15 June 2018

Newsletter Articles

From the Principal’s Desk

Promoting all things Aviation

It has been an interesting term to date with many opportunities to showcase Kent Street. In week two I journeyed to Adelaide with our Teacher in Charge of Aviation, Mr Kevin Bennett. We were accompanied by key curriculum leaders from the School Curriculum and Standards Authority, Allan Blagaich and Juanita Healy. Our aim was to meet with teachers and executive members of the Australian National Maths and Science School and Glenunga International High School to offer them an opportunity to teach the Aviation curriculum that we offer here at Kent Street. Both schools offer an Aviation curriculum but it does not currently count towards an ATAR as it does here at Kent Street. The meeting went very well and we have high hopes that this will lead to something very positive. The South Australian aviation specialist teacher was most impressed with the work created by Mr Bennett, Mr McKenzie and other past staff of Kent Street. It is in our best interest to support other schools to get on board as this will serve to guarantee the long life of the Aviation ATAR course. While we were there, we visited the very impressive multi-million dollar simulator housed at Flinders University. Mr Bennett ‘landed’ it very safely with Ms Healy as his co-pilot!

A visit from the Minister

On 18 May we had the good fortune to have the Minister for Education and Training, the Hon Sue Ellery MLC, visit us here at Kent Street. Our CoRE program and lead teacher, Suzy Urbaniak, were the drawcards as the Minister had wanted to visit ever since Ms Urbaniak won the Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Secondary Schools. Minister Ellery spoke at length with students from the CoRE program and visited Aviation, Art and English in a brief tour. She was fortunate to gain an opportunity to fly our own new simulator proudly provided by the Aviation Support Group and a very kind industry donation. In her letter of thanks for hosting her, Minister Ellery appreciated the opportunity to meet the School Board and P&C representatives; acknowledged the great work of Ms Urbaniak; commented upon her flight experience; and recognised the concerns raised about the condition of the external basketball courts and canteen. She indicated that these projects would be considered when future capital works programs are compiled. It was good to have the chance to bring these matters to her attention despite the currently tight budget of Government.

Open Day

One week later, we held our annual open day. We were very pleased with the turn out from interested parents and potential students, especially given that the afternoon lapsed into wind and rain. It is always a pleasure to view the school through the eyes of newcomers. I wish to formally thank our staff and students for the impressive display of Kent Street talent – whether it was through business as usual learning that was going on, the chance to view some impressive facilities in the form of the Curtin Trade Training Centre, our gym and weights room, the hospitality class or via the musical items and art display, our school really shone on the day.

Gonski meeting in Sydney

In week four I was then invited to represent my secondary school association at a meeting in Sydney coordinated by our Minister. An invitation was extended to principals and teachers from government, Catholic education and independent schools – primary, secondary, district high and special education – to meet with Mr David Gonski, the chair of the committee who wrote the Gonski Report. Twenty-five of us attended this meeting and I invited Mr Ken Pascoe, Head of Humanities & Social Sciences, and Miss Rachel Grant, Health & Physical Education teacher, to join me. Both Mr Pascoe and Miss Grant are on our school board and recognised for their strong curriculum knowledge and capacity. The Minister was clear that she wanted a ‘from the ground’ understanding of the implications of the 23 recommendations listed in the Gonski Report. It was heartening to hear that our Minister is supportive of the extensive work already undertaken in WA when it comes to our curriculum and reporting methods. She indicated that she is not intending to support whole sale changes that will undo that good work. Having said that, there are many good suggestions in the Gonski Report which could help to shape the future of education across Australia.

Business as usual

In amongst all of this, our Year 7 and 9 students sat NAPLAN, the Year 10-12 OLNA results arrived, the Year 12 externally-set tasks have been done, and our upper school students completed their first set of exams. As we lead into the end of term, I take this opportunity to remind parents of Years 10-12 that parent/teacher/student meeting day is set for Wednesday 27 June from 1pm to 6pm. Students will be dismissed at 12.30pm and busses will be arranged to collect bus students at this earlier than usual time. We strongly recommend that students attend the teacher meetings with their parent/care giver so that this can be a good three-way working partnership.

Kath Ward
Principal

From the Manager Corporate Services

Payment of Contributions and Charges

Thank you to those families who have paid their 2018 Voluntary Contributions and Charges. Account statements were sent out in February and reminders were sent in May.

Our collection rate for Year 7-10 Voluntary Contributions currently stands at 52% (69% collected in 2017). The collection rate for Year 7-12 compulsory charges is 58% as opposed to 85% for 2017. Without your assistance in paying the Voluntary Contributions and Charges, we are not able to provide the best possible educational outcomes for our students.

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. Unpaid compulsory charges are referred to our debt collection agency in February each year.

The school offers a variety of payment options:

• Qkr app (preferred online payment method), 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.

Year 10 - 12 Parent Teacher Interviews

The Year 10 - 12 Parent Teacher afternoon has been scheduled for Wednesday 27 June 2018 from 1.00pm to 6.00pm to give parents the opportunity to discuss their child's progress with teachers. The school will have an early close, with all students finishing at 12.30pm.

Details of login and booking instructions will be emailed to Year 10 - 12 parents with access to the booking system available from 8.00am Thursday 21 June 2018.

Fashion and Design Short Course

Throughout term two specialist courses Fashion and Design and Aviation have been offering a short course to students in the local intake area.

The Fashion and Design short course was developed to help our students’ transition to high school and sample our specialist programs available. The course has focussed implementing the elements of design to produce a range of textile products. These Year 5 and 6 students have so far made tutus, (constructed out of bridal dresses and tulle donated by Essense of Australia), headbands, investigated their fashion style and painted fabric to later produce bow ties and ties.

Julia Moore
Fashion and Design

Kentian Scholarship Foundation

In the link below, Hugh Atkinson, 2016 Jean and Peter Stokes Education Fund Scholarship Recipient, discusses the past few years where he battled Cancer. Hugh won a Young Australia League Scholarship and will soon be playing Cricket in England.

2019 Foundation Scholarships by Application

Applications for the following scholarships close on Friday 31 Aug 2018 at 3.00pm:

• Year 11 Kentian Academic Scholarship
• Year 11 Earth and Environmental Science Scholarship
• Year 11 Jean & Peter Stokes Creative Arts Scholarship
• Year 12 Lance Maschmedt Physics Scholarship
• Year 12 Kentian Vocational and Educational Training (VET) Scholarship

The Year 11 Jean & Peter Stokes Creative Arts replaces the Year 11 Jean & Peter Stokes Fashion and Design Scholarship.

The Year 12 Lance Maschmedt Physics Scholarship is a new scholarship to be awarded annually. We thank Lance for his generosity in making this possible.

Changes have been made to the selection of the Year 11 Jean & Peter Stokes Financial Assistance Scholarship with recipient being chosen by Student Services.

Details of all scholarships and the application form may be found on

Kentian Society

See our updated website and our latest news via the links below.

An interesting article by Helen Baker (1945 to 1947) is available at

Sharing Australian Culture

Thankyou to Branai Ugle, Kenzi Thorne, Trudie Cox and Micayla Harben for sharing their wonderful dream time stories with Year 7 students and visiting Japanese exchange students last term.

First we were shown the Australian Aboriginal dreamtime symbols, and then students produced short stories using the symbols. We then scratched their design with a wooden tool.

Ruth Tateishi
Japanese Teacher

Year 11 Certificate II in Outdoor Recreation

In Term 2, the Year 11 Certificate II in Outdoor Recreation students got to experience sailing. We travelled to Nedlands Yacht club each Wednesday afternoon and sailed for 2 hours. The students learnt how to check the conditions (wind speed and direction), to rig up their sailboats, launch them, and manoeuvre them in the water. Sailor of the week went to many different students who showed initiative and helped others. Sailing gives the Year 11 students excellent base knowledge going into the Recreational Skippers Ticket course in Year 12. Well done Year 11’s!

Amy Chinnery
Outdoor Recreation Teacher

Year 8 student – Ella Sorgiovanni

Ella recently returned from the USA after representing Western Australia in The Summit World International Cheerleading Competitions, competing along with 300 teams and performing at ESPN, Disney World, Orlando Florida.

Congratulations to Ella and her team that came 2nd in Australia and 23rd in the world, against some very tough teams.

Kent Street Staff – Clare Clayton

Congratulations to our Pathways Coordinator, Clare Clayton on winning the Ed Connect Desmond Heenan School Coordinator of the Year for 2017.

The School Coordinator role is vital to the success of the EdConnect program in schools and is nominated by the volunteers.

Clare has been outstanding in her role, supportive to both the volunteers and working with the South Metropolitan Liaison Officer in order to provide the students with the right Mentor.

Clare is a most worthy winner.

Clare and Deputy Principal, Craig Lynch.

Year 7 student – Peter Alexander

Peter Alexander from Year 7 earnt a place in Little League Central Firebirds State Charter Baseball Team. After competing over the Easter long weekend they ended up placing 2nd and winning a place to the Nationals in June to Lismore NSW. They did also, however, take out 1st place in the team Skill & Drills competition too. Congratulations Peter !

Follow the Dream

Follow The Dream is a tutoring/homework club for the Aboriginal students at Kent Street Senior High School. This opportunity is open to everyone willing to succeed in school by passing tests and assessments. Follow The Dream is for all year levels from 7 to 12 after school every Monday and Wednesday, there is always an award with other schools so you can meet new people and experience new things. In the first 15 minutes you can eat some food and have a drink before you get ready to start your work. Every Wednesday, there are up to 10 mentors from Curtin University there to help you and there is always someone to help you no matter what area of work you’re doing. You also meet new people and make new friends. This program has helped me improve in all school areas and I’m grateful to be given all these new experiences. Everyone is allowed to come along and Follow the Dream is ‘tutoring made fun’. If you are interested, go to Room 26 after school or see Clare Clayton, Michelle Ninyette or Susan Lees, hope to see you there.

Tayla Orr
Year 10 student

The Heat Program

Last term, Women’s Health and Family Services offered Year 8 students the opportunity to participate in an 8 week program, called the HEAT Program. The program was facilitated on site at Kent Street by Clinical Psychologist, Shantelle Botha from Women’s Health and Family Services.

The HEAT program is an early intervention, strengths based, solution focused program that incorporates Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Music Therapy, and Mindfulness. It aims to help adolescents improve their emotion regulation skills, self-awareness, communication skills, conflict resolution skills, values and moral development, and learn healthy ways of expressing their emotions, in particular, anger. Student feedback has been very positive and students have said they are putting the skills they have learnt into practice with positive results.

Kent Street Boy’s AFL Jakovich team

Pictured below is the Kent Street boy’s AFL Jakovich team after their one point victory over Sevenoaks Secondary College. The team finished top of the ladder and have a semi-final match next week – we wish them luck ! Corry Verco is the coach.

News from the Library

WAYRBA - West Australian Young Readers Book Awards

Each year we promote reading through enjoyment and this award is purely down to student selection of fiction books.

Graphic Novels

Our graphic novel collection continues to grow and we are rewarded by the enthusiasm of our students.

Cricket Display

Our wonderful Library Officer Michelle Jones had our cricket lovers in mind for this display and we couldn’t believe how popular it was!

International Fashion and Design Tour 2018.

On the 7 April 2018, a group of very excited Fashion and Design Students along with two enthusiastic teachers and one fantastic parent, departed Perth for the trip of a lifetime to London, Paris and Milan.

Our aim was to broaden our understanding of the Fashion and Design Industry in both historical and contemporary contexts, what we achieved was so much more. For those who followed our Facebook page (Fashion and Design Europe Tour 2018) and saw all of the adventures unfold, we thank you for sharing in our journey.

For those who are reading about this International Tour for the first time, we would like to share some of the highlights. We embarked on some amazing guided tours, we learnt about historical places such as St Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey in London, saw a live show on the West End and admired the costumes, however, to be privy to a behind-the-scenes look at garments from the Royal Family at Kensington Palace was a once in lifetime opportunity.

In Paris we took part in a walking tour in the footsteps of Coco Chanel, awed at the splendour of the Palace of Versailles and the artistry that is Disneyland Paris. The Pierre Cardin Museum enabled the students to meet the curator – who has worked with Mr. Cardin since she was fourteen. With the help of a translator, we gained an insight into the passion and history of this amazing fashion icon.

In Milan we toured the Armani Museum. We engaged with knowledgeable tour guides who took us to exclusive boutiques, we visited designers behind-the-scenes and saw bespoke tailoring. The students thoroughly enjoyed participating in a perfume making session and visiting the La Scala workshops where we saw set design and construction in detail before viewing an amazing collection of ballet costumes.

We could in fact, fill this newsletter with pictures and tales from our three weeks abroad. Each day was jam packed with events. In each location we did our best to soak up the culture, eat the local cuisine (yes some of girls ate escargot!) visit the most amazing shopping precincts, admire the haute couture and ready to wear fashions of Europe. We navigated public transport, got lost more than we would have liked, but that often led us to unexpected places and enabled us to marvel at the architecture and history of the city.

Our International Tour would not have been possible without the support of the parents. Thank you for entrusting us with your most prized possession, your children were a delight to travel with and they represented you and our school with dignity.

Thank you too, to the school administration for supporting us on this endeavour. We eagerly look forward to the next International Fashion and Design Tour.

Ms Jodie Hawes – Head of Learning Area – Arts
Mrs Celine Turton – Fashion and Design Teacher
Mrs Bernice Mullan - Parent

Year 11 & 12 Design Photography

The Year 11 and 12 photography class went to Fairbridge farm on the first Friday of this term. They joined the Year 11 and 12 media class who were already there on a film camp. While we were there the Year 11’s could get photos for their travel brochures and the Year 12’s took photos for their landscape calendars. They were encouraged to get as much research as they could about the history of the farm to include in their work. Some of the photography students were also asked to take some behind-the-scenes photos of the media students while they were filming. It was a great experience to take photos in a different environment.