Photo above: Students enjoyed a trip to the Pilbara on their Newman Indigenous Tour this past holidays.

Message from the Principal

Dear Parents and Families,

Welcome to Term 4 at Kennedy Baptist College. I trust everyone has had a restful break and that students are eager to continue embracing the values of the College. This term will continue to provide a wide range of opportunities for students across all Learning Areas and culminates with examinations for students in Years 9 to 12.

Uniform Standards

A letter was sent to all families last week addressing our expected uniform standards now that we have returned to Summer Uniform. I would like to reinforce this communication by emphasising the importance of dress standards to the culture of Kennedy. This also applies to our expectations for hair styles and jewellery. Parents and Caregivers can check our Uniform Policy for more information.

Year 12 Last Day: Wednesday 18 October

On this coming Wednesday, we will hold a special assembly to honour and farewell our Year 12 students on what will be their last official day of classes at Kennedy. This assembly will also be used to present Year 12 academic and community awards as we acknowledge their achievements and contributions to our community. We wish the students all the very best as many commence their final preparations for the WACE examinations, which will then be used for university entrance.

Year 12 Graduation will take place on Friday 17 November after the WACE examinations. I hope that all our Year 12 families can join us for both of these special events.

Term 4 Award Assemblies

On Wednesday 1 November, we will celebrate the achievement of our Year 11 students at their last assembly for the year. Tuesday 5 December will be the last school day of the year for Year 7-10 students. This day will commence with a special awards assembly to celebrate and acknowledge the hard work of all students.

These will both be formal services to present a large range of awards and it would be wonderful to have as many families as possible joining us for these special celebrations of the academic year.

Mr Mark Ashby
Principal

Chaplain Chats

I want to add my welcome to everyone returning to school for the final Term of the year. I have had a very full two weeks away from school with family visiting and every minute has been spent with them, which for us is not very common. I enjoyed having 15-18 people in my house, just sitting and watching the dynamics of great grandparents, grandparents, parents, and children all mixing and relating to each other.

My life as a chaplain has taught me that the relationships part of life can be very difficult for many people. Things like the complexity of characters, the inability to understand each other completely, the potential for individuals to feel neglected, and for offence to spring up at any time, always seems to damage our personal connections.

During the holiday break, I have been pondering the idea that it takes work and effort to keep things in order. Without the required work and effort to hold things together, things tend to fall apart. I mentioned this last term when I wrote on the Law of Entropy. Another term that theologians and scholars use when referring to the consistent breakdown of order into disorder is CHAOS! Chaos seems like an extreme word, but it is always at the edges, threatening to disrupt the order that we hope to build and maintain in our work and lives.

In Term 4, I want to use several of my newsletter articles to explore the idea of order and chaos. Chaos is what happens when all the musicians in a symphony play their own notes without the ordering of a conductor. Chaos is when an organised garden is not cared for by a gardener. Chaos is when a toy room is left in the care of two grandchildren when they visit over the holidays! I hope that you are enjoying the order of life as we return to the rhythm of school term.

Kennedy News

Celebrating Student Achievements

We are proud of all the efforts of our students and would like to congratulate the following members of our community on their perseverance, sportsmanship, and outstanding achievements: 

• Ai Dickson was selected for Rugby Australia's 2023 W Youth Camp as a half-back. She travelled to the Gold Coast in September to take part in this great opportunity.
• Evelyn Cowdell was selected as a flag bearer for the FIFA Women's World Cup for the Morocco vs Columbia game. She will also be travelling to Singapore to represent the state at the Singa Cup in November, as a member of the Under 14's Goldfields Regional Western Australia team.
• Aria Ellie for being selected in the ACC All Stars Netball Team for 2023. This is a great achievement, highlighted by the fact that most of the team are a year or two older than her.
• Amie Hugo for receiving the esteemed Conditional UWA Winthrop Scholarship for 2024.
• Aaliyah Garbin for her great efforts at the ACC Interschool Athletics Carnival and being named the Individual Female U13 Champion in our division.
• Jorge Martin-Teramoto competed in the National Karate Championships, earning Gold in Kumite (Sparring) for his category and Silver in Team Kumite as a Western Australian team member. His family are extremely proud of his efforts in some tough matches.
• Madison Mccabe has worked hard to earn a scholarship to study and play for Central Florida College in the USA. Madison is a fantastic softball player who is looking forward to lining up against some of the best Junior College players in the world.
• Kade Constantine made it to the podium for his age group at the Athletics West WA State Road Walking Championships with Bronze in the 2000 metre event.
• Latysha Derecourt earned selection in the ACC All Stars Basketball Team for 2023. We look forward to seeing Latysha's future in the sport!
• Sammuel Chansongo for winning the annual Kennedy Chess Championship.
• Liam Atkinson and Andrew Blair were not only selected in the U13 State Hockey Team but helped their team win the National Championships. Well done!
• Cerys Parnell was named most valuable women's goal keeper in Roller Hockey's Australian Club Championships. She is now set to travel to China this month to represent Australia in the Asian Championships!

If your child has achieved a significant milestone that you would love to see the school acknowledge, please email their Head of Year with more information about their achievements. Make sure to follow our social media pages for some recent student highlights.

Kennedy Cup Champions

Congratulations to Kestrel who were awarded with the 2023 Kennedy Cup after earning the most points out of any House for the past year. Our students have been pursuing both athletic and academic achievements throughout the year to accrue points for their respective House, with competitions ranging from a quiz, to cross country, to arts competitions.

The Cup was presented to one of the Year 12 Kestrel House Captains, Vasilis Kerr, at a whole school Assembly at the end of last term. He highlighted both the student's sporting prowess and intellectual wit as reasons for their victory in this friendly competition.

Congratulations as well to Heinrich Stander and Sienna Lilly who were recognised as King and Queen of the track in recognition of their athletic ability.

Newman Indigenous Tour

Sydney & Canberra Tour

During the holidays, 40 Year 9 students, and five staff members embarked on a wonderful educational tour of our national capital Canberra and the city of Sydney.

We spent four full days in Canberra, learning about Australia’s history, culture, heritage, and democracy. We managed tour some of Canberra’s most important landmarks, including the Australian War Memorial, the National Portrait Gallery, and Parliament House. The Australian National Botanical Gardens and the Questacon were favourites of the students. The evenings and free time were spent building the camaraderie of our group with activities such as laser tag, electric go-kart racing, and card games.

We then drove to Sydney and stayed at the Sydney Harbour Youth Hostel at The Rocks. The view from the top to the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge was awesome and being an actual dig site for archaeologists made it even more interesting. We explored the area around our accommodation, with visits to the Sydney Opera House and a walk of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. A ferry ride to Manly gave us the opportunity to relax while exploring the famous Harbour, with other trips out of the city centre to the National Maritime Museum, Taronga Zoo, and Bondi Beach.

It was certainly a busy week together but the opportunity to be immersed in the culture and history of our beautiful country was well worth it. I am sure that our students have enjoyed learning about Australia while forming some great friendships.

The Australian Government recognises the importance of all young Australians being able to visit the national capital as part of their Civics and Citizenship education. To assist families in meeting the cost of the excursion the Australian Government is contributing funding of $510 per student under the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate program towards those costs in 2023. The rebate is paid directly to the school upon completion of the excursion.

Mr Greg Newell
Tour Coordinator

College Notices

We are constantly reviewing the College's Policies and Procedures to find ways to improve the safety and welfare of our students and community members.

As part of a recent review of our Policies and Procedures, we have made amendments to several documents and the formation of a Parent Code of Conduct. There has also been several changes to our 'Discipline Policy', including a renaming of the policy to 'Behaviour Management Policy'. These policies are essential to upholding the values of Kennedy Baptist College, and make sure that the College is acting in accordance with Government Policy and in the best interest of our community.

Please click here to view our Policies and Procedures.

Uniform Matters

The Kennedy Baptist College uniform reflects our values and helps create a sense of community among our students. While most students are wearing their uniform correctly, staff are frequently finding that dress length and jewellery does not meet College standards.

Please remind your girls that their dress length must sit at or just above the knee level. For boys, make sure that their shirt length is long enough to tuck sufficiently into shorts without coming out.

A single pair of earrings may be worn by girls but must match the specific guidelines laid out in our Uniform Policy.

Year 11 Drama Performance Monday 16 October

Please come and support our talented Year 11 ATAR Drama students as they put on a performance of 'Oh What a Lovely War', which is a satire musical set during the First World War. These students have shown a lot of initiative and are very excited to perform this short musical in the Drama rooms at 6.30pm on Monday 16 October.

Please be aware that there are some mature themes and symbolic representations of death in the play. Entry is free and is open to all students and families of the College.

Instrumental Music Tuition Fees 2024

The College continues to encourage students in their musical education with regular tutoring opportunities throughout the school week. While we are privileged to have tutors come to our school for our students, increasing costs means that we will need to align our hourly rate with the recommended rates for peripatetic music teachers. This necessary rise in cost will be effective from Term 1, 2024.

If you are interested in taking the opportunity to enrol your student in this extra tutoring, please email instrumentalmusic@kennedy.wa.edu.au.

LESSON FEES FOR INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC LESSONS IN 2024:

• Private (one-on-one) lesson for 30 minutes - $38.50 per lesson
• Shared (with one other student) for 30 minutes - $25 per lesson
• Shared (individual shorter lesson if no one to share, 20 minutes) - $25 per lesson
• ATAR Music Student recommended length (45 minute lessons) - $64 per lesson

Parents and Friends Association General Meeting

The P&F Association is involved in important work for the College, such as the recent success of our Community Open Day. We are holding a General Meeting on 17 October 2023 at 5.00pm in the College Boardroom. This meeting is open to all parents and friends of the school who would like to be involved. If you are interested in attending this meeting and joining in on the discussion, please RSVP via the P&F email. 

The next newsletter will be published on:
Thursday 26 October 2023.