Photo above: Students at the Intershool Cross Country. 

Message from the Principal

Dear Parents and Families,

It has been wonderful to see our senior school students working to the best of their abilities and completing their Semester One examinations this week. Whilst this is typically a stressful time for students it has been particularly encouraging to see our students engaged in their revision work and preparing for these important assessments. We hope the hard work will be rewarded with great results and that the feedback will be used for future improvement. Similarly, we trust that the Year 9 and 10 students will have the same outcomes as they review their examination results next week. 
 

Interschool Cross Country Carnival

It was great to see our Interschool Cross Country team perform so admirably last Thursday at Alderbury Reserve. Our students worked incredibly hard to represent Kennedy and produced some excellent results. Congratulations to the following students who achieved outstanding results on a day when thousands of students were competing. An amazing accomplishment by our hard-working team.

Overall Kenndey Baptist College came 17^th out of 33 schools. We improved the results from last year. Our best category results were our Year 10 boys who came 7^th and our Year 8 girls who came 13^th.  Congratulations to the outstanding individual performances by Saxon Derecourt who came 12^th and Daniel Stewart who came 10^th.

Congratulations to the entire team and the Physical Education Staff for their commitment to our early morning training sessions leading up to this event. Please click here to see the results and click here for photos.  

Mr Mark Ashby
Principal

Chaplain Chats

Change. It’s a word that shapes much in life. Knowing that something can, or can’t change, has a massive influence on our thoughts, actions, and emotions.

In my chaplaincy, I have heard people want to change two unchangeable things! Firstly, we all would like to change the past, erase an event, alter our history, make a different choice, the past can be painful. Secondly, we want to change other people. People do change, and we can influence their change, but you and I only change when we want to change. Trying to change others, in the exact way we might want them to, uses a lot of effort with minimal, or often no result.

Wanting to change unchangeable things is very common. But I want to encourage you by saying that there is a sense of freedom when we realise that there is actually no point trying to change the unchangeable.

Accepting that we don’t have the ability to change the unchangeable is hard, but it’s such an energy saver. Our emotional and physical energy, our time, and our attention is not limitless, so saving our energy and using it on joyfully living today can make a world of difference. I would like to leave you with this great little saying as it might just help you find some rest,

"Worry is talking to ourselves about things we lack the power to change. Prayer is talking to God about things He has the power to change." 

Year 7 Report

It has been a great term for the Year 7s so far. A few highlights of this term so far have included our amazing cross-country carnivals that saw numerous smiles and the highest level of involvement. It was great to see so many Year 7s achieve such great results.

The commencement of the inaugural Year 7 FIFA tournament has been a success so far with champions to be crowned in the coming weeks. We are particularly excited about our Community Service events with the Lakeside Seniors. Students will be serving the seniors a lovely morning tea, so please keep an eye out for information. We are also planning to have our first Year 7 social towards the end of the term, aimed at bringing students together, creating unity and having fun. 

Our focus this term continues to be on respect. Students are encouraged to think about how they can model respectful behaviour to others, themselves and the environment. Over the coming weeks, students will be actively discussing and developing a set of characteristics that could define a Kennedy student. It is our hope that they can embrace these characteristics as they grow into mature young adults. I would like to finish with a quote that I found impactful.

“What one does is what counts. Not what one had the intention of doing.” ― Pablo Picasso

Year 8 Report

The Year 8 cohort is rapidly maturing, and I have been pleased with their personal growth and dedication to achieving academic goals, the way they engage in extracurricular activities, and how they tackle challenges with a positive attitude. 

As part of the Thrive program our Year 8 students welcomed Mrs Christina Self from Red Ginger Wellness for her talk on respectful relationships, sexting and the law, and pornography. Although the content can be confronting, students are educated on the behaviours and practices that should be employed from a young age to ensure they are safe in physical and online relationships.

The best approach for parents and caregivers responding to children's exposure to sexual images is to encourage open communication, discussion and critical thinking on the part of children, while educating themselves about the internet and social media. Families are encouraged to debrief the content delivered in Thrive and Health Education.

Although your child may not be demonstrating unsafe online behaviours, statistics reveal that ‘nearly half (48 per cent) of Australian teenage boys have seen pornography by the age of 13 and nearly half (48 per cent) of teenage girls by 15’ (Australian Institute of Health and Wellbeing, 2021).

I encourage our students and parents to reach out. Please see some resources and links:
Reach Out Australia, eHeadspace, 1800respect (1800 737 732). 

I look forward to finishing off the last few weeks strong, and I encourage students to continue remaining positive and caring toward one another. 

Year 9 Report

The Year 9s first exams are over. Yay! I am so proud of the efforts they have shown and I am impressed with their ability to work hard and challenge themselves.

I am hopeful that now they know what they are capable of. Even though exams have brought some increased anxiety and worry, the preparation and focus in the lead-up to exams will hopefully hold them in good stead for future assessments. 

A highlight this term was the social as we had an opportunity to jump on board with a Year 10 cohort for a fun few hours of Laser Tag on the College oval. The Year 9s grabbed the opportunity and had a blast, jumping, diving, and sliding showing off some excellent skills. It was a great opportunity for the students to have fun with each other and enjoy some competitive banter. Please note that our end-of-term Ten Pen Bowling social event will now be moved to Term 3.

As we finish off the term, and the cold sets in, I am hopeful that the Year 9s can finish the term strong. I am reminded of one of my favourite Bible verses. Isaiah 40:31 "But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." May this verse sustain you all. 

Year 10 Report

It has been a busy term for our Year 10 cohort, who have just completed their examinations. Some students will be very proud of their achievements, others may be disappointed. I always tell students that, as educators, all we want is for students to try their best and to work hard towards achieving their goals.

This reminds me of a letter that a Principal in Singapore once sent to parents, reminding them that students all have different gifts and talents. In this letter the Principal points out that, ‘if a student gets top marks, that’s great’ but ‘if she or he doesn’t… please don’t take away their self-confidence and dignity from them. Tell them it’s OK, it’s just an exam!’ The Principal encouraged parents to tell students that they love them and won’t judge them, because when they feel valued that's when they are able to conquer the world. This is a wonderful sentiment...

Next week, two-time Olympian Blair Evans will talk to the students about goal setting and resilience. Like some of our students, Blair has had her own setbacks and disappointments. Blair Evans was part of an Australian Olympic team that qualified for a final, only to be told that she was being replaced in the team by a swimmer who hadn’t participated in the qualifying races. Moments like these are heartbreaking for athletes, but also a timely reminder that there are disappointments in life. It’s how you bounce back from these moments that count.

We celebrate the times when students achieve outstanding examination results, but let’s also remember that our students have varying gifts and talents, and these are worth celebrating too. Please email me when your child achieves something great outside of College, we would love to recognise them. 

Year 11 Report

Year 11 student reactions during their exam period lie somewhere on the fear and stress spectrum. This is understandable as they faced the unknown. It’s timely to remind them that maintaining a healthy balance between academic commitments and personal well-being is crucial for success. Success should not come at the cost of physical and mental health.

We talk often about developing good study habits, balance, building resilience. Here I want to emphasise the importance of sleep. So many “How are you?” conversations with students provoke the answer “tired!”. Therefore, I would encourage students to understand the significance of sleep to well-being and prioritise sleep in their daily routine.

Research says sleep rejuvenates the mind, enhances focus and actively helps memory function; all critical aspects of effective learning. Sleep expert Matthew Walker emphasises routine as fundamental to improving sleep quality and benefit.

We encourage the development of study routines and sleep needs to be part of that. The Bible speaks to its importance: Psalm 127:2, "It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep."

Exams are important and arm us with skills applicable to other aspects of life. However, they are part of the broader picture of finding balance and preventing burnout. So, as your child set the day aside each night, may they know that they have achieved all that they can in the day and now they are giving time to something equally important...

Year 12 Report

It has been very quiet on campus with the Year 12s either out on Work Experience or sitting exams. I hope that the last two weeks have been used well, the study constructive and for those who sat exams, they were as good as exams can be!  As the results from the exams are released shortly, can I encourage parents and students to reflect on their results. This may be looking at what areas of weakness they need to be aware of for Semester Two exams or WACE exams, and for the students whose marks were pleasing, to be congratulated on their efforts and application. 

The students have only five months until graduation, while it may seem a while away, it will fly by.  Knowing that this will undoubtedly include some stressful and testing times with academics,  I encourage the students to utilise the resources at the College while they can, specifically after-school tutoring for ATAR subjects and speaking with their teachers.  At the end of the day, both parents, teachers, and I really want our students to do the best they can. I remind the students who ‘don’t really know what they want to do’, to commit to trying their best to open as many doors of opportunity the future may have for them.

An upcoming date for all Year 12s is the morning of Monday 19 June 2023, when the photo of the Class of 2023 will be taken. Year 12s are to be ready from Form through to Period 3, this will include taking the individual photos. Students will need to wear their full winter uniform, including blazer for the morning.  I want to emphasise the importance of being at College on time for this photo, as I do not want any students missing out.   

I look forward to seeing the cohort return on Monday 12 June, until then, please all be safe.

Kennedy News
 

College Notices

Tax-deductible Building Fund

Did you know that there is a Kennedy Baptist College Tax-deductible Building Fund? This initiative will help us enhance the exciting facilities listed above and create even more opportunities for our students and staff to succeed. It’s an opportunity for our College community to come together and make a meaningful impact on the education and growth of our students. We are incredibly grateful for the generosity of our community and your donations to this fund will ensure ongoing development and success. 

The next newsletter will be published on:
Thursday  22 June 2023.