Student Learning
What's been happening in Foundation TL
Literacy
This term in Playberry Laser we have continued with our reading and writing, and we have learnt the uppercase letters for each sound. We are expanding our sound knowledge and beginning to look at our double sounds ‘ff’, ‘ll’, ‘ss’ and ‘zz’. We call these sounds our Floss Rule. These sounds are used at the end of a one syllable world, after a short vowel. We have been looking at The Three Little Pigs in our Literacy unit, looking at our ability to retell and sequence the events of stories. We are building our capacity to independently write out sentences to retell the text. We have also been expanding our vocabulary and learning synonyms for ‘good’. We have learnt words such as splendid, fine, and excellent. It has been a treat hearing the Foundation students ask other staff members, “have you had a splendid day?”.
Maths
This term, our Maths unit has involved us investigating height, length, capacity, mass, and more recently, duration. We have used language such as holds more, holds less, shorter, taller, wider, heavier and lighter. Through hands-on activities, the students have experimented with scales, different sized containers, and using our feet and hands as units of measurement. We have enjoyed measuring different objects around our classroom and the wider school. We are currently looking at the duration of events, and comparing and sorting activities by the time of the day they might occur, and how long they would take.
Health
This term in Health, we have been exploring the topic of ‘Healthy Me’. We have discussed topics such as water safety, how we can be safe around pools, oceans and other bodies of water. We have also spoken about medicine safety, who is allowed to give us medicine, safe and unsafe household products, and sometimes how we can get medicine mixed up with lollies and other objects that would usually be safe for us to eat or drink!
We have also looked at personal safety, like our warning signs and our body's responses to potential danger or uncertain feelings. We spoke about safe and unsafe touch, and that we are the boss of our own bodies, from our head to our toes, we say what goes! The students discussed different types of touch and what to do if a type of touch makes you uncomfortable. The students identified their safety team, a group of adults who they know they can trust and talk to when they have a problem.
Art
Art this term has been all about exploring different print methods with various tools. We have used items like cotton buds, toothbrushes, forks, paint rollers, pop sticks, and even blowing bubbles into the paint! We have created four different prints of various flowers as part of a project this term.
Musical
We have had lots of fun practicing our songs and class dance for the musical. We are eagerly waiting for the performance and can’t wait to show what we’ve been up to!
Tom Ledson
Foundation Class Teacher
What's been happening in Year 3/4H
We are all getting very excited about the upcoming Pilgrim School musical, as well as the Year 3 Zoo Snooze and Year 4 & 5 Wirraway Camp next term! Please read about what has been happening in our class so far this term.
English: Oral Language
Being able to think about something and discuss it with a friend are important skills when brainstorming new ideas or processing and clarifying thoughts and opinions. We have been practising AB partner sharing as a way of increasing our confidence in class discussions.
Poetry
We have had a lot of fun creating a variety of poems, including limericks, haiku and diamonte poems. Here are some examples:
Mathematics: Angles and Maps
We have been learning about three main angles – right angles, acute angles and obtuse angles and identifying them in everyday indoor and outdoor landscapes. We have also been exploring maps and how to navigate our way around different types of grid maps using compass points, grid coordinates and scale. To enhance our understanding of the class novel “Nim’s Island”, we created our own versions of a dream island and then gave them to a friend to use to solve questions and directions given on our maps.
HASS - History
As a follow-up activity from our unit on the First Fleet and Settlement in Australia, Zara's Mum gave a presentation to the Year 3/4 classes about her family history and their direct links to early settlement in Adelaide, with a slideshow of historical people, places and events that the family had researched and collected over many years. It was a wonderful opportunity to have parents involved in the the daily life of the classroom and the learning of the students, and helped to bring the topic to life.
Serve Project
For those of us not involved with Choir, we have been working on our Serve project, which has gradually evolved across the semester as we have brainstormed ideas, worked through their strengths and weaknesses, and finally decided on a project by popular vote. We came up with the idea of creating handcrafted gifts made from clay and establishing links with local potters to access their kilns for glazing and firing our work. This project will continue as a work in progress into Semester 2.
Visual Art
This term our focus is on painting skills and techniques with acrylics. We are working on a detailed and multi-layered tropical island landscape to further visualise our understanding of our class novel and the island map we created. As winter deepens we will explore watercolour painting of a monotone winter landscape based on poetry created in Literacy lessons.
Science
Did you know that heat can travel a long way from something that is hot into something that is cold? Did you know some things can melt and then become solid again when they cool down? We have been experimenting with heat and observing the fascinating reversible and irreversible changes that can occur to different things as they gain or lose heat. For our main experiment we made chocolate-dipped strawberries which were hot and cold, crunchy and soft, sweet and juicy all at the same time. We wrote a procedure to record the experiment for others to repeat, recorded our understanding of how the chocolate was affected by heat, and then also came up with a persuasive slogan to sell our produce to the public. Because we got to eat our experiment, there was hardly any cleaning up to do at the end of the lesson!
Andrew Harris and Jordan Wheatcroft
Year 3/4 Class Teachers
SASTA Oliphant Science Awards: Progress Update
Thank you to everyone who has returned their registration forms and submitted payment for their individual or group entries. We have 16 entries this year representing most of the categories – thank you, this is an amazing effort!
What happens next? Online submissions (reports and cover sheets) are due for Programming, Apps and Robotics by the 28th June. Online submissions for Models and Inventions, and Games are due between the 27th July and 2nd August – Mr Harris will submit these on behalf of the students from their supplied documents. Everything will be delivered to the Adelaide Showgrounds on Wed 5th August for display at the Science Alive weekend expo, and then collected and returned to school on Monday 10th August to be taken home or donated to the Science display collection.
If you need any further information, please contact me, or visit the link below, for everything you need to know!
Andrew Harris
Specialist Science Teacher
Choir Eisteddfod
On Wednesday 10th June, Pilgrim Choir again headed to Elder Hall to compete in the Primary School Choirs Division of the Adelaide Choral Eisteddfod. The choir sang the best they have ever sung, coming third in their division with a score of 96. Congratulations to all the students in the choir on the hard work they put in leading up to the Eisteddfod and their outstanding performance on the day. We are very proud of them. Thank you to all the staff who have supported the choir both on the day and in the lead up to the Eisteddfod, also to all the family members who came along to support the students. It was a wonderful team effort.
Kate Tretheway
Choir Director
Grandbuddies
We are very blessed to partake in the Grandbuddies program as part of our Serve project. Three times a term, we spend an afternoon connecting with the Grandbuddies from Seeds Church. We alternate between having the Grandbuddies visit us, and us going for a walk to visit them! We participate in crafts, teach each other various games, and sing songs and dance together!
It is a wonderful time for both the Foundation students and Grandbuddies involved. There are such lovely connections which are built in this time, and it is an incredible blessing for everyone to be a part of this. We love our Grandbuddies!
It is always great to see students in older year levels come say hello to their Grandbuddies from when they were in Foundation, and have that opportunity to reconnect.
Some quotes from the Grandbuddies:
I love playing Uno in Grandbuddies, it gets very competitive!
We love learning all the new games the Foundations have to teach us.
We learn new ways to colour in!
Quotes from the Foundation students:
I liked playing with my Grandbuddy, we played lots of fun games.
from Jordy
My Grandbuddy was very nice, they made me feel cared for.
from Elouise
The best part of Grandbuddies is you get to do lots of fun things with them and get to know them!
from Charlie
Tom Ledson
Foundation Class Teacher
Flourish Enrichment Activities
We're excited to share that our Flourish Enrichment activities will return next term, with a fresh new format!
A number of our wonderful staff will be offering a variety of activities during lunchtimes, giving students the chance to explore interests, learn new skills, and connect with others beyond the classroom.
This year, we're moving to an open session format – which means there's no sign-up required and no commitment to attend every week. Students are simply welcome to drop in to any activity that captures their curiosity, whenever it suits them.
Whether your child loves creating, making, moving, or discovering, there's likely to be something on offer for them to enjoy.
More details about the activities available will be shared with students closer to the start of Term 3.
Foundation Excursion
This Tuesday we went on an excursion to Funtopia as part of our Health unit. We have been looking at body safety, and how to keep ourselves safe by making safe choices. We had such a great day, full of fun and smiles. There were lots of fun activities for the children to test their skills and recognise obstacles that were within their skill level and maybe some things they had to be brave and try. Students had to climb, crawl, squeeze through gaps, balance, slide, and run around! The adults even got involved, joining in on the fun. We wore ourselves out and had a few sleepers on the bus. Overall, it was an awesome day and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!
Here are some student comments:
I liked when we went on the bus and climbing down the big tower.
from Isla
I liked the climbing up to get to the top of the slide then sliding all the way down.
from Joshua
I liked bouncing on the trampoline at the bottom of the climbing tower.
from Lawrence
My favourite part was playing on the equipment and trying new things, I had to be brave.
from Ellie
Tom Ledson
Foundation Class Teacher
Premier's be Active Challenge
Pilgrim School will be running the ‘Premier’s be Active Challenge’ in 2026. This is the 20th year of the Premier's be Active Challenge which started in 2007.
The Premier’s be active Challenge is a physical activity program introduced to:
- encourage students to be more active more often
improve the health and wellbeing of South Australian students.
Guidelines to complete the Premier’s be Active Challenge:
- Every student must have their activity recorded in the student recording booklet. These can be downloaded from Compass School Documentation or ask your child to collect one from the Front Office.
Complete at least 60 minutes of physical activity on at least 5 days of the week for at least 4 weeks between Week 1, Term 1 and Week 10 Term 3 and record it.
Please note there is an option for a 4 week, 10 week or special 20 week challenge (for 2026 only).
- Students must have their record verified by a parent, caregiver or teacher.
- Pass on the completed Student Record to the Front Office by the designated due date.
- Receive an award in late November.
Research has shown that parental support makes a difference to how active children are. One of the biggest factors in helping children to be active is providing support to participate in physical activity. Whether that is getting them to sports, taking them to the playground, riding your bike with them or simply encouraging them outside to play, these are all things that will help your child to be active.
The Premier’s be Active Challenge is most successful when parents show interest and support their children. Help your child get 60 minutes of physical activity per day and you will be making a positive difference to their future. It’s also a great way to be more active yourself!
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at the school.
Brett Middleton
Campus Sports Coordinator & Pilgrim Wellbeing Coordinator
Premier's Reading Challenge 2026
The clock is ticking - have you handed in your 2026 Premier's Reading Challenge reading record yet?
It has been wonderful to see so many students across our school embracing the joy of reading this year and taking off with a book! Well done to everyone who has already completed and returned their reading records - what a fantastic effort!
This Challenge concludes on 4th September 2026, and all reading records must be submitted to receive your certificate or medal. Please speak to your class teacher if you need any help completing your record.
Yiota Chesterfield
Inclusive Education Coordinator