Year 8 Camp
Safe travels to the Year 8 students heading to the Grampians on Sunday morning. They have spent time this week practicing pitching their tents and a number of other skills they will need when they arrive at Rose’s Gap. We know they will have an amazing time and look forward to sharing pictures in the next edition of Life in the Wilderness.

Uniform Reminders
Students are able to wear either summer or winter uniform in the last two weeks of this term and in the first two weeks of next term. If students wear summer uniform, then they will also need to wear the summer hat to and from school.

Tournament of Minds
Two teams competed at the recent Tournament of Minds competition held at Adelaide High. The Social Sciences Team comprising of Ava Cabot, Bella Nguyen, Addison Raeside, Bonnie Cabot, Summer Ha, Jade Sammut and Pranavi Meruga were truly outstanding in their preparation and performance. Seraphina Sun, Hannah Elsbury Sun, Georgia Gibson, Ashlee Basnayake, Gabby Sun, Zoe Crowther and Ella Wu were members of the Language and Literature Team who won on the day. These girls are now planning to compete at the International Final held in Sydney at the end of October.

Congratulations to all girls and thank you to Miss Alison Short who has worked with the girls.

Subs in Schools
The interstate competition, a place of innovation and creativity, had finally arrived at the Royal Adelaide Show. Water Trials, Presentations and the Judging Ceremony were all events we were anticipating. The objective was to construct an underwater ROV to manoeuvre in the water, picking up, pushing and moving within different objects. While in Presentations, we were encouraged to write scripts as well as create a slideshow presentation for a panel of judges. The Awards Ceremony concluded on the last day of competition, announcing the top three finishers in each category.

Water Trials brought about a series of challenges for students, having to use critical thinking skills to quickly develop a solution when it came. Despite these complications, all the teams were able to persevere and scored outstanding results in the first trial, and placing strong for the second.

The next day was for the CAD, Trade Display and team presentations. Scripts were printed and all the teams delivered confident and well-prepared presentations. We were able to highlight our journey throughout the year, and develop our public speaking abilities. As well as the presentations, we had the opportunity to interact with the public and advertise our trade display booths and merchandise items. This was an invigorating experience, being able to talk to members of the public and discussing Subs in Schools.

The final note of the competition was the Awards Ceremony. As they announced the winners in the Development Class, there was excitement all around as first, second and third place were all represented by Wilderness teams. Third place was KoiDra-24, second place was Cetus, and first place was Nexus-X1. Awards won included, Best Trade Display, Best Engineering, Best Marketing, Best Graphic Design and several others.

The overall experience taught us several life skills to use more commonly in society and potentially the workplace. Doing this in teams only made it more fun and enjoyable as a whole. We are all so grateful for the help of our teachers who supported us throughout and the Subs in Schools volunteers and organisers for the event.
Nora Tariq

Liliana Tsonis gave this thank you to the organisers on the day winners were announced:
"On behalf of all the students participating in this year’s SUBS in Schools competition, I’d like to extend a big thank you to the amazing staff, judges, and volunteers who have made this event possible. We know that organizing an event like this takes a lot of effort, and we truly appreciate the time and energy all the staff have put into ensuring everything ran smoothly. To our judges, thank you for your time and thoughtful feedback. Your insights have been so important in helping us learn and grow throughout this experience. A special thanks also goes out to all the volunteers who have worked behind the scenes to make this event a success. Your support has not gone unnoticed, and we are incredibly grateful. Once again, thank you to everyone involved in this year’s SUBS in Schools competition. It’s been an unforgettable experience, and we couldn’t have done it without you.

Mission to Mars
On the 29th of August, our Year 9 Robotics and Space class embarked on an exciting excursion to Hamilton Secondary College, home of the Mike Roach Space Education Centre. Students had the unique opportunity to participate in the Mission to Mars program, an immersive experience that simulates the challenges of exploring the Martian surface. Equipped with spacesuits, they worked in teams as astronauts and scientists, solving real-world problems and gathering data within the specially designed Martian crater landscape.

After the Mars simulation, the students enjoyed a session in Hamilton’s state-of-the-art planetarium. This experience deepened their understanding of space exploration and the vastness of our universe, leaving them inspired to continue their journey in STEM learning.

A special thanks to Mr Tobia Trentin and Mr David Pyman for accompanying the girls and making this unforgettable experience possible.

It was a day full of discovery, innovation, and teamwork, providing our students with hands-on experiences that link classroom learning to real-world applications in the space industry.

Student Achievements
Congratulations to Fleur Croser who has been selected in the 2024 SA Heat Touch Football U16 Girls National Youth Championship travelling team to play in September and the School Sport SA 15 Years and Under Girls Touch Football team which will compete in Brisbane in October. We look forward to hearing the results of these competitions and wish Fleur all the very best.

Congratulations to the Mr Jackson's Middle A soccer team who came away with premiership win with the impressive 7-0 score line. An outstanding win girls!

Jessica Mah presented a passionate speech at the Legacy Junior Public Speaking State Final and the standard of speakers was outstanding. She spoke about the need for us to challenge the norms which perpetrate injustice; because social justice isn't just a women's issue, it's everyone's issue. Jessica also gave an impromptu speech about 'the impact of social media' and focused on the addictive nature of social media and it's harmful effects to both the physical and mental health of children and teens. Thank you to Louise Borgo for her support of Sarah at the event and for her work with the Public Speaking girls.

Rhiannon Giles
Head of Middle School