It is with sadness that I announce to the school community that one of our longest serving staff members, Rosi Hardy will be retiring from her teaching position in the school at the end of this year.  Rosi has worked in the school for 28 years.  Over the years she has taught hundreds of children.  Rosi is a valued staff member and I thank her for the care and devotion she has shown to all of her students and I greatly appreciate the commitment she has shown to our school.  Rosi has made a significant contribution over the years and will be sorely missed by staff, students and parents. I know you will all join me in wishing Rosi happiness and good health as she transitions into her retirement in 2021.

Up Close and Personal with Rosi...

What is it about the school that has made you want to stay here and work here for so long? 

I started at the HMS as a parent in 1988 with my son at the Aldgate campus.

Eventually all of my three children came here. I started teaching here in 1993 on a part time basis, working in the preschool. I eventually moved to being a class teacher in the Primary school.

I have always been amazed at the respect and consideration which is shown towards all children and staff at this school. Working here with such committed and dedicated fellow teachers has been the main reason for staying so long. They have always been encouraging and supportive as well as full of fun and good humour.

What will you miss about The Hills Montessori School?   

I know I will miss the amazing children here. I will miss their humour, their insights, their kindness and their laughter. Of course, I will miss the staff and I will miss the intellectual challenge of working in such a stimulating Montessori environment.

What will you do in your retirement?   

I intend to spend more time with my two grandsons, spend more time on my boat and spend lots of time enjoying my vegie garden and orchard. I may even relax a little, although I’ll probably still get up early every day.

Parting words 

I feel very blessed to have been able to work in such a special school.  I have seen many changes over the years and I am proud to have been associated with the incredible achievements this school has made. Special thanks must go to Cathy and Susan for the outstanding efforts they have made over the years to contribute to these changes.

Hope to see you all around the place next year!

Our first ever online Quiz Night was a huge success! Just over 80 parents, staff and friends participated in the night.  Using the  app Kahoot! for the questions and answers worked out extremely well and each team 'Zoomed' in to be able to interact with our Quiz Master Pete Monaghan and the other teams.  There were lots of games, prizes and loads of laughs and fun!  Thanks for the terrific support on the night to all of those who attended.  In particular, thank you to Georgia Richmond (Fundraising Chair) and the Fundraising Committee for all of their preparatory work gathering prizes and organising the event.  Thanks also to our sponsors and school families who provided prizes or donated amazing offerings for the silent auction.

Pete, our Quiz Master, had his 'work cut out for him' but in true 'Pete style' he rose to the occasion expertly 'wrangling' the teams and adding his witty banter and sense of fun to the night.  Thanks to Pete for also writing the questions for the night.

Congratulations to the 'Gold mArias' team who won on the night!

The Silent Auction added to our fundraising efforts and enabled families who were unable to attend the Quiz Night to also get involved.

This year we raised $4060 which is just fantastic considering the 'compromised' program.  This wonderful fundraising effort will go towards our fundraising goals for 2020/21.

The Zahra family

The Bedson family

Riposte wines

The Rooney family

CIBO Stirling

Pete Monaghan

Angler 

The Richmond family 

Red Cacao Chocolatier

The Worth-Sierp family

The Clark-Prance family

Jimmies Restaurant

Aurelia's grandpa

To follow on from our learning about colour we have been investigating what ‘shading’ is. We have learnt that if you add white to a colour the colour becomes lighter and if you add black the colour becomes darker. The children have been using paint to make different shades of red. They have also been working with the colour box 3 to grade nine colours from darkest to lightest.

This term in Language, we have had a particular focus on editing and making our writing more interesting.  We have practiced reviewing our work and checking for things like capital letters and correct punctuation.  We have brainstormed different adjectives for our nouns and have done the same to come up with more interesting verbs than words like ‘went’.  The students have especially enjoyed creating ‘Who am I?’ cards, which involved composing an interesting and detailed written description of an animal and seeing if their peers can guess the answer.    

In Cultural Studies, we have continued our work on South America.  As we approach the end of the term, the students have started to use their knowledge to create board games.  This has been a great opportunity to reflect on all the different countries we have investigated.  Here are some of the things we have learned:

"Most of South America's borders are oceans: the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean." - Hazel

"The Amazon River is the second longest river in the world." - Ollie M.

"Brazil is the largest country in South America." - Sadie

"Black Caimans live in South America." - Mason

"Anacondas live in South America." - Dusty

"The capital of Brazil is Brasilia." - Jak

This term in Cycle 3 the students have been undertaking a history unit focusing on the Civil Rights Movement in America. They have investigated famous activists such as Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks. In groups the students collaborated to create pieces of work to showcase which part of the unit impacted them the most. Each group did an exceptional job and the creativity of the students was evident! Some of the pieces created were posters, dioramas, a written biography, a song featuring famous quotes from civil rights activists and a filmed recreation of the moment when Rosa Parks was asked to give up her seat on a bus.

Following up on Occupations Day Wairoa students have been back on the road. Last week they wound up their Astro-con astronomy event with a trip to the Planetarium at Mawson Lakes, and visited the Migration Museum to enrich Humanities studies around Sustainable Cities. As the term winds up the big work for everybody is putting together the Coffeehouse Cabaret.

Because of the delay, you’d think we wouldn’t host a cabaret? No way! The students of Wairoa are currently preparing for the Coffeehouse Cabaret! They’re designing sets, props and costumes; setting up tech equipment; learning lines, practising poetry, dancing, playing music and planning catering, despite Covid-19. The night shall be one of variety, showcasing a play, comedy, poetry, dancing and musicians. There’ll also be some lovely food prepared by our caterers! It will be a fabulous night, so come along and enjoy!*

Tuesday 22nd and Wednesday 23rd September.

(Doors open at 6pm for a 6:30pm start.)

*Ticket sales are open now for Wairoa families.

It has been all about badminton this term. The Preschoolers through to Cycle 3 have been developing their badminton skills. We’ve got new racquets, new shuttles and new nets thanks to the Sporting Schools grant money. We’ve had coach Jack from Badminton SA in on Wednesday afternoons working with the Cycle 3 students.

Cycle 4’s have participated in learning the art of map reading and navigation through the sport of orienteering. Each week students set out on different courses around the Wairoa property.  The second half of the term has seen students working hard to bring together a dance performance for the upcoming Cabaret!

On Monday the year 3’s and 4’s participated in the ANZTHS hotshots tennis district carnival. The day was focused on giving everyone a go and experiencing representing the school. 

Congratulations to Jarrah Ferguson who is the winner of the recent Montichef competition. Jarrah is passionate about cooking and cooked salmon as his "comfort food".