Senior Years

Student Leadership

Well it is time for change!  When you read this article our College Captains for 2018 would have been decided (more on this in a later edition), after a written application, an interview, whole school speech and a preference process.

So now is the time for the remainder of our current Year 11 students to apply for other positions of leadership.  These include areas such as AV, Sport, Culture, Spiritual, Library, Chess, Pedal Prix and Wellbeing Leaders – just to name a few!  We try to instil in all of our students that they are all leaders by their actions and reactions but now is the chance for some to show this in a formal way.  I seek your support in encouraging your child to apply for a position of leadership for their final year at Endeavour and to reassure them of the benefits of putting in as much as they can to the community and they will certainly reap the rewards.

Karen Kesby

Director of Senior Years

Year 10 Retreat

Take a look at the picture below. Where do you think our students might be? Somewhere in the outback? Maybe Wilpena Pound? No, try Walkley Heights! Yes, our Year 10 students ventured out on their Retreat Day in windy conditions along the Dry Creek trail knowing that, if the Bureau of Meteorology forecast was correct, they could be facing small hail and persistent showers. Thankfully, we were spared the worst of the weather and actually had a few moments to soak up some glorious sunshine.

Bad weather or not, the Retreat Day was a great opportunity to get out of the normal routine and experience something that was both different and also physically challenging. The strenuous task of walking significant distances was intended to give students an experience of what life would be like to be a refugee, or one of the world’s poor, without the luxury of owning their own transport, or having roads and public transport to be able to use. The morning session of the Retreat also allowed our students to immerse themselves in the topic they have chosen as their Christian Living elective in Year 11, which includes Spirituality, Big Questions, Service and Social Justice and Faith and Football.

Our Faith and Football class was able to hear some inspiring stories from Mike Bartlett, the Adelaide Crows chaplain, who shared with us about his role in supporting players and other staff at the Crows. This group then set off from Tea Tree Gully Lutheran Church, walking over 17km along the O’Bahn and Dry Creek Trails back to Endeavour College. Great effort, guys – and all without McDonald’s!!

Rosa Hoff, an atmospheric scientist, and Chelsea Pietsch, a representative from Lutherans For Life, spoke to our Big Questions class at Para Vista Lutheran Church about some of the scientific and bioethical challenges facing Christians in the world today. We were thrilled to be able to have two such highly educated and thoughtful presenters and our students seized the opportunity to get started asking some of their big questions about life. If you have a few big questions of your own, or are just curious to see how the church deals with some of these issues, check out the brand-new website from Lutherans For Life: http://www.lutheransforlife.lca.org.au/

Our Spirituality class delved deeper into some of the different expressions of faith, as their guest speakers, Eugenia Stopyra from St Columba College and Pastor Reid Matthias from Good Shepherd Para Vista, guided them through this interesting field. Both the Big Questions class and the Spirituality class then set off for Endeavour along the Dry Creek trail, completing their 12km journey in very quick time. Well done!

Our final group was the Service and Social Justice class, which was by far the largest. These students met with a TAFE class of women who are new arrivals in Australia seeking to improve their English skills. Through conversation and discussions over food, our students were able to interact with these adult learners and get an idea about their culture. It also presented our students with the opportunity to think about how they might assist someone who is learning English as a second, third, or fourth language. We are hopeful that some of the students in this class will be open to visiting a Lutheran school in Indonesia next year as part of a school service trip to learn more about other cultures and to develop their skills in helping others improve their acquisition of English. After lunch together, our class bid farewell to the TAFE students and walked around 9km along the Dry Creek trail back to school. No one got wet, so well done team!

Ms Kaesler, Mrs Slater, Mr Keller, Mrs Sandford-Morgan, Mr Marcus, Alex Schmocker and Mr Willsmore all played important roles throughout the day to ensure we returned safely back to school in time. Thanks to everyone involved and we hope our Year 10s are able to power through to the end of 2017 with greater clarity about their Christian Living choices for next year and a renewed perspective of the plight of many of the world’s poorest people.

Pastor Dale

Year 10 Art Excursions

One of the best things that you can do in Year 10 is do the Street Art unit in Art. It is a full day where students explore the seldom seen murals in the city and then travel to Cold Krush Gallery to  experience what it is like to use the medium.

The students were introduced to the work of Rone, KAB101, Adnate, Lister, Fred Rock, Mackatron, Toy Soldiers, Peter Drew and many others. Finding those little gems in the back streets of the city was great fun. I took great pleasure in sharing this work with the students who responded with enthusiasm.

After a short lunch at the Markets we traveled to Cold Krush Gallery in Unley where two street artists guided us through the intricacies of the aerosol. Using this medium students discovered that it was a lot harder to control than it looked.

It was a great day and I am sure that all who attended will be talking about it for a long time.

Andrew Harten

Visual Arts Learning Leader

Year 12 Design and Technology

The Stage 2 Advanced Manufacturing and Material Products classes had a very successful year. A number of students designed and constructed projects that were very creative and used a range of new and innovative technologies. It has been very pleasing to see the students utilise the skills they have learnt over their time at school to develop projects of this nature.

Darren Willsmore

Design and Technology Learning Leader

South Australian Secondary Schools State Constitutional Convention

On Thursday 26 October, two Year 11 students – Brendan Bond and Eric Esots – were privileged to attend the South Australian Secondary Schools State Constitutional Convention held at Parliament House, North Terrace.

These conventions have been held annually since 1995 and provide worthwhile opportunities for Year 11 students to hear about and discuss significant constitutional and governance issues. In the past these programs have attracted a large amount of interest from many South Australian high schools.

This year’s convention focused on the topic Should Australia become a Republic? In the morning, participants heard the perspectives of prominent South Australian constitutional and legal experts on this issue. They also had the chance to participate in smaller group discussion forums before concluding the day with some robust debate on the topic in the State House of Assembly chamber.

Brendan and Eric are to be commended for their active involvement and contributions on the day. I would certainly encourage students who are interested in Australian legal, political and governmental affairs to consider getting involved in this worthwhile event in the future.

David Thiele

History Learning Leader