It has been a fabulous term so far, with a lot more amazing learning and events to come. In this newsletter you will see photos and information about the events our students have had the opportunity to particpate in this term along with the many exciting events still to come.

It has been insipring to visit the classrooms and speak to the students about their learning. The enthusiasm and commitment by all of our students is motivating. I look forward to seeing you all at our End of Year Celebration. At this stage there are no COVID-19 restrictions in place which means you can invite as many family members and friends as possible!

Class Placement

We are committed to meeting the educational needs of all of students.  A significant amount of thought, planning and time goes into placing children into classes each year. Every effort is made to place each child in an environment that is supportive, productive and successful.

If you have any concerns, please speak to the class teacher in the first instance who will be able to ensure any concerns are passed onto leadership. If you would prefer you can contact the Administration Office and make a time with Kingsley or myself.

Factors influencing class structures are:

• The projected number of students in each year level
• The number of teachers employed at the school and available facilities

 Factors which are considered in the placement of students include:

• The education needs of the students
• Work habits eg. ability to work independently, within groups
• Behaviour
• Gender
• Social networks
• Students with additional needs eg. required learning adjustments, SSO allocations, OnePlans

 What is the process for placing students into classes?

Staff have been meeting to establish class groupings for the following year. Teachers of the current year and school leaders meet with other staff (including Specialist teachers and SSOs) to create the class lists (eg. Year 2 teachers and leaders decide Year 3 placements).

Throughout the process, changes and adjustments are made and each change triggers a reaction of other changes. It is acknowledged that friendships are important, however, to ensure balanced classes, friendship groups are not the primary determining factor in class placement and social friendships are not always successful as learning friendships. 

We will endeavour to place every child with a friend of their choosing.  Please note: classroom teachers will facilitate this.

Parents/Caregivers will be advised of their child's placement on 15 December, 2022.  Students will have had the opportunity to meet their teachers for 2023 (where possible) on that day.

Capital Works Build

The Pimpala Design Team committee, comprising Architects, DfE Project Manager, DIT Project Manager, Quantity Surveyors and myself, Kingsley Heard and Barb West from Pimpala meet every second week to design, plan and implement our new buildings.  We are only at the very preliminary stage right now.  There is lots of administration, design and site testing to take place over the next 8 months or so before any building commences.

As you may be aware, the administration and the primary and junior primary classrooms including OSHC, Stephanie Alexander Kitchen, Performing Arts, and the Science room will be demolished and rebuilt/relocated as part a phased program . 

The gymnasium, STEM building, Library and transportables will all stay. However, as part of the phasing process the gym and STEM building will be repurposed during this time.

We are optimistic that work will commence in the middle of 2023 and will take approximately 18 months from that time.

I hope you all stayed safe with the weather over the weekend. As always, if you need support or assistance we are here to help you.

Belinda Finlay-Smith

We wish to express our sincere thanks for the generous donations from the following companies, organisations and individuals.  Thank you so much for your assistance in making our Trivia Night such a huge success.

We welcome our 2023 Reception students for their Transition Visits for the next 3 weeks from this week:

• Tuesday, 15 November - 9:00am - 10:40am,
• Tuesday,  22 November - 9:00am - 11:30am,
• Tuesday, 29 November - 9:00am – 11:30am. 

We hope you have a great time!

On Wednesday, 26 October, 9 of our Aboriginal students and one each of their friends got the opportunity to attend Kids on Country.

Students from primary schools around Adelaide braved a wintery day in the Parklands to learn about Kaurna culture and caring for country at an interactive educational event.

Hosted by the City of Adelaide, the Kids on Country Kaurna Activity Day focused on Kaurna culture and encouragds Aboriginal kids to walk on their country and learn about and share their culture with non-Aboriginal students.

The Kids on Country event featured a series of stations with different activities, from environmental education to arts and music, wodli (hut) building, traditional storytelling and live animals.

Our students attended the Welcome to Country, smoking ceremony and also got to enjoy 5 different activities on the day.

We started off with the animals anonymous. The students got to hold a snake. The snake felt really weird. Deb, Faye, Tom and Erin also held the snake after all of the students had a go. Then we got to hear a dreaming story and do some art. We then enjoyed a sausage sizzle for lunch.

After lunch we got to be involved in a dance workshop, which was presented by Carclew.

We then got to paint our own boomerangs. There was lots of fun and a bit of mess with this activity.

Our last activity for the day was a seed bomb workshop. The seed bombs were like a sticky paste. The students then got the chance to throw their seed bombs at the tree and see them go splat.

We have a beautiful morning with the weather. After lunch on the other hand we had a couple of showers. We all enjoyed a fantastic day of fun and culture. Thank you to the City of Adelaide for putting on the event.

World Teacher’s Day was celebrated in Australia on Friday, 28 October, and to acknowledge and appreciate our teachers this year, the non-teaching staff provided morning tea to celebrate their achievements and successes. 

World Teachers’ Day symbolises a day on which students, parents and community members  demonstrate their appreciation for the contributions that teachers make and have made to their community.

On Tuesday, 1 November, some of our Year 5/6 students participated in an interschool basketball competition at Christies Beach Primary School.

12 Pimpala students participated in two teams.

Pimpala Red was Oscar E, Ashton P, Owen R, Oliver B, Seth B and Lucas Z.

Pimpala Blue was Austin C, Tobi R, Noah W, Oscar T, Seth R and Jakob R.

Pimpala Red had a record of 2-3 and finished 4^th. Round 1 they played Christies Beach Green and won 13-11. Round 2 they played Flaxmill White and lost 8-6. Round 3 they won against O’Sullivan Beach Primary 18-6. Round 4 they lost against Christies Beach Gold 20-4.

Pimpala Blue had a record 4-1 and finished 3^rd. Round 1 they lost against Christies Gold 15-6. Round 2 they won against Christies Beach Green 14-6. Round 3 they won against Flaxmill White 18-2. Round 4 they won against O’Sullivan Beach Primary 33-0.

With both Pimpala teams finishing in the top 4, we then played against each other for our last game to determine who would finish 3^rd. Pimpala Blue won against Pimpala Red 14-4 to finish in 3^rd place. Overall it was a super fun day! Every student behaved beautifully and should be really proud of their efforts!  

On Tuesday 8 November, Sophie P, Mia Z and Mr Kemp attended the Public Education Student Forum at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre. Approximately 750 students and teachers attended the forum hosted by Professor Martin Westwell. Students were invited to share they currently value in public education and to imagine the impossible.

Activating student voice was vital. Mia and Sophie worked in small groups with students from a range of primary and high schools when exploring state wide data on Wellbeing with a focus on persistence. Year 9 and 10 students shared similar ideas and solutions to Sophie and Mia, making our girls feel proud that they could keep up with the sophisticated thinking skills of high school students. By the end of the middle session, Sophie and Mia were leading the conversation and proposing creative ideas on how to increase persistence in public schools in SA.

The girls also engaged with current research in education. They discovered the importance of Oral Language, Collaboration, Feedback and Metacognition in the classroom. Reflecting on their favourite lessons, the girls thought about how these elements increase student learning. All ideas were collated into electronic databases for further research within the Department.

Minister Blair Boyer addressed the group at the end of the forum. The Minister’s message around the importance of Student Voice suggests that this will not be the last forum of this kind. Sophie and Mia were a credit to Pimpala. They demonstrated the values and flexible thinking skills that makes Pimpala an amazing school. Our SRC is currently experiencing a reimagining of how Student Voice is run at Pimpala Primary School. With such amazing thinkers and speakers leading our learners, the voice of students at Pimpala is in safe hands.

Sophie’s highlight of the day was working with the high school students because we collaborated well and shared ideas.

Mia’s highlight of the day was working with the high school students because they shared the same ideas and solutions. It didn’t matter that they were older, the thinking was the same.

On Tuesday evening, 8 November 39 out of 42 eligible students and their parents/caregivers attended Bonython Hall at the Adelaide University for the Children's University Graduation Ceremony. Guest speakers included Professor Peter Hoj, AC, Vice-Chancellor of Adelaide University, Jessica Gallagher, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Adelaide University and Blair Boyer, the Minister for Education, Training and Skills.

The Principal of each school then read out the names of the graduating students, while the Dr Jessica Gallagher, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Professor Hoj the Vice-Chancellor presented the awards.

Congratulations to all 42 students for your commitment, diligence and hard work in achieving your goals. 

Each student  completed a minimum of 30 hours of outside learning  in order to achieve this.

Two of our students graduated with over 65 hours giving them a higher level award.

Any additional hours they completed this year will go towards next year's awards.

Special thanks to Karen Campbell for all of her hard work in running the program, and motivating and encouraging the students to meet their goals.

If you would like your child to participate in the Children's University program next year, please contact Barb in the Administration Office.

On Thursday, 10 November we hosted our inaugural Nunga Yarn, an opportunity for our Aboriginal families to come together and talk about issues.  

Deb Hampton, our Aboriginal Education Teacher and Erin Douglas, our Aboriginal Community Education Officer hosted the event and provided afternoon tea and a relaxed venue for those who attended.

It was great to see so many of or community members.

This term Year 4 and 5 students from Ms Viney, Ms MacLean, Ms Power, Mr Burns and Mr Branson’s classes have been taking part in a Bike Education program.  It has been an experience for everyone participating, as some of us did not remember how to ride a bike or have never ridden a bike before, some had limited experience and some have a lot of confidence, experience, and skills with riding bikes.  

Before anyone could ride their bikes as part of the program, students who brought their bike to school had to go through an official RAA safety check. Every week before we ride, we check the bike, the air in the tyres, how well the brakes work, whether the chain is broken, and we did the drop test to make sure it does not fall apart. We also had to check our helmet to make sure it fits, and our shoelaces were tied up properly to make sure they do not get caught in the chain of the bike while riding.  

After the initial safety discussion, it was time to form groups. Three groups were formed based on those who are comfortable and confident with riding and those who are not confident or had little experience of riding bikes. Everyone that was in the first two groups started riding around the school, as we are all making sure that we can have control of our bikes and practice following the road rules.

These groups learnt how to ride in a line so they will be able to go on a bike ride on the roads around the local community within the next couple of weeks.  Students who were not that confident started their session with small goals. Some of the goals ranged from just sitting on the bike and lifting their feet off the ground while others had to practice pedalling, only doing 5 rounds of pedals as well as learning and practicing riding on grass.

 While this group were gaining their confidence in riding bikes the other two groups were riding around the school and around the oval. They also played a game where everyone rides in a circle, during the game students were not able to put their feet down or talk while doing different challenges. If you did have to put your feet down or spoke, you were out which meant that you stand on the edge of the circle making a border.  

The Bike Ed instructors also showed us how gears work and how to change them correctly. Lower gears make it easier to pedal so we use lower gears uphill and on grass and sand. Higher gears make it harder to pedal they are used for going downhill.  

Thanks to all the Bike Ed instructors, teachers, SSO’s and volunteers for their encouragement and support. We all have had so much fun doing Bike Ed. 

Saoirse Stiles 

Ms Power’s Class 

In Term 2 students at Pimpala Primary School participated in the Premiers Be Active Challenge. On Wednesday 9 November, 30 year 5 and 6 students celebrated our achievements in completing this challenge. These students participated in a range of activities and attended the formal presentation with the Minster of Education and the Premier of South Australia. As we were one of the top 50 schools to engage in this challenge, we have received $1000 to go towards new sporting equipment.  All students have received a medal for their participation in this challenge. 

25 November 2022, 9:00am – 3:00pm

Location: Port Noarlunga Aquatic Centre

Year 5 students will undertake the Water Safety Program run by the Department for Education at Port Noarlunga Aquatic Centre in November. This program is very popular and provides important skills in an ocean environment which students may use in later years.

Students will have two sessions at Port Noarlunga Aquatic Centre on the same day and will be travelling by chartered bus. The focus of sessions are developing new skills and building confidence and competence in the open water. Some students may feel nervous about attending for the first time but it is an experience often mentioned as a highlight of the year in graduation speeches and it is expected that all students will undertake the program. 

The students will travel to Port Noarlunga by chartered bus.

Bus leaves school at 9.00am and will return at approximately 3.00pm     

Your child needs to bring: 

• hat
• towel
• drink bottle
• sunscreen
• long sleeve sunsafe shirt or rashy
• set of warm clothing
• recess and lunch

Full length wetsuits are supplied to students.

Please ensure all Health Care Plans are up-to-date and that medications are within their use-by date. Students will have access to their school-based medications with them during the program.

Total cost of the program is $15.00.

Please return the Water Safety Consent form with full payment by Friday, 18 November to the Finance Office or pay via the Qkr! App. You must complete the paper water safety consent form for the Water Safety Program as this form must be given to the Port Noarlunga Aquatics Centre. If for financial reasons this timeline proves difficult, please speak to the Finance Office, ASAP to arrange a payment plan. If your child does not attend due to illness, a full refund will be given if a medical certificate is provided.

The Year 6 Aquatics Program will be conducted on Friday, 25 November.

The Aquatics Program is a very popular part of the compulsory curriculum and provides important skills in the ocean environments.  All students in Years 6 are expected to undertake the program.  Information and consent forms are available on Qkr! or you can pay at the Finance Window.  

Students will have two sessions at Port Noarlunga Aquatic Centre on the same day and will be travelling by chartered bus. The focus of sessions are developing new skills and building confidence and competence in the open water. Some students may feel nervous about attending for the first time but it is an experience often mentioned as a highlight of the year in graduation speeches and it is expected that all students will undertake the program. 

The students will travel to Port Noarlunga by chartered bus.

Bus leaves school at 9.00am and will return at approximately 3.00pm     

Your child needs to bring: 

• hat
• towel
• drink bottle
• sunscreen
• long sleeve sunsafe shirt or rashy
• set of warm clothing
• recess and lunch

Full length wetsuits are supplied to students.

Please ensure all Health Care Plans are up-to-date and that medications are within their use-by date. Students will have access to their school-based medications with them during the program.

Total cost of the program is $20.00.

Please return the Water Safety Consent form with full payment by Friday, 18 November to the Finance Office or pay via the Qkr! App. You must complete the paper water safety consent form for the Water Safety Program as this form must be given to the Port Noarlunga Aquatics Centre. If for financial reasons this timeline proves difficult, please speak to the Finance Office, ASAP to arrange a payment plan. If your child does not attend due to illness, a full refund will be given if a medical certificate is provided.

Planning is proceeding for our annual End of Year Celebration Concert which will be held on Thursday, 8 December at 5:30pm.  After last year’s successful event, this is sure to be popular.

Students will be able to showcase and celebrate the end of year with a variety of performances.  Some classes will perform on their own, while others will join together for a fusion of talent. 

Please put this date in your diary, and come along so you don’t miss seeing your child and their classmates’ performance.  More information will be sent home as it becomes available.

The Year 6 Graduation which will be held on Thursday, December 15, 2022, at the Wirreanda Secondary School Performing Arts Centre commencing at 5:30pm. 

Students and staff will then travel by chartered bus to attend a dinner at St Francis Winery. 

More information will be sent home later this term.

The canteen will be closed during the last week of this term, 12 to 16 December, 2022.  We regret any inconvenience this may cause.

We are trying to get an accurate idea of numbers for next year.  If you are planning to change schools next year or know of someone who plans to enrol, can you please let the class teacher or the Admimistration Office staff know.

We also need a Registration of Interest Form for each child who will come to Pimpala PS in the future.  If there are any siblings, please complete a form and bring it to the Administration Office.  It is never too early to lodge your interest.

Student reports for 2022 are currently being processed.  These will be sent home with the students on Wednesday, 14 December.    

If you are part of a separated family and would like a second copy, please let the Administration Office staff know by Thursday, 8 December.

Class structures and placements are being finalised and we plan to inform you of your child’s class placement when notes are sent home on Thursday, 15 December. 

As always please keep in mind that unforeseen circumstances between now and the commencement of next year may result in some changes.  If you have any concerns, please contact us.

If your child is not at school on the days the notes go home, the notes will be available for collection from the Administration Office.  Any uncollected reports or class placement notes will be posted at the end of school on Friday, 16 December, the last day of school. Please ensure your address details are correct.

Now is a great time to start looking for any Library books you may have borrowed during the year but haven’t yet returned.  We will be commencing stock-take within the next 2 weeks so please return any books by Friday, 25 November or earlier if possible.

The Week 7 Assembly will be held on Friday, 2 December and will be hosted by Ms Viney/Ms Kudler's Year 3/4 class.

The Week 9 Assembly will be held on  Friday, 16 December to farewell our Year 6 students, and any other staff who will not be returning next year.

Parents/caregivers are welcome.

If you would like a tour of our school, please ring to make an appointment with the Principal, Belinda Finlay-Smith.  This enables any interested families the chance to ask individual questions and to provide specific information about your child/ren in a confidential setting.

If you or anyone you know is looking to enrol at Pimpala or find out more about what our school offers, please contact the Adminstration Office on 8326 0900 in the first instance to make an appointment.

As in past years, Pimpala will be co-ordinating donations of canned and non-perishable food and presents to distribute to needy families. These items are used to make hampers for the less fortunate in our community.  

Let’s make it a great time for everyone this Christmas by bringing something to help struggling families. Please bring items including canned food, packet food or unwrapped new presents and toys to the Administration Office.

Donations will be accepted from tomorrow.

During Term 4 we have been trialling the SSOs running activities for the students at recess and lunch times.

Our current roster has the following activities:

Recess play:

• Handball - Faye
• Circuit - Debbie V
• Cricket -  Kyal 
• Dance (favourites) - Mia
• Marks Up -  Kyal

Lunch play:

• Card/board games - Sue, Tina
• Chess - Trish, Sue
• Art - Jenny, Erin

We will continue to monitor the popularity of each activity and adjust where necessary.

Each fortnight teachers identify students who have demonstrated the school values of Responsibility, Respect and Resilience to a high standard and nominate them to receive an award - usually at the Assembly.  Due to current COVID-19 restrictions we have not had an assembly yet.  

Awards are only awarded when the values are observed and deserved so some weeks there may be more and some weeks less awards.

Congratulations to the students who were presented with an award on Friday, 21 October, 2022. Great work!

Reception – Tim Scott – Ezra A, Eden O

R/1 -  Lauren Whitbread/Silvia Lang – Parker G, Aisha H

1/2 -  Emma Shillum – Benji B, Siyona G

1/2 - Lauren Stanley – Mia D, Afia F

2/3 - Nicole Currer – Simon S, Montana F, Isabel B, Elliot T, Savannah M, Brodey M

2/3 -  Emily Mooney-Doe/Lauren Whitbread – Levi C, Holly 

3/4 -  Kate Viney/Heidi Kudler – Harry O, Ammarah A

4/5 - Jo Power – Tate P, Breanna W, Connor H

4/5 - Christine MacLean –  Taya C, Shayaan 

5/6 - Chris Burns/Rose Knight – Michael C, Caitlyn B

5/6 -  Branson –  Ashton P, Alicia D

Each fortnight teachers identify students who have demonstrated the school values of Responsibility, Respect and Resilience to a high standard and nominate them to receive an award - usually at the Assembly.  Due to current COVID-19 restrictions we have not had an assembly yet.  

Awards are only awarded when the values are observed and deserved so some weeks there may be more and some weeks less awards.

Congratulations to the students who were presented with an award on Friday, 11 November, 2022. Great work!

Reception – Tim Scott – Fiona G and Charlie H

R/1 -  Lauren Whitbread/Silvia Lang – Haris A and Lexie B

1/2 -  Emma Shillum – Savi G and Noah M

1/2 - Lauren Stanley – Tate L and Halle N

2/3 - Nicole Currer – Sophie W and Jessica B

2/3 -  Emily Mooney-Doe/Lauren Whitbread – Hads B and Amelia W

3/4 -  Kate Viney/Heidi Kudler – Zoe R and Kye H

4/5 - Jo Power – Max N, Jessie D and Vaughan H

4/5 - Christine MacLean – Tatum E and Dakota B

5/6 - Chris Burns/Rose Knight – Grace B and Noah W

5/6 -  Branson –  Jenna F and Azaleah S

AUSLAN - Savi G and Myra L

The Uniform Shop will be open before school goes back on Wednesday, 25 January, 2023 from 1:30pm – 3:00pm, for your convenience.