29 March 2019

Newsletter Articles

From the Principal’s Desk

Welcome to our first newsletter of 2019. I am sure that you will agree that it has been full steam ahead since the very beginning. I was fortunate to start the new school year by flying over Antarctica with a team of CoRE students on Australia Day. It was a fabulous opportunity for us all and I commend the students for their excellent conduct and active engagement.

Our student enrolments are greater than ever as we welcomed a bumper group of Year 7s this year. A total of 223 Year 7 students make that our largest year group across the school and they have embraced the transition to secondary school extremely well. I thank my staff who gave of their time to participate in our three day orientation program, including staying overnight for the camp on the Thursday in week two.

The list of opportunities offered so far this school year is impressive. It ranges from the Avalon Aviation tour to Canberra and Melbourne through to our School Ball, held just last Friday night. In between, there have been swimming carnivals – both in house and interschool; cricket tournaments; a Year 7 Fashion workshop; Japanese restaurant visits; Outdoor Education excursions; Harmony Week celebrations and much more. Each of these requires a lot of quality organisation and commitment from staff and students alike. I commend all who contributed to the positive outcomes of each event.

We value you as partners in your child’s education and I take this opportunity to remind you that our first parent reporting night is scheduled for Monday 8 April. The entire school community will finish lessons at 12.30pm on that day and interviews will commence from 1pm, extending through to 6pm. Parents of Years 7, 8 and 9 are invited to book appointments with teachers via PTO (Parent Teacher Online) on our website. We strongly suggest that you bring your child with you as this is a three-way partnership and it is better that they are present to actively engage in the conversations. Please note that another parent night is scheduled at the end of term two for Years 10, 11 and 12.

On the parent night this term, Helena Rychal, Deputy Principal, will be making herself available to provide information on SEQTA so that you are better informed and able to use the on-line learning management system to best effect.

A final word about attendance … Please encourage your child to treat school like their unpaid workplace. None of us would just not turn up to work without notifying our boss. The same should apply to school. We are aiming for zero unexplained absences and appreciate it if you contact the school absentee line – 0407 386 333 – if your child is unable to come to school. Alternatively, texting back when you receive the notification that your child is absent will also count to make the absence valid. We know that absences will happen on occasion. We appreciate your support in making sure that every absence is explained.

Kath Ward
Principal

From the Manager Corporate Services

Payment of Contributions and Charges

Thank you to those families who have paid their 2019 Voluntary Contributions and Charges.

Statements were sent out in February.

Our collection rate for Year 7-10 Voluntary Contributions currently stands at 43%. The collection rate for Year 7-12 compulsory charges is 52%. Without your assistance in paying the Voluntary Contributions and Charges, we are not able to provide the best possible educational outcomes for our students.

WARNING: The school uses a debt collection agency.

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.

Non-payment of Specialist Program charges may result in the student being removed from the program.

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.

New Playground Facilities

The P&C Association donated $10,000 towards our new ‘cyclone spinner’ located in the Year 7 playground area.

Thanks to John Koios from Elite Earthmoving for donating his machinery to dig out the softfall area for the cyclone spinner and our new beach volleyball court. The savings made on these projects means we have funds to complete other works around the school. Photographs coming soon.

Music instead of Sirens – ABC Interview

The ABC Radio came out a couple of weeks ago to interview some staff and students about our music instead of sirens system. The interview was broadcast nationally and we have received a request from Wagga Wagga to find out the details! For those who missed it, please visit our Facebook page below to listen to the interview.

UN Women IWD Breakfast

Rani Win (Head Girl) and Skye Haringsma (Student Council Secretary) were excellent ambassadors for the school at this event which emphasised that we are more powerful together.

“Soroptimist International South Perth members attended the United Nations Women International Women’s Day Breakfast at Perth Convention and Entertainment Centre and were delighted to host eight female students from our local schools. The guest speakers were Elizabeth Gaines (CEO Fortescue Metal Group) and Zara Fisher (Vice President, HSE Iron Ore, Rio Tinto) in a panel discussion with Karla Grant (Presenter, Journalist and Executive Producer of Current Affairs, NITV and SBS). The speakers shared their experiences and views on women in leadership and gender equality in the workplace. It was a great morning with a great theme – More Powerful Together – recognising it takes all of us, working in collaboration, to break down stereotypes and gendered roles to create a world women and girls have equal rights and opportunities.”

Vida Corbett
Soroptimist International of South Perth

Kent Street Antarctica Flight on Australia Day 2019

On the 26 January 2019 at 8:00am 16 Kent Street students and four adults boarded the Boeing 747 to fly over our land under, the real land down under…. Antarctica! This wasn’t just some ordinary flight; it was labelled the mystery flight. It was a twelve-and-a-half-hour return flight full of entertainment, commentary and delicious food. It was certainly a once in a life time experience and it was well worth it.

The Student Antarctica Team 2019

Once reaching Antarctica at the Australian Base of Casey, we spent four hours over the ice travelling up the Shackleton Ice Shelf towards the Russian Base of Mirny. The formations that were presented before us such as the natural caves formed by wind and water erosion, the fractures within ice bergs separated from the mainland, and the glassy fractures were phenomenal and would never be seen anywhere else.

The trip was topped off with an impressive light show as we returned to Perth in time to see both the Rockingham and Perth City firework celebrations. This was a first for our four very experienced Qantas captains and they got special permission from the control tower to do a full circle over the city so that both sides of our plane had a chance to see the fireworks.

As part of this tour we would just like to say thanks to Ms Suzy Urbaniak and Mrs Ward for making this trip happen and thanks to the other staff who accompanied us on this journey.

Emily Farr and Karryn Buller
Kent Street Year 12 and 11 students.

Rottnest Swim

Year 10 student, Ashvinie Nadarajah took part in the Rottnest swim last month, solo. She was the youngest swimmer in the field - congratulations on a marvellous achievement!

U15’s National Cricket Championships – Canberra

Congratulations to our Year 8 Cricket student, Chloe Ainsworth, who was selected to represent WA at the U/15 National Cricket Championships in Canberra from 20-26 Feb. Well done Chloe!

Year 7 Fashion Workshop

On Thursday the 7th of March the Year 7 Fashion group stayed after school for their traditional afterschool workshop. This allows both staff and students to get to know each other a little better in a relaxed and creative environment whilst decorating fabric. This fabric will be sewn into circle skirts and paraded later in the year.

The afternoon began with hot wax being drizzled onto their fabric. Some students did this slowly and delicately inspired by flowers whilst others used large amounts of wax in elaborate swirls. It was then time to take a break and share a magnificent afternoon tea catered by the Certificate II Hospitality students.

The fabric and wax was plunged into buckets of dye, removed and left to dry.

The group then moved to the Textile area away from all of that wet fabric to play team games before welcoming their parents and care-givers to share their progress so far.

The hard work has now begun in class removing the wax from the fabric!

Hospitality – Positive Feedback for Café 4teen

With comments and feedback from staff such as “amazing” and “Can we have this twice a week?” the year 11 and 12 Hospitality students should be very proud of the start they have made into preparing and serving food and beverage, at their very own, student run café.

Kent Street’s year 11 and 12 Certificate II in Hospitality students, run ‘Cafe 4teen’, cooking and serving delicious sweet and savoury food and coffee to staff every Thursday recess.

Café menu items have included chicken Caesar salad, hummingbird cake, club sandwiches, ginger slice and Greek spinach scrolls. This year, in addition to a full range of hot coffees being served, during the summer terms, they are also selling iced coffee, which has been a hit with staff.

A focus of the Café 4teen this year has been the elimination of all plastic service-ware. Reinforcing the certificate’s focus on sustainability, the café now offers paper straws, bamboo cutlery and cardboard serving bowls.

The Hospitality students have also been using their new found skills in preparing and serving food and beverages at other school related functions. They have a myriad of other functions lined up for the rest of the year including Pink Stumps Day, Design Expo, Melbourne Cup Day, Athletics Carnival and the Kentian Society Luncheon.

Japan Study Tour 2018

To most students who visited Japan last year, the experience was personally “life changing”. This happened because of the students’ commitment to learn, accept and overcome challenges.

Meeting our host families was a nervous experience for some, however, we quickly overcame our fears and felt at home in Japan by the generosity and kindness from the Japanese people.

One of the highlights of the trip was meeting the past exchange students who visited Kent Street last August. Oliver, Gabriel, Alyssa, Ratu and Hannah were overwhelmed by the effort made by their billets to meet them one more time. Even Rikuto, our one-year exchange student from last year and the sister school friends Pon and Risa came on several occasions to meet us in Tokyo.

In Japan, we experienced the modern fast paced life of Tokyo, the traditional temples in Kyoto, Osaka’s delicious food - Okonimoiyaki (pizza) and the Hollywood Dream rides in Universal Studios Osaka.

We created many new friendships from our sister schools, Shoyo and Machida High School, and the memories from this trip will definitely last a lifetime.

Ruth Tateishi
Japanese Teacher

“Thank you for organising this amazing tour. I learned a lot during our stay in Japan and loved every bit of the trip. The trip helped me connect with new people and experience the Japanese culture in depth. It has helped me gained confidence with my Japanese communication and expanded my language skills.”

Gabriel Patha Year 12

Cricket

It’s been a jam packed start to the year for our Cricket students. Our 1st XI team is through to the Grand Final after defeating John Forrest Secondary College on the 21st of March. The final will be played at the WACA Ground on Monday the 1st of April against Belridge Secondary College. Our 2nd XI team were also through to the finals day on the 27th of March, where they played Comet Bay College in the semi-final and look to progress to the grand final, also played the same day. Below are some photos from the 1st and 2nd XI competitions.

The Year 11/10 Intra school competition, the Lord Taverners Trophy is completed for the term with some outstanding performances with the bat, most noticeably Aiden Davies who hit 151 including hitting 41 off one over. This year’s competition is anyone’s to win with the points totals as follows (points are awarded for wins, runs, wickets and partnerships):

Davies XI – 13.72
Sanders XI – 13.85
Hugo XI – 11.01

Our new students were presented with their baggy red caps and certificates at the specialist assembly on the 22nd of February, these students were presented with their caps by current Western Warrior and Kent Street Cricket old boy, Jake Carder.

Girls Cricket has been popular again this year with our Year 7/8 team taking on Guildford Grammar College in a home and away fixtures. Our girls have been playing some great cricket and we are looking forward to having girls trial for Year 7 in 2020 at the WACA Ground on the 10th of April. Registrations are open now; go to kentstreetshs.wa.edu.au/cricket for more information.

We have also had students represent Western Australia at National Championships this year, with Benjamin Scotson (Year 10) and Chloe Ainsworth (Year 8) both playing in the Under 15 National Championships. Chloe was also selected in the Australian Under 16 squad. Congratulations to both Chloe and Ben. We have also had 3 students represent Kent Street SHS for the Government Schools XI vs the Associated Catholic Colleges at the WACA Ground on the 15th of March, the 3 students were John Sanders (Vice Captain), Keegan de Koker and Zoe Britcliffe. Zoe is the first female to play in this historic fixture, and she also took the 1st wicket for the team. Well done all.

This year’s annual Cricket fundraiser, Pink Stumps Day is set for the 5th of April. Students are asked to bring as a minimum a gold coin donation (they can donate more if they like) before Friday the 5th to be able to wear pink on the day. There will be merchandise for sale and a Sausage Sizzle down on the Cricket oval as well as cricket being played for the duration of the day. We look forward to seeing the school all decked out in pink on the 5th of April.

Aviation

Aviation Awards for 2018

For 2018, the top student in Aviation for Year 12 was Davis Walmsley, and Blake Hendrie from Year 11. The top students from the junior school were Liam Prosser of Year 7, Ian Lastrilla of Year 8, Kiyan Jodaei of Year 9, and Ray Kaneko-Brown of Year 10. In recognition of their efforts, the three junior students will be awarded a 1-hour joyflight over Rottnest and the Perth beaches in the school’s Cessna C172, while Ray will experience an instructional flight in the Cessna C152.

Avalon Tour

The recent 1-week tour to Avalon was a great success. A record number of 32 students participated, and for the first time, the tour included a visit to Canberra, our nation’s capital. This was made possible by the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate (PACER), which is a subsidy of $240 per student offered by the Australian Government and paid to schools to assist students with the cost of visiting Canberra to learn about some of the institutions there.

The 32 students, four parents and three staff participated in guided tours of the War Memorial and Museum, Parliament House, and the old Parliament House, and engaged in educational programs with a focus on Australia’s history, culture, heritage and democracy. Everyone enjoyed the tours and several students commented that they could easily have spent more time at the various institutions. Parliament House in particular was very impressive, as was its miniature Lego version!

While at Avalon some students managed to catch up with Shivangi Sharma, Dux of Kent Street’s Aviation course in 2016 and now a third-year cadet and second in command of her squadron at the Australian Defence Force Academy.

Congratulations to all the students (and staff) who actually managed to turn up at school the next day, jetlagged, after a late arrival back at Perth and after such a busy week!

Swimming Carnival

Congratulations to Centaur (Green) on winning the Inter-House Swimming Carnival.

Specialist Program Assembly

The specialist assembly on Friday 22nd of February enabled us to officially welcome our new Year 7 students into the FASHION specialist program in front of friends, family and school community as a whole.

Kent Street is in a fortunate position to have an exciting and evolving partnership with an International company called Essense of Australia. Representatives of the company, Mrs Sian Underhill and Mrs Amanda Leabela, addressed the school before presenting the group with their Certificates of Entry.

Harmony Week

Harmony Week activities included the 54 national anthems of the countries that our students come from being played to signal the start/end of classes. Harmony Day was celebrated with a number of items being performed by students in the canteen quadrangle.

State Athletics U13 Javelin Gold Medallist

Year 8 student Sav Noble’s first throw was a foul and he was not placing on his second throw either. However, his third attempt blew the competition away achieving a massive distance of 36.75m to win the gold medal at the State Athletics earlier in March. Congratulations Sav!

Canteen News

Feast your eyes on the delectable menu items on sale daily at the school canteen. Pre-ordering is recommended!

Kentian News

Year 7 Orientation Day

On 14 February 2019 nine Kentians presented the Year 7 Orientation Day and welcomed Barbara Dundas into our group.

Students were able to use typewriters from the 40’s and 50 ‘s, write with pen and ink, mince and slice carrots and beans, listen to tales of past teachers who ruled with the cane and a female deputy who made sure the length of the girls’ skirts were always correct. They also viewed a display of memorabilia and visited the ‘dreaded dungeon’ where the archives are kept.

The Kentians were impressed by the behaviour and enthusiasm of the students and enjoyed the luncheon that followed.

Kentian Scholarship Foundation

2019 celebrates the 10th anniversary of the Scholarship Foundation during which time $44,000 has been awarded to students in the form of scholarships, prizes and bursaries. From 2004 to 2009 seven scholarships were awarded by the Kentian Society.

Over ninety percent of the donation to the Foundation has been donated by ex-students to whom we are extremely grateful and we would like to see donations continuing.

To celebrate the anniversary, we would like to hold a function for the recipients, donors, Boards members and School staff so we are seeking expressions of interest from this group regrading attendance. Partners welcome. Please contact foundation@kentians.org.au or SMS Bill (0434 833 891) if you are interested in attending.

The Kentian Archives – Help requested

The Kentian Archives were established over 25 years ago and now have over 2000 items catalogued and stored.

We are in the process of updating our records - an enormous task!!

If you have a few hours to spare on a Thursday morning and would like to help us, as well enjoy good company and conversation please contact the Kentians for more information - society@kentians.org.au