ISSUE 11 | Week 4, Term 3 - Thursday 17 August 2023

PRINCIPAL'S WELCOME

Dear Families,

At 8.25am, on Monday 7 August the staff gathered, as we always do, in the Chapel for prayer. Over the weekend we had received the news of the death of Sr Patricia Davis OP, beloved Dominican Sister of North Adelaide.

Led by Genevieve Taheny, the staff shared stories and reflected on the great gift Sr Patricia, and all the sisters are for us. We remembered Sr Pat as a sophisticated, intelligent, woman who led her students to be studious, disciplined and inquisitive. In remembering their colleague (and teacher?), Liana Bosco and Gabby Patty-Reid led our prayers in French, Sr Pat’s cherished subject area. As the Je vous salue Marie, was prayed, we let the sacred words wash over us, giving thanks for the life, service, dedication and work of Sr Pat as teacher, leader, colleague, friend and Dominican Sister of North Adelaide. May she Rest in Peace.

The Requiem Mass for Sr Patricia Davis was held on Wednesday at St Lawrence’s church. Senior students attended the Mass and stood in a guard of honour as many gathered to farewell her with prayer, song and gratitude.

In other news around the College, under the leadership of Learning Area Leader, Denise Kennedy, we have been celebrating all things Science this week. Our Science teachers and Lab Assistant Mia Li are skilled and knowledgeable educators creating learning opportunities for students to contribute and engage in rich opportunities of discovery. Science is a very popular discipline at St Dominic's because our students are inquisitive and our teachers are excellent.

Green and Yellow was splashed all over the College on Wednesday as we got behind the Matildas, inspired by their tenacity, focus, professionalism and determination, we are on the Matildas' train. As one teacher wrote to me…

With such a major event in Australian sporting history, I think it is important that we do something to show that Women’s sport is growing and finally getting the recognition that it deserves. Finally, our girls have female sporting role models who are dominating the mainstream media – that is a game changer!

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I am looking forward to Book Week. With the theme ‘Read, Grow and Inspire', I can’t help but think it is perfect for our St Dom’s community. I trust all students and staff and parents will find time next week (and every week) to pick up a book and be inspired by the words, pictures, descriptions, emotions or instructions that fill the pages.

Our Parents & Friends Quiz Night is set for Saturday 26 August at 7pm in the College Hall. Tickets available here. We are keen to get 100 participants, dressed in anything that goes with SDPC (St Dominic’s Priory College). We are hosting the Quiz Night on the same night that the Dominican Sisters of North Adelaide will celebrate 140 years of work and presence in South Australia. Next year the College will celebrate 140 years of educating girls (and a few boys too).

Dr Helen Steele
COLLEGE PRINCIPAL

REMEMBERING SR PAT

PRAYERS FROM THE COMMUNITY 
as taken from the Eucharistic Celebration Mass Booklet on Wednesday 16 August

Let us pray for Patricia to our loving God who has called each of us by name to follow Jesus and to be beacons of hope in our world.

Sr. Noreen Reynolds OP:- 
We pray for Patricia, who was a dedicated daughter of Dominic, a seeker of truth and a gift to our congregation. We pray for her relatives and friends, those with us today and those absent. May they comfort each other in the loss of a woman whom they loved so dearly. We pray to you, our loving God.
ALL - HEAR US AS WE PRAY

Rose Cullen:-
God, source of our being, we give thanks for Patricia's life, for her friendship, her wise leadership, her courage and generosity, her elegance, warmth and wit. We are thankful to have shared her life, whether in family, community or school. We pray that her spirit will continue to inspire us. We pray to you, our loving God.
ALL - HEAR US AS WE PRAY

Elena Tarraran:-
We acknowledge women in leadership. We ask God's blessing on all women who take leadership roles in the Church and in society. We especially pray for women in leadership in Catholic education and ask that you strengthen and bless them with courage and wisdom. We pray to you, our loving God.
ALL - HEAR US AS WE PRAY

Sr. Maureen O'Connell OP:-
As Congregation Leader of the Dominican Sisters of North Adelaide Pat led by example. She challenged us in matters of ecology, inclusivity, women's rights, justice for First Nations people and refugees. May we be inspired by her capacity to recognize God in building a more just, loving and peaceful world. We pray to you, our loving God.
ALL - HEAR US AS WE PRAY

Liana Bosco:-
We ask you, God, to bless and reward Patricia abundantly for her commitment to Catholic education as principal, French teacher, mentor and board member. We pray for all educators as they collaborate with parents in helping students in their search for beauty, and truth. We pray to you, our loving God.
ALL - HEAR US AS WE PRAY

Cate McGuire:-
We pray that God's love and peace will be given to all those who cared for Patricia as her health declined. We pray especially for the health professionals and staff at Allity Residential Care, Walkerville. They showed Pat respect, kindness and understanding in the last years of her life. We pray to you, our loving God.
ALL - HEAR US AS WE PRAY

Bay thi Nguyen OP:- 
We pray for our families and friends who have died and especially for Pat's parents, Ern and Ellen, and deceased members of her Dominican community. May they be present with God, the angels and Dominican saints to welcome her into eternal life. We pray to you, our loving God.
ALL - HEAR US AS WE PRAY

Loving God, you are just to those who are oppressed and you give food to the hungry. Make us faithful instruments of your loving care through Christ our God.
ALL - AMEN

FROM THE JUNIOR SCHOOL

LITTLE DOMS

Our youngest members of the college have certainly made themselves comfortable. They come in happily each day, enjoy exploring their new classroom environment and thrive on the new learning and many connections they are making.

STEM MAD (Make a difference)

St Dominic’s Priory College congratulates our Year 5 students, Jasmine Luong, Anne Le, Sherry Vo and Nhien Vu, who are State finalists for the STEM MAD Showcase. This team were worried about the tonnes of plastic that is thrown out in the ocean, causing animals to die and their habitat being ruined. They created an ‘Ocean Junk Collector’ which collects trash from the bottom of the ocean and on the surface. They used a Dash robot to represent their concept and built before programming robotic arms which would collect rubbish from the ocean bed. We are grateful for the new technology learning initiatives that our Director of Technology Enrichment, Ms Joanne Villis has brought to student learning. We wish the girls well, as they prepare their display, for the finals Showcase competition this Thursday.

SCIENCE WEEK

The theme for this year is 'Innovation, powering the future industries'.

“This year’s theme could not be more relevant to our society, where innovation is essential for economic growth, sustainability, and progress. Science and innovation are the driving forces behind significant progress in various fields, including health, technology, and the environment.”

Our students have participated in exploring the theme with a range of engaging class lessons, had opportunities to listen to quest speakers, attend various excursions and been encouraged to attend lunchtime activities which promote a growing awareness and understanding of the focus topic.

READING

Book Week is next week, and the theme is 'Read, Grow, Inspire'. Students across year levels will be engaged in rich literature tasks based around this theme. Regardless of your daughter’s year level, do they read regularly for enjoyment and as part of their learning? Do you have conversations with them about what they are reading? Do you help them make connections with the text?  

“The more you read, the more you know, the more you know, the more you grow.” - Dr Suess.

Ms Cate O'Leary
DIRECTOR OF THE JUNIOR SCHOOL

2023 FETE NEWS

POT PLANT STALL

The Primary classes are seeking donations of small growing pots for decorating and planting seeds in ahead of Fete.  These pots will be personalised by each of our Primary girls and lovingly cared for by the classes over the weeks ahead, so that by Fete weekend there will be a colourful array of potted flowers and garden wonders to sell.   

FETE STALL APPEALS

On Friday 11 August, all families were contacted via SEQTA in regards to the 2023 Fete (Stall) Appeals. See below for a summation of each week's Appeal, or reread the letter distributed, here. 

AUCTION HAMPERS

Each year level has now been provided with a tub, for collection of their Auction Hamper donations. See below for each year level's theme, or reread the letter distributed last term, here. 

YEAR 11 REPORT

It has been a busy and fruitful time with Year 11s at St Dom’s. Term 2 saw a focus on the government directed Child Protection Curriculum where students were engaged with learning about safe practices, their rights and responsibilities, and the support services in dealing with abuse, neglect, harassment, consensual relationships and privacy of information. Students were led by their Pastoral Care Teacher and engaged in group discussions, activities and break out spaces to give students to discuss ideas with their peers in a safe and supportive way.

As a parent, if you are interested in continuing the conversation at home with your daughter, the recently aired SBS three-part documentary ‘Asking For It’ is an excellent entry point to such issues. [Watch it on SBS On Demand here.] Whilst the students only watched a short extract of the program, there is much to garner from this relevant and topical series, that interviews several victims of non-consent incidents and the psychological, social, political and personal impacts such events can have on a young person. 2021 Australian of the Year, Grace Tame is featured, and remains an inspiring advocate and activist to change laws and social perceptions of victims of sexual assault. I do encourage you to watch.

Beyond this, the Year 11s took part in a friendly rivalry with the Year 12s in order to see who could raise the most donations for the 2023 Vinnie’s Winter Appeal. The day had students partake in a number of games and challenges where teams accrued points for their year level. It was a great day to build positive relationships with the Year 12s and to maintain their commitment to service for their broader community. As it stands, the day ended in a tie and so in Term 3, we will hold the tug or war decider round to see which year level gets to walk away with the Vinnie’s trophy.

Term 3 promises to be a rewarding and busy time for the Year 11s. With Subject Counselling Day approaching on Thursday 31 August, the focus of the term will be on careers and subject selection for Year 12. In Week 3, Year 10 and 11 combined and, for the first time, held a Subject Expo where students had the chance to talk with teachers on a range of subjects, gathering information to assist them with their subject selections. During this week, we have also had a number of old scholars return to the school and present to the students about training and working in male dominated industries as we want our young women at St Dom’s to be inspired with confidence and never feel as though any career path is beyond their reach because of their gender.

Ms Sara Nigro
YEAR 11 COORDINATOR

YEAR 2 CLASS NEWS

The Year 2 Class have been busy with a range of learning experiences.  During Refugee Week last term, students reflected on what it means to support and welcome refugees as part of their learning in Religious Education. They looked at what Jesus and the Bible can teach us about treating others with kindness and dignity, and thorough the 'Letters of Love to Ukraine' program students each wrote a letter of support which will be delivered to refugee Ukrainian children.

The end of Term 3 marked approximately 100 weeks of school for our Year 2 students. To celebrate, we had an ‘100’ themed day. Students were engaged in learning based on the number 100; such as exploring the Latin root word ‘cent’, measuring the distance of 100 steps, building towers from 100 blocks and thinking about what their lives might be like when they are 100 years old. Most exciting of all, students were able to dress as a 100 year old for the day!

This term in STEM, students are enjoying working with Dash robots. They have been using the robots in the Creativity Space and in small groups are learning to code Dash through the accompanying iPad app. Students have certainly put their problem solving and group work skills to good use as they program Dash to move, dance, talk, flash lights in sequence and interact with both humans and other robots.

Mrs Jane Delloso
YEAR 2 CLASS TEACHER

CHILD SAFEGUARDING

Feeling safe and valued is crucial for a child’s development. When children are worried about their safety, about being bullied, or don’t feel support from their teachers, learning often suffers. At St Dominic's Priory College, we strive to build a community where teachers and students have positive relationship, where respect is the norm, and where all our students feel a strong sense of belonging.

Safeguarding is our priority. Our College has two counsellors who are on-hand to provide extra support to any student in need. We also have Year Level Coordinators who support student relationships. They all report to the Deputy Principal and work together to stay up to date with student wellbeing needs. There is also a Safeguarding Committee that meets every term and reviews the College’s safeguarding policies and ensures that they remain current and are being inbuilt within our school culture. This includes topics such as: physical environment, inclusion, classroom management practices and developmentally appropriate supports, including mental health interventions and social wellbeing.

During the first semester, all teachers completed the Keeping Safe: Child protection Curriculum (KS:CPC) training. This is a child safety and respectful relationships curriculum providing age and developmentally appropriate activities for children and young people from age 3 to Year 12. This is part of our Safeguarding Program and is embedded in our Pastoral Care Program. The program focuses on four (4) key areas:

• Right to be safe
• Relationships
• Recognising and Reporting Abuse
• Protective Strategies.

These four key focus areas are covered every year so that way the students will be equipped by the time they leave the College.

In addition, every year each student is required to update the Child Protection Checklist. This is a network of five (5) people who your daughter feels safe talking to in time of need. As Counsellors we encourage each person to open up about issues that affect them.

In the last week of Term 2 all teachers attended a Professional Development session on Safeguarding. The session included an activity “What makes SDPC a Child Safe space” and a role-play about protective practises on how to engage with a student.  Any questions that arose from this will be addresses with the Safeguarding committee and answered in the next staff meeting.

The African proverb “it takes a village to raise a child” comes to my mind in this context. Let’s come all together, parents, siblings, extended family members, neighbours, teachers, professionals, community members and policy makers, and care for each and every child.

Mrs Eva Gardner
STUDENT COUNSELLOR

Focus on Science

SCIENCE NEWS

INDIGENOUS MEDICINES - YEAR 7 SCIENCE

In Science, students in 7B researched the uses of plants as medicines and food by Indigenous Australians. The students then made tags for the plants in the Indigenous Australian garden bed. Each tag has a QR code and when scanned with a mobile phone provides information about the name and uses of the plants. You might like to visit the garden bed which is near the Molesworth Street student entrance. You can enjoy walking amongst the beautiful plants while you learn about how these plants were used by Indigenous Australians.

RACI TITRATION COMPETITION

Each year the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI) holds a chemical analysis competition which is open to Year 11 and 12 Chemistry students across the country. Teams of three (3) students compete to determine the concentration of a solution using a chemical technique known as a titration. Teams with a high level of accuracy are chosen to compete in the state finals.

This year, four (4) teams of Year 12 students from St Dominic’s Priory College competed in the competition and two teams achieved a high level of accuracy and were invited to compete in the State Finals. On Saturday 5 August, Sophie Kozlovic, Tahlia Monteleone, Opal Tang, Joanne Le, Sufiya Dhanji and Thi Nguyen headed to the University of South Australia to compete against students from schools from all over South Australia. The girls were nervous but performed with great skill on the day. Unfortunately, the teams did not achieve a high enough level of accuracy to qualify for the national finals, but they did enjoy the experience of working in a university laboratory.

Ms Tracy Templeman
SCIENCE FACULTY

TECHNOLOGY ENRICHMENT

New gaming studio and technology subjects for 2024

There are many educational benefits for gaming, some of which include cognitive skill development through players thinking quickly, strategising, and making decisions based on available information. Spatial skills are heightened through three dimensional worlds. 

However, it should also be acknowledged that there are potential negative effects that impact players. Some of these may include gender stereotyping, harassment and toxicity, isolation, impaired sleep, and addiction. That is why, at St Dominic’s we believe that education in relation to gaming is important, and now offer a safe environment for students to participate and develop gaming skills.

We are in the early stages of establishing a new gaming studio. Closely aligned with this new gaming facility is the implementation of a new subject for Year 9 students in 2024, ‘Unleashing Gaming and Programming’. This Technologies subject uses both Digital and Design Technologies to journey into the world of gaming and programming. In a unit on gaming, students will analyse the impact of innovation on gaming genres, platforms, and online communities such as esports. 

Then in a unit on programming students generate and design algorithms and represent them as flowcharts and pseudocode. They test algorithms and programs by comparing their output against a range of test cases. Using this knowledge, they write their own programs to generate basic games. Students investigate the use of Artificial Intelligence and how emerging technologies can be used in programming.

The second course that we will be introducing is for Year 10 students, ‘Innovations and Future Thinking’. This Technologies subject also uses both Digital and Design Technologies where students will embark on a transformative learning journey that merges creativity, innovation, cutting-edge technologies, and future thinking. They will explore mind-blowing advancements in our world such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality, autonomous vehicles, wearable technologies, renewable energies, cryptocurrencies, metaverse and so much more.

Ms Joanne Villis
DIRECTOR OF TECHNOLOGY ENRICHMENT

MATHEMATICS NEWS

MASA QUIZ NIGHT 2023

How many prime numbers are there between 100 and 200?
What is the 10^th number if the sum of 11 consecutive numbers is 275?
What is the area of a regular octagon inscribed within a unit circle?

If you ask any of the 24 students from Years 7 – 12 who participated in the annual MASA Quiz Night on Wednesday 9 August, then they might be able to tell you.

Held at the Blackfriars Priory College, some of St Dominic's most talented pupils – separated into a Junior, Intermediate and Senior Division – competed against teams from several schools around the metropolis.

The competition tested participants’ abilities in problem solving and working through maths puzzles. Solid teamwork, creative strategies and time management skills were required to outsmart and outlast rival groups.

Although calculators were allowed, with no multiple-choice questions on offer, everyone needed to put their thinking caps on to find the right answers.

With the aid of a generous supply of sushi, KFC nuggets, chocolate drizzled popcorn, Haribos, Oreos and iced tea, the St Dominic's teams were able to experience great success in all divisions of the Quiz Night. In fact, we WON 🎖the Maths Category of questions across ALL Divisions. This outstanding result prolongs the streak of impressive performances that St Dominic's Priory College has delivered at this event in recent years.

A heartfelt congratulations goes to all students who participated. Thank you for your engagement, zest and participation. Very well done!

Ms Anam Dhanji
LEARNING AREA LEADER - MATHEMATICS

PARENTS & FRIENDS FUNDRAISERS

QUIZ NIGHT

The Parents & Friends Quiz Night is on Saturday 26 August.  Get your tickets online now: https://www.trybooking.com/1095784 

SCHOOL UMBRELLAS - $25ea

Now available to purchase direct from the College Office!!

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.

SPORTS NEWS

SATURDAY MORNING SPORT

Reminder: Term 4 Sport nominations are currently being finalised. Please only allow your daughter to sign up for sport if she is able to fully commit to all practices and games. Note, payment for Term 4 Sport will need to be made through Consent2go before the beginning of Term 4.

CONGRATULATIONS to the Year 11/12 Volleyball Team!

This team has made it through to the finals in the Statewide Competition. We wish all girls and coach, Mrs Dent, all the very best for this day.

Mrs Lyndall Pratt
SPORTS COORDINATOR

SACPSSA Cross Country Carnival

On Thursday 10 August, 20 students from across Years 3 to 6 competed in the SACPSSA Cross Country Carnival. This carnival included Catholic Schools from around SA, with approximately 150 students running in each race. Congratulations to all of the students who competed for displaying resilience and completing the course. A special mention to Catherine MacKay in 6G and Scarlett Diamandi in Year 3 who both placed in the Top 20 in their age divisions in Division A. Thank you to Mr Mortimer, Mrs Baker and Mrs Fenton for their hard work with Friday morning Running Club, which helped to prepare the runners. 

Mrs Michelle Richter
JUNIOR SCHOOL SPORTS