Out and About

Government House with Student Captains

On Monday 2 September, Endeavour College Captains Vinka and Jack proudly represented the College at the 2024 Governor's Reception for Year 12 Student Leaders’ Dinner. This event offered a fantastic opportunity for our student leaders to visit Government House and meet the Governor of South Australia, Her Excellency the Honourable Ms. Frances Adamson. Vinka and Jack had a wonderful time and appreciated the chance to network with others in similar roles, reflect on their school leadership journey and value the chance to learn and grow.

Year 7 Service Day

Towards the end of Week 6, the entire Year 7 cohort spent the morning across five different locations, providing acts of service to local charity organisations and community groups.

They helped in various ways from sorting donated fruit and vegetables to making care packages. The morning was extremely beneficial and purposeful.

The below are a few summaries of our Year 7s personal experiences.

Today we went to Puddle Jumpers, which is a non-profit organisation. We are learning about service in Christian Living and our teachers thought it a great idea to take us out so we can experience helping the community. At Puddle Jumpers our class was sorting out good fresh fruit from the bad. We also were packing reusable nappies and inserts. 

We split up into two groups, one sorted fresh fruit and the other group did the nappy packing. I was part of the sorting group, tasked with sorting through pallets of tomatoes. 

We had to find the good tomatoes and put them in a separate pallet. The bad ones we got to put in a bucket. My group enjoyed throwing the bad tomatoes in the bucket, seeing which one could make the biggest splat. Once we had finished we helped the other group pack the nappies and inserts. Overall, it was good fun to help the community with friends. It also felt good knowing that what we were doing was helping people in need. It was a great experience for us and tied into our learning.

Riley Carr

Today all the Year 7 classes went to different charities to perform acts of service. Our class went to Puddle Jumpers to help sort out crates of tomatoes, flour, rice, and supplies for babies. This was completely voluntary, meaning that we didn’t get paid, and neither did the people already helping there. This was a great experience as we learnt simple ways to help the community, and experienced volunteering. 

This opened our eyes on what happens behind the scenes of charities and how important service is. Everyone worked together, communicated and, despite working, we all had fun. It was such a great opportunity to improve our communication skills and spread kindness around the community. Overall, this was an amazing excursion where we learnt so much and can take on what we learnt throughout life. This experience has encouraged us all to perform more acts of service and help the community more often.

Santika Adj

^Year 7s serving at Puddle Jumpers 

We got to learn about how a lot of people come in asking for food and other needs because they can't afford it with the cost of living. 

We learned about how the organisation runs and take donations and we were lucky enough to be able to visit one of their Op Shops and able to package food meal bags. Mrs Carters’ Year 7s learned about how Lutheran Care helps people and the services they provide, such as emergency relief, which helps people with hard times. We were given the opportunity to make a food pack like the volunteers would do for those in need. We also wrote Christmas cards for people who use the service. We stayed there for about 3-4 hours, and we learned a lot about service. Lutheran Care gets funding from Op Shops or donations. Many Year 7s went on the charity excursion. This excursion taught the Year 7s about service and how people can show it.

Adele Emery & Christian Ng

^Year 7s serving at Lutheran Care

When 7.1 went to Container of Hope. We got sorted into groups and everybody was able to help make gifts for those less fortunate, package clothes, pack laptops and books and so much more to help others. We also learnt that we are well off in comparison to others and a small act of service can change so much for so many people. We found it very fun to do and when we do something for others, you feel good inside. We were able to communicate with the workers and ask questions about Container of Hope and what they do as a community. Overall, the whole entire experience was fun and we were able to understand what others go through.

Crista Charles

^Year 7s serving at Containers of Hope

Onkaparinga Gorge 

Outdoor Education Camp

In Week 6, the Stage 1 Outdoor Education class ventured down to Onkaparinga Gorge National Park for their first camp of the semester. 

The class participated in a range of activities including hiking with rucksacks, rock climbing and orienteering in Kuitpo Forest. 

Students also had the opportunity to develop their camping skills they had been practicing in class, including cooking dinner on a Trangia, setting up and sleeping in tents and collecting evidence of their personal growth. We were challenged with a variety of weather conditions; however, spirits were high as we enjoyed the sunshine, battled the winds and sheltered from the rain. 

A highlight of the trip for all was sitting around the campfire at night playing games and solving riddles. For our next camp, we will be heading down south for the much-anticipated surfing trip.

Tenayah Lange

P.E and Outdoor Education Teacher

Year 9 Geography 

Zoo Fieldwork Excursions

In Week 6 this term, as part of their studies of Biomes, two Year 9 Geography classes were involved in fieldwork excursions to the Adelaide Zoo. 

Students were involved in the collection of data about a variety of different biomes that are represented at the Zoo including deserts, rainforests, savannah and temperate forests. They also had the opportunity to observe the animals that are found in these biomes, including the giant pandas. They also considered the various techniques of gathering data that can be used as part of their geographic studies. Back in the classroom, students compared and analysed the data they collected, to draw conclusions about the biome displays and data collection methods.

Perfect weather allowed for a successful fieldwork excursion. 

Troy Thomson

Judi Schimdt 

Year 9 Geography Teachers

Year 12 Integrated Learning 

Geography Connections Fieldtrip

In Week 7, our Year 12 Integrated Learning students ran a fieldwork excursion to Yookamurra Sanctuary as part of their coursework. 

The students were required to organise the entire fieldtrip, taking into account their own learning on fieldwork techniques, as well as those of the Year 12 Geography students. 

Students collaborated with Endeavour College staff, Yookamurra staff and the Year 12 Geography class, to plan the travel, safety and fieldwork activities for the day.

Activities included fieldwork based around the impact of fire on the Mallee ecosystem, trapping and tagging techniques used by Yookamurra staff, and a spotlighting night hike to observe nocturnal animals.

The day/evening was a wonderful success with students being able to see the burrowing bettong in its natural habitat, as well as geckos, brush-tailed possums, wombats, kangaroos, and emus. 

There was still no sighting of the evasive numbat! 

Judi Schmidt

Geography Learning Leader

STEMIE Report

While most people visit the Royal Adelaide Show for fun and entertainment, a group of budding scientists used it as an opportunity to investigate the physics of carnival rides, and the psychology of sideshow alley.

This year, our Year 10 STEMIE group is completing the ‘Carnival Capers’ challenge, as part of the STEMIE competition, run by UniSA, and undertaken by schools around the country.

As part of the science component of this challenge students are required to perform an investigation into an element of carnival rides – so the STEMIE team decided to study the factors that cause a ride to be thrilling to patrons.

A number of measurements were taken, including the height of the ride, the speed of the motion, the G force and acceleration as well as physiological responses such as heart rate, oxygen saturation and blood pressure.

Students then observed a number of side shows which utilised persuasive strategies and elements of addiction to convince punters to have a go – when the chance of winning a major prize is low. 

For example, did you know that the motion of the Laughing Clowns means that the pipe delivering the balls hovers for longer over the undesirable numbers? 

Or that the circumference of the rings makes it almost impossible to successfully throw it over a peg?

Now, students will be conducting some further mathematical analysis of their data, and designing their own side show, to maximise patronage and profit, while minimising costs and the number of winners.

Turns out there is a lot more to the Show than we originally thought! A big thank you to 

Mr Wilhelm who accompanied us and provided his physics expertise!

Innika Ackerley

STEMIE Facilitator and Science Learning Leader

SACSA AFL

This week, we sent five teams to SACSA AFL in which we had another successful tournament with outstanding results. We sent two Year 9/10 boys’ team with the second team playing well throughout the day to secure 5th spot on the ladder. The first team only lost one game throughout the group stage to Kings Baptist, losing by 1 point. This team versed them again in the grand final and secured the gold medal winning by 5 points. The Year 9/10 girls had a rocky start to the day, losing their first couple games but was quickly able to turn it around to make it to the grand final after narrowly winning their semi final. Although they didn't win the gold, the silver medal is a testament to their persistence throughout the day. 

The Year 7/8 boys team finished 5th overall. Despite some close loses, they kept their spirits high playing each game with great team spirit and camaraderie which was great to see. 

The 7/8 girls finished 6th overall. Even with sore and tired players they kept trying their hardest until the very last game. 

These results show the hard work and commitment all the players and coaches made during lunchtime trainings throughout the term. Congratulations to all involved.

Lachlan Williams

Sports and Carnivals Officer