Reading is a true adventure! Our students transformed into their favourite book characters for Book Week 2025, bringing stories to life from our Infant Program to Cycle 3. The Book Week parade was full of enchantment, creativity, and fun, while our staff added a little extra sweetness with an Alice in Wonderland twist!

Another one of the special touches that makes Book Week at our school so memorable is our after-lunch reading time. Staff from across the school, including both teachers, assistants and admin, came together to read their favourite picture books with students, fostering the love of books.

We are truly grateful to the staff and families who created such clever and beautiful Book Week installations across the Yultiwirra Campus. If you get time, please take a tour around and see if you can pick the book each installation is representing!

Thank you to the 'Book Week fairies' - parents and staff led by Lisa Goodwin (Cycle 2 teacher) who prepared the wonderous and much loved annual Book Week installations throughout our school. Walking through the gate every year at the start of Book Week is a delight, as children see some of their favourite books come to life!  We very much appreciate the time, effort and creativity that goes into preparing these installations.

Dr Maria Montessori was born on the 31st August 1870, 155 years ago. Many of you will have some knowledge of Maria Montessori and her extraordinary life.  She graduated as the first female physician in Italy, she was a professor of anthropology at the University of Rome, she studied psychology and philosophy and was nominated for three Nobel Peace Prizes.  She founded the first Casa dei Bambini, or "Children's House" in Rome in January 1907.  What ultimately became the Montessori method of education developed in that first Casa dei Bambini, based upon Montessori's scientific observations of those children.  She worked tirelessly throughout her life observing children and teaching teachers her method of education.  Her work & legacy lives on through the many Montessori schools throughout the world.

At this time every year we honour, acknowledge and appreciate her wisdom, her work and wonderful approach to working with children and young people.

On Thursday 28th August we are celebrating Maria Montessori's 155th birthday with memory games, interesting facts and pizza!

After the conclusion of the successful Cycle 3 play last week, we farewelled Alex Hill (Cycle 3 teacher) as she commences her maternity and parenting leave. Christine Perry will now work full time as the teacher in their Cycle 3 class, Sam Cameron will be full time in her Cycle 3 class, and Maddy Ryan will work full time in her Cycle 2 class. Families and students affected in these classes were informed of these staffing changes last term.

We wish Alex and Travis love and happiness as they enter into this exciting new journey.

Due to the success of last year’s inaugural event, we are once again holding the Yultiwirra Exhibition of Work and Learning this term.

The exhibition will take place after school on Thursday 4th September (Term 3, Week 7) from 3.30pm – 5.00pm, and will showcase students’ learning across the Yultiwirra primary classes.

A few more details....

Classroom Visits

Parents are asked to collect their child/ren from the gate at 3.20pm for Cycle 1 Primary and 3.30pm for students in Cycles 2 & 3, as per usual. You are then invited to visit your child/children's classroom/s from 3.30pm to view their work which will be on display. Students may also show you how they use some of the Montessori materials to assist with their learning.

Common Room Visits

We also encourage students and their parent/s to visit the common room where the specialist teachers; Ellis, David and Attila will have displays of work covering learning in Indonesian, Music and PE.

Choir Performances

At 4.00pm the Cycle 2 choir will perform in the courtyard.  Cycle 2 students need to congregate in the courtyard ready to perform at 3.55pm.

The new whole school picture book, 'Our Place' will be launched following the choir performance.

Conclusion

After the choir performances families can return to visit their child's classsroom or their other children's classrooms.  The Exhibition of Work and Learning will conclude at 5.00pm.

We hope to see all parents come along to this wonderful event and hope that you will enjoy engaging with your child and viewing their work and learning.

We’ve been having a wonderful time in the Infant Program. These sunny mornings have been beautiful and, although chilly, we’ve loved spending time outdoors enjoying our colourful garden.

This fortnight, we did a ‘sweet’ tasting activity, spreading strawberry jam on rice cakes, which all the children seemed to really enjoy. We also tried something a little different with our Friday group, spending the morning at the Wairoa Café. It was such a lovely experience - a great way to connect with the wider school community and support the Cycle 4 students.

“We shall walk together on this path of life, for all things are part of the universe and are connected with each other to form one whole unity” Maria Montessori To Educate the Human Potential, p.6.

The children shared their knowledge about the Solar System and the variety of space craft that have travelled to and from the Moon. They have learnt about the differences between the planets; some are gas giants, some are very hot, the Sun is a star, the Moon is a rock and that the rings of Saturn contain ice, rock and dust. They marvelled at how Google Earth gave them the perspective of seeing the Earth and continents before travelling down to finding their own homes. They looked at the International Space Station and how the astronauts eat and drink, go to the toilet and need to be strapped into their bed to sleep so they don’t float around.

"This is Jupiter. It is the biggest planet" - River

Science week saw a variety of experiments undertaken from colour mix walking, dancing sultanas, the milk experiment, colour mixing using skittles and the eruption of many volcanoes in the sandpit. The children also studied chemical reactions by experimenting with what melts ice; salt, vinegar or juice and exploring the difference between things that sink and float and what is magnetic and what’s not. Each experiment taught the children a different concept and it was lovely to see their surprise and hear the many theories and questions which resulted.

As part of their literacy work, students have enjoyed writing letters from the perspective of their researched Asian animal and creating postcards highlighting the features of Asian landmarks.  Students have begun individual country research projects. Guided by a project contract, each student is investigating topics such as housing, transport, food, culture, language, art, and the natural environment of their chosen Asian country.

In the Arts, students have been learning about the role of symbols, storytelling, and culture in Asian artwork. They have also explored practical art forms, including origami which means 'fold-paper' in Japanese and gyotaku 'fish-impression'. Students will extend this learning on their upcoming AGSA excursion, where they will view and respond to the 'Love and Devotion' exhibition, take part in a gallery studio workshop titled Wild at Heart, and weather permitting, visit the Himeji Gardens to experience the beauty of a traditional Zen garden.

We look forward to celebrating our  research and creativity at the upcoming Exhibition of Learning, where families will have the opportunity to see the projects and artworks inspired by our Asian studies.

"Origami in Japanese means fold paper" - Paxton

"Spotted pond turtles don't always have yellow spots they can have white spots too. They live in Bangladesh" - Angus

"I discovered that lots of animals in Asia are endangered which is really sad" - Chloe

"Snow leopards can jump 15 metres" - Alex

"Did you know that Jerboas are 15cm long but can jump 15 metres high" - Miranda

"It's interesting that around 3 million people live in Qatar" - Archie

"I never knew Komodo Island was so cool, it's made out of volcanic rock" - George

"Przewalski horses are being hunted by wolves. They live in Mongolia" - Vivienne

"I'm researching. Singapore, they hold the Guinness record for human dominoes" - Eleanor

Last Wednesday Cycle 3 performed their play “Go For Gold” to the school community during a matinee and an evening performance. 

“Go For Gold” told the story of a top athlete, Suzie Swift, facing a potential withdrawal from the Olympics due to lack of sponsorship, and her trainer, Phil, who uses the ancient origins of the Games to inspire her. 

The performances were an overwhelming success with students entertaining up to 150 people! Students showcased virtues of bravery, resilience and dedication both in the lead up to the play and throughout the performances. Each and every student had a role to play to make this special event happen e.g. on stage acting, sound and lighting or backstage and prop management. 

The Wednesday performances were an exciting culmination of two and a half terms of hard work including: auditions, rehearsals, choreography and song practice and set and prop design. We couldn’t be more proud of the efforts of the Cycle 3 students and congratulate them on two wonderful shows!

 A massive thank you to all of the staff and parents who supported the Cycle 3 teachers and helped make “Go For Gold” possible. In particular we thank: Nikki, Deb, Jenny, Suzie, Robert, Adam, Russell, Lisa Y, Nyssa, Ben, Hugh, Danielle, Tiffany, Dylan, Lisa G, Saul and anyone else who lent a hand in any capacity. Finally, thank you to the amazing Cycle 3 students for making this play such a special experience!

“It was very fun to be a part of the experience and I enjoyed it a lot. The songs were the best bit” - Florence 

“My favourite line was: “oh don’t listen to them Swaticus, they’re just a bunch of Neanderthal thugs.” The songs were great too. My favourite was ‘The Truce’” - Rueben 

“I really enjoyed the play and I liked the Milo family scenes and the other scenes because everyone put lots of effort into making costumes, props and the performance. I think the play really came to together and the audience really enjoyed it. I’ll come back and watch the next one!” - Mae

“I really enjoyed doing the play and I overcame my fear of speaking in front of a lot of people. I had a lot of fun. The best bit was doing the choreography to the songs. My favourite choreography was to the song ‘Milo’.” - Elise

From sourdough starters to yum cha to biltong to paella - and just about everything in between - our Wairoa kitchen gets plenty of use! So it’s no surprise that we recently needed to upgrade some of our equipment.

Thanks to school funding, we’ve been able to purchase a new commercial-grade fridge and freezer. We’ve also added a beautiful new coffee machine to our setup, made possible through generous community fundraising. A big thank you to the team at Mighty Mighty for helping with the installation and providing in-service training.

We’re incredibly grateful to everyone who supported our recent fundraising, whether by donating goods, lending equipment, attending our cafe, or buying our famous apple crumbles. Every contribution helps enhance our program and enriches the experience for our students. We’re lucky to be part of such a generous and engaged community.

Next on our wishlist is a replacement for our dearly departed coffee grinder, so keep an eye out for our upcoming fundraising efforts!

With the Cycle 3 musical now complete and the applause fading, we can reflect on the outstanding job our students did in bringing this story of support and righteous ambition to life. Combining song with dialogue, sets, dance, costume and characterisation is what we know as theatre - and in this case, musical theatre.

During the Renaissance, a group of highly talented artists in Italy, known as the Camerata and hosted by the Medici family, devised what we now call opera. This art form combined all these elements - music, drama, movement, and visual design - supported by lighting, orchestral accompaniment and purpose-built theatres, creating what was considered the pinnacle of entertainment. For some, opera still holds this status today.

From opera emerged musical theatre and, later, rock opera - both contemporary forms of storytelling that fuse music and drama to captivate modern audiences.

We look forward to exploring many more stories through song and instrumental expression in our music lessons this term.

The Fundraising Committee is seeking donations of wine/sparkling for the Mystery Wine Lucky Dip at the Quiz Night.

A brown paper bag has been sent home to each family and if you would like to make a donation, please return a bottle in the bag to the school office at Yultiwirra .

All donations help raise funds for the school and we thank you in anticipation!

Yultiwirra students will be bringing home a personalised physical invitation for their Grandparents or Special Person next week. An electronic version will also be sent out to parents via Audiri and we encourage families to forward these invitiations onto Grandparents and special people.

Cycles 2 & 3 students will host their Grandparents or Special Person on Wednesday 10th September from 9.30 - 11.30am. 

Cycle 1 students will host their Grandparents or Special Person on Thursday 11th September from 9.30 - 11.30am

Preschool students will receive more information about which day to attend. 

We invite Grandparents and Special Persons to visit us at our Yultiwirra campus. They will have the opportunity to meet class teachers and to be entertained by some of the students. Morning Tea will also be served.

Our Program: 

Assembly from 9.30am

Morning tea from 10.00am

Time in the classroom 10.15-11.30am

Please share the details with you child/ren's Grandparents or Special Person and RSVP via the Audiri form. Alternatively please email reception@montessori.sa.edu.au or call 8339 6842 to RSVP, by Friday 5th September. 

Indigenous Literacy Day 2025 is on Wednesday 3 September 2025. The theme for the year is "Strength In Our Stories: For Now & Future Generations". It is a day to acknowledge Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander Peoples' culture, stories and language and raise awareness about the literacy challenges Australia’s First Nations children face.

If you would like more information about Indigenous Literacy Day and how you can help, check out this link https://www.indigenousliteracyfoundation.org.au/how-you-can-help

Our new set of Festival of Arts Greeting Cards are here! Each design showcases the creativity of our cycle groups and have been professionally printed. Cards are available for purchase from the Yultiwirra office: 

🖼  $4 each🎁

$25 for a bundle of 10

(Envelopes included)

All proceeds will support school-wide fundraising initiatives. As always, thank you for supporting our community!

Come along and see the Cycles 2 & 3 students who have private instrument tuition. 

Thursday 18th September at 6pm in the Yultiwirra Hall (12 Anderson Road, Aldgate).

Please RSVP via Audiri.

Yultiwirra Open Day - Sunday September 14

Please feel free to share our Open Day details with friends and interested families for the Yultiwirra campus (Infant, Preschool, Primary) which takes place on Sunday September 14.

Alternatively, if you would like to further explore Cycles at our school from Infant Program, Preschool, Primary or Middle School years, you are more than welcome to book into any of our Open Days at the link here: Open Day bookings

Have you visited our Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn pages? Social media is another way we communicate with parents.  Follow us to keep up to date with school community news, events and activities. We also aim to use our social media to help develop your understanding of the Montessori Philosophy. You might also like to let grandparents and friends know so they can also enjoy the news, photos and updates!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thehillsmontessorischool.sa/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thehillsmontessorischool.sa/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-hills-montessori-school-sa