Student Learning

What's been happening in Year 6 

Each Tuesday afternoon in Year 6 we participate in Leaders Passport. This is a time where our Senior students work in small groups, in engaging activities. They do woodwork, sewing, cooking, craft, and service in the community. In the Service component, each group has worked to earn money to purchase gifts for residents at Resthaven. We then walk there and spend time with the residents. We also walk to Seeds playgroup and assist at the playgroup, spending time with the children and helping run activities. There have been many comments from people in the community, about how they have loved seeing our students serve in this way. In the Cooking and Sewing group, they have been sewing their own apron, and also making Bento boxes with a range of yummy and healthy foods, to have for their lunch the following day. The Woodwork group has been designing and making boxes, which also requires sanding and painting. The Art group have been weaving and using different textiles to explore a range of art textures and designs. Tuesday afternoon is always a hive of activity in the Oasis building! Here is what some of our students have said about Leaders Passport:

Ellie - I loved walking to the Hub shops to get presents for the Resthaven people. We wrapped the presents then walked to Resthaven to give it to them in person. The Resthaven people loved it so much.

Ivy - I enjoyed Art because I got to do something of my passion and be creative with what I painted. I also loved the serve group because I got to go to Seeds playgroup and help out with the younger kids, and I got to give a gift to an elderly person. Woodwork so far has been fun, I have started to plan what I’m going to paint on my box and am very excited.

Elijah - In Leaders Passport, I enjoyed Serve, where we could serve other people. I loved helping out with the Seeds playgroup and playing with all of the kids there. It was a lot of fun doing things outside of school.

Tobi - I have really enjoyed doing woodworking because we can be creative and design my own paintings on the box. I have also really enjoyed making Bento boxes in because we learnt how to cook different things then we got to eat the Bento box for lunch.

Katie - I have really enjoyed art, as we have started basket weaving and it was really fun to decide what colours we wanted to use and also to figure out how to add more of one colour and how if you don’t pull the raffia tight enough the basket will curl and create its own shape.

Jesse - I have really enjoyed Home Ec in Leaders Passport because we have been cooking and it was really fun learning new recipes. I have also enjoyed making the aprons because sewing is a great skill to learn. I loved Serve because we got to give presents to the elderly people and the elderly person I gave my present to was telling me about petrol and farms and how I am going to save the world now that I learnt from him.

Lily - I liked cooking and sewing because I got to cook food and try new food and sewing was fun because I got to sew an apron and a bookmark.

Matti - In Leaders Passport I really enjoyed Home Ec because I really enjoy cooking which we got to do, and sewing was really fun too. We got to make a lot of different foods each Tuesday and then we made aprons. 

Warm regards,

Mel Carpenter & Julie Wicks

Year 6 Class Teachers

Foundation Excursion

In Week 5 the Foundation students went to Cleland National Park and had a lovely time meeting some new animals linked with our iUnit this term. We are investigating features of living things in both animals and plants. 

We met Bernadette the bandicoot, Helga the children's python, Merlin the bearded dragon and Freddo the green tree frog plus we got to pat Sampson the Koala. 

Some comments from the students about what they enjoyed during the excursion:

Lucy - I just loved the bus.

Cayden - We got to pat the Koala it felt very fluffy.

Chloe - I loved my mum coming and seeing the baby geese.

Jamie - My favourite part was the dingoes sleeping in the hay.

Rowan - My favourite was the snake because its got scales.

Alona - We saw a wallaby it was so cute.

Lisa Newbury

F/1N Classroom Teacher 

Science Week 

As part of the celebrating each day of Science Week 2023, the Campus Library displayed a selection of "hands-on" natural history treasures from the Pilgrim School Science Collection for students to examine and explore.

Following a theme linked to the first letter of each day, sea shells, mammal skulls, fossils, skins and marine plants were some of the displays promoting the wonders of God's creation that we are blessed with here in South Australia and abroad.

Andrew Harris

Year 3/4 Class Teacher 

During Science Week Year 2 students used the Beebots to program directions on a minibeast map. They also went to the library and enjoyed holding 'Spike' the bearded dragon.

Tricia Fuente

Year 2 Class Teacher

Year 3/4 Students Climbed Mt Everest

Well, not literally, but as of Friday 17th August, students in both our Year 3/4 classes had climbed over 9,000m vertically by completing stair climbs each day between the PAC and the Pilgrim building.

As a way to explore both the power of multiplication in Maths and the power of tiny individual actions contributing to a dramatic outcome, students measured the average height of a step and totalled the steps in the staircase to work out the height of one complete stair climb. By multiplying this vertical height by the number of stair climbs completed by individuals and the whole class, students could estimate and check daily totals and set weekly goals. Each week we used the total as a base camp marker placed up a scale model of the mountain.

Students researched how long it takes an expedition to complete a summit climb (2 months and tens of thousands of dollars - we did it in 3 weeks for no money and had a 100% survival rate thanks to honorary Sherpas Mr Harris, Mrs Spencer, Mr Ledson, Mrs Fallon, Mrs Harry and Mr Jenkin), compared heights to major peaks in Australia and even other planets, and reflected on what it means to contribute to a group effort and set personal goals (60 climbs in one session was the highest to date) and how important it is to complete a mission.

Now that we've submitted, the sky's the limit! We're going to keep heading up and explore the layers of our atmosphere as we learn about the history of flight, and even get to the edge of space and check out some satellites!

We've gone horizontally (walking to Antarctica by doing laps of the oval) and now vertically to shoot for the stars, so who knows where we'll go next? 

Andrew Harris and Libby Spencer

Year 3/4 Class Teachers

Year 3/4 Classroom Rubbish Challenge

This term in the Year 3/4 classrooms we set ourselves a challenge to monitor our classroom rubbish and see if we could do simple things to reduce our waste. By simply separating out our paper and metal products, our 10c recycling and our fruit scraps (taken home daily for composting), we have been able to reduce our classroom waste from one large bin bag a day being emptied to a single mini zip-lock bag a week (purely soft plastics from packaging). The implications of this simple change in thinking are enormous. Here are some photos to celebrate the success!

Andrew Harris and Libby Spencer

Year 3/4 Class Teachers

Premier's Reading Challenge 

The Premier's Reading Challenge (PRC) finishes in early September. I have received lots of record sheets, but if you haven't got yours in yet, fill it in and return it to the Front Office. 

Keep reading and I look forward to receiving many more record sheets in the next few weeks.

1. Rules - students will read 20 books by September. A Student Reading Record needs to be kept; 8 books MUST be from the PRC list and the additional 12 books can be anything at your reading level. You can search for books on the PRC list here:

You can search for titles according to year level (F-2, 3-5, 6-9, Mature) or you can browse the list. There are over 8000 books on this list, so you are sure to find something you are interested in. The school library and public libraries will have a selection of PRC books for you to borrow.

2. Students will still need to submit their record sheets to the Front Office by the 1st of September at the latest. We will accept a scanned copy via email.

3. Awards will be sent to our school in November as in previous years.

Good luck with the Premier's Reading Challenge this year and please contact your class teacher should you need any support.

Libby Spencer 

PRC Coordinator