The Lion's Roar - 14 September 2022

The School will be closed on Thursday 22 September, due to the 'one-off' public holiday as a national day of mourning after the Queen's funeral. We will reopen for the last day of Term 3 on Friday 23 September, and all students are expected to attend School on this day.

Teachers will be in contact should any excursions or assessments be affected by this public holiday.

Thanks to our Junior School Families who raised over $3000 to help stop slavery in South-East Asia and beyond. Students had a great time playing ping-pong and raising awareness for this worthy cause. Funds raised will go to eight different international organisations who work closely with local governments to help children and others affected by these issues.

At a glance:

1. Junior School families more than doubled last year’s donations (>$3400).
2. It costs approximately $1500 to fund one rescue. Thus, students help fund more than two rescues.
3. Just over 1 in 4 children in the Junior School participated.
4. We are still currently a Top 10 school for funds raised internationally.

A sincere thank you to all those who supported this worthy cause. If you would still like to donate or discover more about this important work, please visit here: https://pingpongathon.com/t/stmarks

On the weekend, four of our students attended the PeCan+ CTF Cyber Security Competition at ECU Joondalup. After a full day of training on Saturday, we headed into competition mode on Sunday.

Congratulations to our team, Kush (Y11), Banjo (Y11), Summer (Y9) and Daniel (Y9), on their achievements over the weekend. We finished roughly 23^rd out of 51 teams from Perth, ACT, SA, and Tasmania.

It was wonderful to see two St Mark's Old Scholars, Blair Johnstone (2020) and Memphis Marshall (2021), at the competition who were there as workshop tutors.

Please note the following important information from the Uniform Shop:

The last trading day for Term 3 is 21st September 2022, from 8am to 2pm.

The Uniform Shop will be open during the holidays on:

• Monday 3rd October - 8am to 2pm then 3pm to 6pm
• Wednesday 5th October - 8am to 2pm then 3pm to 6pm

The blazer cut-off to order date has been extended to Wednesday 21st September.

All Year 6 students for 2023 and any other student that will be needing a new blazer must order one before the new cut-off date.

All Year 6 students for 2023 who do not require a blazer, please email Lyn Waite at the Uniform Shop via uniformshop@stmarks.wa.edu.au

The Uniform Shop will reopen for Term 4 on Monday 10th October at 8am and will be open on the student-free day, Monday 14th November, from 8am to 11.15am, then 2pm to 5pm.

Some students are about to sit the OLNA. You may have heard about it, but are not sure what it means for your child.

OLNA stands for the Online Literacy and Numeracy Assessment. In order to demonstrate the required literacy and numeracy standards for the Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE), some students will be required to sit this assessment.

For more information regarding OLNA please download the SCSA information sheet HERE.

Should your child contract COVID-19, please ensure you notify the School as soon as possible via the Principal's email address, principal@stmarks.wa.edu.au. Please include in the communication the date and approximate time of when the positive test was taken.
In your email to absentee@stmarks.wa.edu.au, please indicate your child’s expected return date to school. Thank you.

With the end of term upon us and an increase in local incidents, we thought it would be a timely reminder to reiterate student and traffic safety around campus PLUS advise the rules regarding the use of e-bikes and e-scooters.

The school holidays will provide an increase in activity with our students moving around the local neighbourhood on their bikes and scooters. Please remind your children of the road rules, especially relating to e-scooters and e-bikes.

Walking/Riding to School

• We have been advised of posts circulating on the local Social Media Community Groups regarding children's safety when walking on their own. Please remind your children to be vigilant when walking/riding to and from school and around the area, and to be aware of their surroundings and those around them.
  
• St Mark’s encourages students to walk or ride to school where possible, and we stress the importance of using the roads safely. Helmets must be worn when riding to and from school, as required by law.
• Remind students to take note of the traffic around them, and be aware of other road users, including cars and pedestrians.
• The road via Gate 3 next to the ELC is for vehicles only. There is no pedestrian access. For safety reasons, pedestrians should use the smaller gate directly opposite the roundabout intersection with Banks Avenue.
• Be aware that, even if a cyclist rings their bell, pedestrians may not immediately recognise it as warning of an approaching bicycle. As such, when there are pedestrians on a shared pathway, cyclists should slow down and give the pedestrian time to move to safety.
• Students are to dismount and push their bicycles at crosswalks.
• Students are not to ride their bicycles on the School grounds - they must dismount.
• Primary School students should park their bikes next to the multi-purpose court near the Primary Oval. Middle and Senior School students should park their bikes in the bike racks behind the Dunsborough buildings.

Being Neighbourly

Please be mindful of our neighbours in the homes and businesses around the School. Parking in the Endeavour Business Centre (cnr of Banks and Endeavour) is restricted to clients of the Centre’s tenants. The parking areas next to the Whitfords Family Centre and Endeavour Child Care facilities are also strictly reserved for their clients. Please do not block the driveways of homes on St Marks Drive.

Parking on School Grounds

Please refrain from parking in staff parking areas and those bays clearly marked for particular people/areas.

Manned Crossings

There are manned crosswalks at a number of locations. Traffic Wardens appointed by the Children’s Crossing Unit of the WA Police are located on Whitfords Avenue (Belrose Entrance), Endeavour Road (Banks Avenue), Whitfords Avenue, and on Cook Ave.

In addition, we have a School Traffic Warden located at the Kiss ‘n Drive points outside the Performing Arts Complex. Please follow the instructions of the wardens to help keep our children safe.

Kiss ‘n Drive locations

There are a number of Kiss ‘n Drive drop-off points around the School, including Whitfords Avenue entrance (Gate 4), Early Learning Centre (via Gate 3), Eastern Access Road (via Gate 3), and outside the Performing Arts Complex (via Gate 3 or Gate 2). There is an additional Kiss ‘n Drive bay on St Marks Drive (travelling east to west). To ensure the safety of all pedestrians, please adhere to the following:

• Kiss ‘n Drive bays are strictly ‘no parking’ areas whether or not you are in your vehicle.
• Students must exit from the passenger-side doors as quickly as possible.
• Students must use the designated crosswalks located at each Kiss ‘n Drive within the School grounds.
• Do not overtake vehicles who are ahead of you in the Kiss ‘n Drive queue.
• Please be patient, drive slowly, and be aware of other road users.
• At pick-up time, if your child is not at the Kiss ‘n Drive when you arrive, please follow the Traffic Warden’s directions and move forward to rejoin the queue.

Student Vehicles

Older students who drive their own vehicles are not permitted to park on the School grounds.

E-Bikes and E-Scooters

The below information is taken from the Department of Transport's website and we expect our students/staff/families to adhere to the rules as per below:

The maximum speed for ERDs on bike and shared paths and local roads has been set at 25km/h, which is consistent with regulations in Queensland, the ACT and New Zealand, and is the same speed at which the power output on electric bikes cuts out.

The speed limit on footpaths and in pedestrian areas, however, is much lower at 10km/h reflecting the speed differential between different path user groups.

Riders are required to give way to pedestrians and keep to the left of oncoming bicycle riders or other ERD users. They are not permitted to travel on a separated footpath designated for the use of pedestrians.

Other new rules for ERDs and their users include:

• Riders of higher-powered electric rideable devices must be at least 16 years of age;
• Riders must wear an approved helmet, use lights and reflectors at night and have a working warning device; and
• The same mobile phone and drink and drug driving rules apply as for motor vehicle drivers.

Under existing Western Australian rules, children under the age of 16 years are permitted to use motorised scooters that have a maximum power output of 200w and a maximum speed of 10 km/h.

Please see the WA Government for further rules around E-Ride-ons.

The School received a General Notice this week from the Endeavour Group Limited notifying us that an application for the grant of a liquor store licence: Dan Murphy’s Hillarys, situated at 37 Endeavour Road, Hillarys, has been lodged with the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries.

A copy of the General Notice may be found HERE.

Details of the application may be found on the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries website HERE. The advertisement of the application does not seem to be displayed on the website yet, but it will be posted there around two weeks before 6 October.

Any person may inspect documentation (and relevant plans) relating to the application at the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries. Please see the General Notice for details.

People may lodge a Notice of Objection with the Department on or before 6 October 2022 using an approved form. Any person may make a submission, in writing, in support of or in opposition to an application. The relevant forms may be downloaded HERE.

Members of the St Mark’s community may wish to express a view on the application using the appropriate forms on or before 6 October 2022. The School will provide its feedback as part of this process.

Last Saturday night, the Hall was transformed into a classy concert venue for our annual Instrumental Intermezzo, with tables of parents and friends watching their children perform on stage with professional sound and lighting. For many Middle School students, it was their first time performing on a real stage, especially as COVID-19 restrictions hampered our Semester 1 performance opportunities.

This year we added food trucks in the quadrangle, a bar serving delicious beverages and prizes for the best-decorated table, with the English-themed homage to Queen Elizabeth, complete with Fine Bone China, taking out the prize. The audience was entertained by percussion, guitar and jazz ensembles, concert bands, strings and symphony orchestras. ATAR Music student, Olivia Paterson, and Old Scholar, Sarah Watson, belted out some amazing numbers accompanied by our students.

The highlight of the evening was surprising Mrs Cathy McRae, our retiring and much-loved Music teacher, with speeches, gifts and a medley of her favourite pieces throughout the years, which had been created and rehearsed in secret. Twelve Old Scholars came back to join the Senior Concert Band for this special performance. She was incredibly touched and said how special it was to finish her career on such a high note.

Huge congratulations and thanks go to the Music staff, Music tutors, Arts Administrator, Sound and Lighting specialists, Maintenance and all the other volunteers who made the night run so smoothly. We can’t wait to do it all again next year!

This term, our Year 11 ATAR and General Drama students will be presenting Geronimo!, an abridged version of Louis Nowra’s play The Summer of the Aliens:

The year is 1962 and the world is worrying about the Cuban missile crisis, except for Lewis, a youth on the cusp of manhood, growing up in a Melbourne housing commission suburb. He is preoccupied with flying saucers, much to the disgust of his friend Brian who can think only of losing his virginity. The play centres on relationships, especially the relationship between 14 year old Lewis and 14 year old Dulcie. It is through Dulcie that Lewis begins to understand that the struggle to be adult is the struggle to understand the world around him.

Dates: Thursday 15 and Saturday 17 September, 7pm – 8.30pm

To secure your free tickets click here.

*NOTE: This text is rated M and contains some adult themes and language. It is recommended for mature audiences.*

The St Mark’s Sunday Session at Badlands Bar is back for 2022! You can purchase your tickets here.

A selection of students from Years 5 - 12 will be performing at this live music venue in front of family, friends and peers. Performing in a relaxed environment like this allows students to gain real-life industry experience, and it is a wonderful opportunity for all performers to display their skills in front of a live audience.

Adults $9 and Concession $6.

The venue has a capacity of 500 spectators, and tickets will also be available at the door.

The venue has a bar serving both alcohol and non-alcoholic beverages, and food will be available for purchase.

We hope to see you there!

We are excited to advise that applications for the Old Scholars' Association Scholarship are now open.

The Scholarship is awarded to a Year 9 student who excels and commits across several sporting, cultural, extra and co-curricular pursuits, community as well as academic commitment and specialist areas. The Association is looking for a well-rounded student who embodies the spirit of St Mark's Anglican Community School.

The Scholarship will provide a partial fee remission of 25% in the level of the tuition fee payable by the successful student each year and will continue until the student leaves St Mark's or for three years.

Applications will close on MONDAY 16 OCTOBER 2023, AT 4.00PM.

For further information, please head to the OSA webpage and download the application form here.

AVCAT scholarships, including the Long Tan Bursary, are tertiary scholarships for the children and grandchildren of Australian ex-serving veterans. Scholarships are $4000–$6000 per year for three years.

Applications open on 18 August 2022, Vietnam Veterans' Day, and close at midnight AEDT on 31 October 2022.

Apply online at avcat.org.au

Applicants must be:

• Enrolled or planning to enrol in a full-time course for one or more academic year’s duration at university TAFE, or RTO in 2023
• The child, stepchild, foster child, or grandchild of an Australian ex-serving veteran
• An Australian citizen or permanent resident
• In receipt of, or eligible to receive, Centrelink payments including Youth Allowance, ABSTUDY, Austudy, VCES or an accepted means-tested Commonwealth government payment in 2023

The Long Tan Bursary is sponsored by the Australian Government Department of Veterans’ Affairs.

Find information about scholarships, the application process or scholarship eligibility at avcat.org.au.

Download the AVCAT Flyer here.

ECU School of Engineering is offering scholarships valued at $20,000 to high-performing Year 12 students who wish to study Engineering in 2023.

You can download the brochure providing more information regarding this scholarship HERE. An electronic version of the nomination form can be downloaded here.

The deadline for nominating is 5:00 pm, Monday 31 October 2022.

Completed nomination forms can be returned by email to engineeringexcellencescholarships@ecu.edu.au.

The P&F Association is arranging a St Mark’s ‘Busy Bee’ on Saturday 15 October and requires volunteers to assist.

Date - Saturday 15 October

Time - 9.00am to 12.00pm

Meeting Point - Grassed area in front of Senior Academic Centre (Canteen)

Who Can Attend - Parents/guardians/family members (students more than welcome)

What to Bring - Smile (more info advised closer to date)

Typical Tasks Include - Oiling furniture, cleaning outside of lockers, washing windows, spreading mulch, maintaining the community garden, and general clean up

What You Will Gain - Closer connection with the school community, new friends, some humour, passive exercise, refreshments (morning tea and sausage sizzle lunch) and commitment hours!

Contact Person - Scott Paulsen (busybee@stmarks.wa.edu.au, 0411 656 755)

We are looking for a number of volunteers to assist with some projects around the School:

• Exam Supervision: St Mark's is again looking for volunteers to assist with supervision of the upcoming Year 12 exams from 3 October to 13 October. Morning and afternoon sessions are available. To register, please call 9403 1335 or email.
  
• P&F Quiz Night: There are still a couple of volunteer opportunities at the end of the night to help. Please sign up HERE.

Please note that due to the implications of COVID-19 this year the number of Parent Commitment Hours has been reduced from 10 hours to 5 hours. This is for 2022 only.

Please find below the current Parent Commitment Hour reports logged up to 4 August 2022. You will need your family code as shown on your St Mark's account statements to check your individual log.

Parent Commitment Hours Summary

Parent Commitment Hours Detailed

The POSTMEN Games Day ran on Saturday and was attended by over 100 dads and kids.

We were able to spend the afternoon together enjoying a range of different games to challenge us on strategy, intellect and fine motor skills, as well as have a great laugh and forge some lasting memories. We learned a little about the history and purpose of The Fathering Project and the POSTMEN and enjoyed some late afternoon pizza.

The day was capped off with a Klask tournament, the kids battled it out for victory whilst the dads competed for glory (with a few kids who were brave enough to enter the dads' tournament).

Congratulations to Xander Davidson, who took out the title for the kids' tournament, and to Lila Edwards, who came in as runner-up and didn’t make it easy for Xander – it came down to a one-point victory!

Congratulations also to Andrew Deacon for winning the dads' tournament and a nod to James Thompson, who came in as runner-up with Jarrad Tate a close third.

Both Xander and Andrew won their very own Klask board, which is coming to them so that they can further hone their skills in readiness for next year's competition.

We also gave away three new board games for those lucky enough to be drawn in the door prize.

Thanks to everyone who was able to come along and participate in the fun as well as further integrate the POSTMEN network.

Get it in the diary now ... the 2022 Campout is just around the corner!

Check out what the excitement is about here.

The St Mark's community are invited to join the St Mark's P&F for their general meeting on Tuesday 20 September at 7.30pm in the Barbara Godwin Performing Arts Complex.

• Refreshments will be served after the meeting.
• Bookings are not required.
• Two parent commitment hours are available for each family who attends.

The guest speakers for the meeting will be some of the staff and students who attended the tour to the indigenous community at Parnngurr earlier this term.

The St Mark's P&F Association is delighted to confirm that they will be hosting a quiz night on Saturday 29 October 2022 - book your tickets now!

Doors open at 6pm with the Quiz starting at 7pm.

There are sure to be plenty of opportunities to have some fun and showcase your outstanding general knowledge! Gather some friends, bring some snacks and enjoy an entertaining night out. There will be dancing and music after the Quiz.

Tickets are just $18 each (plus booking fees). Tables will seat groups of six. To purchase a table, please select 6 tickets.

BYO food and snacks but no BYO drinks. Drinks including alcohol will be available for purchase. Please note this event is for adults only (18+).

For more information, please contact Nirbhay Gupta on email nguptawork@gmail.com

Book your tickets here.

All Old Scholars who graduated from St Mark’s in 1992, 2002 and 2012 are invited to the Milestone Reunion on Saturday 17 September 2022.

We can't wait to see you all and hear what you've been up to since leaving the land of maroon and blue!

Ticket details are available here.

If you have not received an email regarding the reunion, it means we do not have your current email - please update your details here.

The Annual General Meeting of the Old Scholars' Association will be held on Tuesday 20 September at 7.00pm in the Parish Centre (at School).

Everyone is welcome.

Our Old Scholars' Association Little Lions Playgroup is on for Term 4!

Our Little Lions Playgroup is a community-based group and is run in conjunction with Playgroup WA.

It is held every Friday during term time from 8.45am - 10.30am, and caters for children up to school age.

For more information and to book your spot, please email us, osa@stmarks.wa.edu.au or join our Facebook group HERE.

Everyone is welcome - you do not need to be an Old Scholar (former student) of St Mark's to attend.

ASC International is seeking homestay families to host Japanese students for Term 1, 2023. Families receive $340 per week.

For more information please contact ASC International HERE.

Life on Mars Holiday Camp is a creative STEM camp with three key themes: Getting to Mars (Rocket making), Exploring Mars (Mars rover robot building and use on a set), and Surviving on Mars (building a habitat).

Camp features:

- Rocket making (with take-home rocket)

- Mars lander & ravine landing challenge

- Mini Mars rover construction & command

- NASA rover challenges

- Design and build a Martian colony

- Mars survival challenge

- Astronaut training challenges

- And much more…

Further information is available here.

Edith Cowan University is running a range of Computing and Science Workshops for high school students during the school holidays. For further information, head to their website or see the details below.

Wednesday 28th September - Making Things Go Together - ECU invites our regional and out-of-metro female high school girls to our coding and hands-on tech workshop. Delivered on the Joondalup campus by some talented young women. On the day you will learn how to code an Arduino and breadboard lights, motors, and buzzers then go ahead and create your own model with card and material. Cost Free. https://www.trybooking.com/BZPZO

Wednesday 28th September - Web Development for budding high school students. Join us and learn how to build your own website using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. The day will start with learning how to code, moving to calculations and structures finishing off with your own Website! Cost $15. https://www.trybooking.com/CBXLG

Thursday 29th September - Arduino's and C++ coding fun- High school students can join us for a day where we will code an Arduino and breadboard lights, motors, and buzzers. We have a series of Duinotech Learning Kits that provide the user with endless opportunities to use software and hardware to prototype, develop, design, and create. Arduino Uno and C++. Cost $15. https://www.trybooking.com/CBUQS

Friday 30th September - Security and Intelligence - Join us for a day of investigations, analysing and scrutinising information at our Security and Intelligence workshop. Develop your skills for intelligence whilst learning about some of the tools. Be challenged! Cost $15 https://www.trybooking.com/CBVNK

Friday 30th September - 'goIT girls' bring Ignite My Future for teachers - The program ignites the spark of curiosity and problem solving through computational thinking, a foundational skill for successful careers in every sector. IMFIS was created to equip teachers with resources to advance student learning as schools work to prepare their students for success in the 21st Century. Cost free. https://www.trybooking.com/CBUPE

Tuesday 4th October - Learn to Linux workshop for High-School aged students. Linux is a popular alternative operating system often used in cybersecurity. Learn to Linux is a free, hands-on workshop where participants are introduced to different Linux operating systems including Ubuntu. the second half of the day will be focussing on the use of command lines. Cost $15. https://www.trybooking.com/CBVNR

Wednesday 5th October - Animation using Godot - This workshop is open to high school students who want to create a very simple game. The day will take you through game design and development. At the end of the workshop you should have created a fun little game for yourself! We will be using Godot to create 2D characters that can move around a space such as an endless dungeon. Cost $15. https://www.trybooking.com/CBVOF

Thursday 6th October - Introduction to Cyber Security for teachers, parents and those keen to learn. We will explore the world of cyber, major hacks, the evolution of password security, information security, digital forensics and Open Source Intelligence. WE will also share with you some take-home resources. We will finish off with a Capture the Flag challenge to test your skills. Cost $15. https://www.trybooking.com/CBVPK

Helping Minds offer free school holiday workshops to young people who have a friend or family member experiencing mental health challenges.

For further information please head to their website HERE.

Registrations are now open for the Whitfords Junior Cricket Club Blasters program. See the below flyer for more information or head to their website HERE.