Dear Parents and Families,

Kennedy endeavours to develop and foster strong relationships with our community members. This has recently been reinforced by our parent afternoons which were a great opportunity for parents to discuss student progress with our staff. These were extremely well attended and hopefully useful in providing feedback to families.

Our planning for Term 2 is now complete and one focus will be preparing Year 10 families for the selection of courses and units for 2020. Throughout Term 2 a comprehensive program of parent evenings and individual counselling is planned to help families make the best informed decisions. This is particularly important as the structure for Year 11 and the WACE is very different to the Lower School curriculum. I encourage all Year 10 families to attend all information nights and be proactive during this important phase of schooling for students.

Swimming Success

Congratulations to our Interschool Swimming team who performed wonderfully as a team to provide worthy competition in the A.C.C. Division C Swimming Carnival last week. It was fantastic to see Kennedy students support each other so well and produce outstanding results. Please click here for photos and here for results. 
 
Google Reviews

Thank you to the parents who have submitted Google reviews for Kennedy so far. Your feedback is so vital in creating a positive image for our College. You may have noticed that we received some negative reviews on Google recently - this is something that the College is aware of and currently handling. We are working hard to address any concerns and welcome your honest feedback. If you have any concerns, please feel free to get in touch. If you would like to leave a Google review for Kennedy, please go to bit.ly/reviewKennedy

Mr Mark Ashby
Principal

Boldness is third on the list of values we want to see upheld within our College community. I admit that my nerdiness surfaced as my mind went immediately to the opening lines of nearly every Star Trek episode that I have watched, as (mentally) I boldly went where no one has gone before. Yet it is in that very simple phrase the essence of boldness is captured, for boldness encompasses both the courage to do that which others may shy away from doing, as well as the confidence to say what needs to be said or to do what needs to be done.

I was not bold or confident as a teenager. Too many negative comments had been made regarding my physical and practical attributes and I withdrew. Only as I have moved away from those years and once more saw myself as someone who is defined by my relationship with God, has my confidence returned. Within the New Testament, the occurrences where boldness is demonstrated by the early followers of Jesus, it is shown to be the product, not of a good self-image or reading multiple self-help books, but of a relationship with Jesus and the message of his kingdom. A message which was classified as either foolish or offensive by those who were the initial hearers (1 Cor.1:18-29).

Even today, as Believers, we hold to several teachings that are unacceptable to the modern world view. Like those early followers, accept that fact and be bold anyhow -

… knowing that God always keeps his promises! Discover creative ways to encourage others and to motivate them toward acts of compassion, doing beautiful works as expressions of love. - Hebrews 10:23,24

It was rewarding to see parents attending the Parent-Teacher Interview evenings held at the College. Parents indicated that the feedback they received from the teachers was productive. I would encourage all parents to use Direqt message to contact teachers if they have queries about their child’s progress.

Interim reports, which are available on Seqta, provide a summary of student progress and work ethic. The report often provides a catalyst for a parent to attend the interviews, however, if you were unable to attend or if you have queries, please contact the teacher.

All students from Year 8-12 have now had opportunities to change either their electives (Year 8-10) or their courses (Year 11 & 12). Student courses remain as selected for the remainder of the year with the exception of Year 11 students who are able to review their courses immediately after the Semester One examinations. Please contact Mr Jiow if a circumstance arises that may require a review of your child’s elective.

The April break provides the opportunity to update the College’s database. Whilst the College will seek to minimize any impact of the change, SEQTA may be unavailable for families for a brief period. One advantage of the change in database is that it will provide an opportunity for parents to control their log in details to SEQTA. The change will mean that each parent/guardian will have personalized access linked to their provided email address. If a family has provided the one email address which both parents use then only one username/password can be created. I envisage SEQTA log in details to change by the end of this year, perhaps as early as the end of Term 2. Information will be sent to parents before any SEQTA changes are initiated.

Year 10 students take the next step on their journey towards selecting courses for Year 11 & 12 by completing Work Experience at the end of this term. Work Experience provides a window into the world of work and many students learn about their future career through the work placement. Tuesday 7 May 2019 is the Year 10 to 11 Information Evening which provides essential information surrounding choosing Year 11 courses. I look forward to seeing all parents and students at the event.

Coming together and building community is a really important part of the Kennedy student experience.

Last week the students enjoyed Harmony Day which involved a visit from African Oz Dance N Drum group and a number of students came dressed up in their national dress reflecting their own cultural heritage and traditions. The opportunity to share stories and experiences was an excellent way to build unity. This was especially important in light of recent world events. (Please click here to read more about Harmony Day at Kennedy.)

Other major community building events are the upcoming College camps. Camps are an important and significant part of Kennedy culture and our College Pastoral Care Program. The Year 7 Foundation Camp is being held at Fairbridge near Pinjarra, the Year 9 Adventure Camp is at Forrest Edge near Waroona and the Year 11 Transition Camp is being held at Rottnest Island.

Our Camp program is designed to achieve the following outcomes:

• Bring people together
• Build resilience
• Develop independence
• Increase environmental awareness
• Engage in new activities and experiences
• Overcome personal challenges
• Leadership development
• Team building
• Encouragement of physical fitness
• Develop an inclusive year group culture
• Build positive student-teacher relations

When reflecting on their secondary schooling experience many students see the camps as one of their highlights and we look forward to continued success in this area as we continue to build the Kennedy Community.

Our College will hold two Easter services this year. Both services will commence at 7.00pm and this is a compulsory event for all students.

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

This year Mount Pleasant Baptist Church worship team will join 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.

The children at the Kennedy Centre have flourished since the launch of Kennedy Baptist College's partnership in 2018. All 101 children at the Centre are enrolled in school in Grade 1 or Kindergarten and learning some great life skills. Our Centre staff are working hard to enhance the children's learning at the Kennedy Centre.

We encourage the building of a relationship between sponsors and children in the Centre through our letter writing program. They are so excited and encouraged when they receive a letter from their sponsor.

With nearly 65% of the kids sponsored by students and families of Kennedy Baptist College we are so thankful for the support from the Kennedy community. 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.

On Friday 22 March, Kennedy Baptist College students, parents and staff members participated in National Ride2School Day. This House event aims to encourage students to lead a healthy lifestyle. Over 100 students participated and joined in the festivities at Beedawong Café, where they were treated to a free breakfast.

There were also prizes for the best dressed rider, Ella Marshall and best decorated bike Sarai Abrahams. The winning House for Ride2School Day was Eyre, followed by Stirling, Forrest and King. 

Thank you to all the staff members, including the canteen staff, who helped make this event a special occasion. 

Mr Murray Dunstan
Eyre House Coordinator

Memory and memorizing is a very important part of any students study routine. In Week 6 the Research and Study Centre (with other Lirning Areas) celebrated memory with several events. 

Students memorizing Bible verses and reciting them to their Christian Education teacher or Form Teacher and daily acronyms in the notices for students to remember. On Monday at recess we had a memory Kahoots and 'tray of the day'. Before school 'the tray of the day' was displayed at the Circulation Desk with 10 random items on it which students could memorize and then come back at recess and tell us what was on the tray for House points. We had lots of interest in this and some who managed to remember all 10 items!

It was a very enjoyable and busy week here in the Research and Study Centre. Please see more below. 

Mrs Virginia Yurisich
Head of Research and Study

Yesterday the College came together for the final Assembly of Term 1. Mr Ashby opened the Assembly by celebrating the many events held during Term 1. He also talked about the importance of student behaviour and that when students are out in public their behaviour still reflects the College.

Badges were presented to our Year 7 Councilors and House Captains for 2019 and we acknowledged the hard work and commitment of the Year 11/7 Mentors by presenting each with a certificate. Mr Wood then shared about the excitement and achievements of our recent Interhouse Swimming Carnival and students were celebrated for their outstanding swimming results.

Eleesha Popkiss, our College Head Girl then thanked all the students who joined in for free dress day during the week to celebrate Harmony Day. The money raised from the free dress day will go to our Transform Cambodia Centre. Eleesha also mentioned a new Student Council initiative, student vs staff sport activities will be held throughout the year. During Term 1 the first activity was a cricket game. The staff were the proud winners of this event and Eleesha presented a golden shoe trophy to Mr Ashby to congratulate the staff.

Our Stirling House Captains then conducted the draw for the major House point prize for the term. A winner from each House was drawn by "parachute launch" and a final battle of "paper, scissors, rock" saw Jayden Davis from Forrest emerge the overall winner. Jadenn received a family voucher for four to a Humpback Whale Watching tour. 

Mr Ashby concluded the Assembly with the powerful story of the Cadbury brothers who were followers of Jesus and how they used chocolate to turn a city around for good. Mr Ashby reflected on the Bible verse; “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Each student then received a Cadbury chocolate to remind them of this truth. Please click here for more photos. 

Kennedy Baptist College Teams Win

Run by the Law Society of Western Australia, ‘A mock trial is a simulated court case in which teams contest a fictitious legal matter presented in the Western Australia court system. The cases are presented by two teams – a prosecution/plaintiff team and a defence/defendant team – made up of students playing the roles of barristers, solicitors, witnesses and court officials.’ Since the beginning of the year, a selection of Politics and Law students in both Year 11 and 12, were assembled into two legal teams, to compete in the Mock Trial Competition. With the help of Mr Ilchuk and Margaret Breen (AIG Australia), students met each week to prepare for their first case, as well as doing research at home. The case was a criminal case involving grievous bodily harm. Both Kennedy teams took on the role of the Defence.

On the night of Monday 18 March, both teams competed at the Supreme Court of Western Australia, against Rossmoyne Senior High. As well as judging the case, Judges award points based on: understanding of the case, performance in roles, knowledge of court procedure and presentation. Both teams performed exceptionally well and won their round. Congratulations to the students involved and we look forward to hearing about their efforts in the next round to be held in May. 

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. Current volunteer opportunities are available with:

• The Kennedy Prayer Group - Wednesdays at 1.45pm.
• Beedawong Volunteering Term 2
• Book Covering

​​Please click here to sign up and volunteer.