Photo Above: Term 3 Assembly.

Dear Parents,

Yesterday I shared at Assembly some of my experiences from the semester break. During this time I travelled overseas to complete a course of study with over 170 Principals from around the world. Many Principals shared stories of factors that impact on the education of their students. At Kennedy we don’t have violence and gun issues to deal with. We don’t have abject poverty to deal with and we don’t have huge racial divides that dominate the atmosphere of many schools. As I shared with staff, in comparison, we have a wonderful environment to work in. We have outstanding opportunities for students to study in a fantastic environment. Our goal is to have our students appreciate the wonderful opportunities afforded to them by their families.

Open Day

Open Day is fast approaching and we would love all families to embrace the spirit of the day by being involved as much as possible. The Parents and Friends Committee has been very busy planning for the day and it is hoped that all families can help them with their preparations. Last week all families received an email with a range of requests for support and I encourage all families to contribute to the wish list of help.

Open Day is a great day to present our College to the community and share the wonderful achievements of our students. Often there is a perception that the day is targeted at prospective families rather than current families. However, since last Open Day we have now opened our new science laboratories and our excellent studios for dance, drama, music and visual art. We would love as many families as possible to visit on Saturday 27 August to experience the Kennedy journey that students are presently involved in. We hope to see you there! 

Athletics Carnival

On Thursday 18 August, the whole College will be at the State Athletics Centre for the Inter-house athletics carnival. I would like to remind everyone that this is a compulsory event for all students as all students will be involved in the competition. Any student absent on the day will require a medical certificate. Instructions regarding our return back to the College in the afternoon will be detailed before the day.

Student Behaviour

It was with regret that I found it necessary last week to expel two students due to drug related issues. We strive to uphold high standards at Kennedy and have a zero tolerance policy for this kind of offence. Lack of judgment early in life can result in a lifetime of negative consequences and I encourage you to speak with your child about upholding their personal values and our standards.

Mr Mark Ashby
Principal

How blessed is God! …He’s the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him…He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.” 
Ephesians 1:3-4 (Message)
 

This first chapter of Paul’s letter to the Church in Ephesus is what is called a Berakah (Hebrew), which means ‘blessing’ or ‘a place of blessing.’ As you read through this chapter, the sense of rejoicing at the work of the Father through his son Jesus Christ is obvious and what is also obvious is that because of Christ, those who are Believers, are blessed and they reside in a place of blessing.

This stanza, which is a single sentence in the original, challenges us as to how we look at the world, just as it challenged the original readers. For the citizens of Ephesus, their influence and power came directly from their relationship with Rome. Today, we can be defined by the number of followers we have on social media, the brand names we wear and the careers we choose. Paul cuts across both world views and provides us with a “Kingdom of God” view. He states that it is in Christ that we discover who we are. We are not defined by what labels we wear or how others have labelled us, instead we are defined by God and our relationship with Christ. It is through this relationship that we understand that our lives have purpose and so my prayer for you comes directly from this chapter.

I ask the God of glory to make you intelligent and discerning as to knowing him personally, that your eyes are focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what he is calling you to do, knowing that he will give you both the energy and the strength to complete whatever task he has for you. Amen.

Staff and students welcome to the second half of the year with renewed enthusiasm for learning and the hope of improved results. Study is a crucial element of learning and I would continue to encourage all students to develop a daily habit of summarising the material presented for each lesson. At the end of each day a student can utilize a couple of minutes to identify and write down the main points of each lesson. These summaries provide a valuable resource for further revision. The Resource and Study Centre provides excellent tuition on study techniques and students are encouraged to make an appointment to discover some useful study techniques relevant to their courses.

Kennedy Baptist College is participating in the NAPLAN online platform and readiness trial. The purpose of the trial is to test both: the capacity of the National, State and College network system; and also to provide students with familiarity of the testing procedures, thus content is not assessed. All Year 7 and 9 students will participate in the trial conducted during Term 3. Each student will utilize their own device to access the practice assessments and complete the trial. Students are also requested to bring headphones into the assessment to enable them to listen to questions and test instructions on their device. 

Year 12 students will be working consistently during Term 3, completing their courses and preparing for post-secondary school life. Applications to University and TAFE are usually required by the end of September. Year 12 students will continue to meet with their mentor teachers in order to receive information about the various application processes. As the end of Year 12 approaches, each student experiences a wealth of emotions from the excitement of the thought of not having to get out of bed and go to school each day to the fear of the unknown. I encourage all Year 12 students to discuss how they are feeling with their parents and teachers. Future opportunity exists for every Year 12 student; a positive finish to the year will ensure the best result and provide diverse choices.

Kennedy Baptist College recognises the vital role of Student Leadership in developing the life of our Community as well as giving students opportunities to develop this area of their lives.

During Term 3 Kennedy will be selecting its leadership groups for 2017. These roles include:

• Student Councillors - The role of the Kennedy Student Council is to act as effective role models for the student body and offer responsible service to their school and peers. The student councillors are involved in Open Day, Anzac Ceremonies, running College assemblies, representing the College at the WA Governors Prayer Breakfast, Year Group social activities, College Pastoral Care program, Free Dress Days and Student Council Projects.
   
• House Captains - This role includes working with the House Coordinators to build, maintain and support the promotion and development of the College House System. It also involves organising a range of College activities including: Arts Cup, Swimming Carnival, Public Speaking Competition, National Ride2School Day, House Week, Champions Read Competition, House Point Draws and supporting the charity Operation Christmas Child.
   
• 11/7s Mentors - This role is open to Year 10s, and involves being a mentor to incoming Year 7 students, to assist them in their transition to secondary school. Benefits for the mentors include the opportunity to develop skills such as communication, decision making, organising and managing groups and peer support, as well as social skills such as planning initiative, cooperation and self-esteem, confidence, relationship building and team work. They are involved in Orientation Day, Prestart Day, Day 1 Welcome Ceremony, and  operating Weekly Care Groups.

We value the importance of training in developing student leaders and therefore all our Student Leadership roles involve significant, positive and appropriate training to prepare students for their position.

Student leadership provides an opportunity for our students to actively participate in the decision making processes at the College. We encourage all students who are keen to be involved to apply for these roles as an opportunity to serve the College Community, develop their leadership skills, act as effective role models for the student body and offer responsible service to their school.

The Year 7s have now ingratiated themselves into Kennedy Baptist College with the grace of seasoned professionals. Whilst it has been a very positive beginning, I believe the halfway point of the first year is a great place for the Year 7s to begin self-examination of their progress. Questions that they should be asking of themselves include:

• Have I set myself some short, medium and long-term goals?
• Have I achieved any of my goals yet?  If not, what can I implement to ensure I will soon reach these goals?
• Am I confident in how I am using my time?  Am I being effective with my time allocation or is something taking up too much of my time?
• Am I socially happy?  Do I have friends that I like and trust and am I being a good friend to others?

There are many other questions the Year 7 students could be asking themselves, however if they begin with the above questions it will give them a good platform for the process of self-examination and if this is tackled early, then it will allow them to renew their focus on why they are here at the College.

The main focus of Term 3 is relationships. Term 3 can be a period of friction between students as relationships that once appeared rock-solid are now disintegrating. It is important that students allow their friends to explore the cohort and discover new friendships without becoming jealous or concerned that they are losing a friend. Students have also been encouraged to examine their own behaviour and ask themselves if they are being a good friend. Strong positive relationships lead to a strong positive learning environment.

Last term 32 Year 8s particpated in a tree planting program at Shelley Foreshore.

Keen to make a difference in our Community we arrived at the Shelley Foreshore at 2.00pm meeting with a team from the City of Canning. They told us why the planting was needed, some of the history of the area, the problems which have been caused by peoples impact on the environment and what can be done to rehabilitate the river.

After, we planted dozens of plants to prevent erosion and to filter runoff into the river, thus preventing pollution and algal blooms. Our river is in a poor condition now compared to 100 years ago but is slowly improving due to groups like the Swan River Trust and the City of Canning.

The students were a fantastic group who worked hard and had a lot of fun, as can be seen in the accompanying photographs. We completed the planting early and had time for great fun on the play park. Thank you to all the students who attended as well as Mrs Fisher and Mrs Burgess. Apologies to all the students who wanted to go but who we could not accomodate.

It has been an exciting start to Term 3 and I am looking forward to another busy yet productive term.

At the end of Term 2 we had an amazing social at Cockburn Ice Arena. It was great to see students interacting with their friends and enjoying each other’s company whilst ice skating. Some of the ice skating skills on show were amazing and to see them move around with such confidence was inspirational. This term on Thursday 11 August we will be going to Super Bowl in Melville for some high quality ten pin bowling. The students have chosen to go to Bounce in Term 4. 

The Year 9 students have also had a Cyber Safety talk by Mr Tyrie in Week 1 during extended Form, where they were reminded of the importance of keeping safe while using social media and the internet. Last week our House captains and councillors ran our extended Form with activities such as Dodgeball and Computer Gaming sessions. It was great to see them use some of the skills that they have developed through their leadership role and run activities for their peers.

Another busy term is underway and there are a number of very important programs that the Year 10s need to think about. By now all students should have their Work Experience placements and all paperwork should be in to Mrs Minorgan. If you are having any problems with this, please contact Mrs Minorgan as soon as possible so she can help you.

Another program that our Year 10s can participate in is the 11/7s Peer Support program for 2017. The 11/7s program offers the new Year 7s a mentor or ‘buddy’ to help them with their transition into the College. It is a very important part of our Pastoral Care program at Kennedy and to be chosen as an 11/7 is a prestigious appointment. Nominations are now open and should be handed to form teachers by Friday Week 4.

At the end of Semester One the Year 10s planted trees as part of the revegetation project at Manning Park. Students had a great time helping our community. 

Looking forward to Term 4, all Year 10s get excited about the Year 10 Formal, which will be held at East Fremantle Yacht Club on Thursday 27 October. Please put the date in your calendar and remind your child to make arrangements with work etc. to be able to attend.

If you have any queries about this or other matters please do not hesitate to contact me at gtyrie@kennedy.wa.edu.au.

Reflecting on Semester One it was wonderful to see how our cohort has continued to develop a sense of teamwork and community.  Term 2 solidified this as we saw many students working hard together when preparing for their first round of ATAR examinations. The support, energy and care the students showed each other during this time was so wonderful to see. Now that our students have received their report, I encourage them to strive for their personal best by continually reflecting on how to achieve success; what actions worked best for them last semester or which subject teacher do they need to seek assistance from. As they move towards Year 12 we encourage our students to become more self-regulated and ensure that they have established a sound revision program whether in the General or ATAR courses. Therefore students are invited to take the opportunities given to them at the College through after school tutoring or alternatively make an appointment with the Research and Study Centre to refine their study techniques.

There have been many highlights during Term 2 with the first being the House Arts Cup, which was won by our very own Tugra Bilek after her beautiful piano performance. I was so proud to see how many students volunteered to donate blood during the National Blood Donation week (13 June to 17 June). Seven brave students were the first to participate in this community service project. These students were brave and throughout the process showed a sense of teamwork, often asking or checking on the other students who were donating blood. It has been amazing to hear that from these seven donations, 51 West Australian lives have been saved. Thank you to Anna Zwitser, Ross Stewart, Kevin Tang, Pinky Suksathan, Jack Shea, Cameron Grice and Savannah Mitchell.

We also enjoyed a multicultural morning during Week 10 where each Form created interactive stalls based on two chosen countries. This morning provided an opportunity for our local and international students to play different traditional sports and taste the culinary delights of the different countries. The Form teachers and myself were so proud of their energy and enthusiasm and it showed once again how our students worked together with a sense of purpose and connectedness, as we celebrated our College and its special cultural diversity.

Term 3 is under way and this is the final stretch for the Year 12 students before they sit their Mock exams and then the ATAR exams in November. Mentors will be meeting with their mentees in Week 3 to hand out TISC and university handbooks. Each Year 12 student should by now have logged on to the WACE website to confirm their details. Any students who have not done this are urged to complete this as soon as possible. On Wednesday this week we had a guest speaker address the ATAR students on the processes involved with their application to TISC and also a speaker addressing the same issues with students applying to TAFE. The ATAR Examination timetable has been released and is available on the SCSA website.

A letter and payment envelope was sent home through the students about the Spring Fling which will be held on Friday 2 September. This event is only open to Year 12 students at Kennedy.  Students should be at the Barrack Street jetty by 6.45pm to board The Crystal Swan by 7.00pm. The evening will finish at 10.00pm. The theme of the evening is Dress-Up and normal College rules apply for the evening.  The cost of the event is $60 which should be placed in the payment envelope and handed in to Student Services.

There are a number of universities which are offering Early Entry programs. We have submitted a number to Notre Dame University for their perusal. UWA and Curtin are offering some Early Entry pathways into Engineering Courses. There are also a number of scholarships available. We would encourage parents and students to check these out online as they may find some for which they qualify.

• Notre Dame University has their Open Day on Sunday 21 August.
• UWA has their Open Day on Sunday 14 August.

The Year 12s last day at the College will be Friday 21 October. A letter detailing plans for the day will be sent home later this term.

The Year 12 Graduation date is Friday 18 November and will be held in the Kennedy Auditorium.

On Wednesday 3 August an Assembly hosted by the Year 11 students was held in the Auditorium. The Assembly commenced with an address from Principal Mr Ashby who welcomed students and parents and said “we come together as a whole to acknowledge student achievement.” Mr Ashby outlined his experiences in America where he recently attended an International Principals Course at Harvard University, with 170 Principals from around the world. At the course, Principal's shared the factors that impacted on students in their schools and Mr Ashby told students how fortunate they are at Kennedy to have a wonderful and supportive learning environment and not to have the violence, poverty and racial divides that other schools around the world experience. Mr Ashby asked students why would someone jeopardize this environment? Regrettably, he said there are some students who think they are “too cool” for Kennedy and unfortunately two of these students were expelled last Friday for drug related behavior. Mr Ashby reinforced that at Kennedy there is zero tolerance for this kind of behavior and encouraged all students to embrace the opportunities offered to them and uphold the standards at the College.

Mr Ashby also encouraged Year 12 students to make the most of the resources at Kennedy during their last term before they sit the mock WACE exams in the October holidays.

Students then enjoyed an excerpt from the Drama Department’s production 'Alice in Wonderland' which will be staged in the Auditorium on Thursday and Friday this week. Tickets are $10.00 each and can be purchased from Student Services or at the door on the night.

Our Chaplain, Pauline Burgess then congratulated the Kennedy Chess Team who achieved fourth place overall in the recent Melville Chess Tournament held on 24 June.  Results from this competition are published later in this newsletter.

During the past holiday breaks students were fortunate to have the opportunity to attend a cultural exploration trip to China and a ski trip to New Zealand. Students from these trips thanked the teachers who had travelled with them. Slide shows with highlights from these wonderful experiences were then shown to the Assembly.

House Captains then carried out the House Points draw. Congratulations to the following students:

• Eyre - Kiara Becker 072E
• Forrest - Steven May 072F
• King - Sophia Bessant 12K1
• Stirling - Sullivan Harland 082S
• Major Prize Winner - Olivia Thomi 072K

The Assembly concluded with devotion from Mr Ashby who asked students to be respectful of each other and to remember that Jesus said “look at yourself before you start judging others”.

For photos of Assembly please click here.

Mrs Sandra Doick
Public Relations

On 20 and 22 June dance students from Years 8 to12 performed at the 2016 South of the Swan Dance Festival held at the Octagon Theatre at the University of Western Australia.

Students performed in a range of different dance genres, mainly performing Musical Theatre numbers, Lyrical and Jazz routines. Students performed with high energy and professionalism. Well done to all students involved and congratulations on another successful performance at the South of the Swan Dance Festival.

A very excited group of 31 Year 10 students and four staff arrived at Perth International Airport at 5.00pm in the last week of June for our ski adventure in New Zealand. After two epic flights over spectacular seas and mountains, we arrived at Queenstown. We immediately launched into ‘luging’on the top of the panoramic lookout (after our gondola ride), followed by a ‘5 star’ feast.

Day two, saw half of the group bungy jump and the other half jetboat ride. Both required some courage and left students full of adrenaline. To calm down, we played frisbee golf in the afternoon in the beautiful Queens Park Botanic Gardens.

The next four days were our Ski/Snowboard days at sunny Cardrona. Students spent the first two hours of each in lessons and the rest of the day putting their new skills into practice. The progress from beginner to intermediate status was amazing with only a couple of students incurring minor falls!

Our meals and hotel accommodation were outstanding (only 5 minutes from town) allowing students some freedom to meet for hot chocolates and ice-creams.

We left the South Island tired but amazed at the variety of adventures and landscapes. A geothermal and native cultural experience at Rotorua, followed by a “Hobbiton” tour concluded our time in the North Island. We had a great last night of fun and awards to conclude our fantastic trip. Thanks to Mrs Batley, Miss Kennedy and Mr Groom for all their work.

Mr Richard Main
Health & Physical Education Teacher

On Wednesday 20 July, our Year 7 extension and enrichment students were treated to a very “live and explosive” Science Show at Murdoch University. The excitement of large balloons filled with hydrogen and oxygen popping, misty clouds of dry ice spreading across the stage and learning the tricks of how to hammer a nail into wood using just a banana (frozen before in liquid nitrogen), kept students engaged and fascinated. Our very own Kennedy student Liam Pether was fortunate to be selected as one of the students to participate in an experiment where the combination of calcium acetate, ethanol, egg white and bicarbonate soda made a delicious looking jelly and cream, but regrettably was not fit for human consumption. And who can forget the reaction produced in the combination of manganese dioxide, mint detergent and hydrogen peroxide to produce an ever emerging mound of toothpaste like substance. Yes the word “reaction” just took on a whole new meaning.

After all the excitement our class was then taken on a tour of the scientific laboratories used in the Science faculty and the students were able to ask questions of the lecturers.  This chance to observe laboratories that specialised in a particular field has provided our students with real world knowledge. Not only were we shown an exciting afternoon but students were also happy to go home with a bag full of goodies. 

Mrs Laura DeGois
Year 7 KEEP Science Teacher

On Friday 22 July the Year 11 Media Production and Analysis students applied the skills and understandings learnt in the Media class by taking a tour of the Channel 9 Perth Studios. In their behind the scenes tour, students experienced first-hand the technical challenges and preparation that goes on before a program goes ‘live’. As well as hearing some tips and tricks from Channel 9 News anchor Mr Tim Macmillan, aspiring Newsreaders also had a short trip to the make-up department before presenting the News in a mock broadcast. Among the people that spoke to our students was journalist, and ex-student, Scott Cunningham. Our Chaplain Pauline Burgess was delighted to get a photo in front of the weather screen and as an added bonus Kennedy Baptist College was given a ‘shout out’ on the Friday evening News.

Photo above: Indonesian winners

Language Perfect World Championship is a World-Wide Competition which is held annually. Thousands of students from around the world participate every year. It is an outstanding on line resource that promotes second language learning.

Congratulations to the following students for winning awards in this competition:

• Gold Awards:
  Kristal Foo, Elijah Styles and Sophia Matassa.
• Silver Award:
  Jack Fraser.
• Bronze Awards:
  Kelli Chung, Kiara Becker, Sophia Choi, Denzel Gunadi Lusiana, Nicholas Payne, Travis Parker, Jasmines Omacini, Caleb Beams, Marose Saini.

We have 24 other students who received Credit Awards. This is an outstanding achievement, well done!

English and Languages Learning Area

Planting Native Australian Trees

On 29 June the Year 10 students were involved in a community service program that involved planting native Australian trees in a cleared area and a guided vegetation walk around the Manning Park reserve.

After the scenic bus ride to Manning Park, we met the tour guides: Adam & Claire. Students were given a rundown of what was to happen for the next few hours and we were split into two groups. The first group did the planting first and the second group went on the guided walk.

Our tour guide Adam told us about the plants and gave us instructions on how to plant the seedlings with their nutrient tablet. After grabing gloves and little shovels we were off to find the pre-dug holes for our seedlings. Our instructions were to plant as many plants as we could find and as a group we certainly tried our hardest. After planting all the seedlings we could find, we put all our tools back and had a quick break.

Overall it was a great experience, my peers and I thoroughly enjoyed taking part in this program designed to give back to the community.

Annabel White
Year 10 Student Councillor 2016

Well done to the Kennedy Baptist College Squash Team who represented the College at the Annual SSWA Interschool Squash Competition in Week 10 of Term 2. 

As a College, we had some outstanding results throughout the day and all students gave their best efforts in every performance.
Overall we finished first in the Senior Girls Competition and second in the Boys Junior Competition. Well done to all those students involved.

Mr Ben Pether
Health and Physical Education Teacher

Don't miss out! Alice in Wonderland performed by students from Years 7 to 11 tonight and tomorrow night (4 and 5 August) 7.00pm in the Auditorium.

Tickets are $10 each and available from Student Services and at the door. Refreshments will be available for purchase from 6.15pm. 

Our Kennedy Baptist College Community Open Day is fast approaching and we are excited to host you. For any other information or if you wish to be a part of this amazing day, please contact Administration on 9314 7722.

COLLEGE:
All students studying an ATAR course must complete all College examinations.

Practical examinations:
Dance, Drama, French, Physical Education Studies, English as an Additional Language Dialect, will occur prior to the end of Term 3 during the school day.

Written Examinations:
Friday 23 September then Monday 3 October - Friday 14 October.

WACE:
All students enrolled in a ATAR course must complete all scheduled WACE examinations. Students will be issued personalised timetables in September. General timetables are available on line http://www.scsa.wa.edu.au

Practical examinations:
24 to 30 September and 15 to 23 October.

Written examinations: (for Kennedy students)
31 October to 18 November

IMPORTANT NOTICE

Parents / Guardians of Year 12 students please note that fees need to be cleared in full by Monday 31 October 2016.

If you are experiencing any difficulties paying your fees by a due date, please contact Michelle Willans in Accounts Receivable to discuss.
Phone: 9314 7722 or email: fees@kennedy.wa.edu.au

Unknown Deposits:

The following deposit has been made to the College's bank account. Details are as below:

Alesha Foster, Zoe Grice and Tamati Foster

Congratulations to Alesha Foster, Zoe Grice and Tamati Foster who have been selected in the 2016 Touch Football teams competing in Mandurah in October.

Last Saturday 30 July a talented band of volunteers came to Kennedy to make jam in the Beedawong Cafeteria. It was a very enjoyable and productive afternoon making jams, chutneys and citrus butters for the Community Open Day.  Afternoons like these are possible because people are able to donate and contribute. We are very grateful for the support, Thank you to:

• the ladies who came and industriously made over 90 jars of delectable produce
• those who brought or loaned their Thermomixes to us for the afternoon
• Mrs Shea from the Beedawong Canteen team for her help and enthusiasm
• Mrs Anderson the Manager of the Beedawong for letting us take over the canteen for the afternoon
• everyone who donated jars, fruit and sugar 
• a big thank you to Galati Bros the owners of the Spud Shed for their donation of fruit and vegetables