Junior School, South Plympton

Upcoming Events

Term 2

Fri 11 Apr	Coffee Connect @ 2:45pm & Last Day Term 1
Sat 12 - Mon 28 Apr	School Holidays
Mon 28 Apr	Student Free Day
Tues 29 Apr	Term 2 commences
Fri 2 May	SACSA Athletics
Thurs 8 May	Mother's Day Morning Tea
Tues 13 - Fri 16 May	Year 6 Kangaroo Island Camp
Wed 14 May	SACSA Cross Country
Wed 4 June	Music Showcase
Wed 18 June	SACSA Soccer Year 5/6
Thurs 19 June	Year 5/6 Battle of the Bands
Fri 20 June	SACSA Soccer Year 3/4
Wed 25 June	Winter Instrumental Evening
Fri 4 July	End of Term 2

Junior School South Plympton Calendar

A Term of Togetherness

What an amazing term we have had. On reflection there were many highlights, but those most enjoyable have been when we have gathered as a community.

Grandparents’ and Special Friends’ Day and the Junior School Picnic showed the strength of our community.

Grandparents' and Special Friends' Day

Community is critical for a successful school, but it is also important that our children, in this increasingly disconnected world, are part of communities. Our school community is important for them, but equally important is their church community. It seems that post-COVID, we still have families opting for online church rather than returning to worship in a church community. If this is your situation, can I ask you to reconsider the importance of Christian community and connection for your children and yourself?

Sports Day and Cross Country

Opportunities to excel beyond the classroom are also important, and to see our more sporty students compete against their friends from both campuses at the Cross Country and 3 – 6 Sports Day is always a joy.

This year, Cross Country was held at the Adelaide Lutheran Sports Club. This new venue enabled easier access for parents to view the event and students to cheer on other competitors, making the event less about individual performance.

Encouraging one another is something that we value as a Christian Community. Thank you to our PE team, particularly Mrs Collins, for organising this event.

South Plympton OSHC Mentors

In our OSHC space this term, we introduced a 'Mentor Program', which allows children to practise responsibility and have the opportunity to become leaders. The Student Mentors have an educator-like role by doing group time, setting up and running activities, welcoming newcomers and facing new challenges. We chose our mentors not only based on their ability to perform these tasks but also that they display the fruits of the Spirit and are a good example to their peers. Our mentors have shown excellent character and outstanding performance!

Congratulations to our selected mentors: Jessica-Grace, Ellie, Andre, Maurice, Joanne, Charlotte, Gabi and Triscia.

In our classroom much learning happens daily. The routines and expectations have been clearly established, enabling time to be spent on explicit teaching, and the students are making great progress.

As the term ends, students and teachers alike are looking forward to a well-deserved break. The holidays bring an opportunity to rest, recharge, and spend quality time with loved ones. It’s a time for family gatherings, fun outdoor activities, and creating memories. However, remember that our young children need a rest from learning and some unstructured time is important for them.

Today came together as a College and celebrated Easter, such a significant celebration and opportunity for each of us to reflect deeply on the sacrifice of Jesus. I pray that we don’t just let this time slip by as we enjoy the Easter Eggs and Hot Cross Buns but use the time to slow down and reflect on God’s goodness and incredible love for each of us.

We pray that you will all have a peaceful, joyful, and safe holiday. May this time bring you closer together and offer moments of reflection, laughter, and love. Enjoy the break, and we look forward to seeing everyone back with renewed energy on Tuesday 29 April.

Liz Hinrichsen

Head of Junior School, South Plympton

Coffee Connect

Friday 11 April

Serving from 2:45pm

End-of-term celebrations are even better with coffee!

A coffee van will be onsite from 2:45pm on the last day of term, serving a range of caffeinated and non-caffeinated drinks available for purchase.

Parents are welcome to come early, purchase a coffee, and enjoy a relaxed moment before pick-up!

Year 3/4 Music: Carnival of the Animals

This term our Year 3/4s have been exploring the "Carnival of the Animals". Who wrote this amazing piece of music?... Camille Saint-Saens is the guy! An amazing human who lived many years ago - in fact he was born in 1835.

This piece consists of 14 movements, and each movement represents an animal. Each week, we have unlocked yet another animal: the lion, the tortoise and the kangaroo, to name a few. Who knew that music could actually sound like these animals God created?

Last week, we listened to our final animal, the swan. It was magnificent, peaceful, and smooth. What made this even more captivating was hearing a live cello performance by Mrs Alison Miller, who works at Emmaus, by Mrs Meinel. The students were 'all smiles', hearing a live Cello glide through Saint-Saens' composition.

Nikki Meinel

Junior School Music Teacher

Pétanque Junior School Finalists

On the March 13, two Junior School teams participated in a pétanque competition at the Unley Park Sports Club. It was a fun night including free croissants and chips! The students played very well and the students below reached the quarter finals!

Madame Winter was very impressed with how the team members encouraged each other and the other teams. Lots was learnt about the rules of pétanque , a very interesting part of French culture. We would like to say a big "merci beaucoup!" to Emilie's mum Vivienne who managed one of the teams.

Well done everyone. Bravo!

Mrs Winter

Junior School French Teacher

Year 6 Jumpers have Arrived!

It was wonderful to witness the Year 6 students receive their official Year 6 jumpers! The joy on their faces and the excitement in the air was palpable.

God-speed to the parents wanting to wash these jumpers at some point; students won’t be taking them off any time soon.

Mothers' Day Morning Tea | South Plympton

We are pleased to honour and celebrate our Junior school and Secondary school South Plympton mothers with a morning tea on Thursday 8 May.

Save the Date: Thursday 8 May (Week 2, Term 2)

There are two opportunities to join us for morning tea: between 8am and 9am and again between 9:30am-11am.

In case you need to head off to work early, please still join us for a savoury snack, cup of tea/coffee and photo with your child from 8am.

For our Junior School parents who are able to stay and visit the classrooms we will have classroom visits from 9:00am followed by a morning tea and photo with your child from 9:30am – 11am.

Schedule of activities:

8am - 9am: Drop into the EPAC for a Coffee/Tea and a Savoury Nibble
9am: Foundation Year 3 and Year 5 Classroom Visits
9:20am: Year 1 & Year 4 Classroom Visits
9:40am: Year 2 & Year 6 Classroom Visits
9:30am - 11am: Morning Tea and family photo opportunity in the new undercover courtyard.

More details will come with a formal invitation, but for now, please save this date in the diary.

We hope to see as many of our mums on Thursday 8 May!

Liz Hinrichsen

Head of Junior School, South Plympton

Visitoring Speaker on Bird Research

Today we had a visitoring speaker from Adelaide University speak to our Year 5/6 classes. Ruth is a Research Assistant helping with an important project to preserve the Pied Oystercatcher bird species at the Coorong.

She presented on the bird research she's uncovered on her recent field work which links in with the student's studies on "Storm Boy" and the Science topic for this term "how the environment impacts on all organisms."

Students learnt: