Dear Parents and Families,

Kennedy has had a wonderful, smooth start to the year, thank you to all families for such a great start. It has also been very pleasing to see our students embrace the challenges and opportunities at Kennedy as the academic year has commenced and some great outcomes have already been achieved. We look forward to an exciting and productive year of partnering with our students and their families.

Parents and Friends Association

The P&F held the Annual General Meeting last week and appointed the following parents to the important office bearer positions:

• President: Mrs Deborah Warwick
• Vice President: Mrs Michelle Marshall
• Treasurer: Mrs Marie Spires
• Secretary: Mrs Lorinda Gregory

Congratulations on these appointments. We thank you for volunteering to be involved in the leadership of the Association. It is great to have both Deborah and Lorinda continuing in their positions for a second year.

Easter Services

A reminder that our College will hold two Easter services this year.

• Tuesday 2 April: Eyre and Forrest families.
• Wednesday 3 April: King and Stirling families

Both services will commence at 7.00pm and I would like to emphasise that this is a compulsory event for all students.

Each year we endeavour to make our services different and engaging for families with a focus on the Christian Easter message: the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This year we have the pleasure of the Mount Pleasant Baptist Church worship team joining our Arts team to present a combined service. The services will focus on the true significance of Easter and be a time of both reflection and celebration.

2019 Student Residential Address Data Collection

The Government annually collects information, which is used in the calculation of the Commonwealth’s needs-based funding arrangements for non-government schools. The data collected in 2019 will be used to refine the new capacity to contribute methodology and may also be used in school funding calculations from 2020. Please read the parent information sheet and FAQs for parents to help you better understand the process and reasons for the collection of data.

Mr Mark Ashby
Principal

Welcome to 2019 and the beginning of a new school year. I start each year by introducing myself and provide a brief outline of my role at Kennedy Baptist College.

My name is Pauline Burgess and I am a full-time Chaplain. Most students now understand the place of chaplaincy and pastoral care within their education, because of the great work YouthCARE does in the Government schools, which is where I started. The first 7 years of my chaplaincy were within three different State High Schools and then I moved across into Kennedy Baptist College three years ago. Prior to working as a Chaplain, I volunteered for a charity that worked with those who were transitioning from off the streets into their own home, as well as doing paid work within a residential Drug and Alcohol rehabilitation facility.

As a Chaplain I provide support for students through a range of activities. Pancake breakfasts; barbecues; different clubs; Christian groups, camps; mentoring and face to face conversations. My office is in the Student Support Services building and the door is always open to students and their parents/guardians. Please feel free to contact me, either via email, pburgess@kennedy.wa.edu.au; or my office landline – 9314 7722, extension 222. My hope is that this year is one where we all grow in our relationship with God and realise the potential he has placed in all of us.

The Year 7 students have all made a wonderful start to the year! The energy, enthusiasm and genuine care for each other was a huge highlight on our Pre-start Day on Friday 1 February. As the Year 7 students were shown to their Form rooms by their Year 11 Mentors, they were introduced to their Form teachers and the reality of new routines and becoming familiar with a timetable set in. Each student asked questions and soon the nerves were settled. Students and their mentors enjoyed a sausage sizzle. After lunch, Capital Youth and Nations Youth Group provided lots of entertainment and cool water activities. The day enabled students to strengthen new friendships and have an orientation of College once again prior to Day One.

Finally, the highly anticipated Day One arrived, and I was so proud to see our cohort dressed so nicely in their summer uniform and looking all grown up. Led by their Form teachers we made our way into the Auditorium were family and friends where waiting to witness the Commencement Ceremony. The morning was a beautiful celebration of new beginnings and of welcoming the Year 7s and their families into our community. Mr Ashby invited our students to embrace the values of the College and to be committed to maximise every opportunity and strive to fulfil their potential this year. The students were then gifted with their personal Bibles and a Form photo was taken to mark the beginning of their secondary schooling.

My hope is that the year ahead, although it may be filled with fun and at times challenges be one that builds a strong foundation so that each student can fulfil their dreams and be the best, they can be. In order to achieve this, I encouraged students to remember three core values for this Year 7 cohort: compassion, strong communication and commitment. Together if we continue to embrace these, we will forge a culture of positivity and trust.

I am so proud to be Head of Year 7 and I look forward to seeing all our students blossom and achieve important milestones over the year. God bless.

Pre-start day photos here. 
Commencement and first day photos here. 

Year 8 has started very well.  The students looked well rested and ready for the New Year as they caught up with friends, they had made last year. Of course, there are new classes, new teachers and new friends in their classes so there are still challenges as they settle in again.

This year we will have a Community Service activity for the Year 8s, which will involve visiting and interacting with some Senior Citizens at St Ives, which is located on the other side of the Murdoch Oval. These senior citizens are in a ‘higher care’ category so the students can improve and develop the skills they learnt last year at Lakeside. Details of these activities will be sent on Consent2Go during the year.

With no camp this year, we look forward to a social activity on Friday Week 9, details of which will be sent out soon. We are also starting a Games Session in Room 3.11 each Tuesday recess as a safe place for students to go and meet some new friends.

I am looking forward to the year and getting to know the students and parents more as we work together to make your child’s time at Kennedy the best it can be.

The Year 9 cohort have had a fantastic beginning to the academic year, and it is promising to see their enthusiasm towards their friends and their College being so forthright. I am also pleased to note the increase in positivity and respect being shown by each student to their peers and look forward to this continuing over the course of the year.

Our focus for this year, amongst other things, is for students to develop a growth mindset and for them to aim for continual improvement over the course of the year. After the results of the previous years, students may feel that they are pigeonholed in a bracket and can only achieve within that bracket. We are encouraging students to continually improve on their abilities and make small day-to-day improvements in their learning and effort levels. Research suggests that new neural pathways can be developed in students’ brains and advocates that we can increase our neural growth by the actions we take, such as using good strategies, asking questions, practicing, and following good nutrition and sleep habits. We are encouraging students to take on challenges and learn from them, along with learning from mistakes they make, to help develop their abilities and achievement.  If students are able to see their own achievement improving this will have wonderful effects on their self-esteem.  Please feel free to discuss with and support your child in this matter.

I would encourage Year 9 students to create short, medium and long-term goals that are reasonable and attainable, and encourage them to begin working towards achieving these goals. I would also encourage students to extend themselves and take on new challenges, sometimes with the likelihood of failure being high, purely to learn from their mistakes. All students can and should expect progress and development this year; I look forward to seeing their progress.

It has been a great start to the year and I am really enjoying being with this year group again. Knowing the majority of students from day one has really helped with my role in supporting the students. A big welcome to our nine new students who have adjusted into the Kennedy journey very well.

We have some exciting events happening this term which the students are looking forward to. During Week 10, all students will be undertaking Work Experience. This is an amazing opportunity to experience a work place setting. We trust that it will give students an idea of what they would like to do in the future and that it will guide them in choosing the appropriate Senior School subjects later in the year. It is very important that every student has a placement by now and has submitted their forms to Mrs Mary Minorgan. If your child has any queries, please contact Mrs Mary Minorgan in the Careers office.

Our Interhouse Swimming Carnival is on Thursday 28 February and all students are expected to attend. If a student is absent on the day, they must bring a medical certificate. This is always a fun and exciting event where everyone can participate and contribute to their House and earn points.

During Week 9, students will be going to an event at Perth Arena called Bstreetsmart. This event is run by the RAC and is an exciting and informative day. Students will witness how driving scenarios are played out, listen to educated speaker’s and receive advice on driving, and risks associated on the road.

I know that we will have a very positive year and I look forward to building stronger relationships with both parents and students. If you have any queries or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me at the College or via email.

It has been a great start to the year and I am excited to see students now all grown up and finally in Senior School. Over 80 of the Year 11 students are currently involved with the 11/7-Peer Support for incoming Year 7 students. I have watched them escort students to their class and run activities with small groups. I have been so impressed with their dedication to the new students and they are to be commended on doing such a great job.

We have been talking about goal setting with the Year 11s and the students have been looking at their character strengths and their life values with the plan to use these to set some goals for this year and beyond. We will be working through the goal setting process this term and continuing the process during our Transition Camp in Week 10.

I would love to remind parents that there is a Year 11 Parent Information Evening in the College Auditorium on Tuesday 26 February at 7.00pm. This is a great opportunity to hear from the Research and Study Centre, as they will be giving tips and focus on health study skills for all Senior School students. Parents should have received an invite via SEQTA.

Please keep an eye out for a Consent2Go message regarding the Year 11 Transition Camp from 10 to 12 April. This letter will contain important information for the camp We will need parents to respond by giving their child permission to go.

I am looking forward to a fantastic year with the Year 11 students and I am excited to see students grow and achieve great things this year.

Year 12 has definitely begun at a frenetic pace. As a new initiative for 2019, Murdoch University has offered additional secure free parking for Kennedy students on the northern side of the new soccer pitches whilst still retaining the 28 bays next to the cricket fields. Please make sure your child picks up a student parking permit from Student Services before parking at these sites. I would like to congratulate the Year 12s for embracing this change with minimal fuss and remind them that they are not to park on the verge of Farrington Road.

The next exciting thing to occur is the opening of the Common Room in the Lower Foyer. Year 12 students will now have access to a fridge, microwaves and hot water, as well as being able to sit inside the building during recess and lunch. Students are being encouraged to take responsibility for this area, to help keep it clean and especially to clean up after themselves. We have a severe lack of forks and spoons so if you have any laying around at home that you think would be better served being used by teenagers, please send them to College with your student to be donated to the Common Room.

The most exciting thing is the coming is the Year 12 Ball, which is being held tomorrow, Friday 15 February at Frasers, Kings Park. Please make sure your child dresses appropriately and according to College standards and values. I look forward to enjoying a great night with our young adults.

With all this excitement and change there can also be a lot of apprehension and anxiety. Please remember that Kennedy offers extensive support for our parents and students. Please feel free to contact me at the College 
gtyrie@kennedy.wa.edu.au or by contacting the relevant staff directly. 

As Year 12 students move through their final year at Kennedy, my aim for them is to have the skills and direction to feel confident in making the next step in their life journey and to support them and offer understanding. There will always be bumps along the way but remembering that on the way towards your dream and vision, we can sometimes get the sense that we feel lost. It is in those moments that you learn to get to know yourself and then even find a new dream and a new vision for life.

On Wednesday 6 February, we welcomed students back to Kennedy. We had the opportunity to celebrate 12 of our Year 12 Graduates from 2018 with Outstanding Academic Achievement Awards.

Certificates were also awarded to current students for their outstanding final academic achievements for 2018. The top five students in each year group received House Academic Awards and Certificates of Achievement were awarded to students who have demonstrated an excellent standard of work. Please click here for photos.

We are excited about the completion of our new Food and Textiles Technologies Centre. This new centre will provide outstanding new facilities and appliances for these courses. Students truly have been enjoying this new space.

As part of our Linguistic and Cultural exchange program with the Institut Jeanne d’Arc from Brignoles, a group of nine students and their teacher Isabelle Castaing are currently shadowing their penpals from Kennedy. We trust that they will enjoy their stay in Perth.

What a busy start to the year. In January Mr James Siggins and Mrs Virginia Yurisich went to Phnom Penh and trained about 150 trainers in Transform Cambodia in note-taking and study strategies. Back at Kennedy we did a study strategies presentation to all our Year 11s last Tuesday and the Year 7 SMARTS got off to a great start learning about organisation. Year 7s have had a lot of fun learning about the RASC by playing a board game we invented. 

Clubs

The 3D printing club has started and is meeting Monday lunchtimes. Book club has begun - on Tuesdays after school and Thursday craft will be running at recess. Maker Space will be running with various activities on Friday lunchtimes. 

Parents who are seen reading at home is one of the biggest factors in encouraging children to read, so please pick up a good book, relax and read! Reading is so important - it can improve academic performance and reduce stress - both things we want for them.

Book Covering

Book covering is on every even Tuesday morning from 8.00am to about 11.00am. Training is provided as is a cuppa and cake! You can come occasionally or each fortnight. Any time you can give is greatly appreciated. To volunteer please click here.

Mrs Yurisich
Head of Research and Study

Instrumental Music lessons

The Instrumental Music program has almost doubled in numbers since the start of last year, and we now have close to 120 students taking weekly lessons on a range of different instruments. We would like to warmly welcome Mia Matthiessen (our new singing tutor, replacing Laura Igglesden) and also Stephanie Jefferies (our first cello teacher). Enrolments for Term 1 are now closed; and there is already a waiting list for Term 2.  Please direct any enquiries to Janelle Anthony at janthony@kennedy.wa.edu.au

Music Ensembles

This week our Music Ensembles commenced and we are proud to announce that we will have a String Ensemble and a Percussion Ensemble that will rehearse on Tuesday and Thursday lunchtimes, respectively.  Our Concert and Stage Bands are going from strength to strength (Tuesday and Thursdays after school), and our Vocal Ensemble had a positive start this week with students from all different year levels.  The Intermediate Guitar Ensemble (formerly Junior Guitar Ensemble), will be rehearsing on Thursday lunchtimes this year; and the Specialist Guitar Ensemble (formerly Senior Guitar Ensemble), will rehearse before school on Wednesdays. Please refer to the Music Ensembles Schedule for specific details.

Easter Services – Vocal Ensemble, Selected Instrumentalists and Dance and Drama students

A reminder for the members of this ensemble and for those instrumental music students who have been invited to participate in the combined orchestra. Invitations have been sent to selected Instrumental students, for you to confirm your attendance at both 2 April and 3 April, Easter services, (regardless of which house you belong to). The Vocal Ensemble and Dance and Drama students will receive an invitation at a later date.

Each year we value the support of our volunteers who contribute to the College community by helping at the Café, Research & Study Centre, Uniform shop, Sports Carnivals and Open Day. Co-ordination of all our volunteers is coordinated through the easy to use automated online system SIGNUP.com. Current volunteer opportunities are available with:

• Beedawong Café
• Interhouse Swimming Carnival
• Book Covering

​​Please click here to sign up and volunteer.