We held our Open Day tours on Tuesday and it was wonderful to have so many families attend. Our student leaders Jaxon Brand, Luke Hansen, Matilda Heinrich, Takeria Woods and Chloe Crawford all contributed to a wonderful, knowledgeable tour. Their pride in our facilities certainly shone through. A huge thank you to the students and to our staff who made themselves available on Tuesday night to meet new families to the school, with a special mention to Mr. Bosch’s Chemistry students who demonstrated a titration practical. It is always such a pleasure to showcase our facilities and share what our students have been working on.

We would like to welcome Heather Schultz to the Canteen as a Co-Manager with Susan Greentree.  Both have taken over the Canteen with enthusiasm and I am sure staff and students would agree the many home baked goods are selling very well and are much appreciated.

A couple of weeks ago we had several students involved in the Dreaming at the G and also the SASSTA Power Cup. By all accounts, both events were very successful with the students and staff reporting there were many outstanding experiences for those involved.

We wish our students and staff all the best next week as they head to Adelaide for the Year 10 Careers Trip, an important part of the career education program in Year 10.

Tyler Hogan - Principal

National survey – have your say on the future of education

The Australian Government has invited teachers and school staff, parents and carers, students and other stakeholders to participate in a national survey to inform the next National School Reform Agreement (NSRA).

You can have your say on a range of issues including:

• improving education outcomes
• supporting student health and wellbeing
• supporting and retaining teachers.

The survey closes on Friday 23 June 2023 (Week 8, Term 2)

Life in Australia Survey (srcentre.com.au)

Your feedback will be considered as part of an Expert Panel Review into the next NSRA.

Contact
Australian Government Department for Education
Email: contact.centre@education.gov.au

In Week 3, the SAASTA students journeyed to Adelaide to participate in the 16^th Annual Santos Aboriginal Power Cup. This is a week-long combination of health and career learning experiences, as well as the much-anticipated football tournament. Every academy from South Australia participated in the tournament, which meant two full days of fierce competition. We spent a day at Flinders University learning about different tertiary study options, as well as listening to a few presentations from major sponsors about possible career opportunities within their various companies. We stayed at the BIG4 cabins in West Beach, where students were pleased to have some independence for the week, staying with their friends and enjoying the social aspects of the accommodation. The Port Pirie Academy’s guernsey design was none other than Elisabeth Court-Demell of John Pirie Secondary School (formerly of GHS) and featured some aboriginal language symbols, as well as other iconography, and the word ‘NUKUNU’ featured at the bottom, all on a white background, which looked striking, and was proudly worn by our players. Our two teams, male and female, both performed admirably, and our lads made it through the first two days undefeated. The girls gave the football a solid crack, but suffered a few early injuries, which made it hard to substitute players for a break. Our girls ended up joining the Port Augusta side for the rest of the competition, which was a lot of fun and allowed for some extremely wholesome bonding between the two girl's groups, as well as some excellent football. At the presentation dinner, which was held in the William Magarey Room, we had a welcome to country from Uncle Mick O’Brien and listened to officials such as David Koch talk to us about the success of the Power Cup and SAASTA programs, while praising students for their efforts in all areas of their schooling. Then, the winners of the male and female football competitions were announced. Two boys and two girls teams would play their Grand Final match on Adelaide Oval before the Port Adelaide v Melbourne AFL game. It was not only about the football results though – the winners are the ones with good behaviour and attendance records, as well as those who have submitted their work to a good standard. Port Pirie vs Oceanview was announced for the boys, and Ocean View vs Port Lincoln was announced for the girls. Our academy roared in excitement after hearing the announcement and had to immediately leave the Magarey Room to change and get ready for the Grand Final. Oceanview played extremely competitive football, but the Pirie Academy team continued to be too good. We don’t know the final score, but we estimate that we won by about six goals. Multiple players had stellar performances on the field, and the team displayed incredible sportsmanship and pride at all stages of the tournament. Students from every academy then participated in a cultural dance performance as a curtain-raiser for the AFL game. They had been practicing this dance during the week, and all students proudly wore their striking new Power Cup polo shirts for it. After the dance, students got to enjoy the AFL game, while trying their hardest to stay warm and dry. The bus left the cabin park early the next morning, filled with an air of success, pride and fulfillment.

Ryan Mills – “My favourite part was walking around the expos, finding new job pathways and opportunities, and meeting new people.”

Ethan Farrows – “It was a great experience to learn new skills, meet new people, and play on Adelaide Oval”

William Bullock – “I like how you could go there, hang out with your own mob, meet new people from other parts of Australia, also see some famous Australian people.”

Ronald Nash – “A highlight for me would be playing on Adelaide Oval in front of thousands of people, also winning the Grand Final match.”

David Nash – “I enjoyed having our own house with the boys for the week and playing the grand final on Adelaide Oval. I liked meeting new people with footy skills.”

Max Rutjens - AET Teacher 

During Weeks 2 and 3 of Term 2, the Year 10 Tech class has been involved in a STEM-based bridge building task. The students were split into teams and given time to research and build bridges that span 40cm across tables.

These students used a range of different materials to engineer their bridges to hold the most amount of weight possible without collapse.

Congratulations to the winning team who was able to hold 6.85kgs before failure.

Nathan Gillard - Tech Teacher 

TEXTILES

The Year 9 Textile Students are starting to finish their garments, they are looking fantastic. Well done. 

FOOD

The Year 9 Food class has been learning about baking and design and applying these skills to cupcake creation. With the help of their highly skilled teacher Miss Lloyd-Smith, who brings a wealth of experience in the area of cake decorating, each student chose a theme and designed 6 cupcakes. These were sold last Friday to staff and students to raise money for the Year 9 Ski Trip.

Some highlights were bearded gnomes, Elmo, rainbows, fish and fluffy sheep! Well done to all the bakers and designers!

SCIENCE

Across both Year 9 classes, the students are learning about natural disasters, preparedness and warning systems. They are applying this learning to focus on building design for reducing the impact of earthquakes. There is lots of discussion happening about their plans and materials with some students making physical models to demonstrate their understanding. Other students are utilising their ICT skills by documenting their design process using Minecraft for Schools.

Some of the features of an earthquake-resistant building can include features such as cross bracing, steel framing and strong support.

Many Year 9 students are chatting about their designs with members of the other class and lots of teachers. This is always one of the most exciting assessments in Year 9 Science and our older students still talk about their designs years later!

As part of the Year 8 Home Ec Food Curriculum this Semester students take turns volunteering in our School Canteen to help with the Gladstone and Laura Primary School lunch order prep. This is a great opportunity for students to practice what they have learnt in lesson time about food hygiene and preparation. It also helps them connect with the wider community and learn about volunteering.

Thank you Sue for supporting us and helping guide students. 

Hannah Pech - Home Ec Teacher 

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