The Lion's Roar - 15 September 2021

Year 12 ATAR French student, Karina Abbott (CH12.1), has been selected to participate in the Alliance Française 2021 Exams Final Speaking Competition. Students in Year 12 sat the Alliance Written Exam earlier this term, and Karina was chosen as one of the top 20 students in WA and was invited to participate in the final speaking exam, which she will attend this weekend. Congratulations, and best of luck, Karina!

Congratulations to the history-making Sorrento-Duncraig Junior Football Club's Year 7/8 Girls Team, the first girls' team at the Club to win a premiership! Go the Hawks, and congratulations to the St Mark's players Indiana Apostoles (CH7.1), Taylah Apostoles (CH9.1), Indi Bueddemann (C9.2), Ella Andrew (CH8.1), Harmony Fletcher-Clements (W8.2), Tessa Spallone (CH8.1), Pippa Williams (W8.1) and Yasmina Vukmirovic (C8.2), along with their team mates at the Club. Well done, girls!

Have you got news to share? Email newsletters@stmarks.wa.edu.au with your info and photos.

Got things you no longer need? Why not drop them off on Sunday 19 September from 10am to 12pm at St Mark's for the Fete Donation Drop Off Day. The drop off location is at the kiss 'n drive point outside the Performing Arts Complex. Simply drive up, open your boot, and the volunteers will help you unload - easy as that!

Second-hand books, toys and household goods, will be welcome for our Trash 'n Treasure and Book Stall, as will donations of new items for the Silent Auction, Raffles and prizes for the Game Stalls.

• The Drop Off Day is ideal for donations such as:
• second-hand items (books, toys and household goods) in good, clean condition.
• small packing boxes (banana box or wine box size).
• new items that could be used for raffles and silent auctions.
• donations for products or services from businesses are also welcome for raffles and silent auctions.
• new small items (toys etc) for use as prizes at the Games Stalls.

Please note that we cannot accept second-hand soft toys, bedding, shoes, clothing or electrical items.

Your trash could be someone else's treasure!

Our Year 12 Dance and Drama students will hold their Solo Examination Performance Evening on 15 September. We invite you to come along and support them at this special event. Tickets are free - book online at http://mytickets.co

St Mark's is excited to release another series of School Holiday Workshops. We have workshops of all different types including: multisport camps; engineering; creative digital design; mixed media art; spring cupcake decorating; Lego; robotics; space; YouTube plus a charity movie marathon screening of 'The Secret Life of Pets I'; and 'The Secret Life of Pets II'. Some are day programs and others run for just a couple of hours so there is something for everyone!

Spring workshops are open to both St Mark's and external students (with the exception of the movie screening due to licensing which is for St Mark's students only). Get in quick to secure a spot these holidays as numbers for all workshops are limited.

Find out more.

A choral spectacular - We Are Family - takes place on 23 September, and will feature the choirs True Voices, Crescendo Kids, Viva Ritmo, and Take Note. This fabulous event will be a celebration of our community through song. Because we know this event will be a popular one, there will be two sessions - one at 4.30pm and one at 6.30pm.

Date: Thursday, 23 September

Venue: Barbara Godwin Performing Arts Complex

Time: 4.30pm and 6.30pm

Tickets: Tickets are free, but bookings are essential. Bookings now open to all!

We look forward to welcoming our Junior School students to another fun-filled School Disco on Friday 17 September. Students will attend in two sessions, based on their Year Group. The discos will be held in the Year 4/5 Open Area at the following times:

• YEARS 2 and 3 will attend from 5pm until 6.30pm. The theme is 'Disney'.
• YEARS 4 and 5 will attend from 6.45pm until 8.15pm. The theme is 'Superheroes'.

Please ensure you collect your child promptly at the conclusion of the disco from inside the Year 4/5 Open Area. The $7 ticket includes a snack and drink (please discuss with your child their choice of confectionery/drink PRIOR to the disco). In the interest of safety, children must wear enclosed shoes at all times.

Medication at Disco: If your child has asthma or anaphylaxis, please ensure they bring their medication from home to the Disco; all medication is to be labelled and passed to Mr Pressley upon arrival at the Disco.

Book your tickets here.

St Mark's School Psychologist, Angela Byrne, is hosting Q&A sessions for parents of children from Kindy to Year 5. The time for the 23 September session has been changed to 2pm to 2.45pm.

The September topic is on learning new ways to respond to your child's BIG emotions. Knowing how to stay calm and support your child to learn how to cope when they are feeling angry, sad, or nervous, is not always easy - particularly when we are felling uneasy too. We will discuss our experiences and learn how to better manage those big emotions, that can show up for everyone!

The venue is the International Room, located just behind the Uniform Shop. You can attend one or both sessions. There is no need to RSVP, but you will be requested to scan the SafeWA QR code, or complete the manual register on arrival. We recommend parking on St Marks Dr or the surrounding area.

Years 7 and 9 SRT Tests

Year 7 and 9 parents are reminded of the School Readiness Test (SRT) for NAPLAN online, which will take place on Friday 17 September in periods 1 and 3. All students must have headphones and the lockdown browser installed. Details of how to install the browser was provided in the parent letter on 26 August, which is on the parent portal.

Art Collection (Years 6, 8 and 9)

If you have not yet collected your artwork from Semester 1, you will find it in the paved area outside of B4. This is your last chance to rescue your work before it is recycled!

Edith Cowan University (ECU) hosted a Perth vs Canberra 'Capture the Flag' (CTF) competition for secondary schools over the weekend, with St Mark's fielding a team of four: Joel Smith (M9.2), Jimmy Patterson (W9.2), Cameron Paton (CH11.1) and Francois Fouche (W11.2).

PeCan+2021 is a jeopardy-style CTF for teams of four, with difficulty levels for beginners, intermediate and advanced teams. There were more that 50 challenges that covered broad topics such as webex, cryptography, reverse engineering and digital forensics!

For the uninitiated, CTF events are computer security competitions. Participants compete in security-themed challenges for the purpose of obtaining the highest score.

While our team did not win an individual category, they contributed to the score that saw Perth outwit Canberra in this year's challenge!

We are delighted to announce that the 2022 Secondary Production will be Shrek - The Musical!

The broadway production of Shrek The Musical opened in 2010, and was hit around the world. Set in a mythical “once upon a time” sort of land, Shrek the Musical is the story of a hulking green ogre who, after being mocked and feared his entire life by anything that crosses his path, retreats to an ugly green swamp to exist in happy isolation. Supported by a gang of homeless fairy-tale characters (Pinocchio, Cinderella, the Three Pigs, you name it) and with specially written songs this show is sure to be enjoyed by all.

Due to the overwhelmingly positive response to the audition sign ups for Shrek The Musical, almost all the slots have been filled. We are hoping to open up additional audition slots by next Monday afternoon. Students are encouraged to check the SEQTA Learn Homepage for audition information.

Our Anglicare Ambassadors have done an outstanding job with their fundraising efforts this year. In addition to what they raised through their individual efforts, the ambassadors also held fundraising activities during recess and lunch earlier this term. In total, the ambassadors raised just over $9,000 for the Anglicare Street Connect program!

Congratulations to Aidan Kirby-Smith, Ava Craigie, Darcey Jaffery, Ella Neill, Elyssa Melville, Emma van Selm, Grace Hackett, Joe McMahon, Joshua Gray, Lara Mason, Lauren Buzza, Libby Giles, Matthew Ciccullo, Megan Bothman, Molly Bean, Renee Edwards, River Merendino, Skye Reid, Sophie Birch, Talia Taylor, Teagan Dempers, Tjad Porter-Gianoncelli and Trent Watson.

To help families prepare for the change to summer uniform in Term 4, and to take blazer orders, the Uniform Shop is extending its trading hours as follows:

• Monday 20 September: 8am to 11.15am and 2pm to 5pm
• Wednesday 22 September: 8am to 2pm and 3pm to 5pm
• Monday 4 October: 2pm to 5pm
• Wednesday 6 October: 8am to 2pm and 3pm to 6pm
• Friday 8 October: 8am to 2pm and 3pm to 6pm

As part of our ongoing commitment to continuously improving the School, we believe it is critical to seek each parent and guardian’s opinion on a range of issues relating to St Mark’s Anglican Community School. Your feedback is very important to us as we continue to build a successful School and aspire to be the leading school in Perth’s Northern corridor.

As such, we have engaged the professional services of MYP Corporation (MYPCorp) to undertake a strictly private and confidential School Results Survey on our behalf. The survey should take approximately 10 - 15 minutes and will need to be completed online between 9 September 2021 and 24 September 2021. There are no right or wrong answers and we ask that you respond honestly and respectfully to each statement. The School implemented a similar survey in 2019.

Please note that this survey will be confidential. No member of the Executive team at St Mark’s will have access to your individual responses. We will be provided with a summary of collated results only. MYPCorp will undertake the following process to ensure anonymity:

1. Parents and guardians will be emailed individual survey logins.
2. Results will be collated externally.
3. A summary of collated results will be provided to the School Executive team.

On the survey start date, survey instructions and a personalised login link will be emailed to all parents. You will continue to receive friendly reminders during the survey period until you have submitted the survey. If you do not receive your survey instructions on the survey start date, please check your spam and junk email folders before contacting community@stmarks.wa.edu.au.

While we strongly encourage you to participate, the survey is not compulsory. If you decide that you do not want to complete the survey, simply click ‘Unsubscribe’ in the instruction or reminder email. Thank you for your assistance in helping to shape the future direction of St Mark’s.

ABODA Festival continues

In recent weeks, our Junior Classical Guitar Ensemble, Senior Classical Guitar Ensemble and Sforzando Strings all competed in the ABODA Festival. All groups performed strongly, receiving praise from the judging panel.

Junior Classical Guitar Ensemble and Senior Classical Guitar Ensemble both received Merit awards, and Sforzando Strings received the award Excellent in String Orchestra Division C. Congratulations to all our ensembles and their conductors on your fantastic achievements.

ASC Concert

On Friday 3 September, the biennial Anglican Schools Commission Concert took place at the Perth Concert Hall, with over 300 students from West Australian ASC schools taking part. Having been postponed from 2020 due to COVID, we were thankful to finally be able to go ahead, although unfortunately our Eastern States counterparts were unable to join us but were acknowledged throughout the night. St Mark’s had 73 talented musicians involved in nearly every ensemble which performed, with Head Prefect, William Brook, leading the way by performing in seven different ensembles!

With every ensemble a combined one, the sense of camaraderie and companionship which grew between the students from different schools was palpable on the night. Lead by a dynamic team of local conductors, students performed some challenging works at an outstanding level. The Select Choir gave the world premiere of a choral work commissioned by local composer, Lydia Gardiner, and the evening finished with a full choir and orchestra performance of Brave the Wave, composed by fourth year UWA Composition student, Jonathon Jie Hong Yang. Huge thanks must go to the Music Department for all the preparation and rehearsal time that went into this mammoth undertaking. A video of the concert will be available to order in the coming weeks.

On Sunday 12 September, our St Mark’s Certificate II and III in Music students took over the Badlands Bar in Northbridge for their second annual Sunday Session. The Year 10, 11 and 12 bands performed in the live music venue to a sell-out crowd with professional lighting and sound, and soon had younger siblings dancing in the mosh pit at the front. Mr Martin and the Year 5 Rock Band, Raging Fire, made a guest appearance, with the audience singing along to “We Will Rock You!”

Parents, friends and even a few staff members packed the venue and enjoyed refreshments and hot food from the bar while listening to an eclectic mix of tunes. From soulful ballads to rock anthems, there was something for everyone and it was very exciting to see our students on a professional stage, many for the first time. Past student, Kyle McCormick, who recently left St Mark’s to pursue an apprenticeship, made a welcome return to the drum kit, accompanying many of our Year 11 and 12 bands. Head Prefect, William Brook, was our emcee for the afternoon and even performed a number with our Year 12 musicians!

If you didn’t make it this year, put it in the diary for next year (Term 3, 2022) – this event is not to be missed!

On Wednesday 25 August, the Year 11 and 12 ATAR students held their annual Recital Night. Sarah Watson, Olivia Paterson, William Brook, Emily Jones and Laney Rowland dazzled the audience (including an adjudication panel) with a mixture of contemporary, jazz and western art music.

Our three Year 12 students have been heavily involved in the Music Department for many years, and it was fitting for them to be able to perform one final piece accompanied by the Jazz Band or Symphony Orchestra. William had the audience tapping their toes with a jazz number on trombone, accompanied by Reece Clark and the Jazz Band. Laney soothed the senses with a magnificent rendition of the beautiful slow movement from Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto, before Emily electrified the room with a fiery performance of Lalo’s Symphonie espagnole. Noah Diamond and John Crofts provided amazing sound and lighting and ensured the night ran smoothly for our appreciative audience.

We have a number of parent volunteer opportunities coming up - can you help? These, and other volunteer opportunities, are listed here. Information on how to log your parent hours, and to confirm what hours you completed in Term 1, 2 and 3 is also available on that page (scroll down to below the volunteer opportunities table). Term 4 hours will be added at the end of the year.

Exam Supervision - 2 to 12 November

Our Senior School team are looking for parent volunteers to supervise the Year 11 exams, between 2 November and 12 November. Morning and afternoon sessions are available. For more information, email absentee@stmarks.wa.edu.au and put 'Exam Supervision' in the subject line.

Fete Assistance

Get involved in the 2022 Fete! We are still on the lookout for some parent volunteers to assist with the management of;

- Waste control

- COVID Safety

- Entertainment

- Setting up and packing away of the Fete

Teams of two or 3 people would be really helpful for these important tasks.

Electrician: to meet our safety requirements, we are looking for the services of an electrician to check and sign off our "Electrical Safety" as part of the City of Joondalup Event Application.

For more information on these opportunities or to volunteer, email the Fete Coordinator fete@stmarks.wa.edu.au

Uniform Shop

The Uniform Shop is in need of volunteers - click here to find a slot that matches your schedule! New slots added this week.