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T4N2 Heritage College Newsletter 2024

FROM THE PRINCIPAL'S DESK

As we reflect on the term that has passed, it has been a joy to celebrate the many events, achievements, and community connections that make our College a vibrant and supportive environment for learning and growth.

Twilight Celebration: A Night of Community and Reflection
Our Twilight Celebration was a highlight of the term, with superb weather creating the perfect setting for families and staff to come together. The Parents and Friends (P&F) food stalls were not only a culinary delight but also raised over $3,000 for school funds—an outstanding effort that we deeply appreciate.

Families enjoyed observing learning in action, with Primary classrooms and some Secondary subjects displayed outcomes in the Courtyard. Students proudly shared their work, providing a wonderful opportunity to celebrate their accomplishments. The evening was further enriched by heartfelt speeches from our student captains, whose reflections reminded us of the value of our College and the power of community.

Volunteer Appreciation Morning Tea
This year’s Volunteer Appreciation Morning Tea saw a record turnout, and attendees were treated to an exceptional morning tea prepared by our talented Year 11 Café students. Their presentation and culinary skills received high praise from all who attended, and the thoughtful recognition of our volunteers highlighted the countless ways they contribute to our College life—from fundraising and co-curricular activities to governance and classroom support.

To all our volunteers, including our Council Members, who provide dedicated governance support, we extend our deepest gratitude.

Celebrating Student Excellence
Our Secondary Awards Assembly was a moment to recognise student achievement, character, and growth. HELP awards, Learning and Achievement accolades, and special recognitions in Art, Sports, and Growth and Resilience reflected the dedication of our students and staff. We look forward to celebrating with our Primary students at their Awards Assembly on the last Wednesday of the term and invite families to join us for this special occasion.

Year 10 Leadership in Action
Year 10 students demonstrated their leadership and organisational skills by planning and hosting a series of fun, house-team activities for Foundation to Year 9 students at the Tabloid Sports Event. This event fostered connection across age groups and provided valuable learning opportunities for our Year 10 students in adaptability and teamwork.

Year 6 Camp: Nature-Based Learning
Our Year 6 students embraced unique learning experiences at camp, including caring for horses and sheep with horse riding, exploring nature-based activities and a firm favourite archery. These hands-on experiences encouraged responsibility and teamwork, creating lasting memories and valuable skills.

Looking Ahead to 2025
Preparations for 2025 are well underway. We have welcomed our Foundation students for their transition mornings and offered experience days for new students across year levels. These activities help ensure a smooth start to the new school year for students and families alike.

We are delighted to announce that our new STEM/Science room is near completion for use in 2025, providing state-of-the-art facilities to support our growing student population and evolving curriculum needs.

Continuing Support for Families
Camp Australia has been working closely with us to ensure a seamless transition in the management of our Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) program. We are pleased that most existing personnel are in the process of transferring over to provide continuity of service to you with familiar faces. While before-school care is not yet available, vacation care will now be accessible also to students from Torrens Valley Christian College, strengthening the program's sustainability and availability for our parents that need vacation care.

Thanks For Your Support
We are sincerely grateful for the fantastic support of our community throughout the year. Your commitment has helped create a school environment that enables our children to develop in character, performance and attainment, while fostering meaningful connections.

As we close this term, we wish you a happy and safe summer break. May you enjoy precious time with family and friends, and may God bless and protect all in their travels. We look forward to welcoming everyone back, refreshed and ready for the opportunities of Term 1, 2025—if Jesus Christ has not yet returned and we continue in service. ‘Knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ’ (Col 3 v 24 ESV).

Justin Robinson

Community Events

Twilight Celebration - please enjoy some photos of our evening together

Volunteers Morning Tea - thankful for those who offer their time to help in so many ways!

Our Junior Primary Students sang a few songs thanking our Volunteers.

Food and drinks were created, implemented and delivered by our Year 11 Cafe Students.

Parents & Friends Association

This term our Upper Primary classes were very generously gifted a 3D printer by the Parents and Friends Association of Heritage College. When the machine was delivered earlier in the term there was much excitement in our classroom about the 3D printer and all of the creative possibilities it will bring to our learning. Our students, and teachers, have been enjoying learning about the machine and what it can do. At the moment we are printing various fidgets to examine how various types may help with focus and concentration in class lessons. We are learning loads about the possibilities for Design and Technology and ways to integrate this into other learning areas. We are so thankful to P&F for their generous support of our students and their continued learning.

We would like to thank the Parents & Friends Committee (P&F) for their generous donation of microphones and video cameras for students to use. These resources have already been put to excellent use in our Year 9-10 English classes. Students have embraced their creativity by using the cameras to produce humorous film parodies such as Not So Superman, Robbin’ in Da Hood and Finding Emo. The microphones have also been instrumental in helping students record their voices for expressive and dramatic poetry readings, which they enhanced by adding music and other sound effects. Your contribution has not only enriched their learning experience but also encouraged collaboration and creativity in our classrooms.

The Year 3 and 4 students have been the grateful recipients of some new toys for outdoor play at recess and lunch time! The P&F kindly purchased a storage container, magnetic tiles, hopscotch, dominoes and other fun games and activities. Students have been enjoying using the equipment and toys at recess and lunch time this term. Thanks to the P&F for their continued support!

Next P&F Meeting – 7.30 pm, 17 February 2025

The next P&F meeting is scheduled early next year God willing. Thanks to the enthusiasm and hard work of the P&F team, they’ve raised significant funds and will be discussing projects to spend the funds on and also looking at events to run in the year ahead. Every parent is a member of P&F and we’d love you to come along to share your ideas or simply listen in to what goes on at meetings and meet new parents. It’s a great evening! If you can’t make it along, but have a good idea to share, please drop an email: parentsandfriends@heritage.sa.edu.au

Uniform Update – One Month in with UMS

We’re thrilled to see so many families embracing our new uniform supplier, UMS, and making use of their convenient services! Whether you’ve shopped in-store at their Para Vista location or placed an order online through their website, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.

Here’s what parents are loving so far:
✅ Saturday trading hours – perfect for busy schedules!
✅ Flexible delivery options – making uniform shopping easy!

As with any change, questions naturally arise, and I’m grateful to those who have reached out to ask. To make things easier, I’ve compiled a handy FAQ sheet with answers to your most common queries. It even includes a few extra details you might find helpful!

📄 Check out the FAQ documents in the link below to learn more:

UMS Uniforms FAQ

If your question isn’t answered in the FAQ, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I’m always happy to help! Thank you for your ongoing support as we continue to enhance the uniform experience for our Heritage College community.

📄 For Ordering of Uniforms please see the link below for more information:

UMS Uniform Ordering

Abby Archer
Email: uniform@heritage.sa.edu.au

2025 Secondary Musical

We are very excited to announce the Secondary Musical for next year God Willing is …

Rogers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Broadway Version

This wonderful show is all about being true to yourself and being kind to others, along with dashing feats of derring-do, magical transformations, pumpkins, and of course glass slippers.

Being involved in the cast for the show is open to all 2025 Secondary students (current 6-11s) and if they are interested in being involved they need to sign up for an audition by Friday 6th December 2024.

This musical we will be doing 4 performances! So stay tuned for the ticket sales announcements and be prepared for an amazing experience.

The Secondary Musical will be in August 25th - 29th, in Term 3 2025, God Willing.

Lower Primary - Caitlin Dodson

In week 5, we went to the Zoo. We got to explore in small groups. As we explored, we had to try and find animals that started with the different letters in the alphabet. The next day we wrote recounts about our amazing trip to the Zoo!

Lower Primary - Rochelle Bailye

This term our Year 1 classes went on an excursion to the new SAPOL road safety centre at West Beach.

We learnt that when we cross the road we have to look first before crossing. When you cross a train track you have to listen if there is the beeping sound and you are not allowed to ride a bike or a scooter on the train section. Don’t put electrical gadgets on your ears connected to your phone because if you just kept walking you might bump into a train because it can’t stop fast enough like a car.

We then rode bikes as cars on a little road with traffic lights. We had to see what bike fitted us best. I rode a silver one. It was really fun and we had to ride it like an actual car with speed limits.

I think the excursion was very useful and exciting because we got to learn how to cross the road and it was fun riding bikes.

By Selina

Middle Primary - Jordan Morrison

We have made some changes to how we practice our literacy skills in class by introducing a Book Club.

Students will experience a new style of literacy, where they will be able to share new words, new ideas and understandings of the books they’re reading.
They have been challenged to:
- Find words with meaning
- Find words with Prefixes and Suffixes to explore etymology
- Find interesting storylines and storytelling plots
- Explore different vocabulary and stretch their minds
Students have then shared this information to their class through book club meetings, learning more from their peers along the way.
Each week they have different challenges such as a 1-minute pitch for someone to choose their book when they borrow next time.

Middle Primary - Nicole Lagowski/Jesslyn Witton

This term, as part of our Apple Education program, students have been learning how to use Keynote to share information effectively. To practice these skills, we focused on the theme of friendship. Each student wrote down three to five ways they could be a good friend, then took photos with their classmates to illustrate their ideas. The class enjoyed the creative process and came up with some wonderful reminders of what makes a strong friendship, all while honing their digital technology skills.

A friend loves at all times - Proverbs 17:17

Upper Primary -Keren Healy

Over the past few weeks, the year 5 Maths class have been learning about Probability, including
probability as fractions, decimals and percentages; and mathematically proving what is a fair and unfair
chance. As a culmination to the unit, they conducted a maths investigation into how to make a sideshow
game that was fun to play but would bring them a “profit.” The students came up with some fabulous
games involving spinners, cards, a ‘shooting range,’ a darts challenge and a throwing game. After they
had made their games and calculated the probabilities of each outcome, they then invited the classes
from Year 3/4 and Year 6 to test their games, to see if their probabilities matched up and whether the
game made a “profit.” No actual money was exchanged, instead the attending customer students were
given a $10 money value card that could use to purchase turns at the sideshow games, and the game
makers kept a tally of how much they “earned,” then subtracted the cost of making the game and the
prizes given. Our students had a wonderful time making these games and got a real buzz out of sharing
them with their peers.

Lower Secondary - Jo Cheek

The Year 8 Economics and Business class recently had an excursion to the Adelaide Central Markets. Students explored the markets and spoke to vendors for advice about starting a business.

For the past few weeks students have been developing business ideas that would fit into the Central Markets but also fill a gap. There have been some interesting and creative ideas! Here are some photos from the excursion and a few of the logos that students have created.

Lower Secondary - Dan Crispin

Have you noticed the exciting construction happening at the side of the school near the Tech Centre?

Our Year 9/10 STEM class has been busy designing and constructing a school greenhouse, building on their earlier success with indoor home kits for growing microgreens and herbs.

This new project takes their skills to the next level, resulting in a greenhouse equipped with innovative systems for automated watering, efficient ventilation, and self-powered operations, all within a robust structure designed and built by the students themselves.

Each team was tasked with a specific aspect of the greenhouse, whether focusing on structural engineering, creating reliable watering and ventilation systems, integrating sustainable power solutions or a detailed planting schedule. This collaborative approach challenged students to work under tight deadlines, requiring not only technical ingenuity, but also strong teamwork and communication skills.

The completed greenhouse will serve as a long-term resource for the school, providing a space to grow seedlings and all-year-round crops. It will also be a living lab for experiments in plant growth and science experiments, giving students hands-on opportunities to connect STEM concepts with real-world applications and even enjoy the fruits (and veggies!) of their labours.

Lower Secondary - Chris Ryan

Outdoor Ed students have prepared and completed two trips this Semester. One to Garden Island and one to the Coorong (https://paddlingtrailssouthaustralia.org.au/).

They had opportunity to show respect, responsibility, reflection and resilience across all elements of the trips. Students enjoyed the challenge and the opportunity to grow personally, socially, physically and spiritually as we navigated these water ways and did the daily readings on the bus. Thanks to Kayaking staff members and students who made the trip possible, including grounds and front desk and volunteers. Some excellent photos are available from the school server - please let us know if you are interested.

Thanks to all who came with me - Tim Badger, Trevor Dodson, Adrian Petiet and (parent volunteer extraordinaire) Ben Pitcher

Year 7 & 9 HPE and OUTDOOR ED students active in PE week Orienteering

Students from these year levels and classes, participated in Orienteering at three venues recently as part of PE week.

Yr 7 at began the week at Heritage using our Orienteering maps and rehearsed with the latest “Control” technology, to learn the skills of Orienteering.

While the yr 9 students went to Thornden Park to take on the challenge with an unfamiliar environment and maps for the permanent course set up there.

The OUTDOOR ED students went to Lochiel Park at Campbelltown to be challenged by weather and some new activities, including a team Star challenge and 5 courses.

All students make progress across these days, and it is great to see them working with minds and bodies to complete the personal challenges set.

Students were all well focused and did their best.

Year 10 PE

Students completed their final school-based PE lesson with a rather social game of 10 pin Bowling at Salisbury Bowland. They are encouraged to keep physically active in their senior school years in ways that they enjoy and to be active in Friday afternoon sessions and School and Inter school carnival and competitions, in the future.

Upper Secondary -Tom Burney

You may have heard lately about the Australian government’s plans to ban social media for teenagers. Similarly, in public schools there is a ban on mobile phones. So what’s the big deal?

There are many known risks of young people using technology frequently and unsupervised, such as:

Exposure to harmful content
Negative impact on mental health
Cyberbullying
Reduced physical activity
Lowered academic performance

Obviously, the use of mobile phones and social media are not mentioned in the Bible, but scriptural principles are timeless, such as the importance of building godly habits.

Philippians 4:8 encourages us to dwell on what is true, just, and pure. Yet, much of what teenagers encounter online is the opposite. Social media often leads people to compare with each other rather than comparing ourselves to Christ.

Ephesians 4:29 reminds us to use words for building others up, but the text messaging format of online interaction makes it easier to say unkind things to or about others.

As parents, we can take proactive steps to educate ourselves and guide our children both by our own example and by setting boundaries to help them build healthier habits.

One way we can do this is by the example of our own mobile phone and social media use. Our habits, such as not using our devices during mealtimes or the daily readings, indicate to our children that our devices are just a tool.

Wherever possible we should limit electronic device and internet use to supervised spaces. If this is not practical, it is important for us to have conversations about healthy habits and consider using internet monitoring or filtering software to manage their access.

There can be a lot of benefits to online technology, such as finding useful information, connecting positively with others, and constructive activities like Bible study. Just like any tool, it is important to be aware of the risks so we can use it safely.

Heritage College has a website called “Online Safety Hub” which provides advice and guidance for parents. The articles are written by professionals rather than with a spiritual viewpoint but in this case the “wisdom of the world” shares a common goal with us. The site includes, for example:

Reviews of trending software and games, including warnings and suggested ages
Advice for parents whose children are just starting to use digital devices
Risks of social media and guidance navigating them
Information and steps to manage screen time
Parental controls to monitor and filter internet access

The Online Safety Hub can be found here:

https://heritage.onlinesafetyhub.com.au/

HeLP Awards - Foundation Dodson

Winslow Clark for great reading and writing in Read Write Inc.

Sienna Mitsos for creating an amazing 'shape monster' in art/maths.

Amos Maslin for always being an enthusiastic learner.

Taj Kendall for trying task independently before asking for help - great work.

Allegra Richards for helping other with their work and doing an amazing job of explaining what to do instead of just doing it for them.

Hunter Scott for an amazing job at writing all his numbers.

HeLP Awards - Year 1 Clark

Anya Yuile for producing beautifully neat and thoughtful work.

Micah Hill for being a kind and caring friend to all his classmates.

Nathaniel Gao for extremely neat bookwork.

Ladd Hill for always putting in his best effort to concentrate and learn.

Harper Scott for leadership and organisational qualities, helping in the classroom.

Arabella Phillis for improved focus and determination in learning.

HeLP Awards - Year 1 Bailye

Joel Ward for becoming a keen writer.

Mila Casey for responsible behaviour every day.

Daphne Crompton for bringing smiles and laughter to our classroom.

Audrey Hornhardt for bravely performing a beautiful song at assembly.

Patrick Mitsos for always being focused and attentive in class.

Theodore Cheek for consistently aiming for accuracy in his work.

Imara Khokhar for working independently in Maths lessons.

Asaph Edgecombe for his energy and enthusiasm he brings every day.

HeLP Awards - Year 2 Bruce

Talitha Deadman for your good writing in Read Write Inc lessons.

Jachin Parry for positive engagement in all lessons.

Macey Neil for great effort in extension maths.

Silas Camplin for positive contributions to class discussions.

Edison Mansfield for improvement in Read Write Inc lessons.

Eden Maslin for good engagement in HASS lessons.

HeLP Awards - Year 3/4 Morrison

Alexander Beard for showing your fantastic character in your approach to learning.

Jonty Archer for a great narrative story and using lessons from Syntax to improve your writing.

Paris Bain for always showing a positive attitude to learning and trying your best.

Jessica Sui for showing great note taking skills, a resilient attitude and being a problem solver.

Sylvester Cheek for persevering in tasks and showing great creativity when problem solving. Good Work.

Charlotte Li for a persistent positive attitude and seeking to improve at all times, even when that means making mistakes! Well done!

HeLP Awards - Year 3/4 Lagowski/Witton

Ted Hill for always encouraging others and cheering them on.

Moses Petiet for being consistently thoughtful and considerate of others.

Sophie Williamson for being a responsible and reflective learner. Always doing her best.

Victor Gashtasebi for his outstanding ability to settle in 3/4LW with remarkable resilience and confidence.

Leo Mitchelson for working diligently in reading and comprehension activities.

Nyssa Lines for displaying great focus and attention in class.

Hosanna Schwarz for working diligently and presenting high quality work.

HeLP Awards - Year 3/4 Sanderson/Wiafe

Sophie Mitsos for encouraging and including others in the talent show practice.

Mia Lagowski for making Rachel, our classroom visitor, feel welcome and included.

Hugo Bain for working consistently hard and being a resilient student.

Elijah Nolan for responsibly leading his group in our maths treasure hunt.

Asaph Mitsos for responsible learning in all subject areas.

HeLP Awards - Year 5/6 Hauser

Pippa Jeffress for achieving an average of 99% in her spelling tests this year!

Jack Barr for always being willing to give everything a go and using your time wisely.

HeLP Awards - Year 5/6 Healy

James Ingram for always being a willing volunteer and leading by example.

Florence Parry for being a great team member and friend. Always willing to work flexibly with others in our class.

Huw Archer for responsibility in going above and beyond expectations in our maths investigation.

Zebedee Phillis for responsibility in going above and beyond expectations in our maths investigation.

Hamish McKinlay for being our ‘tech whiz’ and always helping others to make sure things run smoothly.

Jamin Todd for “stepping up” his work to the next level by listening and taking on feedback to improve.

Dexan Farren for working hard at using classroom time wisely and improving organisation.

HeLP Awards - Year 5/6 Morrison

Liam Gibbs for diligently completing his work this week.

Amber-Lee Neil for completing an engaging narrative.

Xavier Lawrie for consistently being reliable and responsible.

Jemima Coish for creating an intriguing dialogue.

Anastasia Williams for being resilient and organised.

Archie Thompson for showing reliance and focus during lesson time.

Wellbeing Support - Jen Dodson

2024 TERM 4 KEY DATES

October 14th - December 13th

December 3 Year 6 Secondary Orientation Parent Info Session (ZOOM)
December 5 Year 6 Graduation Ceremony
December 6 Year 7 & 8 Last Day
December 9 Foundation - Year 6 Transition Morning
December 9 Secondary Orientation Parent Information Session
December 11 Secondary Reports Published
December 11 Primary Presentation Assembly
December 12 Primary Reports Published
December 12 Last Day of Term 4 for Students
December 13 Student Free Day/Staff Development

2025 TERM DATES

TERM 1: Tuesday January 28th - Friday April 11th
TERM 2: Monday April 28th - Friday July 4th
TERM 3: Monday July 28th - Friday September 26th
TERM 4: Monday October 13th - Friday December 11th

HERITAGE CONTACTS

Principal Justin Robinson
Business Manager Adrian Maycock
Enquiries Front Desk

Staff Contact Details available on Sentral under "Resources:Miscellaneous Information: Heritage Contact List"

COUNCIL MEMBERS