Photo above: Community Open Day 

Message from the Principal

Dear Parents and Families, 

Thank you to our wonderful Parents and Friends Association and all our families who supported the Community Open Day. It was extremely pleasing to have so many community members come along and enjoy the Kennedy experience. Open Day provides a great opportunity for the College to show what a dynamic community we have at Kennedy, and it was so pleasing to see everyone sharing their experiences with such a large number of visitors. In particular, thank you to our Parents and Friends executive who worked so hard to co-ordinate the range of activities available on the day. Please click here for photos. 
 

Arts Performances

It has been fantastic to see our Arts community shine over the past weeks. Our Dance Showcase was an outstanding event involving a large number of students and their performances were greatly appreciated by our community. Students will continue to be provided with opportunities to display their exceptional talents and continue the development of their skills and abilities. I know all audience members thoroughly enjoyed the performances and the very high standard presented is a testament to the commitment of both our students and staff. Congratulations to our Arts staff for their hard work and commitment to the planning and development of these complex productions. We look forward to more music, dance and drama performances planned for the rest of the term. 
 

Year 9 AFL Grand Final

It was a pleasure to watch our Year 9 boys win the grand final of the Eagles Cup last week. Our students had a tremendous team spirit providing great support for each other and an incredibly high level of football. Congratulations to the team and our staff coach, Mr Jordan. Click here to see more photos. 

Mr Mark Ashby
Principal

Chaplain Chats

This week I have been in a number of Chaplain conversations that have woven in the subject of problem-solving. As you can imagine, in a Chaplain's conversation, problems and how to navigate them is a common theme. This week I have noticed a feeling of saying the same thing a few times, but each time it is directed to a new person. The point I want to note in this newsletter is that the theme of these conversations has been about how valuable imagination is when solving a problem.

I feel it’s a very important skill, but quite often it’s a very underdeveloped skill. Children are the masters of imagination. The younger the child, the more unfettered the imagination. As we age our imaginations get slowly but surely packed into a box of reality. Our experiences tend to drag our younger selves into the land of what is, and imaginations are less and less free to roam. As we journey in life we get faced with problems and obstacles, that loom over our life direction. If our imaginations are still in a healthy state, we then have the ability to remain in our current position in time with the problem, but we can explore ways to navigate through solutions and take action using only our imaginations. I mention this only because I find many students that seem to have underdeveloped imaginations. Sadly, there are many adults with the same limitation. Children (and adults) need to use and grow their imaginations so we can explore and solve problems.

How do we develop and grow imagination? I believe less screen time and more reading is by far the greatest imagination workout you could ever do. With this article, I want to give our Kennedy parents more fuel to stand against the pressure to spend time in front of a screen. Reading a book, and using our imagination to see the scene that is written, is what helps us work in our heads rather than just be given the image and we don’t have to imagine anything.

Deputy Principal: Curriculum

I hope families were able to attend the Community Open Day and visit the various curriculum displays which showcased a high standard of student work from all year levels. It was fantastic to see the variety of ways that students can demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of curriculum. A significant number of students enthusiastically volunteered their time to assist in different learning area displays. It was very pleasing to see so many student volunteers as it reflected the positive connection our students have with their learning and shows their willingness to embrace service. Thank you to everyone involved in this community event.
 

Year 12 Students

Year 12 students are in the final weeks of schooling with all curriculum programs being completed at the end of this term. Apart from examinations, all assessments require completion and must be submitted. Students are reminded that to be awarded a grade, they must complete the whole teaching, learning and assessment program. The next three weeks are an opportunity for Year 12 students to finish their schooling to the best of their ability.

Similar to the past few years, the School Curriculum and Standards Authority have a plan in place to minimize any possible impact of an interruption to the Year 12 final SCSA examinations. The plan has many layers, and I can assure all Year 12 students and parents that every possible scenario has been considered. Aspects of the plan will be shared with ATAR students in the last week of this term. To ensure the best outcome for students, the upcoming final school examinations are crucial. Year 12 students must apply themselves equally to all ATAR examinations as these examination results are included in ATAR calculations.
 

Staff Professional Learning Day

With a lens of student improvement, all teachers in the College participate in and contribute to a ‘learning team’. The learning team is focused on a particular topic and year group. In planning for a new topic, teachers work through the following questions:

• What do we want students to learn?
• How do we know if they have learned it?
• What will we do for students who don’t learn it?
• What will we do for students who exceed the learning?

Using the defined curriculum, student data, teacher expertise, and observations teachers develop units of work for students.

Historically, teachers have always refined topics and units of work but often through incidental conversation or rushed meetings. In the last few years, the College has invested in and formalized the time and space to enable staff to be deliberate about an improving the focus of student learning. Given that a subject teacher is often presenting five to ten different topics in a term or half-term, having time for teachers to plan is one key for student success. Teachers spent a significant portion of the last professional learning day working collaboratively in their learning team(s) and the process will continue throughout the remainder of the year.
 

Reading for pleasure

In Term 4, students at the College will participate in Champion’s Read. The program is designed to encourage students to read for pleasure and has some built-in extrinsic rewards as incentives to participate. An article recently published in The Conversation exhorted the value of reading for pleasure. Some tips for parents included letting students choose their own reading, inviting children to share their reading with you, making your reading visible to your children, and sharing your reading. Although at first glance the article seems to be written for parents of primary-age children, teenagers also benefit from this modeling and as you begin to read the same things it can be a great way to communicate and share experiences with them.

Deputy Principal: Pastoral Care 

Student leadership is a vital part of the Kennedy culture. Our program provides opportunities for students to actively participate in decision-making processes and contribute significantly to the life of the College. 
 
One of the major events organised by our student leaders is the annual Kennedy Day which will be held on Wednesday 14 September. This is a student-led day with a range of themes and activities. The day’s goal is to create an upbeat and positive atmosphere, uplifting the student body and encouraging each other, a day of recharging and celebrating who we are as a College. This year Kennedy Day day will commence with a whole College Assembly followed by a selection of food and drink vans during lunchtime, as well as interaction with animals in the petting zoo.

With the College year coming to an end for our current Year 12 Student Executive Team we have started the process of selecting our 2023 Head Boy, Head Girl, Deputy Head Boy, and Deputy Head Girl. Applications closed at the beginning of this week. Next week we will start the process of interviewing students and allowing staff and students to vote. Our Student Executive for 2023 will be announced at the end of Term 3. We thank all the students who applied for these positions. 
 

Father’s Day Breakfast

We look forward to hosting our Annual Father’s Day Breakfast on Thursday 8 September and honour all our fathers and father figures. We are delighted to have Dr Steve McCready from Riverview Church with us and excited to hear from him as he shares insight on being a dad in these modern times. Please make sure you RSVP by tomorrow. 
 

Kennedy Insights: Understanding Vaping

I would also like to remind our community that we will be running a very relevant topic on Understanding Vaping on Thursday 15 September. This presentation will be presented by guest speaker Tess Howard and will focus on providing an overall picture of vaping and what parents and caregivers should be aware of, as well as strategies on how we can manage the issues that arise. 
 
Finally, as we approach the end of Term 3, I would like to encourage students to make the most of all the opportunities that are available to them. There are many opportunities such as Wellbeing Week, RU OK Day?, Community Services, cohort socials, supporting our Year 12s at their upcoming Performing Arts Night, and cohort activities during Extended Form.  

Kennedy News

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The next newsletter will be published on:
Thursday 15 September 2022.