ISSUE 8 | Week 6, Term 2 - Thursday 8 June 2023

FROM THE DEPUTY PRINCIPAL

Dear Families,

While our Principal, Dr Helen Steele is in Hobart attending the Alliance of Girls’ Schools Symposium and Masterclass, I write to share some of the many celebrations and learnings our girls have engaged in, during the last fortnight.

SPORTS DAY RESULTS

Congratulations to our 2023 winner, AQUINAS - GOLD!

On Tuesday 30 May, the entire school gathered in the Gym as final results were announced.  These are detailed below.

GUERIN SHIELD (overall winner)
Aquinas - 1614 points
Columba - 1536 points
Guzman - 1464 points
Siena - 1430 points

HOUSE TROPHIES
Smith, Taylor, Taggart House Spirit Award - Guzman / Siena
Discipline Award - Columba
Ball Games - Aquinas (Primary + Secondary)
Marching - Guzman (Primary)   Aquinas (Secondary)

AGE GROUP CHAMPIONS

Our ears are still ringing from the burst of cheer from each team.  Congratulations to our 2023 House Captains and Sports Prefects on another successful Sports Day.  These girls have been wonderful leaders to date.  They have been proactive and ready to pivot at any change.  The inclement weather on the day did not dampen their spirit of enthusiasm.

YEAR 12 HALF-WAY DAY CELEBRATIONS

One way to bring out our inner child is to offer the surprise of Face Painting, Balloon Art, Fairy Floss and Ice Cream! Last Thursday 1 June, it was pure joy all round in the Year 12 Centre as we surprised the girls. This cheer up is just one way to let the girls know we value their contribution as our senior leaders.  *Whistle blow* Half-time is over. Let the second half of the year unfold.  

THE LION KING JR

Under the direction of drama and music extraordinaires, Victoria Sayner, Jessica Spagnuolo and Courtney Day, last week’s Musical was a highlight.  There was singing, acting, music, visual arts, technical set up and more.  

This approximately 100-student cast and crew, put on fabulous performances across three nights.  Our cheek bones hurt from smiling with pride and our mouths lip synced to the songs we grew up with, as we watched our girls work together to put on a show that they are proud of.  We offer gratitude to the Multi-Arts Faculty who have gently guided the girls for many weeks in the various on-stage and off-stage roles.  Some areas include; acting, costume, make-up, set design, light and sound, choreography, and instrumental and vocalist forms.

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YEAR 12 RETREAT

As I write this reflection, our Year 12s are off on their annual Retreat.  The Retreat program at St Dominic’s Priory College is extensive and extends to students and staff alike.  The Year 12 Retreat is an opportunity for students to stop and have a break from their busy schedules. We use this experience with Year 12s, to explore the concept of 'legacy' and provide students with many chances to reflect on their own legacy as an individual and a group. As the girls are slowly preparing to complete their education with us, we ask them to look specifically at the Dominican legacy that they will leave with, when they finish their schooling. 

How will Her Dominican story shape the pathways and choices of the Class of 2023?  This is a multi-faceted question, that is worth reflecting on.

I offer thanks to the RE Team, who have meticulously planned this 3 day residential experience for the girls.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

YEAR 12 PARENT GATHERING - HALF TIME
Wednesday 14 June from 5:30pm – 7:00pm in the Year 12 Centre

As the Year 12s reach the half-way mark of their year, we invite Year 12 parents to a gathering to mark ‘Half Time’.  This will take place on Wednesday 14 June from 5:30pm – 7:00pm for some nibbles, information, and discussion on all things Year 12.  Agenda items include:

• The difference between the SACE and an ATAR
• Trial examinations week and end of year examinations
• Managing workload/meeting deadlines
• Artificial Intelligence (AI)
• Managing stress
• Post school pathways
• Q & A

Year 12 parents are encouraged to attend. Please ensure you RSVP, via the link emailed out to you last week.

PARENTS & FRIENDS MEETING
Thursday 15 June from 7:30pm in the Adams Mayo Library Studio

We look forward to connecting with our Parents & Friends Team on Thursday 15 June.  There is much on the horizon.  Derek and Sandra Gregory, in particular, are working to get the Quiz Night up and running for August. The Parents & Friends would be most grateful to get a support team of fellow families around the Quiz Night. Any willing helpers are asked to attend this meeting or contact the College.

The organisation for the College Fete is also about to ramp up and we are grateful to all our Parents & Friends helpers and Parent Convenors who bring this day together.  More details to come on this.

YEAR 9 PARENTS' BREAKFAST
Monday 19 June 

Year 9 Parents/Guardians are invited to attend a breakfast hosted by their daughters. The main focus for this event is to enhance wellbeing and build upon the strong relationship of respect and communication between parents and the College. During the breakfast, students will interview Parent/Guardians in attendance and complete an assessment task. Information about this activity was communicated to families via Consent2Go and SEQTA, and Parents/Guardians able to attend were asked to RSVP by 10am Friday 9 June, for catering purposes, via this Trybooking link.

As we embark upon Week 7 of Term 2, I am mindful that our Year 10 and 11 parents are about to receive communication in relation to the impending Semester 1 Examinations, while our Little Doms families are preparing in a different way.  These households are soon to receive information about the start of school for their little ones.  Wishing our parents who are embarking on significant milestones; patience and wisdom, to guide your girls with love and good measure, offering your support and reassurance.

Muriel Noujaim
DEPUTY PRINCIPAL

COVID UPDATE

As we move into the cooler months, SA Health have provided schools with some updates and reminders around COVID-19:

• If your daughter develops flu-like symptoms then they should be tested for COVID-19 (RAT/PCR).
• Please inform the College if your daughter tests positive to COVID-19.

The College continues to follow our COVID-19 Management Plan, where parents are informed if there are a large number of positive cases in their daughter’s class.

• Everyone plays an important role in slowing down the spread of COVID-19, particularly in schools.  We therefore ask that you keep your daughter/s home when they are sick. SA Health recommends that students stay home until acute symptoms have cleared (usually 5 to 7 days)
• The infectious period can last up to 10 days, therefore a mask is required when returning to school during this period.
• Please refer to SA Health for further information:
  - What to do if tested positive?
  - Staying COVID safe

PARENTS & FRIENDS FUNDRAISER

SCHOOL UMBRELLAS - $25ea

Available to purchase direct from the (new) College Reception from Monday 26 June (unless notified sooner).  Payment can be made in person via cash or EFTPOS, or else ordered over the phone from the Finance Office (08) 8331 5100 and collected during school hours.

DIRECTOR OF TEACHING & LEARNING

CHANGES TO NAPLAN FROM 2023

For national reporting, 2023 will mark the start of a new time series now that all students are online, and the NAPLAN tests are being held in March instead of May. Results from 2023 onwards will not be directly compared with results from 2008 to 2022.

NAPLAN will continue to measure student achievement in numeracy, reading, writing, spelling, grammar, and punctuation.  However, there is a change in the way NAPLAN results are reported to parents and guardians.

New proficiency standards with four levels of achievement for each year level will replace the previous 10-band structure that covered all four levels tested and the old national minimum standard set in 2008 when tests were conducted on paper.

The new proficiency standards include a baseline benchmark to identify students who are likely to need additional support. If your daughter is in the ‘Strong’ or ‘Exceeding’ category, it means she has demonstrated proficiency and that her literacy or numeracy skills are where they should be at this stage of her schooling. If your daughter has not yet achieved proficiency, then she will either be in the ‘Developing’ category or the ‘Needs Additional Support’ category.

The new proficiency standards will be included on all NAPLAN reporting including the National Report, the My School website, the reports received by schools and the Individual Student Reports received by parents and guardians.

Official student reports will continue to show the national average and the range of achievement for the middle 60% of students in their year level, allowing comparison of a child’s achievement against these measures.

2023 NAPLAN results for Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 will be released to parents and guardians early in Term 3.

RECEPTION - YEAR 12 SEMESTER 1 REPORTS

All students from Reception to Year 12 will be receiving a Semester 1 Report at the end of this term summarising progress to date.

• Reception and Year 1 students will receive a Semester Report which will include descriptors for Academic Achievement and Academic Engagement for each of the subject areas, a comment specific to English and Maths, and a Home Class Teacher comment. This complements continuous reporting via the Seesaw app.
• Year 2 to Year 6 students will receive a Semester Report which will include a grade for Academic Achievement and a descriptor Academic Engagement for each subject area. The report will also have a comment specific to English and Maths and a Home Class Teacher comment. This complements continuous reporting via the Seesaw app (Years 2, 3 and 4) and SEQTA (Year 5 and 6).
• For Year 7 – 12 students, the College has continuous reporting. As each assessment task is marked by the teacher, students receive feedback via SEQTA Learn, and parents receive this information via SEQTA Engage. As a result, the summary of a student’s achievements in their Semester 1 Report should not include any surprises. For subjects that are ongoing, this grade will once again be a progress report. For semester-based subjects, this will be a final grade. Year 7 to 12 Semester 1 Reports will include a Final/Progress Grade, a descriptor for Academic Engagement and Personal Responsibility, and a Home Class Teacher comment. 

Year 11 students have all completed SACE Stage 2 Activating Identities and Futures (the old Research Project) this semester. The grade given in the report is a progress grade based on the 70% of school assessed work completed. The final 30% is marked externally by SACE. Final grades for Activating Identities and Futures will be released later in the year when marking and moderation is complete.

All reports can be accessed via SEQTA on Friday 7 July 2023.

Ms Jo Surman
DIRECTOR OF TEACHING & LEARNING

TECHNOLOGY FACULTY

The Technology Faculty continues to explore new ways to provide students with interesting and relevant experiences in the ever-changing world of technology.  Two new additions to the team in 2023 are staff members Joanne Villis and Lana Weller.

Ms Lana Weller, has been busy developing and teaching an engaging curriculum in both digital and design technologies to students in Years 4 to 9. She is challenging students to learn skills in using Micro:bit electronics and coding, 3D CAD design and photography just to name a few. These topics facilitate the development of problem solving skills and critical thinking in the context of design and technology.

At Year 8 students are being asked to identify, research and present information on new and innovative technologies that are emerging and impacting society. Topics such as autonomous drive electric vehicles; drones; nuclear fusion and 3D printing of houses are a few examples of the informative topics presented to the class by students.

The value of excursions is recognised in providing real world experiences for students.

Year 9 Photography students recently took to the streets of the Adelaide CBD to practice and develop their Technical and creative skills in photography, capturing many examples of the street art in the lane ways of the city. Students in Year 10 Photography were able to further develop their photography skills on an excursion to the Torrens precinct and the Adelaide Zoo, practicing their skills in telephoto photography.

Students in Year 10 Architecture had the opportunity to attend two hands-on workshops at the University of South Australia. The first explored sustainable design, and how environmental factors interact with the design of built structures. They were able to use augmented reality software to visualise and interact with a projected virtual building in real-time.

The focus of the second workshop was Interior Architecture. Guided by an experienced professional in Interior Design and Architecture, this workshop delved into the world of interior architecture and provided interactive experiences to demonstrate creative thinking processes. In both workshops students gained an insight into the courses and careers that are available in his area and were toured around the City West campus of the university.

As a faculty, we will continue to look for opportunities to provide students with real world knowledge and experiences in the area of technology.

Mr Chris Short
LEARNING AREA LEADER - TECHNOLOGY

YEAR 10 REPORT

Term 2 for many Year 10 students has been a term of settling down to the rigour and the academic expectations that this year brings. It is important that the girls prepare themselves for their first examinations, held during Week 9 of term, between 26 - 30 June. Semester 1 examinations are to be seen as a learning experience that students may reflect on and use to develop strategies that will give them confidence when undertaking future exams. 

The Year 10 cohort have presented their Exploring Identities & Futures (EIF) Learning Activities to their peers. This presentation allowed students to ‘show off’ what they have been working on and get peer and expert/family feedback. This feedback has been used by students to complete a reflection of their value of learning to themselves, and possibly to others and the community.  All EIF tasks will be moderated and resulted at the end of the semester.  

The month of August will be a busy month, with the girls preparing for Gala Day on Friday 4 August, and celebrating St Dominic’s Day Mass on Thursday 3 August ahead of a school closure day for St Dominic on Friday 25 August. Subject Selection Day will take place on the afternoon and evening of Thursday 31 August, where parents and Year 10 students will make an appointment to finalise subject choices and have the opportunity to speak to Class Teachers. 

As a lead up to Subject Selection Day, the girls will have an opportunity to discuss with teachers their two-year SACE plan (Year 11 and 12). To help the Year 10 students to consolidate their ideas and aspirations, they will attend a Mini Careers Event in the College Gym on Thursday 15 June, as organised by Careers & VET Coordinator Louise Eustace. This event seeks to give students a further opportunity to explore different career pathways and speak to experts 1:1 regarding their post secondary options. This will help students to feel confident when they choose their Year 11 subjects in Term 3.   

 Ms Jo Riccio
YEAR 10 COORDINATOR

YEAR 6 REPORT

What does leadership look like? The Year 6s have been considering this during our Religious Education lessons, by looking at Mother Mary’s example of saying a courageous ‘YES!’ to God’s calling. Our Year 6 Leaders continue to show leadership across the Junior School in many ways.

On Sports Day, our eight (8) Junior House Captains led with passion and enthusiasm, encouraging their teammates and showing a willingness to help in whichever way was needed. Their committed participation was a great model for younger students. Several students have volunteered to be leaders in other areas of school life, such as Netball Captains, Liturgy Leaders and Arts Showcase Advisors. In these ways, we are developing learners who serve their community and develop personal agency. Our Year 6 Wellbeing Committee have spent many lunchtimes discussing how they want to support students in the primary school. They have established themselves as our ‘Wellbeing Warriors’, who offer peer support to others in the yard at lunchtimes.

But you don’t need a special title to be a leader. Rather, it is how we conduct ourselves each day, in our work and relationships. The Year 6 cohort have embraced exciting curriculum opportunities recently, showing a desire to put their best foot forward during the STEM MAD problem-solving week, the Amazing Race Maths Incursion, Thundercup Netball, Cross Country, preparations for the Catholic Schools Music Festival, Lacrosse Carnival and the Da Vinci Decathlon Competition, held in Week 4 at St Peter’s College. A team of eight (8) Year 6 girls represented St Dominic’s, putting their creative, collaborative and critical thinking to the test, as they participated in 10 rounds of challenges, across several domains of study. They achieved an impressive 4^th place in both the ‘Ideation’ and ‘Art & Poetry’, out of 24 teams.  

 “The challenges were difficult, and it was great opportunity for me to push myself.” – Lucy Boyd 6B

“I enjoyed representing the school and working well with my teammates.” – Ayami Lokuweligamage 6B

“The engineering component was hard but rewarding because we placed 4^th. Very proud of our achievements.” – Adele Nguyen 6B

In the coming weeks, the girls will embark on a ‘Reader’s Cup’ group challenge. They are also keenly developing persuasive writing skills, with activities like writing a letter to convince their classroom chairs not to go on strike and holding a fairy tale court to decide whether Goldilocks was an innocent adventurer, or a reckless vandal. (The court decided Goldilocks was innocent!)  Next up, we will be developing team Debates in English and preparing for our Primary Arts Showcase evening in Drama. There is so much to enjoy and celebrate in Year 6 and we are proud of our primary leaders.  

Mrs Rachel Bolt, Ms Kirsty Nankivell & Mrs Michelle Richter
YEAR 6 CLASS TEACHERS

GROWTH MINDSET
Grit, Gritter Grittiest

“Grit is the tendency to sustain interest in and effort toward very long-term goals” (Duckworth et al., 2007)

Moving our mindset from fixed to a growth orientation can help us to develop grit as we face challenges or strive to reach our goals. Grit is about sustained, consistent effort toward a goal even when we struggle, falter, or temporarily fail.

Hear Angela Lee Duckworth talk about Grit and Resilience in her TED Talk: CLICK HERE

HEALTH / PE REPORT

Term 2 not only marked the opening of our long-awaited Adams Mayo redevelopment, but also the welcome return of our oval.  Additionally, the removal of the maintenance and storage sheds now gives us more room than ever before.  It is fantastic to see before and after school sports trainings, recess and lunchtime play, and Health and Physical Education classes making the most of our outdoor space.  It’s often not until a resource is unavailable to us that we really appreciate its value and recognise what we take for granted.

During Term 2 and Term 3, our Year 9 and Year 10 students are completing a Football Codes unit which allows them to experience AFL, Soccer and Touch Football – all of which we have had limited opportunities to experience over the past two years, due to the lack of an oval.  The expansion of the Sporting Schools Grants in Term 3 of this year to also include Year 9 and Year 10 students, provides an excellent opportunity for the Health and Physical Education Faculty to utilise the expertise of specialist AFL coaching next term.  This is in conjunction with the specialist coaches from Netball South Australia who are currently working with our Year 7 classes, as well as the instructors from Dance Australia Group who will be working with the Year 8 cohort later this term.

Our Health units in Term 2 include Relationships and Communication in Year 7, Nutrition in Year 8, Relationships and Sexuality in Year 9 and Exercise Physiology in Year 10, where students will be designing and engaging in a fitness training program aimed at improving one or more specific components of fitness. The broader goal of this unit is to instil and develop the notion that change within the human body is achievable through the application of knowledge and a little hard work.

Mr Tim Grant
LEADER OF LEARNING - HEALTH & PHYSICAL EDUCATION

SPORTS NEWS

YEAR 9/10 STATEWIDE VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT 

Congratulations to the girls who were selected and then competed in the Year 9/10 Statewide Volleyball Tournament. These girls played against six other schools in their pool and finished in first place. They then played the winner of the other pool. It was a very close match, unfortunately they came second when counting back the points won. Congratulations to coach Vicki Dent and her amazing team.