Photo above: Annual Arts Cup. 

Message from the Principal

Dear Parents and Families, 

It was wonderful to see the whole College come together again in the Auditorium for our Annual Arts Cup last week. It was particularly nice to see the House spirit and support return to Kennedy as the entire student body encouraged their peers to perform on stage. A huge congratulations to all the fantastic performers who made outstanding efforts performing and competing for their House. Congratulations to our House Coordinators for the organisation of this great College event. Please click here for photos. 

Award Assemblies

As we approach the end of Term 2, I would like to congratulate all students on their hard work and thank them for contributing to the many aspects of the life of the College. Whilst some of our student events have been cancelled or postponed, it has been wonderful to see everyone focus on academic life and continue to strive for the best possible achievement. 

To recognise and celebrate these achievements, two special assemblies will be held early next term, and students will be presented with academic awards. We hope you can join us for these special events as we acknowledge the hard work of our students. Please note the following important dates:

• Friday July 1 - Staff Professional Day (Student free day)
• Monday July 18 - Staff Professional Day (Student free day)
• Wednesday July 20 - Year 10-12 Academic Awards Assembly
• Wednesday 3 August - Year 7-9 Academic Awards Assembly
   

Staff Changes 

At the end of this term, the following staff changes will take place:

• Mrs Debbie Stewart, our Curriculum Administration Assistant will be leaving to commence a new career. Debbie has served Kennedy and Winthrop Baptist Colleges wonderfully for over 11 years. 
• Mrs Wendy Wells from Student Services will be leaving to commence a new career. Wendy has served Kennedy wonderfully for 8 years. 
• Mrs Taylor Kong from Physical Education will be completing her leave replacement contract with us.
• Mr Mark Kim from Science will be leaving to join an international school in South Korea.
• Mr Chris Palmer, leave replacement contract finishes.

We wish them all the very best. 

On behalf of the Kennedy staff, I wish everyone in our community a safe and relaxing semester break. 

Mr Mark Ashby

Principal

Chaplain Chats

These newsletter articles of mine are one way I feel I can do my little bit to lift the cooperative heart of our Kennedy Community. With that in mind, I would like to mention a great podcast series I have been listening to. This podcast was recommended to me by a young dad who has been married for three years and is heading toward the birth of his second child. The name of the podcast is Intentional Family by Jefferson Bethke and Jon Tyson, both ministers in a church with many years of supporting families, and growing children into strong healthy adults. It is a series that speaks about the wonder and power of a purposeful family, and I have found it to be very good!

The one word that I want to focus on in today’s article features regularly in the podcast, is the idea of “legacy”. Parenting is full of very challenging and extremely hard moments... There is physical and emotional exhaustion, personal sacrifice for the good of the child, moments of feeling like a failure, and not having any idea of what to do. Where do parents find the strength to be a true intentional parent? How do parents find that same strength the next day after they felt empty of that strength the day before? I have six children, so I am very familiar with all these moments.

I believe the strength to parent comes from legacy. Legacy is like the trellis that the vine grows on. Without the trellis, the vine is spread on the ground and it will not produce fruit. As a parent, legacy is the structure on which all our actions, decisions, and directions rest. To continue to help our child grow into a mature adult, which is the point of all parenting, legacy is the driver that keeps us going.

As we aspire to leave a legacy of great adults from each of our homes, may you find renewed strength to continue to be an intentional parent today! 

Curriculum Report

I cannot believe that another busy term is concluding. There is no doubt that the impact of COVID at the start of the term required the College to be agile and adjust some curriculum events. Thank you to all students, parents, and staff for their cooperation and understanding of the adjustments.
 

Course Selections for 2023

Students in Years 8 to 11 are now selecting courses for 2023. Selections are made electronically, with the student and parent/guardian signing off on the desired course selections. *Please note that selections must be completed by Thursday 30 June 2022.

The Executive Team has been busy with Year 10 to 11 interviews. These interviews are an excellent opportunity for students to meet with their parents and a staff member to discuss their post-school ambitions. During these interviews, students' results, achievements, and ambitions are used to assist in the course selection process.

Year 7 students will be making selections for 2023 in Term 3. Information will be sent to families near the end of July or early August.
 

Semester Reports

All student reports will be issued at the end of the term, on Friday 1 July. I would like to remind Year 12 students that this is their last report, and as they approach the end of their Kennedy journey, I encourage all Year 12 students to maintain a committed approach to their studies.

Finally, I would like to wish all families a restful and COVID-free semester break. I look forward to another busy and exciting Semester Two.

Pastoral Care Report

Term 2 has certainly flown by, and as we approach the holidays we reflect on all the wonderful opportunities and experiences that our students have enjoyed. It was fantastic to see the whole College gather for the first time since the beginning of the school year, prior to COVID, to enjoy the performances for our Annual Arts Cup. There were some amazing performances by our students, and it was a wonderful atmosphere as the student body encouraged and supported those on stage. The Arts Cup is a great testimony of the hard work and dedication that our House Coordinators have put in!
 

Community Service

This week the Year 10 students have been engaging in Community Service run in conjunction with the City of Cockburn. Students spent the morning planting tube stock to regenerate the dunes and learning about the work the City of Cockburn is doing, addressing erosion impacts resulting from climate change. Thank you to Mrs Robins and the Form teachers for organising this opportunity and giving back to the community. I am excited to see other year groups engage in Community Service again in Term 3.
 

College Colours

We are looking forward to the last Wednesday of term, where we will have a formal Assembly, recognising our Year 11/7 Mentors and students who have received their College Colours. The College Colours Excellence Award recognises student achievement and contribution across many aspects of College life, including attitude and behaviour, leadership roles, College representation, and academic standing. These students will officially be able to wear their blazers with College colours on the pocket.

I would like to mention that we have a Free Dress Day next week. This is a day where students have the opportunity to raise funds for our Kennedy Centre in Cambodia. We ask families to consider an amount to contribute to this worthy cause.

Finally, I hope our staff, students and parents have a fun, restful, and safe semester break. We look forward to another busy and exciting Term 3!

Kennedy News

Celebrating Student Achievements

Kennedy would like to congratulate the following students on their perseverance, sportsmanship, and outstanding achievements: 

• Alexander Rusiti has been selected for the Western Australian State Gymnastics team and participate in the Australian National Championships in May 2022.
   
• Belinda Lewis won an individual bronze medal (Figures 13-15 years) and a team gold medal (Combo Open) at the WA Artistic Swimming State Titles 2022. 
   
• Callum Alberti won the only two state U/18 Lawn Bowl titles in Western Australia. A huge effort, as most of the students he competed against were much older. This now ranks Callum as the number one junior in WA and guarantees him a spot in the 5-player State team to represent Western Australia in October. 
   
• Kade Constantine was selected to represent Western Australia at the Australian Little Athletics Championships (ALAC). Kade competed in U/13B 1500m walk event. Kade's athletic and leadership abilities are well regarded and were accepted in the role of Western Australia Team Captain.  
   
• Kye Brindle competed at the National Athletics Championships.
   
• Latysha Derecourt has been selected to represent Western Australia in the 2022 Basketball 18s Girls Championship. This team will be competing at the School Sport Australia National Championships in Bendigo, VIC in Aug 2022.
   
• Madison McCabe competed in the U/18 WA Girls team at the 2022 Softball Nationals Event at Blacktown International Sports Park in Sydney over the April school holidays. During the second week of the holidays, she competed at the 2022 Senior League Baseball State Championships and her team was undefeated, which means that they will travel to Geelong in May to compete at Nationals, the 2022 Senior League Championship. 
   
• Nami Dickson was selected to play with the Women's U/17 RugbyWA State Team and invited to train with the state women's team, Western Force. 
   
• Nate Scott, Matt May, and Isaak Wittkuhn are currently trialing for the State School AFL trials and we wish them all the best. 
   

• Serena Healy in Year 7 was selected to compete for the SSWA Schools Sport Cross Country. Kennedy is proud of her dedication, hard work and achievement.

• Vasilis Kerr was awarded a silver award by the AMEB music award program for actively participating in school musical performances, and ensembles. 

• Yiannis Kerr was awarded a bronze award by the AMEB music award program for actively participating in musical school performances and ensembles on the trumpet in 2021.

We would love to know if your child has achieved a significant milestone in any area. Please feel free to email their Head of Year a photo and more information about their achievements. 

Back to School Information

Term 2 concludes for students on Thursday 30 June 2022. Term 3 will commence on Tuesday 19 July 2022 at 8.15am. Students are to wear their full Winter Uniform. 

The Administration office will re-open on Monday 11 July. We hope that you have a restful and safe semester break. The Uniform Shop will be closed the first week of the school holidays and will also re-open on Monday 11 July. Closed for lunch 12.30 - 1.00pm. 

College Notices

2022 Kennedy Community Open Day

The P&F is now in full swing planning for 2022 Community Open Day!

The P&F is currently looking for donations and coordinators to assist with the planning, preparing, and overseeing of a stall on the day. Please click here to sign up to assist, contribute or provide your input! Key dates for you to be involved in are: 

• Jamming with the P&F, Saturday 6 August from 8.30am
• Silent Auction Wrapping, Thursday 18 August, 5.00pm in Room 1.2
• Community Open Day, Saturday 20 August, from 11.00am - 3.00pm.

For any other information, please feel free to email the P&F.

The next newsletter will be published on:
Thursday 21 July 2022.