Photo above: Students and Staff at the Year 11 Camp. 

Dear Parents and Families,

Welcome to Term 2 at Kennedy Baptist College. I trust everyone had a wonderful relaxing holiday. Kennedy prides itself on the outstanding extra-curricular programs on offer and it was wonderful to experience these opportunities first hand in the last week of Term 1. Our Year 7 and 9 camps provided great opportunities for students to be challenged through a range of outsourced activities and also provided great chances to form new friendships along the way. Year 11 camp was developed for students to reflect on their transition to Senior School and set goals for the future. I hope these experiences were appreciated by all students involved.

Term 3 Leadership Changes

At the end of this term I will be commencing Long Service Leave for all of Term 3. Mr Pether will be acting Principal and Mr King, Head of Year 8, will be acting Deputy Principal for Pastoral Care in my absence. I look forward to returning in Term 4 to complete another very successful year of College operation.

Semester Examinations

This term promises to be a challenging one for everyone as the end of Semester One approaches and assessments have a major impact on final grades. As examinations approach it is important to review the reason for such assessments at Kennedy. All assessments provide the opportunity for students to demonstrate their achievement so that teachers can review academic progress. The use of assessments as a diagnostic tool is vitally important to staff and strategies are then implemented in response to student performance. This may be in the form of support through additional instruction, tutoring or intensive remediation. It may also include extension or enrichment if this need has been identified. Examinations provide a great opportunity to review the semester’s achievement and provide this analytic data.

A reminder to our Year 11 and 12 students about the importance of examinations:

• Year 11 examinations have a significant impact on semester grades required for WACE graduation.
• Year 12 examinations have a significant impact on semester marks and grades that contribute to a student’s ATAR and WACE graduation prospects.

I trust everyone has a fulfilling and rewarding Term 2 at Kennedy.

Mr Mark Ashby
Principal

Over the holidays I was challenged as to my own study of Scripture - that it would become more than just reading a couple of chapters a day accompanied by a prayer. I found a reading plan that incorporated both prayer and personal study, which I thrive on because I have a background in theological studies and access to some wonderful resources. 

What I do realize is that for many, reading the Bible can be difficult, because the authors assume prior knowledge of historical writings and events. It is the realisation that while the Bible was written for us, it was not written to us. What I mean by this is that; I have never known an exodus or an exile, I am not an Aramaic speaking Jewish person located in Roman occupied Israel, I have never feared for my life because of my faith, yet these factors were relevant to the Believers of the first century.

This does not mean that we cannot read the Bible without this information. It is still the word of God for us. But, if we take time to understand the world views of the people of the Bible, we then add depth to our personal study. We begin to bridge the gap. I hope to begin this “bridge building” by looking at how Jesus is portrayed in the four Gospels; some of the terminology used, e.g. the Kingdom of God/Heaven; what is the “Good news”? and how the authors of the Gospels draw on the collective knowledge and common experience of their readers.

I would welcome the opportunity to explore these topics with interested students, so please feel free to contact me via SEQTA direct messages with any questions you may have.

At our Term 2 College Assembly on Wednesday 2 May our Student Councillors, Keely Hatch and Eric De Sousa shared an introduction to  the ANZAC Ceremony and the context of ANZAC Day for this year. A minute's silence was observed during the Assembly. Student Councillor Eleesha Popkiss read the beautiful scripture from Luke 6:27-36, which reminds us to love our enemies. 

During our Assembly we recognised students who have achieved the Kennedy Baptist College Colours Award. Mr Pether mentioned that; ‘College Colours are awarded to students, recognising their positive standing and College contribution.’ Students awarded need to demonstrate specific criteria in four areas; College representation in sport or community service, academic standing, student leadership and good attitude and behaviour. 

Students were reminded that we have our Annual Arts Cup and Interhouse Cross Country next Wednesday 9 May. These events are an ideal opportunity to earn points for their House. Students are encouraged to embrace the team spirit and enjoy the day. 

For more Assembly photos please click here and for more information about the Interschool Cross Country please click here.

Kennedy is committed to international service through this project and we look forward to celebrating the opening of the Kennedy Centre when our students visit Phnom Penh at the end of this term. This is a long term commitment for the College and it allows for all students and families to be involved. We will continue to support and promote this project as we still have impoverished students available for sponsorship. Should you wish to sponsor a child or support our Centre in Phnom Penh please do not hesitate to contact our Administration. Please click here for more information.

This will be a fun filled morning so please come and join other Kennedy Mums over a cuppa and some tempting treats at our annual Mother's Day morning tea. Our guest speaker this year will be Shannon McCarthy, who speaks regularly on Sonshine FM about the joys and trials of parenting. 
Grandmothers are also welcome!

Date: Friday 11 May 2018
Venue: Staff Lounge
Time: 9.00am - 10.15am

For catering purposes, we would appreciate your RSVP to Mrs Janet Hair by clicking here before Wednesday 9 May 2018.

SAS Summer Sport Update 

Throughout Term 1 Kennedy participated in the Southern Associated Schools summer tournament with 16 teams across a range of sports. The Kennedy teams showed strength across a very healthy and competitive group and were rewarded for their hard work by being awarded Summer Champion School. This group of Year 11 and 12 students is extremely talented and should be proud of their participation and dedication to the program.

Following these games we had the opportunity for five teams to play the winner of the Northen Competition in an Interzone final on Wednesday 4 April.

The results were as follows:

• Girls Basketball - Kennedy 65 defeated Newman 33
• Boys Basketball - Kennedy 50 defeated Chisholm 44
• Girls Indoor Beach Volleyball - Kennedy defeated Chisholm
• Boys Indoor Beach Volleyball - Newman defeated Kennedy
• Boys Touch Rugby - Kennedy defeated Sacred Heart

Congratulations to all teams and best wishes for the winter (Term 2) games. Personal results were:

• 12 Female Courtney Green: Girls Basketball MVP
• 12 Male Derek Igbenoba: Boys Basketball MVP

Miss Jessica Kennedy 
Health & Physical Education Teacher/Sports Coordinator