Dear Parents,
St Hilda’s accomplishes some amazing things in teaching and learning.  Our teachers know how important literacy and numeracy are for Junior School students and are always looking to improve teaching methods for optimum learning.  Many programs are available from both the commercial and education sectors, and are based on the following:

Children learn best when they are engaged.  For example, in problem-solving, children learn when the problem is in a context they understand and they are able to ‘have-a -go’. It is important for them to interact with other learners and to receive appropriate support from teachers who take into account the differences in children’s working memories which contribute to their rate of development. When this is taken into account, children consolidate their learning and develop deeper understanding.

Developmental progress maps (or continua) assist teachers to monitor students’ progress.   These continua include milestones and indicators to inform teachers of the likely developmental phase that a child has reached.  Certain behaviours provide a window into a child’s understanding.  For example, when a child uses his/her fingers to point at words, it indicates that the child is conscious of the importance of words and that each word is placed according to the meaning of the sentence.

Strategies and activities are designed to support the students’ phases of development.  Teachers carefully select those that best suit their students to enhance their ongoing progress.  Some activities can be used by all students irrespective of their abilities and developmental stages and others specifically target and support students at a particular phase of their development.

A map containing ideas for parents to use at home, and which is tailored to their child’s particular phase of development, complements the work done in the classroom.  In the past, this has been provided to parents of children in the early years only.  Next year, we anticipate providing workshops for parents to introduce the concept of problem solving, working memory and how to use the continua at home to support literacy development.

Many indicators of development are included in the semester reports as desirable targets for that Year level.  All teachers work with students to achieve these targets, and some students achieve the targets earlier or later than others, according to their development.  The Junior School reports contain the ratings of  ‘achieved’, ‘consolidating’, ‘working towards’ or ‘emerging’ to accurately capture each child’s phase and to provide encouragement for continued progress.

Parallel to academic learning is the journey of children’s social and emotional development. Children develop skills over time, in various contexts and, just as with literacy and numeracy learning, they need opportunities to take risks and try out their strategies in different contexts. As parents and teachers, our role is to provide them with the scaffolds to make progress and encourage them to recognise that, if an approach is not successful, they can pick themselves up, look at what didn’t work, plan differently and try again. Students need to be risk takers and be able to bounce back from disappointments.  Little steps of progress are better than no steps and, sometimes, specific intervention and extra support, time and experience are needed.

We are very fortunate at St Hilda’s to have Mrs Millie McLeod, our school psychologist and counsellor, who provides seminars, teaching programs, advice and support. Millie works closely with students, teachers and parents, empowering us all to continue to develop.
 
 Best wishes for Terms 3 and 4 and may you make steps whether they are great or small.

Julie QuanSing-Rowlands
Head of Junior School

Many Junior School students are looking forward to the celebration of Holy Baptism and First Holy Communion which will be held on 16 September in the School Chapel.  As well as initiating some students into the Christian faith through the ‘gateway’ sacrament of Baptism, a large number will receive Holy Communion for the first time after a course of preparation.  It is a great joy to welcome them into the next phase of their Christian journey.  I look forward to meeting parents, friends and families at the service, which is open to all members of the School Community.  If you wish to show your support for these new Christians, you are welcome to attend and take part in this celebration.

I have just attended the Australian Anglican Schools Network Conference in Adelaide.  As St Hilda’s is such a large community I was only slightly surprised to be greeted by a St Hilda’s Year 4 student and her mother at breakfast in the hotel, where many Anglican Chaplains, Principals, RAPS teachers and Council members were staying.  I was asked to facilitate a workshop on the subject of worship in schools, and the chair allocated was none other than a niece of Madame Putigny, the Head of Year 12!  What a small world we live in. 

At the conference there are many opportunities to discuss what it means to be an Anglican school, especially in striking the balance between quality academic education and living as a distinctively Anglican, Christian community.  For all Anglican schools the latter is as much a part of our ethos and purpose as the former; it is as important as ever to focus on both, as in the secular world there is increasing misunderstanding and intolerance of religious faith. Whether we like it or not, faith is a major factor in world events. Through RAPS and other studies we hope our students will be able to understand and evaluate these issues for themselves as they take their place in the world.

It was good to meet members from nearly all 160 Australian Anglican schools, share ideas and discuss a wide range of issues.  We are assured of the prayers and support of many other large communities such as our own as we seek, despite the distances between us, to ‘keep the rumour of God alive’ in Australia.

Please contact me at any time if I can be of assistance with any religious or spiritual matter.

Father Toby - School Chaplain toby.sherring@sthildas.wa.edu.au 9285 4100

Uniform Changes
St Hilda’s is very proud of its uniform and, although looking smart at all times is very important, the practicality of individual uniform items is regularly reviewed by the School’s Uniform Committee.  At the August meeting of the Committee the following two issues were discussed which have resulted in changes to the Junior School uniform:

Sun Protection
Improving the protection for young people’s skin is of paramount importance and, over the last few years, St Hilda’s has trialled two different types of sun hats - the bucket hat and the legionnaire’s cap.  For physical education and sport activities, the latter has proved the best as it offers shade for the students’ ears and neck, does not block visibility and stays on tightly during activity.  The bucket hat was less successful as it fell off with vigorous activity and it impeded visibility.

As of January 2010, all Years 1-6 students will need to have a legionnaire’s cap for all outdoor activities including playtime, PE, sport and informal excursions. Please note: The navy cap which is currently worn by some of the Junior School students will now only be used in the Senior School, so if your daughter already has one please keep it for use in Year 7.

Please also note that students wear their boaters for sun protection during formal excursions in all terms, summer or winter.

Scarves and Berets
Scarves and berets are optional winter uniform items and, as a result, are not worn by every student.  The rooms are warm so students wear them to and from school only.  Younger students tend to drop them or forget about them and there are scarves and berets all over the Junior School during the winter months.  As of Term 2, 2010, these items will be available only to students in Years 5 and 6.  If you have already purchased these items, please retain them for when your daughter enters Year 5.

Thank you for supporting the School’s uniform requirements. Parental support in this matter is very important and we greatly appreciate the effort which you make to send your daughter to school wearing her uniform correctly.

Extend-ED Requirement for Students
All children attending Extend-ED must bring a hat to participate in outdoor play.  It would be helpful for the children to have a spare hat from home in their school bag for this reason.

Volunteers for Junior School Mezze Needed
We are very short of volunteers for the Mezze.  If you are able to spare some time to help please contact Bev Muhling on 9285 4234.

Without parent assistance we may have to consider employing someone and this unfortunately would see Mezze prices increase.

St Hilda’s Holiday Program
The Crafty Kids holiday program for 3 to 9-year-olds will run from Monday 5 to Friday 9 October.  Two sessions will be available daily from 9.00am-12:30pm or 12:30pm-4.00pm.  Cost per day is $80 and $45 for a single session. 
                               
Flyer and enrolment forms will be available on the website and at Junior School Reception towards the end of Term 3.   Please read Friday Flyer for more details.

Michael Grose Workshop  - Working with Today’s Parents

Assembly and Accolades
At the Year 2 Assembly on Wednesday 3 June, the following students received Honour Certificates for their efforts in class:

Year 1:
Rachel Andrawes, Isabella Brett-Jensen, India Creed, Amelia Spence

Year 2:
Stella Brien, Maggie Brunner, Tanya Glennie, Siena McMeeken,
Shikira Simpson-Thomas, Ashleigh Yee

Year 3: Not present - on excursion to St George’s Cathedral

Year 4:
Savannah Armstrong, Charlotte Craig, Alyson Cox, Louise D’Souza,
Chloe Jones, Lauren Parker

Year 5:
Julie Brochstedt, Alisa Dowson, Hazel Dutton, Alexia Famelis, Claudine Mah, Sophie More, Berlie Toulekima, Alice White

Year 6:
Emily Benson, Lillian Buchholz, Charlotte Dickson, Katie Glasfurd, Alexandra Finlay-Jones, Megan Tonkinson

Also at this assembly an Honour Certificate was given by the Japanese Teacher Mrs Andrea Kurasho to Ashleigh Yee.

Assembly and Accolades
At the Year 5J Assembly on Wednesday 17 June, the following students received Honour Certificates for their efforts in class:

Year 1:
Sophie Harben, Iman Kaplanian, Chidakaashi Paul, Mya Teh

Year 2:
Shauna Aitken, Holly Crow, Alice Dring, Thea Hine, Emily Poole, Elena White

Year 3:
Grace Appleyard, Xanthe Arundell, Gabrielle Balthazar, Annabelle Elias, Alexia Husin-Ali, Helen Pitchford

Year 4:
Ella Hall, Julia Mackay, Ruby Miorada, Mariella Panegyres, Emily-Paris Tan

Year 5:
Anisha Anderson, Vania Carolina, Olivia Fitzpatrick, Marissa Forbes,
Kirsten Lampacher, Gabrielle Le Miere, Alexandra Smith

Year 6:
Charlotte Brown, Shania Gardiner, Robyn Glennie, Emily Morgan, Laura Peh,
Taylor Smail

Also at this assembly an Honour Certificate was given by the Japanese Teacher Miss Kurasho Sensei to Hennah Psanoudakis.

Assembly and Accolades
At the Year 1 Assembly on Wednesday 24 June, the following students received Honour Certificates for their efforts in class:

Year 1:
Emily Allan, Beatrix Arundell, Livia Murphy, Ella Tomlinson

Year 2:
Christine Aitken, Anastasia Reynolds, Tara Sloan, Sophie Wheeler

Year 3:
Elizabeth Kay, Alexandra Lester, Alexandra McLaren, Stella Scott-Morey, Christine Simpson, Esther Sumich

Year 4:
Aimi Hachiya, Georgina Higgins, Sheridan MacFarlane, Stephanie Tan

Year 5:
Laura-Anne Aitken,  Hayley Guagliardo, Angelina Holland, Elyse Raymond, Madeleine Scurry, Rebecca Smith

Year 6: Not Present – Attending IPSHA Winter Games

Assembly and Accolades
At the Year 5S Assembly on Wednesday 29 June, the following students received Honour Certificates for their efforts in class:

Year 1:
Ella Caldwell, Amy Colton, Darcy Mason, Olivia Spadanuda

Year 2:
Phoebe Browne-Cooper, Lara Dale, Sophie Townes, Charlotte Wrenn

Year 3:
Grace Appleyard, Chloe Bryant, Jazzlyn Jansen, Caroline Murphy,
Sara Palfrey, Tabitha Woo

Year 4:
Ella Busby, Zoe Longley, Madison Perry, Caitlin Ward

Year 5:
Victoria Allen, Jessica Lee, Natasha Mehl, Katie O’Grady, Amy Ouyang,
Hennah Psanoudakis, Lauren Young

Year 6:
Kelly-Anne Baldwin, Lara Edmands, Marcella Kandiah, Sarah Moody,
Siya Narayan, Isabella Serra-Jones

Assembly and Accolades
At the Year 4N Assembly on Wednesday 5 August, the following students received Honour Certificates for their efforts in class:

Year 1:
Olivia McLaren, Angelique Preau, Sarah Toulekima, Felisha Xu

Year 2:
Nellie Grayling, India Sturgeon, Stephanie Whelan, Alicia Xu

Year 3:
Eden Bombara, Camdyn Brown, Kim Dutton, Alyssa George, Emma Holloway, Olivia Morrison, Octavia Reynolds

Year 4:
Lauren Bond, Ella Coulthard, Madeline Lee, Ashiyana Malil, Zari O’Connor, Olivia Rimmer

Year 5:
Kelsey Bowes, Anna Fischer, Isabelle Honey, Eshreena Karwall, Ann Linehan, Sophie More, Sascha Oliver, Emily Parkinson

Year 6:
Emma Colwell, Vinuri Gajanayake, Portia Lee, Catherine McLure,
Indra Martin, Charlotte Palfrey

IPSHA Cross Country
Congratulations to all of the girls who participated in the IPSHA Cross Country at Perry Lakes on Wednesday 26 August.  They displayed excellent sportsmanship on the day and were outstanding representatives for the School with about 100 girls competing in each Year group. The results are as follows:

Year 4
1st Julia MacKay, 4th Madeline Lee, 10th Mariella Panegyres, 11th Georgina Higgins,
22nd Sophie Colton, 34th Holly Varney, 38th Olivia Rimmer, 40th Chloe Jones,
41st Ruby Miorada, 55th Ariella Steinberg, 65th Grace Fermanis, 67th Lara Plowman,
69th Natalie Felstead, 73rd Olivia McFarland, 85th Emily-Paris Tan

Year 5
5th Eleanor Sowerby, 18th Kate Swallow, 29th Matilda Birchall, 42nd Isabelle Honey,
43rd Celeste Kalnenas, 48th Gabrielle Le Miere, 55th Beverley Lim, 59th Sophie More,
61st Natasha Mehl, 62nd Alisa Dowson, 65th Montana Lane, 76th Rosie Peden,
85th Francis Schulz

Year 6
7th Megan Tonkinson, 15th Jaime Slabbert, 24th Emily Benson, 27th Georgina Davis,
51st Emma Wittenoom, 59th Eleni Tsaknis, 60th Siya Narayan,
76th Monika Blankenburgs, 79th Alexandra Finlay-Jones, 88th Christina Grant,
92nd Mira Setorio, 93rd Ashley Skead, 94th Shania Gardiner, 96th Catherine McClure

Results of the International Competitions and Assessments for Schools
Congratulations to the following Year 6 students who received certificates in the International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS) – Science Competition

Distinction
Leila Kint , Laura Peh

Credit
Julia Baddock, Lara Edmands, Christina Grant, Mika Kemp, Sarah Moody,
Charlotte Palfrey

Gymnastics Challenge
Congratulations to Jazzlyn Jansen 3M for winning the intermediate division level 1 competition in the recent Western Australian Gymnastics Loftus Challenge.

Western Australian Hockey Tournament
Congratulations to the following Year 6 students who participated in, and won the Western Australian Hockey Tournament held in Bunbury during Term 2:
Monica Blankenburgs, Georgina Davis, Robyn Glennie, Rachel Puglisi,
Megan Tonkinson

Interschool Minkey
A special congratulations to the St Hilda’s Year 3 Hotshots who completed the season undefeated.  This was an excellent effort by all players:
Alyssa George, Jazzlyn Jansen, Alexandra McLaren, Bianca Naumann,
Hayley O’Donnell, Sara Palfrey, Octavia Reynolds, Charlotte Romberg,
Stella Scott-Morey, Sacha Smail

2009 Literature Prize Now and Then

Raising Resilient Kids
Fifty Junior School parents attended a thought-provoking and informative session run by Debbie Bushell, a parent/student coach and presenter on Wednesday 5 August. Her topic for consideration was what parents can do to optimise the chances of raising resilient kids.

Debbie went through what we can learn from research, and, even though, genetically, children differ in their predisposition to resilience – some are born more able to bounce back from adversity – there are skills and ways of thinking that can be learnt.  The very positive message was that, with a few techniques, parents can assist in training children’s mindsets to be more resilient.  We can teach our children strategies of emotional intelligence.

A seminal study of self-control, The Marshmallow Study, illustrated the importance of helping children learn to resist temptation and wait for a reward; in this case they were instructed that they could eat a marshmallow now or wait and have two later.

Debbie introduced the concepts of rescuing versus supporting. Difficult as it can be as a parent to stand by and watch your child struggle and sometimes fail, this is precisely what we need to do to encourage resilience.  Debbie provided many examples and introduced skills parents can use to support their children’s struggles.  Specific techniques were outlined such as the use of ‘priming’ when a parent can plant a thought; for example, you have lots of energy and your muscles work well before an athletics meet.

Parental authority styles were discussed to reveal that research supports the authoritative style as being the most effective.

The evening was full of examples and anecdotes as well as practical tips and participants are eagerly awaiting a return engagement.

Millie McLeod – School Psychologist

St Hilda’s Teachers at National Technology in Schools’ Conference
Robin McKean – Deputy Head of Curriculum, David Murdoch and Jessica Nailer – Year 4 teachers, recently attended and presented at the Expanding Learning Horizons Conference.  This was held in Lorne, Victoria, where 300 teachers and technology experts from around the country gathered to focus, innovate and inspire.

Robin McKean presented her paper on the range of e-learning devices and activities that are being used at St Hilda’s including static and mobile devices as tools for learning differentiation. 

David Murdoch and Jessica Nailer shared their Let’s Read Smart program, demonstrating how interactive Web2.0 technologies can be integrated seamlessly into the school program to enhance learning opportunities for students.

Several trends became evident. The movement of students towards social networking is massive and to be expected.  As such, the need to educate our students and teach them the importance of cyber safety.  By avoiding situations, or by navigating away from them when confronted, students will be able to maintain their level of cyber safety.  This education is vital from an early age, so that correct measures can be taken when a child is removed from the safe confines of the school environment. 

Kindergarten News
In our classroom we are investigating, learning and consolidating all aspects of our program. This term we are concentrating on our School community, people who work in our wider community and parents’ involvement in their areas of expertise in parent projects.
 
Our continued interactions with our Year 5 buddies are focusing on the changing environment relating to the seasons.  At present we are gathering information and have visited the Junior and Senior School to compare, contrast and learn more about our School and the roles of various workers.

Our portfolio-sharing afternoon enabled the children to reflect on their work with their parents and discuss their favourite piece and why.

Sandi Duckworth and Erin Jones - Kindergarten Teachers

YEAR 3 Incursion: The Role of Women in Aboriginal Culture
On Tuesday 30 June, Belinda Cox from the Department of Environment and Conservation came to speak to the Year 3 students.  Belinda is from the Nyoongar Tribe and she shared with the students a plethora of fascinating information about the role of women in Aboriginal culture. 

The students learnt about the importance of the Elders, the type of lifestyle traditionally followed by the Nyoongar people, as how to identify, gather and prepare many types of bush foods.  They had their faces painted with a ‘face of knowledge’.  This incursion provided the students with a wonderful opportunity to find out, first-hand, about Aboriginal culture and the important role that women play within it. 

Thanks to Belinda, it was a really interesting and enjoyable visit which was a very fitting conclusion to the Year 3 Inquiry Learning Project about food.

Jenni Massey and Beth Stubbs – Year 3 Teachers

Bound for South Africa
During the July school holidays I was lucky enough to travel to South Africa with the Millennium Kids team consisting of Catrina-Luz Aniere and Kate Laurendi. It was a great learning opportunity for me to experience another culture and to further my understandings and experiences of sustainability issues and practices on a global level.  At St Hilda’s, at a local level, we had been learning all about our Swan River, the impact of climate change and human use on our waterways, and the importance of water as a natural resource. We researched different countries in Africa such as Mauritania and Mali and discovered similarities in our histories and our environmental issues.

My trip to South Africa gave me the chance to work with children and community members to establish sustainability goals in their communities. We facilitated the same audit process that we used with Millennium Kids at St Hilda’s: What we like about our community, what we don’t like and what we would like to change. We found that water was the major concern. Issues such as: accessing water for drinking, watering food gardens, working toilets and water quality. The students clearly highlighted in their audits that water-related issues were areas they wanted to change in their communities. At Zeerust Primary School, the students organised a huge ‘Clean up the Molopo River’ day and managed to get other stakeholders involved such as local councils, youth boards, community elders and leaders, to help facilitate this event. It was wonderful to see young people demonstrate passion for their environment and emerging leadership skills.

At Ntshidi Middle school, situated on the Botswana border in the poorest village, the students we worked with had limited access to water, power and educational resources. On the last trip they determined they wanted to access water on the school site to establish a food garden. With the funds raised by the Year 5s with their popcorn orders, we were able to assist the school with the future installation of a roundabout play pump. This will allow the students to play and, at the same time, pump water into a water tank for the school to access on site.  I was able to present the dolls and goodwill cards made by the Year 5 students as part of their community service activities to the school board for the students at Ntshidi.

It was an amazing adventure, life-changing to say the least. The villages we worked in, the beautiful children who sang like angels and the young Millennium Kids team from such difficult backgrounds who are passionate about making positive changes in their communities, all contributed to a very rewarding experience. I now look forward to sharing with the St Hilda’s students the environmental and social issues that face the communities I visited in South Africa, the parallels between our own issues with the Swan River and our precious water resources, and to continue with our sustainability theme of acting locally and thinking globally.

Tonia Ranford – Year 5 Teacher

Year 5 Popcorn Fund Raiser
In support of Mrs Ranford’s visit to South Africa and as part of their community service, Year 5 students decided to raise funds to provide the pupils of Ntshidi Primary School with a water pump.

Students marketed popcorn by producing posters and raising awareness of their project during assemblies.  All popcorn was pre-ordered beforehand and when made, delivered to each student in time for recess.
With the help of a number of parents, 300 bags of popcorn were made, raising $800. There were two sizes of popcorn, small and large, each weighed by the Year 5 students to ensure all pupils had an equal amount.

The popcorn was delivered to each class and was enjoyed during recess by the whole school community.

Lisa Soroko – Year 5 Teacher

St Hilda’s Making a Mark on Ladner Park
St Hilda’s Junior School in conjunction with Mosman Park Council will be adopting Ladner Park (next to the Junior School on McCabe Street) to care for and revegetate.

 This is a wonderful opportunity for the students to nurture and learn how to care for grasstrees in the area through native planting and restoring their natural setting.  The students will learn what makes healthy grasstrees, the role that birds and insects play and how replacing the lost ‘understory’ will help to build and maintain a healthy grasstree ecology. 

Planting Day will be during Landcare Week 5 – 13 September.  The Council will prepare the site prior to the day and has agreed to water the plants for a 12-month period after the planting.  It is anticipated to be an ongoing project that the students will be able to enjoy, learn from and watch as the transformation occurs.

Kerry Pemberton – Year 6 Teacher

St Hilda’s Netball
With the allure of a five-game winning streak and the premiership flag at stake, the Year 6 St Hilda’s Team 1 had a lot to achieve in their last game of the 2009 netball season.  After a very busy week performing in the School Production, the Year 6 students had to muster their energy for one more tilt to win their pennant.

With minutes to go the scores were tied at nine all.  A fast break and a flip, flip of passes from the back court landed the ball in the hands of one of our shooters.  In the next tense minute the girls defended the centre pass and pressured their opponent like a glove on a hand and an interception resulted.  As the ball was brought back into play, the seconds ticked down, and one more point for St Hilda’s clinched the victory, The final whistle was a welcome sound.

 Mr Heath Pozzi – Year 6 Teacher

Music
Year 6 Production
Congratulations to every Year 6 student who recently performed in the 2009 Production The Story Biz.  This year there were four performances, the first being the matinee which was attended by all Junior School students.  This was followed by three evening performances for parents and friends.  

The Production was based on the Grimm Brothers’ story of the Twelve Dancing Princesses.  Each of the Year 6 classes presented the story in a different style.  Students from Year 6M presented it in its original setting, complete with eight dancing princesses, a royal palace, a king and a Chancellor of the Exchequer.  The Year 6PE class presented the story as a tale of the wild west, with bootscooting, tap dances and good and bad witches from various directions.  Year 6PO transformed the story into a modern saga about a wealthy hotelier’s family with problems of consumerism and global warming. 

The wonderful Year 6 cast did a fabulous job with many dances, songs and speaking lines.  They all looked spectacular in the beautiful costumes which an army of mums helped to create along with an interesting collection of props. 

Thank you to all the parents and staff who helped in an amazing team effort. Everyone enjoyed both the process as well as the result!

Louise Bladen- Music Department

Physical Education
Cross Country
Congratulations to all our wonderful cross country participants.  It is pleasing to see the effort and determination of all our students and their willingness to ‘have-a-go’.  Keep up the enthusiasm and House spirit.   

Congratulations to the following students for their fantastic cross country achievements:

Year 4
Champion: Julia Mackay (Fitzroy), Runner-Up: Madeline Lee (Fitzroy)

Year 5
Champion:  Eleanor Sowerby (De Grey), Runner-Up: Kate Swallow (Fitzroy)          

Year 6
Champion: Jamie Slabbert (Gascoyne), Runner-Up: Megan Tonkinson (De Grey)   

The final House placings were:
1st De Grey, 2nd Gascoyne, 3rd  Fitzroy, 4th  Blackwood

Congratulations to the following students who have been selected for the squad and have the chance to compete at the IPSHA Girls’ Cross Country event at Perry Lakes on Wednesday 26 August.  A schedule is available for training times and venues.  Please remember that the final team will be announced closer to the date and training attendance will certainly be considered when selecting the team.  We wish all our participants the very best for their upcoming competition.

IPSHA Girls’ Perry Lakes Cross Country Team 2009

Dates for the Diary
Wednesday 23 September             Interhouse Field Events
Friday 24 September                     Interhouse Track Events

Minkey
Well done to all our girls for their involvement in the 2009 Minkey season.  It has been an exciting time for the girls to develop new skills and work together as a team.  Thank you to our parents who always ensure their daughters’ attendance at training and games and provide encouragement and support throughout the season.  Thank you also for brilliant first aid skills over the season.  Thank you very much to our fantastic coaching team of girls for the wonderful support, knowledge and enthusiasm they pass on to all our students: 
 
Year 1 St Hilda’s Strikers  - Sarah Wood 
Year 1 St Hilda’s Ninjas – Claire Platt, Imogen Everist and Mr Allan
Year 2 St Hilda’s Warriors – Caitlin Sweeting
Year 2 St Hilda’s Hunter – Rhyll Wilson
Year 3 St Hilda’s Rockets –  Margie Olivier
Year 3 St Hilda’s Hawks – Genevieve Woods and Madeleine Jude
Year 3 St Hilda’s Hotshots – Fiona Naumann and Lisa McLaren
Year 4 St Hilda’s Hurricanes  – Amber Davy
Year 4 St Hilda’s Tornados- Emma Woods

We look forward to another fun and enjoyable Minkey season in 2010.

Netball
Congratulations to all players and coaches involved in the 2009 netball season.  The girls have made excellent progress in developing their skills and game-play on court and have shown a determined and motivated team spirit.  For those teams who had to play teams in a higher age group, I commend you for your effort and positive attitude in accepting the challenge.  Thank you to all parents also for ensuring that our players are at those early morning training sessions and for getting the girls to their games on time.

Due to larger player numbers this season, we have had the opportunity to recruit more coaches and umpires from the Senior School who have worked diligently and enthusiastically in mentoring their young players.  It is wonderful to see our young coaches and umpires imparting their netball knowledge to our Junior School players.  Special thanks go to Georgia Oliver (Team 1), Bronte Hillam (Team 2), Rebecca Dickson (Team 3), Amy Forrester and Karina Beasy (Team 4), and Grace Maingard (Team 5) for their super coaching.  Without our umpires, we would be lost, so thank you also to Danielle Cheng, Grace Maingard, Karina Beasy and Susannah Ladyman for giving their time to umpire our games.

Well done to all the St Hilda’s teams and their coaches for their efforts in the 2009 netball season.  Every weekend presented new challenges with many players playing netball for the first time.

The enjoyment and improvement was evident every week in the enthusiasm and dedication the girls displayed to their team mates and their particular netball cause.  They all should be very proud of how they competed and represented St Hilda’s every week.

Go the Saints and congratulations on a terrific 2009 season.

Basketball
Letters regarding the Years 4-6 Perry Lakes Primary School Basketball competition will be distributed to all interested students. Training will be on Monday afternoons and games on Thursdays at Perry Lakes Stadium.  Please read the Friday Flyer for Term 3 training dates.  If anyone is interested in helping to coach, please contact Emma Wood in the Physical Education Department.

Waterpolo
Letters regarding the Years 4-6 Dolphins Waterpolo competition will be distributed to all interested students. Please read the Friday Flyer for Term 3 training dates.  If anyone is interested in helping to coach, please contact Emma Wood in the Physical Education Department.

For information and training schedules please contact Miss Wood in the Physical Education Department or have a look at the new physical education noticeboard.

Miss Emma Wood- Junior School Physical Education Coordinator

Rowing Support Group Fundraiser

This year the RSG is raising money to support rowing by making and selling Ravenous Rowers’ Muesli. This gourmet muesli comes in four delicious flavours Berry Bravado, Mango Madness, Apricot Applause and Apple Adventure.

We are selling 500g bags for $8.00 each. A limited number of bags are still available!

If you would like to purchase some muesli and support our rowers, please purchase your bags from the Development Office, Senior School Reception or the St Hilda’s Shop. The muesli is beautiful and your support will be sincerely appreciated.

There are no community notices this issue.

There is no quiz corner this issue - We'll be back with a new brain teaser next issue.

Dates for your Diary