15 March 2019

Newsletter Articles

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I would like to welcome all our parents, students and teachers to the 2019 academic year. I would like to extend a very warm welcome to our new students and their families who have joined the Pinnacle College family this year. It is great to see our beloved students settling into the schooling routine.

It is a great pleasure to be working as the Principal of Pinnacle College. I would like to take this opportunity, in the first issue of our newsletter, to introduce myself. Having completed my tertiary studies in Turkey and working at schools in various countries, I came to Australia in 2002, and for ten years, worked in all Amity College campuses in Sydney. In 2013 I moved to Melbourne where I had the pleasure of working at Sirius College for six years. Now, I am very honoured to be a part of the dedicated team here at Pinnacle College.

I am always happy to be working with an enthusiastic team of professionals and families. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome everyone to Pinnacle College and trust that your experience will be a positive and enriching one. I would like to give a warm welcome to all of our staff, students and parents. I hope 2019 will be full of joyful and exciting events.

As a reflection of the excellent academic and social environment of Pinnacle College, we are continuing to grow rapidly. This year, 85 new students and several teachers have joined the Pinnacle College family. In order to meet the increase in demand, we are pleased to have opened a new campus at Golden Grove this year. It brings me great excitement to announce that it is already providing high quality education in a friendly, facility-rich environment. At the moment this campus is providing its services for Foundation to Year 6 Primary as well as Year 7 and 8 Secondary Girls. We trust that it will be a greatly beneficial move as it has the capacity to provide numerous facilities and the potential for modernised schooling buildings.

At Pinnacle College we strive to provide quality education through experienced teaching, improved curriculum, specialised educational resources and strong home-school relationships. I wish to emphasise that, in addition to time at school, success also depends on the commitment and determination of each student and the support of their parents. We therefore encourage more of our parents to show an interest, and be involved with their children’s progress by assisting them at home with their school work, making use of MySIS, and regularly communicating with their teachers.

Our focus this year is to deliver high quality teaching programs to improve student performance, both academically and socially. During the school year there will be a variety of activities and celebrations. I encourage you to attend these functions when possible. Your support of school activities makes your child feel important and sends the message that you value their education and happiness.

If you have any ideas or concerns you are very welcome to approach the appropriate people, such as your child’s Teacher, Coordinator then myself. Please arrange an appointment to ensure you and your child can have the most benefit from the meeting.

I look forward to meeting you all throughout the year. Once again, I hope 2019 is a wonderful and successful year for our school community.

Educationally yours,

Mr. Deniz Yildirim
Principal

OUR MISSION, VISION AND VALUES

Our Mission

Pinnacle College strives to establish and maintain a safe and nurturing environment so that every student may reach their full potential and achieve a high level of academic excellence determined by state and federal standards.

Our Vision and Values

When you enter Pinnacle College you will be met with a friendly smile. Our level of pride is displayed by our teachers and staff. Apart from a high standard of education at our well-maintained campuses, we aim to develop responsibility in our students, alongside appreciating and valuing different cultures, possessing positive behaviour and a high ethical conscience. We also guide students to accept actions, widen their view of the world which in turn enables them to learn from the consequences of their choices. Studying in a diverse multicultural community, students have the opportunity to widen their view of the world, enabling them to help each other and be productive both now and in the future.

Student Wellbeing, First Aid and Medical Information

Dear Parent/Caregiver,

Welcome to the 2019 school year. We wish you a prosperous, safe and healthy year ahead!

Over the school holidays, some of you may have changed address or contact details, or the circumstances surrounding your child’s health may be different. This is a friendly reminder regarding your obligations as a parent, to help support your child’s safety, health and wellbeing at school.

Medical Information

By now you should have received a Medical Information Form. If you have yet to do so, please provide us with Emergency Contact Information and details of any medical condition that may require intervention.

Please inform us immediately of any change in your contact details, emergency contacts, or medical conditions of your child.

Illness

If your child displays any signs of illness, please keep them home for the day. Please do not bring your child to school if they have been given pain relief such as ibuprofen or paracetamol. If your child is in sufficient discomfort to warrant administering pain relief, it is best they rest at home.

Should your child have any gastro-like symptoms such as vomiting or diarrhoea, it is essential that they are kept home for 24 hours after the last episode.

If your child becomes unwell at school, you will be contacted. If you are not available, your Emergency Contact carers will be phoned to collect your child. Prior to notifying you or your Emergency Contact, your child’s class teacher will assess your child’s wellbeing.

Head Lice

Should staff suspect that nits/head lice are present in the hair of students, a notice will be sent home informing parents. This notice should not be reason for alarm, however, due to the extremely contagious nature of head lice, certain precautions will need to be taken. Students who are found to have head lice in their hair will need to be collected from school and appropriate treatment must be sought immediately.

First Aid

First Aid support is provided in response to unpredictable illness, allergic reaction or injury in order to: preserve life, protect the person (particularly if they are unconscious), prevent a condition worsening and to promote recovery.

If your child develops a health condition such as a severe allergy, epilepsy or asthma, it is very important that you notify Pinnacle College staff immediately. Accordingly, an agreed plan of action can be put in place in the event of an emergency.

As per current guidelines, no ointments, antiseptic sprays or solutions are recommended to be used for first aid treatment at schools. Minor cuts and grazes will be treated by washing the area and applying a dressing, if deemed necessary. Please also be aware that staff are not permitted to extract any items embedded in skin, such as splinters. Parents will be notified if their child has a splinter or similar injury.

Medical Emergencies

In the event of a medical emergency, an ambulance will be called, and a parent or carer contacted. As per first aid procedures, staff will not wait for parent approval, as delays could compromise safety.

To the best of our understanding, the information supplied is in accordance with the current guidelines in relation to student health and wellbeing at schools. This is outlined on the SA Government website and provided by the Department of Education.

At Pinnacle College, the safety and wellbeing of your child is paramount. We therefore appreciate your assistance and support in regard to the above policies and recommendations.

Kind regards,
Pinnacle College
Student Wellbeing Department

KISS AND DROP USAGE GUIDELINES

The Pinnacle College Kiss and Drop Zone is an area that enables you to drop your child off safely and quickly.

The area is designed so drivers do not wait in the zone and remain in their vehicles, thereby streamlining traffic and minimising queues.

In practice, however, it only takes a few inconsiderate drivers to overstay in their zones, resulting in the system breaking down, leading to hindrance, frustration and delays.

The Kiss and Drop Zone at Pinnacle College - Golden Grove is located adjacent the gym/courtyard entrance area. The Kiss and Drop Zone at Pinnacle College – Gilles Plains is located near the gates near the front office entrance.

To ensure that students, staff, parents and visitors are not in danger while travelling to and from school, you must take extra caution when driving and parking around the school sites.

In addition, please ensure you and your child understands basic road rules. If you violate the traffic rules in a school zone, you are putting children at risk.

Please note the following for proper use of the Kiss and Drop Zone:

• The Kiss and Drop Zone is a “No Parking” area
• Move as far as possible into the end of the bay
• Drivers should remain in their vehicle at all times
• When you leave home, please ensure children are in their seats with their bags within easy reach for an easy exit
• Make sure children use the footpath side of the door when getting in and out of the car
• Do not park or drop-off in Bus Zones. If you are dropping children at the bus stop and the bus arrives, it can hold up the bus and traffic flow
• Never double park
• If the Kiss and Drop Zone is full, or you would like to get out of the car, please park in the designated visitor car park area
• Please do not park in the Staff Car Park to drop off or pick up children.

We also request that you drop your children off at school no earlier than 8:35 am, and collect your child after school at the dismissal time of 3:15 pm. If your child is dropped off early, or not collected on time, your child’s safety may be compromised as they will be unsupervised. If your child has an after school activity, such as pastoral care, please also ensure they are collected on time.

We thank you in advance for your cooperation regarding this matter.

UNIFORM SHOP INFORMATION

Dear Parent/Caregiver,

The uniform shop will be open each Friday between 8:30 am – 12:30 pm. Please note that bookings are essential to avoid significant delays. Some items may also be out of stock, please contact Pinnacle College – Gilles Plains campus prior to visiting to check sizes/items are currently available.

Kind regards,
Pinnacle College
Uniform Shop Staff

BEHAVIOUR COORDINATOR’S MESSAGE

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Welcome to the newest campus of Pinnacle College. We are so grateful to have such lovely surroundings to work, learn, grow and play in.

It is important that all our students, staff and parents feel safe, happy and welcome at our school. To ensure that the appropriate people are aware of any issues that arise, the school information flow guidelines should be followed.

• If a student has an issue in class they need to address it with the Class/Specialist Teacher
• If a student has an issue in the playground they need to raise it with the Yard Duty Teacher
• If a parent has an issue to be raised they must first approach the Class Teacher
• The class teacher will, if necessary, refer the matter to the appropriate Coordinator
• The yard duty teacher will, if necessary, refer the matter to the appropriate Coordinator
• Serious behavioural issues will be addressed by the Behaviour Coordinator in conjunction with the Behaviour Committee
• If a parent wishes to have a meeting with one of the School Coordinators or the Principal, an appointment can be made via the front office

Both positive and negative behaviours in the School are added to MySIS to keep parents and caregivers informed. Incidents are allocated positive or negative points which accumulate in the student’s individual profile.

It is important for all students that their families remain interested and engaged with their academic, social and emotional progress. If you cannot access your child’s MySIS profile, please contact the front office for assistance.

I look forward to working with all the members of our school community this year. We are working towards great outcomes for our students, the School and wider community. Welcome to Pinnacle, 2019!

Warmest regards,
Kylie Burton

CURRICULUM COORDINATOR’S MESSAGE

A warm welcome to a productive 2019 with our newest addition – Golden Grove Campus. It has been an absolute pleasure to observe the positive energy amongst our students!

This year we have established a whole-school approach with the application, Seesaw. Seesaw is a digital portfolio that gives you real-time glimpses into your child’s school day. It helps you stay in the loop and gives you an opportunity to support your child's learning at home. Please ensure you have downloaded the Seesaw Parent App and received your QR code to access this effective platform.

I would like to share the following educational programs we have launched this year:

• IntiaLit- Foundation is an evidence-based whole-class literacy program which will provide all children with the essential core knowledge and strong foundation to become successful readers and writers.
• Spelling Mastery builds dependable spelling skills for students in Years 1-6 through a highly structured direct instruction method that blends the phonemic, morphemic & whole-word approach.
• Reading Eggs/Press (F-6) & Mathseeds (F-2) are interactive online tools which allow students to consolidate their learning in class.

We will also continue to use the online tools: Mathletics and Typing Tournament.

You may wish to download the ‘Learning Potential’ Application for tips and ideas to be more involved in your child’s learning. There are learning activities that can fit into your daily routine – whilst driving or cooking!

I look forward to witnessing all the students’ positive successes unfold and grow throughout the year!

STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE COUNCIL

SRC – Student Representative Council

We would like to congratulate our SRC students (below) on their appointment to the Student Representative Council. We believe they will positively contribute to the school community. Thank you to Miss Ryan and Miss Ashimajy for leading our students with this great initiative - stay tuned for upcoming events!

CLASS NEWS – FOUNDATION

Dear Parents,

Welcome to Foundation! I would like to welcome all our new Foundation students as well as their families. During our first five weeks at school we have been learning new routines, developing class expectations and forming new friendships. The Foundation students have been enjoying the new facilities at our Golden Grove Campus. I am looking forward to a wonderful year filled with valuable, interesting and stimulating learning experiences!

Our new Literacy program has been implemented within the classroom. We have been focussing on rhyme and syllables while learning our first few sounds. Students have also been exposed to recount writing, basic grammar and sentence structure.

In the Mathematics curriculum, we have been learning to count from 0 to 10 and backwards from 10 to 0. We have been learning the correct formation of numbers, counting groups of objects, matching number names to the correct numerals and filling in missing numbers. Students have also enjoyed sorting various objects according to shape, colour and size.

Our theme for Science is ‘On the Move’. We have been looking at how the body moves voluntary and involuntary. We have also looked at objects and things that move inside the classroom and outside, including objects, animals and people.

In HASS, students have been learning about the term ‘immediate family’ and have been discussing who is in their family and where their parents are from. Students have enjoyed using a world map to locate the country we live in and were amazed at learning about its geographical features.

Please continue to support your child with their homework on a daily basis. It is also very important that your child’s reading journal is completed daily. I am extremely proud of all my students and their achievements in their first six weeks of school and am looking forward to working together throughout the year to help your child reach their full potential.

Thank you for your ongoing support.
Mrs Vokolos

CLASS NEWS – YEAR 1

Dear Parent/Caregiver,

The first five weeks of school have been full of many exciting and new learning experiences!

In English, we have been focusing on our recount writing and our ability to write complete sentences with full stops, capital letters, fingers spaces and beautiful handwriting. We have also been developing our ability to use descriptive language to make our sentences more detailed and recounts more interesting.

In Numeracy, we have become more confident with counting to and from 100, reading and writing numerals, understanding place value and using the correct language when describing the probability of various situations.

Fortunately, this term we also had the opportunity to see live chicks hatch! As we are studying the needs of living things in Science, this enabled students to connect their learning to a real-life experience. This led to many interesting discussions based on how animals protect themselves, their habitats and what they need to survive. Initially, students were concerned about holding the little chicks, however, by the end of the lesson all students showed bravery and excitement holding those cute, fluffy chicks in their hands! I was so proud of them all!

We also demonstrated our Science understanding by making incredible ladybug and snail artwork during our Art lessons.

I am very pleased with all students’ achievements and efforts so far and I look forward to an exciting year ahead!

Kindest Regards,
Miss Di Cola

CLASS NEWS – YEAR 2

Hi Parents!

What a great start to the term we have had. It has been so lovely getting to know all of my little pirates and I have been so impressed at their mature approach to Year 2!

The big news from our class this term has been the baby chicks!!! We saw ten chicks hatch and move into the big brooder box as part of our Life Cycles topic for Science. One little chick had a smaller wing, and the students were great doctors to him. Lots of students took turns in reading to the chicks during DEAR and it was adorable to see them sing “Happy Birthday” every time one hatched! We also looked at some different life cycles including the frog, shark, snake and had some examples from the Nature Education Centre. We look forward to the Incursion in Week 7!

In Numeracy we have been learning mental and written strategies for addition. We are now trying the same written strategies for subtraction and will then move on to using mental strategies with subtraction. Everyone is giving it a go which is a great attitude to have!

Year 2’s have been producing some very sophisticated recounts by using new adjectives and time connectives in their writing. We are now exploring procedures and learning about the language features and structure. We will hopefully have some time in class to make something yummy and then write a procedure to match!

A big thank you to those parents that have adopted them into their home. Please send me some pictures so I can show the students their progress!

I’d like to thank you for all of your support and cooperation. These first few weeks have been busy and we are all still learning and adjusting to the new campus at Golden Grove. Please continue to look at Seesaw and see what we get up to in class!

Thanks
Miss Ryan

CLASS NEWS – YEAR 3

Dear Parents,

Welcome to a new year at Pinnacle College! The Year 3’s have had a busy start to the term, learning about Time in Maths. We made our own analogue clocks using paper plates and practiced telling the time in both 12- and 24-hour formats.

In English, we have been learning about Narratives in preparation for the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN). We practiced planning and writing imaginative stories with exciting, sizzling starts. A few of our proudest pieces are featured below for your enjoyment.

A sizzling start on ‘The Red Planet’ by Yona:

“Zoom!” went the rambunctious rocket travelling to Mars! Yona, Hareem, Emily and Aya were tourists wanting to travel the world and beyond. They were very excited! They wanted to see their life on Mars.

A sizzling start on ‘Strange Events’ by Shaheer:

Boom!
“What was that?” asked Lily.
“It must be a volcano!” I replied.
Both of us trembled in fear as another sound came. Boom!

Next week, we will visit the Adelaide Zoo as part of our Science unit on ‘Living and Non-Living Things’. We will also continue weaving paper baskets as part of our Art unit on ‘Indigenous Australian Art’. Stay tuned for more updates!

Miss Mubarak

CLASS NEWS – YEAR 4

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Welcome to the start of a new school year; the children have had an amazing start to Year 4! I am blown away by their persistence and passion towards learning. This year, we will be using ‘SeeSaw’ as a tool to communicate with each other, check assessment updates and see pictures of our learning in class! Please make sure that you have downloaded the app and scanned the code given to your child. Some students have expressed that their paper code has been misplaced. Therefore, I have emailed out an electronic code.

Information reports have been our main focus in Literacy. The students have done an outstanding job developing their research, note taking, paraphrasing and writing skills. Our computer room in the new campus is now up and running which has allowed the students to practice their research skills on a rainforest animal of their choice. This week, we will be turning our newly learnt facts into an information booklet. ‘Word of the Day’ has been an aspect of learning that the children have thoroughly enjoyed. The Year 4’s have been working hard to expand their vocabulary and are now using a wider variety of words in their written work. Keep up the great work!

We have delved into the topic of ‘Number’ this term in Mathematics. The children have worked hard to develop a large variety of both written and mental addition and subtraction strategies. Multiplication and Division are our current focus. Please ensure that your child is practising their times tables at home and are confident when recalling their facts.

We have been doing numerous ‘hands on activities’ in the classroom which you are warmly invited to come and see! The students have created clay rainforest animals during Art lessons to complement their Information Reports. We have also planted beans to watch their growing process during science.

I look forward to a year full of fun, learning milestones and precious memories with the Year 4 class. They are off to a great start! Keep up the wonderful work!

Kindest Regards,
Miss Rowlands

CLASS NEWS – YEAR 5

Dear Parents/Carers of Year 5 Students,

We have had a very busy start to 2019 in Year 5, students are doing a fabulous job of adjusting to specialist teachers for each subject and been very productive in class. We are working towards a team building excursion at the end of the term for those students who are focused, respectful and hardworking. It is our hope that all students will be able to attend the excursion.

Thank you to all parents who have connected to the class Seesaw account and have been viewing and commenting on their child’s posts. It is a great way for us to stay connected – once the new Ipads have been set up students will be able to load their own work and post short videos for you to watch. If you have had trouble connecting, please let me know via email kylie.burton@pinnacle.sa.edu.au and I can send you an emailed invitation.

In Maths we have covered a number of topics so far including, mental and written strategies for addition and subtraction, length as a unit of measurement, pattern as a starting point for algebra and 2D shapes. It is really interesting to watch students grapple with the idea that a square can also be a quadrilateral, parallelogram and a polygon.

In Science we have been investigating the biological structures of plants and animals – starting with single cells. You will most likely be aware of the project to construct a 3D animal cell. Students have made a marvellous effort with these projects and they should be very proud of the results. We are also taking a broad overview of the way in which plants utilise their environment and how different environments cater for different plants. Our celery experiment demonstrated how plants draw water up to keep the plant hydrated and then allow it to evaporate through the stomata on the underside of the leaves.

Kind Regards
Kylie Burton

CLASS NEWS – YEAR 6

Welcome to Year 6 – this is a glimpse of our class. The main teacher is Mrs. Tuba. She teaches us English & Technology. We’re currently learning about pronouns, conjunctions, adverbs, verbs etc. We do BTN (Behind the news) every Monday and answer comprehension questions and then mark it as a class. We are extremely excited that we will be using Classcraft. Classcraft will help us out with our daily behavior. The teacher (Mrs. Tuba) will be the game master. If the game master spots one of the students following instructions or helping each other on tasks, she will give the team points. Each good action will have a certain amount of points. There are 5 teams. So teamwork will be involved. For health we are looking at different components for fitness. In Maths, we do problem solving and the topic we are currently doing are graphs. We have special apps we are using on different devices called Reading Eggs/Press and Mathletics. This is to help our learning at home. In Science, HASS and Art we have Ms. Summers. In Art and HASS, we mainly learn about Aboriginal Art and History. In Science, we are looking at mould and molecules in moist areas. We are also looking at bread in different environments. Ms. Summers assigned us to do a science project were the students had to put bread in plastic bags and paper bags and place in different areas. Latifa produced a creative project that we all thoroughly loved – great effort!

Stay tuned for our class finches – we are super excited!

Year 6 Newsletter Representative – Yousif Shibeeb

CLASS NEWS – YEAR 7 GIRLS

As we get older, our studies develop and Maths just gets harder! We recently learn about Lowest Common Multiples (LCM) and and Highest Common Factors (HCF).

In English, we have learnt how to write narratives and are focussing on persuasive writing. I have enjoyed it a lot!

During Humanities we have been investigating the Narrabeen Man. The Narrabeen Man was an Aboriginal Man and his cause of death was though to be murder. We are analysing evidence to investigate what happened to him.

In HPE, we have been learning Dance and and leaning about drugs and how they affect our body. We have learnt about stimulants, depressants, prescription and over the counter drugs, and whether they are medicines or not.

During Science, we have been leaning about scientific equipment, scientific method, lab safety and dependant, independent and control variables.

In ICT we have making games by programming on Roku. We are able to make our Roku do anything!

During our Robotics elective, we have been programming and building robots. In Home Economics we have been knitting by using our fingers and needles. In our Sports Elective we have been running our own soccer tournament; we have been given roles and responsibility to carry out to make sure it runs smoothly. In debating we have been improving our public speaking by doing various activities including accents, descriptions and speeches.

In Values, we have been learning about the Matchless (attributes of Allah) and Unchanging and Active Attributes of Allah and the difference between the two. In RV, we have been memorising Surah al Qiyamah while also revising some Surahs from Juz Amma.

During LOTE, the Turkish students really enjoyed watching Turkish movies. In Advanced Arabic, students have completed their first assessment on an Arabic country and standard have just begun their assignment.

We really have enjoyed term 1 so far!

By Aeman and Abeera 7G

CLASS NEWS – YEAR 8 GIRLS

This term the Pinnacle College Year 8 Girls are learning about narratives while studying Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. We have also been looking at narrative structure and are in the process of writing great narratives inspired by Percy Jackson. We also chose a Greek God and made a poster about that God, it was super fun and it made our classroom brighter! We are looking at identifying themes in different texts and looking forward to more English with Miss Hughes.

In Science we have been learning about microscopes and cells through different activities and quizzes with Mrs Maik which has been very interesting!

Miss Molly has been teaching us about the Ottoman Empire in Humanities and we are now writing reports about the topic. We have also decorated our classroom with our work from Humanities and HPE with Miss Molly, which we are very proud of.

In Art, we have been learning about Islamic designs and have enjoyed designing our own artworks inspired by these designs.

Overall, it has been a great start to the year. We are learning a lot about Wellbeing and working together as a group, and enjoying our time at the new campus.

Samah Adam and Amal Jasim, 8G

Year 8 Humanities:

At our new Golden Grove Campus, our year 8G class did an exercise on history. We learnt about sequencing historical events and periods. We organised ourselves into correct chronological order, from 8000 BCE (Before Common Era) to 2012 CE (Common Era). My classmates and I had a great time sorting ourselves which also increased our social skills. We all enjoy humanities with Miss Molly.

By Fariha Hasanoff

SPORTS DEPARTMENT

Year 5 and 6 have been studying the five components of fitness and putting each to the test in a variety of different tests and exercises. The students have enjoyed learning about which components they are strong at and which they need to work on. The results have varied but it is certain that some of us teachers would not like to challenge some of the students to any beep tests any time soon. The decision by the Primary PE department to incorporate more theory this year has been extremely beneficial for the students as they further their knowledge about how their health, fitness and training affects their life. The students have also been learning the skills of T-ball, carrying on from their learning last year. Later this term, we will host the Elizabeth Campus for a day of friendly competition which the students are looking forward to. The year 4 class have continued to study and practice European Handball and the foundation class working on their equipment control and gross motor skills.

Term 2 will be a big for sports at Pinnacle College. Following the huge success of the Welcome To Australia Rules Football program, in which we made the front page of the Advertiser, the program will be returning to our School better than ever. The SANFL will be running the 5 week program during five different lunches over the term. There will be a $10 fee for participants which includes a bag, football, socks and drink bottle. It was such a great experience for the students learning the skills of footy and we hope they enjoy it as much again this year! We will also be holding a ‘Footy Day’ where we will have inflatables, food, autograph signings and so forth. During the day we are also hoping to have some food and drink stalls so if any parents have any specialty foods we would love to have you there during the day! Please let me know if you would like to be part of this great day.

Michael Triantafilakis

MUSIC DEPARTMENT

It is very exciting to introduce Music to all 3 campuses of Pinnacle College!

The students in Year 1 are learning about keeping a steady beat and playing a simple rhythm pattern. They are using their singing voices, developing effective listening skills and learning how to play different percussion instruments.

In Year 2 the focus is also on keeping a steady beat and playing rhythm patterns while others are playing the beat. Students are developing their singing voices and are encouraged to listen to each other and play carefully. We have been clapping out the rhythms of our names and will play them on percussion instruments in coming weeks.

The focus in Year 3 has been on reading, writing and clapping out rhythms, while also developing their singing voices and listening skills.

In Year 4 the students have learned a clapping game which requires them to work well with a partner and sing while doing actions. They have been reading, writing and clapping out 4-beat rhythms, and will soon learn about 3-beat rhythms, which have a totally different feel.

The Year 5 students have been learning about Funk music, including where this music originated from and its elements. They have been singing together, writing their own funky lyrics and performing for the class.

In Year 6 the students have been singing a song, Jammin’ in Jamaica, while learning about Reggae music. They have learned about notes of different values and how to play them, and are writing their own lyrics to match a rhythm pattern in a Reggae style.

With Harmony Day coming up, all students have been learning a song called Everyone Belongs, which reminds us that we are all different, but we can celebrate our differences and live in harmony with one another.

Tracy Schache
Music Teacher

LOTE – ARABIC

Assalam Alaikom,

This term, Year 7 and 8 students learn about Arabic countries. Students made a project about all Arab world countries and through this project they learnt about capital cities, population, geography, history, traditional food, clothes and popular land marks. These projects have enabled the students to make use of their knowledge of building sentences and making paragraphs in the Arabic language. Aside from learning about Arab countries, students have the opportunity to develop their reading and writing skills in Arabic. Students will present their projects to the class in the coming weeks. Great effort girls!

Mrs Ola Abdelmonem

COUNSELLOR’S REPORT

Greetings Parents and Caregivers,

For all the new parents and students that may not have yet met me, I am Semanur, the school counsellor for the Golden Grove and Gilles Plains campuses (between the days of Monday to Wednesday). I am also situated at the Elizabeth campus to support the emotional needs of the female students (on Thursdays and Fridays).

Here at Pinnacle College, we are committed to the wellbeing of the students, staff and parents. Counselling facilities are provided in all three campuses, primary and secondary, to ensure our students receive the support they need academically, emotionally and socially. In order to foster equal opportunities for all students, school counsellors are here to implement an all-encompassing approach in the following areas:

Face to face sessions with students

The main role of the school counsellor is to work directly with students individually and/or in groups to assist students with their personal, social, academic and emotional growth.

Liaise with parents

At Pinnacle College we place importance on the role our parents play in achieving a holistic approach for our student’s wellbeing. The school counsellors can provide parent consultations regarding strategies in required areas.

Refer students to external agencies

If needed, school counsellors can assist parents in referring students to external agencies for further psychological evaluation and support.

Workshops and Seminars

As of Term 1, Pinnacle counsellors will be providing termly educational seminars and workshops to parents in order to promote a consistent environment that is maximizing the social, emotional and academic development of our students.

We look forward to enjoying a fruitful and engaging year at Pinnacle!

NEW STAFF

Andrea Davey-Summers

Welcome to the 2019 school year. My name is Andrea Davey-Summers and starting this year I am the Inclusive Education Coordinator across all three Pinnacle College campus sites, and teach various Year 5 and 6 subjects at the Golden Grove campus. Part of my role is to review and assess students who may need additional support in the classroom or have learning difficulties. I also support teaching staff and teacher aides (SSO) when planning and teaching students who have already verified learning, physical and medical needs. If you have concerns about your child and their learning needs please do not hesitate to contact myself or their class teacher. I look forward to meeting more parents as the year progresses.

Gilles Plains

CLASS NEWS – FOUNDATION

The Foundation students have had a wonderful start to their first year of school. They have settled into the routine of daily lessons and they have learned the expectations from their teachers. The students are beginning to form relationships with these teachers and their peer groups are expanding as they learn more about each other.

This Year our Foundation cohort have weekly Religion and Values lessons with Mrs Gulsum and Memorisation with Mrs Ola. They also have P.E. and health with Mr T.

In Literacy, students have enjoyed meeting Maggie the Mouse and Sammy the Seal, clapping syllables and breaking words into onset and rime. The InitaLit storybook lessons have become a favourite with the students and we have enjoyed learning new vocabulary, role playing scenes from popular storybooks and creating artworks based on our weekly story.

In Numeracy, we have looked at numbers from 1 to 10 and learning to use one to one correspondence when counting. Many students are still consolidating this skill, and regular counting practice is recommended daily to strengthen this skill.

Our HASS unit of work has taken us around the world as we learn more about our family, the people in it and where they come from. With all of this happening inside the classroom, we still found time to go on our first excursion to Woolworths for the Fresh Food Discovery Tour. On the tour we explored where fruit and vegetables come from and why it is important to eat a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables each day before trying some new and exciting fruits for the first time. The students thoroughly enjoyed the experience and they enjoyed learning how to make fruit salad back at school. To finish, I would like to remind parents that during Term 1, it is important to engage in nightly reading to your child. The local library has a colossal range of pictures books to enjoy during this time, and a visit to your local library can be a great bonding time where you can learn more about your child’s interests and book preferences.

Kind Regards
Bianca Villani

CLASS NEWS – YEAR 1

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

I would like to warmly welcome you all to our very first Newsletter from our Year 1 class for 2019! I would like to welcome Fotima Fiaz, Suleman Jamshide, Saaden Al Bayati and Sanjhanaa Prasath to our class.

As you are aware, Year 1 is a little different from Foundation. Starting from year 1, students learn a language, either Arabic or Turkish and have weekly homework to complete for this. With regards to reading, our goal by the end of this year is to be on Level 16 reader. To achieve this, students need to read a book every day, followed by being asked three “Why?” or “What?” questions for their development of comprehension. Students need to bring back their book the following day, to be able to exchange it for a new one. To support students in their reading, students should also be working on their words in their Sight Words Folder, as well as their weekly homework which is prepared in their Homework Folder. Returning homework every Friday allows me to check on how your child is progressing and allows me to provide you with the necessary feedback.

With regards to subject areas, our main theme for this term is Mini beasts. In our class, we are integrating this theme across Science, English and Art, to show students how a theme connects in many areas of our learning. In Science we are looking at how to label diagrams of animals followed by learning about animal features and their habitats. In English we are using our Science knowledge and doing additional reading to be able to write about various mini beasts and in more detail and include adjectives. Finally in Art, students get the opportunity to showcase what they have been learning in a fun artistic way.

As for our other subject areas, our themes vary. In Maths we are currently finishing off looking at Mass and will be looking at the topic of Ordering Numbers. For HASS we are moving on from Family Trees, to looking at timelines and the importance of remembering that they show how things happen in a particular order. Finally for Health and PE, we are looking at safe and unsafe situations as well as team work/team games.

If you wish to see me about anything, please make a time with me after school so that you have my full attention. Thank you for your support and let’s continue to work together for the next 5 weeks and make this first term a great term.

Kind regards,
Ms Mackowiak

CLASS NEWS – YEAR 2

Dear Parents/ Caregivers,

Welcome to the 2019 school year. I hope you all had a well-deserved break. A very big welcome back to all of our returning families and a few brand-new ones as well. The students have settled in beautifully over the past couple of weeks and are currently working really well.

In literacy, students have been working hard on improving their recounts, grammar, spelling and punctuation. Please encourage your child to do his/her best at school and guide them with their learning.

In Numeracy, we are tackling addition strategies. Students will need consistent help at home in order to grasp some challenging concepts such as near doubles and getting to 10. I am certain with time and practice these challenging concepts will become fun and easy.

Science has been very exciting. We were fortunate to observe cute little chicks hatch from eggs in our classroom. This was an incredible learning experience for the class. So far in Science, we haved looked at the life cycle of different living things and we will continue to learn about living things and their life cycle.

A few reminders:

• Encourage your child to independently complete the set homework sheets and read every day/night for at least 10 minutes.
• Remind your child to complete Mathseeds and Reading eggs/press tasks.
• Please label your child’s belongings to avoid losing them.
• Lunch orders need to be done at home and clearly labelled with child’s name and year level.
• Please bring your child to school on time as consistent lateness has a great impact on your child’s learning.
• Please join our class seesaw if you haven’t already done so.
• We are a fish and nut free school.

Thank you for your consistent support,
Nibal Al Bayati

CLASS NEWS – YEAR 3

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Thank you to everyone for such a smooth start to the year. All the students have settled in well and are eagerly working in class. It is a delight to write this first newsletter article. I would first like to welcome our new students, Inisha, Hunain and Rayyan to our class. They have settled in well and are doing well in class. This term while we are going through our routines and class procedures, we are also getting a lot of learning done.

In Science we just started our project on what factors affect plant growth. Students have two plants and they will watch how they grow in different conditions. We are very excited to see what will happen to our control plants.

In English, students are writing narratives. They are beginning to start with a sizzling start, plan their writing and aim for an exciting ending. Writing improves with practice. You can help by getting your child to write stories at home. The next step is to ensure they use interesting words and phrases.

In Mathematics, we are working our way through addition and subtraction. We have played addition board games, subtraction bingo games and worked on tackling problem sums. They have grasped the topic well however more practice is needed for problem solving.

Finally, I would like to appeal to parents to accompany us on excursions. It will be most appreciated. Let me know if you are able to help us.

Thank you for your support,
Shalini Thilkan

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