Photo above: Remembrance Day Ceremony at Kennedy. 

Dear Parents and Families,

It has been wonderful for our College to experience a range of music and drama events during past weeks. Our Arts Learning Area continues to grow both with an increase in the number of participants and a continually improving standard of performance. Congratulations to all students who recently participated in these events, it has been a privilege for everyone to attend such high-quality productions. Congratulations also, to our wonderful Arts staff, who work tirelessly to support our students.
 

2020 Tuition Fees

To ensure that Kennedy can continue to provide the highest quality education for every student there are several increasing College costs that need to be met. The College Board has made the carefully considered decision that tuition fees will be increased by 3.0% in 2020, an increase of $275. The decision to increase tuition fees is never taken lightly and it is worth noting that the education CPI currently operates at 3%.

Our fees for next year will be:
Annual Tuition fees per student (local) - $ 9100
Annual Tuition fees per student (international) - $ 19226
 

Kennedy Master Plan

Since Kennedy commenced in 2013, a master plan for the College campus has been implemented and has resulted in the development of outstanding facilities for our students. We have now commenced the next phase of the plan with the redevelopment of our Technologies facilities. This will involve the refurbishment and development of our Engineering, Mechatronics and Materials facilities. The improvements to these facilities will contribute to our changing curriculum to meet students’ future needs with a focus on STEAM, (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics). It is expected that these outstanding facilities will be completed by Term 4 next year.
 

Year 12 Graduation

This Friday night, 15 November, is a special night for our Year 12 families. We look forward to a great evening of celebration as our Year 12 students graduate from the College. Our formal proceedings for graduation commence at 7.00pm.

Mr Mark Ashby
Principal

One of the ways we are informed by the media about current news and events is via feeds on our phones. Recently there have been numerous feeds about ATAR and the significant changes that are coming. Looking a little closer I noted that the articles are from the Eastern States rather than Western Australia. There are some Eastern State education systems that have just one level of study for Year 11 and 12 students. If every student wishing to complete Year 11 and 12 is required to complete one type of course, then for a significant number of students their schooling experience and academic results will be discouraging. Here in Western Australia we have a dual-level of study for Year 11 and 12 as students may complete ATAR courses or General courses. The design of these courses takes into account the different academic profiles of students and considers a differing educational purpose. As with all systems, the design is not perfect and some students will always fall ‘between’ the courses. However, opportunities are available for students in Western Australia to choose from a wide range of courses. Year 11 and 12 students who study General courses can also participate in Vocational Education and Training courses. Many of these courses are available to students through TAFE and these courses are funded by the government. Kennedy students are making the most of the varied opportunities they are provided both in Year 11 and 12 but also in elective choices in lower school.

Preparation for Examinations

Curriculum activity is busy at this time of the year with students completing assessments, and for our core subjects examinations are part of the assessment schedule. Preparation for examinations will be completed both in class and through the homework that teachers set. I would encourage parents to monitor the time their child spends on homework in the coming week, it is important that students do not spend too much time each night preparing for the exams. Year 8 students should study for a maximum of 1.5 hours per weeknight, Year 9 and 10 a maximum of 2 hours per weeknight.

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.

It is a very full time on the Pastoral Care calendar, with a wide range of activities and events occurring.

Last week, at our assembly we recognised our student leaders for 2020 by presenting them with their leadership badges. We followed this with a student leader morning tea where students, their parents and staff came together and hear a few informing speeches regarding the preparation, training and goals of the program. At the assembly we were also joined by members of the Seniors Group from Lakeside Baptist Church and residents from Opal Murdoch (part of St Ives) who our Year 7 and 8 students have visited throughout the year as part of our Community Service Program.


Remembrance Day at Kennedy

On Monday this week we held our annual Remembrance Day service in the round area in front of our College flagpoles. Student Councillors hosted the event and Mr Ashby gave an address to the College. Students read the story of the Unknown Soldier, our students in cadets and scouts laid wreaths and performed flag duties. Year 9 student Andrew Wallace played the Last Post and the Revelle for this important event.
 

Year 7 Orientation Day

On Friday 29 November our Year 10 student mentors will be involved in welcoming our incoming Year 7s for 2020 at Orientation Day as part of our 11/7s Program. Each year the College undertakes a comprehensive support program to ensure the incoming Year 7 students enjoy a smooth transition and our student mentors are a very critical part of this. The next event is in January when the mentors will be hosting a Pre-start Day for the Year 7s, where they will enjoy some fun activities in their care groups, meet their Form teacher, see their Form room and get to know each other. Overall the 11/7s program is designed to support our incoming 7s and ensure they feel safe and welcomed as valued members of our College community, as well as providing significant leadership opportunities for older students as mentors.

September is the start of a new school year for our kids in Cambodia. Our kids are so excited to be back from their August holidays and back into learning activities and of course lots of fun in the process. Below are some recent photos of the children at Kennedy Centre.

Child sponsorship continues to increase over the last couple of months with almost 90% of the children now sponsored by students and families of Kennedy Baptist College. That means there are only 12 children waiting for someone to sponsor them!

We are so thankful for the support from the Kennedy community and we encourage you to talk to your fellow students and staff about how you can be involved in sponsoring and making a difference in a child’s life, their family and their community.

Mrs Helen Ricciardo 
Sponsor Liaison

Sunday 3 November started out as a perfect day to do a beach clean-up. The weather was mild, with no rain and not too hot either. We dressed in our special Project Ocean t-shirts and arrived at Ammo Jetty about an hour before the official start to put up the gazebo, registration/information table and sort all our equipment.

Marco Grassi from Sea Shepherd was the first person to arrive and he helped us set up. Soon we had 37 people signed up as volunteers. Marco gave an inspiring speech on the state of marine pollution and what we can do to help. He mentioned that even though the beach we were at looked clean, once we started actively looking, we would find heaps of litter. We then informed everyone about the general guidelines of the beach clean-up, as well as some safety rules and precautions. We asked all our volunteers to split into smaller groups, and for each group to take two bags (for recyclables and non-recyclables respectively), a grabber, and a printed guideline which included useful information and a map. Please click here to read more and see photos. 

Amie Hugo and Ava Webb
Year 8 Students

On Wednesday 6 November two special groups of guests, the Lakeside Seniors Group and Opal Care facility at St Ives Retirement Village joined us at our assembly as part of our continuing partnerships with our local community. During the year, students from Year 7 and 8 have been visiting the Seniors Groups as part of their Community Service program. We were delighted to have such a beautiful group of visitors to the College for the morning.

During the assembly, we heard a great report from students who went on the Canberra-Sydney and Pilbara tours during the October school holidays and the Student Executive announced their Student Councillor teams for 2020. We were then encouraged by our Christian Education Coordinator, Mrs Leizl Breytenbach, on the importance of staying centred with God just like a piece of clay needs to stay centred on the wheel when the potter is working on it. It is such an encouraging message to remember and reflect on from the Bible (Isaiah 64:8).

After the assembly, the Lakeside Seniors Group and Opal Care facility at St Ives Retirement Village enjoyed a morning tea in the Lower Foyer with some Year 7s and 8s and the Student Leadership team and their parents enjoyed morning tea in the Staff Lounge. Please click here for photos. 

The major prize will be drawn at our final assembly this term and the winning recipient will receive four standard tickets for an 80-minute jet boat experience along the Swan River.

The prize has been subsidised by Wild West Charters and is valued at $500. Please contact David McDonald on 0428 255 171 or go to wildwestcharters.com.au if you would like to book a tour.

We have had four intense, enthusiastic weeks of Champions Read with students recording the minutes they have read with the theme this year being “readers are winners”. Many photos were taken on the red carpet in the photo booth.

This year the students have had the minutes they have read recorded by their English teacher and so each week we have had a top English class as well as the top Form class. Lots of adding up but all worth it! The forms that have read for the most hours each week are rewarded with a custom badge and a box of chocolates. Congratulations to 8 Eyre 1, 8 Forrest 1 and 7 Eyre 2. The top English classes were Ms Anderson's Year 7 extension, Mrs Tan’s Year 7 and Mr Dunstan’s Year 7s. They all received a box of chocolates.

Over the course of Champions Read there were various activities for students to be involved in, Book in a Jar and Match the Selfie to the Shelfie. For Extended Form in Week 3, everyone read for almost an hour. Kennedy was unusually quiet and it was fantastic to see everyone taking part. We cannot afford to underestimate the importance of reading.

The highlight for this year was free dress day where students and staff could come dressed as a book character. The Arts Department embraced a Harry Potter theme and the English Department were Where’s Wallys.

It has been a very close competition with the points at the end of Week 3 being Eyre 6986, King 6505, Forrest 6457 and Stirling 6040. This can all change with the final week to be added in. The winning House will be announced in our final Assembly and awarded the Reading Shield. 

Mrs Alison Hanham
Teacher Librarian

On Tuesday, 5 November, 70 drama students participated in the 2019 Drama Night, WORLDS APART. Year 9, 10 and 11 students entertained the audience with three contrasting plays.

The performances spanned across time and place and highlighted how people in the same community can be separated by greed, prejudice, unfamiliarity and misunderstanding.

Feedback from the appreciative audience included: “A superb evening of Drama!” “Fascinating performances!” “Very entertaining.” Congratulations to each participating student who showcased enthusiasm, talent and commitment. What a great night! 

Mrs Liezl Breytenbach
Drama teacher

Congratulations to all the students who performed solo items at the Instrumental Music Recitals in Week 3 this term. The standard of performances was very impressive and thanks also goes to the tutors who prepared our students for these performances and attended the evening recitals.


Instrumental Music Enrolments for 2020

Students who wish to return to our Instrumental Music program in 2020 are encouraged to complete the online enrolment process through the website. The cut-off for instrumental lesson enrolment is Friday 17 January 2020. Fees for lessons will not be increasing in 2020, but we will be introducing a Music Record book to record lesson information, at a small cost to the families involved. The instruments available for tuition next year are as follows:

• Voice (Contemporary, Music Theatre)
• Guitar (Acoustic, electric, bass)
• Violin
• Cello
• Ukulele
• Clarinet
• Saxophone
• Flute
• Trumpet
• Piano/Keyboard
• Drums/Percussion

High School Musical Production Update 

After a few great weeks of getting to know each other and the musical’s plot, the High School Musical Production rehearsals are in full swing! Our Week 4 rehearsals consisted of learning new songs, dances and acting scenes. The leads had the opportunity to develop their characterisation and apply this in a new scene, whilst the chorus and dance troupe learnt a new song. The band later joined the rest of the cast to watch the leads, chorus and dance troupe perform one of the show’s biggest and most enjoyable numbers- no doubt it was stuck in all our heads for many hours after! The band has been working on finale pieces and has made significant progress. The whole cast is excited to continue to develop skills and forge friendships through this wonderful opportunity.

Carie Breytenbach
Lead Actor, playing Sharpay

Every few weeks, we are going to try and keep the Kennedy community updated in the newsletter with what is happening with the College production of High School Musical, so that you can read about rehearsals and get excited about the upcoming performance in 2020. If you as a student, parent or family member would like to get involved in set construction or painting, costume or prop production, backstage or ushering, please contact Ms Carolyn MacDonald on SEQTA or via email. 

Mr Simon James
High School Musical Director

We value the support of our volunteers who contribute to the College community! Co-ordination of all our volunteers is managed through the easy to use automated online system SIGNUP.com.

Invitations to our annual Volunteer Appreciation Afternoon Tea will be sent out shortly. The event will be held at 2.00pm in the Staff Lounge on the student's final day, Friday 6 December. 

Current volunteer opportunities are available with:

• Book Covering Term 4
• Term 4 Beedawong volunteering
• Kennedy Prayer Group​