27 September 2020

Newsletter Articles

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.

Principal’s Message

Dear Parents of Pinnacle College,

With school holidays just around the corner, I would like to take this time to say thank you to our staff, students and families. Term three is always shaping up to be a busy, yet productive term! On a positive note, it is great to see the effect of Covid-19 Pandemic disappearing.

We have started using our gym again with the new air conditioner system installed. I would like to acknowledge and thank the SA State government for providing the capital grant for us to have better education facilities.

Also, for lower primary classes, our new play and learning area has been opened. Now, our little learners have an extended facility to learn and experience more.

Furthermore, we have started incursions, excursions and events this term. The first one was the Mathematics Competition. I would like to thank the Mathematics department for organising this great event. The competition ran smoothly and had a high level of participation.

Pinnacle College has officially started the Pinnacle Talks where we invite a guest speaker every term for some inspiration, motivation and insight into the lives of powerful influencers and leaders! We hosted Gabriel Akon, an African musician/social activist on the 14th of September. He delivered an inspiring, engaging and educational speech and rap on humanity. Our high school students truly loved his speech and performance.

An amazing gathering took place on Saturday to celebrate the International Day of Peace 19 September, 2020. Hosted by Pinnacle College, McYESS Ltd & Multifaith SA, 85 people from 20 diverse communities and organisations shared inspiration about how we can shape peace together. It was great to see the Pinnacle College community contribute to the international day of peace and social cohesion locally and globally.

I also owe a big thanks to the Pinnacle College Parents and Friends Committee for organizing a fundraising event for the Lebanon explosion incident. They raised around $1500 for those in need in Lebanon.

Lastly, we have finished the term with secondary school Sport Carnival successfully. Congratulations to all secondary teachers and students for their great effort and sportspersonship.

Till next issue

Educationally yours,

Gokhan Kot
Campus Principal, Elizabeth East

Community Engagement

Interfaith Celebration of International Day of Peace

Pinnacle College/McYess Ltd and Multifaith SA hosted an interfaith Celebration of International Day of Peace at Elizabeth East campus. 85 people from 20 diverse communities, faiths and organizations shared inspiration about how we can shape peace together. 2020 Theme 'Shaping Peace Together' through speakers covered reconciliation, peace, social harmony and making peace with the Earth. Our school showed leadership bringing together many voices to speak about peace. Two international organizations ‘Living the Change and GreenFaith’ supported the program.

• Uncle Allen Edwards Snr spoke on Reconciliation in Australia and signs of hope emerging from new dialogue between First Nations and recent settlers in this ancient land, building respect by sharing stories from the heart.
• Dr Nadeem Memon of the UniSA Centre of Islamic Thought & Education shared a deeply personal & engaging journey with cultural awareness and social harmony
• Philippa Rowland, President of Multifaith SA encouraged all to make Peace with the Earth by living the change and taking swift action on climate change in personal & powerful ways

Pinnacle TALKS

Pinnacle College has officially started the Pinnacle Talks where we invite a guest speaker every term for some inspiration, motivation and insight into the lives of powerful influencers and leaders! We hosted Gabriel Akon, an African musician/social activist on the 14th of September. Thank you, Gabriel Akon, for your inspiring speech and rap on humanity! @dyspora

Noah’s Pudding (Asure)

Noah's pudding (Asure) has been celebrated on the 13th of September! Pinnacle and McYess collaborated with two Uniting Churches (Para Hills and Modbury). It was a great opportunity for us to connect with faith leaders and local people and sharing our stories! Around 55 people attended the event!

Dr Mehmet Aslan
Community Engagement Manager

Counselling and Inclusive Ed

Hi Parents and Caregivers,

On 10 September 2020, we recognised R U OK day and celebrated its significance in building a mentally healthy community. Although we have made progress, there is a lot of stigma attached to discussing mental health challenges. At Pinnacle, we aim to empower students and build their resilience through a strengths based approach which incorporates empathy, mindfulness and gratitude.

This year for R U OK day, we completed a time capsule activity which allowed students to think critically and introspectively about the motivators driving them in their schooling. We will open these time capsules next year in 2021 and complete a follow up reflective exercise. With a variety of yellow costumes and outfits, our students were able to enjoy a sausage sizzle and create positive affirmations in class. All monies raised will go towards a project to promote positive coping strategies and resilience in our school and wider community. Thanks to everyone who made the day a massive success.

Yours faithfully,
Mehmet Kavlakoglu
Inclusive Education Coordinator & School Counsellor

Library

The Library has been very exciting this term. Even though there were no parents on site for the Book Fair it was a great success, with over $500 of new books for the library. Thank you to all the staff members who helped out. Book Week with the theme Curious Creatures, Wild Minds was amazing with a visit from Wilbur’s Wildlife including some very interesting animals. The reading of shortlist books and crafts is always a lot of fun for the primary students.

We are running a book week competition – to be completed by the end of Week 1 – Term 4. It would be fantastic if students could get creative over the school holidays.

Front Office Notices

Primary

Foundation

As we near the end of Term 3, I am left wondering where the time has gone. This term we have been very busy and done some very exciting things. In Week 7 we went to Gorge Wildlife Park to find out about the animals and their keepers. We started with a Keeper talk, where we were introduced to a carpet python, a koala and a bearded dragon. Then we went to meet the kangaroos and had a chance to feed them. After our lunch we walked around the park meeting many different animals such as camels, pelicans, otters, alligators, penguins and many more. In week 9 we had some special visitors to our class. The Police Officers came to tell us how they can help us and car for us. We all enjoyed exploring the police car and trying on the uniforms. I wish you all a restful break from school.

Year 1

Hello beautiful families and friends,

What an exciting term we have had! We have been working very hard during Literacy lessons to create our own procedure texts. We have made delicious chocolate milkshakes, mini pizzas and even fairy bread! We also wrote procedures on our favourite playground activities!

Please ensure that your child reads every night. They should be paying specific attention to expression, fluency and comprehension. Again, I cannot move your child up to the next reading level without them being able to comprehend the text. I would like to see each child on a level 16 by the end of the year to have the best possible start to Year 2.

Collecting data has been our major Numeracy focus this term with the students delving into the concepts of drawing their own graphs and interpreting the data. We explored many new words to add to our Numeracy vocabulary such as ‘difference, greater and fewest.’

I hope you all have a well-deserved break! Please make sure that your child completes their holiday homework so that they don’t forget the learning done in term 2.

Kind Regards,
Miss Rowlands and the Year 1s :)

Year 2

What a term it has been in the Year 2 Classroom!

The students have been so lucky to have had a fun-filled 10 weeks full of fruitful learning and many new experiences.

Last Friday, the class took part in an AWESOME hip-hop dance class, filled with lots of energy and enthusiasm. The students learnt how to break down different dance moves, understand how to move to the beat of the music and learnt a choreographed dance routine. Later, we took a short walk to Bonython Park, in which the students viewed some of the sights and got to eat a delicious lunch, and play on the playground. It was a great excursion to finish off the term!

The Year 2’s have thoroughly enjoyed having the outdoor learning area finally open for use! They really enjoy working outside, in the calm serenity of the natural environment and also playing with some of the equipment. They took some time outside on R U OK Day to fill out their time Capsule materials, which was all about writing some goals for next year and about their achievements so far this year.

They are really looking forward to a long break and finishing off the year STRONG!

Happy holidays and enjoy the break!

Miss P

Year 3

On Monday the 21st of September, the Year 3’s took part in an incursion presented by a police officer who informed students about the importance of cyber safety. They learnt about ways to keep themselves safe whilst online and how to reach out for help. They were also advised to follow the rules on cyber safety below:

Rule #1 Ask your parents first
Rule #2 Keep your information safe
Rule #3 Only talk to people you know in person

Year 4

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

What a fun few weeks we have had! Book Week was a blast with some students taking part in the dress up parade. Sana and Mikail won best dressed for our class and were lucky enough to receive a prize. CONGRATS! During Book Week, our students attended the incursion organised. They enjoyed seeing and learning about animals. It was a good opportunity to learn from an expert who is passionate about their profession. I will be on maternity leave next term and into 2021. It has been an absolute pleasure teaching the Year 4s. Thank you for your support and engagement. All the best for the remainder of the year.

Kind regards,
Sarah Watkins
Year 4 Teacher

Year 5

Dear parents and students,

It is the end to another busy, yet fruitful Term. Most of the students were truly eager and worked hard for most of their subjects. For Science, Grade 5s made Solar System models as part of their learning with space sciences. The models looked amazing and demonstrated a high knowledge with our solar system.

Grade 5s also prepared themselves with an experiment of their choice and showed their experiments to the junior year levels. Most of the groups did a fantastic job, as their experiments became the favourite of many smaller year level students. Great job scientists

Wishing everyone a fantastic, well deserved holiday.

Ms Nesibe

Year 6

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your consistent support. Your support and encouragement at home is highly valuable and appreciated.

This term in English, students enjoyed persuading each other through persuasive writing and class debating. We looked at how persuasive language is used to convince others to agree with our facts, accept our arguments and adopt our way of thinking. A few examples include, using rhetorical questions, repetition, figurative language and evidence.

Students will not get a holiday homework this term, I believe they deserve a proper break. However, they will need to read for 30 minutes every day. Reading is critical because it gives the students the opportunity to learn new things and explore new ideas.

I wish you a wonderful holiday. Stay healthy and happy.

See you in Term 4!

Warm regards
Nibal

Year 5 & 6 Design and Technology

For Design Technology, all grade 5 and 6 students had the challenge of designing and making their very own games in groups. There was a lot of researching, designing, collecting materials and making involved with this project. Last week of the Term, students played and evaluated their own, as well as other students’ games. Great effort shown by most of the students. Well done everyone.

Have a safe and relaxing holiday.
Ms Nesibe

SRC

Primary SRC had a special meeting with the principal, along with delicious food, during the last week of Term 3. It was a very welcoming environment. Students had the opportunity to introduce themselves, as well as sharing some of their ideas and thoughts on different topics that are related to our school. Overall, it was a great and beneficial meeting.

We thank Mr. Kot for his time and hospitality.

Ms Nesibe & Primary SRC

Music

“Sometimes music is the only thing that takes your mind off everything else.”

The Year 1s have been learning about fast and slow through movement, singing and playing. We told the story of The Old Grey Cat, playing the fast and slow sounds and acting out the story. Dances like the Chicken Dance are also lots of fun and they really make us listen when they slow down and then gradually get faster and faster. The Year 3s and 4s have continued on their journey of learning how to play the ukulele. Most recently, we have learnt how to number the fingers on the left hand to play the C chord and the Am chord for songs such as Umbalayo, Obwisana (a traditional song from Ghana), Funga Alafia (a traditional song from Nigeria) and Mumma Warruno (a traditional Aboriginal Lullaby). Hearing the children sing while they play is a true joy! Years 5 and 6 have continued looking at different aspects of Music in the Movies, focussing on foley effects. They needed to create the sound effects for a short-animated film called Peck Pocketed, finding ways to make sounds that would match the different elements in the film, as well as trying to time the effects to match the action.

As we come to a well-earned holiday break, I encourage you to look for opportunities to enjoy, create, and appreciate the music that is all around us. I just love birdsong at this time of year!

Tracy Schache
Music Teacher

Secondary

Arabic

Year 10 Arabic

Arabic language is characterised by its rich vocabulary and complex sentences. Now that we have learnt how to write basic and simple sentences, we can express ourselves in more complex ways. To do so, we need to learn how to link different ideas and sentences in order to create a coherent and cohesive text. The use of connectors in Arabic can help us improve our style and link our ideas in a way that would help the reader to follow our argument. Arabic language provides a wide range of connectors which serve different functions. The following are some connectors that we’ve learnt this term; Additive conjunction: الربط الإضافي Additive conjunctions are connectors used to link two words, clauses, sentences or ideas. Arabic is rich with additive conjunctions. However, each has its own function. And الواو, used to link words, clauses, sentences and paragraphs. It is used within and between sentences. While, as واو الحال, واو الحال starts the circumstantial Hal and is followed either by a nominal sentence or a verbal sentence. Then ثم, like ثم, و can be used to link two sentences. After that بعد ذلك, used to indicate that one action precedes another. In addition to the above additive conjunctions, there are other additive conjunctions that are used to link sentences and ideas. Like any other language, Arabic offers a range of additive conjunctions that have the same meaning.

English

Greetings to all,

Today, I am very happy to share with you what the Year 9 Boys have been doing in class throughout the term.

At the beginning of the term, we focused on a novel called ‘The Hunger Games’ and answered Chapter questions regarding the book. We even attached an assignment regarding the book. Moving forward towards the end of the term, the Boys have been studying poetry and raps. The influence came from a rapper who visited our school to share his stories and influences with the school. To my surprise, the Year 9 Boys are amazing at creating their own raps. The rhythm and style of their raps make them sound even cooler! More fun activities are yet to come in the near future!

Yours Sincerely,
A Sincere Student from the Year 9 Boys Community

PE

Over the past 4 weeks, students have been completing Athletics events in their HPE lessons in preparation for Athletics Day, which is to be held at Rundle Reserve in Salisbury on Thursday 24th of September.

Students have participated in throwing events such as Discus and Shotput, jumping events like High jump and Long jump and some classes have even gone to Freemont Park to take advantage of the greater space to run the 100m and 200m races.

We hope to see parents and caregivers out cheering on Athletics Day and encourage students to dress up (appropriately) in their house colours, to really get into the spirit of the day. At Pinnacle College we are aiming to encourage house spirit more than ever, with the introduction of the ‘Spirit Trophy’ on Athletics Day, awarded to the students of the house displaying the best levels of participation, encouragement and positive attitudes.

SRC

Dear Parents/Guardians/Carers,

Pinnacle College is proud to announce that our college is participating in “Everyone is Thinking About HIM” competition organised for the great cause of allowing students to learn about the life of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) as we are approaching to the commemoration for the Mawlid al-Nabi which is the observance of the birthday of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Students who are keen to participate will compete against the students who study in other interstate sister schools across Australia. We aim to have our students to be more engaged with the exemplary life Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) by partaking in this competition.

There are two categories available for both secondary and primary students to select from:

Category 1

Reading Competition

Category 2

ART Competition (Video production, Visual Arts, Poetry, Creative Writing, Painting, Letter or another form of ART of your choice.

If you would like to register your child/children or to receive further information, please email me at muhammed.cetin@pinnacle.sa.edu.au

I am wishing all students and parents/guardians/carers safe and joyful term break.

Kind Regards,

Muhammed Cetin
Pastoral Care Coordinator

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