Head of Preparatory School - Edition 19 - 2023

Week 8 Term 4

It is hard to believe Term 4 has almost finished! Having been at Westminster for only eight weeks I can’t help but think how fortunate I am to be part of this wonderful community. When I walk around the School each day, I see happy and engaged children being adventurous with their learning and supported by dedicated teachers, coeducators and office staff.

In this week’s Preparatory School eNews, we feature an article inspiring Year 6 students to 'choose a career you love' and introduce the 2024 Preparatory School Captains plus more.

I wish all families a safe and Merry Christmas and look forward to welcoming students back to school on Tuesday 30 January 2024.

National Agriculture Day

In celebration of National Agriculture Day, our Senior School and Preparatory School recently came together to host a Farm Design Workshop with our Reception and Year 9 students.

Guided by the Year 9s, Reception students had a chance to design their own Sturt Grove Farm, mapping out all of the elements to sustain farm life including livestock, vegetable gardens, hay and fodder storage and a science lab - before hearing about the new plans to become a reality in 2024.

In addition, a quiz-based competition was held in the Senior School by which tutor groups competed for a freshly cooked Sturt Grove Farm breakfast using local produce. Congratulations to our winning tutor groups!

Across Australia, over 150,000 farmers work tirelessly to provide food for our nation and the world. At Westminster, we're fortunate to have a comprehensive understanding and profound appreciation for the scope of paddock to plate, educating our students from ELC through to Senior School.

2023 Governor’s Civics Awards for Schools

Anya- Winner and Piotrek- Merit

The Governor’s Civics Awards for Schools provides the opportunity for young South Australians to develop their capacity and awareness in the area of active and informed citizenship in a multicultural and democratic society. As part of our Year 6 HASS studies, we explored Civics and Citizenship and Australia’s citizenship throughout the 20^th century that impacted First Nations Australians, migrants, women and children. From this, students were invited to research about a migrant group or individual who impacted South Australia.

Anya Rose’s (Year 6, Crown) writing reflected the life of Lowitja O’Donoghue Smart, an Australian activist and she was awarded the 2023 Governor’s Civics Award. Her lifelong advocacy for Aboriginal rights and reconciliation made her one of the most respected and influential Aboriginal people in Australian history. We congratulate Anya on winning this prestigious award for her writing. Anya has been invited to attend Government House on Proclamation Day to receive this prestigious award. Congratulations Anya.

Piotrek Kowalczyk (Year 6, Crown) received a Merit for his piece on Sir Douglas Nicholls, a First Nations activist, athlete, minister, and politician who sought to establish the rights of First Nations peoples. We congratulate Piotrek on his outstanding writing and his achievement in receiving a Merit.

Year 6 Staff

Chinese Language Awards

On Friday 24 November, the 2023 SA Annual Chinese Language Awards Ceremony, organized by The Chinese Language Teachers Association (CLTASA), took place at Seymour College. Among the outstanding achievements, the video ‘2050 The Flying Car’ created by Year 5 Students Aarav Seshadri (Charter), Jack Smith (Mace) and Robyn Strohmayer (Wesley) won the third place in the 2023 SA Chinese Language video Competition. We extend our congratulations to them for the remarkable achievement and efforts. We also would like to congratulate to the following students who received the awards for their excellent Chinese Language knowledge, skills and enthusiasm for the Chinese language and culture.

2023 SA Chinese Language Awards (Individual Awards)

Second Language Learner of Chinese: Jack Smith (Year 5 Mace)

Background Language Learner of Chinese: Frank Li (Year 4 Crown)

More Success!

Alexander Brown (Year 4 Abbey) competed at the SA Power Networks State Relay Championships today and came out with a silver medal 🥈 for the Track Relay and bronze medal 🥉 for the Field Relay.

Imogen Evans (Year 5 Charter) also competed in the Track Relay with Alexander (silver medal).

2024 Preparatory School Leaders

Congratulations to our 2024 Year 6 leaders! These students were selected by students and staff votes and will do a great job in leading various aspects of Preparatory School life next year. Each leader is mentored by a different staff member and participate in various opportunities throughout the year. They will be officially welcomed at our Student Leaders' Ceremony on Thursday 1 February 2024.

Congratulations to:

School Captains – mentored by Simon McKenzie

Ella Chen

Aarav Sheshadri

Preparatory School Leaders

Upper Primary Leader - Addison Smith

Middle Primary Leader - Jack Smith

Junior Primary Leader - Asha Nedelkos

Music Leader - Emily Forde

Service Leader - Alyssa Williams

Community Leader - Zunairah Choudhrey

Environmental Leader - Austin Matthews

Wellbeing Leader - Chloe Greenfield

Sport Leaders - Harriet Smith and Callum Rice

House Captains

Abbey - Matilda Rosser and Carter Browne

Charter -Bailey Bradford and Imogen Evans

Crown - Claudia Fischer and Sim Xu

Mace - Eliza Wilson and William Gordon

Wesley - Tom Judd and Ashton Warren

Wyvern - Aishwarya Khanna and Lenny Roberts

Choose a career you love!

On Friday 1 December, the Year 6 cohort had the privilege to hear Monica Oliphant A.O. talk about her experiences as a scientist. She discussed her call to action and the spark that took her on the 40+ year pioneering research journey in alternative energy. The students were engaged in her amazing timeline of research that has impacted many in South Australia and the world. They asked her questions about green hydrogen, alternative energy, net zero carbon emissions and life as a scientist.

Monica’s final words to the students ‘choose a career you love’, is a testament to the many years she has been involved in alternative energy research and continues to do so. A great inspiration to our students, as they progress into Year 7.

BusMinder 2024

Thank you to those families who are supporters of our School bus service and users of BusMinder. In preparation for 2024, there are some key points to note:

• Adelaide Coachlines who has run our School bus service for round 20 years has been sold and from 2024 will be operated by Willunga Charter, another well-known school bus operator in Adelaide. Some of the Adelaide Coachlines drivers will be transferring to Willunga Charter but there is no guarantee the drivers who have been on the Westminster runs will continue to drive on the same runs.
• There are no planned changes to any of the routes, although once the new school year commences there may be some tweaks to stops in line with changes in family demand (as occurs every year).
• Willunga Charter operates BusMinder. All account details you have set up will remain intact, including any account balance in credit, but it will require all families to load a new version of the BusMinder app that aligns with Willunga Charter. As the transfer of ownership occurs after the end of the school year, no further action is required at this time. The School will be in contact during the second half of January 2024 to let you know details of the correct app to choose. Once you have downloaded, you will see there is little difference with the BusMinder you have been using during 2023. You will find all the runs and information set up for the School and your child, including their accounts.
• There will be a change in pricing for next year’s services to both casual trips and term passes. Details will be provided in January 2024.
• For new families, we don’t require you to use the ‘booking onto a run’ facility in BusMinder. This may change as demand on services change but we intend to start the year without the need to take bus service bookings.
• If you have an outstanding BusMinder balance to settle, you will continue to see reminders requesting you to do so. We ask that this be done by Friday 15 December 2023.

Thank you for your support in 2023. On behalf of the School and all families who use the School bus service, we have thanked Adelaide Coachlines for their dedication and professionalism through 20 years of transporting our students to and from School (with many an excursion in between).

Xplor Changes to ELC/OSHC Payments

Please note that when ELC/OSHC services recommence in January 2024, a new direct debit payment system will be activated for all ELC and OSHC families through Xplor.

Further information on how to set up your preferred payment method (bank account or credit card) in Xplor will be issued in January once the functionality is fully enabled.

Our payment terms of 14 days after end of month will remain unchanged. This means the new mode of payment will apply to your balance at 31 January, which will be due by 14 February 2024.

Westminster School Pool Policy

The School has used Term 4 to revisit its Pool Policy to ensure it reflects best practice in operating a large pool facility. For most pool users they will see little impact as best practice is already in place or it’s a background change and won’t be noticed by families.

However, there is a significant change around pool supervision when a child under 10 years is in the pool or on the pool deck, outside of normal school classroom hours (ie in term, Monday to Friday, 9.00 am to 3.30 pm).

Using Royal Life Saving as a best practice model, a parent or caregiver (classed as a responsible person of 16 years or more) needs to remain present on the pool deck when their child (under 10 years) is in the water or on the pool deck. Shared responsibility of this supervision between families is limited to a maximum ratio of one responsible supervisor to four children.

This means that if a child (under 10 years) is in a WestSwim Swim School lesson with a qualified instructor or the child is just waiting on the pool deck, a responsible person needs to be present and actively supervising their child at all times. The same rules apply for a child under 10 years if involved in in co-curricular squad swimming, which happens before school.

Please download the Pool Policy and read it carefully to understand what changes you may need to make as a family to ensure compliance as from Term 1 2024.

If you have any questions about this Pool Policy in practice, please contact the Sports and Swimming Centre team on T: 08 8276 0241.

Code Camp

Prep School Office - Enquiries and Absentees

For any general enquiries, please contact the Prep School Office via E: PSO@westminster.sa.edu.au or T: 08 8276 0219.

To advise the Prep Office of an absentee or a late arrival, please use the Prep School voicemail line, T: 08 8276 0255. This line is available 24 hours and is checked every morning.

Diary Dates

• Year 6 Graduation Ceremony – Tuesday 12 December
• End Term 4 – Wednesday 13 December at 12.40 pm

• Code Camp – Monday 18 – Wednesday 20 December
• 2024 School Year Commences Tuesday 30 January at 8.45 am

Simon McKenzie
Head of Preparatory School