Term 2 has had a very successful beginning in the Junior School, with the winter weather providing just the right conditions for the girls as they commence their winter sports and wear their winter uniforms. I have been delighted by the introduction of a number of new opportunities for co-curricular activities for our youngest girls, with a robotics club (Year 1 and Year 2 girls) running on Thursday afternoons and gymnastics (Reception and Year 1 girls) on Mondays and Wednesdays respectively.

I have been very pleased to introduce Speech and Drama individual lessons for girls from Years 2 to 6 with Speech and Drama coach and AMEB examiner, Louise Borgo. Louise is also supporting and coaching our Year 6 Debating team, as well as the girls who will be representing Wilderness in the upcoming IPSHA (Independent Primary School Heads of Australia) Poetry Competition. Engaging in activities and learning outside of the classroom provides enormous benefits for our girls, including the ability to build new and strengthen existing friendships, and to develop and refine their skills and resilience as they try different things and step out of their comfort zones. We look forward to extending these and other offerings for our girls as the year goes on.

Science in the Junior School

We have had some wonderful, Science-focused excursions in the Junior School over the past two weeks! Our Year 2 girls enjoyed an informative morning visiting the Planetarium at Mawson Lakes, which supported their current cycle of learning about Earth and the solar system in Science. Our Year 3 girls travelled into the Adelaide Hills, visiting the Lenswood Apple Orchard to gain further insights and build upon their class learning on the impact of soil in agriculture and how we can more readily adopt sustainable practices. The girls impressed the orchard owners with their knowledge of the soil layers and both year levels received feedback on how well behaved, respectful and beautifully mannered they were while representing their school in the community. Well done, Years 2 and 3 girls!

Please enjoy this recount from Year 2 about their visit to the Planetarium:

On Thursday last week, we went to the Adelaide Planetarium at Mawson Lakes. We sat on some red seats and when we looked up, we could see space. It was awesome. We got to see the Southern Cross. We watched a short movie about a dog who travelled to space in his kennel. The dog's name was Tyco. We learned that there is a line that the sun travels along, but it isn't the sun moving—it is Earth moving. We learned that the sun comes up in the east and goes down in the west. We saw the moon up really close and found out that it is always full, but we can only see part of it when the sun shines on it. One of our favourite constellations was Orion.

Year 4 Parents - Save the Date!

With the Year 4 Assembly scheduled for Thursday 17 August (Term 3, Week 4), we will have a Coffee Catch-up at the Wilderness Café, after school drop off and before the assembly begins. Please pop this in your diary, as it would be lovely to see as many Year 4 parents there as possible.

Tanya Vallat
Year 4 Class Representative

Important Dates

A list of key dates for the year is now available on SEQTA Engage, under the Important Dates portal.

Term dates for 2024 are also available.