Photo above: Our students were a significant part of our Easter services earlier this week.

Message from the Principal

Dear Parents/Guardians and Families,

As we conclude Term 1, thank you to all members of our College community for the ongoing support to assist us in providing the best possible education services to our students. Term 1 has provided some wonderful opportunities and excellent outcomes have been achieved by many of our students. I wish everyone a safe and relaxing term break.

Planning for Term 2 is now being completed and one focus will be preparing Year 10 families for the selection of Year 11 courses for 2025. A comprehensive program of parent evenings and individual counselling is planned throughout Term 2 to help inform families on how to make the best decisions for their students. This program is particularly important as the structure for Year 11 and the completion of the WACE is very different to the Lower School curriculum. I encourage all Year 10 families to attend all information nights and to be proactive during this important phase of schooling.

Swimming Success

Congratulations to our Interschool swimming team who performed wonderfully when representing the College last week. It was fantastic to see Kennedy students support each other so well and produce some outstanding results. The College’s Swim team was promoted to B division this year and worked hard to place 6 out of 8 schools in this division. This was an outstanding outcome.

Year 11 / 7 Mentor program

We honoured our Year 11 students at our last assembly, thanking those who participated in the 11/7 mentor program with certificates that acknowledge their great work in supporting our Year 7 students. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all our Year 11 mentors who worked wonderfully to support our Year 7 students with their transition program. Thank you to all of these students for their great service to our community.

Easter Services

It was wonderful to celebrate Easter with our community during our services earlier this week. It was great to see a high level of talent shown by our students as they brought us the good news of Easter and helped to support the message brought by Dr Steve McCready from Riverview Church. Congratulations to all the staff involved in making this a worthy celebration, especially the staff from the Arts Learning Area that helped prepare our students for a drama, singing, and dance. Thank you all for your contributions to our Easter celebrations.

Thank you as well to our families who were able to make it to these services and for your continual support of our students and our community.

Mr Mark Ashby
Principal

Chaplain Chats

Thank you for all those who made their way to one of our Easter services. These gatherings are one of our ways of keeping and caring for the community that is Kennedy Baptist College. While being in a community takes work and sacrifice from our members, we benefit greatly from this act of coming together.

A central feature of the Easter message, as Dr Steve McCready explained earlier this week, is that the purposeful actions of work and sacrifice have a positive result. The peak of this is found in the good news that Jesus died for us so that our personal sin could be removed. For many this is a strange, and sometimes difficult, idea to understand. One way that has helped me understand this idea of sin is to replace the word sin with selfishness; the idea of being motivated by a self-first focus. When we understand that Jesus came and paid for the damage that we produce from being ‘self-first’, we see more clearly that Jesus died for us – and for me personally.

A true and dynamic community cannot thrive when everyone is working for their own interests. In the Easter message, Jesus offers us a way to remove our self-obsession. He does this by doing the opposite of selfishness and pouring Himself out for us. Now, with Jesus calling us to a life focused on the needs of others rather than self, we can find ourselves working and sacrificing to maintain and serve community. While some may choose to continue our self-first lives, we can accept this generous offer that enables us to belong to a genuine, growing, and flourishing community.

This Easter, you are each warmly invited to visit the Easter gatherings of the many great churches connected to Kennedy so please find yourself a place to go this weekend and be part of the story. I am praying that you remain safe and joy-filled until next term. Have a great holiday!

Year 7 Report

As we wrap up an eventful term, I am delighted to share some recent highlights with you. Our Year 11/7 mentor program concluded with great success with Year 11 mentors and Year 7 students coming together for engaging chats, building Jenga towers, playing card games, and enjoying their first delicious Kennedy pancakes on the terrace. We are extremely grateful for the dedication and support of the Year 11 mentors who have played a crucial role in guiding our Year 7 students through their first term.

In our commitment to develop students’ leadership skills, we recently hosted a panel discussion featuring some of Kennedy’s great leaders including an ex-Kennedy Head Girl, our confident Deputy Head Boy, and an enthusiastic House Captain. They shared their invaluable experiences, highlighting the best as well as their most challenging moments as leaders. They gave advice on how to make the most of leadership opportunities and to learn from disappointment. I am very proud of the 58 students who courageously nominated themselves for leadership positions and delivered speeches to their peers. Those who were not successful are encouraged to recognize their inherent worth and to continue making a positive impact within our College community. Congratulations to the newly elected councillors and House captains. May they use their position to serve and inspire others with humility.

My heartfelt thanks to all the families who joined us for the College Easter services. I hope to see many Year 7 students participating in future services and sharing their talents.

I wish all students and their families a wonderful and refreshing break. May Easter be a time of reflection on Jesus' extraordinary sacrifice and triumph over sin and death — a reminder of His boundless love for us. In the words of John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

Year 8 Report

What an incredible week we had with female and males on the Year 8 camp. It was a time full of adventure, growth, and unforgettable memories, and it was clear to see that the students enjoyed their time together.

One of the most inspiring aspects of the camp was witnessing students overcoming personal challenges. From conquering heights to participating in nighttime hikes, each personal triumph was a testament to our students’ resilience and determination. We saw students build confidence, discovering newfound courage, and face obstacles head-on.

Moreover, the bonds formed and deepened amongst our students were truly heartwarming. Friendships flourished through shared experiences like the team challenges we held as part of our evening activities. Strengthening these  relationships and further developing our supportive community not only enriched students’ time at camp but will continue to positively influence their school life and beyond.

I wish everyone a safe and restful Easter as students head into the well-deserved holidays. Following on from the successful Easter services, we hope that these holidays have added meaning for the significance of this time of the year. I pray for a great time with family and good health for all our students and families.

Finally, I will be on long service leave during Term 2 with Mr Tristan Ward acting as the Head of Year 8. I have informed students of this already and look forward to seeing them in Term 3.

Year 9 Report

As we draw near to the end of the first term of Year 9, we can reflect on the journey we've shared thus far. This term has been marked by tremendous growth, both academically and personally, for each of our students. Year 9s have demonstrated remarkable dedication to their studies, achieving commendable results in their assessments and showcasing a thirst for knowledge that is truly inspiring. From NAPLAN to engaging in thought-provoking class discussions, their academic achievements have set a high standard for excellence.

Building meaningful connections and fostering friendships has been at the heart of our Year 9 experience this term. Opportunities such as the social event at Perth Aqua Park, Swimming Carnival, Extended Form activities, SAS Sport and collaborative classroom projects, have encouraged students to demonstrate kindness, empathy, and a genuine desire to support one another and create an inclusive school community.

As we prepare to bid farewell for the Easter break, let us take a moment to pause and reflect on the blessings of the season. I pray that this holiday will be filled with moments of joy, laughter, and cherished memories spent with loved ones. Remember to take time to rest, rejuvenate, and embrace the spirit of renewal that Easter brings. We look forward to welcoming students back to Kennedy refreshed and ready to continue the journey of learning and growth in the upcoming term.

Year 10 Report

After a short and intense term, we wrapped up with a trip to the annual Bstreetsmart event at RAC arena. This was a highly impactful event with the students watching a reenactment of a car crash and the emergency response that follows. There were emergency responders from police officers to paramedics who talked about the dangers of unsafe driving on the road. This is a great lead in to our Keys4life program that we run through Year 10 health, starting next term. Students will learn about things such as road rules and dangers of being distracted drivers, and this will culminate in doing the theory test for their learner’s permit.

Our focus as the term wraps up turns to work experience. This is a great rite of passage through our high school journey and I’m excited for the opportunity for our students to experience what a full week of work is like. I have spoken to a lot of students and there is such a great range of work experience lined up. I’ll be praying for safety during the week and am looking forward to hearing the experiences of our students when they return. A big thank you to Mr Ernie Ramirez for his time and effort in helping organise the work experience for our year group.

I wish all families a safe and happy easter holiday period and I am looking forward to next term.

Year 11 Report

Last week, our Year 11 students attended camp at Busselton Baptist Camping Centre. This was a great opportunity for students to enjoy one another’s company outside of the typical school setting. Students participated in team building activities, as well as a choice of activities such as painting, golf lessons, high ropes, archery, and visiting the local Sunflower Animal Farm. The group also participated in a quiz night that was organised  by the student leaders. Thank you to our student leaders for running such an entertaining event.

It was pleasing to see the students represent our college so positively, with many of the activity providers praising our students. I could sense the gratitude from the students and thoroughly enjoyed the many conversations had with students on camp. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the staff members who gave their time to be with our students on camp. A special thank you goes out to Mr Ward and Ms Carey, who spent the whole week with me on camp.

Our thoughts are with the Nicholls family at this time. Please join us in continuing to pray for Noah and the Nicholls family.

Finally, I wish everyone a wonderful Easter break and I look forward to seeing the students return for Term 2.

Year 12 Report

Here we are at the end of Term 1. It has once again been a very busy few weeks in Year 12, particularly with assignments and assessments. While many have felt a little overwhelmed, they have learned that they can manage, can see their way through, and will come out with a sense of achievement. Many find comfort in the words of Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” All seem to be looking forward to the break.

There have been times of community and fun alongside the academics, and this has helped everyone to find some balance in life. This included the Student Executive’s running of Harmony Day activities in Extended Form during Week 8. Students brought food from their different cultures and undertook activities associated with various countries around the world including lawn bowls, tracing its origins to Ancient Egypt, origami, and decorating their handprint in ways that represent their own heritage. The Student Executive did an amazing job and should be proud of their efforts.

This week we recognised Easter with Form challenges. Each Form had to create a traditional Easter Bonnet, decorate a t-shirt in an Easter theme and complete Easter themed quizzes and puzzles. We made them work for those Easter Eggs! It was a fun way to end the term, while still being aware of the real meaning of Easter.

I want to welcome our new Year 12 Form teacher, Miss Chyrmin Leong, who has made a really positive start with Kestrel 1. And I want to thank the Year 12 Form Teachers who worked consistently this term to support and guide their students. A blessed Easter to All.

Kennedy News

Easter Services

Thank you for joining us on Monday 25 March and Tuesday 26 March as we came together as a community to commemorate Easter. Through artistic performance, worship and an Easter message we were able to recognise and express the significance of this weekend.

Thank you to Dr Steve McCready of Riverview Church for bringing us this message, helping us to understand the ‘stain’ of sin that Jesus took on for us, and reminding us that whenever the Bible speaks of suffering, the narrative continues into redemption.

As we turn toward Good Friday tomorrow and Easter Sunday this weekend, we would like to highlight further opportunities for families to join in community to celebrate Easter. If you found Dr McCready’s message refreshing and illuminating, we encourage you to consider attending Riverview Church, who are holding meetings on both Friday and Sunday. There is also the option to return to the Kennedy Auditorium with Centrepoint Church hosting an Easter Production with music, comedy, drama and dance on Good Friday, and Life Chapel holding their regular Church service on Sunday morning.

There are many more churches near the College holding Easter services and we encourage you to find one for your family. Click on the link below to be directed to a list of nearby churches.

Interschool Swimming Carnival

There was a great atmosphere at the ACC Interschool Swimming Carnival Division B on Thursday 21 March. The Kennedy Baptist College Interschool squad looked forward to the day with anticipation, being the second time that we have made it into Division B (the first being in 2016). The hard work over the past few weeks of training paid off, with a fantastic result of sixth place against some incredibly talented opposition squads. As much as sharpening swimming skills during early morning training sessions, it was obvious that students had bought into the team culture developed by the swimming committee and coach Rhys Holmes, a Kennedy Alumni and Ironman Athlete. Thank you to Rhys for your commitment to the pursuit of excellence with our Swim Squad along with the swimming committee.  

Some great results to recognise from the day include our Year 11 Boys Division 1 Freestyle Team (Azri Maynard, Harry Rosman, Anddie Duan, Mitchell Nel) who swam a time of 1:44.95 just over the Division B record of 1:43.61. These Senior Boys led from the front and, after some great efforts throughout the day, were rewarded with the Senior Boys Shield! A huge shout out as well to those Year 7 boys who swam up against Year 8 boys, it was a big ask and you met the challenge with maturity and confidence.   

Thank you also to our Swim Squad captains who all were great representatives of the College in and out of the pool during the day. We had quite a few students earn a place in the Top 5 for their age categories. See the chart below for full details.

Back to School Information

Term 1 concludes for students on Thursday 28 March 2024. Term 2 will commence on Monday 15 April 2023 at 8.15am. Students are to wear their full Winter Uniform. 

The Uniform Shop will be closed during the first week of the school holidays. It will then reopen on Monday 8 April to Thursday 11 April between 8.00am - 3.45pm. The Uniform Shop is closed for lunch 12.30 to 1.00pm.    

The Administration office will be closed during the first week of school holidays and will be open Monday 8 April to Friday 12 April, closed for lunch 12.30 to 1.00pm. We hope that you have a restful and safe semester break. 

College Notices

Winter Uniform Reminder

Students are required to wear Winter uniform from Day One of Term 2, and throughout Terms 2 and 3. We encourage families to check their child's Winter uniforms to make sure that they still fit comfortably while following the requirements of the College Uniform Policy.

Please visit the Uniform Shop during the second week of school holidays (Monday 8 April to Thursday 11 April 8.00am to 3.45pm, closed 12.30-1.00pm) if you require a fitting or need to make a purchase. Purchases can be made over the counter during Uniform Shop hours or online by using Quick Cliq. The Term 2 opening hours are listed below.

We encourage you to make any purchases as soon as possible to avoid stress.

Mother's Day - Save the Date

Our Mother's Day Breakfast is always a great opportunity to bring our community together over food and hot drinks.

This Breakfast will take place in Week 4 of Term 2, on Thursday 9 May. Further details about the event and how to RSVP will be sent out early in Term 2.

The next newsletter will be published on:
Thursday 18 April 2024.