3 September 2019

Newsletter Articles

From the Principal’s Desk

In the last week of term 2, parents and caregivers received their child’s Semester 1 Report, which highlighted their results for the semester, as well as comments from teachers detailing student’s progress in their subject/course and how to maintain or improve on this performance. I hope that parents took the time to read the report thoroughly and discuss in detail with their child, the positive aspects, as well as any identified areas of need that, as a team, we can work together to improve.

Term 2 concluded with a wonderful NAIDOC Week, and members of the Aboriginal Education Working party arranged a series of activities during the last week of term. Events included a fabric mural, rock garden, food tasting and culminated in an assembly that involved the School Board Chair Vanessa Elliott, as the guest presenter. Special awards were given for Aboriginal students who have made a contribution to the school. Also in the last week we conducted our Reward Day, for any students in years 7 to 10 who had maintained good standing and were nominated by pastoral care coordinators or staff. Students had the opportunity to participate in either, roller skating, ten pin bowling or the movies. Over 200 students attended, and from all accounts everyone enjoyed themselves immensely.

Semester 2 is now well and truly under way and it is a source of amazement to me, the number of educational activities that are provided by staff for the benefit of students at Kent Street. In week one we began with a Top Student Assembly, this is where the highest achieving student in each subject or course, received a certificate in front of the school. The hard work and effort that goes in to achieving such success was highlighted and any student who achieved one or more, can be very proud of their efforts. We also took the opportunity to present Encouragement Awards, that acknowledge students who are working to the best of their ability in each class.

A Year 11 2020 Parent Information Evening was held in week 2, with nearly 200 parents attending an information session conducted by Helena Rychal, upper school Deputy Principal. The evening had a major focus on the changes to WACE and the new attainment requirements. This was followed a week later by four days of course counselling after school, by numerous staff who volunteered their time to allow parents to participate in this process.

A Teen Mental Health 1st Aid for Year 10 students was conducted over three weeks, enabling students to participate in a program that teaches high school students how to provide mental health first aid to their friends. The course was developed in response to research indicating that young people have a preference for sharing problems with peers. The course curriculum is based on a study undertaken to determine the best actions a young person can undertake to support a peer with a mental health issue. Amy Patience, our School Psychologist has been responsible for planning and presenting this wonderful course, and we are very fortunate to have her expertise on staff.

Over 180 students at Kent Street, have taken take part in a Speaking Out Survey, conducted by the Commissioner for Children and Young People. This project asked students from Year 4 to Year 12 for their views across key areas such as safety, mental health and wellbeing, engagement in education, connection to community and sources of support, which are underpinning factors in poorer outcomes in life.

The school has recently received our NAPLAN results for year 7 and 9 students and it appears that our overall results have improved in most areas from last year. A more detailed analysis of these results will take place with staff later in the term that will assist us to focus on areas of need and use this information in planning for the future.

In week 5 this term our school held an extremely successful Book Week, which involved five days of activities with prizes for home rooms and individual students. For the first time at Kent Street, our school encouraged both staff and students to dress up as a character from a book, with the general theme of ‘heroes’. Anyone who chose to be involved was asked to donate a gold coin with all money raised going to the Super Tees project, that provides super hero outfits to young children in hospital undergoing treatment. From the photo below it is hard to judge whether it was the students or staff who had the most fun.

Finally, I would like to wish our Class of 2019 all the best in their endeavours, in what is really the last official term for their studies, before preparation for ATAR exams begins next term. A detailed assessment of students results has occurred and we are hoping for high levels of WACE Attainment this year, and for students to achieve to their real potential. Students must remain focused during this time and remember that the finish line is in sight, there is just a few more obstacles to clear in the home straight.

I wish all students the best of luck for the rest of the term.

Craig Lynch
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.

Reminders were sent out in August.

Our collection rate for Year 7-10 Voluntary Contributions currently stands at 70%. The collection rate for Year 7-12 compulsory charges is 67%. 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

Book Week

Thank you to all the staff and students who helped make “Dress Up Day” for Book Week a huge success. Please enjoy the many fantastic costumes staff and students wore!!

The student winners were:

The many original and fun costumes at Kent Street on Dress Up Day.

Therapy Dogs at Kent Street

Thank you to everyone who responded to the surveys about having therapy dogs at Kent Street. The results were an overwhelming positive, yes response of 95%.

Many staff have signed up to participate in the program, which will involve having a dog visit their class room or area at various times. Students will have the opportunity to interact with the dog if they wish to. Classes will continue as normal and the dog will usually choose a place to lay down once the class is under way.

Research into having dogs in schools shows that there are many benefits, including reducing stress and anxiety, gains in confidence and increasing school attendance.

We have already had a couple of test days, with 14 week old Rusty, visiting Art classes. Rusty is a Golden Retriever and we’re sure that when he’s older, he will become a regular therapy dog.

Marco, the 5 year old Siberian Husky has visited the school twice. Students were able to meet him during class breaks and it was fantastic to see students, who said they were afraid of dogs, voluntarily going over and patting a dog for the very first time. He also visited students during the athletics carnival and there were smiles all round.

Taylor, the nine year old golden Labrador will be visiting classes soon. She lives with our students who board at the Rotary Residential College, and is obviously well used to having numerous children around her.

Staff members who nominate their dogs to be involved in our program will be required to have the dog assessed for temperament by an animal behaviourist.

We look forward to providing our school community with updates of many positive outcomes, once our therapy dog program is up and running.

Channel 9 Excursion – Year 10 Media

Two classes of Year 10 Media students visited the Perth news studios of Channel 9 last term as part of their studies to see how the broadcast industry works. The visit included a tour of the facilities starting in the news studio with three fully automated TV cameras worth $200, 000 each! We were able to enter the Control room to see how producers put the news to air, as well as see journalists and the Chief of Staff in action gathering news.

Some students had the opportunity to be news presenters, reading two stories from the autocue whilst others tried out the TOS - the talent operated studio. One student was able to operate the autocue.

On the second visit, we were lucky enough to meet Michael Thompson, and newsreader and sports presenter, Paddy Sweeney.

Students were able to ask questions of our tour guide Oscar and left with an enhanced insight in to the workings of a professional studio.

Japanese Restaurant Excursion

The Year 9’s enjoyed a delicious sushi lunch at the Jaws Kaiten Sushi Bar in Perth last term. They learned about the different types of sushi and spoke to the Japanese staff. This was a great opportunity to experience a traditional Japanese meal and use chopsticks while eating.

Ruth Tateishi
Japanese Teacher

Modern History

Miss Rowe’s Year 11/12 Modern History class has come up with a sweet way to complete revision. Students have a weekly roster that requires them to bake a cake and decorate it in a way that reflects topics covered in their courses of study. It has egg-nited students’ passion for History and they have come up with some ground-baking ideas, demonstrated below.

The Duke of Edinburgh

The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award, is a globally recognised program for youth development. Equipping young people for life and the work force regardless of physical ability, culture, background and skills, the award continues to push individuals to their limits and recognise them for their efforts.

There are three tiers to the award; Bronze, Silver and Gold. To achieve the award, participants must complete all four components; Skill, Physical Recreation, Service and Adventurous Journey.

Our adventurous journey was a bushwalking expedition to Collie from the 26 to 29 of July. Throughout the four day and three night journey, we managed to walk a total of 50km. The weather was great as we didn’t get rained on, nor was it too hot either. We walked around Wellington Dam and whilst walking to Honeymoon Pool, we saw an echidna on the middle of the trail. It was pretty cool. Then we got lost, but thanks to Mr Garven and his orienteering skills, the day was saved. Then, as we were walking up a very steep hill, we met Ms Rowe’s doppelgänger. She looked exactly like her, were they long lost twins? The journey was filled with many experiences that will stay with us forever, not to mention Brendan’s culinary skills, with which he managed to burn all the garlic bread we were meant to enjoy for dinner.

If you’d like to join in on the fun, please contact myself or Ms Rowe for more details.

Kiran Letchford - Year 11
Youth Award Leader

Upper School Fashion Camp 2019

The Year 10 to 12 Fashion students attended their annual camp held at the Point Walter from Tuesday 13 through to Friday 16 of August. The year groups had their own activities and focuses among common tasks.

This allowed for many hours sitting in chairs with square eyes from concentrating, as students became engrossed in the activities, losing track of time whilst working at their own pace with determination. Time was given to walking along the river to revitalise in the brisk air and sunshine, with the remainder of the time spent in thought, enjoying the vista across the water viewing the ever-changing weather.

The group enjoyed each other’s company getting to know people outside of friendship and year groups. Laughter was heard regularly during the long days and nights of fun and creativity. Students encouraged each other to work harder and to keep going, pushing their limits, with personal bests achieved in all activities.

Oli’s words to describe the camp were “expressive experience”, explained by saying that it allowed them to put their thoughts into practice, having the time to both experiment with their creative ideas and finish construction projects.

Our partnership with Essence added to the camp experience when they came to visit. Explaining their internship and work experience opportunities. Discussion and question time were enlightening, about how global and diverse career opportunities exist in the fashion industry, other than simply being a Fashion Designer. It was such an unexpected delight for all to be given a lovely suede hat labelled “Martine Loves”. Martine Harris is an ex Kent Street student, owner and head designer for Essence.

All students left camp with smiles on their faces commenting on what they had achieved, and I even heard “if only I worked that hard everyday”. We all look forward to showing the results at the Design Expo later in the year in both static displays and on the catwalk!

Mrs Ingrid Hills
Fashion Coordinator

Japanese Student Exchange

Our students warmly welcomed the exchange students from Japan this year. A special thank you to the Kent Street families who have hosted 21 students from Shoji, and helped the students settle in. The Japanese students have had an amazing time at Kent Street joining our staff and students in various classes and activities.

Ruth Tateishi
Japanese Teacher

Year 7 Indoor Cricket Camp

Year 7 Approved Specialist Program Cricket students attended the annual camp at Ern Halliday Recreation Camp, in which they went to Bouncer Indoor Sports to play Indoor Cricket against students from other specialist cricket schools. Students learnt about preparing for high performance through good nutrition and how this helped them to play at their peak. They played over a dozen games across two days where our players performed exceptionally well.

In particular, Kent Street 1 who dominated the final winning 107 – 64. The highlight for me was seeing our students respect the past, and learn from their experiences to continually improve their individual game. All students were outstanding representatives of Kent Street Cricket and were deserving winners of the trophy.

Cricket England Tour

This trip to the UK was our 5th trip to Europe and the cricket programs 17th International Tour. The tour was 23 days in duration and saw us visit four different countries and five major cities, including Paris, Amsterdam, London, Manchester and Liverpool. We played 22 games while we were away (not including scratch matches) and went 14 wins and 8 losses. The tour is actually not about winning and losing and who we play against, but the exposure of our students to new situations, experiences and this is seen through different opposition, balls, pitch characteristics, boundary sizes and hospitality. With that being said, we still want to be as competitive as we can in every game we play. Every student on the tour can say they played at some amazing venues and on interesting pitches that play in a completely different manner to those in Australia. I am confident that every student now has some life experiences and memories from the cricket field that they will never forget.

News from CoRE – Centre of Resource Excellence

Kalgoorlie Field Trip

At the end of term 2, the Year 8 CoRE group went on a field trip to Kalgoorlie. This trip has been held annually since the beginning of the CoRE program in 2015.

When we arrived in Kalgoorlie, the class presented all of the PBL’s we’ve worked on this year. We showcased all of the activities we have done in CoRE to Professor Lisa Harvey Smith and a few members of the public.

The next day we went to WASM (West Australian School of Mines) to learn more about mining in the area. We split off into groups and completed four activities. These were Gold plating, where we coated a five-cent coin in gold. Gold panning, using the old mining ways to find gold. VR (virtual reality), we saw underground and open cut mines in action and the mineral museum. We saw so many different types of shiny, colourful minerals and rocks.

We then went to Hannan’s North Tourist Mine to explore what mining was like back when it first started.

The Kalgoorlie Super Pit was our next stop. We stood at the lookout and saw these massive layers of rock with different colours indicating the different minerals. The haul trucks looked like tiny ants down below. The wheels of these trucks are about twice the height of us!

The last stop for the day was at Mt. Hunt where we looked for pillow basalts formed by cooling lava.

The following morning, we travelled inland to Leonora to see the St. Barbara’s Sons of Gwalia Gold Mine. We were taken on a tour around the mine. We were shown the core shed where the core samples are stored, we then saw the drill taking core samples from the ore body. We got to get up close to the actual mine as well. This was a rare opportunity that some people will never experience. We stood at the lookout and saw the little tunnel that all the trucks came in and out of carrying ore.

This Field trip was awesome. I could do it all over again and still be amazed at everything we did. This was one of the best experiences we’ve ever had. Everyone that went was incredibly lucky to have had the experience.

We are so grateful to Ms Booth, Mr Lyons and Mr Cardenia for organising and taking us all on this wonderful journey.

Thank you so much!

Macy Plenderleith and Sylvia Blakeway
Year 8 CoRE

NOVA Mine Site

I had a phenomenal opportunity to connect with #therealclassroom at IGO's NOVA mine. Experienced mining processes and networked with awesome people that were so willing to impart advice and knowledge with 'life' after high school. It was so fulfilling to finally witness the processing side of nickel-copper mining as it has been a huge part of this year's EES Year 12 course. Thank you for providing this opportunity IGO! #lifelonglearning, #therealclassroom, Kent Street Senior High School, Independence Group (IGO), CoRE Learning Foundation.

Gabriel Patha
Year 12 ATAR EES

Girls STEM Session

On the 1 July the STEM ambassador, Professor Lisa Harvey Smith hosted an event at Kent Street called “Women in STEM”. It was about different year groups of CoRE students using their past learnt skills such as diversity, team work and innovation to work through a mock project, focusing on Perth’s water sources such as Perth’s Basin aquifers and the Swan coastal plain. A total of ten visitors, from Questacon, SciTech visited Kent Street to celebrate the independence of women in their future jobs wherever that may be. The students randomly collaborated together to complete the planning of the mock project and presented their ideas. The event had a very positive outcome from everyone who came and, on CoRE.

Kate Bozich and Lara Hosu
Year 8 CoRE

Pedal Prix 2019

On the 17 August we began the journey to Busselton for the annual Busselton Pedal Prix, a 6-hour race in which teams from across the country race homemade trikes. With an 8.30am start, we loaded the ute, bus and trike onto the trailer. The team - Brendan Gooding, Daniel Potger, Karryn Buller, Ben Mclaughlin, Cameron Fawcett, Levi Morris-Mulcahy, Paola Cana Machado, Dylan Allsopp, Lily Luu, Jake Bozich and Sauban Kidwai.

Once at the caravan park we set up camp and rediscovered our childhood on the park’s bouncy pillow. Once 2.30pm hit we attended the scrutineering, which we completed in half an hour, much quicker than last year.

Back at the park we continued with the maintenance and practise drives, attaching the speaker for a bit of fun. Then we hit some trouble. When Jake was taking the trike for a spin, the pedal came loose. The crank of the pedal had been stripped and if not fixed, we wouldn’t be able to race. Thanks to Ms Booth and a $10 bike on Gumtree, we swapped the crank and the trike was race ready again.

After a cold night in the tents, we packed up, had breakfast watching Thomas the Tank Engine and left for the race. Setting up next to Churchlands SHS, we set up the CoRE banner and started preparing the trike. We walked the track and set up in the grid ready for the start.

Cameron started us off and the riders would descend in height order. Dylan and Lily were working the pits well, with the seatbelt giving us a few troubles and the chain popping off every now and again.

As the hours rolled by, the racers burning their legs, little did we know that the parents were planning something more. They had taken a look at a fibre glass trike that was for sale and made an offer. For $1600 they bought the new fibre glass trike as a gift to the school and the students. It was greatly appreciated and resulted in great excitement within our team.

We finished the day with 134 laps (~67km) and finishing 43rd overall. Though team management was much more improved than last year, but fitness definitely needs some work for next year. Thanks to Mr Lyons and Ms Booth for the awesome organisation, transport and accommodation. It’s always appreciated. Also, a huge shout out to the parents and families of the racers that have put in so much effort and money for this event to happen. A special thanks to Linda Wareing, Tony Buller, Toni Gooding and Mr & Mrs Fawcett for their huge contribution to the new trike. It was greatly appreciated.

Karryn Buller
Year 11

Resources Challenge

The Resources Challenge is a day where Year 8 to 10 CoRE students mentor a group of 20 to 30 primary school students from our local area zone. This year 325 primary school students attended from eight different schools, making thirteen teams. Each team had to build a tunnel and complete a series of ore processing challenges using their problem solving and collaboration skill sets.

Personally, I enjoyed having the privilege to mentor my group (Wilson Primary School) with my Year 8 assistant Oliver. I enjoyed having the pleasure to work with these kids and see how they can work together.

The experience I gained by doing the Resources Challenge meant a lot to me because by doing that I was able to further my leadership skills and I was also able to expand my skill set to work with younger children.

Ian Lastrilla
Year 9 CoRE

Congratulations to our back to back champions, Collier Primary School. Kent Street CoRE would like to thank all of the Primary Schools that attended the challenge and made the day such a huge success. A huge thank you goes out to the diverse representatives from across the Resources Industry and the West Australian School of Mines Wallabies Team who donate their time to judge the event each year. We couldn’t do this without you!

Science Week

Portable Spectral Services

A huge thank you to Portable Spectral Services for bringing their RAMAN and XRF devices in for our Year 11 and 12 ATAR EES students to explore, during an interactive Science Week session. These portable devices are used in resource exploration, providing a quick geochemistry analysis in the field. What a great experience!

Life on Mars

Thanks to Earth Science Western Australia (ESWA) for providing 10 of our Year 7 to 10 CoRE and ATAR EES students with double passes to attend BHP Billiton’s Life on Mars Panel Event during Science Week! The panel discussed the probability of ancient life forms on Mars and the role that Western Australia’s very own fossilised stromatolite formations (ancient life forms) is playing to help answer this question. An insightful discussion on the ethics of potential Martian colonisation also captivated our students.

It was good to hear from different experts discussing the idea and normalising the potential of life on Mars.

Alfred Shepherd
Year 9 CoRE

Moon Challenge

Keeping with this year’s Science Week theme, ‘Destination Moon’, our Year 7 to 10 CoRE students participated in a one hour challenge using their own replica space gloves to make a moon cake, whilst innovating a new design to simplify hands-on jobs in space! We hope you enjoy the photos as much as we enjoyed participating in the experience!

Sports Carnival

A wonderful warm day for our 2019 Sports Carnival - Centaur (Green) are the champions.

It's a coincidence that both Mr Lynch and Mr Hugo appear to be in Centaur also!

For many more photos and video please see our FaceBook page -

Year 7 2020 Parent Information Night

A Parent Information Evening is being held at Kent Street for incoming Year 7 students in 2020.

This evening is intended for parents and students to gain an understanding of the school community and meet some of the staff who will contribute to your child’s education and wellbeing at Kent Street.

Please note: Specialist students will have a meeting with their Coordinators following this general session from 7.00 – 7.30pm

Please contact our reception on 9262 0500, or email kentstreet.shs@education.wa.edu.au to confirm your attendance.

Former student – Jack Vandeleur

An update on where life has taken me in my aviation career...

Eight months ago I left Virgin Australia (after a great year and a half there) as I was offered a Cabin Crew position at British Airways. I now live in the UK and I am based out of London Heathrow. I’ve been at BA for 7 months now and its just so crazy how fast life can change!

I work on the 777, 787 Dreamliner and 747 (Queen of the sky!) So amazing to be able to work on the 747 before they are retired around the world!

I just wanted to contact Kent Street to thank you again for everything Mr McKenzie, KB and the Aviation program did for me. I owe a lot of where I am in my career to Kent Street SHS and the Aviation program, so thank you.

It’s crazy to think that almost 3 years ago exactly we were all over here on the Aviation Europe Tour and now I live here! I hope all is well in Australia and at Kent Street,

Jack Vandeleur
Class of 2016

Jack is 2nd from right (back row)

Kentian Scholarship Foundation

The Foundation celebrated its 10th anniversary with a dinner at the Bentley Pines Restaurant on 19 June 2019. Those in attendance included donors, Board, Society, Executive staff members and partners. An enjoyable night was celebrated by all. The restaurant maintained its high standards of excellent cuisine and service.

Adolescent support services - Where to go for help?

Kids Helpline is a free, private and confidential telephone and online counselling service specifically for young people aged between 5 and 25 years. You can phone the helpline anytime on 1800 55 1800, or visit the website at the link below:

ReachOut.com is an online mental health organisation for young people, providing practical support with a range of youth issues not just limited to mental health but also sexual health, relationships, abuse, cyber-bullying, body image, drug use and more. This website is suitable for students, parents and health professionals and provides links to emergency counselling, resources and useful tips.

Headspace is the National Youth Mental Health Foundation providing early intervention mental health services to 12-25 year olds, along with assistance in promoting young peoples’ wellbeing. This covers four core areas: mental health, physical health, work and study support and alcohol and other drug services. Go to the link below:

YouthBeyondBlue aims to equip young people with the knowledge and skills to maintain their own good mental health and wellbeing and to help recognise symptoms in people close to them. An online chat service and 24 hour telephone support line is available to assist young people to find the help they need. Go to the link below or call 1300 22 4636.

YouthLink is a Perth based service that assists young people, aged 13-24 years of age, who experience difficulties with their emotional or social well-being. It is a free and confidential counselling service, with experienced support workers who are friendly, non-judgemental and understanding. Free interpreting can be arranged to assist with communication if required. YouthLink is located at 223 James St, Northbridge or you can phone 1300 362 569.

You can also discuss any problems you may be having with your GP or the Student Services team at school.