25 August 2016

Newsletter Articles

From the Principal's Desk

Term three

We have had a very busy start to the term, made more so for me by being on the Aviation Tour with Mr Bennett and Mr McKenzie along with Aviation students from Years 10 to 12 during the July holidays and week one of this term. You may have followed us on our Facebook page – Kent Street Aviation. There are some photos in this edition of the newsletter if you missed out on seeing what we were up to. I wish to thank the teachers for giving of their time and energy to make the tour happen, to the other adults who supported us and to the students whose conduct made it a pleasure to be with them for the 21 day expedition across Europe and the UK.

Most staff started the term by attending a network wide conference at Curtin University. Kent Street is part of the Curtin Education Community which consists of 15 schools in our local area and we united to attend a range of professional learning sessions on innovations in curriculum, catering for diversity in the classroom and health & wellbeing tips. Ms Albers was contracted by the Curtin Education Community to bring the conference together and she is to be congratulated for doing such a sterling job.

A farewell

Our Chaplain, Martin Heffer, who has been with us for over 18 months, is the successful applicant for the position of Area Chaplain with YouthCARE. This is a promotion for Martin and, whilst we are very sorry to see him go, we are equally pleased for him that his skillset is being acknowledged. Martin will oversee approximately 30 chaplains in schools in the northern corridor of Perth and I am certain that they will all benefit from his wise counsel and support. Kent Street wishes Martin every success in this new challenge. Mr Lynch and I have already met with a potential replacement and expect that we will be fully staffed in Student Services once again very soon.

OLNA

You may be aware that any student who either doesn't sit Year 9 NAPLAN or who doesn't manage to attain a level eight or higher in that national test is required by the School Curriculum and Standards Authority (the Authority) to sit an On-line Literacy & Numeracy Assessment (OLNA) to demonstrate that they meet the required standard. This forms part of their Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) achievement which is issued to successful students at the end of Year 12. The Authority provide up to six opportunities for students to sit the OLNA, twice each year in Years 10, 11 and 12 respectively. At the end of Year 12, those students who don't meet the required standard in literacy and numeracy or who don't meet some of the other necessary requirements are issued with a Western Australian Statement of School Achievement (WASSA). Every student is eligible to be issued with a WASSA and only those who meet the standard are issued with their WACE.

Whilst most students do achieve their OLNA by Year 12, some really struggle to do so and get a little disheartened at having to repeat the test. The old adage that practice makes perfect can't be more true when it comes to passing the OLNA. So, I thought that it would be useful if I shared with you what is available on the School Curriculum and Standards Authority website.

The Authority provides a practice test to allow students to become familiar with the functionality and the look of the test website as well as to assist with a school's technical setup for the OLNA testing. Most students complete this practice test at Kent Street in the lead up to the OLNA formal testing days.

At the beginning of 2016 an example test was added to the test site. This test is a full length test and serves as an alternative to the practice test. Its purpose is to allow students to become familiar with sitting the test, as if they were sitting the real test.

The writing test is the one area where most struggle, even if they pass the numeracy and reading aspects. The writing skills that are assessed in the OLNA writing are generic skills that apply to all writing. So, its helpful to focus on the identification and development of these skills. The Authority has also published the writing marking guide which is designed to allow school staff, parents and students to become familiar with how the writing task is assessed. Parents may find this useful, it can be found at the link below. Students can write on any topic (within a 60 minute time frame) and this marking guide can be used to identify any weaknesses. If you have received a letter indicating that your child is yet to pass the OLNA, I strongly urge you to encourage your child to complete practice writing samples. Please note that Mr Kelly, Head of English, and Mrs Wibowanto, Maths teacher, are available during the senior schooling study period - Thursday period 5 – every week to support any Year 11s or 12s in achieving their OLNA. The next set of OLNA tests commence in week seven so now is a good time to do some practice assessments.

Staff absences

I have previously shared that all government organisations, education included, have been directed to resolve their leave liability. This requires very careful management in schools so that it doesn't negatively impact upon student achievement. At Kent Street, we are very fortunate to have many experienced staff. However, this results in the need to resolve long service leave for quite a few people, myself included. I have received some concerns about staff absence so thought that I would take the time to explain how it works. The ruling is that staff must resolve their leave entitlement within two years of accruing it. When we negotiate how this will be addressed, it is always with the intent to do what is best both for the staff member and the school. What may not be clear is the fact that long service leave can't be taken during school holidays for most staff so it must impact on face-to-face time during school terms. With respect to teaching staff in particular, I have been fortunate to be able to secure suitably qualified teachers – especially when extended periods of time such as a whole term or semester has been taken. I have also appreciated that some teachers have elected to take shorter periods of time, often around the term breaks, and they have elected to provide the detailed curriculum to be presented during their absence. This is not a departmental requirement. It is evidence of their own professionalism and desire to do what is best by their students that results in them choosing to do this. We also have access to excellent relief staff who actively engage with the students and the work provided. It is because of these factors that we remain able to guarantee curriculum delivery despite teacher absence. I hope that, by sharing this information, the parent community will appreciate that resolving leave is a requirement, one that we are managing as best as we can given the restrictions that we face.

Mrs Kath Ward
Principal

From the Manager of Corporate Services

Payment of Contributions and Charges

Thank you to those families who have paid their 2016 Voluntary Contributions and Charges.

The school offered an incentive prize draw for families who paid their contributions and charges by 8 April 2016 – a signed basketball by the Perth Wildcats. This was won by Kristof Kovacs.

Another incentive prize for payment of contributions and charges was a family movie pass. This was won by Jackson Knowles. Once again thanks to Alan Stiles at the Grand Cinemas Como for providing the movie tickets to the school.

School Contributions enable the school to purchase essential resources to assist in the best possible educational outcomes for our students.

Statements were sent out to families in February and reminders were sent out in May. If your child has changed subjects and you are unsure how much you owe, please contact the school office.

Senior School Charges (Year 11 and 12), Specialist Program Charges (Year 7 to 12) and Elective Charges (Year 9 and 10) are compulsory as per Department of Education Policy.

The school offers a variety of payment options:

Cash, cheque, EFTPOS including credit card facilities (credit card payments are also able to be phoned through).

Direct deposit to our bank account: BSB: 066128 A/C No: 00900195

(Please ensure that the following format is adhered to, this will ensure the correct account is credited: (EG: If you are paying contributions & charges please enter Joe Smith Yr 8 CC)

BPay: Code and reference are listed on account statements

Arrange a payment plan

If you have any queries or would like to set up a payment plan, please contact the Finance Officer – Julianne Vaitekenas on 9262 0500.

New phone App for Payment of Excursions and Camps

Great news! Kent Street now has Qkr set up. Parents can pay for excursions using the mobile phone app (payment by credit card) and sign the consent note online.

Simply download the Qkr app from App Store or Play Store. There is a functioning demo school that you can play with, without fear of accidentally making a payment. Search for Kent Street Senior High School. All future excursions and camps will be loaded into Qkr.

Japanese Entry

Over a two week period at the end of May, our year 9 and 11 students were taking part in a global competition to test their Japanese skills. The Language Perfect 2016 World Championship results are now in, and I am glad to announce that seven of our students received awards in this multinational competition.

Alicia Leong (9): Gold Award
Allysha Dyke (11): Bronze Award
Skye Haringsma (9): Bronze Award
Tyesha Shelton (9): Bronze Award
Celest Ong (9): Credit Award
Alex Pilmoor (9): Credit Award
Alisha Zagubien (9): Credit Award

These students went above and beyond their regular school work to compete at this level, taking time at home and during breaks to answer difficult questions in Japanese while representing Kent Street Senior High School on an international scale. Congratulations to all the students that participated in the Language Perfect Competition.

Ruth Tateishi
Japanese Teacher

Congratulations girls!

Japanese Exchange Students Visited Kent Street

From the 1st August– 15th August we had a group of Japanese students visiting from Tokyo, Japan and Hyogo, Japan. I am very grateful to the parents who opened their homes to the Japanese students and made them feel part of their family.

I was also very impressed with the hosting students' willingness to communicate in Japanese and use the language they had learned in the classroom. The students all said this was a valuable experience and that it helped them understand and appreciate the culture of Japan.

A special thanks to all staff at Kent Street for enabling the Japanese students to see the wonderful range of subjects we have to offer at Kent Street.

Ruth Tateishi
Japanese Teacher

Year 8 and 9 Fashion Camp

This year's Fashion and Design Camp was held at the Ern Halliday Recreation Camp Site at Hillarys. For those of us who attended, it was a truly fantastic experience where we were able to create, craft and design a range of projects with the help of our wonderful teachers, Mrs Turton, Mrs Kelly, Mrs Diver and Ms Hawes.

The "Plastic Fantastic" challenge was fun. This is where we were given the problem-solving task of creating colourful plastic bag garments. Other activities included styling and decorating masks and designing a "Rio" inspired paper outfit. Oversized T-shirts were tie dyed and cut to create a new look. We also worked on a ruffle themed over skirt project as well as, designing, planning and sewing a "tassel" themed garment.

It wasn't all Fashion and Design. We also participated in a crate climb, where divided into two teams to work together to safely help our harnessed climber up to a certain point without letting them fall. Each time our team member went higher, the rest of us had to re-design and improve our crate towers while encouraging them to conquer their fear so they could reach various markers hanging from the ceiling or before the tower collapsed. But no need to worry, we were securely harnessed and the Camp leaders were very safety conscious.

A walk to Hillarys Marina and excursion to Lakeside Joondalup for some down time, written work and of course, shopping were also included in the program. I totally enjoyed these trips with my friends.

I would like to thank all our lovely teachers who supported and helped us during the camp, as well as, Mr Hugo who kindly drove us back to school, and with that our 2016 camp came to an end and I can't wait till next year's Fashion and Design camp."

Li-Anne Yr 8

"What I enjoyed most about the camp was constructing my ball gown out of garbage bags and duct tape. It was my favourite activity because I had the freedom to make anything I wanted. Overall, camp was fun! The only thing I would change for next year's camp is I should bring more lollies.

Jasmine Yr 8

"The Fashion Camp was so much fun, as well as structured art and sewing activities, there was free time to finish off projects, talk with friends and a walk to Hillary's marina and excursion to Lakeside Joondalup. I thought it was a great way to have fun and still do Fashion and Design work. The camp was also a good opportunity to make new friends and get to know people better."

Kiana Yr 8

The Duke of Edinburgh Award

The Duke of Edinburgh Award is an international award which focuses on empowering young people to explore and showcase their potentials, challenging them in the fields of voluntary service, skills, physical recreation and adventurous activities. The award initiative was launched at Kent Street as part of CoRE, late in the year of 2014.

A year and a half on, the program is starting to reap its rewards, with two year 11 students, Lee-an Lu and Jessica Bowman, having completed their Bronze Award.

Through the initiative, students are taught to rise to the challenge, persevere and broaden their horizons;

"Undertaking the Duke of Ed (Award), really challenged me to come out of my comfort zone, I achieved things I never would have done on my own."
-Lee-an Lu

By Olamide Adekayero

Lee-an Lu

Shark Bay Trip

From the 7th – 11th of April Ms Urbaniak took a group of year 11's and 2 year 10's (Ryan and I) to Shark Bay for an EES field trip, otherwise known as #THEREALCLASSROOM . We had 5 cars Cool Bananas, Red Bull, Viand's car, Rubber Ducky and we were Lead Eagle. We went from Perth to Shark Bay stopping off along the way.

We left school at 8am, our first stop of day 1 was a bit of the Yilgarn Craton where we smashed rocks and identified different rocks and the minerals inside them. The rocks were crystalized 25km into the ground, we found epidote. Our second stop was a sponty. We went to a part of the Yarragadee Formation where we saw disconformities and a cross section. Our third stop was an old dried up river where we walked through the old river bed and looked at all of the crossbedding and cross sections. We then slept at Drummond Cove that night where we had a storm. We had to sleep in the camp kitchen and my tent blew away!

Our first stop of day 2 was the Geraldine mine site where we inspected an old lead mine and the mine shaft and broke more rocks and found quartz, epidote and galena. Our next stop was the stromatolites where we saw the first organisms which lead to the multicellular organisms we have today. Our 3rd stop was Shell Beach where there was no sand, just shells 20m deep. We then camped at Cape Peron for the next 2 nights.

On day 3 our first stop was Project Eden where we learned about how they are trying to conserve all of the native wildlife and plants and how they are keeping them safe and from going endangered. Our 2nd stop was the natural spa pool where we got to hop in a natural spa pool where the water is 40 degrees and comes straight from their aquifer. It has really high sodium levels. Our 3rd stop was the Discovery Centre where we learned about the history of Shark Bay and about all of the currents that get pushed up past the points and their effect on how it can control climate in Shark Bay. Our 4th stop was a sponty where we looked at a birada which is a circular feature, a depression that shows the situation of the water table. The birada had plants that had adapted to live in high sodium levels. When we tasted them they were very salty. On night 3 we had a talent quest where all of the teams did different acts we did "Devil in Disguise" by Elvis.

Our first stop of day four was Eagle's Bluff where we saw the starting stage of a birada and all of the seagrass. Our 2nd stop was the point at Dongara where we saw disconformities and how sea levels change. We only had two stops on day 4 because we ran out of time. We stayed in Dongara that night.

On our last day, our first stop was the Quindilup dune system where we saw how sediment was deposited and we got to run up the dunes and then down them and some of us fell over. It was really fun. Our next stop was another sponty where we went to transmission gully and we looked at how the sea levels have changed. Our last stop of our trip was my favourite. It was the Pinnacles where we saw old crystallised trees and we saw some where you could see the original tree in it. It was amazing.

I really enjoyed the whole trip and think that this was a better way of learning and hope to do it more, I found it very fun and I learned a lot more and felt a lot more attentive and switched on than when I am in a classroom.

Evander Sapford Year 10 CoRE/Duke of Edinburgh Participant

The Importance of Regular School Attendance

Regular attendance is arguably the most important aspect in ensuring your child is successful at school. Students who get into good habits and are at school each day are more likely to enjoy their school experience, develop a reliable friendship group and achieve high grades. Research has shown that the link between students graduating and then attaining positive results in post-secondary education or the workforce is compelling. Simply by creating good habits with children attending school each day you are setting them up for success in the future.

Kent Street SHS sets the minimum attendance standard at 90% and it is vital that parents and guardians work together in partnership to achieve at least this level. The school is aware that at this time of the year colds and flu are common along with other viruses. However, we would like to encourage you to have your child at school unless they have an illness that requires treatment by a doctor.

The average attendance rate in the Australian workforce is above 97% and we make this a focus with our Attendance Program to highlight to students that this is the standard their future employers will expect and demand of them.

The serious impacts that low attendance can have on a student's education can be seen in the following data from the Department of Education.

Attendance risk- what does it mean?

If a student attends 90 % of the time we regard them as attending regularly.

However, a student attending 90% of the time will miss:

• 1 day per fortnight
• 1 week a term
• 4 weeks a year
• 1 year by the end of Year 9 (having commenced in Kindergarten)

If a student attends 80% of the time

They are in the lowest risk category, but they will miss:

• 1 day per week
• 2 weeks per term
• 8 weeks a year
• 1 year by the end of Year 4
• 2 years by the end of Year 8
• 3 years by the end of Year 12

If a student attends 60 % of the time

They are at moderate risk, but will miss:

• 2 days a week
• 4 weeks a year
• 16 weeks each year
• 1 year by the end of Semester 1, Year 3
• 2 years by the end of Year 5
• 3 years by the end of Semester 1, Year 8
• 4 years by the end of Year 10
• 5 years by the end of Semester 1, Year 12

These statistics clearly demonstrates how much education a child can miss out on if they are not at school regularly. If you require support with your child's attendance please feel free to contact a member of our Student Services team to assist you. By working together in a cooperative partnership we can ensure that students at Kent Street have the best chance to reach their potential I take this opportunity to congratulate and acknowledge the students who recently received a certificate at the Whole School Assembly for have 100% attendance for Semester 1. This is a level that all students should aspire to.

Craig Lynch
Deputy Principal – Student Services

Year 7 – 10 Reward Excursions

The Student Services Team is proud to announce our two reward excursions in 2016 for year 7 to 10 students. The top 200 year 7 to 10 students nominated by teachers will be invited to attend these excursions. The selected students will have the opportunity to enjoy a movie at the Cygnet Theatre in Como in term 3 and/or a day at Adventure World in term 4. The selection process will be based on the following criteria:

• Consistently hard working
• Achieving to the best of their ability
• Above 90% attendance
• Exemplary work ethic
• Positive attitude
• Making positive choices
• Supporting their peers
• Developing and maintaining good relationships with peers and staff
• Showing respect to self, others and property in our school community
• Being a good role model

Please discuss the rewards criteria with your child and encourage them to work towards achieving it.

Thank you
The Student Services Team

Interact Club Easter Raffle

This year, the Interact club did an Easter raffle from the second of April to the ninth of April. We had two raffles, one being guess the number of chocolate Easter eggs and the second being the Easter basket. We went around during homeroom, recess and lunch selling raffle tickets (50c for one, or 3 for $1) and guesses ($1 each). This was great learning experience for the Interact members.

Winner of raffle (Mrs Graciela Rhodes, presented by Celest Ong)

Winner of chocolate basket (Nicole Somera, year 7, presented by Mikayla Mullan, Bridgette Macaraeg, Nageen Monir, Chloe Horton, Club President Jordan Huynh, Celest Ong, Manmeet Kaur, Zaynab Miani and Maegan Baumgarten.)

New members are welcome to join the Interact Club. Meetings are Wednesday weekly in the science block.

Kalgoorlie Year 8 Fieldtrip

At the end of Semester 1 2016, the Kent Street year 8 CoRE class embarked on their first fieldtrip to Kalgoorlie. The year 8 CoRE Program is based on Western Australia's mineral wealth and its associated societal impacts. The exploration and discovery of gold, nickel and iron ore in Western Australia has had important aspects in moulding Western Australian culture and heritage and has driven its economic, engineering and technological developments. The three day and two night learning adventure involved visiting, analysing and interpreting various sites pertaining to the STEAM acronym as it related to the importance of the discovery of gold and nickel in the Eastern Goldfields and development and sustainability of Kalgoorlie and its regional towns.

Twenty-eight students and three teachers spent the first night in Merredin preparing for two days of learning. Before sunrise, the bus was rolling towards the first stop, the destination being Pumping Station Number 6 along the Perth to Kalgoorlie water pipe line. The students reflected on a project that was completed during the term, recounting the importance of water in the goldfields and the ambitious engineering development of the water pipe line by C. Y O'Connor. The pipeline is a Western Australian icon, an engineering feat coming to fruition at the turn of the 20th century dedicated to the transportation of fresh water from Perth to the arid Goldfields. This principle development ensured that Kalgoorlie and its dependent mining towns had this crucial resource to ensure the economic development of the mining industry in support of Western Australian prosperity.

A tour of the WASM campus proved to be a major highlight for the students. Steeped in educational history, the students engaged in hands-on learning utilising small scale crushing equipment i.e jaw crusher, ball mill and rod mill, observed drone and remote control car applications currently used on site by surveyors (such a hit with the students that a number of them proclaimed surveying as a potential career pathway) and the day was concluded in the mineral library where the level of excitement and amazement reached it zenith.

Gold, gold, gold……… metal detecting outside of Kalgoorlie (unfortunately no gold was discovered) and a tour of the Super Pit were the focus the following day. This day was focused on exposing the students to real world exploration techniques, mining and processing systems. A drive through the Super Pit mill verified the importance of real world learning (#therealclassroom) as the students confidently correlated milling components on site to those studied during the WASM experience.

Emu nests, flora studies and the Meckering Earthquake were also analysed. Students had an extraordinary experience, realising how their classroom learning correlates with real world contexts and situations.

Thank you to the Australian Institute of Geoscientists and Australian Geoscience Council for their support of #KentStCoRE and the valuable field trips which are an inspiration for our students.

Students comments

"It was great to get to go down into the super pit. It's a lot bigger than I thought"

"It was so much fun going metal detecting and getting to see Emu eggs."

Oisin Mc Fadden
CoRE Science Teacher/Geologist

P & C Fundraiser

You are invited to a special screening of "Bridget Jones's Baby" for Kent Street parents & friends. Saturday 17 September Cygnet Theatre, 16 Preston Street, Como. Tickets $20 available from school reception.

Olympic Tradition Continues

Once again Kent Street will be represented at the Olympics, a proud tradition from the earliest years of the school. Zoe Arancini, a former student Class of 2008, went to Rio playing for Australia in the Women's Waterpolo Competition.

Zoe's connection to Kent Street is far reaching as her grandparents, Andrew and Sylvia (nee Stannard) Meloncelli both attended Kent Street as did her father, Peter Arancini.

There are high hopes for a medal as the team have been in the top three in recent competitions in the lead up to the Games. Zoe is playing well, having been named as the best player in her position by the media representatives who report on the competition.

We wish her and her team mates all the best for a successful competition.

Student Achievement

Lachlan Fraser year 10 student

Currently enrolled in our Approved Specialist Cricket Program, recently represented Western Australia in the School Sport Australia, 15s, AFL National Championships in Maroochydore, Queensland.

Lachy was selected into the squad of 25 following trials of over 700 students across WA. His athleticism and skill saw him play a variety of positions throughout the 5 game carnival where WA took out 3rd place.

The opportunity to tour, compete at a higher level and forge new friendships has been acknowledged by Lachy and he appreciates the moral support of his classmates and teachers at Kent Street.

Lachy now returns to Development Squads at the Perth Demons and a finals campaign with his junior club, Willetton.

Lachlan Mason year 9 student

Currently enrolled in our Approved Specialist Aviation Program is an aspiring professional snowboarder. He recently competed at the Australian Junior series and ranked in 4th. Lachlan is going for gold in the upcoming 2016 Carona Cup Burton Australian Junior Series and the New Zealand Nationals. Lachlan hope to get into the RAAF once he has completed school.

Variety Show 2016

Wednesday 31 August

Matinee 11.30am – 1.30pm
Evening 6.30pm – 8.30pm

Thursday 1 September

Matinee 11.30am – 1.30pm
Evening 6.30pm – 8.30pm

St Vincent de Paul – Homeless Appeal at Kent Street

This year, for the first time, students from Year 11 Career and Enterprise collected donations and did fundraising for Homeless Persons' Week (Monday 1 August to Friday 5 August). Staff and students at the school, and members of the community who heard about the appeal, were very generous in donating food items, clothing and money. On Friday 5 August students baked and sold cupcakes at a stall at the school which proved extremely popular. At the end of the week, the students had raised an impressive figure, over $580, and many boxes of food and clothing. The money and items were presented to a representative from St Vincent de Paul who gratefully accepted the donations and acknowledged the hard work of the students. He assured the students that every item and every dollar is most valuable in helping the homeless. Thank you to everyone who contributed.

Aviation Tour of Europe and the UK - July 2016

Thirteen students and 6 adults, including three staff, ventured to the Northern Hemisphere during the month of July to undertake the fourth international aviation tour. Flying Etihad Airlines on a new Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the touring party departed Perth on Saturday July 2nd, at 5.00 pm bound initially for Abu Dhabi. From here, the group flew into Berlin, Germany. Other locations on the itinerary included Krakow and Warsaw in Poland, Prague in the Czech Republic, Munich in Germany and the romantic city of Paris, France. After a brief stay here, the touring party travelled by high speed train to London. The Farnborough Air Show and other aviation related institutions were visited during the 6 day United Kingdom visit.

Upon arrival in Berlin, we made our way to the Luftwaffe Air Force Museum. The site of the museum was a base for the Nazi Germany Air force which had been then taken over by the British, and now, is a museum. The history in the building itself was amazing. During the WWII Berlin Air Raids, although a key military point vital for the air forces function, it was not bombed. Another amazing historical aspect of the site was that it was the centre of the Berlin Airlift.

The next day we toured Berlin. The first stop was to Checkpoint Charlie – the gateway between the once divided Berlin. Guarding the gates as there would be in the true time was US military guards – very authentic! Nearby, we walked on to see the Berlin Wall. It was really amazing to see how one side of the wall has very detailed buildings, true to the era, and on the other – Soviet era, very plain buildings. The next stop on our morning's itinerary was the Memorial for the Jewish Holocaust in Europe. The simple block design had an effect on us all – it was very moving. The Monument of Victory, located in the centre of 5 major roads was the last place on our agenda before we jetted off to Poland. The amazing views of the 363 step tower were breathtaking … literally! It really was a great way to say goodbye to such a beautiful city.

Krakow was a real favourite for many. The old town was beautiful – the buildings, the culture, the people. Day four included a trip to the salt mines which was a real eye opener. We journeyed underground for hundreds of metres and were awestruck by how there were so many statues and structures carved out of salt. The next day we visited Auschwitz and Birkenau and found it confronting to say the least. Auschwitz was the largest Nazi German concentration and death camp. At least 1,300,000 people had been deported to the camp between 1940 and 1945. 1,100,000 of these people had died in the camp and it is estimated around 90% of those killed were Jews. Seeing the place where this treatment had occurred makes it all very real.

On day six we arrived in the sprawling capital of Poland – Warsaw. After booking into our hotel we headed out in search of a laundromat. Instead, we were directed to a drycleaner at Arkadia, the biggest shopping centre in Eastern Europe. By now most of the students had caught the shopping bug, so were all happy to wander for a couple of hours of retail therapy.

The next day we met our guide, Anja, for a full day tour that would take in the Museum of the History of Polish Jews, the old prison which housed political prisoners and the King's gardens. We happened to be in Warsaw at the same time as the NATO Summit so security was high and sections of the city were cordoned off exclusively for the politicians.

All in all, this day was a huge hit. Anja was highly knowledgeable and extremely friendly. A few of the boys even practiced their Polish on her – of course, they were all chat up lines but she took it in the good humour it was offered.

On day eight we flew to Prague and, once again went in search of a Laundromat – we were pretty desperate by now. The internet said it was a 4 minute walk up the street. 15 min later we found it. Luckily, the young lady who ran it spoke really good English. Every one handed over the money for washing and drying and left Mrs Ward and Robyn with the dryer tokens and disappeared to reconnoitre the nearby streets. To pass the time, Mrs Ward taught Robyn how to play Euchre. Robyn lost many games and was relieved when the washing machines finished and the dryers had to be loaded!

For dinner, we found a restaurant with outside tables and some of us had traditional Czech food but several students found a pizza restaurant 50m away and had 'traditional' pizza.

On Sunday the 10th of July after we were collected by our English speaking guide and headed off to St Vitus Cathedral and Charles Bridge via the Prague underground. The tour showed off the historical background and the spectacular architectural design of the buildings. During the tour we were rushed to watch the clock tower go off at 11 o'clock. The tour guide had a unique style of running which we all laughed together about.

That same afternoon we went to the Kbley Aviation Museum which contained a few rare aircraft and some popular jet fighters.

Day ten saw the start of a bus trip via Czech Republic to Munich. Our first stop was Cesky Krumlov, which is a UNESCO World Heritage listed castle and town nestled on a peninsula of the Vitava River. Construction commenced on the Castle almost 800 years ago but most of the current site was built in the 1600s. After lunch we boarded the coach for the trip to Munich. Everyone insisted the coach pull over as we passed through a small corner of Austria just so we could all say we'd visited the country, and we made the most of our 5 minute visit by frolicking in the flower-filled meadow… The scenery in that part of Europe is absolutely spectacular, with rugged high mountains, beautiful lakes, green farms and even greener forests.

Day eleven saw us arriving at Flugweft Scheissheim Aviation Museum in Munich. With no prior knowledge of what this museum was going to be like, we were all in awe as we were not expecting such a marvellous and fascinating range of machines. Flugweft was filled with aircraft from old to new stretching from pre-World War I flimsy aircraft to modern day fighter jets. What stood out for a lot of the students was the amount of practical exhibitions there were. After regrouping for a second time, the group headed off for a quick lunch before arriving at the BMW museum. We learnt all about the history of BMW, with a focus on the 100 years of production.

After travelling via plane to Paris from Munich on day 12, we settled in our hotel then made arrangements to catch the Metro to the Louvre Museum. Once we had reached the Museum we took in the sights of the glass pyramids and the outstanding architecture. After manoeuvring through hundreds of people, we all managed to get a nice glimpse of the world famous Mona Lisa. We decided that breaking into smaller groups was the best way to successfully navigate the museum. The place was huge and we struggled to see everything. Each group managed to see something different. The museum had paintings and sculptures dating from BC to now. That night, some enjoyed the cultural cuisine of snails and frogs legs while others found foods that suited their more traditional tastes. Then we settled down in our room to prepare for Bastille Day, one of Paris's biggest days of the year.

Day 13 saw us heading to the French Air Space Museum where there was a range of different aircraft from rockets with space suits on display to planes like the Boeing 747 and two Concordes, which we were allowed to walk through. We then headed to the CITE des Science and into Paris to see the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe.

On day 14 we all rose early for the trip from the hotel in Paris to Gare du Nord via the Eurostar. After passing immigration we boarded the Eurostar and headed off across the country side at 300kph. Some of us immediately raided the on board cafe and spent the last of our Euros, while others listened to music or settled in for a game of cards. The sights out the window were quite good, when the blurring trees and bushes parted, allowing views of the country side. All in all, it was a quick and comfortable trip from Paris to London and was complete in about 2 hours.

St Pancras Station was large and bustling with activity when we arrived, negotiated the crowds to link up with our coach and driver, Donny, for the next leg to the hotel in Berkshire. It was Dylan's 18th birthday so we all agreed to go ten pin bowling in the afternoon and to celebrate with cake!

We arrived at the Coppid Beech Hotel late in the afternoon and everyone seemed to agree that it was the best hotel that we had stayed in.

The next two days were spent at the Farnborough Air Show. When we first walked into the grounds we were greeted by a tank driving people around a course and to the right of the tank were a display of two engines, a Rolls-Royce Merlin and a Bristol Hercules. When they turned the engines on and revved the guts out of them it was a choir of thundering purring from the two engines. When you left the engine area you could see a B-17 Flying Fortress, a Hawker Hurricane and a C-47 Dakota. You could buy all different kinds of things from drones to back massagers, then you would reach all of the pavilions promoting all of the aircraft manufactures. In these pavilions, they were showing off all of their next generation aircraft and their concept projects.

Flying started off with an empty A380 completing some awkward turns for an airliner anywhere between 60 and 80 degrees angle of bank. The A400 also made an appearance showing off the short take-off and landing capabilities of the aircraft. There wasn't a huge variety of war birds but some impressive aircraft were flying. The B-17 Flying Fortress, P-51 Mustang, a late model Spitfire, F4u Corsair, F6F Bearcat and many others.

Later on modern jet fighters came out, we saw the Eurofighter Typhoon, the F/A-18 Super Hornet and the F-35 Lightning II flown all the way from the states. The Eurofighter was easily the loudest on take-off with afterburner but it just didn't cave your chest in like the Super Hornet does. The F/A-18 constantly had vapour condensing over the shoulder of the wing while it was being thrown around. The F-35's show consisted of a rather mild display of its STOL capabilities and a few high speed passes.

On the 18th of July, we travelled from The Coppid Beech Hotel to London, stopping off at the Imperial War Museum Duxford. Duxford held a host of aircraft from WWI onwards to some more modern examples. The Duxford Imperial War Museum is made up of 8 main parts: 7 hangars from different periods of history and a land warfare area. The hangars included a Battle of Britain hangar, the USAF hangar, a restoration hangar and a few others. This museum was very interesting and we all enjoyed finding out about the history there.

After Duxford, we travelled to London, unpacked our things into our rooms and headed out for dinner and a show. We walked together to the general area of the theatre and split into groups for dinner. After dinner we entered the theatre and took our seat for "Stomp". Stomp was an awesome show, it involved a group of performers using common objects that you would find around a house to make music. This, mixed in with a bit of comedy and one of the performers spraying the crowd with water was a great experience and we all enjoyed ourselves.

The next day saw us journeying up the Thames to Greenwich and that night we did a walking tour of the areas where 'Jack the Ripper' once did his terrible deeds.

After an early breakfast, we all headed via the tube, to Marble Arch to commence our hop-on hop-off experience with the London Big Bus company. Travelling in smaller groups, we variously chose to visit the Tower of London and Saint Paul's Cathedral or get off in central London and view Trafalgar Square, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and the Eye prior to shopping in Oxford and Regent Streets.

On the 22nd of July, after almost three weeks in Europe and the UK our trip sadly came to an end. Our last day began with a phone call from the hotel at five o'clock a.m. to make sure everyone was ready to get on the bus to the airport at 5:30. At 9:35 we boarded onto our A380 where most of us slept for the majority of the 8 hour flight to Abu Dhabi. We had a few hours wait in Abu Dhabi before boarding our Dreamliner which we spent a further 11 hours on before finally landing in Perth at 1:10 pm. Despite such an exciting and full on trip, I think we were all happy to finally be home and see our families.

Health & Physical Education News

It has been a very busy time in the PE department of late. We nominated our best teams for the Year 10 Lightning Carnival in week 9 of Term 2, with the students doing our school proud by training hard and showing excellent sportsmanship on the day. At the start of Term 3, we hosted soccer and netball teams from Burford School in England for 2 nights. Thank you to all families that offered their homes for these students, and to all students that played in the after school matches. The Year 9 Lightning Carnival in week 5 of Term 2 was a success, particularly for our boys' basketball team who finished third out of 12 schools. The remainder of the term is an exciting time in PE, with our Athletics Carnival and Golden Mile race in week 6, staff vs student sports scheduled every week and our upper school outdoor education camps running in week 10.

Mr Hugo
Health & Physical Education HoLA

Kent Street Cricket – Malaysia 2016

12 Cricket specialist students, which included 4 Year 11's, 7 Year 10's and 1 Year 9 embarked on the tour to Malaysia between the 25th of June and the 9th of July. The students had the opportunity to play 11 games while we were on tour. The aim for the tour was to win more games than we lost and we managed to do that easily, we finished at 7 wins, 3 losses and 1 tie.

The tour started in Singapore, before we crossed the border into Johor Bahru, Malaysia. We then continued onto Ipoh, Penang and Kuala Lumpur. The students were able to experience coaching young cricketers in Singapore, play cricket in different and, at times, extremely difficult conditions across Malaysia as well as experience the culture of another country.

The tour was a great success as we were able to build on already strong school relationships made through cricketing circles in South East Asia. The students were also featured in a newspaper article in Ipoh about why we play this fixture, which is to build the profile of cricket with the aim of restoring turf cricket in Ipoh as we currently play them on an artificial wicket on their padang (open space in Malay).

We were able to see some fantastic sights across Malaysia, including temples, the Batu caves, the Royal Selangor Pewter Factory, the Petronas Towers and KL Tower as well as the opportunity to play on some historic grounds across the country, the boys were also able to try their hand at bartering in the local markets in Penang and Kuala Lumpur. The boys played 11 games in 14 days and experienced what it was like to be a professional cricketer travelling in a coach and managing their diet and fluid retention as, on some occasions, students were able to lose 4 kilograms during a prolonged batting innings at the crease.

All students who attended the tour represented the school to the best of their ability and were fantastic ambassadors for the school and state.

Mr David Aldridge
Cricket Teacher

Year 10 Outdoor Education Camp

The highlight of the Year 10 Outdoor Education program was run between the 13th and 15th of June. The camp was at the Bickley Recreation facility for one night and the other night was spent at the Mount Cooke campsite on the Bibbulman Track. During class time students learnt how to set up and pack up their tents effectively, they learnt various navigational skills that they can use, lighting and extinguishing controlled camp fires for cooking in the outback and camp planning skills. The students were required to plan and pack all their required camp gear and in groups had to organise food supplies for the three days.

The first day was spent at Bickley recreation Camp where the students were split into two groups for the day's activities. The activities included abseiling down a 5 and 10 metre natural rock face, orienteering through a national park and climbing before jumping from the leap of faith. After the day's activities students walked along the Mason and Bird Heritage Trail where we found the Munday Brook Bridge. This is where they used to get timber from the area into the timber mills at the Canning River in Cannington back in the 19th century. After successfully negotiating dinner on the first night and sitting around the campfire for a few hours the students reflected on what was a day full of new and challenging experiences for all.

Pictured L to R: Dylan Vogler & Tyler Woodhouse abseiling, Mark Mogridge and Dylan Vogler Orienteering.

On day 2 we started our 6km journey along the Bibbulman Track at Sullivan Rock; 6kms does not seem that far but when you are all carrying heavy bags as well as tents, pillows, extra water, food supplies, cooking supplies and more, it certainly proved a challenge especially considering it poured with rain 5 minutes into the walk. Lucky for the students the rain stopped rather quickly and we proceeded along the historic track and after approximately 2 hours we had arrived at our camp. Students were quick to set up their tents and beds for somewhere to lie down for a short while, another 3kms down the road was the summit of Mount Cooke and the walk, although quite tiring because of the steep incline was rewarding for all of those who reached the summit. We had 360 degree views across the Darling Ranges and was able to see the sun set behind the hills to the west.

Students just after the sun set in the background

The walk down the hill seemed much quicker than the walk up as students wanted to get started on dinner. We all sat around the campfire and discussed what we had achieved on camp throughout the last two days before leaving for the bus the next morning. The students had had enough physical activity by the end as approximately 80,000 steps were counted on the staff pedometers across the 3 days. The walk back to the bus on the Wednesday was quite a bit slower because of this and we stopped one last time on Sullivan Rock to take in the view before heading back to civilization. By the end of the camp all students could say that they have now walked and stayed on the Bibbulman Track and that they demonstrated achievement by effectively participating in the camp utilising the skills that were taught in class as well as developing life skills through working in teams, potentially conquering their fear of heights and also showing the courage to have a go at different activities without being afraid to fail. A very successful program which resulted in an outstanding camp and I know all students and myself thank Miss Chinnery for joining our class on camp.

Mr David Aldridge
Year 10 Outdoor Education Teacher

Mr Aldridge with his Year 10 Outdoor Education Class

2016 NAIDOC Day

This year we celebrated NAIDOC day on the last day of term 2. The day kicked off with a whole school assembly in which esteemed elder Simon Forrest conducted a smoking ceremony to bless the land on which the school is based. Not to be outdone year 8 Kent Street students Lahkita Riley-Eades and Nala Graham when they addressed the assembly and provided the welcome to country. They were extremely well spoken and presented. To conclude the assembly, a freshly formed Kent Street band with lead singer year 7 student Darlene Hill and with assistance from AIME mentor Freya Terry, performed a song on reconciliation which they had been working on for numerous weeks in the school's Follow the Dream Program.

We had great support from outside sporting groups, health organisations and mentoring teams to make sure we had a content packed end to the schooling term. Perth Football Club provided six Indigenous players to run a Football session for the Year 7 cohort where participation was the main focus. The students were all involved and enjoyed the energy and athleticism displayed by some up and coming superstars and some experienced WAFL footballers who specialise in Indigenous engagement. Whilst the year 7 football was running, the other half of the cohort were decorating terra cotta pots with support from AIME mentors and students' families. Our year 8 students were lucky enough to have a representative from Football West facilitate a soccer clinic in which Deputy Principal Craig Lynch was engaged and trying his best to set an example for our year 8 students.

We had support from the Aboriginal Health Organisation's Mel Robinson who provided the year 8's with some health information and also with assistance from the HASS Learning Area with some relaxing Indigenous Drawing. Our final year group involved in the activities were the year 9 group. Netball WA provided a community coach and a Netball WA rep. also with assistance from our Physical Education Learning Area Amy Chinnery and Rachel Grant to run an engaging hour netball session that hopefully tired the kids out for at least that night. With a slightly more mellowing environment, the remainder of the year 9 cohort were viewing a powerful and moving baseball film '42' in which against all odds the first African-American major league base baller Jackie Robinson fought off racism and segregation with nothing but hard-work, resilience and dedication. The Kent Street Student Services team would like to thank parents, students, teachers and all the outside organisations who assisted in making the 2016 NAIDOC Day a special day for all involved. Many thanks.

Library News

It's been a busy term in the library at Kent Street with a major focus on print material used to support digital resources in learning outcomes. Our graphic novel collection has been developed substantially as students gravitate toward this medium to extend their understanding of literature.

Graphic Novels

The following link is interesting reading regarding teaching with graphic novels

Homework Club

Homework club is successfully engaging students. It has continued to grow as students realise the benefit of extra assistance from staff and other students.

We are open in the library directly after school until 4pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays, providing students with a light afternoon tea and some extra-curricular activities on occasion.

There has been abundant research on the benefits of reading for pleasure and how this supports academic learning.

WAYRBA (West Australian Young Reader's Book Award)

The WAYRBA award operates on three levels, Younger Readers, Picture Books and Older Readers. Readers are invited to nominate, through their libraries, books that they have enjoyed. These nominations are then considered by the WAYRBA committee and the three lists are drawn up.

Kent Street Senior High School students have shown wonderful interest and have given feedback on the books they have read in this category. We look forward to continued support of WAYRBA.

Displays we have created and that students have actively engaged with are:

Rio Olympics

National Science Week

Spotlight on horses

Thank you to all our students and parents for their ongoing support of Kent Street Library.

We look forward to continuing to promote literature and encouraging students in their learning journey.

Mining Challenge 2016

Running for its 4th consecutive year, the Kent Street Mining Challenge is a community event that sees a select group of Year 9 CoRE students collaborate with university coordinators from the Curtin Science & Engineering Outreach team to mentor local Year 6 primary school students through a day of competition that involves building mining tunnels, processing ore blocks and running them to the finish line.

The event is aimed at developing our high school mentors' confidence in leadership skills, instructional strategy and team management whilst delivering a fun and engaging learning experience to primary school teams. Their training starts with a development day held at the Curtin University campus. Through this experience our Year 9 mentors learn about their roles and responsibilities on competition day whilst participating in a range of engineering challenges that encourage development of their own problem solving skills and collaborative strategies.

After much preparation and anticipation, challenge day finally arrived in the last week of term 2. Throughout the day, primary school students were introduced to different aspects of the resources industry including engineering, construction, processing and most importantly problem solving as their teams worked together under the guidance of their mentors to complete the time managed tasks. Once again, the Kent Street hockey oval was transformed into a maze of underground tunnels with nine different teams representing seven different primary schools vying for the title of 2016 Mining Challenge champions.

This event would not be possible without the support of our extended community who donate their time to judge the event. This year our judging panel was comprised of several Kentian alumni, including Ellisa Edwards, Geologist and Industry Keynote speaker for the event, as well as several current West Australian School of Mines (WASM) university students representing a diverse array of young mining professionals.

Congratulations to Collier Primary School, the champions of the 2016 Kent Street Mining Challenge and winners of the $1000 prize money that can be used to purchase science and engineering equipment to support student engagement in their classroom. A special mention to East Victoria Park for securing a very close 2nd and 3rd place with their two teams in the competition, and a huge thank you to all of our local primary schools for participating in the day's event making it such a fun and enjoyable day for all!

Former Kent Street Student - Laine McDonald

Class of 1999 and Student Council President

Former Kent Street student Laine McDonald has been confirmed as filling a casual vacancy in the Legislative Council.

Top Student Awards

Year 7 Top Student Awards – Semester 1 2016

Year 8 Top Student Awards – Semester 1 2016

Year 9 Top Student Awards – Semester 1 2016

Year 10 Top Student Awards – Semester 1 2016

Year 11 Top Student Awards – Semester. 1 2016

Year 12 Top Student Awards – Semester 1 2016

Year 11 High Achievers

Year 12 High Achievers