A New Term….brings opportunity for new friendships to be formed and new learning experiences…..

Gina Kadis, Acting Head of Junior School
Term 2 has had a successful beginning in the Junior School. Schools are amazing places. We learn so much from each other as well as our teachers. Wilderness is a high performing school with a great community, where each individual genuinely cares and respects those fortunate to be part of this fine school. I am absolutely thrilled to be here for Terms 2 and 3 as the Acting of Head of Junior School whilst Ms Liz McCarthy is on long service leave. We look forward to her return in Term 4. Thank you to everyone for the warm welcome.

Student Excellence
We began school on Tuesday 30 April with a fabulous whole school Assembly where Ms Arnfield acknowledged the fine Term 1 achievements of students from across the school. On behalf of our Junior School team, I warmly congratulate the students who were acknowledged for their achievements academically and in various areas of school life. I encourage our students to continue to aim high and aim for continuous improvement, implementing strategies to ensure they always achieve their best – always true to themselves in all they do and say in life.

Student Voice and Student Agency – so important to us all
The Student Representative Council (SRC) is led brilliantly in Semester One by Lila Nassery (President); Alice Gao (Vice President) and Maim Jibran (Secretary). One of the first meetings I set up when I am in a new school is meeting the student body. It is such a pleasure to connect with Lila, Alice and Maime to reflect on their achievements as a student leadership team.

The girls spoke beautifully in our first Junior School Assembly on Thursday 9 May. The girls communicated strong student support of the new “FRIENDOLOGY PROGRAM” implemented in Term 1 by Ms Liz McCarthy. The girls in the junior school have learnt practical strategies to build quality friendships, using the FRIEND-O-CYCLE and FRIEND-O-METER tools explicitly taught to our girls in Term 1 and continually reinforced this term and beyond. The Junior School team is delighted with this feedback.

If you would like to know more about this program – there is a free online Parent and Daughter Workshop run by the authors of this program for schools – information had been communicated with families in Term 1. We are delighted that more than 80 families have registered. Thank you for your interest and support of this new initiative to support our girls to build strong friendships. Please contact the Junior School Office through ctasker@wilderness.com.au if you wish to know further information. It is not too late to register.

Winter Uniform
Thank you to all our families for ensuring the girls have transitioned into their winter uniforms for the start of Week 3.

Co-Curricular and Sport
A great way to make new friends is to get involved in the excellent range of activities planned for our students by Ms Liz McCarthy and our dedicated Wilderness staff. Thank you to our families for enrolling their girls in many of these activities. I kindly remind parents to let Carolyn Tasker, Professional Assistant to our Junior School Team, know if any of your child’s arrangements change on a specific date. It is very important that the teams commence their activities on time.

We carefully gather our girls and undertake roll calls before they move to their events to ensure their safety over in the parkland activities. There have been a few instances recently where families have made other arrangements or medical appointments for their daughter and not communicated this with Ms Carolyn Tasker. This holds up the team heading across to the parklands to commence their scheduled team activity.

If you have any queries regarding Sport Co-curricular offerings please contact Mr Jonathon Koutsikas, Director of Sport and Recreation via jkoutsikas@wilderness.com.au. All non-sport Co-curricular queries can be addressed to the Junior School Office Professional Assistant via ctasker@wilderness.com.au in the first instance.

Junior School Interhouse Cross Country
On Thursday 9 May students from Years 3 to Year 6 participated in this special annual event. I always love the excitement from our Year 3s who partake in this event for the first time. Thank you to our dedicated staff for ensuring this event in the parklands goes so smoothly. Special thanks to Mr Jonathon Koutsikas and Ms Deb Jarrett. Thank you to Mr Ben Manifold, Deputy Principal – Student Experience, for supporting me in my role on this day too. Congratulations to all the students for doing their personal best on the day. Special mention to the following prize-winners:

INDIVIDUAL PLACINGS

Overall Winner: The Duncan Trophy

1st Place KYRA SHAH (Year 5) Trophy and Medallion

Year Level Placings

Year 3
1st Place Bella Whittaker Medallion
2nd Place Shivakshi Gupta Certificate
3rd Place Isabel Wilson Certificate

Year 4
1st Place Niamh Pudney Medallion
2nd Place Zara Smit Certificate
3rd Place Aria Pasin Certificate

Year 5

1st Place Kyra Shah Medallion
2nd Place Maya Dan Certificate
3rd Place April Waudby Certificate

Year 6

1st Place Ginger Tembel Medallion
2nd Place Adeline Wilson Certificate
3rd Place Mia Gordon Certificate

Year 2 Excursion to the Mawson Lakes Planetarium
On Friday 3 May the Year 2 girls went on an excursion to the Mawson Lakes Planetarium as part of their Earth and Space Sciences Curriculum. The girls went on an immersive journey through space, with stars and constellations coming alive during the night sky presentation and full dome movie. The girls explored our place in the Solar System and learnt about the wild weather and environments on other planets. They investigated the patterns in our sky, observing the path of the sun and the phases of the moon.

Thank you to Ms Kate Brennan and Ms Isabella Kasdalis for organising this ‘out of the world’ learning experience for our girls. The girls loved this off-campus learning experience. Here are some of the comments they shared with their class on their return. Enjoy …..

“The sun is a star and it’s the closest star to us.” (Avleen)

“We learnt that heaps of planets go around the sun and the sun is in the middle.” (Mia)

“The moon and sun cross paths on their orbits.” (Lottie)

“There is another planet we could live on but there is no water and too much bad gas.” (Sibbi)

“The sun is not in the exact middle.” (Catherine)

“I liked the movie we watched about all the planets. I never knew that Jupiter had a storm going on for thousands of years.” (Isabella)

“I learnt that there are constellations. Stars make patterns in the sky.” (Ifra)

“The sun rises in the east and sets in the west.” (Clemmie)

Ms Kate Brennan, Year 2B Home Class Teacher and Assistant Head of Junior School (Pastoral Care)

Reminders
A reminder that parent jumpers are now available for sale on Flexischools and in the Uniform Shop. There are two designs available for purchase. Wearing your jumper is a great way to support the community and show your Wilderness pride.

Grey Quarter Zip Jumper = $90
Wildy Blue Crew = $85

Available for purchase on Flexischools.

Finally, an important reminder about parking. To help keep everyone safe and to extend our respect to our neighbours, we remind parents that parking across resident driveways and in no-standing zones is not permitted. We understand that before and after school is busy, so please allow all the time needed to conduct drop-offs and pick-ups safely.

Have a wonderful weekend connecting with family and friends.

Warmest wishes,
Gina Kadis
Acting Head of Junior School