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 offered at Kennedy and some great outcomes have already been achieved. We look forward to an exciting and productive year.

College Ball
It was a pleasure to join our Year 12 students, partners and staff at the Hyatt on Friday night. The Ball was a wonderful event and our students had a fantastic night enjoying each other’s company. Their attitude was outstanding and this greatly contributed to the night being a success. Congratulations to Mrs Meadows and the Year 12 Councillors for their great efforts in organising a wonderful evening.

College Sunday
College Sunday is our celebration Easter service which reinforces the Christian ethos of the College. As in previous years, two services will be held on Sunday 22 March. Students in King and Stirling will attend at 1.00pm whilst students in Eyre and Forrest will attend 3.30pm. The service will include students' drama and music performances and our guest speaker will be Paul “Morro” Morrison. Morro works on the breakfast show for 98.5 FM and is the Chaplain to the West Coast Eagles. It promises to be an entertaining and thought provoking service.
I would like to extend an invitation to all families to attend and hope you can join us for the afternoon. This is a compulsory event for all students.

Mark Ashby
Principal

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself. This is my seventh year as a Chaplain, but my first year working in an independent school. My role is to support you, the parents as well as the students and staff here at Kennedy Baptist College. My background is diverse, from drug and alcohol rehabilitation through to the administration of a not for profit charity. I am also an ordained minister, and enjoy challenging myself in the gym most days. I have travelled widely but not as widely (or as often) as I would like. I am at the College one day a week (Thursdays) and am contactable via my school email address: pburgess@kennedy.wa.edu.au

I have been a Christian for a lot longer than I would care to admit and it would be wonderful to say that life has been easy because of my relationship with God, but that would be a lie. From an eating disorder through to losing my dad, life is not fair. What I have learned is to continue to trust my God – who has never let me down. The Message Bible presents Proverbs 3.5-6 brilliantly:

Trust GOD from the bottom of your heart;
    don’t try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for GOD’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
    he’s the one who will keep you on track.

Don’t try to figure life out on your own. God has provided an amazing array of resources, from His inspired Word through to people who care and who want to support you. As your child faces the year ahead, whether it is their first year in High School or their last, I want you to know this, the Student Services and Pastoral team of the school are here for you. We are one of the resources provided by God. Let us help you keep the life of your child on track.

As you may be aware, this year marks the official beginning of the implementation of Phase One of the Australian Curriculum for years K-10 in Australian Schools. Phase One covers the subjects of English, Mathematics, Science and History (part of the Humanities course in Western Australian schools). In Western Australia, implementation of the Australian Curriculum is overseen by the Schools Curriculum and Standards Authority (SCSA). General information can be found under the title “Curriculum and Assessment Outline” on the SCSA website. Since Kennedy Baptist College has been working towards full implementation of Phase One since its inception, parents will not see any major changes in the Lower School curriculum. Where you will see changes is in the Assessment and Reporting process. By mid – 2015 schools are required to report using the Australian Curriculum in the subjects English, Mathematics and Science. The SCSA states that reports must “include, for subjects studied, an assessment of the student’s achievement:Reported as A, B, C, D and E (or an equivalent five-point scale), clearly defined against specific learning standards; and relative to the performance of the student’s peer group.” This means that in some courses in Lower School students will now receive 2 grades, a stream grade and an overall grade relative to their year group. Parents may also notice changes in the way assessments are graded or marked as teachers use the required “specific learning standards”. More specific details on reporting will be published closer to the mid-year reporting time, but in the mean time you are welcome to visit the website see the link below, which includes an FAQ section, or contact me at the College.
http://k10outline.scsa.wa.edu.au/

At Kennedy Baptist College one of our major concerns is the issue of student wellbeing. In 2012/2013 an overview of the 230 000 calls received nationally by Kids Helpline was conducted and among many other issues, what they found was:

• The top issue raised by 10-14 year old girls calling in was mental health concerns.
• The top issue raised by 10-14 year old boys calling in was family relationships.
• The top issue raised by 15-19 year old girls calling in was mental health concerns.
• The top issue raised by 15-19 year old boys calling in was mental health concerns.

The full report can be found at: http://www.kidshelp.com.au/grownups/news-research/research-reports/kids-helpline-overview.php
BeyondBlue together with Parenting Strategies and The University of Melbourne have recently published a document for parents entitled How to Prevent Depression and Clinical Anxiety In Your Teenager. It is designed to help parents reduce their teenager’s risk of developing depression or clinical anxiety. The guidelines suggested would benefit all teenagers including those already experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety.
This document can be found at: http://www.parentingstrategies.net/depression/. We would encourage you to access and utilize this fantastic resource.
If you have any current concerns for your child, please ensure you contact your GP, our counselling team at Kennedy or any of the numbers below. Early intervention is always preferable.

• Beyondblue:    1300 224 636  
• Lifeline:    13 11 14 
• Relationships Australia:  1 300 364 27
• eheadspace:   1800 650 890  

At Kennedy Baptist College we highly value the social and emotional development of our students and in pursuit of this have developed and incorporated a new wellbeing and life skills program into our Year 7 curriculum.  This new program is called” Thrive” and will run over the first semester with the aim of helping students to thrive academically, emotionally and behaviourally both inside and outside of their school environment.
The course aims to educate and increase awareness around behaviour, bullying, resilience, mental health, cybersafety and stress management.
We are very excited about this new venture and look forward to the positive results and benefits it will bring to our students.

Welcome to Year 7 for 2015 and welcome to one of the most formative, exciting, developmental, influential and thrilling years of your life.  Welcome to some of the biggest challenges of your life.  High school offers such a wide variety of opportunities but also a great deal of challenges.  It is from now onwards that you are expected to adhere to specific rules, complete work to your highest standard and leave behind certain behaviours that will be holding you back. 
We expect excellence from our students and we encourage all of you to do your best.  However, excellence isn’t just getting an A grade.  Excellence is trying your hardest, pushing your grade up from a C to B, exerting yourself to your fullest in the swimming carnival or having the courage to speak up in classes and have your point heard by all.  Excellence is getting to class on time, bringing all of the required materials and being ready to learn once the teacher has completed the roll.  Excellence is ensuring your bag is packed and ready to go the evening before you leave, making sure all of your homework is complete to a standard that is expected by the teacher and completing your assignments so that you are happy with your efforts.  Excellence is ensuring you treat your fellow students with respect; that you understand all people are different and all have a right to be heard, excellence is making sure that you respect the Christian ethos of the College and understand its purpose.
Ultimately College is a period of time in your life where you are presented with a myriad of opportunities to excel and to be the best you can be.  Do you want to look back on your time here at the College and think I wish I had tried harder?  Or do you want to graduate completely happy with your efforts and all that you tried and achieved during your time here?  As the old saying goes; “you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink”.  We bring you to the water, provide you with the opportunities and structure for you to excel as much as you can, however some of it is up to you.  You need to try; you need to put in the effort and the hours and you need to put your education as your top priority.  Your parents/guardians care so much about your education that they have sent you to us, a College that puts you and your education above all else.  Don’t let them down, don’t squander the opportunities that are presented to you, instead grasp them with both hands and ensure you exhibit excellence in all that you do.

What a great start to the year with the students cooperating well and settling down quickly. I have received much feedback from staff about their positive happy attitudes. A priority has been ensuring all clothing and bags are marked with the students names. Uniforms must be worn with pride and adhere to the standards outlined in the Kennedy handbook. Please ensure your daughter’s dresses are the appropriate length.
The social at Leighton was very well attended despite clashing with the SAS sport and arts rehearsals. In future, socials will be on a Tuesday to avoid this. Next term we will be doing tree planting along the Canning River in June as a volunteer and social event.
Students should now be able to log in to the College network on their devices, they have been instructed to use their lockers to store their valuables during the day. Please remind them on the importance of doing so.
Tests have already begun and you will have a good idea of how your child is progressing by looking on Coneqt. Please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher if you have any problems and ensure they develop good homework habits from day one.

As Acting Head of Year 9 taking over from Scott Britza in Term 1, it has been exciting to see the students coming back to Kennedy or joining us for the first time this year. The year has started off smoothly and the students have settled into the swing of Year 9 and an increased work load well. In our year group meetings we have been discussing the Kennedy journey and especially the Year 9 notion of ‘Who am I’, looking at identity and our place in the College and society. We will be looking at this all year as we aim to encourage each student to find out their own identity through friendships, academic work and the pursuit of excellence and other areas in our community and College life. Year 9 camp is in Week 8 and camp forms have been distributed to each student, which need to be returned by the end of Week 4. Looking forward to a great year.

It has been a great start to 2015 for most of the Year 10s at Kennedy Baptist College. In Year 10 this year we have 15 new students who I would like to take this opportunity to welcome to the College. I look forward to working with all the Year 10s and their families over the year.

In Year 10 we start to focus on the future and what the students aim to ‘do with their lives’. We began looking at this on Wednesday 18 February with a careers/work experience talk by Mrs Robin Sewter. This included basic details of work experience in Term 3 and other general careers advice available through the College. The students then went and filled out a questionnaire in their form classes asking what they might be interested in for Work Experience.  This would be a great topic to start talking about at home especially as it is ultimately the responsibility of the student to find their placement.

 We have been also talking about the importance of Year 10  as a stepping stone to upperschool and beyond. We have stressed that it is a team effort between staff, students and parents/guardians, with all members having responsibilities. I particularly stressed the concept of integrity and character. That when we say ‘excellence’ at Kennedy we mean doing the best you can do not just academically but in all aspects of their life. Now is the time that they start to become adults and we as a team are here to produce young people of excellence.

I believe it has been a great start and look forward to an excellent year. If you have any queries please don’t hesitate to contact me at gtyrie@kennedy.wa.edu.au

It has been a promising start for the Year 11 cohort. The students have settled into their classes well and from all reports, have been focused and working to the best of their ability.
On Tuesday 3 March, Successful Student Solutions will be holding a Parent Information seminar at the Auditorium at 7pm. I would encourage Year 11 parents to attend this event. The hosts will be sharing practical strategies for parents to use to support their sons and daughters with their study.
In Week 8, students will be attending the Year 11 camp at Dwellingup. There will be two camps running, the first held on Monday 23 – Wednesday 25 March. The second runs from Wednesday 25 – Friday 27 March. Students have been informed which camp they are attending. It is compulsory for students to attend school on the two days where they are not at camp. Any student who is absent during those days will need to follow the same procedures as other weeks.
I have been impressed by the number of students who have placed their name on the sign-up sheet wishing to donate blood at Red Cross. Our Year 11 community service program is an excellent way for students to help save lives and to give back to the community.
The Year 11/7 Mentor program has also been a success, with many Year 7 students thankful for the support they have received from the Year 11’s. It is great to see the mentors acting as outstanding role models for the younger students.
I look forward to getting to know the Year 11 students and working with them throughout the year.

Our Year 12s have had a great start this year. The students have been challenged to give of their best and to focus on their studies right from the start of the year. Teachers have been happy with the attitude in the classroom and we are looking for some great results at the end of this year. The Year 12 Mentoring program will be launched this week with a lunch on Friday. Each Year 12 student will have a mentor who will catch up with them during the year to check on academic progress and emotional well-being.

The Year 12 Ball held on Friday 13 February in the Grand Ballroom at the Hyatt was a fantastic night. The students looked so grown up and elegant and they are to be congratulated on their excellent behaviour. We had a number of awards during the evening:
Most Stylish Outfit (Male): Jared Haslehurst
Most Stylish Outfit (Female): Megan Loh
Best Dancer (Male): Jack Wilson
Best Dancer (Female): Jessica Sturgeon
Most Stylish Hair (Male): Mathew Sattell
Most Stylish Hair (Female):Kara Simpson
Beau of the Ball 2015: Milorad Jeremic
Belle of the Ball 2015: Sarah Cicolari

Our photographers were very impressed,  commenting on their ‘impeccable behaviour’. The 1700 Ball photos are now available on the web and can be viewed at Maverick Photography. The login is kennedy and the password is kbc13215.

I am looking forward to a great year with the Year 12 students this year. They are a wonderful group of young people. Please don’t hesitate to contact me at the College if you have any concerns.

Our first Assembly of the year was a great occasion with our College community gathering together for the first time for 2015.  We were encouraged to consider  letting go of things that might be holding us back from reaching our full potential and to aim at being the best that we can possibly be.

During our first assembly, Leadership blazers were presented to the Head Boy-Lachlan Sims, Head Girl-Lauren Holliday, Deputy Head Boy-Scott Stewart and Deputy Head Girl-Emily Ferris. The blazers display special coloured trim which look very smart.

Awards were also given to those students who had achieved particularly well in 2014. Congratulations to all of our Award recipients.

We would like to introduce our newly appointed Co-ordinators and Captains for 2015.
House Co-ordinators have been appointed this year to help co-ordinate and promote the College house system.
Our House Captains were voted for by their peers during Term 4 last year to represent their House.
They are all excited about the swimming carnival coming up in week 5, Wednesday 5 March which will be an all school compulsory event where parents are welcome to support and help out during that day.

Last year, Stirling House was the clear winner of the coveted Kennedy Cup by winning all the carnivals and events held in 2014. Congratulations Stirling! Time will tell if you will be able to hold on to the cup for a second year.

The following students received certificates for participating in the Business Educators of Western Australia (BEWA) Accounting & Finance Stage 2AB Exam competition:
• Andrew Baker-Young  - Distinction
• Blaine Dibbin- Credit Pass
• Jack Wilson - Credit Pass
• Jasmine Fardella - Credit Pass
• Gershveen Chahal - Pass

Congratulations and well done.

The list below shows the upcoming events for the next 2 weeks:
Please visit our website for more dates and events.

Please visit our website for more dates and events.

Click here for a printable copy

Imporant- Please read

Thank you to all the families who have made arrangements with respect to the settlement of their fees for 2015.

Please note:

• The Payment Option Form was due by Friday 6 February 2015. For those who have not nominated a payment option this year, please do so urgently.
  The payment option does not continue or transfer from the previous year so you must nominate your preferred payment option each year.
  If we do not receive a nomination by Friday 27 February your account will default to Option 1 (annual payment).

  If you selected to pay your fees by either Option 1, 2 or 3 the fees were due on Friday 13 February, 2015.
  Option 4 (monthly) payments will be processed on Friday 20 February, 2015.
  Please ensure you have sufficient funds to cover the payment.

Unknown deposits to be identified

• 3/2/2015 with reference Shane Rich 2857682
• 5/2/2015 with reference HIFX Ref P2384935
• 5/2/2015 with reference 000011​

Secondary Assistance Scheme
Holders of a Centrelink Health Care Card , Pensioner Concession Card or Veteran’s Affairs Pensioner Concession Card who have a student in Years 7 – 12 may be eligible for up to $350 towards school expenses. Application Forms are available at reception. Applications close Thursday 2 April 2015.

Parenting WA Line- Available 24/7 for Parenting events, resources & topics
(08) 62791200 or 1800 654 432 | parentingwaline@communities.wa.gov.au
        Relationships Australia  9489 6322 www.wa.relationships.com.au

Relationships Australia

Relationships Australia are running some parenting courses at their West Leederville Branch. There are courses running from now until December, some are single session seminars while others run for 4-6 weeks. Please see their website for more information.

YEAR 11 & 12 PARENT INFORMATION SEMINAR

Tuesday 3rd March
Kennedy Baptist College, 7pm , Auditorium

Sarah Pietrzak and Christina Holly are very excited to offer this informative Parent Information Seminar for parents of students in Year 11, and Year 12. They will be working with the Year 11 & 12 students over a two week period in Semester One.

Sarah and Christina are both successful secondary and tertiary educators who have worked in secondary schools for the last 20 years. Together, they bring experience and enthusiasm in supporting students in achieving educational success.

They will be sharing practical strategies with parents to help them to support their child’s success in all sectors of schooling.

This seminar will cover time management, exam strategies and different styles of learning that students engage in. The importance of managing social media and optimizing performance will also be addressed.

We accept notices from parents, and advertisements from local companies and businesses for a small fee and reserve the right to accept the application for advertisement to be placed in the Newsletter or Notice board. Please email news@kennedy.wa.edu.au for more information.