The Lion's Roar - 1 December 2021

Congratulations to the St Marks’ First Lego League Team, Lightening Xpressbotz, who tied for third place in the qualifying competition held at St Stephen‘s Carramar on Saturday, 27 November. The team has qualified to go to the National District Finals held at Curtin University on 11 December 2021.

The team includes Jonathan Booth (4DOW), Hayes Lambie (4DOW), Zac Nicholson (4DOW), Sam McCallum (4DOW), Jaiden Oliver (5HUE), Koga Haywood (5HUE), Lauren Used (5MAR), Noah Rogers (5D-E), Francesca Lei-Nguyen (6.6) and Cadel Coffin (6.2).

Lead by Mr Matt Dowsett, Mrs Jane Denham, and an Old Scholar and parent, Mr Andrew Coffin. who have motivated and inspired the students strive to learn about robotics and excel in this competition.

The competition covers three skill sets, including:

• Designing and building a LEGO EV3 robot vehicle and programming it to complete a series of obstacles and challenges on a mat.
• Displaying innovation, where the teams had to come up with a problem associated with the transport system and find a solution for that problem
• Deciding on, demonstrating and explaining the core values of their team.

Mr Dowsett, Mrs Denham, Mr Andrew Coffin and the students all worked very hard in their own time during Term 4, with many early morning sessions. In the lead up to the competition, the team spent two full days practising and rehearsing their presentation.

Well done, and best of luck for the District Finals!

Walking for Asthma

Samuel McCallum (4DOW) committed to walking 237,000 steps in October - one step for every person in WA diagnosed with Asthma) - to raise money for Asthma WA. Sam has struggled for years with asthma and wanted to help others battling the same illness. Sam walked over the 237,000 (despite being in hospital in the middle of the month) and raised $1,861, smashing his initial goal of $350! Well done, Sam - a terrific achievement!

Swimming Success

Indi Bueddemann (C9.2) swam in a 5km Open Water event in Bunbury over the weekend, and took over 12 minutes off her personal best time completing it in 1 hour 14 minutes. This has resulted in her qualifying for Nationals in Adelaide 2022 by almost 2 minutes. Indi is really excited about being eligible to compete in January. Congratulations, and all the best for your preparation, Indi!

Fete Poster Competition

The P&F are delighted to congratulate the School's budding artists and graphic designers, who created some beautiful posters to promote the 2022 Fete. We look forward to sharing the posters with our community soon!

Golden Ticket winners:

• Stephanie Christopolous (4DOW)
• Gabriella Gismondi (M7.2)

Runners Up:

• Theo Hoskin (C8.1)
• Martha Bradshaw (C7.1)
• Isabelle Willcocks (6.4)

We are delighted to congratulate Sarah Leenaars (M12.2) on completing the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award, Gold Award. Sarah is the first St Mark's student to achieve this! She will receive her gold pin and a letter of completion at Senior School Awards Ceremony, however, her official certificate will be presented next year at an official ceremony by the Governor of WA.

This is a significant achievement. In order to achieve her Gold Award, Sarah had to complete 12 months of voluntary service, physical recreation and develop a skill. In addition, Sarah had to complete a four day, three night adventurous journey, and a five day, four night residential project.

Congratulations, Sarah!

Our congratulations go to our Middle School Chaplain, Rowena McMicking, on her ordination as a priest in the Anglican Church. Rowena was ordained in St George's Cathedral yesterday evening. We give thanks for Rowena's service to St Mark's, and every blessing for her future. Our love and prayers will follow her as she serves God's people.

Thank you to all the families who are helping us keep the School community healthy, by keeping their unwell children at home. It is essential for the health and wellbeing of our whole community - students, staff and parents - that students who are unwell be kept at home. We have had a few children attend School this week with symptoms of gastroenteritis/tummy bugs, and have had to send them home.

Healthy WA shared these tips to help prevent the spread of viruses:

• Wash your hands often with soap and water or use antibacterial hand sanitisers, especially after going to the toilet.
  
• Clean surfaces and objects regularly such as doorknobs, keyboards, phones and toys.
• Stay at home and limit your contact with other people (see information below on recommended time frames).

Learn more about hand hygiene and protecting yourself from viruses such as gastroenteritis, colds and flu.

What does the WA Department of Health advise?

The WA Department of Health has the following information on their website:

Day care and school staff have a key role in preventing the transmission of diseases in day care and the school environment.

While it is often difficult to prevent the transmission of common respiratory (colds/flu) and gastroenteritis infections that occur, every effort should be made to minimise the spread of infection by encouraging:

• staff and children at school or childcare to stay at home in the early stages of illness as at this stage they can be infectious and shed the virus, bacteria or parasite through coughing, sneezing, contaminating surfaces and personal contact.
• school staff and students who are ill should not to return to work/daycare until they are symptom free if they have a cold or flu and for at least 24 hours if they have had gastroenteritis.
• staff and children at day care, healthcare workers and food handlers who have had gastroenteritis should not return to work until they are symptom free for at least 48 hours.
• parents to seek medical advice if their child has ongoing symptoms of illness.

The IT Help Desk is open until Friday 17 December 2021, after which it will close for the Christmas break. It will re-open on Wednesday 5 January. The opening hours are 8.30am to 3.30pm Monday to Friday (excluding 10 January, when the Help Desk will be closed).

During the holidays, please check your BYO device for any hardware or software issues (e.g. keyboard, screen, Office365 etc.). If there are issues with your device, and if it was purchased through the School HP portal, we encourage you to bring it to the Help Desk before classes resume in 2022 to ensure a hassle-free start to the year. Subject to availability of parts, repair may take up to 10 working days. You also have the option to contact HP Support Centre directly on 13 10 47.

If you are not sure whether your HP device is still under warranty and/or accidental damage protection, you can check your status here.

The Uniform Shop will be offering extended trading hours to help parents prepare for Term 1, 2022. Please take note of the following dates:

FINAL TERM 4 TRADING HOURS

• Wednesday 1 December: 8am to 2pm then 3pm to 6.30pm
  
• Monday 6 December: 8am to 11.15am then 2pm to 6.30pm (Last trading day for 2021)

REOPENING TERM 1 2022

Any changes to the trading dates for back to school shopping will be sent out via the app.

• Thursday 20 January 2022 (Pick up day for pre-ordered items ONLY): 8am to 12pm then 2pm to 4pm. No other purchases can be made on this day.
• Monday 24 January 2022: 8am to 12pm then 2pm to 6pm (all sales)
• Thursday 27 January 2022: 8am to 12pm then 2pm to 6pm (all sales)

STOCK UPDATE

The Uniform Shop is expecting the arrival of the unisex sports shorts and backpacks in January. All pre-ordered items will likely be available for collection on Thursday 20 January. Please keep an eye on the app for any changes.

Students from Year 6 onwards are required to provide their own laptops (recommend device is the HP ProBook x 360 G8 AMD R5 16Gb + Pen + Targus* Laptop Case) for use at School.

• Device information for Year 6 2022
• Device information for new students in Years 7 and 8 in 2022
• Device information for new students in Years 9 to 12 in 2022
• Flyer with information on special offer from HP.
  
• Direct link to HP St Mark's buyers portal. You can also purchase via the HP Call Centre 1300 725 017

Top Tips

Tip 1: Order your device ASAP

HP are recommending that in order to secure delivery of your laptop in time for Term 1 2022, orders are best placed as soon as possible, as stock is limited. Orders placed late may be subject to shipping delays of 4 to 8 weeks, and which may result in the item not being delivered in time for the start of the new school year.

Tip 2: Purchase Accidental Damage Cover

If you have, or are intending to, purchase a laptop through the HP School Portal, the IT Department highly recommends purchasing the 3-year Accidental Damage Protection cover, which can be purchased separately from the device.

Tip 3: Laptop Case

The Targus laptop case has a separate six year warranty. Please register for the warranty via the Targus website.

If you are looking to book in some holiday programs for your kids across summer, St Mark's will be hosting MBA Sports Coaching 9am - 3pm from January 17 - 21. They offer a multi-sports program for $40/day and a Specialist Sport Camp for $50/day in soccer, AFL, cricket, basketball and rugby. You can book via the MBA Sports website.

Bricks4Kidz will also run Lego and robotics day programs on Thursday 20 January. Go to the Bricks4Kidz website to book.

In Term 2, we surveyed parents on a potential change to the distribution date of the Endeavour yearbook, from the final day of Term 4, to Term 1 in 2022. The majority of parents were in favour of the 2022 publication date, and the School has chosen to go with the majority. It is important to note the following:

• The 2020 Speech Night/Presentation Afternoon Awards will be included in the 2021 Endeavour and distributed in Term 1, 2022.
• The 2021 Awards will also be included in the yearbook distributed in Term 1, 2022.
• In all future editions, the Awards will appear in the publication for the year in which they were awarded, i.e. the 2022 Awards will be included in the 2022 Endeavour, which will be distributed in Term 1, 2023.
• Year 11s and 12s have always finished their school year prior to the distribution of Endeavour, and have always been able to collect their copy after publication. This will continue, with the only change being that they will collect it in Term 1, 2022 and not during the summer holidays. Emails will be sent to all parents of current Year 12s, early in 2022 with a reminder to collect their copy.

SEMESTER 2 REPORTS

Reports for all Primary School students (K-5) will be made available to families via the Parent Portal of SEQTA at the end of the day on Wednesday, 8 December.

Parents will need to use their normal login and password details for accessing SEQTA. If you experience login issues please contact it@stmarks.wa.edu.au.

LAST DAY OF TERM 4 2021
Please note the last day of Term 4 is Tuesday, 7 December and students will finish at the usual time of 3.15pm. The final day for Kindy Turtles will be Friday 3 December.

FIRST DAY OF TERM 1 2022
Please note that all students return to school on Monday, 31 January 2022.

The Wise Bible Guy, who frequently appears around the Primary School, would like to wish you all a very blessed Christmas this coming holidays. Please enjoy this ‘Christmas Special’ video, featuring Chaplaincy Intern, Amelia, and Mr Mason as the Angel Gabriel: https://youtu.be/V6MRLEA0Nmc

On Tuesday 30 November, the Year 10 Drama students participated in a Workshop with Feet First Collective, a boutique producing house that makes contemporary independent theatre. The workshop was facilitated by Theatre Director and Laban/Bartenieff Movement Coach, Teresa Izzard ,and her assistant Lauren Beeton, a St Mark’s Old Scholar from the Class of 2013. The Feet First Collective uses theatre as a magnifying glass to focus on stories and themes that have urgency and contemporary resonance. The students were taken through a series of activities that were focused on theatre practitioners Brecht and Bogart, which allowed them to consolidate course work in preparation for the Year 11 ATAR Drama course. It was wonderful to welcome back an Old Scholar, and to have her working with our students.

By Nathalie Vidot – Teacher of Drama

Year 6 Mandarin students have been learning topics around their birthday parties this year. In Week 4, they had a chance to make handmade longevity noodles. Longevity noodles symbolise long life and they are very popular on Chinese birthdays.

The Disabled Surfers Association provides opportunities for people with a disability to experience a day at the beach and to have a go at surfing. This year they need your help!

Student volunteers from Years 8/9/10 are sought to help others experience the joy of surfing. And no, you don't need to be an expert surfer! As long as you are confident in the water and able to help others with a disability to have a wonderful, safe experience in the ocean - they want YOU!

The first DSA ‘Let’s Go Surfing’ Day of the summer is on Saturday, 4 December at Leighton Beach (next to the Fremantle SLC and ‘Bib & Tucker’). The day commences with registration at 8.30am and usually concludes at about 1pm, after a sausage sizzle. Volunteering students will be transported to and from the venue via the St Mark’s School Bus. It is a joyous day, and an incredibly rewarding and unforgettable experience for the students.

A number of St Mark's students volunteered to assist at previous events (pre-COVID-19), and found the experience very rewarding.

If you would like to be involved please email Mr van Winsen at mvanwinsen@stmarks.wa.edu.au.

Our Year 2/3 Crescendo Kids Choir performed a special Christmas Concert at Whitfords Shopping Centre today in front of a very appreciative audience of parents, shoppers and people enjoying their lunch. Led by Mrs Kristy Raymond and Miss Leah Guelfi this enthusiastic choir performed beautifully and were an absolute delight to watch.

Congratulations, Crescendo Kids, what a lovely way to spend the first day of summer and mark the beginning of the Christmas season!

A number of our Music Ensembles will be changing rehearsal days and times next year – please check the schedule carefully when planning other extra-curricular activities that may clash with your child’s usual ensemble rehearsal.

With only five weeks to go until the 2022 St Mark's Community Fete, a reminder to all parents to please check the sign up page for volunteering opportunities. Almost 65% of places are now filled, thank you to everyone who has already signed up.

We are also seeking a parent who has a connection to a skip bin company, to assist with the cost of hiring a covered bin for waste from the fete.

The Fete has a long established tradition where each Year group takes up the challenge of finding items that will be available on the various stalls, for purchase and as prizes. All year groups and contributions are listed in the table below. Drop off boxes will be located in the ELC, Junior, Middle and Main Reception areas. Thank you in advance for helping make this Fete a success for our community. All donations, no matter how small, are much appreciated.

Got questions or want to find out how to get involved? Email Wes Buzza at fete@stmarks.wa.edu.au.

The Fete Committee are hard at work, preparing for a wonderful day out in Term 1, 2022. There are a few areas where the Fete Committee love some support:

Food Stalls

We're looking for volunteers to help coordinate some of our popular favourites at the Fete. If you love food, and are willing to give it a go, get in touch! You can share the role with a friend, and the Fete Committee will be supporting you throughout, including with getting in touch with suppliers where needed, helping with volunteer call outs, so you won't be doing this solo. It is a great way to earn parent hours, and contribute to one of the School's biggest community events.

Entertainment

We are inviting students and local performance groups to register their interest in providing entertainment on the day of the Fete - musicians, dancers, street magic, martial arts demos, gymnastics, and more - if you have a skill you'd like to showcase, get in touch and let us know how you will help us wow the crowds!

Trash 'n Treasure Stall Coordinator

We are looking for someone (or a pair of someones if you wish to share the role!) to assist with the coordination of the ever-popular Trash 'n Treasure Stall. You can share the role with a friend, and the Fete Committee will be supporting you throughout, including helping find volunteers to work on the stall during the day. We have had heaps of donations come in already, so the Stall will be well-stocked for our bargain hunters!

Want more info?

If you want to get in touch with the Fete Committee for any of the above, please contact Fete Coordinator, Wes Buzza, at fete@stmarks.wa.edu.au.

Applications for the police Cadets program are now open!

The WA Police Force are excited to let you know that applications for Police Cadets are now open with applications closing Monday 6 December 2021. To be eligible to apply, applicants must be an Australian or New Zealand Citizen or Permanent Resident of Australia and between 17 and 19 years of age. To find out more, check out this website.

Kingsway Indoor Stadium School Holiday Programs

Registrations are now open for the City of Wanneroo's School Holiday Programs at the Kingsway Indoor Stadium. There are a good variety of programs, both before and after Christmas, giving parents plenty of options for entertaining the family over the holidays. Download the flyer for more information.