10 March 2023

Newsletter Articles

OUR MISSION, VISION & 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 friends,

Welcome to a new year and a new term. I hope everyone had a relaxing break and a wonderful holiday period.

It has been a fast paced start for all schools due to NAPLAN starting earlier this year. It’s just a couple of weeks away and everyone feels the pressure and excitement already. After having great results last year, it has become a big task on our shoulders to preserve the good reputation for this year as well. I wish all the best for Year 3, 5, 7 and 9 students in their tests.

Unfortunately, we had to cancel our annual Welcome BBQ this year due to Turkiye and Syria earthquake. I would like to take this opportunity and extend my heartfelt sympathy to those who lost their loved ones in this tragedy. The region is going through a very hard time and as Pinnacle College, we had several fundraising events to show our support as much as we can along with the Australian Relief Organisation (ARO).

Our first Primary School Parent’s Interviews will kick off this week. Please make the most of it and keep communicating with your child’s teacher in the future to achieve the best outcome for your child’s learning.

Golden Grove Secondary building completion is coming to an end and will be available for our students to use early next term. In spite of many state wide construction issues, we were able to come this far and we are all so excited to be able to see our students in the new building with the new facilities. I also would like to thank our parents for their understanding and support especially after school when picking up their children. The traffic has been very hectic lately and it will be the case for a bit longer. Please continue to be patient so that everyone will be safe and happy.

Gilles Plains car park upgrade is almost complete and with the new car parking area, our parents pick up and drop off will be much easier. However, I would like to kindly remind our parents to obey the rules in the carpark. It’s everyone's duty to keep every child safe on school grounds. This can only be achieved by following the safety rules and being patient in the car park especially when you are there to pick up your child.

Finally, I would like to welcome all new fantastic staff who have just recently joined our Pinnacle College family. Ms Carolina Hoyos, Ms Nikki Garland, Ms. Sally Zeunert, Ms Tursunay Elham, Ms Nurisha Smith, Ms Seydanur Selvi, Ms Shyamali Jayasena (Golden Grove) and Mr. Rob Watkins as the new maintenance manager. I wish them all the best in their new roles.

I wish everyone an amazing and fruitful year.

Kind Regards,
Mr Atilla Sinik

PRIMARY COORDINATOR

Dear Parents,

Welcome to the new school year 2023 at Pinnacle College, and a special welcome to our new families. We started clubs this year for the last two lessons on Fridays to increase our students' activities and extracurricular subjects, which improve their skills and give them more opportunities to learn.

The Children University Program is still offered at the school, and enrolment has increased this year. It is open to students in grades three through six.

Just a couple of reminders:

• Canteen lunch orders should be prepared at home prior to arriving at school as they will no longer be accepted at the front desk.
• Students and parents cannot change money at the front desk.
• Please be vigilant with arriving at school on time.
• Please schedule all appointments outside of school hours and avoid early pickups that disrupt school learning.
• Finally, I'd like to thank all of the students, staff, and parents who have been so supportive, and I encourage parents to contact me if they have any questions or concerns about their child. I'm excited to work with everyone in our school community to achieve great things for our students, school and community.

Kind Regards,
Mrs Ola Abdelmonem

JUNIOR PRIMARY CURRICULUM COORDINATOR

Dear Parents,

Welcome back to school for our returning students and a big welcome to our new parents, particularly those starting in Foundation this year! It can be a scary start for some children starting their big school but I hope the transition has been smooth!

Our first Parent Teacher Interviews will be happening in Week 6. It is a nice opportunity to say hello and meet your child’s teacher face to face in case you couldn’t make it to the Meet The Teacher event. This is also a good opportunity to ask and clarify any questions that you might have and to discuss any initial concerns. If you need longer than 10 minutes, please book another meeting with your child’s teacher in a different week as the time can go quite quickly and other parents will be waiting.

Please also be aware that we are no longer using A-E scale for grading in Foundation in Maths, English, HASS and Science. We will assess students using a 3-point scale; Above Standard, At Standard and Below Standard.

Kind Regards,
Mrs Chloe Rees

UPPER PRIMARY CURRICULUM COORDINATOR

Dear Parents,

It has been a busy few weeks on campus with Term 1 now in full swing. We warmly welcome families who are new to the school.

During Week 6, you will have an opportunity to meet with your child’s teacher. I strongly encourage parents to make the time to meet with your child’s teacher during these interviews. It is ideal to bring your child along and involve them in the discussion about their strengths and areas of improvement.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding teaching and learning at Pinnacle College, please do not hesitate to contact me through the front office. I look forward to working with you to improve your child’s learning.

Kind Regards,
Ms Sarah Watkins

INCLUSIVE EDUCATION COORDINATOR

Dear Parents,

Welcome to the 2023 school year at Pinnacle College!

My name is Mrs Kerry Sangermano and it is my pleasure to be taking over as Inclusive Education Coordinator this year for our Gilles Plains and Golden Grove Campuses.

As the Inclusive Education Coordinator, my primary role is to promote an inclusive learning environment that provides additional support for individual students and their learning needs. My goal is to ensure all students have access to an inclusive curriculum, where they may achieve their individualised goals and fully participate in the learning process.

I would like to welcome our new Learning support officer, Nikki Garland to our Pinnacle college family. Nikki has an extensive background in supporting students in educational settings. Both Nikki and Laura will be providing support to students within the classroom at our Gilles Plains campus.

If your child is currently on an individual learning plan (ILP) it will be reviewed towards the end of the term. The ILP is created by your child’s class/homegroup teacher and aims to outline the types of learning support provided, as well as the student’s learning goals. The document allows for teachers to cater lessons more effectively and provide the required support for your child’s individual learning needs.

In Term 2, a meeting will be arranged with you and your child’s teacher to discuss their individual learning plan and to inform you of the support your child is receiving. We highly appreciate your support as parents in your child’s education. Collaboration from teachers, parents, support staff and any healthcare providers will be highly beneficial in assisting your child in their learning journey. I look forward to meeting and working with you to help your child reach their full potential; this year and beyond. Please feel free to contact me at any time via email kerry.sangermano@pinnacle.sa.edu.au or arrange a time via the front office to discuss your child’s ILP.

Kind Regards,
Mrs Kerry Sangermano

LIBRARY

Dear Parents,

Welcome to the library in 2023.

It is time to think about the Premier’s Reading Challenge. This year is the 20th anniversary of the PRC, so they are asking for students to read 20 books. Forms are not due until September but… The first year 3 4 5 or 6 class that turn in all of their forms to the library will earn a pizza party later in the year. It is expected you have read all the books on the list and that you can tell an adult about the book. Ask your teacher for your form. Parents, teachers, librarians or SSOs can confirm that you have read the books. Reception, Year 1 and 2: your lovely teacher is doing this for you.

When returning this year, we have had lots of overdue books. It is the policy of the school; you cannot borrow library books, if you have overdue books. If you think you have returned the book, please come talk to me in the library. If you have paid for the books, you will not get a refund if you have found the book. You may keep the book. If you or your students would like to recommend books for the library, please use the QR code.

Here is a picture of a young lady who LOVES to read at Gilles Plains Pinnacle College.

Keep Reading,
Mrs Lisa Preston (Librarian)

PASTORAL CARE

Dear Parents,

Great news! Since the third week, our regular pastoral care programs have been in progress on Tuesdays between 15.45 and 17.45. The majority of Year 6 students have participated in these programs. Congrats to Ms Ola and the Girls PC team! They did a great job by organising food stalls for fundraising for the earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria in the last few weeks. Lately, they have also organised a treasure hunt game for the whole school. We, the GP Pastoral Care Team, are very excited as we are approaching the holy month of Ramadan. May Allah reach us in that fruitful month and let us achieve lots of good deeds.

Kind Regards,
Pastoral Care Team

SRC

Dear Parents,

Dear Families,

Welcome to the 2023 School Year!

The Gilles Plains Student Representative Council (SRC) is made up of two Representatives from each class. Through the SRC, students are given a formal ‘voice’ within the school to respond to student concerns and develop community school spirit. In addition, the SRC will initiate some of the school’s fundraising events this year.

Now, it is our pleasure to introduce the 2023 Student Representative Council (SRC) Members:

Foundation: Zaid Ahmad, Maraam Aoid
Year 1: Ismael Safi, Jana Chehade
Year 2: Ali Usman, Sofia Kabbara
Year 3: Adam Sayed Ahmed, Ayesha Puthawala
Year 4: Amr Chama, Nadia Kabbara
Year 5: Afeef Mustafa, Ziba Tugluk
Year 6: Yassin Sayed Ahmed, Tahmida Aleena

Congratulations to all our elected students. We look forward to working with you all this year and appreciate your enthusiasm and commitment to promoting a greater student voice at Gilles Plains!

Please take note of the important dates to remember in Term 1.

Kind Regards,
Miss Kiya Norris and Miss Reem Musa
2023 SRC Coordinators.

FOUNDATION

Dear Parents,

I would like to thank you and your children for a wonderful start to the 2023 school year! My name is Miss Kiya Norris, and I will be your child’s teacher this year. The first few weeks have been full of exciting learning experiences, establishing routines, and developing lifelong friendships. I am excited for the year ahead, as your children are already showing such enthusiasm and motivation towards learning. Thank you for your continued support.

Kind Regards,
Miss Kiya Norris

YEAR 1

Dear Parents,

My name is Carolina Hoyos and I am the Year 1 teacher this year. We have been very busy these past few weeks learning about living and non-living things in Science. Students have been learning about habitats and the needs of living things. In HASS, we have learnt about different types of families and celebrations around the world. I can't wait to share what we get up to throughout the year.

Kind Regards,
Mrs Carolina Hoyos

YEAR 2

Dear Parents,

Welcome to the start of your child’s Year 2 learning journey. It is sure to be an adventure with so many fun activities and learning experiences already taking place in our classroom and school community. Our first major project places children and their connections to the wider world on the map. With your assistance, students will collect their family’s geographical history and share their connections with the rest of the class, to build interesting and intertwined webs. If you have photographs, postcards or coins from other counties to add to our display, please send them to school clearly named. To learn more about weeks 1 to 5, you can view our tourist snapshots in the gallery below.

Kind Regards,
Ms Bianca Villani

YEAR 3

Dear Parents,

What a start to the year! It is hard to believe that we are nearly half way through the term. Our class has enjoyed learning about the indigenous history of our country and implementing some local Kaurna language into our classroom routines. We have also had a wonderful time creating artworks based on the Australian bushland. Our class has also enjoyed keeping our school clean and focusing on recycling to help protect the environment. We are looking forward to continuing to make great progress in all learning areas over the remainder of the term and, of course, throughout the rest of the school year.

Kind Regards,
Mr Peter Sowerbutts

YEAR 4

Dear Parents,

It has been a fabulous start to the new school year. The highlight so far has been our excursion to the Cleland Wildlife Park. Students fed kangaroos and saw a variety of native Australian animals. We were treated to a presentation by Andrea about life cycles, which included touching some rescued animals.

Kind Regards,
Ms Sarah Watkins

YEAR 5

Dear Parents,

Welcome to another exciting year at Pinnacle College! The Year 5s have had a highly productive start to the year, revising previous content in preparation for the upcoming NAPLAN assessment. We have also been learning about States of Matter in Science. We completed an experiment by freezing different liquids to see how the change in temperature would affect them. We cannot wait to complete more hands-on learning tasks as the year progresses! In the meantime, I highly encourage students to continue revising, particularly their times tables and basic, high-frequency spelling words.

Kind Regards,
Miss Mubarak Ashimajy

YEAR 6

Dear Parents,

We have had a great start to the year. It’s hard to believe we are already halfway through Term 1! It has been lovely getting to know the students and all of you and we have settled into our new school routine. Students have been busy learning about Natural Disasters in Science and our neighbouring countries in HASS. We look forward to later in the term when we will be headed to Elizabeth East for a Quiz Day with all the Year 6s!

Kind Regards,
Miss Reem Musa and Mr Myles Mclean

RELIGION & VALUES

السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته

Welcome to 2023 academic year!

This term in all year levels, we are focusing on 6 pillars of faith: Belief in Allah, angels, holy books, prophets, the day of judgement and destiny. Most of our students are really curious about these topics and they ask me lots of questions, which is amazing.

In memorisation sessions, I have been preparing a portfolio for each student to see what they have memorised until now. It will be a guide for us to memorise the missing surahs in the list. Students will get a certificate and some rewards if they memorise all the surahs in their list.

Kind Regards,
Mr Huseyin Toker

TURKISH

Dear Parents,

Merhaba! (Hello!)

Benim adım Huseyin. (My name is Huseyin). Ben yeni Türkçe öğretmeniyim ( I am the new Turkish language teacher). This term, our students will be revising the Turkish Alphabet and they will learn about the numbers, colours, greetings and classroom materials. Some students need extra support and I spend more time with them while others are on their tasks. I also ask successful students to help their peers. Peer support is always very effective.

Kind Regards,
Mr Huseyin Toker

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