Well Underway

I am delighted to report that the children of the Prep School are seemingly back to ‘normal’ and are individually and collectively handling the far from normal situation that 2020 has provided us with so far.

Classes are busy working their way through the curriculum and this week we have commenced some standardised testing which will provide us with data on student and cohort progress. This helps us to determine which areas are strengths and which areas may need more attention and support.

Outside of the classroom, all the sporting and club activities are in full swing. The School grounds are a sea of activity after school. The early risers among our community would be inspired by seeing (or perhaps even participating) in the Running Club activities before school, where up to 100 students and parents extend themselves at the start of the day to get the endorphins flowing.

Trips beyond the schoolyard are again commencing. The ELC children travelled to the Festival Theatre for a performance, the Reception classes are looking forward to a visit to Monarto Zoo, and recently the Year 2 classes braved the wintery weather and visited the Adelaide Zoo.

SAPSASA selection

Another sign of normality returning is the fact that students are again able to trial for the District Representative Sporting teams. In the last edition, I mentioned that Aijay Willoughby (Year 6 Charter), Zach Tucker (Year 7 Clark), Axel Tucker (Year 6 Wyvern) and Seven Ding (Year 7 Fricker) were selected in the South West District Soccer teams. I have more good news as Adelle Parkinson-Need (Year 6 Abbey) has been selected in the Hockey team, and we are also very well represented in the netball and football teams. In netball, Westminster makes up the majority of the squad with Eliza Maloney (Year 7 Carter), Amahli Siebum (Year 7 Heaslip), Sophia Edwards (Year 7 Woollacott), Harriet Robertson (Year 7 Forder), Milla Liptak (Year 7 Dunstan) and Jazz McKay (Year 7 Clark) all being selected.

In the football, we are being well represented by Tim Alver (Year 7 Woolacott), Patrick Hutchins (Year 7 Kelly), Charlie Bradford (Year 6 Charter), Jack Alver (Year 7 Woolacott) and Lucas Doe (Year 7 Fereday). Congratulations to these students. I am confident that they will do Westminster proud.

Student Achievement

Congratulations to Margaret Gough (Year 3 Crown) who started ice-skating during the last school holidays at the Winter Wonderland in Noarlunga. She has just passed her Beginner Level 1 and 2.

Student Free Day

As you would be aware from previous correspondence, Monday 7 September is the Westminster School Student Free Day closure to allow for staff training.

For those families who will need care for their children on this day, OSHC will be open from 7.30 am to 6.00 pm and will operate like a Vacation Care day. The OSHC staff will provide fun-filled activities for your child if you choose to utilise the OSHC service on this day.

Please note, as the OSHC will be operating as a Vacation Care day, children may wear casual clothes.

We ask that you please return the completed reply slip sent in previous correspondence to OSHC or contact OSHC, on T: 08 8276 0390 or via Email, no later than Monday 31 August if you intend to use the OSHC on this day, to enable us to arrange correct staffing numbers.

Code Camp

In the upcoming holidays, Code Camp are excited to be returning to Westminster School from Wednesday 30 September to Friday 2 October to teach your child to code or continue them on their coding journey!

This season Westminster School will be hosting the following programs:

Spark, Ages 7-12 years, (for new students)

Fun, engaging and challenging and our most known Code Camp that over 25,000 students have completed. Code Camp Spark is where every student in Years 2 to 6 should start their Code Camp journey. Your child will design an engaging platformer game (similar to Mario Bros.), and then bring it to life with intuitive, yet powerful, drag and drop code. Learning the fundamentals of coding gives children the confidence and knowledge to be in control with technology – not just as a passive consumer, but as a creator, problem solver, and digital storyteller.

Ignite, Ages 7-12 years (returning students)

We asked 10,000 Spark kids what they would love to create next, and then put our creative team to the task of bringing this to life as a new course. Mission accomplished! We also added more logic, more code, more problem solving and introduced JavaScript, the language of the web. The next step in your child's game making and coding journey. Your child will confidently learn the code and logic to create flashing gems, invisibility cloaks, spinning platforms, mini-games, bouncing clouds, shrinking potions and so much more.

Web Builders, Ages 8-13 years (Advanced)

Your kids can now build their own website at Code Camp. Starting from scratch, students will learn HTML, CSS & JavaScript to create a multi-page website on a topic of their choice. Please note due to the amount of typing required at this camp, it is recommended that students be fairly confident with keyboards.

Book now using discount code ‘SPRING20’ to take advantage of the $20 Early Bird Discount running until midnight Sunday 30 August.

Bookings can be made via this link: www.codecamp.com.au/westminster

For more information, visit codecamp.com.au or contact the Code Camp team at hello@codecamp.com.au

Diary Dates

Student Free Day/Staff training - Monday 7 September
Summer uniform becomes an option from Tuesday 8 September
Parent/Student/Teacher Interview Weeks - Week 9, Monday 14 to Friday 18 September
Prep Sports Days - Wednesday 23 and Thursday 24 September
End of Term 3, dismissal at 1.00 pm - Friday 25 September
Code Camp will be back at Westminster School from 30 September to 2 October
Term 4 commences – Tuesday 13 October

Grant Bock
Head of Preparatory School