吃瓜网

Acknowledgement of Country

From the Principal

It was a joy to see the Year 12 Student Representatives brighten up the days of our mothers, teachers, aunts, grandmothers and other significant women with a Mother鈥檚 Day flower as they arrived at the school gates last Friday. The paper flowers decorating all the entrances of the school were designed and created by the Year 12 Art Leaders with a group of creative students of all ages. Their message, 鈥淲e are grateful for all the wonderful women in our lives鈥�, is indicative of the spirit of gratitude that these Year 12鈥檚 have brought to their leadership this year.

The qualities of our student leaders are not something we take for granted. Rather, we nurture leadership from the early years and provide forums for students to express their ideas and make them a reality in a safe and supportive environment. When we see SAC student leadership flourish in settings outside the College, we are always proud of the way students embody Mercy values. Last week we were informed that Year 10 student, Grace, has been selected as a member of the SA SRC, a student leadership body bringing young people from schools across the state together. Congratulations and thanks to Grace, who will be a conduit of ideas between our school and others.

A group of Year 10 students represented the College on Tuesday at the launch of the Charter Ambassador Program (CAP). This program seeks to 鈥榞ive life鈥� to the Charter for Children and Young People, which sets out 20 conditions that all children and young people in South Australia can, and should, have for a good life now and in the future, without discrimination. The CAP is the next step in giving children and young people a platform to use their voice to have a say about what matters to them and we are happy to be part of this initiative. Our Charter Ambassadors were accompanied to this event by Deputy Principal, Ms Jacqui Mcilroy, and Year 10 Coordinator, Ms Julie Barletta.

The Year 12 Drama students took centre stage in the Dunlevie Courtyard this week for their production of The Lucky Ones, directed by Ms Lucy Dilger. The outdoor setting provided a completely different environment for this provocative piece of theatre and we saw some outstanding performances. Congratulations to all involved on your courage and creativity in tackling some challenging themes.

Thanks to the many parents and caregivers who made space in their busy days for Parent/Teacher/Student Learning Reviews in Weeks 2 and 3. It has been disappointing not to be able to welcome parents on campus as we usually would, especially for the many students and families who are new to the College this year. We hope you were able to get a feel for the warm and supportive relationships that develop between students and teachers here at SAC 鈥� they sit at the heart of all effective learning experiences. We look forward to welcoming you to more face-to-face events at the College in the near future.

Ms Paddy McEvoy
Principal

We acknowledge the excellent teaching and learning that happens in our school every day. Our staff and students say a HUGE 鈥榯hank you鈥� to all the hard-working people that make our Catholic school so special.

From the Careers Department

Mission to Mars

Congratulations to Sydney, Alexis, Olivia and Amelia, who have all successfully gained places to attend the South Australian Space School Mission to Mars program in 2022. Students completed a competitive application process and should be proud of their achievements.

This is a wonderful camp where students take part in several excursions in Adelaide including a range of activities at Hamilton Secondary Space School and visits to the physics laboratories at Adelaide University. The program also includes a visit to the Defence, Science & Technology Group and the RAAF Base at Edinburgh where students will be given a special tour of the Australian Space Agency Discovery Centre.

Participants spend two days at the Hamilton Secondary Space School, where they complete a Mission to Mars, perform a number of microgravity experiments, take part in daytime astronomy activities and visit the brand-new Hamilton Secondary Planetarium. They also have exclusive zoom sessions with a former Astronaut and meet with Andrea Boyd (who was the winner of the Advance Australia Emerging Leader Award 2021). Andrea is the Daily Operations Engineer for the International Space Station based at the European Space Agency in Germany. Andrea was a participant in the SA Space School as a year 10 student, and later joined the staff of the Space School until she went to Germany.

We look forward to hearing about this fantastic adventure!

Archaeological Adventures

During the recent school holidays, Year 10 student Sara completed a work experience placement at Glenthorne National Park with a team of technological staff, undergraduate, and postgraduate students from Flinders University.

Glenthorne House, a prominent three-storey 19^th century mansion, was said to have been destroyed by a fire in 1932 and until now, it鈥檚 been quite a mystery as to where the building once stood. The recent task of the Flinders University team has been to confirm the location of the mansion and to provide information about site developments since the building was destroyed. Sara was able to integrate into the team for the recent dig where she gained an insight into practical activities and further study in Archaeology. Well done Sara!

Motor Skills for Life

We are thankful to Andrew Parkes from who provided opportunity for students to attend an auto life skills program during the school holidays. The session included an introduction to the automotive industry and learning of valuable key skills:

• Changing a punctured tyre
• Checking crucial levels and vehicle maintenance tips
• How to jump start a vehicle
• How to reset tyre pressure
• Spotting damaged vehicles
• Learning how to spot odometer tampering
• Use of a state-of-the-art virtual reality paint system

Students had a fun and engaging experience and acknowledged the importance of learning such crucial skills for life.

The RSB Dog Assistance Program

As part of her Year 12 studies, Olivia completed structured work placement at RSB in the Dog Assistance Programs. Olivia was fortunate to experience a range of activities surrounded by wonderfully supportive staff and an array of beautiful canine friends! She learned about services for blind and vision impaired clients, but also about the dog programs which assist children with autism and veterans experiencing post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Olivia explored pathways into employment and was eager to hear of the diverse training pathways taken by employees at RSB. It was a truly engaging and informative placement, and we thank all staff at the RSB Guide and Assistance Dog Service, Gilles Plains.

valuable insights into life as a woman in STEM

Written by Mia Konopka:

"During school holidays, I was fortunate enough to be offered work experience placements at two different engineering firms in Adelaide. These placements gave me an insight into what day-to-day life as an engineer looks like, whilst also giving me the opportunity to network with engineers working in roles that I am interested in. Being immersed in the workplaces allowed me to further my understanding of a wide range of careers in the engineering sector including civil engineering, software engineering, chemical engineering and electrical engineering. Speaking with women working in these fields provided me with valuable insights into life as a woman in STEM and enabled me to picture myself in these roles in the future. It was great to see that one of the engineering firms provided two different support networks for women and younger employees, in an industry in which they are underrepresented."

Ms Julie Stephenson
Careers & VET Coordinator

Duke of Edinburgh鈥檚 International Award

Silver Expedition- Kayaking the River Murray

It was a pleasant Monday 2 May when ten students from Years 9 and 10 along with three staff members departed for a three-day expedition kayaking on the back waters of the River Murray. This expedition set another milestone for SAC as it took the total number of students who, since the introduction of the Duke鈥檚 Award to the College in 1999, have kayaked on the Murray for their Silver expedition to over 800.

After packing the trailer with camping equipment, food, supplies and kayaks, we departed SAC at 8:45am and after about a three hour drive we arrived at our starting point, Cobdogla on the River Murray.

Once there we set about unloading the trailer and organising ourselves for a short kayak trip to re-familiarise ourselves with the techniques and safety procedures of kayaking. The students quickly established themselves as competent kayakers so we headed to our first camp site at Kingston-on-Murray to set up our tents, prepare and cook dinner.

The following morning at 6:30am proved to be somewhat cold and a little overcast, it even looked as if it could rain, which thankfully did not eventuate. The students arose from their tents and immediately set about cooking their breakfast, preparing their lunch and organising themselves for a long day kayaking on the River followed by a remote camp on the banks of the Murray on Loch Lunar. This entailed the necessity for all the students to pack into their kayaks enough water, food and other supplies into their kayaks together with their tents, sleeping bags and clothes. They had to be totally self sufficient for two days.

The students participating in the expedition were: Alexis Auret, Mariah Bennett, Emma Borgmeyer, Keira Gerrard, Abbie Gibney, Adi Hardy, Lola Herrmann, Tali Hodgkiss- Roberts, Molly O鈥橦alloran and Yasmin Toy. The staff participating were: Michael Heath, Sue Wright and Alan Brown.

Mr Alan Brown
Duke of Edinburgh鈥檚 International Award Coordinator

Our JAM students and their efforts to learn more about ethical chocolate is now up on the

To read the article about our JAM students striving for ethical chocolate .

From the Catherine McAuley Library

鈥淲hen in doubt, go to the library鈥�
鈥� Hermione Granger, 鈥�Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets鈥�

This week, the library has been full of students sharing the magic of International Harry Potter Day (2 May). An iconic series of fantasy, magic and friendship, Harry Potter continues to be loved by our students. To celebrate, the library has been transformed with floating candles, flying keys, books of spells and potions, and Professor Umbridge鈥檚 educational decrees. Students have loved participating in Harry Potter themed crafting activities at lunchtimes, making chatterboxes to determine which Hogwart鈥檚 house they belong to, playing games, testing their knowledge through wordsearches and crosswords to name a few.

It is wonderful to celebrate the timeless joy of the Harry Potter stories, with so much to learn from the challenges faced, the friendships formed, and the courage shown throughout the novels. They remain a St 吃瓜网 student favourite!

Ms Ali Ripberger
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VISIT OUR LIBRAY'S WEBSITE AT:

From the Secondary Sport Coordinator

Term 2/3 Winter Sport

Winter sport begins this weekend! Our badminton, netball, soccer and AFL teams commenced training this week, as well as our dance and fitness groups and it was great to see so many students out. Please ensure that you have read carefully over the weekly overview on SEQTA so that you are aware of your daughter鈥檚 venue and game time. We look forward to seeing our girls represent SAC in sport over the winter months, in what is shaping up to be a jam-packed season!

Knockout Sport

Our Year 9/10 knockout touch football team participated in the Round 1 State-wide School Sport competition last Friday. They faced tough opponents in St Peters Girls College, Sacred Heart College and Wilderness College. Whilst they did not progress through to Round 2, the girls showed amazing teamwork, leadership and positivity. Their speed, agility and communication on the field was also particularly impressive, as well as their defensive play. We are very proud of how they represented our college.

Sporting Spotlight

Port Adelaide U15 Next Generation - wHAT AN INCREDIBLE experience FOR Gracie!

Year 10 student, Gracie was recently selected for the Port Adelaide U15 Next Generation Academy which completed it鈥檚 8-week program with a match against the Adelaide Crows NGA side throughout the holidays. She had this to say about her experience in the academy, 鈥淧laying in the Port Adelaide U15鈥檚 Next Generation Academy was an amazing experience and a great opportunity to be mentored by AFLW coaches. The program covered not only football skill development but also nutrition, mindset, resilience, well-being, and social media training. I really enjoyed playing with my teammates and understanding the game at a higher level.鈥� We are very proud of Gracie and look forward to seeing her continue to flourish in this sport.

To read more about the game and watch some footage

SAC ROLLERSKATERS . Competitors & winners!

Three students from SAC attended the Victorian Open Artistic Roller-skating Championships in Melbourne during the holidays (30 April - 1 May). Competitors Zoe (3RL), Emma (8MH) and Rose (9JV) performed amazingly, and are looking forward to competing in the South Australian State Championship on the 14^th听May, where they are up for selection for Nationals to be held in Queensland in July. The results from the Championships were as following. Well done girls!

• Zoe (3RL) - placed 4^th in Tots Freeskating
• Emma (8MH) - won Gold in Cadet Freeskating
• Rose (9JV) - won Silver in Preliminary Freeskating

U18, U23 and Open 2022 women softball -

GO Taylor! not one, but many Amazing accomplishments!

We are very proud of year 12 student, Taylor who was recently selected for both the U18, U23 and Open 2022 women softball state teams. The U18 side finish 2nd and the U23s finished 3rd, with Taylor also being awarded Best Batter in the U23 National competition. To top things off Taylor and the SA Open Team (The Starz) won the national title, the Gilley鈥檚 Shield! This is the first time SA has won the national title since 1956 which is an amazing accomplishment!

From this competition, Taylor has also been selected in the U18 Australian team, and will participate at the Canada Cup alongside the Aussie Spirit team and the Aussie Development team. 

Taylor is very excited for this opportunity and says, 鈥渁fter the Canada cup I'll probably be travelling to USA to visit some colleges which are interested in recruiting me for 2023鈥�. We can鈥檛 wait to see Taylor鈥檚 future in softball unfold and are very proud of her.

Tennis Open Day 鈥� Head Start Sport

Head Start Sport are excited to invite you to an Open Day at our two fantastic locations: Lockleys Tennis Club and Page Park Tennis Courts. Our focus is building a lifelong enjoyment of tennis. We work with players of all ages and abilities to develop as both players and people. On the day we will give players - both children and adults the chance to try everything that you could expect from your tennis club all year round.

• Hot Shots lessons for the children
• Cardio Lessons for the adults 
• Social hitting on our spectacular courts.

Sunday 15 May 10:30am - 11:30am
@ Lockleys Tennis Club, 30 Rutland Ave, Lockleys & @ Page ParkCnr Cross Rd & East Ave, Clarence Park

Please choose your venue and register your interest via email: [email protected]

Ms Meg Henderson
Secondary Sport Coordinator

Walking the Plank in Year 7 Mathematics

Students in 7AP played 鈥淲alk the Plank鈥�, a game of chance where students walked along a number line according to what they roll on their dice. The aim was to avoid the sharks at one end and reach to the safety of a ship at the other! The game is an introduction to positive and negative numbers and allowed the students to discover patterns when adding and subtracting negative numbers. Learning is fun in Year 7 Math!

Ms Laura Flynn
Year 7 Mathematics Teacher

From the Digital Technologies Coordinator 

Year 9鈥檚 innovate with artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) in simplistic terms, is an attempt to make a computer, a robot or other piece of technology 鈥榯hink鈥� and do some things like humans. So how do we get a machine to think like a human? Firstly, the machine needs to be able to collect some form of data, this data goes into the AI (the container) and then some sort of decision is made, or an outcome is created.

Students investigated diverse ways data might be collected, the tools to achieve this and what are some of the possible outcomes. Then they chose a real-world problem and developed an AI concept which could potentially be used to solve the problem to make a positive difference.

Rose Hurley was concerned about anxiety, especially in teens as it can become overwhelming and interfere with daily life in many ways. Her concept was based on the concept of a fidget cube, a tool designed to relieve stress and anxiety. However, she integrated AI to collect data from touch and temperature sensors when the user fidgets with it. The data is then analysed and results displayed in mobile phone application for the user, giving recommendations based on the data acquired. The most important API used is the anomaly detector which recognises anomalies in the usual patterns of use. 

Mahi Solanki was concerned about the consuming wait for blood test results, the expense for injections and the possibility of accessibility impacting the older community as travelling to blood testing locations can be difficult. She developed the concept called Hemotra, an AI smart, non-invasive smart watch which scans the users blood using infra-red light to identify anomalies in blood, suggest supplement needed, suggest follow up consults with medical professionals and will tack the user's blood health.

Cyber security, which can be defined as the efforts we take to stop criminals stealing things from us through our computers is a very big deal, as it is one of the fastest growing industries in the world. This is because in the past, many homes only had one computer in them, now your phone is a computer, your oven and fridge might be computers too. Everything that is a computer, that is connected to the internet, can be hacked. Students had to consider if criminals be able to hack into their AI.

Daina Iasiello identified possible threats to her solution which included smishing, keyloggers and vishing. To prevent smishing she integrated a 10 digital lock code and facial recognition. Every thirty days, the user would be asked to log in again which involves a code being sent to their phone and then validating the code before logging in. To prevent keyloggers her device would have automated updates which would occur when the device is not in use and an anomaly detector to identify any abnormal use.听

Ms Joanne Villis
Digital Technologies Coordinator

Above: Panic Watch by Yana Siahamis

Above: Smarter dentistry concept by Mahum Khattak to reduce the risk of pathogen transmission when conducting dental procedures

'Discovering Juliet鈥�

This week Year 10 students enjoyed a live performance of 鈥楧iscovering Juliet鈥�, sharing the reflections and experiences of a young actress as she learned and lived the character at the heart of one of Shakespeare鈥檚 best-known plays. The production was a great illustration of the timeless themes that make classic texts relevant today.

Ms Genevieve Pelekani
English & Literacy Coordinator