Photo above: Interschool Cross Country.

Message from the Principal

Dear Parents and Families, 

It was wonderful to join our Interschool Cross Country team at Perry Lakes Reserve last week, and it was a delight to watch our students compete so enthusiastically for our College. In particular, congratulations to the below students who achieved great results as each race had over 350 students competing:

• Daniel Stewart - 5^th place in his race and 13^th overall for the entire competition.
• Joshua Nathan - 26^th place in his race.
• Beau Wilson - 33^rd place in his race.
• Sienna Lilly - 49^th place in her race.

These are great results considering the size of the event! Congratulations to our entire team, and the Physical Education staff, for their commitment to our early morning training sessions leading up to this event. Please click here for photos. 
 

Community Engagements and Current Social Issues

Kennedy Baptist College is committed to supporting our families with our academic services, but we also take our social responsibility in the community very seriously.

To help families address these issues, we have reinstated our ongoing program of public talks and seminars for parents and our community. Kennedy Insights is a series of seminars designed to help equip our families with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to support their children's safety and wellbeing. These seminars will recommence with a valuable topic about Consent, Coercion, and the Law on Thursday 16 June at 6.30pm. Our guest speaker is Mrs Andrea Musulin, a leading expert in child protection, teenager safety, and cyber safety. This is sure to be a very worthwhile and informative event.

It is our aim that Kennedy Insights will help equip our families with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to support their children's wellbeing. We hope you can join us for these ongoing events.

Mr Mark Ashby
Principal

Chaplain Devotion

Memorial days in any culture are reminders which serve as a connection of history with the present. “Lest We Forget” is the main reason for having a memorial. Last Sunday, 5 June, was an annual day called Pentecost. Over the years I have become increasingly more encouraged by the memorial of Pentecost as I have come to know what it fully means. Today I would like to give a quick lesson on the wonder and hope that Pentecost brings.

The day of Pentecost is not on the same day each year, but it follows the Easter weekend and is always the seventh week after Easter. It is a very old memorial day and has been in existence for more than 3000 years! Easter, the trial, judgment, death, and resurrection of Jesus, happened on the same weekend as the Jewish Passover, which had been a memorial day for well over a thousand years before Jesus’ time. Seven weeks after the original Passover, the day the Jews were free from Egypt, was the Festival of Weeks. The period of time was seven times seven days, 49 days in total. Day 50 was celebrated as the day of being made free.

The word Pentecost means ‘fiftieth’, 50 days from Easter. After the Easter weekend of Jesus’ death and resurrection, those that believed that Jesus was God alive on the earth, waited for the 50 days until God's promise would come. In the Bible, Acts chapter two starts with, “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.” The amazing thing that happened on Pentecost was God’s own Spirit, the Holy Spirit, came to those waiting people. They gained freedom by receiving the Holy Spirit, the freedom to live the way true humanity was designed to live. The Holy Spirit empowers us to love others without giving up, to have joy that can’t be quenched, and to experience peace that doesn’t make sense. May you all know the freedom and hope of Pentecost in your lives, and the freedom to live your best self.

Year 7 Report

Year 7 students are embracing the Kennedy culture with the determination to persevere, ambition to succeed and integrity to serve and care for others. Armed with strength of character, resilience and Christian values, these students can tackle any challenge and seize all opportunities.

Year 7 Student Councillors were tasked with coordinating and delivering a variety of Extended Form Challenges, banding together as Form classes to conquer each activity as a team. Jonas Fong completed a Rubiks Cube in just 30 seconds, Jack Booton devoured a donut hands-free, Serena Healy could hula hoop all day, while Forms belted out lines from Frozen, Harry Styles, and Rick Astley to ‘finish the lyric’. The teamwork, positivity, and encouragement that students demonstrated was amazing. It was wonderful to witness the laughter and smiles erupting from the Year 7 area! 

‘Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.’
Mother Theresa.

Year 8 Report

The last few weeks have been challenging for our Year 8 students, as many of our students have been away affected by COVID. I have been impressed with their ability to come back to College and put in the hard work to catch up on the tasks and assignments that they have missed.

During my COVID absence, I had some time off to reflect on the pressures and anxiety that come from an extended absence from school/work. However, I have been reassured and comforted by this Bible verse, and I hope it brings your child, and your family, some comfort as well. ‘Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.” I trust that we are through the worst of it and can all finish the term off strongly. - 1 Peter 5:7

Looking back at all that is happening within the College, our Year 8 cohort is enjoying their Extended Form time with a range of activities. These activities aim to bring students together as a year group and always prove to be a positive time together. In particular, we had our College Chaplain, Mr Peter Chase cook delicious pancakes while students played some casual games of Bocce, Spikeball, Finska, and giant Jenga. Mr Chase gave us a quick chat about forgiveness and our role to play when dealing with conflict in friendships. We then had the Research and Study Centre give us a SMARTs recap and a refresher on notetaking, study planners, and how to tackle assessments. The library staff also gave other great revision strategies for your child to try and implement to make the most of their study time. If your child still needs more support in this area, please do not hesitate to contact me at the College.

Year 9 Report

The term has been challenging for our Year 9 students, but I have been impressed with the way they have persevered and shown resilience during this time.

In Week 3, guest speaker, Dean Campbell, discussed the importance of goal setting, and his presentation was engaging and inspiring. In Week 9 the students will be treated to another exceptional guest speaker, Brant Garvey, who will talk about resilience and overcoming life’s challenges. Brant is a Paralympian, and his story will captivate our students, and motivate them to work hard to achieve success, despite any hurdles they may face along the way.

On Friday 24 June, a small group of Year 9 students will spend half a day cleaning up litter at Piney Lakes Reserve as part of our Year 9 Community Service. We have teamed up with Keep Australia Beautiful WA and will support them through their Adopt-a-Spot program. This is a great opportunity for students to help make a difference to the environment. I would like to thank our College Chaplain, Mr Peter Chase, for offering to join myself and the students for this event. It is great to see students showing enthusiasm toward serving.

Year 10 Report

During Extended Form, our Year 10 students attended a series of Health Workshops yesterday. Mrs Breytenbach shared with us on the topic of healthy relationships, Mr Wood spoke to us about staying physically healthy, Mrs Fletcher, our counsellor, delivered a session on mental health, and Mr Burgess told us how we could keep our spiritual health in check. I hope all students will be able to put what they learned into practice as they continue to navigate some of the challenges that come with being in Year 10.

In Week 9 of this term, all students will participate in our Year 10 Community Service program, which includes tree planting and a guided nature walk in the City of Cockburn. Please keep an eye out for more information and to get your permission so that your child can partake in this event.

Lastly, although exams for this semester have been canceled, many tests and assignments are still being completed. Therefore, I encourage all students to keep working hard and doing their best as we head towards the end of Term 2.

Year 11 Report

Having the Year 11s progress through their study and exam period raised two ideas. Firstly, one of our year goals - assuming accountability for self and learning. They are actively taking responsibility for completing units of work, finishing assessments, and sitting ATAR examinations, and it has been heartening to see their resilience and determination in action. Secondly, it bears out an idea expressed by Franciscan Priest, Richard Rohr, “We do not think ourselves into new ways of living, we live ourselves into new ways of thinking.” Our Year 11s are doing exactly that and will face Semester Two with the increased and experience gained.

Prior to exams, Year 11s were introduced to iYarn; the mental health initiative being used school-wide. This check-in app is designed to help them assess, in real-time, how they are tracking in various aspects of their lives. Then, by pinpointing specific areas that may be out of balance, they are able to address these, and more effectively improve their overall well-being. It’s hoped that the success seen in other years will be felt by the Year 11s once they become confident in using it.

Whilst students have been off studying, it has been quiet in the Year 11 area. It will be good to have their energy and vibrancy back soon.

Year 12 Report

The Year 12 students have been very busy this term. Our General students have been completing their ESTs, and our ATAR students have commenced their Semester One examinations. Students have been working hard to achieve their best and we are confident that these results will reflect their hard work.

It is always a joy to provide students with the opportunity to come together for pancakes during our Extended Form time, as well as having presentations from universities and TAFE. Students have enjoyed these sessions. 

I cannot believe that we are halfway through Year 12, and now is a good time to reflect on the goals your child has set for the year. What is going well, and what can they improve on?

Finally, I encourage all Year 12s to press on and commit, give their best, and welcome all opportunities that present themselves. You will only have one Year 12, make it count!

Here are some Year 12 tips from Mr Orr:

• Create balance - studying is important but so is looking after yourself. 
• Plan - if not for study, plan for life. 
• Kindness - nothing spreads kindness like kindness, share it around.  

Kennedy News

College Notices

2022 Kennedy Community Open Day

The next newsletter will be published on:
Thursday 23 June 2022.