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From the Principal

As we come to the end of Week 4, the settings for schools around COVID safety are changing to allow a broader range of activities for students in Weeks 5 to 8. We welcome these changes, as we know the important role that participation in extra-curricular activities such as sport, debating, music and the numerous other activities on offer play in supporting the wellbeing of students at SAC. Parent attendance is welcomed at outdoor venues, whilst any indoor sports or activities will not admit parents.

Thank you again for your understanding and cooperation in following the guidelines to limit the numbers of parents on campus over this first month of the school year. From Week 5, we will open the Angas St gates to allow parents to come in to the Dunlevie Courtyard to collect primary students at the end of the school day. We ask that parents do not enter classrooms. To ensure that the courtyard does not become crowded, we will continue to dismiss the Reception and Year 1 students at 3:05-3:15pm (or 2:25pm on a Monday). We continue to follow the advice of SA Health and Catholic Education SA in these matters.

mR Neville stapleton

MUCH LOVED TEACHER, Archivist & MEMBER OF OUR ST ALOYSIUS College COMMUNITY

Staff, students and old scholars were saddened to hear of the death of College Archivist, Neville Stapleton, last Friday. Neville was employed at St 吃瓜网 in 1984 and taught History and English for many years. His students remember him as a gifted and extraordinary teacher. In 2006, Neville retired from teaching and began his work in the Archives. Over the past 12 years, he has established a rich treasury of items related to the 142-year history of the College. Neville would recount wonderful tales of students and staff, past and present. He had a way of capturing the essence of a story in very few words. Neville was deeply loved by the staff of the College and we will keep his wife, Philomena, and their family in our prayers. May he rest in peace.

This video below was shared at our Whole School Assembly in 2020 to celebrate SAC's history over the past 140 years. Today we share this tribute remembering the person who brought our story to life...

The warm weather has made PE lessons in the swimming pool a big hit in the last fortnight. Bringing that extra bag of swimming gear to school is certainly worth the effort when you get to have a cool dip on a 30 degree day. Many thanks to our PE staff and home class teachers for helping to build the girls鈥� confidence and skills in the water.

Staff and students have been watching the progress of our new playground in eager anticipation. Whilst it is taking a little longer than we had hoped, it has been great to see the primary students鈥� vision come to life in front of our eyes. We are grateful for the talents and commitment of the Climbing Tree crew in making it happen. No doubt the play equipment and beautiful garden setting will provide joy and inspiration for many generations of SAC students to come.

Members of the Primary Student Representative Council were presented with their badges today. Congratulations to the students who were chosen to represent their peers in this important role. At SAC, we pride ourselves on nurturing the leadership capacity of every student and we provide many different ways of expressing that leadership. According to Year 6 student, Mara, 鈥渓eadership is about listening to others鈥� ideas鈥�, and we know that these elected representatives will be excellent ambassadors for the College.

Ms Paddy McEvoy
Principal

Our Catherine McAuley Library - A welcoming space for all!

Library Lovers鈥� Week is an opportunity for our school community to celebrate the many valuable ways our Library contributes to learning at St 吃瓜网. Whether we can help with sourcing quality resources for research, finding a book that is 鈥榡ust right鈥� for the next read, or sharing the magic of a story, our library staff are passionate about supporting students develop their love of learning and reading.

Through the 2022 theme, 鈥楽how the Love鈥�, last week we celebrated with students in their library sessions through craft activities, themed stories and the opportunity to borrow a 鈥榖lind-date-with-a-book鈥�. Our older students were able to discover new authors and genres by taking a chance on a mystery package!听

Our new Reception students were also loving the library when they participated in their first library borrowing session. It was wonderful to watch them engage in the joy of being read to, the enthusiasm of talking about a story together and the excitement of choosing that first book to take home. 

Ms Ali Ripberger
Teacher Librarian | Information Services Coordinator

From the Digital Technologies Coordinator 

鈥淟eg Godt鈥� 鈥淧lay Well鈥�

The name 鈥楲EGO鈥� is an abbreviation of the two Danish words 鈥渓eg godt鈥�, meaning 鈥減lay well鈥� and that is exactly what Year 2 students have been doing. Presented with 30 LEGO challenges to choose from, students used their creative, critical and design thinking skills to meet the challenge demands.

Whilst Lego is a physical entity which requires hands-on skills to manipulate, some teachers combined their hands-on learning lessons to create and present a digital, 鈥榲irtual gallery鈥� to show case students鈥� learning using Google Slides, an online presentation app.

Gabrielle Cronin, Year 2 teacher comments:

鈥淕oogle Slides is a fun way to create a presentation to showcase students鈥� work. When student work is showcased, it gives students a stronger sense of pride when they see their work being shared outside the classroom. It also assists students to communicate their achievements with their family鈥�.

This is affirmed by Meagan Broomfield, parent of Year 2 student, 鈥淚t is great to see everyone鈥檚 efforts displayed in a well thought out and fun slide show to all the parents鈥�.

Meagan continues to highlight the use of Lego to ignite her daughter鈥檚 learning:

鈥淓vie thoroughly enjoys Lego and the opportunity to play and create using Lego for a school activity was a very exciting prospect. She spent an afternoon building robot, cars, using Lego to write her name and eventually her younger brother joined in!鈥�

I am sure Ole Kirk Kristiansen, who began making Lego as wooden toys in 1932 would agree that students at SAC: 鈥渓eg godt鈥�

Ms Joanne Villis
Digital Technologies Coordinator R-12

Lovely Creations!

Sharing a token of love with friends and family

On Valentine鈥檚 Day, students were invited to participate in a recess craft activity run by the Year 12 Visual Art Leaders Paige and Bethany. Using an array of beautiful decorative papers, the students were taught how to create origami hearts.  With string and safety pins, the girls were excited to show off and share their lovely creations. As the first day back on the school campus for many students, this activity was a cheerful introduction to the new academic year, and allowed the students to share a token of love with their friends and family.

Hands-on learning is the way to go!

"We were all grateful to be back teaching and learning in a way that builds confidence in students and engages both students and teachers"

There are many perks to learning from home. Still, many of our girls discovered during the remote learning experience that learning is much easier and more fun when you can work cooperatively with others and use resources to support your understanding. Returning to the classroom meant that we could return to learning Maths through gameplay and using visual objects to help build understanding. This term, Year 4 students are revising their knowledge of place value by playing the 鈥榳in a flat鈥� game and modelling numbers using MAB blocks. It was a great reminder of why being in the classroom face to face is so important. We were all grateful to be back teaching and learning in a way that builds confidence in students and engages both students and teachers!

Ms Viviana Graney
Primary Coordinator Teaching & Learning

In the age of COVID-19, there are always solutions!

Prevented from offering parents a face-to-face experience, parents were instead able to access a videoed presentation, to gain insights into the workings of Year 12.

With a message focused on achieving balance, perspective and good communication, parents were reassured that students will safely and successfully be guided through a challenging but rewarding year.

We aimed to equip parents with handy hints, insights and good information about all things relating to Year 12, SACE and Careers, not just to support students academically but emotionally.

We sincerely plan to make 2022 an engaging, fulfilling and memorable year for our Class of 2022.

Ms Carolyne Williams & Ms Nicoletta Romanelli
Year 12 Coordinators

From the Primary Sport Coordinator

Primary sport is back!

Thank you to all those who have been nominated and I look forward to watching you participate this term. Please check all notices and emails for up-to-date information.

Keep an eye out for any SAPSASA/SACPSSA sports opportunities coming up!

From the Secondary Sport Coordinator

Term 1 Sport

Students who have nominated for secondary sport should have received their information pack this afternoon, outlining all the details for the sport they are involved in for Term 1. It is important that all students and parents read this information pack carefully in preparation for trainings and games to commence in Week 5. All Term 1 sport participants, parents and guardians must read the appropriate SAC Sport Handbooks that are available on the Term 1 Sport SEQTA portal.

We are very much looking forward to the start of the summer season and to have interschool sport back up and running! Good luck to all teams in their first round of the SACSSGSA competition next week.

Sporting spotlight:

Year 8 student Annabel competed in the State Track and Field Championships over the weekend at SA Athletics stadium. Annabel competed in the 400m and 800m, winning bronze in both and hitting massive PB鈥檚 for both events. This outstanding effort sealed her a place with Athletics SA to go to nationals in Sydney in March.

This wasn鈥檛 without the support of her sister and SAC old scholar, Victoria, who also raced well on the day, coming home with gold in the 800m and silver in 1500m. A monumental weekend for these sisters! We look forward to seeing Annabel compete at nationals and continue to develop as an athlete.

From the Deputy Principal (Pastoral Care)

SPIKE Childcare app for OSHC Bookings

This year we will be transitioning to an online booking system for parents and caregivers for our Before School Care and After School Care services.

The online booking system will give parents and caregivers the ability to book and/or cancel OSHC bookings via an app and access important information, including emergency contacts, invoices and statements.

We are asking parents to please download the SPIKE Childcare app before the end of Term 1, 2022. If you need any support with the app, please contact the OSHC team on 8217 3200 between 8am-2pm or 8217 3254 between 2pm to 6pm to help answer any questions about downloading the app or making online bookings.

Please click here to access further information and instructions on how to install and make OSHC bookings via the app.

Jacqui Mcilroy
(Deputy Principal Pastoral Care)

Calling All Old Scholars

Young Mercy Links SA is holding their 2022 Orientation Night on Thursday 3 March at 6pm! If you know of anyone who would like to attend, please share.

Register at .

Young Mercy Links is a movement of young people 18+ guided by Mercy values of compassion, justice, hospitality and hope. The group's initiatives are broad and offer opportunities for contemplation and action including volunteer service, retreats, social and environmental justice information sessions, fundraising and connecting with people in our community facing adversity. Young Mercy Links is an initiative supported by the Institute of Sisters of Mercy Australia and Papua New Guinea.

More information about YML can be found on the ISMAPNG website by .