26 November 2019

Newsletter Articles

From the Principal’s Desk

The end of the year is nearly here, and as our year 11 begin their final exams, teachers are working hard in class completing final assessment with students, in the lead up to the writing of reports. Most parents and caregivers would now be aware of the change to the Mobile Phone Policy in all state schools in 2020. An Off and Away rule will apply from the start of the year and students and parents will be made aware of the new Kent Street policy, once the School Board has approved it later this term. We are hoping that this will result in greater student interaction and participation at break times and that it will have positive implications in students’ physical, mental and emotional health.

Our year 12 students enjoyed a wonderful finish to their high school life beginning with a Farewell Dinner on the Crystal Swan cruise in week 1 of this term. This was followed by a fabulous breakfast on the home economics lawn, and a final assembly and traditional group photo. The following night students and parents attended the Presentation Ceremony, where the top students in each subject were announced, special awards were given and students received their sash and folder on stage, much to the delight of parents and family. I had the privilege of delivering my first ever principal’s address on the night, to the leaving Class of 2019, which was a great honour for me.

Earlier this term our school was invited to the Centre of Resources Excellence (CoRE) launch at Joseph Banks Secondary College. Our north metropolitan neighbour will be launching their own CoRE program, which is a project that began at Kent Street years ago. In 2020, six schools across the state will begin their own CoRE course due to the hard work of Suzy Urbaniak and the CoRE Foundation Board, as we have promoted this wonderful program to schools and teachers here and interstate.

A Parent Evening was held last term for our new year 7 parents and we were very happy with the attendance and level of interest in our school. With enrolments still coming in, we are envisaging a year 7 cohort of around 180 students in 2020, which will have our overall numbers at just below 1100. This includes a number of students enrolling in other year groups. This we believe, says a lot for the Kent Street brand, as we become a school of choice for many parents and caregivers.

Congratulations to all the Kentian Scholarship winners, who were announced at a wonderful assembly last term. The Kentian Foundation has been supporting students for ten years and the money raised comes directly from donations from ex-students of our school, all with the one aim; to give something back to Kent Street and our current and future students.

Our school can now proudly say that we are the reigning lower school champions in the EV, Electric Vehicle Challenge, an event that was held at the Cockburn Cart track. Under the expert guidance of Mr Ben Thurstun, our Certificate II Metals and Engineering students designed and built the winning car that was driven by both year 10 and 11 students. Overall results were first in lower school and fourth and fifth in upper school; which was a fabulous performance in only our second year of this state-wide competition.

Year 7 to 9 P&C Colour Run involved 250 students participating and raising $4500 dollars towards school projects next year. This was a fabulous event that combined exercise and fun and will allow us to complete an amphitheatre in the drama area in time for our 80th Anniversary next year.

We are also pleased to have our Cricket Pavilion first stage completed. This is a fabulous venue for teachers, students and parents and one that is worthy of our specialist course that has achieved such excellent results and produced so many fine cricketers over many years.

Finally, I would like to acknowledge the staff, which we did as part of World Teachers Day this term, for their commitment and enormous amount of work that they put in each day for our students. Also, to all the support staff who are the glue that keeps the school together and is the engine room of the Kent Street Community. Can I personally thank the members of the Executive team for their wonderful support with the Principal-ship, and I am very much hoping that I will continue in this role next year.

I wish everyone a happy festive season and a wonderful holiday.

Craig Lynch
Principal

Congratulations to two of our staffing stars

Well done to Merilyn Harvey, who was shortlisted for the WA School Services Staff Member of the Year. Although Merilyn did not take out the overall award, the work and commitment that she displays to our staff and students at Kent Street is phenomenal, and we are fortunate to have such a talented and passionate, Manager of Corporate Services.

Suzy Urbaniak has been selected as the Western Australian representative in the Australian of the Year, Local Hero category. This is a wonderful acknowledgement for the work that Suzy has done with Science and CoRE and for her trailblazing work in encouraging women to join the resources industry. Suzy will be in Canberra in January, where the winner will be announced on Australia Day.

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 and final notice letters will be sent out soon.

Our collection rate for Year 7-10 Voluntary Contributions currently stands at 73%. The collection rate for Year 7-12 compulsory charges is 76%. 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.

Statements based on the current 2020 timetable have been posted out. Any payments already made will not appear on these statements, as they are a template only. Actual charges will not be processed to accounts until February 2020. Changes to subjects may occur. Therefore, there may be a discrepancy between the 2020 statements received this year and the actual statements next year. Please contact the school if you have any queries.

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

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 or visit at the link below

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

Japanese News

Year 7 Japanese Taiko Workshop

Students had a Japanese drumming workshop where they learned teamwork and studied the various Japanese drumming techniques.

Thank you to Kyomi from EZ Drumming for teaching our students this amazing cultural experience.

Ruth Tateishi
Japanese Teacher

Japanese Exchange – December Help Needed.

Kent Street has been offered a two-day exchange from 4 - 6 December this term.

We are looking for 12 host families to participate in this exchange.

Families will receive $200 payment to help out with cost of meals.

If you are interested in this wonderful experience please contact Mrs Tateishi by email or phone – 9262 0500 Ruth.Tateishi@education.wa.edu.au

Combining skills with design

As part of their skills assessments, students in year 7Metal#7 made their own rings completely by hand, using only hand tools. Students measured, bent, filed and polished the rings, implementing mathematical and problems solving skills in the process.

Meanwhile our 8Wood#6 class used innovation to add some design flair to their skills project. To add character to the lids of their boxes students used either lamination skills or set gold leaf, lego blocks, coins and even paperclips in resin. They then decided on the opening mechanism for the box.

Year 10 & 11 Drama Excursion – Pop-Up Globe

On the 21 October our Year 10 & 11 Drama classes were lucky enough to see Shakespeare’s epic, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” performed in a full scale pop-up replica of The Globe Theatre. The performance was full of frivolity and fun, we were even close enough to the action that many walked away covered in blood.

“I love how the actors gave their characters a special twist and played their roles amazingly. I also loved how they integrated the audience into the play without changing the storyline” - Yr 10 Drama Student

“Puck was my favourite character as he was so mischievous” - Yr 10 Drama Student

“The theatre was amazing! It was awesome to see Shakespeare in the proper Shakespearean Globe” - Yr 11 Drama Student

“When are we going again?” - Yr 11 Drama Student

Year 11 Hospitality

The Year 11 Hospitality classes went on an excursion to visit a local coffee Roastery and to Bentley Pines for lunch on Tuesday 15 October.

A local Roastery called Antz Inya Pantz Coffee Co put an enormous amount of time and energy into providing a very educational presentation. Coffee facts were communicated and then our senses were ignited by feeling and smelling the different bean types. It was an outstanding experience for both staff and students. A couple of interesting facts for me were: Cascara is the name given to the dried skins from coffee fruit and can be used to make tea, we did this upon returning to school and then used the soaked skins to make popular muffins. The Swiss method of decaffeinating coffee involves soaking beans in water then extracting the caffeine with the water – this water is then sent directly to Red Bull to be used in the production of caffeine-based drinks. Plus, a coffee plant produces approximately 1 kg of beans per year so imagine how many plants are required to make the millions of cups of coffee sold worldwide…..I will share more facts next year because we have been invited back!!

Bentley Pines, the restaurant at South Metropolitan TAFE prepared a beautiful three course meal and was the perfect introduction to preparing the environment to serve guests and how to do this successfully. Lunch concluded with a tour of the kitchens and facilities used for studies.

This excursion provided an excellent example of how to prepare a room and serve guests. These new skills were then put into practice when they catered and served the Year 12 breakfast at school and Presentation Night for family and friends. Further to that formal three course meals were served to the Kent Street staff for Melbourne Cup and the Kentian Society annual luncheon.

Mrs Ingrid Hills

Year 9 HaSS Excursion

On the 14 November, the Year 9 cohort embarked on an excursion to Fremantle. During the day they rotated groups visiting the Fremantle Whaler's Tunnel and Roundhouse, the Army Museum and Fremantle Prison. =

This all related to what the Year 9’s are learning in Humanities and Social Sciences, which were the Industrial Revolution and the First World War.

During the excursion, students were able to undertake a guided tour of Fremantle Prison where they visited numerous cells, solitary confinement and the gallows. From the Roundhouse, they were given a walking tour of the area and one group received a tour of the University of Notre Dame, given by one of their professors. At 1pm Mishitha Srinath was invited to fire the cannon at the Roundhouse.

In the Army museum, the students were given an insight into the lives of soldiers during the First World War in the trenches and the conditions our soldiers were living in during the Second World War, when they were prisoners of war in Singapore and Burma.

On behalf of all the Year 9 students, Kent Street Senior High School would like to thank all of the tour guides who showed us around these wonderful locations.

By Ian Lastrilla
Year 9 student

Duke of Edinburgh Camp

On the 26 October, I went to Yallingup for four days with the other students completing their Duke of Edinburgh Award. We were planning to walk some trails leading off the Cape to Cape Track. After arriving in the afternoon of the first day, we walked about 7 km, up to Ngilgi Cave and back down to the beach. On the second day, we walked 25 kms with some parts of the trail being very rocky. We walked from Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse all the way to Dunsborough and fit in a swim at Eagle Bay and Meelup.

On Monday, we helped the National Park Ranger with some jobs at Sugarloaf Rock, before we spotted some whales just off the beach. Soon, it started raining like crazy as we were walking along a cliff, and it ended up getting too windy so we had to find a new trail. We left our planned trail at Three Bears and instead we hiked up to Mount Duckworth. On the last morning some people got up early and walked from Yallingup to Canal Rocks and back.

In total we walked over 50kms. I really enjoyed the trip and the teachers who came with us and motivated us when we were absolutely tired. I would encourage other kids to sign up for the Duke of Edinburgh next year!

Sauban Kidwai
Year 10 student

Interact Club

Interact is a group of dedicated students, who work together to organise school and community-based activities, under the umbrella of Rotary International. Students in Interact have fun, but also develop their skills in communication, teamwork, organisation, problem-solving and enterprise. This year, Interact students were busy fundraising for worthwhile causes and charities.

In Term 1, they raised $150 by selling badges and stickers for Anzac Day, for the Returned and Services League of Western Australia. In Term 4, students held the ‘Great Money Line Challenge’ and raised $280 for Guide Dogs WA, and a special treat was having an ambassador dog visit the school to raise awareness of guide dogs in the community. Also in Term 4, students sold dozens of red poppies in the school, to staff and students, to acknowledge Remembrance Day, once again, with the money raised going to the RSLWA.

Students collecting money for Guide Dogs WA with Eva the Ambassador Dog

students selling poppies for Remembrance Day

The big event for Interact in Term 4 is the Christmas Appeal which involves Interact and the whole school community. Interact students promote the appeal and raise money, non-perishable food items and new toys to donate to Vinnies Christmas Appeal. With the combined generosity of the school community it is destined to be a huge success!

If you are interested in finding out more about Interact at Kent Street Senior High School please contact the Interact Co-ordinator at Valerie.Everett@education.wa.edu.au or phone 9262 0544. If you are a student and interested in becoming a member, please come along to one of our meetings that are advertised in the daily notices on SEQTA. We look forward to welcoming you into this dynamic group.

Ms V Everett
Interact Co-ordinator

Electric Vehicle Challenge

A team of students from Technologies entered the Synergy Electric Vehicle challenge on the 2 November. The event was a great success for the Kent Street team. Certificate II Engineering students in the Trade Training Centre were involved in the design and manufacture of a new vehicle for this year’s event.

In the first category, ‘A class’ for Year 7-10 students, we entered the car built last year ‘Blue Thunder’. The team of three Year 10 students earned 1st place in this event. For the second category, ‘B Class’, two cars were entered, the new car ‘Built not Bought’ as well as last year’s car. We finished 4th and 5th overall, a great effort given the quality of the 20 cars entered.

The Kent Street team also won the Edith Cowan University Engineering Award from for best built car. Congratulations to all the students involved and thank you to the staff who came along to help out in the and support our team.

For more information or photos of this event visit the EV challenge Face Book Page.

Kentian News

Luncheon

The Kentian Society and Scholarship Foundation held its annual combined luncheon on the 7 November 2019.

About 50 guests, including the Patron, Dr Stan Kailis and his wife, Lefki enjoyed an excellent three course meal in the Kent Street staff room, catered and served by students from the School’s Year 11 Hospitality class.

A tasty entr¬ee of mushroom arancini, with roasted tomato sauce and pesto was followed by a perfectly baked rack of lamb served on braised white beans, drizzled with pistou. There was a delicious array of desserts to choose from (each featuring strawberries), including cheesecake, jelly and rhubarb tart.

There was enthusiastic applause when the catering students lined up and received praise and appreciation by Kentian Chair, Bill Prince.

Principal, Mr Craig Lynch, thanked the Chairman and other members of the Kentian Society and Foundation for their most valued contribution to the School. He also thanked the hospitality students and acknowledged their efforts towards the success of the luncheon.

In closing, Bill Prince thanked all for their attendance and said that Kentian activities provided a great opportunity to catch up with school colleagues or develop new friendships. He encouraged anyone who wished to become more involved, to make it known by ringing one of the contact numbers on the website at the link below.

What can you do for The Kentians?

Join the Society. See at the link below.

Become a committee member. Next meeting 4:00pm, Thursday 5 December 2019, in the Kentian Office.

Assist in the KSSHS archives that operates every Thursday, 9:30am to 12:30pm during school time except on Society Committee days when the hours are from 1:30pm to 4:00pm.

Join the Kentians for the Year 7 Orientation Day. (February 2020. Date to be advised).

Attend the AGM and reunion BBQ (March 2020. Date to be advised).

Attend reunions announced in the KSSHS Newsletter and The West’s ‘Can you Help’ column

Join the 80th Anniversary committee. Anniversary to be celebrated 31 October 2020 starting at 1:00pm.

Become a Kentian Scholarship Foundation Board Member. Next meeting 3:15, Wed 4 December 2019 In the Kentian Office.

8Donate to the Kentian Scholarship Foundation. The Foundation is a charitable organisation and donations are tax-deductible

9Become familiar with the Kentain Website: http://www.kentians.org.au/ and the Society’s official Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/4788113252/ Search for your decade on Facebook.

Please note:

1. Committee and Board members do not let their duties interfere with their holiday schedules.
2. Email contacts for the Kentian Society and the Scholarship Foundation are society@kentians.org.au and foundation@kentians.org.au respectively.

1959 Kent Street Reunion

In 1959 Third year students (Year 10 these days) at Kent Street Senior High School sat for the Junior Examination. For some it marked the end of their time at the school and others continued to complete the Leaving Certificate two years later. Recently a group of “old girls” gathered at a reunion lunch to celebrate the 60th Anniversary.

It was wonderful to be acquainted with school friends once again, many of whom had hardly changed. Not to be forgotten a group of “old boys” from the same year also met up in the same venue… Mount Henry Tavern… and there was much intermingling and reminiscences exchanged between the two groups.

All who attended agreed it was a wonderful event and the occasion will be remembered thanks to the group photographs taken by a professional photographer.

Author’s visit

Mark Smith author of the ‘winter trilogy’ addressed a lecture theatre full of Year 9 students. His novels, Road to Winter, Wilder Country and Land of Fences, convey a riveting story about survival and the indomitable spirit of human nature in the face of a bleak dystopian future. Finn, the archetypal Aussie boy, finds a way to survive and flourish in the most difficult of circumstances. Mark Smith’s enlightening talk focussed on the writing process, his own journey as he ‘morphed’ from active non-reader to reader and then to novel writer and his powerful trilogy. The talk ended with a question and answer session which saw Dale Martin awarded a copy of Road to Winter for a particularly mature and insightful question. “They were an awesome group of young people and asked some really engaging question”, Mark said. We look forward to his return to Perth next year and having him in to do a ‘writing workshop’.

CoRE News

Year 10 – Chevron LNG Exploration Day & Turquoise Coast Fieldtrip

In September the Year 10 CoRE class attended their annual Chevron LNG Exploration Day excursion, followed by their Turquoise Coast Field Trip experience. This was their final field trip for the CoRE program, and was a celebration of everything that CoRE has taught them throughout the years. They were given opportunities to network with industry professionals, and to apply the knowledge they have been developing throughout the year to real-world industry challenges. The Field Trip challenged them both physically and mentally, pushing them to employ their independence, problem-solving, group work and critical thinking skills as they collected data for their final investigation about the effects of sea-level change on biodiversity at Mt Lesueur and the Pinnacles, followed by an opportunity to learn about Noongar knowledge and culture at the Gravity Discovery Centre in Gingin.

“The best part about this PBL for me was the field trip, even though we walked a lot in the hot sun, taking notes, observing and working in a team to get our conducting done (we made about 50 stops to collect data). During this field trip, not only did we get to learn about sea level rise and how that affects living things, we got to see it for ourselves. The idea of not just looking at something but observing and explaining how it got there in the first place is amazing and this is one of the skills that CoRE has taught me.”

Lugisah
Year 10 student

“Every single day of the Field Trip was amazing! The Gravity Discovery Centre was very creative! It made everything very interactive and fun! I also learnt a lot about the Pinnacles; when I first went there, I really just went up and down the dunes when actually, there's a lot of history and science behind it.”

Paola
Year 10 student

Earth Connections WA

On 14 October, five Year 9 CoRE students attended the first annual Earth Connections WA conference at Curtin University. We took part in networking and brainstorming with scientists and professors to help solve problems to make tomorrow better. There was also a Q&A panel featuring Dr Amanda Tilbury, Dr Katarina Miljkovic and Prof. Kliti Grice FAA. We were able to ask them questions about their respective fields and find out what inspired them to pursue a career in science.

This event showcased the wide range of fields that Earth Science can take you. At the Earth Connections WA conference, we saw just how diverse science is and how you can start almost anywhere and finish up in any field you like, as long as you have the fundamentals.

The first annual Earth Connections WA conference at Curtin University was a great experience! We have learnt more about how Earth Science ties the real world around us together. Overall this was a great experience and we hope to do this next year as it was amazing!

Ian, Alfie and Paul
Year 9 CoRE students

Joseph Banks 2020 CoRE Launch

Here are a few of our amazing Year 8 and 10 CoRE students presenting their CoRE journey and favourite project outcomes at the Joseph Banks 2020 CoRE launch (7 November 2019)! Seeing the confidence that our students have in sharing their passion for our program and telling their story is the greatest reward as a CoRE educator. It was an honour to share my CoRE educator journey with their team and prospective students at the launch event. What a great CoRE vision that they have and a wonderfully skilled team to deliver it!

Kathleen Booth
CoRE Coordinator

Year 11 Physics – Adventure World

Adventure Physics is GO! Potential and kinetic energy transformations on the speed slides – weeeee...Weightlessness and circular motion on the Abyss – woooh…Momentum and collisions on the Race Track – argh…And…Forces and G on Goliath – wow! What a great way to wrap up the year and introduce our ATAR Physics students to some new concepts and experiences in motion that will assist them in their Unit 3 studies next year.

RFDS Pilot Makes a Surprise Visit to Kent Street

Year 7 student, Harrison Clarke, could not believe his eyes when his normal Monday morning aviation class was met with the surprise visit of Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) Pilot, Drazen Tolic.

Harrison, a budding pilot, donated his birthday money to the RFDS at the Jandakot Open Day on October 26.

“The Royal Flying Doctor Service is special to me as they have cared for a close friend in the past,” Harrison said.

“Also, my grandfather has been flown by the RFDS three times when he was living in the country. He now lives in Perth where he is much closer to the hospitals.

“I told my parents that I didn’t want birthday presents this year, instead I wanted to donate to the RFDS so they can continue to care for people like my grandfather.”

RFDS Pilot, Drazen Tolic, attended Harrison’s aviation class at Kent Street Senior High School to personally thank Harrison for his contribution and inspire the young students to pursue their aviation dreams.

“Harrison’s fundraising efforts provide a great example to his fellow classmates on the impact each individual can have in their community,” Drazen said.

“His ambitions to become a pilot connected his generosity with the RFDS. It was a great opportunity to visit the school to acknowledge Harrison’s impact and inspire the minds of tomorrow.”

The students had plenty of questions for Drazen about his career in aviation including his current position with the RFDS.

“Working for the RFDS is very satisfying and rewarding. The feeling you get when you are there for someone in need is indescribable,” Drazen said.

“As an RFDS pilot, I am frequently exposed to emergency situations where the impact of my work makes a real difference to someone else’s life.”

The Royal Flying Doctor Service is a vital part of WA’s health service, providing lifesaving aero medical retrievals and a range of essential health care services.

Fundraising efforts such as Harrison’s are greatly appreciated and help keep the Flying Doctor in the air.