Photo above: Remembrance Day Ceremony at Kennedy. 

Message from the Principal

Dear Parents and Families,

It has been wonderful for our College to experience a range of music and drama performances during the term. Our Arts Learning Area continues to grow in both student participation and the quality of great performances. Congratulations to all students who have been performing over the past weeks, it has been a privilege for everyone to attend such high-quality performances. Congratulations also, to our wonderful Arts Staff who work tirelessly to support student performances.

Kennedy Master Plan

Since Kennedy commenced in 2013, a master plan for the College campus has been implemented resulting in the development of outstanding facilities for our students. We have now completed the final phase of the plan with the redevelopment of our Technologies facilities which includes wonderful new amenities for Engineering, Mechatronics and Materials. This development of these new facilities will contribute to our changing curriculum to meet student’s future needs with a focus on STEAM, (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics). Now that this master plan has been completed, we now start the development of our next one. The College Board has now ratified the Master Plan - 2021 and the future. This will include:

• The redevelopment of the Auditorium, and its entrance and foyer.
• The building of additional classes and offices above Block 3 and the Health Centre to facilitate the removal of our modular buildings currently used for Senior School examinations. This space will be used for the development of increased parking space.
• The development of a 250-seat lecture theatre that will be used for whole of year group meetings and public lectures.

Year 12 Graduation

Friday 20 November is a special night for our Year 12 families. We look forward to a great night of celebration as our Year 12 students graduate from Kennedy Baptist College. Our formal proceedings for the Graduation Ceremony commence at 7.00pm. Unfortunately, due to the current COVID-19 distancing requirements, I would like to reinforce that each student can only invite two guests to both the cocktail function and the official ceremony. College siblings will be able to attend in addition to this limit. We apologise for any distress this may cause families.

Mr Mark Ashby
Principal

Chaplain Devotion

Part 4. In the last newsletter, I highlighted the free will of man. In God’s creation of humanity, He determined that any relationship of God with humanity would be genuine and free. The idea of God holding the strings of a puppet is not one that God has planned or perpetuated.

When focusing on the question of suffering in relation to faith, the free will of man today accounts for much of what we experience. The individual crimes, personal hurts - both physical and emotional, selfishness and greed that causes poverty and suppression are by far the greatest source of human pain that we know. 

Other sources are diseases and disasters. Where is God when we experience what the insurance companies call ‘Acts of God”?

The greatest faith-filled answer to pain, suffering and evil is to come from a Biblical worldview. It can seem that Wesley in “The Princess Bride” was right when he said “Life is pain. Anyone who says otherwise is selling something.” What we are all seeing when it seems that life is defined by pain is that this world is broken. God did not make it broken. There is a constant theme throughout the Bible that the created design, the perfection of God, is not what we are seeing when we mourn the loss of loved ones, when innocents are inflicted with hurt or when nature moves with violence.

This reality of a broken design creates one of the deepest universal longings in every human heart. The cry that we hear everywhere, throughout all history is, “There must be something better than this place of suffering and pain.” The answer to that longing is “Yes, there is something better”. God is working in His creation to bring it to a place of harmony that we all want. The end of the Bible story describes a scene that we find it hard to imagine. Revelation 21:4 tells us that God “will wipe every tear from their eyes. There won’t be death anymore. There won’t be any grief, crying, or pain, because the first things have disappeared”

Deputy Principal: Curriculum

Teachers are privileged to have an impact on the educational and personal growth of each student as they journey from Year 7 through to Year 12. Time passes all too quickly and it is now mid-term. We have already seen formal schooling conclude for Year 12 students. The 2020 Year 12 cohort enthusiastically embraced the opportunities provided to them by Kennedy and we wish every student well in their future endeavours.

The annual Awards Nights provide recognition of academic achievements as well as contributions made by students to the wider community. We encourage every student to give of their best in every endeavour and I am certain that students will continue to strive for excellence throughout the remainder of the year. I would encourage parents to celebrate 2020 with their child at these events.

Students in Years 9 and 10 will commence examinations in the coming weeks. Preparation for examinations will be completed both in class and through the homework that teachers set. Students, throughout the College, are regularly taught about how to revise and prepare for assessments. A good study plan and regular revision is more effective than last-minute cramming. Students could allocate 20-30 minutes of study for a subject each day (e.g. Monday = Maths; Tuesday = English) and set goals of achievement for each session to ensure they can effectively review the content presented during the past semester. The Year 9 and 10 revision and study program is designed to help students develop good study habits under the supervision and guidance of their teachers. Year 9 and 10 students must remain in classes during examination periods and not “go home to study”. I would encourage parents to monitor the time their child spends on homework in the coming weeks, it is important that students do not spend 3-4 hours per night preparing for the exams.

I would like to mention that curriculum material is being presented right up to the last day of College. Students are continually assessed which means that even if formal testing concludes, teachers are still observing student understanding of the concepts presented and this information is key to determining final grades.

Whilst students are busily completing their studies for the year, teachers are preparing lessons and examinations as well as providing feedback on progress both in class and through reports. Reports will be available to parents at the end of the school year through SEQTA. The curriculum team also aims to have booklists and subject selections available at the same time. 

Kennedy News

College Notices

The next newsletter will be published on:
Thursday 26 November 2020.