Photo above: The final House Point draw of the year at the Years 7 - 10 Awards Assembly!

Message from the Principal

Dear Parents/Guardians and Families, 

In our final newsletter for the year, it is remarkable to realise how much we have achieved within our Kennedy community in 2025. It is wonderful to reflect on the many highlights we have had across our academic learning areas as well as our co-curricular opportunities throughout the year. 

These community and personal highlights are the result of the combined hard work of staff, parents and students, and it was a pleasure to celebrate with our families on Tuesday with the presentation of a wide range of awards. Thank you to all our families who attended our Year 7-10 Awards Assembly.

2026 Staffing updates 

Building on the previous newsletter update and considering staff taking well-deserved breaks or staffing changes, we want to inform you of the following:  

• Ms Surene Van Rooyen will serve as Acting Head of English and Languages for Term 1.
• Mr Simon Haydock has been appointed Head of Year 10.
• Mr George McParlin will be the Acting Harrier House Coordinator. 

• Mr Jeremy Jordan has been appointed as Acting Osprey House Coordinator.  

I want to thank everyone in our College community for their ongoing support this year. As we look forward to an exciting 2026, I wish everyone a wonderful Christmas and a fantastic, safe and relaxing holiday. 

Mr Mark Ashby
Principal

Chaplain Chats

The rhythm of a piece of music is like the backbone of a composition. It provides the pulse and timing that allows the melodies and harmonies to fit together. Hitting the last day of the school year makes me think of the rhythms of life. Our school calendar creates a rhythm so all the activities of life can coherently fit together. 2025 has been full of many amazing personal stories. The personal melodies and harmonies at Kennedy this year have been both triumphant and tragic. There have simultaneously been significant challenges and great flourishing, all held by the year's rhythm. 

During our Easter services, we looked at a passage from Ecclesiastes 3:1-11, which references Eternity living in every human heart as a deep longing. In the context of eternity, the whole of life is to fit together, all the seasons of joy and sadness, loss and gain, and every facet of our human journey. I love the focus Christmas brings at the end of each calendar year when we recognise that the historical figure of Jesus was the one who brings structure, heartbeat… the rhythm to life. 

My heart is full of wonder as I have watched our whole community at Kennedy move together through all the challenges, hurts, stress, achievements, victories, and joy it has brought. The bible tells us that “God IS love”, and when I look at our school community, I see His character of love breaking out everywhere. 

I would like to finish this year with an invitation to add a new movement to the great musical called your LIFE. Please consider fitting in a visit to a church this Christmas. The times and details of all our partnering churches are below in this newsletter. I am confident you will find that Jesus adds rhythm to you and your family and celebrating His arrival with others this Christmas will finish your year with blessing.

I am looking forward to continuing to make music with you all next year. 

Kennedy News

Celebrating Student Achievement

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: 

• Flynn Lewis recently represented Kennedy on the ACC All-Stars cricket team and won the Player of the Match award.

• Jared Griffiths recently represented WA at the U15S National Lacrosse Tournament, scoring 3 goals in the match.

• Lylah Wallace made the Fever In Time program and was further picked for WANL Futures as a training partner for the Fremantle Sharks.

• Cooper Kinsella was selected to the SSWA U/12 State Cricket Team, playing in VIC Ballarat in October, winning bronze.

• Zack Bishop recently represented Kennedy and WA in athletics at the National All Schools in Melbourne.

• Isabella Dods where her metal assemblage work from General Art was selected for PULSE.

• Vanya Chan has recently won multiple medals in the Basic Novice Girls' category of Figure Skating.

• Conan Martin-Teramoto won two bronze medals in the U14 Children Kumite (sparring) +55kg and Team Kumite divisions.

• Jorge Martin-Teramoto won the gold medal in Cadet (14/15 years old) Kumite +70kg and he is the Australian Champion in his division. 

• Jenna Smith won the state championship for circus performing and is heading to the National championships at the end of the year.

If your child has reached a significant milestone you would like the school to acknowledge, please email their Head of Year with more information about their achievements. 

Years 7 - 10 Awards Assembly

Our final Awards Assembly was a great way to finish a year of learning and growth. Together, we celebrated the achievements of our Year 7-10 students in 2025.

Alongside Subject Awards and other achievement recognition, we announced the Dux for each of our attending year groups. The recipients were:

• Toby Smith (Year 7)
• Olivia Ianni (Year 8)
• Mitchell Hasson (Year 9)
• Nikki Susanto (Year 10)

Congratulations to our other students who received awards during the assembly, including Zara Ford (Year 10) and Aarav Nachiappan (Year 10), who were recognised by the Australian Defence Force, and Lukas Miovski, who received the Duke of Edinburgh's Silver Award.

We welcomed special guests for this occasion, including Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Dunjey and Board Chair Nina Tassell, who addressed the students before our traditional House Point Draw.

Well done to our students on their success this year. We are excited to see what you can achieve in 2026.

Building Update

We are excited to share the latest progress on our College Master Plan:

• Block 3 Study Centre
  Certification will be completed this Thursday and the College will officially take possession of the new Study Centre. This marks a significant milestone in enhancing our learning spaces.
• Additional Car Parking
  Work on the new car park is underway with the removal of the demountable buildings and the start of excavation. These works will continue into the new year and are expected to be completed by the end of Term 1, 2026. In the meantime, we sincerely appreciate the patience and understanding of parents and staff as we manage temporary parking pressures.
• Stage 3 of Master Plan – Offices Above the Health Centre
  The next stage of the Master Plan will begin in January 2026 with the appointment of a builder for the new offices located above the Health Centre. Stay tuned for updates on this exciting development early in the new year.

Thank you for your continued support as we work to improve the facilities for our students and the greater College community.

Cross-Curricular Highlights from Year 7 and 8

As the school year draws to a close, our Year 7 and Year 8 students have been engaged in exciting, hands-on activities that combine various learning areas. These activities not only strengthen classroom knowledge but also encourage teamwork, creativity, and problem-solving. 

College Notices

Administration Office and Uniform Shop Holiday Hours

The Administration Office will be closed from 12.00pm Friday 12 December 2025 and will reopen at 8.30am 12 January 2026. Please also note that the Administration Office will be closed Wednesday 28 January 2026 for staff professional learning.

The Uniform Shop will be closed for the school holidays and open between Tuesday 27 to Thursday 29 January for all families (8.00am-4.15pm, closed 12.30-1.00pm). Incoming students, who have booked January fitting appointments, will be sent a reminder closer to the date. Pre-Start families are welcome to visit the Uniform Shop during the day on Friday 30 January.

Our team aims to begin answering any queries on Friday 16 January regarding uniform fittings and Quick Cliq orders.

During Term 1 of 2026, the regular opening hours for the Uniform Shop will be Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 8.00am-4.15pm, closed 12.30-1.00pm, with additional Wednesdays during Week 1 and 2.

Uniform update for 2026 – girls' sport shorts

Over the last six years, the girls' standard sport shorts have been lengthened in response to parental requests.  The early design had a short inner leg of under 10cm.

The Active Short (including inner bike short) was introduced at the beginning of 2025, providing an alternative style that allowed more ease of movement with its stretch fabric.  

During Term 1 2026, students in Years 7 to 11 wearing the early-design sport shorts will be required to replace them with the Active Short ($55) or the current standard design ($36).

Unsure where to go this Christmas?

Looking for somewhere to go this Christmas? Check out the different Christmas services below at our partnering Churches!

The next newsletter will be published on:
Thursday 29 January 2026.