Photos above: Year 7 Student Councillors and House Captains announced at our Assembly.

Dear Parents and Families,

The first term of 2018 has passed incredibly quickly and it has been rewarding to see our students embrace the opportunities on offer at Kennedy. Highlights of the term include:

• The way our Year 7 students have successfully settled into high school life with the help of their Year 11 mentors.
• The growth of our Student Councillors in their leadership capacity and their impact on College life.
• Our Easter Services, which are always a highlight and were powerful evenings with excellent performances from our Arts students.
• The success of our swim team who performed incredibly well in C division against very tough competition.
• The outstanding results of our Upper School students in the SAS interschool sports competition. This included grand final wins for the Senior Boys and Girls basketball teams and the Senior Girls volleyball teams. Congratulations to all Staff and Students involved with our interschool teams.

It has been a pleasure to spend time with our students on camp this week.

Our goal has been to challenge students in a different context and it has been great to see our students respond to those challenges in a team environment.

Even though the term has included the long Easter break we have still managed to complete all of our extra-curricular goals. This is a great testament to the hard work from all of our Staff.  None of the camps, excursions or socials could have taken place this term without Staff giving up their personal time to make it happen. All of our students need to be grateful to our staff for the extra efforts they make.

Transform Cambodia

I am proud to announce that over 60 Kennedy families have committed to sponsor five-year-old students in poverty in Cambodia after the presentations at our Easter services. Kennedy is committed to international service through this project and we look forward to celebrating the opening of the Kennedy Centre when our students visit Phnom Penh at the end of next term. This will be a long term commitment for the College and allows for all students and families to be involved. It takes Boldness for our College to commit to such a venture, but it also takes boldness for students and families to make such a commitment and use it for personal growth.

We will continue to support and promote this project as we still have impoverished students available for sponsorship. Should you wish to sponsor a child or support our Centre in Phnom Penh please do not hesitate to contact our Administration. Please click here for more information.

Mr Mark Ashby
Principal

God is here, within these walls; before me, behind me, on my right hand, on my left hand. He who fills immensity has come down to me here. I am now about to bow at His feet and speak to Him … I may pour forth my desires before Him, and not one syllable from my lips shall escape His ear. I may speak to Him as I would to my dearest friend I have on earth. - Prayer by Tim Keller

It is as we pray we sense God's presence. While I understand that as a Believer I am the dwelling place of God, it is through prayer that this relationship is deepened. There is an extra level of intimacy that takes place when we pray. Yes, we are commanded to pray (Phil 4:6-7), but prayer is that conversation we have with God, not only because we are told to or even because we need to (and yes, we need to) but because we want to. If you need to talk to your best friend, you do so for many reasons, but the main one is because you want to. In times of crisis, or when things are going well, it is often our best friend that we share the news with first. So, it is with God. He is the one we can talk to with complete confidence – we can pour out our heart to Him, telling Him all about our fears, concerns, anxieties, joy, wonder and gratitude and in doing so, hold nothing back. Thankfully, prayer is not a monologue. It is a dialogue. He responds to us by His Spirit – directly to our spirit, or through His word or within the Believing community and as He responds, we enter the compassion, love, mercy, and grace of our God. 

Term Two brings a number of significant curriculum events including:

• Year 10 Curriculum Information Evening (Tuesday 8 May at 7.00pm)
• NAPLAN for Year 7 & 9 (Weeks 3 and 4)
• Examinations for Year 8-12 (Weeks 5 and 6)
• Externally Set Tasks for Year 12 General students (Weeks 3 and 4)
• 2018 Course selections for current Year 10 and 11 students.

All Year 10 students and parents should attend the Curriculum Information Evening on Tuesday 8 May at 7.00pm in the Auditorium. Representatives from post-secondary institutions will provide information about qualifications and careers pathways for students after Year 12. I will also be covering information pertinent to making appropriate course selections for Year 11 & 12. Year 10 students will be given a Course Information Booklet which is an excellent reference for the information provided during the evening. I look forward to seeing all Year 10 students and parents at this event.

NAPLAN will be an on-line assessment, meaning that students will be completing the assessment using their computers. Parents (and students) can complete preparation tests via the public information website. This is a terrific site for students to become test literate; that is to gain a better understanding of how to navigate the test questions, the different ways to answer the questions, and how to use their headphones. Students can utilise their headphones and listen to all questions, except in the reading assessment. The public website is:
https://www.nap.edu.au/online-assessment/public-demonstration-site
Once on this page, choose the year level, choose the test, choose Standard Test and click on next. All passwords are built into the public demonstration site. NAPLAN covers a range of concepts and therefore the best preparation for the assessment occurs each day in every class. Please encourage your child to give of their best effort. Year 9 students who achieve a result of Band 8 or higher will meet the Literacy and/or Numeracy standard required by the Western Australian Certificate of Education issued after Year 12. Year 9 students who do not achieve Band 8 or higher will be required to complete further tests in Year 10, 11 and/or 12 in order to meet the Literacy and Numeracy standard. Nobody wants to complete more tests, therefore I am sure all Year 9 students will be diligent when completing their NAPLAN assessments.

Examination preparation should begin now. The best preparation is practice, therefore I would encourage all students to begin summarizing curriculum notes and complete questions from textbooks and worksheets. Tutoring is a fantastic opportunity to reinforce skills and further develop an understanding of the concepts presented. Examination schedules will be distributed early Term 2.

Student Leadership is a vitally important part of Kennedy Baptist College.

Our Student Leadership Programme provides opportunities for students to actively participate in the life of the College. Students are encouraged to take on leadership roles in an endeavour to serve the College Community and further develop their leadership skills.

In discussions with the Student Councillors, one main theme that emerged was their desire to run activities across the College. In response we developed the concept of a “Student Council Week” which involves one week being allocated to the Student Council to operate their own College events.

Our Student Council Week was held recently and the Head Boy (Callum Peterson) Head Girl (Prarthana Harish) Deputy Head Boy (Nicholas Hui) and Deputy Head Girl (Kayleigh Hawke) each led a team of councillors to support various aspects of the project. The councillor teams embraced the opportunity to plan, organise and implement their ideas and help build community. Their activities included, Amazing Race Competitions, Vertical Leap, Giant Connect four, Corn Hole Bags Games, student music choices, a visit from Mr Whippy and a fun filled Staff vs Student Dodgeball game in the College Sports Centre.

All our councillors learnt a great deal about organising events and further developed their leadership skills. The Student Council Week has developed into a regular feature of College life and we look forward to seeing what our student leaders produce next.

On Wednesday 21 March the College was involved in National Harmony Day which is a nation wide event celebrating cultural diversity. This coincides with the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. At Kennedy we had a number of special guests including Bollywood Dancers, Moorditj Mob Indigenous Performers, and Lion Dancers as well as various multicultural food and celebration events recognising the wide diversity within our college community. 

Students and parents, along with staff from Kennedy Baptist College geared up to ride to school as part of National Ride2School day on Friday 23 March. Students dressed up their bikes, science teachers wore their lab coats and more than 60 participants arrived at the College to enjoy a healthy breakfast at Beedawong before heading off to class.

Ride2School Day is an initiative run by Bicycling Western Australia, in conjunction with similar eastern states organisations. By riding and walking to school, students contributed to their minimum physical activity level of 60 minutes per day. Research shows that students who ride and walk as part of their journey to school are more focused and ready to learn when compared with those who are driven.

On Thursday 29 March, two Easter Bunnies made a surprise visit to the College. They made their way to the Sport Centre, enjoying a basketball session, said hello to students in the Research and Study Centre and handed out chocolate eggs to students all around the campus.

On Wednesday 4 April we celebrated students at our Final Term 1 Assembly.

Mr Mark Ashby highlighted the huge opportunities and responsibilities ahead, including camps, excursions, sporting and academic achievements. We announced the Year 7 Councillors for this year and recognised all the individual achievements and everyone who participated in the recent swimming carnivals. Congratulations to the Interhouse Swimming King and Queen of the pool, Phoebe Ashworth and Benjamin Wai. 

Photo above: King and Queen of the pool.

The House Points for Term 1 was drawn. Cameron Currey from Year 7  was the eventual winner of the stand-up paddle board from Supwest. Cameron wast the first student to memorize a complete sequence of colours and replace it by hanging coloured paper on a rope. Click here for more Assembly photos.

This will be a fun filled morning so please come and join other Kennedy Mums over a cuppa and some tempting treats at our annual Mother's Day morning tea. Grandmothers are also welcome!

Date: Friday 11 May 2018
Venue: Staff Lounge
Time: 9.00am - 10.15am

For catering purposes, we would appreciate your RSVP to Mrs Janet Hair by clicking here before Wednesday 9 May 2018.

Year 12 Sailing Expedition

After thorough preparation through capsize drills, sailing classes and equipment preparation on the day, the Year 12s embarked on their first expedition of the year. With clear blue and sunny skies, the water passed smoothly by as we motored to our camping site for the trip at Woodman Point, via the bustling Fremantle Harbour. Our second and third days, with the onset of more blustery weather, saw us start to sail and challenged our group dynamics as we navigated the channel between Garden island and the mainland.

Highlights of the expedition included seeing an array of marine animals including sea lions at Carnac Island and testing our mooring skills when finding a berth in Fishing Boat Harbour for lunch on our way back to the Marine Education Boatshed. A big thanks to Rod Martin and the crew at the Marine Education Boatshed for the tireless work they put in to make it an unforgettable trip.

Miss Karina Podmore
Health and Physical Education Teacher

Please be advised that the Administration Office will be closed for the term break on Monday 16 April 2018 and will re-open on Monday 23 April 2018.

The Office will also be closed on Anzac Day Wednesday 25 April.

Students commence Term 2 on Tuesday 1 May 2018 at 8.15am. Students are to wear full winter uniform for Terms 2 and 3. Please note that Monday 30 April is a Staff Professional Development Day (Students do not attend).

It is advisable to have your child try on their uniforms during the break so purchases can be made at the Uniform Shop if necessary. Winter uniform orders are available for pickup from the Uniform Shop. If you have not placed an order, we encourage that you bring your child in for a fitting as soon as possible.

We hope that you have a restful and safe break during this school holiday period.