24 September 2021

Newsletter Articles

OUR MISSION, VISION AND VALUES

Our Mission

Our mission is to foster academic and creative excellence in a respectful and nurturing educational environment. We strive to support student wellbeing and provide meaningful learning experiences that develop socially responsible and resilient life-long learners. Through collaboration and leadership, our students will engage in, and contribute to the community, both locally and globally.

Our Vision

At Pinnacle College, we celebrate diversity and uniqueness in an innovative and inclusive learning environment. Our vision is to equip students with the confidence and skills to reach their potential and meet the challenges of the future as global citizens, leaders and innovators.

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE

Dear Friends and Families,

We have concluded the term with the arrival of the NAPLAN results. The majority of our students are above the national average and we are very pleased with this year’s results. Due to having the test online from this time onwards, we decided to give more importance to our students typing skills. For this reason, typing tournament software will be more actively used. The program will be embedded in our planners and we encourage you to use this online software at home to improve your child’s typing skills. Please note, that screen time is also important.

Gilles Plains parents might also be aware of the restrictions in using the oval with Wandana Primary. We have had a meeting with the principal of the school and they would like to reopen the site as soon as the Covid restrictions are eased. We will be following this matter however in the meantime we will be organising our new site for an extra play area for our students.

Golden Grove campus has received a sports grant and a soccer training program will be available for our primary students in Term 4. Unfortunately, the grant condition does not allow us to use this grant for the Gilles Plains campus. This will only be a start and with the support of our parents, we would like to have a more permanent structure in 2022.

Finally, I wish everyone relaxing and a refreshing term break.

Regards,

Atilla Sinik
Campus Principal (Golden Grove&Gilles Plains)

Primary Coordinator (Gilles Plains)

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

We have come to the end of another eventful term. We celebrated RUOk? Day with an assembly reminding students to care for each other and to be kind to one another. We put our thumbprint on a ‘tree’ to signify our commitment to be inclusive and to be a friend to all. We also had the opportunity to meet an Olympian, Damien Shumann (Beach Volleyball) who spoke to the Years 3-5 students about being resilient and having passion for what they do.

You will soon receive your child’s Term 3 interim results. Please encourage your child and share with them areas that they need to improve on. Next term is the final stretch and I would like to see all students move on to the next year level, strong in the concepts that they have learnt this year.

Finally, a reminder that if you are entering the school grounds, you have to wear a mask, do a QR check-in and report to the front office. This is to keep students and staff safe.

Kind Regards,
Shalini Moss

Library

Term 3 has been very busy and long term. Thank you to all classes who have displayed their Book Week craft in the library. It makes the library much brighter.

We have participated in some exciting activities, but it is now time to think about relaxing. Reading is a great way to relax. Students and staff can borrow books from the school library over the break. But the public library is also a great place to find books to read for pleasure. I would encourage parents to look at what students are borrowing from the library. If they are borrowing graphic novels/ Manga please check the rating. In the school library we are reviewing the ratings of Manga and therefore who can borrow these books. Encourage students to find books outside their preferred genre/ series to challenge their reading ability and learn something new.

If there are books you see/ hear about that you or the students feel would be a good addition to our library, please do not hesitate to suggest ideas. We are open to appropriate suggestions.

Please keep in mind the last week to borrow books in term 4 is week 6. This gives the staff time to chase any outstanding books.

Kind Regards,
Ms Lisa Preston
Librarian at Golden Grove and Gilles Plains

SCHOOL COUNSELLOR

On Thursday 9th of September, we participated in R U OK Day. R U OK Day is a day dedicated to reminding everyone to ask, "Are you OK?". It is a day that reminds us to connect and have meaningful moments by starting a conversation with anyone who may be struggling with life's ups and downs. You don't need to be an expert to reach out- just a good friend and a good listener.

The four steps to start a conversation:

• Ask R U OK?
• Listen
• Encourage Action
• Check-in

Important Dates

MUSIC

Term 4 is right around the corner! In my planning and preparation I am looking forward to seeing your children uncover new musical skills and gain new perspectives around music. Music is a lot of fun, but it can also be used to communicate a story or an emotion. Maybe that’s something we can start listening out for during our school holidays! I wish you all a happy and restful holiday break!

Mrs Sarah Hateley
Music Teacher

FOUNDATION – GOLDEN GROVE

Foundation students thoroughly enjoyed the SA Fire Service incursion! They were able to ask the fire fighters questions about how they keep people safe in our community. In English, students have worked so hard writing sentences with capital letters, full stops, finger spaces and beautiful handwriting. Thankyou for your ongoing support this term and I look forward to many more learning opportunities in Term 4!

Kindest Regards,
Ms Daniella Di Cola

YEAR 1 – GOLDEN GROVE

Year 1 has been busy learning about poetry in English and 3D shapes in Mathematics. Children have written interesting Haiku and Acrostic poems. They have been able to name, count the faces, edges and corners (vertices) of 3D shapes. We enjoyed the fire truck coming to visit with Foundation in Week 9 and our own excursion in Week 10 to 3 transport museums in Port Adelaide!

Kindest Regards,
MIss Sarah Watkins

YEAR 2 - GOLDEN GROVE

The Year 2 students at Golden Grove are now published authors with the students planning, drafting, writing, editing and publishing their first full narrative. The students learned how to write a sizzling start that begins with a BANG! and they have been working on pebble, rock, bolder scenarios for the main events. They used similes and alliteration to make their writing come alive for the reader. I am so proud of their efforts and have thoroughly enjoyed reading their books. During the holidays, it is important for students to continue to read and engage with the online learning platforms to help progress their learning. Have a safe and happy term break and I look forward to a fun-filled Term 4.

Kindest Regards,
Ms Bianca Villani

YEAR 3 – GOLDEN GROVE

Year 3 went on a trip through our solar system when we visited the Planetarium at UniSA at Mawson Lakes. Miss Jane explained many different constellations to us and told us the Indigenous Australian names, identities and stories of some of the constellations that we know very well. It was a lovely and valuable experience and all students were beautifully behaved. A picture of the school holiday flyer is included in our gallery if you are interested in visiting as a family during the break. We also watched the movie TILT which was about how the different seasons come about but there are many more to explore. Have a lovely holiday break so you can come back refreshed and ready to learn in the last term of Year 3!

Warmest regards,
Mrs Kylie Burton

YEAR 4 – GOLDEN GROVE

Year 4 students thoroughly enjoyed their two Orienteering lessons run by Sporting Schools. The class had a fantastic time learning about Orienteering and making their way racing around courses set up in different places around the school. The children got to use SI sticks which is an electronic timing system used in competitive orienteering.

Kindest regards,
Miss Jessica Tripodi

YEAR 5 – GOLDEN GROVE

Dear Parents/Guardians,

I hope you have been keeping well.

Term 3 was filled with so many fun activities! A few weeks ago, we visited the Adelaide Planetarium and learnt many interesting things about our solar system. Students also had a wonderful time dressing up during Book Week. We would like to thank Mrs Preston for organising the ‘Book Tasting’ activity. Our Year 5 class loved learning about different features that can be observed/analysed to learn more about a book. In Week 8, Sporting Schools held an Orienteering session which consisted of using maps, competing in races and using electronic SI sticks which helped us compete in groups and improve our knowledge on how to use maps.

A little reminder for the holidays, please ensure you are completing your holiday booklet & get plenty of rest. Don’t forget to enjoy the sunshine! Have a safe, blessed and fun break!

Kind Regards,
Miss Sawafta Natasha

YEAR 6 – GOLDEN GROVE

The Year 6s are hard at work as they prepare for their upcoming Graduation at Sfera’s. We have chosen our song and begun learning a technical dance to show off their skills. Each student has a flair for song and dance so when selecting what to showcase, students wanted to express their talents. We hope you enjoy what we will present on the 8th of December. For now, here are some sneak-peek photos of us rehearsing.

Kind Regards,
Mr Myles McLean

YEAR 7– GOLDEN GROVE

Sports Day 2021 - SA Athletics Stadium

“it was amazing” – Rafif
“I was really fun” – Mia
“An exciting new experience” – Maha
“it was very exhilarating and a great day to socialise with other students” – Ziya
“It was inspiring and poush our athletic abilities” - Mashaier

Miss Molly Affolter

YEAR 8 – GOLDEN GROVE

Sports Day 2021- SA Athletics Stadium Tuesday 14th September

“I was lovely weather and nice to not have any bugs” - Maira
“The teams were very competitive” - Mariam
“Everyone was hyped and the chants were great” – Afia
“It was fun. I loved the long jump” – Tasnim
“The stadium was awesome”

Kind regards,
Year 8 Teachers

YEAR 9 – GOLDEN GROVE

Sports Day

On Tuesday of week 9, the 7-12 students from both the Elizabeth campus and Golden Grove campus participated in the 2021 Pinnacle College Secondary Sports day SA Athletics Stadium. A very successful and enjoyable day!

Kind Regards,
Miss Bronte Dahms
Year 9 Humanities

YEAR 10 – GOLDEN GROVE

GOLDEN RATIO

In mathematical methods, this year, the year 10 stage 1 students were informed of the wondrous ways of the golden ratio. It is believed that Martin Ohm (1792–1872) was the first person to use the term “golden” to describe the golden ratio. The golden ratio is known to be recognised in almost every aspect of life. The Golden Ratio of Beauty Phi dates back to the Renaissance in Europe. The equation was employed by several artists to enable them to create numerous masterpieces. The optimal solution, according to the Golden Ratio, is around 1.6. The golden ratio can be found in all forms of life. For example dolphins (the eye, fins, and tail all fall at Golden Sections), human body, starfish, sand dollars, sea urchins, ants, and honey bees all have similar inclinations.

Sports day 2021 - SA Athletics Stadium

“When there is teamwork and sportsmanship, there is victory” - Ainoor
“Gilbert finally lost their streak” - Monera
“Im dddddyyyyyyiiiiinnnnggggg” - Rayennne

Year 10 Basketball

In week 8, some of the year 9 and students participated in the Northern Zone Basketball competition. A great day was had by all!

Kind regards,
Miss Molly Affolter
Year 10 Teacher

FOUNDATION – GILLES PLAINS

Term 3 has so quickly come to an end, with students now slowly exploring the writing of sentences and showing their understanding of tallying and addition in Math. With the school holidays upon us, reading every day and the revision of tricky words is a must, to help our Foundation students reach their reading and writing goals. Many thanks to you dear parents. for your support this term.

Kind Regards
Ms Victoria Makowiak

YEAR 1 – GILLES PLAINS

Term 3 has been so busy in Year 1 with students creating wonderful transport system models for HASS and presenting them for the class for English. For Digital Technologies and Media Arts, students worked very hard in groups to put together their very first claymation of the Tiddalik Indigenous Dreamtime story. First they made backgrounds and foregrounds, then they sculpted characters and took hundreds of photos to create the story. Finally, students made a voice over to complete the video. I hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

Warm regards
Mrs Sandra Holland

YEAR 2 – GILLES PLAINS

This term has gone so quickly and we have had so many exciting things happen. Our class enjoyed learning about mixtures at the Science incursion and we made lava lamps, slime and experimented with other mixtures. We also explored the planets through VR and discovered characteristics of each planet.

Warm regards
Mrs Eleni Rocca

YEAR 3 – GILLES PLAINS

Dear Parents,

This term has been out of this world! In Science, we have been learning about how the Sun, Moon and Earth work together to cause the change of Day and Night. We have created wonderful dioramas to demonstrate this phenomenon, and recently we even blasted off into space on a Virtual reality adventure. We also visited the Adelaide Planetarium and learned so many new things about planets and constellations!

Kind Regards,
Miss Kerry Apergis

YEAR 4 – GILLES PLAINS

Dear Parents,

Term 4 has come to an eventful end with the Year 4s taking part in many exciting activities, such as the Book Week ‘book tasting’, kindly arranged by our librarian. I encourage the students to continue reading and practicing what we have learnt over the upcoming holidays.

Kind Regards,
Ms Mubarak Ashimajy

YEAR 5 – GILLES PLAINS

How fast has this term gone? We completed our procedure writing by cooking yummy sausage rolls. We also delved into our favorite books and wrote a book review about it. I am very proud of the students and what they have achieved this term. You will receive the NAPLAN results soon. Make an appointment to see me if you have any questions.

Kind Regards,
Mrs Shalini Moss

LOTE - Arabic

Dear parents,

This term year 5s had different areas in Arabic, they learned about (حروف الجر) and by the end of the term they did a project about it, they enjoyed it. For year 3s and 4s, they also had many exciting things. They learned (أدوات الأستفهام) the meaning and how to use it in sentences. Many thanks to all of you for your support and efforts with the students.

Warm Regards,
Ola Abdelmonem
LOTE Teacher

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