Photo above: Kennedy Baptist College High School Musical On Stage. 

Message from the Principal

Dear Parents and Families,

Term 1 is passing very quickly, and it is pleasing to see our students embracing the many opportunities made available to all students in such an enthusiastic manner. We hope this continues throughout the year.
 

High School Musical

Thursday and Friday nights last week were milestone nights for the College. The wonderful production presented by the Arts Learning Area showcased our talented students and demonstrated the hard work and commitment of all who were involved. Congratulations to everyone who contributed to this excellent production. It will be long remembered for the way it demonstrated Kennedy’s community spirit. Please click here for photos. 
 

Strategic Planning

Kennedy has a very clear strategic plan in place to ensure that opportunities like Arts productions continue to develop. This plan includes four major strategic priorities that have driven our preparations for 2021. This includes:

• To enhance the quality of teaching and learning through the mechanism of innovation using evidenced-based best practice. 
• To invest in the wellbeing of students and staff through proactive intervention. 
• To create a connected community, forging and building upon meaningful relationships within the College and throughout the wider community to further our Christian mission.  
• To ensure sustainability across all aspects of the College and that Kennedy is well-positioned for the future. 

These strategic priorities will be a focus for the next three years and drive the allocation of physical, human, and financial resources. 
 

Easter Services

Kennedy Baptist College is a Christian faith-based College committed to providing the best possible educational services. As Easter approaches, it is appropriate to reflect on the basis of this faith foundation. Our Easter services provide us with the opportunity for this reflection as a College. These events are an opportunity for our community to come together and contemplate the Gospel message of Easter. 

Our Easter services are compulsory events for all students, and more importantly, it is an opportunity for families to engage as a community. Both services will commence at 7.00pm. Our two Easter services will be held on the following dates:

• Monday 29 March: Eyre and Forrest families.
• Tuesday 30 March: King and Stirling families

This year our services will be a collaboration with Lakeside Baptist Church, and we look forward to the wonderful presentations that our talented students will give. Supper will be provided after each service, and this should be a great time for families and staff to interact in a social setting. We look forward to meeting with you on these special evenings for Kennedy and hope as many parents as possible can join us.

Mr Mark Ashby
Principal

Chaplain Devotion

In the last newsletter, I mentioned some of the wonderful features of God’s kingdom. Living for others, giving to others, sacrificing our personal wants for the good of others. I also mentioned that in God’s kingdom there is forgiveness.

Jesus was asked how many times we are to forgive others. He was asked this by an average person who is like you and I. We are all the same, we find our forgiveness ‘bucket’ gets a little emptier every time we use it. If someone keeps doing that thing that hurts us or lets us down, eventually every human heart will say enough is enough! At that point, our ‘bucket’ is empty, and we cannot find it in our hearts to forgive anymore. This is where the Kingdom of God is vastly different from our broken human experience. The answer to the number of times forgiveness is given, according to Jesus, implies that true human life, the life we are designed for, potentially has a bottomless ‘bucket’ of forgiveness! The shocking answer that Jesus gave to that aching human question is basically that you never stop forgiving. Jesus used a number that equals eternity!!!

I could imagine that many reading this now could brush aside these thoughts as an impossibility, exaggeration, or religious extremes. The truth is that enjoying God’s Kingdom is only possible where we let God reign and rule. In hearts where He has permission to reign and rule, He will supply the human ability to forgive until the other person changes. He will supply! God’s Kingdom is where we find the strength to lift others up and put them first. Could you imagine, while you were lifting everyone around you, everyone in your life was lifting you... That’s heaven, that’s God’s kingdom, that’s what God's reign and rule looks like! I would like to share the story below of The Berry Spoon. I hope it might help us all go to God for the passion to live in His kingdom today.

The Berry Spoon - "I'll never forgive him. I told him I would never forgive him." The attractive elderly lady spoke softly, but with resolve, to the night nurse. Her expression was troubled as she turned away, focusing her eyes on the drape closing in her nursing home bed. The conversation had travelled from the temporal to the eternal and now a deep hurt had surfaced.

She told of how her brother had approached her hospital bed, accusing her of taking more than her share of family heirlooms following their mother's death. He spoke of various items, ending with "the berry spoon." He said, "I want the berry spoon, I’ve never forgiven you for taking it!!!." For the 40 years since the parent's death he had hidden his resentment, and now it erupted. She was both hurt and angered by his accusation and vowed never to forgive him. "It's my spoon. It was given to me," she defended herself. "He's wrong!! If he won’t forgive me…then I won't forgive him." 

A berry spoon. The elderly woman lay in her hospice bed, given two months to live, only 60 days, and she would face eternity and never see her brother again in this life. Her mind and spirit were in anguish, and her only remaining family tie was broken over a spoon. How many berry spoons are there in our lives? How many things, as insignificant as a spoon, in light of eternity, separate us from full enjoyment in God’s care? How much lack of forgiveness keeps us from fellowship with others?

"For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins" (Matthew 6:14-15).

Year 7 Report

It has been a busy start to the Kennedy journey for this Year 7 cohort. They have quickly settled into College life and the attitude and perseverance of the group has been so pleasing to see.

The Year 11/7 Mentor program has also been a success. I would like to thank the mentors all for putting the needs of the Year 7s above their own which has assisted the Year 7 students’ transition seamlessly. On Tuesday 16 February, our Year 7 Families Afternoon Tea was held, and it was a great opportunity for subject teachers, students and their and families to put faces to names and develop relationships in a less formal environment.

We are currently in the process of electing our 2021 Student Leadership team. Positions include Student Council and House Captains and I encourage all students who are interested to nominate and be involved in the process. Although not all students will be successful, the nomination process alone will provide all students with an opportunity to develop a variety of skills.

This year the Year 7s will attend a Year 7 Team Building Day on Friday 23 May. This is a compulsory event and I hope all students are getting excited. The aim of the day is to provide students with an opportunity to enhance their problem-solving skills and promote a sense of resilience that will assist your child as they continue through Year 7. It will also provide an opportunity for Head of Year 7 Mr Scott Britza to spend some time with the Year 7s as he returns from long service leave. 

I am looking forward to the rest of the term working alongside parents and students, to build further relationships and to provide support. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.

Year 8 Report

With over half the term gone the Year 8s have settled in well and most have had one or two assessments in their subject areas. I encourage parents to access SEQTA to be able to get an idea of how they are doing so far. Some assessments have been hard, so encourage your child to keep on striving and aim to improve their personal best as the year goes on. Please remember that the College offers tutoring in the MESH subjects and we encourage you to get in contact with your child’s teacher by Direct Message if you have any concerns.

Students are now looking forward to taking a break from the books when we head off on our Year 8 Adventure Camp. The camp is split into a female and male component with the girls going from Monday 22 – Wednesday 24 March and the boys going from Wednesday 24 – Friday 26 March. The camp is designed to test and push students, encouraging them to extend the limits of their beliefs in their own abilities and making them realise they are capable of so much more than they think. The camp has adventure activities including; one of the largest flying foxes in the southern hemisphere, abseiling, a pamper pole, ski biscuiting, kayaking, raft building and more. This adventure camp promises to be a pivotal point in a students’ life at Kennedy and I am looking forward to it! Parent information and permission forms have been sent, please contact me if you have not received these. Just a reminder that the drop off and pick up times for camp are different to normal as mentioned in the documentation.

I am looking forward to our students making the most of the adventure activities and returning with a greater understanding of themselves. After the term break students will wear full winter uniform when they return for Term 2.

Year 9 Report

In the first newsletter of the year, I wrote about how the focus for all Year 9 students was to answer the question, “Who am I”; in an attempt to discover who they are and who they want to become.  To aid in this process, we are guiding and encouraging the students to set goals. Last week during Extended Form, the students were given the opportunity to set SMART Goals.  They used the goal setting page in the College diary to make two goals that will help them to become the person they want to be.  Please look over this page and talk to your child about the goals they set, even discuss the strategies they are adopting to achieve their goals.  Encourage them with these goals and continue to remind them how effective setting goals can be to achieving their dreams.

Some of our students are already achieving their goals.  At the recent Interhouse Simming Carnival, Kaitlyn James broke two records in Freestyle and Backstroke, Daniel Eve broke a Breaststroke record and Alexander Mackinlay broke a backstroke record. Outside of the pool, Emma Kempson recently became the #1 ranked female Javelin thrower for her age in Australia.  At the recent College production of High School Musical, Caitlin Minorgan, Tom Stead, Jenna Rodgers, Rachel Johnson and Amalia Cann performed outstandingly. All these students should be extremely proud of their amazing achievements. The talent, motivation, and determination of many of our Year 9 students have clearly been on display of late.  Congratulations to all these Year 9 students on achieving their goals.

Just as every athlete and performer benefits from trusting and believing in their own abilities and talents, so too can each one of us benefit in having Faith in God. In Matthew 17:20, Jesus said, “… even if you have Faith the size of a mustard seed, you can move mountains.  Nothing is impossible for you”. I pray that we all develop a little bit of Faith inside each of us, so we can move mountains and achieve our goals. 

Year 10 Report

Just like that we are into the second half of Term 1, understandably the Year 10s may have noticed an increase in expectation and workload from Year 9.  As they continue with their assessments and tests, students are encouraged to be proactive in asking questions and seeking feedback from their teachers. 

In our last Extended Form, the cohort was split into genders, both had a common theme of understanding the importance of being mentally healthy and the importance of communication. Positive psychology through the PERMA model – positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning and achievements was also introduced to the students. 

During the boys session, common mental health issues; anxiety and depression were discussed and boys were explicitly encouraged to communicate with staff about themselves or friends so we can best support them. The girls session also looked at communication, but also the way we communicate with one another.  All students were reminded that one aspect of our job as Form teachers/ Head of Year is to support the students and their wellbeing but to do that successfully we need them to communicate with us. 

This week Mr David Orr informed the Year 10’s about protective behaviours in the work-place.  As we look and develop the importance of being aware of the expectations but also laws to keep our students safe and protected. In preparation for the Work Experience (Term 2 Week 1) we also have all students partaking in an Occupational Health and Safety workshop. For any questions with work experience placements please direct message Mrs Mary Minorgan.

A reminder for parents, for communication regarding your child, please contact, via Direct Message on Seqta, their Form teachers or myself.

Year 11 Report

When I think about the impact the Year 11 Mentors have had on the Year 7 students this term, a bible verse from 1 Thessalonians 5:11 comes to mind. ‘Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.’ It has been a pleasure to see the Year 11’s encouraging our new students and building up their confidence.

Recently the Year 11 cohort attended a Study Skills session presented by the Research and Study Centre staff. Students have been equipped with studying tips that will help them cope with the challenges faced in Senior School. An information session for parents was held on Tuesday 2 March, providing useful tips on how to support students with study. A copy of the PowerPoint from this session can be accessed via SEQTA by clicking on Documents and then opening the ‘Year 11 Top Tips for Parents’ file.

Our Year 11 Transition Camp to Rottnest Island will be held from Wednesday 24 – Friday 26 March. This will be a fantastic opportunity for students to build relationships, set goals and to gain skills that will help students venture through the challenges of Senior School. Students will be involved in a range of fun activities such as bike riding, mini-golf, golf, stand-up paddleboarding, fishing and tennis. Each evening there will be a presentation run by Greg Hire and Brad Robbins, from A Stitch in Time. Greg and Brad are former Perth Wildcats players and leaders, who now specialize in helping teenagers cope with issues relating to mental health and well-being.

On Wednesday 10 March, the Year 11 students who are not involved in the 11/7 program enjoyed a ‘Harmony Day’ Extended Form experience, led by Whadjuk Nyoongah man Vaughn McGuire. Vaughn held a ‘Welcome to Country’, sang a traditional song and told stories that the students found incredibly interesting. It was a pleasure to have Vaughn visit our College.

Year 12 Report

Oh, what a Ball! It was such a privilege for us as staff to share a fantastic Friday evening with the Year 12 students. The Year 12 ball was a highlight for our students and they all looked magnificent. The atmosphere was superb, and I would like to thank all students for their attitude and behaviour. The view over Kings Park, Swan River and City was stunning, the three-course meal was delicious, the weather was perfect and the dance floor was full of energy throughout the night - I was immensely proud of every student and so glad we were able to enjoy a relaxed and beautiful evening. 

Every event this year is an opportunity to create lasting memories. We recently had our Interhouse Swimming Carnival, and I was so proud of how many Year 12s attended the carnival. This year our Year 12s started a new tradition, at the end of all formal events they all stood proud at the edge of the pool waiting for the countdown to jump in. This was a celebration of their last and final Swimming Carnival ever, we all enjoyed their unity and celebration. We had a great time, the only disappointment was my favorite house, Eyre, did not win this year. What a shock after winning five years in a row, but well done to Stirling for their outstanding performance and well-deserved win.

Due to an extremely short term and so many events happening, I have noticed that there is a lot of pressure on our Year 12s to complete academic work in time. The last few weeks of Term 1 will require excellent time management and discipline for all students to achieve their personal best. Please remember to utilize the opportunities and resources wherever possible, we are here to assist your child in any way. God bless you all. 

Kennedy News

College Notices

Fees - Secondary Assistance Scheme

Secondary Assistance Scheme

The State Government, through the Department of Education, provides financial support to eligible parents through the Secondary Assistance Scheme (SAS). The aim of the scheme is to assist low-income families with secondary school costs.

Eligible parents/guardians with students enrolled in Years 7 to 12, studying a full-time secondary course at a WA private school, will be able to apply for the SAS in 2021.

The SAS consists of two allowances:

• $235 Education Program Allowance (payment made to the College, for the student); and
• $115 Clothing Allowance (payment made to the parent/guardian).

For all enquiries regarding the application process/forms please visit Reception. Applications close on Thursday 1 April 2021.

The next newsletter will be published on:
Thursday 25 March 2021.