From the Deputy Principal

Top. Year 12 Student Leaders. Above (left): Margaret Gayen receives her SACE Merit Award from His Excellency Kevin Scarce, the Governor or South Australia. Above (right): A group of the 2011 Year 11 and 12 students who received subject Merit Awards at Government House.

It has been a dynamic start to 2012 in the Senior School as students engage with the rigour of the academic year and other school events. In addition, members of staff are undertaking the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma training and curriculum preparation which requires the development of the IB Learner Profile. This is a holistic view of schooling that provides a tool for learning, reflection and analysis.

These developments have provided an opportunity to consider how some of the recent Senior School activities, both academic and non-academic, positively impact on student learning and strengthen our holistic view of education. With this in mind I’d like to reflect on the recent Year 12 Progressive Dinner held last Saturday.

This very traditional and social occasion at Saints Girls provides an opportunity for Year 12 students, staff and parents to interact as they embark on the Year 12 journey together. This year’s Progressive Dinner was a resounding success on all levels, inspiring me to look upon this cherished event with a new ‘IB Learner Profile’ perspective.

I considered what factors contribute to making this event successful and memorable while still impacting on our girls' learning. While first and foremost the Progressive Dinner is a social function, I also saw evidence of many other skills being developed during the preparation as well as on the actual evening. For example, the girls collaborated to plan a theme and then devised their own costumes that aligned with this theme. This provided them with an opportunity to be individual, creative and to take risks, while supporting each other and working in teams. The girls also interacted with the staff outside the classroom which is an important experience for them as emerging adults.

Activities such as these allow our girls to deepen friendships and build links of support between peers, staff and parents to assist in managing the demands of Year 12. An occasion such as the Progressive Dinner is just one of the many ways the School provides a range of non-academic activities to ensure we are maximising the girls’ exposure to real-world scenarios as well as providing necessary relief from the more academic and structured learning requirements of the classroom.

I would also like to take this opportunity to formally thank the Year 12 parents who worked tirelessly to make this event a success. The generosity and warm community spirit that is Saints Girls was ever present as families welcomed over 90 guests into their homes. The girls, staff and I thank Cathy and John Miller, Johanna and Jack Linn and Toni and Jeff Ellison for welcoming everyone into their homes. I would also like to make particular mention of the support provided by the House Prefects and their parents in assisting the hosts with various event arrangements.

Student Leadership

On Wednesday we celebrated leadership as the Year 12 Prefects were inducted in a very moving Chapel Service. To their surprise the School acknowledged their work, effort and dedication by not only blessing and providing the girls with badges, but also presenting them with new white blazers and jumpers in recognition of their office, role and responsibility. The Student Leaders’ Service also marked the induction of the Deputy House Prefects and acknowledged all Year 12 students as leaders and role models among the School community. The significance of the occasion continued after the service with the Prefects gifting all the girls with a BBQ lunch.

The personal development and sense of community spirit among the girls as they commence the school year and take on leadership responsibilities is ever present. In a recent Prefect meeting, the girls discussed fundraising as well as ways to support others. I am delighted and proud to announce that the Year 12 students have chosen to be service leaders in their final year of schooling. A number of service initiatives have been chosen with the initial project involving volunteering at the Mary Magdalene Centre where the girls will prepare and serve meals on a roster system on Saturday nights; our first being tomorrow night.

We look forward to our next leadership occasion where all Co-Curricular Leaders and the Middle and Senior School Student Representative Council will be presented with their badges of office at a full school assembly on Monday Week 6.

Recently, I have reflected on the support structures we have in place in the Senior School to ensure the social, emotional and academic development of the girls. During the last two weeks we have held Information Sessions for parents in order to set the tone for study, pastoral care activities and expectations of 2012. Year 12 parents were invited back to school and participated in lessons with their daughter’s Year 12 teacher while receiving an overview of her courses, the assessment tasks and due dates throughout the year.

Year 11 Parents were briefed on the SACE Research Project requirements, while highlighting the demands of this course and how together we can support their daughter as she develops new skills in analysis and research. Year 10 Parents have also been warmly welcomed into the Senior School and attended an Information Session about the Personal Learning Plan and the International Baccalaureate to assist their daughter in considering her preferred learning pathway in 2013.

Information Sessions assist in formalising lines of communication and support structures among staff, parents and students. At each evening I reinforced the importance of contacting the Home Group teacher if parents have concerns or to talk to the subject teacher for more specific subject related queries. Most importantly, maintaining these lines of communication provide an opportunity for early intervention to ensure support mechanisms are activated appropriately and in a timely manner.

SACE Merit Ceremony

It was my honour this week to attend the SACE Merit Ceremony at Government House. I was proud to witness anumber of 2011 Year 12 students and some current Year 12 girls being presented with their Merit certificates. The SACE Merit Ceremony provides the opportunity for the South Australian community to recognise and celebrate the outstanding achievements of Year 12 Students. I was incredibly proud to watch a large number of Saints Girls be publicly acknowledged for their commitment to excellence. The School and community congratulate these girls and recognise the important role that the staff and families also played in supporting these girls achieve such accolades.

Congratulations to Margaret Gayen for her success and also being a recipient of one of the 25 Governor of South Australia SACE Awards. Hosna Wahabzada was also awarded the Annie Montgomerie Martin Prize and Medal for Modern History; a very prestigious prize that acknowledges her achievement of being equal top in the State.

Kerry Skinner (Deputy Principal & Head of Senior School)

The Twilight Cinema Carnival on Saturday 25 February is next week and is shaping up to be a fabulous evening.

The P&F proudly presents, Rio. A film by the creators of Ice Age.

The Twilight Cinema Carnival will also have stalls, a bouncy castle, face painting and a live performance by the band, 'The Sun and the Sky’.

Reminder - Tickets are available from the School Shop (8334 2228). $40 per family, $15 per adult and $10 per child/student.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Volunteers

Do you have some time to help on Saturday 25 or Sunday 26 February? We'd love to hear from you!

To help make the Twilight Cinema Carnival a night to remember, we need some help. An hour spare and many hands makes light work!

We are calling for a number of volunteers to assist with set-up, food preparation, duties on the night and packing up the next day. We know you are all busy people and so that you can come and go quickly on the roster we ask for just a couple of hours of your time maximum.

Setup Helpers – 25 February 2011
9.00 am to 11.00 am
11.00 am to 1.00 pm
1.00 pm to 3.00 pm
4.00pm to 5.00 pm (Food preparation> BBQ / Salads)

On the Night - BBQ, Bar, Stalls, Parking etc
5.00 pm to 6.00 pm
6.00 pm to 7.00 pm
7.00 pm to 8.00 pm
8.00 pm to 9.00 pm

Pack Away – Sunday 26 February (AM only)
9.00 am to 12.00 pm or part thereof
If you are able to assist, please download the attached Volunteer Registration form and return it via email or drop off to the Development Office.

Please step up to help make this event a success.  It is part of supporting the School and our daughters.

Thank you.
Your P&F Committee (Friends of the ELC at the Twilight Cinema)

Books, Books, Bring Out Your Books!

It’s Twilight Cinema time and The Friends of the ELC is again involved with this wonderful event. Last year we had a marvellous time selling second hand books that were generously donated by the Saints Community and we are in need of your help again.  Last year many families raided their bookshelves and brought in for us the most amazing array of books.  We would love for you to do the same again.

If your shelves are in need of some de-cluttering then we would love to take those extra pesky books off your hands.  In particular, we are looking for children books, novels, autobiographies and any old magazines you may have lying about, but of course we will willingly take any book on offer. Your generosity will help us raise funds to continue to improve the garden of the ELC and provide a fun area for the children to play and grow.  If you are able to bring any books along could you please deliver them to the Development Office. Thank you again for your help and generosity..

Lorraine Scarr (Friends of the ELC).

Mothers' Club

Many creative and beautifully adorned gift boxes have already been delivered to the Development Office. We remind you to return these by Friday 23 February.

Thank you,
Mothers' Club

Murray Bridge Regatta. Left: Saints Girls' Marquee and Banner. Right: Peter and Tina Galanis.

Friends of Rowing are excited to announce their first fundraising venture to be launched at the “Twilight Cinema” on 25 February.  You will have the opportunity to taste and order Shingleback Wines and also test your rowing abilities on our ergo machines.  www.shingleback.com.au

We are paving the way for bigger and better opportunities for our rowers and aim to one day provide them with their own boats and equipment. This will take time and effort, but is achievable if the Friends of Rowing Committee and the School community continue to show their wonderful support.

We ask you to consider purchasing a dozen bottles of Shingleback Wines to support our hard working rowing crews. Click here to download the wine order form.

If you have any questions about this fundraiser, please contact;

Rob Parkinson (m) 0412 830 801 (e) robert.parkinson@ap.jll.com
Bec Norton (m) 0488 761 692 (e) becnorton@adam.com.au
Mark Gare (m) 0408 888 014 (e) mark@thegares.com

We look forward to an exciting future ahead for Rowing at Saints Girls.

Thank you,
Friends of Rowing

Paul Dillon has been working in the area of drug education for the past 25 years. Through his own business, Drug and Alcohol Research and Training Australia (DARTA), he has been contracted by many agencies and organisations across the country to give regular updates on current drug trends within the community. He has also worked with many school communities to ensure that they have access to good quality information and best practice drug education.

In recent years, he has worked extensively with a range of sporting organisations including the Australian Cricketers' Association, the Rugby Union Players' Association and the Football Federation of Australia to provide training workshops to elite athletes on a range of alcohol and drug issues. He has also written a best-selling book for parents, entitled ‘Teenagers, Alcohol and Drugs‘, which was released in 2009. With a broad knowledge of a range of content areas, Paul regularly provides media comment and is regarded as a key social commentator in Australia, appearing on a wide range of television programs including Sunrise, TODAY and the 7PM Project discussing topical issues. Paul also had a regular spot on a national radio program on Triple J for seven years, where he dealt with current youth drug issues.

Our School community welcomes Paul again this year to speak to our Year 10, 11 and 12 students, staff and parents.

A parent information session will be held in the Humzy Theatre on the evening of  Wednesday 22 February from 7.30pm. We would like to invite parents from all year levels to hear Paul speak. His informative and interesting talk last year was well received by the parents who attended.

Sonya Risbey (PE/Health teacher)

Top: Whole class participating in a 'plie` exercise. Above: Musicians with Nick Parnell.

The Saints Performing Arts Academy Begins in Earnest !

After the excitement of the launch last week, our inaugural SPAA participants arrived Wednesday afternoon raring to go. The dancers began working with past Australian Dance Theatre rehearsal director, Janet Bridgeman. Janet still works with the ADT, teaching them her unique fusion of Classical Ballet and Pilates which our students will also be working on for the first 6 weeks of the term. In Drama, the students worked with State Theatre Company’s, Renato Musolino, on gaining confidence in the group, breathing techniques and the use of pulse in dramatic performance.  Meanwhile over in MB117, the musicians were working with international percussionist, Nick Parnell, on goal setting, time management, getting inspired and dreaming big.

For those who were not able to attend the SPAA launch last week, I have included a few words from the keynote speaker, Timothy Sexton:

So all of you are here witnessing a birth, (too). That moment in time when a fertile idea becomes a reality – when, to use a very old cliché, it grows wings and takes flight. But here we have twenty four separate births - not only of the Academy, but of the definitive start of a wonderful journey for each of the 23 of you. And what a journey that will be. Like Christopher Columbus setting sail across uncharted oceans for the first time, you are embarking on a lifetime voyage of discovery for which there are no reliable maps.

There are parts of your personal charts that may be inscribed, like the sea charts of old, with the words, “here be monsters”. There’ll be those who will tell you, as Columbus was told, that the world was flat and if you sail into those uncharted waters you will fall off the edge of the world and perish. That, we all know, is a load of nonsense. The only map you need to follow is the map in your heart. Your ambitions, personal expectations and increased knowledge and experience will act like lighthouses on your journey, showing you where many of the pitfalls, submerged reefs and rocky outcrops are. They won’t always protect you, and there’ll be times when you will flounder. There’ll be times when you are becalmed – when the wind has left your future career’s sails and you can feel yourself drifting in the doldrums, wondering if you should have boarded a different ship. But that’s all part of the deal because you are being given a chance here to experience the arts – that most challenging life course – the one with the greatest risks and uncertainty, and yet the one offering the greatest rewards.

Look out for further extracts from Tim’s speech in the weeks to come.

Amanda Kimber (Director of SPAA, Head of Arts)

Year 6 2012 Leaders. Top to bottom: Kilburn, Selwyn, Patteson, Kennion.

One of the highlights of Year 6 is the Leadership Program, where all girls are given a leadership role within the Junior School. The aim of this program is to develop leadership skills and foster peer support amongst other Junior School students.

The leadership roles offered are House Captain, Athletics Captain, T-Ball Captain, Swimming Captain, Quiz Captain, Chapel Leaders, Environment Leaders, Service Leaders, Tech Leaders, SRC Members, and Choirs Leaders.

To begin this program, the girls participated in an off-campus leadership afternoon. A range of activities provoking problem solving, team work, communication and thinking skills encouraged the girls to work collaboratively. This supports our current Inquiry Unit on Leadership with the Central Idea, “Everyone has the ability and opportunity to demonstrate leadership”. We are confident that the girls will successfully fulfill their individual leadership roles and we look forward to the support they will provide to the Junior School students.

Cassandra Moore, Vicky Charlton and Shane Davidson (Year 6 teachers)

“Our excursion was both exciting and challenging for our minds and bodies. We were challenging ourselves by thinking of strategies to help our team and learning how to cooperate effectively”. (Kate McKellar-Stewart)

All the girls learned ways to demonstrate leadership and it was a great way to develop new skills. If we didn’t work together, the games wouldn’t have been effective”. (Grace Packer)

“We communicated with each other and shared ideas”. (Lucinda Tierney)

“Everyone was working together and enjoying themselves. We were cooperating as leaders should and were all participating. No-one was left out”. (Carla Lawrence)

Year 7 girls in the School Museum.

New meets old ... exploring History

The Year 7 students have been studying the importance of history and how information from the past is gathered. All the Year 7 classes have visited the School Museum to discover what the School was like in the past. They were set the task of specifically looking at the various forms of primary and secondary sources. The School Archivist, Mrs Daniell, provided excellent examples of the sources over a range of years. This lesson was unique, as students wrote their responses and took photos using their iPads. The girls will use this information to produce a written article identifying the types of sources historians use (embedding their photos as evidence) and explaining the relevance of the sources using the Keynote iPad application. The girls were particularly fascinated by the school uniform designs and were astonished to discover that the School hat had not changed very much over time.

Anna Stefopoulos (Year 7 History teacher & Head of Humanities)

Left: Georgie Stott bats for the Open A in their victory against Westminster. Right: Victoria Gilroy in action for Saints C2 against Mercedes.

Reminder

There will be no Sport (other than Open A & B Tennis) on Saturday 17 February for Secondary Sports involved in IGSSA due to the Exeat. If you are unsure please check the sports draws on the School's website http://www.stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au/sport/ or contact the PE Office
on 8334 2242.
 

Swimming Carnival - Monday 20 February

A reminder that all students in Years 4 to 12 MUST report to the Adelaide Aquatic Centre no later than 8.45am on Monday 20 February. Attendance at the Swimming Carnival is compulsory for all students in Years 4-12. Students who are not swimming will be allocated tasks throughout the day. Dismissal will be after the presentations at approximately 4.00pm. School buses will be travelling directly to and from the Aquatic Centre.

Download Swimming Carnival Program here.
 

Sports Results

Rowing
A reminder that there will be no rowing on Saturday 10 February.

Last Saturday, four Saints crews competed in the Murray Bridge Regatta. Great results were achieved, making the car trip well worth it.

The Year 8/9 C Coxed Quad Scull (Mirnaa Parameswaram, Janie Steele, Alice Watson, Sophie Fry, c:Amelia Gare) came 2nd to Pembroke in their first race, but sadly due to difficulties could not complete their second race.

The  Year 8/9 D Coxed Quad Scull (Ella Kollias, Emily White, Gemma Cialini, Georgina Sarah,c: Annie Parkinson) achieved a very good time in their first race, and came 5th in both of their races for the day.

The Year 9/10 B Coxed Quad Scull (Theodora Galanis, Sarah Parkinson, Carri Welsby, Emily Hage, c: Sophie Terp) rowed very well in both of their races, coming 4th in their first race and a close 5th to Walford in their second.

The 1st Four (Alessia Stegani, Isabelle McIver, Sarah Parkinson, Georgina Belder, c: Annie Parkinson) showed great technical rowing in both of their races, managing to place 3rd and 2nd.

Softball – Saturday 10 February
Open A – Saints 10 defeated Westminster 4
With wintry conditions adding to the challenge of the match, the team experienced some trouble with fielding in the early stages of the game, but they came back strongly and scored some awesome runs. Georgie Baker (debut for Saints) hit a great home run and was a strong pitcher during the match. Sophie Linn played a beautiful bunt, and Steph Trzcinski was powerful behind the plate as a catcher. The team moulded well together to earn a good victory against a strong opposition.This certainly was a wonderful start to the 2012 season. Congratulations girls.

Open B – Saints defeated Westminster on forfeit

Middle C1 – Saints 8 defeated Mercedes 5
Everyone played a great game in difficult and wet conditions, showing good ball skills. Best players were Georgia Naughton and Georgia Nicholls for their double play.

Middle C2 – Saints 10 defeated Mercedes 9
All girls played a great game in a dramatic finish. After trailing early in the match, the girls edged in front and then pitched and fielded wonderfully for the win. All girls had great input into the game; however, best players were Lydia Smalls, Amber and Mimi Long.

Tennis – Saturday 10 February
Open A, B & D – cancelled due to rain

Middle A – Saints 3-25 drew with Walford 3-25
Singles: Olivia Teh 3-6, Jade Leyden 6-2, Zarnia Engel-Lewis 6-4, Charlotte Gilroy 0-6

Middle B – Saints 5-32 defeated Walford 1-16
Singles: Sarah Richards 2-6, Sam Abeygunasekara 6-1, Anna Mullin 6-1, Kritika Mishra 6-4

Middle C – Saints 5-35 defeated Walford 1-12
Singles: Sabrina Chou 6-0, Alex Nichols 6-2, Michaela Dhillon 6-2, Laura Falconer 6-1

Middle D – Saints 4-26 defeated Walford 2-22
Singles: Rahel Ramsey 6-2 & 1-6, Cindy Lam 6-0, Jemma Wang 1-6