Photo above: Interhouse Athletics Carnival. 

Dear Parents and Families,

Kennedy has numerous whole College events during the year which are great opportunities to come together as a community and support the College’s values and each other.

The Interhouse Athletics Carnival last week was a great success and a wonderful opportunity to work together and reinforce the collaborative spirit at Kennedy. I would like to congratulate our students for the way they approached this event and enthusiastically represented their Houses throughout the competition despite some challenging weather. The final results and medal winners will be announced and presented at our next Assembly on Wednesday 25 September. 

Open Day: Saturday 24 August from 11.00am – 3.00pm

We hope you can join us at Open Day this Saturday to experience the exceptional opportunities that our students have embraced. Thank you to all our families who have made generous donations to our Parents and Friends Association for the day, your contributions are greatly appreciated.

2020 Strategic Changes

Strategic planning is currently underway for 2020 and several significant changes will be implemented that affect all members of our community. These changes have been developed based on feedback with all College stakeholders and include the following:

1. Languages other than English
From 2020 Chinese will replace Indonesian as the Asian language option. All Year 7 students from 2020 onwards will have the choice of selecting either Chinese or French as their compulsory language other than English.

Current Year 7 students will continue with Indonesian in Year 8 2020 if it has been studied this year. Indonesian will not be offered for Year 9, 10 11 or 12.

2. Camps
Compulsory camps which now occur in Years 7, 9 and 11 will be replaced with just two camps, in Year 8 and 11. The Year 8 camp will be our gender based adventure camp, whilst the current structure will be retained for our Year 11 camp. Next year will be a transition year and the following camps will operate:

• Year 9 Adventure Camp: Term 1, Week 9
• Year 11 Transition Camp: Term 1, Week 10
• Year 8 Adventure Camp:  Term 4, Week 8.

3. Parent - Teacher Evenings
Rather than having separate year cohort Parent-Teacher Evenings, we will trial having two generic parent teacher days and evenings to provide parents with more flexibility in making appointments. Parents will be able to make appointments for any teacher for any year subject on the following days. Current times are planned for:

• Tuesday 17 March from 2.00pm – 7.00pm
• Wednesday 18 March from 9.00am – 7.00pm.

4. Interim Reports
As ongoing regular feedback is now provided to parents through SEQTA, the value of the information provided by the traditional interim report published in March has been diminished. Consequently, they will not be issued next year.

Mr Mark Ashby
Principal

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Galatians 5:22

Over the school holidays I returned to New Zealand to celebrate my Mother's 90th Birthday. It was a wonderful time, getting together with my extended family, but after living in Australia for over 30 years, I realised that New Zealand was no longer home. In fact, I cut my holiday short by a couple of days and flew back to Perth two days early. Perth is not home either. It is where I live, but it is not home. “Home” was waiting for me at the airport when I arrived, in the form of my husband of 28 years. What I have discovered over those 28 years is that no matter where I am; no matter which country I am in; when I am with him, I am “home”.

Faithfulness is not something that just happens. It is built on a relationship and we all know that relationships can be challenging at times. When we grasp the idea of relationship with God then it can be “interesting” to say the least. Yet it is as this relationship develops that we learn the wonder of faithfulness and the security it brings, because faithfulness is not a blind leap into the dark. Throughout the Bible, faithfulness (and faith) is founded on the knowledge of the one we are faithful to, i.e. God, because He has shown Himself worthy of our allegiance. As I look back over my Christian walk (of 51 years), the ongoing faithfulness I demonstrate, is not because I have been told that I must be faithful; it is because I have found the one who is worthy of my trust and I look forward to the day when I am truly “home.”

The beginning of Term 3 has been a busy and vibrant time. Firstly, our Year 7 Students Councillors, Brynn Fisher, Novin Dickson and Caitlin Minorgan hosted the Year 7-9 Awards Assembly. The morning was a chance for the College community to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of our students from Semester One and I was very proud of the number of students from our cohort rewarded for their success. I was so impressed by how well our student councilors conducted themselves and spoke so confidently in front of such a large audience, congratulations to all.

In Extended Form this term our focus has been on improving our students intra-personal skills as well as study skills. This has been reinforced by our guest speakers Mr Macmillan, WA Police Sergeant and Mrs Yurisich from the Research and Study Centre as well as our activities in Form. We hope that by guiding Year 7 students to develop their understanding of how they think, manage their emotions and implement ways to overcome challenges this will have a huge impact on their self-motivation and commitment to their learning.

The Interhouse Athletics Carnival event was held last Friday, with our main focus being participation. This was certainly the case with our Year 7s heading off to the HBF Stadium in their House colours and their enthusiasm. Throughout the day, we could hear their vocal support from the stand for the participants and even with the rain, our students created a day of fun, cheer and maximum effort.

We also have our exciting Year 7 social taking place this term at Bounce, Cannington. This afterschool event provides an opportunity for students to have a lot of fun and a safe adrenalin rush on their massive indoor trampoline park. It is also a time to build new friendships, test new skills and get energised for the remainder of the year.

A lot has happened since the last newsletter. The Interhouse Athletics Carnival on Friday went very well despite the inclement weather. The Year 8 students participated very well in all the activities and we have many up-and-coming athletes in the cohort.

At our last ‘Free Dress’ Day the Year 8s are to be commended for being the year group that raised the most money for our Transform Cambodia Centre in Phnom Penh. We have also continued our visits to the Opal Care Centre at St Ives and the students’ participation in the discussions and activities there is very much appreciated by the residents. We are planning a visit of the residents to the College later in the year and then a special wind-up event at the end of the year.

As part of our Extended Form activities we had a visit from a policeman who addressed the Lower School students on the topic of cyber safety. We were encouraged that so many students do appear to be aware of the dangers of social media and trust that being well-informed of the dangers will help protect all of our students. This week we heard from Ms Jade Lewis, a former drug addict, who has turned her life around through God’s help and now works to help other drug addicts leave their addictions. Students were inspired by her life and story. 

On another note, there have been many absences this term due to the flu season. Please ensure that your child is eating well, getting some exercise and enough rest and sleep each day. The good habits that students learn at this age will help them to be productive and resilient members of society in the future.

The focus of the Year 9 cohort is well and truly on our futures as we will soon be making decisions that will influence what students study in senior school. There are two main foci at the moment; Miss Lamet will be addressing the students presently informing them of their options and electives. We also have representatives from Universities coming to present to the students during Extended Form on potential careers for students by offering ‘tasters’ of what it is like to study and work in specific areas including; Education, Animal Science, Environmental Engineering, Criminology, Chiropractic Studies, Games and Art Design, and Law.  Students have been asked to nominate an information session which they will attend – if your child has yet to do this please encourage them before the various sessions become full.

Kennedy Baptist College and more specifically our Year 9 students have had the privilege of being nominated as St Bart’s Community Group Volunteer of the Year. This is a great privilege and reinforces the hard work and dedication of the students to attend and participate in this community service event.  It also demonstrates the efforts of previous Heads of Year, specifically Mr Scott Britza – who have created and improved this Community Service event.

I would like to congratulate the Year 9 students for their efforts and participation in the Interschool Athletics Carnival. The behaviour of the students and their attitude towards competing and participating was excellent with many standout participants. Overall the spirit and camaraderie exhibited by the Year 9 cohort is a tribute to themselves, particularly in trying weather such as seen on Friday.

We have Student Council and House Captain elections coming up on Friday 18 September and I would encourage all students who believe they have leadership potential or who have thought about participating in the election process to nominate themselves for positions. The training, camp and opportunities throughout the year are excellent preparation for future leadership and teach students a great deal about themselves. 

We have our Community Open Day this Saturday 24 August, I would encourage all students and parents to come along and see their College in action. Community events such as Open Day create positive messages surrounding education and learning and give parents an excellent glimpse into the life of a modern student.

It has been a very quick and busy term with only five weeks to go and then another five till exams. We are almost counting shopping days to Christmas yet there is so much work to do.

Our Extended Form activities have been wonderful with us leading a successful Assembly, participation from all students during Form activities and a superb presentation by Mrs Ann Gerlach from Bob Cooper’s Reptile Rescue and Rehabilitation. on facing fears and handling snakes. She is a recognised authority on snakes and travels all over WA, training and educating people. She brought over thirty snakes and bobtails to show us and most of the students handled several reptiles. I was enormously impressed by the gentle and confident way the students treated the snakes and the courage many displayed. As can be seen by the photographs, there was great fun to be had and excellent participation. Our thanks go to Anne, a parent of our school, for this fantastic opportunity.

The closing date for 11/7 Mentors is this Friday and we have been flooded with excellent applicants. The 11/7 program is designed to facilitate a positive transition for our incoming Year 7 students and ensure they feel safe and welcomed as valued members of our College community. The Year 11 Mentors play a vital part in the smooth transition into high school as they oversee care groups of Year 7s. Please note only 50 students can be selected.

As mentioned before, the year is passing alarmingly quickly, and I would encourage all parents to discuss their children’s goals with them as well as how to achieve these. 

Thank you for all your support so far this year, and I wish you all well for the rest of the term.

Another term is flying by and it is an exciting time to be in Year 11.

Two weeks ago our Year 11 Councillors and House Captains ran our Wednesday Extended Form. It was great to see them take charge, organise and run activities for 180 students. They ran a capture the flag game out in the bush reserve at the back of the College, a Kahoots challenge with teams of students competing in quizzes on a range of topics, and a worship session which involved a councillor sharing a devotion, singing and praying for the students at Kennedy. I am so proud of our Year 11 student leaders and their abilities and willingness to have a go and run a large scale event such as this.

Later this term our Year 11s have the opportunity to put their names forward for our Student Executive Leadership, which includes the head roles and deputies for the College for 2020. I am excited to see the students putting their names forward to be considered for these prestigious positions. Applications are due at the end of Week 6 for these.

Over the next five weeks we have some more exciting opportunities for Community Service. I will be taking two small teams of students to Native Arc, a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation centre in Bibra Lake, where we will be assisting and helping out in maintaining their facility. It is great to see the willingness of our students to be involved in our community and give up their time to help a great cause.

Our main social occasion of the year will be the River cruise on Friday 20 September. We anticipate a great night and a fun chance to socialise at the end of the term and enjoy each other’s company and strengthen our relationships. I’m looking forward to a great rest of term.

What an exciting and interesting term for our Year 12 students. In Extended Form so far this term we have had our Semester One Awards Assembly, our final House build up day and made sandwiches and chocolate balls for the homeless. I commend the students on their involvement and achievements. I know that Perth Homeless Support Group were extremely grateful for the donation of 196 sandwiches and 220 choc balls, that were handed out to those folk living on the streets of Perth. I would also like to thank the members of PHSG who came and spoke to our students about the great work they do.

Upcoming, we have members from TISC and TAFE to help students prepare for their course applications and reiterate the course requirements and pathways. We also have ‘Red Frogs’ coming to discuss strategies on how to make good and safe choices at Leavers and beyond. This is an exciting time for our students and I would really like to remind them of the abundant support they have and to take the opportunity to discuss their goals with their mentors and Form teachers, with the aim of becoming the best they can be.

This term we will also have our social event, which is the Year 12 Spring Fling on Friday 6 September. A night were students can relax and enjoy time with their friends whilst cruising along the river on the gorgeous Crystal Swan. Staff and students in their fancy dress costumes will get to dance, reflect on the busy year and eat delicious food. Parents and guardians should have already received an email with more information, please contact me if you have any queries.

I know I am excited and apprehensive about the months ahead and can only imagine how our Year 12 students and their families are feeling at this time. I pray that we all continue to support each other.

• View Student's Work and Performances
  Please come view your child/ren's work, dance, drama and music performances. The unveiling of the patch artwork will happen at 1.00pm in the Lower Foyer.
   
• Technologies Learning Area - Building Plan
  Do check out the Food Technology and Textiles Centre that opened at the beginning of the year. There will also be an opportunity to view our Technology Building plans which commence their build October this year.
   
• Support Our Community
  At our P&F stall, you can purchase one of the 200 jars of jams and preserves that have been lovingly made by the P&F, and organise a personalise engraved brick. Funds raised at this event will go back to benefit our student community.
   
• Kids Activities, Stalls and Food Trucks
  98.5 Sonshine FM will be boardcasting live from Kennedy from 9.00am - 12.00pm, there will be some amazing gardening freebies available! Meast food truck, ice cream, fairy floss, coffee, cakes and Devonshire tea, sausage sizzle, Southern Indian curry along with food from our cafeteria will be available.
   
• Limited 2020 College Calendars
  You may like to pick up one of the 2020 College calendar from the P&F stall.

Help us spread the word

We have an amazing Kennedy Community and we thank you for being a part of it. Please help us spread the word by inviting your family and friends. Click here to invite somone!

Photo: Henry Wanyoike (middle) along with his best friend Paul Wanyoike, Bishop Francis Kamau, Josh Bond from Initiate Australia and Kennedy students.

Our Kennedy Christian Education Program goal is to instil wisdom in our students that will stand them in good stead for the future. Throughout the year we have had guest speakers sharing their life stories and the impact God makes in their life. This week we were very privileged to have Henry Wanyoike, a blind Kenyan marathon runner visit our Christian Education classes.

At the age of 21 Henry suffered a stroke and woke up blind. After three years of adapting to this new lifestyle and accepting what has happened to him, he decided to stay positive and continued to pursue his passion for running. He won gold in the 5000m run at the 2000 Sydney Paralympics. Henry continued to break records in the 5000m and 10,000m events and then broke the marathon world record for blind athletes at the London Marathon and again at the Hamburg Marathon. His life and story is such an encouragement to so many and we were truly honoured to have him visit Kennedy Baptist College. Click here to see an article in the Community Newspaper. 

On display in the Sports Centre are the new Kennedy Cup Champion Banners. There is a banner representing the winning House for every year since the start of Kennedy in 2013. Our 2019 Kennedy Cup Champions’ Banner will be unveiled during the Term 3 Assembly. This will now be a yearly tradition that will allow all students to see clearly who the Kennedy Cup Champions have been over the years.

Head to the Sports Centre and have a look at the banners. We thank you for your continued support to your child/ren's House in pursuit of the Kennedy Cup.

Write A Book In A Day? Yes We Did! On Thursday in Week 3, 21 students from Years 7-10 worked furiously to write and illustrate three books as part of the ‘Write A Book In A Day’ competition.

From 8:00am until 8:00pm teams representing Year 10 Creative Writing, Year 9 Creative Writing and the Research and Study Centre Book Club worked collaboratively to each write, illustrate and publish a 5000-word story about a mysterious art gallery, a chaotic cricket match and a deadly fashion show. Providing support along the way, Mr Errey, Mr Barendretch, Mrs Yurisich and Mr Siggins helped each team scan, print and submit their final stories, along with providing the all-important pizza dinner!

These books are now on display in the Research and Study Centre. Come along and check out the amazing work by these aspiring young writers!

This competition is run by The Kids’ Cancer Project and as well as raising money for a good cause, it puts the books entered in the competition into children’s hospitals around Australia for sick children to read! More information on this competition can be found via writeabookinaday.com.

On Friday 9 August the Arts Learning Area hosted their annual Dance Showcase, “Dance With The Stars.” After weeks of hard work, extra rehearsals and commitment, students from Years 7-12 performed with high energy and professionalism. The audience were entertained with elegant modern dance moves, energetic cheerleaders and powerful group collaborations. Mrs Lara Del Basso said that; “Friday night was an outstanding and successful show, a huge thank you goes to all the students and staff involved."

Interhouse Athletics Carnival

The Interhouse Athletics Carnival was a great success and a wonderful opportunity for the College to work together and reinforce the collaborative spirit at Kennedy. We congratulate our students on a fantastic day! The King and Queen of Athletics will be announced at our next Assembly. The overall House tally’s are below and please click here for photos.

• 1st place: King 5363
• 2nd place: Eyre 5346
• 3rd place: Stirling 5295
• 4th place: Forrest 4977

Mr Jonathan Wood
Health & Physical Education

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:

• Silent auction hamper wrapping evening
• Two volunteers needed for uniform fitting appointments
• Open Day volunteering 
• Book Covering Term 3
• Term 3 Beedawong volunteering
• Interhouse Athletics Carnival - Friday 16 August
• Kennedy Prayer Group 

​​Please click here to sign up and volunteer.