Term 2, Weeks 3 & 4 2022

Uniform Matters

Mrs Michelle McDonnell - Principal

Kindergarten - Year 6 students should now be wearing full Winter Uniform to school. This includes the blazer which must be worn to and from school each day. We are aware of a small number of students awaiting a blazer or tie and will make contact as soon as these are available.

We thank families for their patience as our School Shop staff have worked their way through the large number of emails and phone orders along with serving families who have made appointments.

Year 7 long sleeved shirts have now arrived. Any Year 7 families who still require uniform items are encouraged to make contact with the School Office to organise fittings or appointments, alternatively you may email your order directly to: shop@stpeters.nsw.edu.au

Parent Information Sessions

Our Parent Information Sessions for 'Student Wellbeing' are on Tuesday, 24 May 2022.

2.00pm Session
7.00pm Session

Our School Counsellor, Mrs Erin McKerral, will share some thoughts around the impact students continue to face in the wake of the past few years and how to navigate the current world environment. She will also suggest some practical tips for parents to assist their children on this path.

Mrs Nerida Hadfield, the Dean of Wellbeing, will outline our whole school wellbeing focus for Term One and Term Two.

She will share the Rungs of Restoration which is a process the whole school follows to rebuild broken relationships, as well as the thinking around our Attitude of Gratitude focus and how this benefits positive personal and community wellbeing.

For organisational purposes, please click here to register your attendance for the session you would like to attend.

Please note, that this event is for parents only, no supervision will be provided for children.

We thank you for your understanding of this.

Pete's Cafe

It was exciting to see the return of Pete's Cafe last Friday morning. Despite the wet weather, a number of parents and students enjoyed a warm drink and muffin before school.

Pete's Cafe runs each Friday morning from 8.10am at the front of the school. This is a great opportunity to get to know other parents within our school community and enjoy a coffee at the same time!

Art Explosion Day

Art Explosion is a day filled with exploration in the Visual Arts, and this year the inclusion of the science behind it all!

This year, it is about discovering and discussing ways in which Art and Science meet.

On Thursday, 2nd June, students are required to come to school dressed in mufti, with the purpose of getting a little bit messy. Students are encouraged to come dressed in items of clothing and shoes that may become dirty or get paint on them. Teachers will remind students of appropriate dress choices for the day. This is also a good time to make sure your child has a paint shirt at school. If not, these can be purchased from our School Shop.

We are looking forward to this exciting annual event.

Year 3 Excursion

(Constructed from excerpts by Tarys S, Alyssa F, Elizabeth J and Evie C)

It was exciting. This was the first excursion in YEARS! Everybody had waited for this moment as the class stepped into the buses, shivering with excitement.

After a while we set off on the open road with bushes and shrubs all the way. Everybody was chattering, and just, well going CRAZY! The bus trip was very long. It took us an HOUR to get there!

We had arrived at Stanwell Beach, with the rangers standing excitedly next to the bus. Their names were Ranger Gordon Ramsay and Ranger Spaghetti. They were the funniest rangers ever.

We found a perfect place to sit. We set up a mat and Ranger Ramsy taught us about biodiversity. We learnt that without this wonderful green area, we wouldn’t have any animals or flowers.

Then the rangers took us to this beautiful bush, where we separated into two groups, the warm colours (Cumberland, Durham and Roxburgh) and the cool colours (Argyle, Bligh and Cook).

One group went with Ranger Gordon Ramsay to go bug catching, but before it started we needed to camouflage. He dabbed green paint on our faces and now we were ready. We caught bugs such as a Saint Andrew’s Cross Spider, an earthworm and a centipede. In the middle of the session Ranger Gordon Ramsay crouched down and said, “Shhh.” There was a red belly black snake! He went to pick it up, then, “AHHHHHHHHH,” he yelled as he waved a rubber snake and shooed us away in deep fear.

Ranger Spaghetti took another group fishing. We didn’t catch anything, only rubbish and pollution. There was not one single fish in the water, but there were water spiders. They kept falling out of our nets. Pollution and littering has hurt many animals.

After lunch we sat down to talk about biodiversity and how we need to keep our water clean by not putting sunscreen, washing detergent and paint down the drain.

Then, of course, we went to the BEACH! We had to build sandcastles for baby penguins.

It was a great day!

Term Dates 2023

Prayers

Pray for safety and good weather during our Athletics Carnival on Thursday.
Pray for wisdom, humility and grace for students as they develop positive and meaningful relationships in the school community.

School Calendar

Term 2

Wednesday, 27 April 2022 - Friday, 1 July 2022

Week 5

Monday, 23 May 2022

Year 7 Experience Day (6M)
3.30pm - 4.00pm: St Peter's Anglican Grammar Middle School Tour

Tuesday, 24 May 2022

Year 7 Experience Day (6L & SPACE)
2022 MISA Ultimate Frisbee V Broughton Anglican College (Middle School)
SASSA Cross Country (Back up)
2.00pm - 3.00pm: Parent Information Sessions/Friends of St Peter's Forum
3.30pm - 4.00pm: St Peter's Anglican Grammar Middle School Tour
5.00pm - 5.30pm: St Peter's Anglican Grammar Preparatory School Tour
7.00pm - 8.00pm: Parent Information Sessions/Friends of St Peter's Forum

Wednesday, 25 May 2022

11.45am - 12.30pm: Junior Rep Sport
1.00pm - 2.00pm: Senior Rep Sport

Thursday, 26 May 2022

School Athletics Carnival (Years 3 - 7 + Year 2 Students turning 8) Campbelltown Sports Stadium

Friday, 27 May 2022

8.10am - 9.00am: Pete's Cafe
9.00am - 9.30am: Junior Primary Assembly

Week 6

Tuesday, 31 May 2022

Chess Tournament
2022 Misa Ultimate Frisbee (Middle School) V Wollondilly Anglican College
9.00am: Junior Primary Chapel
2.30pm: Primary Chapel

Wednesday, 1 June 2022

AICES Cross Country (Middle School)
11.45am - 12.30pm: Junior Rep Sport
1.00pm - 1.45pm: Senior Rep Sport

Thursday, 2 June 2022

Art Explosion Day

Friday, 3 June 2022

8.10am - 9.00am: Pete's Cafe
9.00am - 9.30am: Combined Primary and Middle School Assembly

Independent Primary School of the Year (Excellence Award Winner)

A huge congratulations to the staff, students and parents at St Peter's on the recognition of the wonderful things happening at St Peter's. Our school was nominated for this award which will be announced at a Gala Dinner later in the year. We have been awarded an Excellence Award which in short means we have been shortlisted for the overall award.

This comes out of a number of substantial areas which we pride ourselves on:

1. Learning

2. Opportunities

3. Community

I offer a vote of thanks to our staff for their passion for quality Christian education and their willingness to go above and beyond for their students.

I thank our students for their commitment to learning, to growth and collaboration.

I thank our parent community for their support, engagement and connection.

We don't need the award to recognise what we already know, but I am incredibly proud that St Peter's is my school.

IPSSO Rep Sport

All Winter Rep Sport students train each Wednesday morning at 8.00am. Any students who have not returned their Summer Rep Sport uniform from Term 1 need to do so.

Below are our teams next 2 upcoming fixtures. Best wishes to all players.

Wednesday, 25 May @ St Peter’s (HOME game) V Macarthur

Juniors: 11.35am – 12.20pm
Seniors: 1.00pm – 2.00pm

Wednesday, 1 June @ St Peter’s (HOME game) V Wollondilly

Juniors: 12.00pm – 12.45pm
Seniors: 1.00pm – 1.45pm

Opportunities for Middle School

There has been an abundance of opportunities for Middle School students over the beginning of Term 2. Students have been out on excursions, had opportunities in Debating, Chess, Cooking, Music, Dance and Sport.

At the beginning of week 4, Year 7 had the unique opportunity to be shown around the State Parliament by The Honourable Stephanie Cooke, MP. Stephanie Cooke is connected to our school community through the Cooke family. We are very thankful for her generosity of time and her willingness to share an insider's perspective of parliamentary operations. During this same excursion, students were exposed to the University of Sydney campus when they delved deep into their history collection by handling artefacts that were over 2500 years old. A big thanks to Mr Seccombe for organising a fantastic learning experience that engaged students.

The Co-Curricular Programme at St Peter’s is gathering momentum with opportunities in Dance, Chess, Debating, Music and sport. Macarthur Independent Schools Association (MISA) conducted a Debate training day during week 3. 12 students from Year 7 developed skills in presenting clear arguments and Public Speaking through their participation in a couple of practice debates. This training day is the precursor to continued involvement in debating over the remainder of the year.

A few practical issues as we continue to develop our school culture, processes and systems.

Coming events, notification and opportunities can be found on The Middle School ‘Snap Shot’ , please click here to view.
Student diaries are used for student organisation and to communicate (both positive and small misdemeanours) between students, teachers and parents. We are developing a culture where diaries are signed by parents each weekend in preparation for the school week. It is a student's responsibility to present this to parents over the weekend. Parents are encouraged to look over any communication from teachers and to check on any upcoming tasks.
Thank you all for working with the School Shop to get the new uniforms onto students. After the covid related delays, we are now in a position where students should have the full complement of uniform options. We will start to more regularly encourage students to maintain a high uniform standard. Any issues will be communicated through the diary.

St Peter's Heart

St Peter's Heart is almost full and we are delighted to see the significant gains our students are making. We are determining class structure for 2023 to determine if we will offer a third class.

Praise God for the ongoing success and all that has been achieved in such a short period of time.

School Athletics Carnival

The School Athletics Carnival will be held on Thursday, 26 May at Campbelltown Athletics Centre, Pembroke Road, Leumeah.

All students turning 8 or older are eligible. Parents are most welcome to attend and cheer on their child/ren from the stands. Please ensure your child returns their permission note promptly if they have not done so already.

Year 7 - City Experience Photos

Experience Year 7 - 2023 Students

We are excited to welcome visiting students as well as those from our current Year 6 on Monday and Tuesday next week to experience a day in the life of Year 7 at St Peter's Grammar.

Students will undertake a range of experiences to assist in preparing them for Secondary. If you are aware of friends who are considering St Peter's for Year 7 2023, please recommend they register via our school website.

Changes to Enrolment Policy

As communicated via email, our Enrolment Policy has changed with all students now enrolled from Pre - Kindergarten - Year 12. We are pleased to offer this level of assurance for our families. Of course anyone who decides to leave the school for any reason is required to provide one full term notice in writing to the Headmaster.

Students in Pre - Kindergarten and Year 6 are requested to provide notice as soon as possible if they are attending other schools, so that class structures can be determined.

Road Safety in the Carpark

A reminder that speed should be limited to 10km per hour in our carpark when dropping off and picking up students.

Thanks for your support in keeping our children, staff and visitors safe.

And the Prime Minister is....

If you're anything like me, you'll be pleased to realise that the Election Campaign is coming to an end. Hopefully by Saturday evening, the next government will be announced and we can move onto the next focus area of media attention.

This campaign in my opinion has been unremarkable, when it comes to the issue of education. There has been little focus on this area despite the ongoing and real challenges associated with teacher workload, NCCD funding, funding in general - not to mention the focus on an entirely new Curriculum K-12 over the coming years.

Education is a right and whilst it is not my intention to get involved in politics, the issue of funding nonetheless comes up on a regular basis. St Peter's is a low fee school and receives government funding to allow us to provide quality Christian Education to the families that select St Peter's.

Any suggestion that St Peter's does not deserve this funding, or that we are robbing our friends in the Public System is farcical. The very clear reality is that it costs the government less for your children to attend a school like St Peter's than it would if our students were attending a Public School.

You as parents contribute to the cost, often at great sacrifice to ensure you can access the school of choice that meets your families needs.

Our school is grateful for our parent partnership and the government support. Please pray for wisdom as our new government is elected this weekend and for wisdom as our Education Minister is selected. Such a great responsibility in our sphere of the nation.

Outdoor Education

Restrictions over the last few years have meant that many external events have not been able to occur. One of the exciting elements we are looking forward to experiencing once again is our Outdoor Education Programme. We are proud of the camp opportunities on offer and see them as an integral part of the St Peter’s experience. Camps provide students with the opportunity to undertake and conquer new challenges, develop teamwork skills and build greater independence. Central to all St Peter's camps is the opportunity for students to engage with the Bible and hear the good news of Jesus.

Students in Years 1 and 2 experienced a ‘Day Camp’ at school today where they participated in a variety of games and activities, allowing them to have an introduction to the style of camps they will experience in the future.

Year 3 students will attend a Day Camp at Wedderburn in Term 3 where they may undertake activities such as bush walking, bike riding and archery. The fun continues as students return to school to share a meal together and experience a sleep over within the classrooms. The aim of this camp is to help prepare students for the Outdoor Education Programme undertaken from Year 4 onwards and get used to sleeping overnight away from home.

Camps in Years 4-6 foster a different style of learning, as students and teachers spend a number of days together sharing resources and realising the importance of considering the needs of others. Programmes offer team-building and 'challenge by choice' activities such as rock climbing, canoeing and zip lining.

We acknowledge that camp can be a big deal for both students and parents. Some things that you can do to assist your child are:
1. Be positive. Encourage your child that they will have a great time and create lots of cherished memories.
2. Get them to help pack their suitcase and practise how to roll up a sleeping bag.
3. Communicate in advance with your child’s teacher if necessary. There may be a number of support measures we can put in place with the right collaboration and planning.

I encourage you to check the St Peter’s calendar for camp dates scheduled during the year. What a wonderful opportunity to foster independence, confidence and personal growth in young lives.