It is hard to believe how quickly Term 2 has flown. It has been a pleasure working with our Junior School girls, teachers and families. I continue to be impressed with the high-quality learning opportunities that I have seen every day as I visit classrooms and speak with our girls. Let me share a snapshot of recent learning endeavours and the impressive achievements of our girls.

Semester One Reports
Families with students from Reception to Year 6 will receive their daughter’s report electronically in the first week of the July holiday break. I take this opportunity to congratulate each girl for working hard to do their absolute best. I take the opportunity to thank our dedicated, caring teachers for designing quality learning experiences for our students and giving them regular feedback to continue to implement strategies to improve. As parents you continue to play a pivotal role in supporting the learning of your girl. Thank you for finding time to discuss your daughter’s report with them. If you have any queries, teachers return to classes and can be contacted from Wednesday 24 July. If you have administrative questions, please forward them to Mrs Carolyn Tasker who is available until Friday 5 July by calling 8344 6688 or email: ctasker@wilderness.com.au

SAPSASA Netball Championship
Emilia Varricchio (Year 6) and Skyler Luong (Year 6) along with eight other girls from different schools were selected to represent the North Adelaide District for SAPSASA from 19 – 21 June 2024. Our girls and their team were undefeated (9 games) over the three day State Carnival. Congratulations to Emilia and Skyler and the whole team for their fine achievements.

Bedtime Stories
One of our most precious Wildy events is Bedtime Stories - an opportunity to put on our cosiest pyjamas, snuggle up with a soft toy friend and share reading magic with teachers and special guests in our wonderful Library. This year our event was held on Thursday 30th May. Twinkly clouds and friendly Junior Library Committee girls (assisted by our Senior Library Representative) welcomed Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 girls and their parents, many wearing their night attire too. This treasured event is made extra special by the obvious delight our Story Readers show by carefully selecting stories which are part of their own reading adventures, past and present. It reminds us that we can share and enjoy stories at any age.

Once again, our delicious take home treats were baked by one of our student entrepreneurs, Demi Moutos. Her brand ‘Deliciously Simple’ certainly lived up to its reputation!

On behalf of the girls we thank readers Belinda Arnfield, Gina Kadis, Annette Mescke, Bec Williamson, Sophie Bonner, Wendy Menzies, Lauren Trennery, Melissa Foster, Katie Chataway, Travis Henderson and Bec Keller for their generosity and joy, and special helpers, Ruth Lim and Teagan Lane and all the people behind the scenes for a memorable night.

Katie Silva
Teacher Librarian

Luminary Lunch
The Junior School Library Committee and I had the wonderful opportunity to participate in two main events this semester. The first event was Bedtime Stories. It was a highly engaging and fun event for years Reception to Year 2. During Bedtime Stories, teachers selected spellbinding stories to read out loud to individual year levels.

Another great experience of this semester is that we had the pleasure to attend the Luminary Lunch (organised by Tracy Grice). We arrived at St Peter’s Boys after a short ride in our character costumes and walked in to decorate our table. During this event, we were fortunate enough to meet South Australian authors and Illustrators with Jane Jolly as our special guest. We chose her most recent book, ‘Captain Thunderbolt’ (based on the true story of a gentlemanly bushranger) as our inspiration. She warmly welcomed us with chocolate coins, books and sugar cubes as she discussed her most famous books. She was just like a grandmotherly version of Santa. As it is coming to an end of the first semester, I am sure that the Library Committee will treasure these special moments that they have enjoyed together.

Isha Wechalekar
Junior SRC Library Representative

Science Experiences

Year 3 Science Investigations 
In Science, the Year 3 students have been learning about minerals and crystals. ‘Mineral’ describes the substance and ‘crystal’ describes its clear, shiny form. As part of our unit of inquiry, students had the opportunity to grow their own crystals. The investigation involved preparing a sugar solution with boiling water, then dropping a rounded pipe-cleaner into the water, suspended by a pop stick. Each student coloured their solution and left their experiment in the classroom for a few days.  

Student observations: 
I discovered that the pipe cleaner actually turns into a crystal. Aaniya  

 I discovered the more sugar in the solution, the better. Also making sure the sugar is dissolved properly helped. Jessica S  

I noticed that the ones in sunlight grew less efficiently which is what happens with igneous rocks that develop underground next to a magma chamber. Igneous rocks get bigger crystals if they develop slower. I noticed that the first batch of solution settled on the floor of the jar before forming crystals. Michelle

I noticed that people who chose purple ended up with more crystals. Nina

The jars that had lots of sugar at the bottom worked better. The liquid makes the pipe cleaner wet and the sugar will stick to it. Heat and time were important in this experiment. Naomi  

Next time I think we should put the sugar in while the water is boiling. Maddy   

Next time I will get my pipe cleaner wet first, dip it in sugar and let it dry before starting the experiment. Alexa 

Mrs Rebecca Ratcliffe and Mrs Lauren Whittle

Reception Science Incursion

Alan Griffiths from the Australian Museum of Childhood visited for a hands-on learning experience which linked with our Science focus this term - 'Moving Things'.

The girls had a fabulous time exploring a range of toys both modern and from the past. They experimented with the forces of push and pull, and also gravity.  Alan finished the session with a presentation where the girls learned more about how various toys can move in different ways. It was a wonderful addition to our Science learning!

Reflections:
Alan you are Magic! – Harriet

I had fun accidentally tipping over the wooden dominoes! - Tilly

I enjoyed throwing the ball and trying to knock the skittles over! - Olivia

It was funny when Alan showed us the jack in the box and the toy popped out of the box. It made me laugh! - Heather

Melissa Foster
Junior School Teacher

Uniform Shop Opening Hours During the July Holidays
Tuesday 23 July 8.30 am to 1pm

Have a wonderful holiday break everyone. We will be publishing more learning experiences from the Junior School in Week 0 of Term 3 (released prior to our first day of classes resuming, on Wednesday 24 July 2024).

Warmest wishes
Gina Kadis

Please note, there will be an early closure of the Uniform Shop on Wednesday 31 July (Term 3 Week 2), closing at 4:30pm.