Photo above: New waterproof shade sails installed in front of our Arts office by the Australian Government Local Schools Community Grant.

Dear Parents and Families,

Welcome to Term 2 at Kennedy. I trust everyone had a safe and relaxing holiday break that was probably a lot quieter than usual. There is no doubt that the end of Term 1 and the beginning of this term have been the most extraordinary times for our College community. Despite the constant changes in our school environment, we have endeavoured to provide the highest quality education services through our rapid and innovative responses. I would like to thank all families for their ongoing support and commitment to the College. As we commence Term 2, we will continue with this goal and ensure that families are constantly updated with all changes being implemented.

It was wonderful to see so many smiling students on campus yesterday for the commencement of classes. Our attendance began this week with 75% of our students on campus. We now have two priorities for the first weeks of term:

1. Ensuring the safety of both students and staff. I encourage all families to reinforce the procedures we have implemented which have been designed to maximize physical distancing and hygiene.
2. Teacher engagement with classes on campus whilst still guaranteeing that our online learners are also catered for. We support the view that the classroom is still the best place for all students to learn but acknowledge that parents/carers can still choose to keep their child/ren at home.

Regardless of the changes that take place, our College values remain at the core of our services as we continue to pursue our mission with rigor in these difficult times.

Mr Mark Ashby
Principal

I got to do some work around the house during the term break. I love the opportunity to do a job and expend some energy, that has an observable result at the end of the work. With chaplaincy, the outcome is not always obvious, and it can sometimes leave you with the feeling “have I actually achieved anything”!

The job I did at home was lay a bunch of pavers in an alfresco area. I had to prepare, level and compact the ground, and then I handled every single paver as I put them down, one by one. Some of the pavers were easy to lay, most of them actually. But a few sections were a little harder than others because they needed to be squared or cut. A couple of pavers were quite a lot of work to get right, cutting around a pole, fitting into a tight space or hitting with a rubber mallet!

These pavers got me thinking that there was a life lesson right in front of me (things like this happen in the mind of a chaplain...) It made me think about our lives… my life! There is the need for preparation, leveling and compaction, as there is in life, parenting and teaching. And then each paver was like each day or season of life. Many days go by without much being different from the one next to it. BUT, there are days that are a little more complicated. And then there are days that take quite a bit of effort to get them laid with a wet saw and a rubber mallet!

The end of this lesson is this. When all the pavers are laid they all fit with the one next to it. Imagine if we could look at each and every day with the unfailing confidence that, although it’s a difficult day, its just another day and it will somehow fit with all the others in the “Alfresco of Life”.

It was fantastic to see the positive response to isolation requirements placed on Western Australians during the COVID-19 pandemic. I am confident that the community will continue to follow advice and keep our community as safe as possible. The wonderful response of the community means we can welcome students back to on-campus learning. Learning is most effective when delivered in a classroom environment and our teachers are looking forward to the return of every student to their classrooms so that they can give undivided attention to the learning of every student.

In the term break, I read an article discussing the outcomes of learning away from school. The article looked at students who worked from home due to the Christchurch earthquake and those in Queensland affected by weather events. One big positive of working away from school is the responsibility placed on students to think more about their learning. Students were moved to active participation in learning and personal responsibility, ascertaining what they understood and where they needed assistance. Kennedy always promotes active learning and personal responsibility and our students have been forced into a situation which required these attributes during this crisis. I am hopeful that students will maintain their active participation in the learning process now that they are back on-campus.

As mentioned, a key factor to learning is student self-assessment. The move off-campus challenged students to examine how well they were learning. Moving away from using end of topic tests to determine understanding, students were required to use answer keys, worked examples and ‘good answers’ to determine their progress. These practices are often referred to as formative assessment as they allow students and teachers to find the gaps in knowledge and provides time for students to seek assistance. The suspension of formal testing has highlighted that learning is not measured by a test but by the engagement of students in analysing their learning.

I am looking forward to providing more clarity in the coming weeks for students and families about formal assessment, examinations, 2021 subject selections and for Year 12 students: post secondary options.

During this difficult period as a College, we continue to work to provide the best possible pastoral care support for our students and families and have put a range of measures in place to achieve this.

In the past few weeks, students have been experiencing a wide range of emotions and stresses including a loss of engagement and community. Social interaction is crucial for teenagers and so we have focused our efforts as a College on the need to maintain a sense of connectedness and community, including a deliberate focus on physical but not social distancing. Our Pastoral Care Team have been sending out messages to encourage positive engagement for students including weekly messaging from our Heads of Year, House Coordinators, Head Boy and Head Girl, College Chaplain and Deputy of Pastoral Care. Our Christian Education Coordinator has also provided weekly devotions for students to use in their ongoing spiritual walk.

Our Counsellors have sent weekly updates to students with tips for positive mental health and self-care. Please also be aware that our Counsellors are available to parents and students and can be contacted by email, direct message or via College phone.
 

Support Groups

The Kennedy website contains links to various support groups to assist people in dealing with the effects of the virus on society including: Beyond Blue, Headspace, eSafety Commissioner, reachout.com, Mindful Meditation Australia.
 

Maintaining Our Kennedy Community

To encourage creativity and community we have also launched several student competitions during this time. Our House Coordinators have led this with fun House Activities. These competitions will run until the end of Week 2 of Term 2 (Friday 8 May). We will announce the winners in Week 3! Click here for more information.

As we move into Term 2 we will look to continue to care for and support all our students and families during this challenging period. If you wish to contact me, please do not hesitate to email me or call me at the College.

Kennedy has been named as the 2020 School Library of the Year by the Western Australian School Library Association (WASLA). This award recognises and honours our exceptional Research and Study Centre (RASC) team whose professional practice has a positive impact on student achievement and information literacy.  

We are extremely proud of this achievement and congratulate our teacher Librarians and Library Assistants for this public recognition of their passionate commitment and work as a team. Please click here to read more.