Dear Parents

Welcome to Term 4 at Kennedy Baptist College. This term will continue to provide a wide range of opportunities for students across all Learning Areas and culminate with examinations for students in Years 8 to 12.  

Over the holidays Kennedy operated three student tours to provide some exceptional experiences for our students. This included:

• Year 8 and 9 students in Canberra
• Year 11 students working with the Martu people in the Pilbara
• Year 11 French students completing their language immersion program in France.     

It has been wonderful to hear the great stories of the experiences students were given whilst on these tours and the positive feedback regarding the outstanding behaviour of students. Congratulations to both the staff and students who participated in these extraordinary opportunities.

Year 10-12 Prize Night: Tuesday 20 October, 7.00pm
Next Tuesday we celebrate and give thanks for the wonderful achievement of our Years 10 to 12 students. I would like to remind families that this is a compulsory event for students and details will follow shortly. It would be wonderful to have as many families as possible joining us on the night for this special celebration.

Year 12 Last Day: Friday 23 October
Next Friday we will honour and farewell our Year 12 students at a special assembly to acknowledge their last official day of classes at Kennedy. We wish them all the very best as a large number of these students commence their final preparations for the WACE examinations which will be used for entrance into university. Year 12 Graduation will then take place on Friday November 20 after the WACE examinations. I hope all of our Year 12 families can join us for both of these special events. For further information on Year 12 events

Mark Ashby
Principal

Double Minded

 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 
(James 4:6-9 ESV)

Often as Christians we can live as a double minded believer. We have a relationship with Jesus Christ and we love him BUT we also have a love for a particular sinful act or obsession. We get pulled in two different directions and it is a horrible way to live the Christian life. There are so many issues and thoughts that come with this kind of Christian lifestyle.

We tend to be led by the Holy Spirit and make decisions based on the way we should – on our reasoning and our conscience – but with this one issue in our lives we find ourselves compromising the decisions we should be making and end up making decisions based on how we FEEL and how this sinful act will make us feel. It is a trap that so many Christians fall into and the Bible talks about being double minded on many occasions.

We only really experience peace when we are close to God and making decisions in line with his will for our lives – and not being torn away by this issue or desire that actually draws us away from Christ. We have to come to the understanding that we can not ‘beat’ this ourselves and the realisation we need to humble ourselves and submit ourselves to Christ.

Being double minded never ends well – and with it comes a whole set of negative feelings such as guilt, shame and sadness. There is much peace and contentment to be found in our life and double mindedness will always rob us of that peace and contentment. If we can choose to purify our hearts and not make decisions based on our feelings and draw near to God we can move away from being double minded in our Christian life.

Adam Przytula
College Chaplain

Has your child represented WA in sport this year?
We would like to acknowledge students in the year book who represented the state in their chosen sport. If your child has represented WA this year please email details of the sport, the competition, the result and any other pertinent details to Mrs Debbie Scorer by 30 October. If you have already given your child's information to Miss Jessica Kennedy please ignore this request. Thank you.

For families who have elected to pay by term, statements were posted to you in the second week of the school holidays.

IMPORTANT NOTICE - Payment Deadlines

• Term & Semester payments (Option 2 and 3) Fees are due Friday 23 October. The fees can be paid by BPay, eftpos, cheque or cash.

• Monthly payments:

1. BY Payway (Option 4) – then your last instalment will be due on 20 November, 2015.
2. Likewise, if you have chosen to set up payments from your own bank – your last instalment will be due on 20 November, 2015.

YEAR 12 STUDENTS

• Parents / Guardians please note that fees need to be cleared IN FULL before your child’s graduation on Friday 20 November, 2015.

Please refer all queries regarding your statement to Mrs Gillian Wood on 93147722 or email gwood@kennedy.wa.edu.au

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED PLEASE

Volunteers are needed to pack summer uniforms for next year’s students.  The dates will be Thursday 5 and Friday 6 November in the morning.  If you are able to assist please contact our uniform shop manager Mrs Kerry James  email  or phone 9314 7722.

TERM 4 UNIFORM SHOP HOURS

Monday to Thursday (closed Friday)
8.00am – 12.30pm
1.00pm – 3.45pm

WACE:

All students enrolled in a Stage 3 Course of Study and those Mathematics 2CD students enrolled in the WACE examination must complete all scheduled examinations.  Students will be issued personalised timetables in October.  General timetables are available online http://www.scsa.wa.edu.au

Practical examinations:
17 October – 25 October
Written examinations: (for Kennedy students)
2 November – 18 November

Please note: All Year 12 students are expected in class on Thursday 15 October. The last day for Year 12 is Friday 23 October.

2016 Executive Leadership: Ancke Nienaber, Jasmine Hanham, Jordan Waters and Hilton Bratschi

The selection process for student leaders for 2016 has been completed with the new Head Boy and Head Girl, and Deputy Head Boy and Girl chosen from a group of very talented applicants. 

We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate our new student executive leadership team of:

Head Boy: Hilton Bratschi
Head Girl: Ancke Nienaber
Deputy Head Boy: Jordan Waters
Deputy Head Girl: Jasmine Hanham

We also extend our congratulations to the following students who have successfully been selected as Year 12 Councillors:

Kevin Kaharudin
Anja Kostadinovic
Isabella Dowling
Jazmin Jones

On Monday 21 September, eight Year 11 students, Mr Dunstan, Mr Loughton and Ms Pomphrey travelled to Newman for an Indigenous exposure trip aimed at creating cultural awareness and building relationships between Kennedy Baptist College and the Martu people of the North West.

Pastor John Wilmot and his wife Angela, along with their seven children, welcomed the group. They introduced the students to two of the Martu elders, D.O. and May, who both shared fascinating stories of their experiences and discussed the importance of continuing to pass on traditional cultural practices, language and knowledge to the younger generations.

Highlights on the tour included students being invited to participate in hunting for goanna and honey ants, visiting Jigalong, an indigenous community made well known by the film 'Rabbit Proof Fence' and spending time at Parnngurr Community School with local students and children from Jigalong. The group also attended a church service at Newman Baptist Church, where they were then invited to share a barbecue lunch. The greatest aspect of the tour was the relationships that were formed, with many of the students having conversations (yarns) with indigenous people for the first time.

During the last couple of days, the students spent time at Karijini National Park, where they were able to swim and enjoy the incredible scenery at Weano and Hancock Gorges. This was a fantastic time for the students and staff to reflect on their experiences. The trip was very successful and will pave the way for future tours to ensure that there is a continued relationship between the school and the Martu community. 

Mr Murray Dunstan
Indigenous Tour Coordinator

Kennedy Baptist College educates Economists for the future. Our Economists are exposed to the real application of theory and indeed, they make the important link between how that theory translates into policy application. Our recent visit by Dr Mike Nahan MLA, Treasurer, Minister for Energy, Citizenship and Multicultural Interests, and Member for Riverton provided the opportunity for our students to see how Economists rely on Economic Frameworks to diagnose current conditions and formulate policy that lifts the living standards of all Australians. 

Dr Nahan is no stranger to the classroom, as a Professor of Economics (University of Western Australia) he engaged students with his depth of economic data and gave an up-to-date briefing on the economic state of WA. He humorously asserted that WA is experiencing a “Monday Hangover” from our recent Mining Boom and challenged students to think about where Western Australia is now looking to fuel Economic Growth over the coming decade. However, despite the slowing rate of growth we were reminded that the Australian Dollar is the 5th most traded currency in the world and continues to be the world’s largest supplier of Iron Ore. 

Kennedy economists contributed well to the discussion and formulated their own proposals for the continuation of growth in the services (tertiary) sectors of our economy. We thank Dr Nahan for his time and we are currently establishing a research partnership for our students to work with State Economic Data.

Mrs Melissa Rasmussen
Humanities Learning Area

Biology isn’t just about the ‘knowing’ of what things are and how they work, it’s about the practical knowledge and skills that can be learned to help analyse our natural world, its past and to be able to conserve and protect species for future generations. The Year 12s were given some experience in this field on a trip to the sclerophyllous forests of Mundaring.

We were given the opportunity to practice trapping, measuring and tagging wildlife before embarking on a walk in the jarrah forest to work on quadrat surveys of the various species of flora and fauna in the area. This experience involved recording studies of the different layers of the forest such as the canopy and undergrowth leaf litter. This helped us to determine the natural biodiversity and, therefore, the health of some of the forest’s ecosystems.

After all the ‘science’ we were able to sit back and enjoy an animal encounter where live native animals (including an echidna, a ringtail possum, a brown snake and kangaroo joeys) were brought out for us to see, up close and personal.

All in all, this was a very educational and successful trip which allowed us to see the work and people behind the scenes of some of Australia’s top conservation groups. This helped us to make significant connections between the textbook knowledge gathered in class with real life, practical applications to the environment around us.

Written by Year 12 Biological Science Students

On Wednesday 2 September, the Year 12 Geography cohort visited two places to further their spatial understanding and awareness. They were split into two groups for the day. One group started the day with Mr Austen and Curtin University Spatial Sciences Laboratory grappling with the mystery of Geographical Information Systems, applying overlays onto base maps of urban areas. Another group accompanied myself and Mr King for an Amazing Race activity around two key redevelopments in the CBD of Perth: Elizabeth Quay and City Link Project. We very quickly realized that Year 12s don’t walk that fast. It took them forever to complete what was supposed to be a race.
Then the two groups swapped and repeated the process. The highlights were the beautiful CBD of Perth and Mr Burgess getting pushed into the Forrest Place fountain.

Mr Mark Burgess
Humanities Learning Area

Kevin Tang enjoying work experience with a furry friend

In the final week of Term 3 all our Year 10 students embarked on a week of Work Experience. Students worked across a huge range of industries and careers including animal care, nursing, manufacturing, safety and risk, trades and construction, teaching, business and photography, just to name a few.

For many students the week confirmed and strengthened their pre-existing career goals and aspirations, and for others it changed their mind about what they would like to do when they leave school. Either way, for all students it was a valuable time of life-learning and experience in the real world.

The warm feedback I received from visiting teachers and employers was really encouraging. By the end of the week I received a number of comments from employers praising our students, such as: “Ideally we would keep him if we could”; “I would like to pass on my thanks to the school for sending such well-rounded young men”; “she worked very well with us and was a pleasure to have for the week”; “sometimes we just stand back and watch, in awe of her.” Congratulations to all students who represented the College with maturity and enthusiasm. Many students left stunning impressions with their employers and they should be proud of the impact they have had.

I would like to thank all parents and guardians for your involvement and support, and the teachers who visited students while they were at work.

Mrs Emma Riddle
Acting Work Experience Coordinator

On 18 September the annual Kennedy Baptist College Dance Showcase was held. The show, “When I Grow Up” had 160 students from Year 8 to Year 12 performing routines choreographed by Miss Lara Casella, Mrs Kelly Mayne, Miss Bramley Haran and the students themselves. Each class performed two routines, one teacher- choreographed and the second, student choreographed. 

The students did a fantastic job with hard work, extra rehearsals and commitment resulting in an outstanding night. Congratulations and well done to all students involved. Photos...

Miss Lara Casella
Arts Learning Area

The boys and girls ACC All Stars Basketball teams played against the Combined Government Schools teams on Saturday evening 12 September at the WA Basketball Centre. Daniel Grida, Jermayne Spatcher and Alecia Knowles represented Kennedy Baptist College.

Both games were of a very high standard and exciting to watch.  The girls were competitive for the first half of the game but unfortunately were unable to maintain the gap in the final two quarters. Alecia Knowles was announced as the Most Valuable Player and had the highest point score of 9.

The boys however, managed to stay in front for the entire game with a nail biting finish.  Daniel Grida scored 22 points which was the highest for his game.

Final scores, highest scorers and most valuable players are available on the ACC website 

Hayfever season has arrived and we have noticed an increased number of students who are experiencing discomfort. Kennedy Baptist College can only administer paracetamol to students with parental consent.  If your child has a condition requiring medication (e.g. hayfever medication) and you wish them to take the medication at school, please complete a medication form which is available from the office. Student Services Support will then store your child’s medication under lock and key.  Please make sure all medication is in the original packaging as we can not accept medication provided in zip lock bags etc. Thank you for your assistance in this matter.

We have our last Bunnings sausage sizzle for the year and are looking for wonderful parent volunteers to assist us:

Date: Saturday 24 October
Place: Bunnings O'Connor

If you are able to help us on the day, please email pandfkennedybaptistcollege@gmail.com and we will put you on the roster. Thank you.

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The list below shows the upcoming events for the next few weeks. Please visit our website for more dates and events

15 October - 16 October

• Year 11 Outdoor Education Margaret River Expedition

19 October

• Year 7 Specialist Cricket Match
• Year 12 Outdoor Education Treasure Hunt

20 October

• Year 9/10  Film making Excursion
• Year 9 Photography Excursion 
• Year 10-12 Prize Night

21 October

• Year 9 Photography Excursion
• Year 8 Vaccinations 3

23 October

• Last day for Year 12 students

27 October

• Year 10 Film making Excursion
• P&F Meeting - 7pm Staff Lounge

28 October

• Year 7 Specialist Cricket Match
• Year 9 Community Service

29 October

• Year 10 Formal

We accept notices from parents, and advertisements from local companies and businesses for a small fee and reserve the right to accept the application for advertisement to be placed in the Newsletter or Notice board. Please email news@kennedy.wa.edu.au for more information