Issue no. 19
Dream Becomes Reality for Saints Girls
Congratulations to Year 10 students Izzy, Mary and Georgia from team ‘Motiv8 @ Home’ who made the national top 10 and received a High Impact Award in the Microsoft Imagine Cup Junior Competition.
The Year 10 Business, Innovation and Technology class entered the challenge in Term 1. The ‘Motiv8 @ Home’ team identified the problem of people lacking the motivation to exercise during COVID-19 lockdowns. Their idea was to develop a hologrammatic AI training partner which harnesses augmented reality and artificial intelligence to scan the environment and design a workout using the furniture and spaces available. The hologram provides motivation and demonstrates exercises throughout the sessions.
The judging panel was impressed by the creative way the girls presented their idea, taking advantage of the School’s state-of-the-art Media Hub. They were also glad to see a team focus on a problem that is so relevant and far-reaching. The School enjoys ongoing success in this competition, with a team of Saints Girls taking out the National title in 2019 for their AI midwife ‘Naila’.
Monique Green
Digital Tech Teacher & STEM Coordinator
Scientist in Residence Ignites STEM Spark
The School’s first Scientist in Residence has been doing a terrific job helping ignite and nurture the STEM spark in our girls.
Dr Nicole Foster has been assisting in Science lessons as well as running vibrant lunchtime activities.
We’re proud to have her on board, instilling scientific curiosity in girls and young women.
From Our Deputy Principal / Head of Middle School
One of the key skills that we aim to develop through our Middle School Framework is the ability to collaborate in a variety of scenarios. The new Middle School was designed to be a flexible space with an abundance of breakout spaces that encourage small group collaboration, with technology integrated in a way to support a variety of communication and collaboration modes. In the past week, we’ve been putting the finishing touches on the internal design elements of the Middle School extension, ensuring that we continue to provide interesting, functional and inspiring collaborative spaces for our students and staff.
There was much excitement today as our Year 8 girls spent a half day at St Peter’s College, involved in activities with their Year 8 boys as well as girls from Walford Anglican School for Girls. With the Year 7 day in 2020 postponed due to COVID-19 restrictions, teachers and students were keen to get fully engaged. The students were placed into 10 mixed groups before circulating through a variety of different workshops and activities. Quizzes, drama games, maths puzzles, team building, AFL 9s, lacrosse and philosophy were amongst the different classes on offer – all with one common theme. All tasks had been designed to engender positive and respectful interactions, with collaboration a necessity for success. Our girls worked positively and with creativity and determination, collaborating effectively on many of the challenges. Making contacts with students from a variety of backgrounds and having the opportunity to discuss the similarities and differences of their schooling experiences is always interesting. Appreciating that diverse opinions exist and that they can add to the success of a collaborative exercise is an important life lesson.
Finally, we wish our two da Vinci Decathlon teams the best of luck as they compete in the National event next week. Our State Champion Year 7 and 9 teams will compete ‘virtually’ against schools from all states and territories in what promises to be an exciting competition. As ever, when confronted with what will inevitably be taxing and complex tasks, simultaneously, effective communication and calm collaboration will be crucial to enabling our girls achieve to their potential.
Richard Lisle
Deputy Principal/Head of Middle School
Plucky Pianists Revel in Recital
Saints Girls was proud to host our annual Piano Recital on Tuesday. We were fortunate to have Dr Gabriella Smart as a guest artist for the evening. Dr Smart is the Artistic Director of Soundstream, New Music Ensemble in Residence at the University of Adelaide. A renowned performer, she spoke of her musical journey and performed contemporary works to motivate and inspire our budding pianists. The recital also featured presentations from students across year levels and performance experiences who were selected from the Piano Eisteddfod.
Here are reflections from some of our students:
It was amazing to hear Dr Gabriella Smart play and learn about her experiences as a soloist. Also to hear her play something different that we probably would never have known of. It was great to be able to share music with my peers and to hear what they had been practising. Just before I was about to play, I was nervous, even though it was just our parents and peers watching. However, once I got up and starting playing, all of my nerves went away. – Chen Chen Han (Year 6 student)
When I was about to perform, I was stressing out, but I took in a deep breath and played. When I played, I didn’t feel that bad anymore and ended up making no mistakes. I never actually thought that I would be asked to play in the recital, but I was and it gave me more confidence to believe in myself. Having Dr Smart as our guest artist was an amazing experience for us. Her music was really unique and I have never heard something like that before. I think the graphic score she had on her iPad was really interesting too. – Jana Song (Year 6 student)
As Year 6 Music Captains, Scarlett Parker and I assisted Ms Rounsevell in running the Piano Eisteddfod last week. It was wonderful to listen to students younger and older than me perform their pieces. I realised there is such a diverse level of piano players and it was great to see so many students perform no matter their grade or years of playing experience. The Piano Recital was really great training for me to develop my performance skills once again as it has been some time since I performed to a live audience. I also really enjoyed hearing Dr Smart play and listen to what she had to say about being a confident and passionate performer. – Samantha Li (Year 6 Music Captain)
Aerobics Stars Shoot for National Glory
After tasting success in the FISAF (Federation of International Sport Aerobics and Fitness) Super Series competition, our Aerobics girls have gone on to achieve more amazing results at the FISAF State Championships, with all four teams qualifying for the FISAF National Championships.
In the Secondary School Pre-Choreographed Teams (Years 7 – 12: Advanced) division, the Feisty Fives place 2nd and Glisten came 1st. The Pink Ladies and Golden Girls competed in the Secondary School Pre-Choreographed Teams (Years 7 – 9: Novice), placing 1st and 4th respectively.
In FISAF competitions, the top 3 teams in the division qualify for Nationals. This meant we had three out of four teams qualify on competition day. Although the Golden Girls did not place in the top 3, they received one of FISAF’s ‘wild cards’ for scoring well against other schools across Australia and have qualified for Nationals as well.
All teams are ecstatic about their qualification and are eagerly training for the National Championships to be held in Brisbane in August. The coaches and I are incredibly proud of all the efforts from these girls this year and are excited to see how they compete at Nationals.
Maddi Harmer
Student
Inside Look at Local Government
Last Friday, both Year 4 classes experienced first-hand what it is like to be an elected member of Burnside Council. This excursion explored our central idea, ‘Societies have different systems for making decisions that influence the lives of citizens’, under the transdisciplinary theme of ‘How we organise ourselves.’
The students were fortunate to spend time with Mayor of Burnside, past staff member and Old Scholar Anne Monceaux (nee Harrington, Kennion 1966). They visited the Council Chambers where Mayor Monceaux explained how local governments function and how the services provided by the council support the community. She also discussed her role on council, her influences and the attributes one requires for a place in public service.
The girls also participated in a session on waste management with Sarah McConaghy-Beasley, Environmental Sustainability Officer. They enjoyed the ‘Which Bin’ relay and the mini bin sort activity where they were able to showcase their knowledge about what waste goes into which bin. This experience provided further insight into sustainability services that the City of Burnside offers their citizens.
Olivia Coulter & Zoe West
Year 4 Teachers
Old Scholar’s Fitness Challenge
Old Scholar Eliza Richards-Hall (nee Hall, Kilburn 1991), current parent to triplets Ruby, Pearl and Grace in Year 10, recently visited Stonyfell to teach a Year 10 fitness session. She is a personal trainer who runs ‘The Studio Trainer’ in Royston Park. The session was engaging and fun, but most definitely challenging for the girls.
All Year 10 classes move through a number of short units in Physical Education that provide opportunities to explore activities they may continue with into adulthood. We all understand the issues of screen time, lack of unstructured physical activity and a sedentary lifestyle within the wider population. It is important our girls have the tools to increase their self-efficacy through a range of different fitness equipment and activities.
We appreciate Eliza taking the time out of her busy schedule to teach our girls some important lessons.
Dan Searle
Head of PE, Health & Outdoor Education
Friends of The Arts On Song
As we reflect on the huge success of our School Musical, A Chorus Line – High School Edition, I would like to mention the efforts of the Friends of The Arts (FOA) community group. They are the lovely ladies serving snacks and drinks at our Arts events in order to support our program and students. Thanks to their contributions, we were able to buy six new, professional and quality hair microphones, which you can barely see from the audience! These were used in both the Senior Drama Production and School Musical this term. I really appreciate their positivity, ideas and support! If you would like to join FOA, please contact Melissa Westgate via mwestgate@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au.
Kate Burnett
Head of The Arts
Junior School Vacation Care
Our next awesome instalment of Junior School Vacation Care is almost here. We have some great activities guaranteed to keep the children entertained through the break. With an array of excursions and on-site adventures, there is plenty of fun to be had.
June/July 2021 Vacation Care Program
Places are limited, so click here to secure your booking now!
Songbird Society School Holiday Music Workshops
The Songbird Society is launching its first-ever School Holiday Music Workshops.
Located in Bowden, the Songbird Society is a new, community-minded recording studio and music education space whose intention is to inspire, empower, and elevate music artists of all backgrounds, experience and goals.
Be quick to enrol as slots will be occupied on a first-come, first-served basis. Attendance is capped at 10 participants per workshop session.
Years 1 – 7
A 3-day program that offers children an opportunity to explore the magic of music in a fun, engaging and encouraging environment. Participants can look forward to creative activities, educational games, hands-on activities, vocabulary lessons and more!
Session 1: 9am – 12pm, Monday 5 July – Wednesday 7 July
Session 2: 9am – 12pm, Monday 12 July – Wednesday 14 July
Enrol before 28 June.
Years 8 – 12
This 3-day program empowers teenagers with the knowledge of how to create their own song demos from scratch. By the end, the goal is for participants to have completed an original demo. They are led by instructors through interactive lectures, creative activities and more, while using the widely-available digital audio workstation GarageBand.
Session 1: 1pm – 5pm, Monday 5 July – Wednesday 7 July
Session 2: 1pm – 5pm, Monday 12 July – Wednesday 14 July
Enrol before 28 June.
Click here for more information about both opportunities.
You can also visit the Songbird Society website here.
School Holiday Beam Camp
Beam is the innovative holiday camp for bright sparks aged 7 – 12 run by the education team at Lumination made up of STEM educators, robotics experts and coding superstars. The program will run at St Peter’s Girls’ School from 30 June – 14 July.
At Beam Camp, soar past the boundaries of everyday life while exploring coding, immersive virtual reality, robotics and drones. Beam Campers will make new friends while building digital literacy, problem-solving and design thinking – skills that will be vital for their future.
At Red Planet Rescue drone coding camp, navigate your drone around the model Mars colony using block coding, and learn core concepts such as iteration, functions and variables while you’re at it!
At Beyond 2021 VR coding camp, use fully immersive virtual reality technology to explore our solar system and beyond, and discover what challenges will be facing the colonists in the Trappist-1 system.
At Countdown to Mars robotics camp, build your very own rover, customise it and then program it to perform essential tasks on Mars.
Visit beamcamp.com.au to register.
Use the code HOST-49 for $49 off your registration.
School Shop – Holiday Opening Hours
The School Shop will be open on the following days:
Friday 16 July: 9am – 3pm
Monday 19 July: 9am – 4pm
Regular shop opening hours resume from Tuesday 20 July.
Road Safety Alert
The School is extremely concerned by reports of dangerous driver behaviour including speeding through the car park. All drivers must obey the 10kph speed limit.
Please also note the speed limit along Hallett Road has recently been reduced from 60 to 50kph.
Road safety and courtesy is everyone’s responsibility and is of the utmost importance in a school setting. We appeal to all of our families to take extra care in our car parks and on the roads for the safety of our students, parents, staff and the wider community.
Parents and Year Level Representatives Meeting
At the start of Term 3, all parents are invited to attend an information/collaboration meeting in person or on Zoom with Principal Julia Shea and our Community Relations staff. Parents will be updated on upcoming community activities and will hear from Julia. This will give parents an opportunity to get involved in our community events, ask questions, offer advice and provide constructive feedback. For more information, please contact me via 0407 394 183 or mwestgate@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au.
Term 3 Community Meeting
Monday 26 July, 6 – 7pm
Elizabeth Pike Art Centre (in person)
Or join our Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87061280575?pwd=NjNUeGhSL3dYaGtsRTVlVTMvc3pPZz09
Meeting ID: 870 6128 0575
Passcode: 411205
Melissa Westgate
Foundation Manager
Community at Saints Girls
Parents are a vibrant and important part of the St Peter’s Girls’ community.
Many opportunities are available to become involved with the School, connect with other community members and build strong and lasting friendships.
Friends of The Arts Community Group Meetings – Term 3
Wednesday 28 July, 7pm, Elizabeth Pike Art Centre
Wednesday 25 August, 7pm, Elizabeth Pike Art Centre
Contact: Danielle Parker – dslparker@gmail.com
Saints Sport Support Group Meeting – Term 3
Tuesday 27 July, 6.30pm, Elizabeth Pike Art Centre
Friends of Rowing – Term 3
Tuesday 17 August, 6.30pm, Elizabeth Pike Art Centre – AGM
Tuesday 21 September, 6.30pm, Elizabeth Pike Art Centre
Contact: Ed Parker – edontheroadagain@hotmail.com
Melissa Westgate
Foundation Manager
Entertainment Membership
To support Saints Girls and purchase your Entertainment Membership, including a free upgrade, click here.
Terms and conditions apply. Visit www.entertainment.com.au for more information.
Absences from School
If your child is going to be absent, late to school or leave early, please use one of the following methods to notify the School providing student name, class/Home Group and reason:
Text: 0428 601 957
Email: attendance@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
Phone: 8334 2200
Feel free to include the class/Home Group teacher when emailing. It would be appreciated if notifications could be made prior to 9am.
Please note: it is absolutely imperative to keep unwell children at home until they have recovered, even if symptoms are mild. This is not only for their own health and safety, but for that of all students and staff.
We thank all of our families for their cooperation.
COVID Measures
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, Arts productions 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 texting 0428 601 957, emailing attendance@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au, or calling 8334 2200.
We thank all of our families for your cooperation.
Sports News
COMMUNITY SPORT – BADMINTON FITNESS PROGRAM
Our new Gym will bring with it many opportunities, both for the student learning experience and community wellbeing. Moving forwards, we see community engagement in our Sports Program at Saints Girls as a key strategic target. We believe that if our girls see their families, teachers and adult community stepping outside of their comfort zones and living an active lifestyle, then they are more likely to adopt a fit-for-life approach themselves.
We are therefore excited to launch our Community Sport Badminton Program in Term 3. This is an adults only program for the Saints Girls’ community. Families, staff and Old Scholars are invited to come together to exercise and socialise in a fun and open setting. With all proceeds raised going towards our Gym campaign, and at only $50 for the 5 week program, what better way to get active and contribute to the new Gym? This is an all-abilities program, so regardless of your age, experience or fitness, you are welcome to attend! Places are limited and the program will run on a first-in basis.
Click here to book.
For more information, please email Director of Sport Tommy Peak via tpeak@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au.
CROSS COUNTRY
SSSA
A correction to last week’s Cross Country results, with East Adelaide U13 finishing 1st overall, not 2nd as previously published. A fantastic achievement!
HOCKEY
Year 3/4: Saints 5 v Seymour 1
Last week, the Year 3/4 Minkey girls played Seymour’s Green team. The girls had a great game with all players showing determination. It was good to see Mathilda Begg and Emily Robinson as leaders, taking the frees coming out of defence and passing to players leading into space. Throughout the game, Ishana Roy showed much persistence which resulted in her achieving 5 goals. Well done girls on a fantastic game! – Poppie Goldsmith (Hockey Captain)
NETBALL
Year 6 White: Saints 9 v Pembroke 19
Year 6 Blue: Saints 36 v Seymour 12
Year 5 Blue: Saints 12 v Seymour Green 7
On Wednesday, the Year 6 White team played Pembroke. Unfortunately, they lost but they played a good game. It is great to see how much they have progressed over the season and their skills have really improved. We are really proud of you girls! – Zara Wallace (Year 6 White)
SOCCER
Middle: Saints 2 v Concordia 1
A gritty performance by our Middle As who fought hard throughout the game against Concordia. Some fantastic saves and defending from Saints kept the score close, and a late goal from Chloe Richardson saw us take the lead, finishing the game as 2 – 1 victors.
STUDENT SUCCESS
Congratulations to Yashika Agarwal, Abbey Phillips and Phoebe Lucas whose U13 Adelaide Hockey team recently won the State Championships.
Congratulations to Winnie Vartuli, Amelia Lucas, Zara Trim and Leah Huynh whose U15 Eastern Strikers Hockey team won the State Championships.