At the end of next week (Friday 1 July), another term will come to an end and I would like to take this opportunity to thank our wonderful staff for all of their hard work. COVID-19 has continued to interrupt learning and cause a range of setbacks to plans, but our staff do not let this get in the way of the opportunities they continue to create for our students. A big thank you should also go to our students that make our job so enjoyable and rewarding.
https://www.investigator.sa.edu.au/parents/term-dates-and-lesson-times/
One of the special things about Investigator College is our connection with nature and our connection with animals. Over the last few weeks it has been wonderful to see how our students have been connecting with the calves and lambs that have been looked after at our school as part of the Senior School Agricultural Studies program. Not only did this opportunity foster connections between Junior School students and the animals, it also created many opportunities for our Senior School students to connect with our Junior School students.
Year 5/6 Investig8
The Year 6 students visited Currency Creek to work with local artist Barbary O’Brien as part of the Investig8 program. Whilst there, the students participated in a range of art-based activities led by Barbary. The purpose of the day was for students to engage with nature, to share the story of the site and explore the interconnections between plants and animals. With guidance from Barbary, students used this information to start planning information signs for an interpretive trail around the wetland. We would like to thank Barbary for spending the day with us and sharing her knowledge and skills. We look forward to working with her more as we develop the artwork needed to create the signage for the EcoCentre site.
Whilst the Year 6 students were at Currency Creek, our Year 5.2 students participated in Stop Motion Animation workshops facilitated by Mrs Bruce and Miss Pointon. The Year 5.1 class learnt camping and hiking skills with Mr Tenny and Miss Maidment. The students thoroughly enjoyed this opportunity and are already looking forward to their next day of Investig8.
Staffing Updates
Suzi Wade
Next week, (Week 9) will be the last week for one of our beloved Year 4 teachers, Suzi Wade. Suzi is a highly regarded and much-loved member of our Junior School team who has been dedicated to the College for some 13 years. A proud past parent, she will now be poised to place a greater focus on her health and family. Suzi is also well known for her expertise and experience in basketball (and fitness!) and we have gained so much from her work in this area as well.
I know you all join me in congratulating Suzi on her fine achievements at Investigator College and in wishing her every success in her future endeavours.
Rosy Ulcoq
We are excited to announce that we have appointed Mrs Rosemary (Rosy) Ulcoq as the replacement teacher in Year 4.2 for the remainder of 2022. Rosy has a wealth of educational experience, having taught at a number of schools both locally and internationally throughout her career. She has a special interest in Literacy and Numeracy Development.
Rosy enjoys reading, meditation/mindfulness, swimming, playing hockey, theatre and dance, watching sports, nature conservation and the environment.
She is excited to be working at Investigator College and we welcome her to our College.
Jim Dunbar, Judith Fincham and Alex Holbrook
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr Jim Dunbar, Mrs Judith Fincham and Mr Alex Holbrook for their work in the Junior School over the past two terms. Jim has been team teaching with Suzi Wade in Year 4, whilst Judith has been working in both 4.1 and 6.3. Alex has been teaching Year 4.1 with Mrs Bev Giggins. We thank each of them for their service over the past two terms and look forward to hearing about their next endeavours.
Stephanie Gurner
We would also like to take this opportunity to welcome back Mrs Stephanie Gurner who will be returning from maternity leave and covering the above mentioned staff leaving in Year 3.2, Year 4.1 and Year 6.3.
ELC staffing – Lisa Barth
We would like to officially welcome Lisa Barth to Investigator College. Lisa has worked at Investigator in a casual role over the last term-and-a-half but officially joins us next week. I am sure anyone who has seen her working with the ELC students or interacted with Lisa has witnessed her caring and professional nature and how much the Little Investigators love working with her.
Welcome, Lisa.
Receptions at Currency Creek
Over the past three weeks our Receptions have been undertaking their visits to Currency Creek. For our Reception students, this series of excursions to Currency Creek is the start of their long relationship with this fantastic site of ours. The students have been busy propagating native plants and undertaking a series of investigations and Nature Play activities. They have absolutely loved this experience. We thank Mr Freebairn for once again creating such wonderful learning opportunities at our Currency Creek EcoCentre for our students.
Year 6 Identity Day
This week our Year 6 students held their Identity Day. This was a wonderful culmination of their learning and it was so great to see this day occur after several COVID-19 delays.
Students shared their interests and passions, and applied their creative and innovative ideas into presenting a display of visuals, artefacts and information about a chosen aspect of their identity.
The students were very excited to share their interests with others, and it was pleasing to see our students sharing who they are and what they enjoy doing in their time away from school. All of the families and students that saw the exhibit also enjoyed learning about our Year 6 students.
ELC Graduation into Mid-Year Reception
On Tuesday 7 June, six of our ELC students graduated and, as of next term, will be Mid-Year Receptions. At a special assembly, the students’ ELC journey was reflected upon and celebrated and they were welcomed to the Junior School.
Over the past four weeks these students have been transitioning into Reception and making new friends with the current Reception cohort. We welcome these students to the Junior School.
Playgroup
The reintroduction of our Playgroup has been a great success. Thank you to Mrs Amy Vitkunas for facilitating playgroup. A special thank you also to our Senior School Child Studies students and Mrs Simone Bonser who have been assisting with playgroup. It has been a great opportunity for these students to put some of their theory in action and connect with our future Little Investigators.
P&F Bonfire
We look forward to seeing everyone at the P&F Bonfire on Sunday 26 June. Thank you so much to the P&F, Mr Freebairn and Mrs Gilbert for their work putting the day together. Four hundred people have RSVP’d (max capacity) for this wonderful opportunity to connect and engage with our community as well as see our wonderful Currency Creek site.
Have a great Term 2 break and we look forward to seeing our students return rested and ready to learn.
Thank you for all of the recommendations for enrolling in our wonderful school. Please continue to encourage interested family and friends to book a tour!
Nicholas Smith
Head of Junior School
