7 March 2022

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 Parents and Carers,

I hope you enjoyed some refreshing time off over the holiday period. I would like to wish you all the best for 2022. Welcome back to the new academic year, and a special welcome to our new students and parents and also the first issue of the 2022 Newsletter.

I would like to acknowledge and welcome all new families who have joined us at Pinnacle College and thank you for choosing our school for your children. We wanted to host you at our annual Welcome BBQ however, due to the covid restrictions we could not organize it this year.

Recently, we had an official opening ceremony for the new additional building and many community leaders attended this important event. With this new project, we have extended our services to a new library, a decent size classroom, gym air-conditioner update and a new gym storage.

In addition to these new developments, we are also planning to make Pinnacle a better place. Therefore, we will construct 2 new shaded areas between Science/Art building and portable classrooms during term 1 holiday.

The Pastoral Care Department has already started their activities. I would like to thank the PC department for their ongoing support. They are planning to start visiting parents and organise events according to their interests. Additionally, some club activities will be offered to students such as hydroponics and sports.

Another important highlight is about the SRC department. In week 4, I had a meeting with school captains in my office. SRC meeting was held in week 5, from year 1 to year 12 each member talked about their views and projects about the school. I am so proud of seeing them being enthusiastic and excited about their projects. So, I would like to thank Mrs Nibal (SRC Coordinator) for this informal gathering.

Club activities have started at our school. Gardening, basketball, soccer, maker empire, art clubs are only a few examples amongst them. Relevant information will be shared by our teachers.

Pinnacle College has also started providing ‘art, digital, media and sports scholarships’ apart from academic scholarships. We believe it will be a huge encouragement for our students to develop their skills other than academics.

COVID precautions are still in place. Excursions and incursions will begin soon. We do a temperature check every single day before school starts. As soon as covid protocols change, we will look forward to welcoming all parents on the school grounds.

Lastly, please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any concerns. Parents are also more than welcome to bring projects or share ideas in order to make Pinnacle College a better place. Indeed, through education we can build a better world.

And please always remember “Education is the movement from darkness to the light.” as Allan Bloom states.

Till next issue…

Educationally Yours,
Mr Kot
Campus Principal, Elizabeth East

Community Hub News

Dear parents,

As a community engagement department, we would like to continue our programs with your valuable support.

Hopefully we will start our activities and class afternoon teas in the following weeks which will make a great platform for us to be acquainted with the parents of students who have been sharing the same classroom setting for many years.

We would like to thank our principal Mr Kot and pastoral care teachers for devoting their valuable time to visit our hard-working students and congratulate their families for their contributions. On a Saturday evening, we visited the families of Mr Muhammed Anwar and Mr Ablikim Litip’s and would like to thank year 11 students, Omar and Abdul Rehman for their ongoing dedication to their studies.

And special thanks to those families who shared the beautiful grounds of Glen Ewin Estate for fig picking activity with us last Sunday.

We look forward to your continued support!

Regards,
Mrs Serap Sinik-Community Engagement Officer

JUNIOR PRIMARY CURRICULUM COORDINATOR

The beginning of our 2022 school year has been quite different from previous years. It has been a challenge for some, however our students have risen to the occasion once again and have returned to face-to-face teaching with such positive energy. I would like to thank students and parents who have responded with great flexibility and understanding. We are very grateful for your support!

Our Reception and Year 1 students enjoyed having most of the school to themselves as they settled into their new learning environment. We have enjoyed welcoming our new Foundation students and loved meeting all our new parents. Staff have watched our youngest students navigate their first weeks of learning and they have all embraced their daily routines with increasing confidence. I am looking forward to watching our Foundation students grow and flourish in the years ahead.

Having your MYSIS login details will give you access to your child’s learning progress. This is a great way to know assessment dates, assessment types and results. If you have any questions in regards to MYSIS, please see your child’s teacher.

Tips for Junior Primary Parents:

Improving your child’s Pencil Grip

The most efficient way to hold a pencil is the dynamic tripod grasp (similar to that in the image below) where the pencil is positioned between the thumb and index finger with the pencil resting on the middle finger.

If your child needs support with using the correct pencil grip, fine motor activities can help them develop the skills they need to hold their pencil functionally, and write more easily. You can also purchase pencil grips (example below) to strengthen their grip.

Fine Motor Strength

Children need strong hands and fingers for a whole range of day to day activities for school and play. As well as enabling functional pencil grip, strong wrists, hands and fingers helps children write with endurance and fluency.

Some great exercises to help build your child’s fine motor strength include:

Paper Crumpling: Have your child crumple up sheets of newspaper or scrap paper into the smallest, tightest ball possible. Increase the challenge by only letting them use one hand to crumple the paper.

Playing with play-dough:

• Make a spider or octopus by having your child first roll the play dough into a ball, flatten it, and then pinch out eight legs using their pincer fingers (thumb and index finger),
• Make spaghetti by having them pull off small pieces of play dough and roll them into long ‘noodles’,
• Making animals or objects using the play dough.

I look forward to witnessing all the students’ positive successes throughout the year.

Kind Regards,
Maria Vokolos

Library

Welcome to the library in 2022. There will be lots of exciting events in the library this year. The Premiers Reading Challenge is starting again. The forms will be kept in the classroom or library, so they don’t get lost or crumbled. Students only need to read 12 books to complete the PRC. We are hoping to have a prize for the 1st class (years 3-6) to completely finish the challenge. Please encourage your children to read any books and add to their PRC form in their classroom. The year 5-6s are volunteering for Library Monitors. There will be a Book Cup competition where the year 5 and 6s will read 5 books and compete in a quiz style competition.

We all need to remember to take care of our books, so they will last. Please do not have books around food, drink or pets. Please do not take books out into the weather. But the most important thing is to return your library books to the library. We still have quite a few books overdue from last year.

A reminder if your student has ANY overdue books (including overdue books from 2021) they are NOT allowed to borrow ANY books from the library until all books have been returned or paid for.

Keep reading,
Mrs Lisa Preston

Primary

Foundation

We have had a great start to school. The children have settled in well and are making great friends. We have had some amazing visitors since the beginning of term. Healthy Harold came to visit and then we had some caterpillars. We enjoyed watching these turn into cocoons and cannot wait for them to hatch into beautiful Wanderer butterflies.

Kind regards,
Mrs Mirfin

Year 1

Welcome to another busy year! I hope we all had a wonderful holiday.

Please keep checking Seesaw for important announcements and messages and Coolsis for assessment details and grades.

I look forward to working with you side by side to help your child achieve their full potential.

Kind regards,
Mrs Nibal

Year 2

The Year 2 students have finally settled being back at school and they couldn’t be happier! We are all still getting to know one other, whilst building new friendships and getting used to all the new routines in place. Our favourite moments so far this term have been, teaching Miss P how to make fairy bread, using kinetic sand and lego to practice our spelling words, singing and learning different chants when learning about verbs, nouns and adjectives and working with our year 4 buddy class to make iMovies.

Year 2 Class

Year 3

What a great start to the year we have had! We’ve been enjoying writing narratives, learning about where we are from and setting goals for the year.

I liked learning how to tell the time - Qudratullah

Reading The Twits is the best - Ayesha

My favourite part of school so far is learning how to tell the time - Sarah

I liked setting goals - Idrees

Year 4

We have had a fantastic start to the year, all things considered. We have started learning new skills and techniques to improve our information report writing. During HASS we are continuing to learn about the different types of Rainforests and their climates.

Year 5

The Year 5 students have finally settled being back at school. We are all still getting to know one another, whilst building new friendships and getting used to all the new routines in place. We also have pet fish which we are all responsible for. One of our highlights thus far is in Technology we are studying Binary Numbers, this is how computers see our world.

Recognising that digital systems represent all types of data using numbers and codes that ultimately are patterns of 1s and 0s called binary. I look forward to working with you to help your child achieve their full potential.

Kind regards,
Mr Andrew Kazonis

Year 6

In Year 6 we have had a great start to the school year establishing our routines and expectations. The students are entering their final year of Primary School and have shown a tremendous attitude towards achieving their best academically. We are developing many positive learning habits such as time management and organisational skills that will serve us well in high school. We are looking forward to having a fun-filled year as we head towards graduating!

Primary Art

Dear Parents,

Year 5 students learn about camera basics and working on a storyboard for a video clip involving a story at school. Year 6 students learn about celebrated indigenous artist Olsen’s work. They have been working on watercolour paintings depicting aerial views of different land formations.

Foundation Religion and Values

Asslamalekum Warahmatuallah Wbarkatuhu

Dear Parents,

Alhamdulillah! Foundation had a great start in RV class by colouring and decorating I am a Muslim crown to be proud of their identity. They have learnt who is Allah and one of his 99 names ‘The Creator’. Also, students started to memorise Duaas and lots of surahs according to their abilities and levels.

Kind Regards,
Yasmin Aly,
Foundation RV teacher

Primary Arabic

Dear Parents,

At Pinnacle college, our focus is to acquaint the students with strong Arabic intonation, broad vocabulary acquisition and basic grammar understanding. Students in Year 1 are learning the Arabic alphabets and their sounds, they are learning to communicate their daily needs using simple language with teachers and among themselves, in addition to learning the colours, numbers and some sight words. In Sha Allah, with your support students can reach their full potential in Arabic classes.

Kind Regards,
Yasmin Aly,
Year1 Arabic teacher

Primary Turkish

Merhaba everyone!

In term 1, the Turkish students enjoyed learning about diverse and interesting topics and skills including spelling, listening, vocabulary and translating words and phrases from English into Turkish.

For example, Year 1 Turkish class are learning about Turkish alphabets, numbers and colours while Year 2 and 3 students are studying new vocabulary and phrases related to school life and daily routine at home. On the other hand, Year 4 and 5 Turkish classes engaged in learning how to greet people at different times/ situations and school-related topics such as things to do before school and homework.

Finally, Year 6 Turkish class worked on the topics of family, education and hygiene which is very important these days.

You can learn Turkish as well ☺

Kind regards,
Birol Sanli
Head of Turkish

Primary Religion and Values

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Students in Year 1 are enjoying their Religion and Values lessons. Students learnt why Allah is the only creator through Prophet Ibrahim's story of the discovery of Allah. We thanked Allah for giving us life and faculties of hearing and sight, our hearts and limbs, our strengths and abilities. We also learnt that He created all fruits with unimaginable beauty, taste, and colours, and then wrapped them in the most perfect manner and offered them to us. Students are still in the process of memorising Surah Al Fatiha.

Year 2 students spent the beginning of the term learning about the creation of the Prophet Adam and his sons, Habil and Qabil.

Finally, the students in Year 3 are learning about faith and the pillars of faith. The children were amazed to find out how air particles do many jobs like helping the travel of sound, heat, light, internet, tv signals at the same time without mixing them up.

Kind regards,
Mr Adem Adak

Inclusive Education

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself. My name is Saad Kalaniya and I have been appointed as the new Inclusive Education Coordinator at the Pinnacle College Elizabeth East Campus. I am honoured to take on this role to help support all students in their learning. I look forward to working closely in collaboration with parents and staff and aim to support the students to reach their full potential in their academic and well-being progress at school.

Since the start of the new academic year, the students and staff have been working hard and trying their very best to achieve academic success and excellence. Although the first two weeks have been challenging due to remote learning, the students have persevered through it thanks to the support of staff and parents. It is good to have all the students back at school, learning and excelling.

This year, the Inclusive Education Department has seen several changes. These include better use of technology to enhance learning and understanding, a new and exciting SSO room allowing for better engagement, introduced resources that allow students of all learning styles to benefit and a support structure that is more collaborative with staff and parents. There are also several wellbeing and life skills programs that will run throughout the year such as Home Economics, Creative Writing Club and a dedicated Wellbeing topic for high school students where they discuss and share ideas, opinions and questions. We also have a new school counsellor who is working closely with students to assist them with their social and emotional needs.

I look forward to what the year holds for us. If you ever have any questions about the Inclusive Education Department or would like to discuss your child’s educational or wellbeing needs, please feel free to contact me on inclusive.education@pinnacle.sa.edu.au

I hope that you and your family are safe and healthy during these trying times.

Thank you

Kind Regards
Saad Kalaniya
Inclusive Education Coordinator
Elizabeth East Campus

Secondary

HEAT

Dear Parents,

HEAT Department consists of Art, Technologies and Physical Education. So, as you can imagine there will be many exciting activities within our department, some of which include visits to the Art Gallery of South Australia, the Adelaide Fringe and Basketball tournaments. We are also very excited to announce first HEAT Scholarship recipients soon. Students devoted to Arts, Design and Technology and Sports will be contributing to the school environment soon!

Despite all the restrictions and setbacks due to COVID, it’s great to have our students back and we look forward to a rewarding year ahead!

Kind regards,
Selen Morkoc

Art

Year 7 students are learning about Anime and Manga style this term. They develop a character first as a poster followed by a comic book featuring the character as the protagonist.

Year 8 students are learning about how traditional Islamic Art involves using geometrical patterns. As their first project they develop a tessellation based on a motif they design.

Year 9 students have been practicing their drawing skills for the past 5 weeks.

Humanities

During Year 7 Humanities this term, students have been studying the Ancient World! They have taken on the role of historians and begun investigating ancient archaeological sites around the world. The Year 7 cohort have demonstrated a keen interest in their studies of the ancient world!

Science

Welcome to another year of Science. The stage 1 Biology class has started the year looking at the small world of microorganisms and cells using light microscopes. After completing the required task of dyeing onion cells with iodine the students looked for other interesting items they could observe.

Maths

Hello everyone.

I, Sami Hussein, have taken over the role of Head of Department for Mathematics. There are a couple of important announcements regarding the structure of mathematics, in 2022, that I would like to point out. They can be summarised as follows:

1. Semester examinations have been removed for year 7-9s. Instead, major term tests that include a combination of topics have taken its place and the category weightings have been adjusted accordingly.

1. We have introduced “Quick Formatives'' as an effective tool of feedback. This affects 5% of year 7-10 grades and 0% of SACE grades. The purpose of these short quiz style papers is to provide the teacher with immediate feedback on student understanding (assessment for learning) and students will be given individualised feedback as the teacher marks the paper. Feedback is most effective when the student cares. They are completed at least twice a week. From feedback received from some students, it is evident that they are already seeing the benefits of these papers. Refer to sample paper.

If you require any further information regarding the structure, we are using this year, please feel free to reach out to me at sami.hussein@pinnacle.sa.edu.au

Kind regards,
Sami Hussein
Head of Mathematics

Religion and Values

THE MISSION OF THE PROPHETS?

Allah has created the universe and humankind with the reasons. And Allah has explained all questions and reasons in the universe to humankind via His messengers and Prophets. As a prophet, there is a mission to be fulfilled. The prophets are called to preach the word of Allah. Also, they are called to give warnings and advice. The overall mission is to reveal the words of Allah to His people.

Allah does not give any responsibility to humankind before sending His messages and messengers. Allah has mentioned this significant point in the Quran; He said, “And never do We punish any people until We send a Messenger (to make the Truth distinct from falsehood)” (Surah Isra, 15).

According to the Quran and hadith of the Prophet Muhammad, throughout the history of the world around 124,000 prophets have been sent to humankind on a mission. As we mentioned above there are many prophets who have been chosen for their people by Allah. This mission that every Messengers of Allah was to invite and convince people to become a Muslim and believe in one God (Allah).

Unfortunately, some of the people did not believe in Allah`s messages and His prophets even though Allah has shown them many miracles to prove His existence. These people were mainly big tribes that had lots of wealth and power at the time and thought that no one could defeat them and that they are the strongest. But Allah shows these people that they are powerless by torturing them in many ways including winds that can destroy anything and anyone.

According to the Quran and Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad; the final Prophet is Prophet Muhammad; last Holy book is the Quran and final religion is Islam. Muslims believe that Prophet Muhammad’s mission was sent to conclude the line of the prophets. He was the final Messenger and Prophet of Allah; there is no more religion, holy book and Prophet.

By: Ahmed Alboasi – Year 8

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