It is difficult to believe that we are already at the end of Week 6. While time does seem to be passing exceptionally quickly, when reflecting upon the term thus far, it is clear that we have already accomplished a great deal in our Junior School, with much more to come in the remaining weeks.

NAPLAN

Next week, we commence our annual NAPLAN assessment period for students in Years 3 and 5. Information for families with daughters in these year levels is available on SEQTA Engage. Tests will be supervised and administered by the girls’ class teachers in their own classroom spaces to ensure familiarity. We view NAPLAN as a valuable capture of cohort data for our girls, providing us with information that enables us to discern areas of strength and for growth across the assessed areas. We also consider it an opportunity for our girls to experience a formal testing scenario, in line with other standardised and summative assessments of learning that we undertake.

While we certainly value NAPLAN data and all it can provide us, we make discernments about our girls’ learning through drawing on a broad range of data sources, including PAT data, summative class assessments and, most often at a Junior School level, through formative assessment for and as learning. Knowing our girls well as learners means understanding them from many, varied viewpoints, seeing each girl as a whole person.

The timetable for testing during Weeks 7 and 8 is as follows:

• Wednesday 13 March: Writing
• Thursday 14 March: Reading
• Friday 15 March: Conventions of Language
• Monday 18 March: Numeracy.

All tests will be at the beginning of the day after Form. Any catch-up testing will be completed by Monday 25 March.

Should you have any questions about the NAPLAN testing, please do not hesitate to contact the Junior School Front Office.

Friendology

We are very excited as a Junior School teaching team to be nearing the completion of our training in the UR STRONG Friendology program, enabling us to begin this learning across all year levels in the Junior School. We know that healthy relationships lie at the heart of our wellbeing and ensuring our girls are upskilled with the knowledge and strategies to proactively navigate, enjoy and ultimately flourish within their friendships is vitally important to us.

Friendology is a proactive teaching and learning program which uses child-friendly and developmentally sequenced language, scenarios and protocols to support the learning of social skills, specifically with friendships. It will be delivered as part of the Health learning area to our Reception to Year 2 girls and as part of Artemis for Years 3 to 6. I look forward to sharing further information with you, including some dates for online parent and family sessions, as well as some friendship celebration days we look forward to planning.

GRIP Conference

Recently, our Year 6 cohort attended the GRIP Student Leadership Conference at the Entertainment Centre.

The GRIP Student Leadership Conference is designed for Senior Primary student leaders and covered themes including how to step forward and lead, the sacrifices of a student leader, sharing new ideas and what extra steps student leaders can take to ensure they have a positive impact on their school communities. Given the important theme that leadership holds for our Year 6 girls, the conference provided an opportunity for collaboration with student leaders from other schools, with valuable new thinking to bring back and implement as part of their roles.

OSHC/Vacation Care

We are delighted that numbers in our Before and After School Care programs continue to grow, with places still available for bookings. We look forward to sharing the program for the upcoming April Vacation Care program next week, which has been informed by the ages of the girls and will include a range of incursions and excursions. Wilderness girls from 4 years of age to Year 6, along with their same age bracket siblings, are most welcome to attend.

Before School

A reminder that supervision does not commence in the Junior School until 8.00am and that girls must not enter the school grounds before this time unless they are attending a planned school activity. Should you need to drop your daughter off before 8.00am, please book her into our Before School Care program, where she can be cared for from 7.00am onwards, provided with breakfast and walked to class by our friendly and nurturing staff. Thank you for your support in this matter.

Our Nurses

We are privileged to have two full time Registered Nurses to care for our girls, Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 3.25pm.

Nurse Sheree has spent 23 years as an intensive care nurse, 16 of which were spent in paediatric intensive care, including being part of the Medstar retrieval team. Sheree is also trained in both adult and paediatric Advanced Life Support and has spent time as a lecturer at both Flinders University and Adelaide University.

Nurse Sarah has also been a paediatric nurse for 23 years and previously held the position of Diabetes Educator at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital. Sarah has extensive experience working in both the acute medical ward and paediatric emergency.

These are the wonderful people who take care of your girls when they present to the Health Centre, who discern what is happening for them when they are unwell and who communicate with you about this. We are very grateful to have Sheree and Sarah as part of our Wilderness community and for the care they each provide.

Teddy Bears Picnic

On Friday 1 March, we held the annual Boarding and Receptions’ Teddy Bears Picnic! This special event involves a picnic lunch on Memorial Lawn with the boarders and Reception girls, joined by their favourite soft toy! After enjoying lunch together on picnic blankets, the boarders took the Receptions on a guided tour of the Boarding House, enabling our little learners to get to know this important part of our school. The Receptions were then given a special teddy-shaped biscuit and walked back to their playground by their new boarder buddy!

Melissa Foster
Reception Teacher

Year 5 Coorong Camp

Embarking on an adventure to the Coorong, Year 5 students revelled in an immersive camping experience at our Crawford campsite and at 42 Mile Conservation Park. Amidst the tranquil surroundings, they pitched tents and embarked on a memorable journey through the dunes to the pristine beachfront. Engaging in hands-on activities, students honed their survival skills by crafting damper and constructing shelters using natural resources, fostering a deeper connection with nature.

Despite an unexpected turn in the weather prompting an early return to school, the excursion did not end there. Seizing the opportunity, students ventured to the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, where they delved into the rich biodiversity of native species. Exploring lush gardens and informative exhibits, they gained valuable insights into the intricate ecosystems and learned about the vital role these species play in sustaining life.

The Year 5 camp to the Coorong proved to be more than just a camping trip; it was a transformative experience that instilled a sense of resilience, curiosity and appreciation for the natural world in the young adventurers.

“A pelican’s wingspan can be up to 1.8 metres and their babies need to be fed up to 30 times a day!” – Elizabeth Jamieson

“We woke up to the choir of birds and had breakfast. I had a yoghurt and a banana.” – Rachael Vallat

“It was pretty sad that we had to leave Crawford, but it was okay in the end because we got to go to the Botanic Gardens and it was fun.” – Katia Michailaros

Matt Webster
Year 5 Teacher