Term 3 Reflections

What an extraordinary term it has been, full of connection, celebration, learning and community spirit.

Congratulations to Rachel Saunders, our Director of PYP, Teaching and Learning. Rachel has been awarded a Distinguished Service Award - Honourable Mention in the 2026 Teacher Registration Awards. It was a pleasure to see Rachel recognised in a special ceremony on Wednesday evening attended by the Hon Chris Picton MP at the Aderlaide Town Hall. Well done Rachel as this is well deserved recognition on all that you do for our students and learning community and we are highly appreciative of all that you give to us.

One of the highlights of the term was welcoming our friends from Eisugakkan, our sister school in Japan. It was wonderful to see our students come together across cultures and languages, sharing special assemblies, everyday classroom learning and playground games side by side. For many of our Year 5 and 6 students , the visit culminated in an overnight camp at AFL Max alongside their Japanese peers which was a brilliant way to build friendships and lasting memories. None of this would have been possible without the generosity of our homestay families, who opened their homes to our Japanese visitors and gave them a true taste of Australian family life. Thank you to each of those families for your warmth and hospitality.

Our Foundation students hit a wonderful milestone this term, celebrating 100 days of learning with lots of fun activities marking how far they've come since the start of the year. We also warmly welcomed our new mid-year Foundation students and their families into our school community. A special welcome afternoon tea gave these new families a chance to connect with staff and other parents and start feeling right at home.

Our faith life was enriched this term in a number of ways. We were honoured to welcome Bishop Andrew Brook our Bishop for SA/NT, who joined us for a special Sunday service at Golden Grove Lutheran Church. Our Year 4–6 students also joined together with Year 4–8 students from Endeavour College and other local Lutheran schools for a combined worship service, a lovely opportunity to connect with our broader Lutheran school community. Joel, our chaplain, and I were also glad to attend the Tea Tree Gully Prayer Breakfast, connecting with other local leaders in faith and community.

It was a busy term academically and beyond the classroom too. Students enjoyed school photo day, always a fun tradition. Our talented debating students represented the school in the National Virtual Debating Competition, doing themselves proud. Meanwhile, our Year 4–6 choir has been hard at work in rehearsals, preparing for the Festival of Music next term and we can't wait to hear them perform!

Our Year 5/6 students also travelled into the city to explore the many different ways people communicate ideas, gathering inspiration and insight ahead of their upcoming Celebration of Learning and Exhibition.

Sport was a big feature of Term 3. Students represented the school with pride at SACSA netball and football gala days, and we were thrilled that our Year 5/6 team took out the win at the SACSA football day. Sports Day itself was a wonderful occasion, held in brilliant sunshine with students dressed proudly in their house colours, cheering each other on all day. On the wellbeing front, our Year 6 Wellbeing Leaders did a fantastic job leading a range of activities for R U OK? Day, helping remind our whole community of the importance of checking in with one another.

Community and generosity were on full display this term. Our Pong-a-thon, run in partnership with Golden Grove Lutheran Church, was a huge success, raising an incredible more than $20,000 to help combat modern slavery around the world. We also celebrated Book Week in style, with a much-loved character parade, a community breakfast (thank you again to our amazing P&F), and a book read-around. A book swap was held alongside these celebrations, raising valuable funds to support the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.

Our youngest learners had plenty to smile about too. Foundation to Year 2 students thoroughly enjoyed their Tri Skills gymnastics sessions, building coordination, confidence and teamwork. They were also treated to an amazing Kimochis show, helping them explore feelings and social skills in a fun, engaging way. Excitement is also building for Children's University, with students trying on their gowns in preparation for this special milestone.

We are enormously proud of our wonderful Learning Support Officers, who were named finalists representing South Australia in the Australian Teacher Aide of the Year Awards. This is a fantastic acknowledgement of the incredible work they do supporting our students every day.

Once again, our P&F have gone above and beyond for our school community. This term they organised a brilliant Quiz Night, ran the ever-popular Sports Day BBQ, and provided wonderful catering for our Special Persons' Afternoon. They also arranged a fantastic parenting session with Mark Le Messurier, giving our families valuable tools and insights to support their children. Our class carers also deserve a big thank you for their fantastic work running the Father's Day Stall, giving students the chance to choose a special gift for the important dads and father figures in their lives.

We came together as a community to celebrate a beautiful Special Persons' Afternoon, followed by a concert, open classrooms and a relaxed afternoon tea in the courtyard - a lovely way to showcase student learning and celebrate the people who support them. To finish the term, our Year 2 students headed off for their overnight camp at AFL Max, while our Year 1 students enjoyed the excitement of their very first sleepover at school.

We are already looking forward to everything Term 4 has in store, especially our school Fete, which is coming up in mid-October!

Finally, a huge thank you to Vicki and her team for organising a fantastic Vacation Care programme these holidays. Behind the scenes, preparations are also well underway for OSHC and our new ELC, with Mrs Arnold and Mr K's class relocating to the Wellbeing Room and the Wellbeing Room moving to the breezeway ahead of the start of Term 4.

Wishing you all a safe, restful and joy-filled holiday break with your families. Blessings to you all, and we look forward to welcoming everyone back for Term 4.

Farewelling Mrs Ruth Carter and Mr Michael Hooper

We farewell two much-loved members of our Golden Grove Lutheran community as they begin their well earned retirements later this year.

Mrs Ruth Carter

Ruth has dedicated a number of decades to Lutheran education, serving across Lobethal Lutheran School, Good Shepherd Lutheran Para Vista and Golden Grove Lutheran. During her time with us, Ruth served as our PYP Coordinator, overseeing the implementation of the Primary Years Programme within our learning community - work that ultimately led to our authorisation as an International Baccalaureate World School. This has been a lasting legacy that continues to shape teaching and learning at Golden Grove Lutheran today, along with her influence as Teacher-Librarian after moving into that role. We are enormously grateful for Ruth's expertise, dedication and the significant contribution she has made to Lutheran education over many years. We wish Ruth the very best on her retirement at the end of 2026 and look forward to honouring her service over the course of Term 4.

Mr Michael Hooper

Michael will retire at the end of this term, following 11 years of faithful service to our school as one of our valued cleaners. Michael's quiet dedication behind the scenes has helped keep our school running smoothly, and his contribution over more than a decade has been greatly appreciated by our whole community.

Both Ruth and Michael are very much part of the fabric of Golden Grove Lutheran, and while we will miss them dearly, we wish them every happiness and blessing as they begin this exciting new chapter. We hope to see them around our school community from time to time in the future.

Congratulations, Ruth and Michael, on very well-deserved retirements!

Volunteering in the School

We appreciate many families giving of their time and expertise to volunteer in the school, whether it be with our school canteen, P & F Events, school camps, GLOW Week or classroom assistance. A reminder to please ensure that your WWCC details are up to date, along with RAHN and VSC training. Further information on our volunteering requirements is available from our website.

A few reminders

Please be reminded of some of our key events coming up:

Term 4 – Monday, 12 October to Wednesday, 9 December (9 weeks)

Week 2

Sunday 18 October – Church & School Fete

Monday 19 October – Friday 23 October – Year 2/3T & 3/4 Swimming

Monday 19 October – P & F Meeting 7.00pm in the Admin Building

Tuesday 20 October – Children’s University Graduation

Tuesday 20 October – Foundation Celebration of Learning

Thursday 22 October – Principal Tour 9.15am

Week 3

Monday 26 October – Year 5/6 Boys SACSA Basketball

Tuesday 27 October – Year 5/6 Girls SACSA Basketball

Friday 30 October – Year 3/4 SACSA Basketball

Week 4

Monday 2 November – Friday 6 November – Foundation & 1/2 Swimming

Week 5

Tuesday 10 November – Community Breakfast

Wednesday 11 November – Remembrance Day

Friday 13 November – Pupil Free Day

Week 6

Monday 16 November – Foundation 2027 Parent Information Night 6.30pm

Week 7

Monday 23 November – Foundation 2027 Transition Day

Monday 23 November – P & F Meeting and AGM 6.30pm in the Admin Building

Tuesday 24 November – Principal Tour 9.15am

Wednesday 25 November – Year 6 Graduation Dinner

Friday 27 November – Carols Evening 7.00pm

Week 8

Monday 30 November – Foundation 2027 Transition Day

Friday 4 December – Choir singing at The Grove shops 9.30am

Week 9

Monday 7 December – Move Up Morning

Tuesday 8 December – P&F End of Year Fun Day

Wednesday 9 December – Closing Service at 9.15am

Wednesday 9 December – Year 6 Graduation Service at 7.00 pm

Our full school calendar can also be viewed on the school website.

Will Wallace

Principal

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