saints Girls’ Rowing program. Afterwards, parents are welcome to join us at the Feathers Hotel for a social catch up.
Melissa Westgate
Foundation Manager
School Immunisation Program
Second Visit for Year 8 Students
Human Papillomavirus Vaccine (HPV)
Eastern Health Authority (EHA – www.eha.sa.gov.au) will soon be visiting St Peter’s Girls to administer the second dose of the HPV vaccine for Year 8 students where consent has been provided.
If for some reason you did not receive a consent form and you wish for your child to be vaccinated, please ask for one at the School’s Front Office or contact EHA on 8132 3600.
If any information you provided on the original consent form has changed, please inform EHA’s immunisation staff before the date of vaccination via 8132 3600.
Please notify us if:
• Your child has already had the second HPV with another provider
• You wish to withdraw your consent
• Your child’s medical condition has changed
Remember: it is your responsibility to advise EHA of any change in the information on the consent form, in particular, your child’s medical condition. A signed and dated note presented on the day of immunisation from a parent or guardian in your child’s diary is acceptable.
Sing for Dignity – Youth Concert Featuring Saints Girls
Sing for Dignity – Youth is a concert being held this Sunday to raise funds for Friends with Dignity, a non-for-profit organisation supporting those affected by domestic violence. Saints Girls’ jazz group In-Ta Jazz will be performing, and Year 8 student Samantha Keough will be a solo performer.
Sunday 18 August
5pm (approx. finish time 7.45pm)
Star Theatre, 145 Sir Donald Bradman Drive, Hilton
Tickets $25 via https://www.trybooking.com/BCUSA
Star Theatre operates a licensed bar and sells snacks such as chips and chocolates. Drinks can be taken into the theatre.
Come along and support a worthy cause while enjoying the amazing vocals of some of our very talented singers.
Save The Date – SACE Music Concert
Our senior Music students are steadily working towards their SACE Solo and Ensemble Performance Summative Assessments which will form the basis of our upcoming SACE Music Concert at 7pm on Thursday 12 September. Stage Band, Chamber Choir, Concert Choir, Concert Band and Enchante will perform as many of our students use these ensembles to gain 10 SACE credits in Ensemble Performance. We will also hear many solos. Entry is free and we encourage audience members to bring their own drinks and nibbles.
Please come along and support our senior Music students from 7pm on Thursday 12 September (Week 8).
Sally Rounsevell
Director of Music
Book Week 2019
Dress Up Day will be held on Friday 23 August 2019
Come dressed as your favourite book character! There will be class parades during a special Junior School Assembly at 8.40am in the Arts Centre. Parents are most welcome to attend.
OSA Movie Afternoon Fundraiser
The OSA is delighted to be hosting a movie fundraiser – ‘Downton Abbey’ – on Saturday 14 September at 1.30pm at The Regal Theatre.
Please join us for a relaxing afternoon watching the movie which picks up in 1927, about a year and a half after the series finale was set, and revolves around the good folks at Downton preparing for a very special visit from the King and Queen of England.
Tickets are $20 via www.trybooking.com/BDMQT; the price includes a drink (soft drink or bubbles) on arrival and chocolates.
Planning Ahead: The US & UK Application Timeline
10 September at Loreto College
If you are in Years 9 – 11 and want to have the option of studying in the US or UK straight after high school, we encourage you to learn as much as you can about the application process as early as possible. This information session, run by Crimson Education, will show you how to prepare for overseas admission and will provide tips on how to apply alongside your SACE or IB.
Click here for free group tickets.
Wool Donations Needed
The Environment Club is collecting any spare wool that you may have at home and no longer wish to use. Members will be taught how to crochet squares, which will be sewn together to make blankets for the homeless. We would greatly appreciate any wool to help us reduce costs. If you do have spare wool, please send it to school with your daughter and she can deposit it in the box at Student Services.
We thank you in advance for your support.
Lucy White and Lucy Young
Environment Club Leaders
Upcoming House Dinners
During Term 3, all Middle and Senior School girls have the opportunity to enjoy a night away from homework to get creative and colourful at the House Dinners.
The Year 11s have been working hard organising decorations, food and games for each event. Visit the Trybooking links below to purchase your daughter’s ticket for the night as this is a compulsory event.
We’re looking forward to seeing everyone’s creative costumes and enjoying a fun night with our Houses.
Kilburn House Dinner
Theme: Op Shop
30 August (Week 6)
Book now: https://www.trybooking.com/BDSGW
Patteson House Dinner
Theme: American High School
13 September (Week 8)
Book now: https://www.trybooking.com/BDYLU
Year 12 House Captains
Would You Like to Join Our Amazing Team of Volunteers?
Our Learning Strategies volunteers are all enormously valued within the department and the broader School community. Our girls LOVE working with them, and the teachers are so appreciative of their generous donation of energy, expertise and enthusiasm. We have some exciting developments within our department in 2019 and we’d love you to join us.
Our volunteers work with our girls on areas such as literacy anywhere between a couple of lessons a week through to a couple of days per week. They include parents, grandparents, Old Scholars, retired staff and university students who are keen to gain further experience working with children.
Please make contact ASAP to register your interest via:
Catherine Kelly – Junior School ckelly@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
Susan Bassett – Middle and Senior School sbassett@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
We will send you a volunteer information sheet to fill out and then invite you in for a chat. We will also provide training for some of our Junior School programs.
Learning Strategies Team
Kidz Biz Education Evening
You are warmly invited to the Kidz Biz Growth and Development Education Evening on Thursday 22 August in the Arts Centre.
Kidz Biz Growth and Development Education is for students and their parents. The sessions are designed to be fun, informative and easy to understand. They are highly interactive sessions, providing parents/guardians and students 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 and 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 sessions.
Suzanne Haddy
Head of Junior School
Sports News
AEROBICS
After a long season, it was an outstanding effort from our middle Aerobics team of Madeline Harmer (Year 9), Annie Warrick, Zara Blight and Jessica Cao (Year 8), and Sienna Huxtable (Year 7) who finished 5th at the National FISAF Aerobics Championships held in Brisbane.
Congratulations also to Caitie Scane (Year 9) who competed in the individual section and placed 9th from 15 competitors.
BASKETBALL
Year 6 Blue – Saints 25 defeated Seymour Green 24
The team played well in a close game and held on to win by the smallest margin. We started well and were in control of the game to lead 23 to 14 at three-quarter time. Unfortunately, both Januri Wagaarachchi and Levanya De Silva had reached their scoring limit (12 points each) and our scoring dried up. Overall though, a really good effort. – Brenton Davies (Coach)
Year 5 – Saints 18 defeated Walford Blue 16
The girls secured their first win which was excellent. You can see how much they have improved from their first game to now. They did a man-on-man defence that worked really well, making it hard for the other team to get the ball. They worked as a team calling each other’s names and helping each other out when they needed. It was a very close game but the girls managed to get the win. – Kelly Laird (Coach)
LACROSSE
Under 13 – Saints 14 defeated St Aloysius 5
We played SAC down at Findon Oval, Woodville. The rain held out during the first two quarters where the girls were leading by 6 points. In the second half, SAC came back with some goals that were just enough to keep us out of mercy rule. We finished just as the rain did with a 14 – 5 win and 8 out of our 12 girls getting a goal. – Caitlyn Grayson (Coach)
Under 11 Blue – Saints 6 defeated by North Adelaide 15
It was a very wet and cold morning but nevertheless the girls played well. Ruby Kelly (Year 3) did a fantastic job at being our goalie as she stopped most shots. Claris Stolcman (Year 3) was impressive with her speed as she ran down the field to be an option in attack. Our ground balls were quite good, especially Matilda Birmingham’s (Year 3) as she always got her stick down early. It was great to see Neela (Year 3) and Lilly Meo (Year 3) have the confidence to run hard when they had the ball in their stick. Chelsea Francis (Year 3) did a great job at being the back-up player behind the goal if a shot was missed and always moving in attack. Goal scorers were Chelsea (4), Claris (1) and Matilda (1). Best players were Neela and Ruby. – Lucy Martin (Coach)
Under 11 White – Saints 6 defeated St Dominics 9
Despite losing, the game was exceptionally close and was one of the team’s best performances this term. Excellent energy and spirit was shown, and the score remained tight with pressure shown from both sides. Unfortunately in the third quarter, we had a slight dip and this allowed the opposition to score a number of goals quickly. In the final quarter, we showed our determination as we regained composure and scored 3 goals! All players contributed well, with Eliza Burmester and Enya Ouyang stopping many goals as goalies. Anvika Singh worked hard in the midfield, with Millie Lively, Lois Burton-Howard, Enya and Matilda Wilkin scoring the goals for the team. Well done, you all played a great game. In training, we will focus on getting in front of defence and intercepting passes. – Sophie Auricht (Coach)
NETBALL
Year 4 Blue – Saints 13 defeated Pembroke Blue 6
The girls played a great team game. Accurate shooting by Wei Ning was backed up by Zoe White and Enya Ouyang. There was good support around the goal circle edge, and strong defence helped with a terrific result. The girls are improving their skills with every game, always putting pressure on the opposition. Awesome work girls. – Karen Braund (Coach)
Year 3/4 White – Saints 9 defeated Seymour 1
This has definitely been the girls’ best game as they were all spreading out, dodging and calling each other’s names. Charlotte was the Captain and played an amazing game, especially in the second-half as Centre. Iris was awesome in GA, continuously going into the free space and trying to shoot every goal she could. Lauren had an astounding game; she shot the first goal in GS and continued to play exceptionally. The girls played really well together, tried their hardest and displayed great sportsmanship. – Maddy Lisle (Student Coach)
SOCCER
Open A – Saints 3 defeated Scotch 1
The Open As won again this week. I was so proud of the girls because it was definitely our best game so far and it was great to see all of them implementing the skills we have been learning in training. Our first goal was scored by Millie Wilkin after heading it to herself and then chasing the ball in with a powerful finish. Isabella Villani dribbled past the defenders and shot an amazing second goal in the bottom left-hand corner. Our third and final goal started from a through-ball by defender Adele Russell, then a powerful cross into the box by Chloe Deieso and a quick poke into the goal by Isabella Villani. Special mention to Annie Bradshaw for playing in goals, Louisa Reid, who played goalie in the second-half, and Tahlia Towers for playing up in the As. Great job girls! – Ellie Anderson (Captain)
Open B – Saints had a bye
Middle A – Saints 1 defeated by St Michaels 7
The girls faced tough opposition, however, despite the challenge, they were excited to get on the ball. Georgia Barclay and Emily Elston were key players in defence – confidently clearing the balls and chasing down the opposition’s attacks. A special mention must also go to Anushka Rajbhoj for an amazing goal that will definitely be remembered. The girls have had a tough season but, with one game left to go, I hope we can secure a win. – Dom Rigby
Middle B – Saints 1 defeated by Wilderness 3
This was the best game the girls have played; they challenged themselves to defend harder and tried more running with the ball. It paid off with the girls having more opportunities in front of goals, resulting in a few near-misses and, in the end, a goal from Ruby Kirwan. – Kerry Hudson (Coach)
Year 6 – game cancelled
Year 5 – game cancelled
Year 3&4 – game cancelled