Issue 12 - 2023

All Secondary Big Buddy students were paired with their Primary Small Buddy students. Everyone was having so much fun that it was decided to perform the dance three times in a row! The video can now be viewed on our Facebook page as well as on YouTube . You can also click on the photo below to go straight to YouTube to see it. I hope you enjoy it!

Congratulations to our award winners: Taylah Wheelock, Gem Geldert, Allyssa Avramov, Isabele Sparkes-Dann, Felix Aungier, Connor Standish, Lewis Downing, Zoe Doyle, Sapphire Falconer, Savannah Standish, Hannah Bassola, Tess Wearing, and Bridget Kitin.

A special mention to Maxwell Evans (Year 5) who was awarded a Certificate of High Distinction. This is a fantastic achievement as Maxwell competed in a higher year level, completing the Year 6 competition.

This is a record number of wins for our school! The schools that we competed against included Swan Christian College, La Salle, Holy Cross, Ellenbrook Christian College and Helena College.​​​​​​​

Congratulations to Callan Palmer (Year 6), who was awarded 3rd place Champion Boy and Zayne Bayiwa (Year 6) who was the Overall Champion Boy. Zayne also broke two WACSSA records: turbo javelin (36.98 metres) and the 400m race (1:03:51).

This year, our Year 6 students were Champions at six Carnivals, which is a school record! Congratulations to all students involved in the following sports: Girls Cricket, Girls AFL, Boys Netball, Girls Netball, Boys Basketball and Girls Basketball.

Despite dealing with very hot weather on a 35-degree day and competing as novices, our students rose to the challenge and competed strongly across the 300m swim, 16km bike and 3km run legs.

Food trucks supplied fresh woodfired pizza, panzerotto, and gelato. Primary students prepared delicious panini which they filled with a variety of salads, meats, and cheese. Secondary students participated in a Food Science workshop where they made tiramisu, a popular Italian dessert.

After some intense work in the pool, students were able to enjoy open water dives in calm, sunny weather with extraordinary visibility. They also explored the Stalagmite Caves and Channel Reef along the Marmion Marine Park.

Students from visiting ASC schools joined our Primary choral students for a day of Christmas celebration and singing. This was a wonderful opportunity for students to meet each other, learn some new songs, and sing beautifully together.

This term we have been trialling a different way of organising secondary Chapel. PCGs now take it in turns to provide leaders who read from the Bible, write and lead prayers and read the Acknowledgement of Country. PCGs work together with their teacher to consider what should be prayed for, so the prayers reflect the concerns of the student body.

There are also non-speaking roles, including lighting and extinguishing candles, choosing hymns, handing out booklets and being role-models of Chapel manners while standing at the entrance doors. There is something for everyone to do, regardless of faith. We hope this participation and ownership of the time helps all students feel they belong and benefit from Chapel.

Perhaps the most helpful for me is the role of Reviewer. These students sit at the front, and at the end of Chapel, offer me feedback. I like to know what message/s they heard in the homily, as everyone will understand something different depending on bias, interest and beliefs. They can also reflect with me on what works or is not effective in Chapel, and I can take their views on board for future planning. Most importantly, students can use their voice, and I can get to know them better.

I have been most impressed by the commitment shown by students taking roles, and we are gradually establishing an atmosphere of reflection, worship and prayer, aided by silence as we enter Chapel.

This week, the Bible reading was the Parable of the Talents. We thought about the gift of silence, which is rare and precious in most of our lives, and benefits people of all faiths and none. Then we reflected on the gift of life we all share, and the non-instinctive Christian teaching that life, and all spiritual gifts, increase in value when they are shared, used, offered and given away: this is most supremely shown in Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, but also in his life and the lives of Christians who serve and love others.

Junior Chapel considered the implications of God making Jesus’ birth known both to humble, local shepherds, who have nothing to give except love, and wise men from afar, who offer sacred gifts of mystic meaning. Surely this means the message of Christ’s birth as Saviour is for the whole world: rich and poor, near and far, wise and unwise, powerful and weak. God does not discriminate.

In Early Years Chapel we enjoyed a performance by Mrs Crabtree, Mrs Crawshaw and Mrs Palmer of a café drama, which helped us think about waiting: looking forward to something special that we don’t have all the time; the longer we wait, the more we celebrate when it comes. This of course reminds us of the season of Advent: waiting and watching for the coming of Jesus at Christmas before starting our celebrations.

Father Toby
School Chaplain

They learned how Villers-Bretonneux, in Northern France was a place where many Australians fought and died during the First World War, how a special war memorial dedicated to the Australian soldiers has been erected in Villers-Bretonneux and is still visited by many today. I was very proud of how respectful the students were. Each class had made a beautiful poppy wreath and watched in respectful silence whilst class representatives came and pinned it on our Remembrance Board.

Jo Crawshaw
Head of Early Years

They have been busy playing in water trays and identifying what objects float and sink. Their task was to build a boat for a teddy to float across the river for a minute. 

Students tested different materials and built their boats making sure it was strong and beautiful by adding lots of feathers and masts. All the boats made it across the river with their teddy safely.

TThe children enjoyed stamping one another’s passports before boarding the airplane. Some flights were long, and we needed our eye masks to have a sleep. We have been to India to celebrate Diwali, China to celebrate the Chinese New Year as well as Israel to celebrate Hanukkah. We will be celebrating Australian traditional stories and then moving onto celebrating everything Christmas and finishing the term off with the Nativity ‘Born in a Barn’, which the children are practising for very hard.

We have learnt about many different under water animals and how they live. We have painted them, read stories, built aquariums and dressed up.  We were lucky enough to have Miss Katie from ‘Happy Feet’ come out and discuss with us how to be safe at the beach and swim between the flags, how to make sure we are sun safe and all about the animals we could discover under the water. We dressed up as starfish and danced around the classroom. It was so much fun!

It was a fun-filled day which gave them the opportunity to learn about a wide range of animals. The African Savannah was a popular exhibit as the children loved to see the zebras, giraffes and meerkats. One group was fortunate to visit the rhino whilst he was eating his breakfast! As they have completed some penguin art this year, the penguins were very popular. The students also enjoyed spending time with their friends, away from school.

They toured the museum and learned about Western Australia’s historic shipwrecks and world explorers. Their visit to Fremantle concluded with a delicious lunch at the iconic Cicerello's restaurant.

Our Year 5 students have been involved in cooking afternoon tea for the residents of Willow Brook Lifestyle Village.

The Celebration Service concluded with the students presenting their Year 6 song, a collaborative composition about the memories they have created this year. 

The Primary Leaders also wrote a poem about Primary School. We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all the Year 6 students and wish them all the very best with their onward journey.

Students and staff sold 512 bandannas and raised a total of $2982.25! This was a fantastic effort for such a worthy cause, helping to support young Australians who are impacted by cancer.

Mrs Suzanne Stewart
Head of Junior Years

Despite the warm temperatures, the students embraced the two days with excitement and enthusiasm, engaging in various activities such as Team Building, the SVACS Amazing Race, an Escape Room, Chemistry Workshop, Black-Out Poetry, and so much more. Providing guidance and support to the Year 6s during these two days were thirty Year 10 Peer Support Leaders. In the coming year, these students will continue their role of supporting the Year 7s during Pastoral Care periods.

Over the term, Year 8 students have been studying the power of visual language through the genre of picture books. The unit culminated in the students creating picture books on topics they felt were important to a younger audience. The excursion was a great success with the Primary students giving our budding authors and illustrators glowing reviews. Well done, to all involved.

Tanya Bagnara
Head of Department: English

2024 Booklists

Dear parents/Guardians,

The 2024 Booklists are now available on the school website and also in SEQTA (under Documents).

Uniform Shop Opening Hours

Monday: 8am - 11am | Wednesday: 8am - 11am | Thursday: 12.30pm - 4pm

Please note: pre-booked appointments will take precedence over walk-ins.

Please see the School Website for more information and online ordering.

Student Services Lost Property Reminder

A reminder to parents that there are a number of lost property items in Student Services. Please refer to our Office opening hours.