Student Learning

What's been Happening in Foundation TL

FTL Class News

We have continued to settle in nicely to our school routines in FTL this term. It has been a very busy, but exciting time with our musical and everything that brings. We have loved practising our songs and are gearing up, ready for our performance!

Maths

This term in Maths we have been looking at measurement. Our Maths unit has involved us investigating height, length, capacity, mass, and more recently, duration. We have loved getting hands on and investigating things around the school, and comparing different objects around our classroom, using the language of longer, shorter, taller, heavier, lighter, holds more, and holds less! 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.

Literacy

We have continued to learn more sounds this term and have begun to blend larger words. We have learnt what a 'diagraph' is, and have been applying these to our reading and writing. Our Foundations who started this year have begun looking at sentence structure, and the key components of a sentence. We have learnt about capital letters, full stops, and the need for a ‘who’ (noun) and a ‘do’ (verb). 

Our text unit has involved looking at the story ‘Nature’s Toy Box’, a book about a girl who is forced to spend her time outside. To cure her boredom, she goes around finding different objects in her garden and using her imagination to transform them into crazy and wonderful things, from a stick becoming a wand and a sword, to a bunch of insects in a bush becoming her very own wildlife park! The students have learnt new words such as ‘discovered’, ‘telescope’, ‘investigate’, and ‘instantly’. 

Art

Art this term has been inspired by various picture books. We have made giraffes from Giraffes Can’t Dance, shredded paper rainbows inspired by The Day the Crayons Saved the Rainbow, and bubble wrap chameleons from the book A Colour of His Own. They look amazing!

iUnit

In iUnit, we have been looking at emotions and personal safety. We have learnt how emotions help us understand our body, investigated many kinds of emotions, and what kind of facial expression someone might make when feeling a certain emotion. We also looked at safety, and how we have a right to feel safe and comfortable. 

The Foundations have learnt about risks and what it means to take a risk. We have had discussions about how our body might react with warning signs when we are in an uncomfortable situation. 

Serving and Having Fun

Recently it was Derek’s birthday. Derek works incredibly hard around our Campus to keep our gardens and grounds looking awesome. For his birthday, our Foundation classes spent the morning picking up all the leaves that had fallen from our trees, this is usually a job Derek has to do, but we stepped in for his birthday!

We have been having lots of fun this term, and have loved our creative play sessions. We have recently been learning how to skip with a skipping rope and you may have seen us practising outside our classroom!

What's been Happening in Year 3/4B

English: Treasure Maps & Procedural Writing

In English, we've delved into procedural writing by creating treasure maps. Students designed maps featuring mountains, rivers, and other landmarks; then wrote step-by-step instructions on how to locate hidden treasures. To add an authentic touch, they aged their maps using teabags, giving them a vintage appearance. This activity not only honed their writing skills, but also sparked creativity and imagination.

Mathematics: Data Collection & Graphing

The Year 4 students have been exploring data collection and representation. They gathered data from their peers and created tally charts and bar graphs to visualise the information. This hands-on approach helped them understand how to organise and interpret data effectively. Additionally, interpreting maps has been a key focus, reinforcing their skills in understanding spatial information.

iUnit: Australian Symbols

In iUnit, Year 3 students have been learning about Australian symbols, including flags, animals, and the coat of arms. They've enjoyed colouring various flags and discovering which animal and flower represent each state. This unit has provided them with a deeper appreciation of Australia's identity and heritage.

Art: Uluru Landscape Painting

In Art, students embarked on a journey to the Australian Outback by creating Uluru-inspired landscapes. They began by sketching the outline of Uluru, applied a base coat, and then layered red and blue hues before adding intricate details. The process was time-consuming, but the results were stunning, showcasing their dedication and artistic growth.

Dana Baker

Year 3/4B Class Teacher

Flourish Enrichment Activities

This term we have had opportunities for students to participate in eight different Flourish activities. The most recent group of these were:

• Learning to play the angklung with Mrs Tretheway
• Knitting with Mrs Fuente
• Card, board and floor gameswith Mrs Chesterfield
• Circus skills with Mrs Cook

We hope that the students learned some new skills as they bravely took up these different opportunities.

In Term 3 we will have four further activities on offer as follows:

Please click on the 'Activity' name in the above table to be taken to the booking page for that activity. Bookings open Friday 27th June at 7.00pm and we ask you to please choose only one activity across those on offer for the term. Students will be able to book into further activities if they are spaces closer to the start of the activities.

Choir Eisteddfod

On Thursday 12th June, Pilgrim Choir headed to Elder Hall to compete in the Primary School Choirs Division of the Adelaide Choral Eisteddfod. The choir sang very well and came third against some very stiff competition. Their score of 90 was an improvement on last year's score. The adjudicator praised the choir for their energy, fun and excellent harmonies. It was a wonderful experience for our students to be able to sing in a venue like Elder Hall and they did us proud. Thank you to all the family members who came to support the choir, it was a very special day!

Kate Tretheway

Choir Director

SACSA Soccer

On Thursday 19th June, our Year 5/6 boys soccer team turned heads at the SACSA Soccer Carnival at Barratt Reserve, West Beach. Selected after a competitive trial process, each student stood out through skill, dedication, and sportsmanship.

In the lead-up, the players threw themselves into multiple training sessions and even took on Thiele Primary’s SAPSASA team in a practice match. Their hard work paid off with a commanding 2–0 win, setting them up with solid confidence.

Carnival Day Highlights:

• The Pilgrim team were undefeated throughout the entire competition - until the grandfinal.
• We narrowly missed out on the top spot, finishing second overall after a tightly-contested grand final that ended 1–0 against us.

Despite the fresh winter air at West Beach, the boys played with unwavering resilience. Their focus and unity on the day truly reflected the core values of our school community.

Let’s celebrate a fantastic effort: showcasing talent, teamwork, and exceptional sportsmanship!

A big thank you to Tom Ledson and Michelle Hook who took the boys for the day.

Oliphant Science Awards

This year is shaping up to be a fantastic one for Pilgrim, with 17 entries submitted to the Oliphant Science Awards from students across all year levels. It’s wonderful to see such a broad range of interest and creativity!

Students have entered projects in the following categories:

• Posters
• Games
• Multimedia
• Models and Inventions
• Crystal Investigations

All registrations are now complete. A reminder that final entries are due to Mr Harris at school by 3:30pm on Tuesday, 22nd July for the following categories:

• Posters
• Games
• Models and Inventions
• Crystal Investigations

As always, Mr Harris is available to support students - during Science lessons, after school in his classroom, or via email. We can’t wait to see the amazing work our students have produced!

Andrew Harris

Science Teacher

harrisa@pilgrim.sa.edu.au

Premier's Reading Challenge

Well done to everyone who has completed and returned their forms. If you haven’t completed and returned your form yet, don’t worry - there is still plenty of time!

To complete the Premier’s Reading Challenge students need to read 12 eligible books including e-books, audio books, class or shared reading, having a book read to them, non-fiction books, books read as research for assignments or books in another language. Students in Foundation to Year 6 must read 8 books from the Premier’s Reading Challenge booklist and 4 personal choice books between now and 5th September 2025.

For a full list of books or to download a spare student record click on the following link Premiers Reading Challenge which will direct you to the School Documentation page on Compass.  Alternatively, look for the coloured stickers in the Campus library or your local public library.

If you need help completing the form or checking which books are on the list, please see your child’s class teacher.

Happy reading!

Yiota Chesterfield 

Premier's Reading Challenge Coordinator