The Lion's Roar - 18 October 2023

FEVER PITCHED

Congratulations to Year 9 student Evie, who recently competed in the State Netball Cup in as part of the Metro North U14 Fever in Time team. Netballers from Great Southern, Midwest, North West, Peel, South West and Wheatbelt regions gathered for three days of hard-fought-out matches across 3-days of competition.

Evie's team was undefeated over the entire competition and won the finals on Sunday against the Metro South team 43 - 17.

Well done, Evie and the team!

ACC ALL-STARS IN YEAR 9-12

The honorary ACC "All-Star" teams have been selected in athletics, swimming, cross country, basketball, netball and AFL, and consist of the best performer(s) in each event across all schools and divisions within the association.

Athletics

• Madison Esquivel (Age Champion)
• Michael Kirby-Smith
• Charli-Rose Carlyon

Swimming

• Yohanna Jackson
• Zachary McCamley
• Jurgens Wilson

Cross Country

• Cohen Pressley
• Charli-Rose Carlyon

Basketball

• Beau Gardiner

Congratulations to our amazing students!

In Week 9 of Term 3, Mrs. Luton's Food Science and Technology classes embarked on an exciting culinary adventure – The Big Bake Off! This project encompassed all aspects of the design process: investigate, design, produce, and evaluate, allowing students to put their knowledge into action.

The goal was simple yet delicious: create the best cupcakes using the practical techniques learned in class. After some intense baking sessions, students set up a tempting stall on the bottom floor of the SAC, selling their delectable creations for $2.50 each to Year 11 and 12 students and staff.

The results were nothing short of impressive! The dedicated students managed to raise a total of $465, showcasing their culinary prowess and entrepreneurial spirit.

The winning groups were determined based on customer feedback scores, reflecting not only taste but presentation and creativity. From Class 1, the victorious team included Indi Boylson, Jasmine Kane, and Madison Friedieb. In Class 2, the honors went to Micayla Esquival and Zoe Grant.

These winning groups truly excelled, not just in baking but also in their compassion. They were able to donate $211.79 each to their chosen charities: Beyond Blue and The Starlight Foundation. It's heart-warming to see our students not only excel in the classroom but also make a difference in their community.

Congratulations to all students who participated in The Big Bake Off! Your hard work and dedication have paid off, both in terms of culinary skills and contributing to meaningful causes. We're incredibly proud of you all. Well done!

Today signified the commencement of our Year 12s final few days of their educational journey at St Mark's. The maroon blazers are soon to be retired, House time and assemblies will be but memories, and the cafeteria's burgers and jelly cups a thing of the past.

This morning, our entire school gathered in a heartwarming gesture to form the traditional honour guard, extending their best wishes to the departing Year 12 students. As they traversed the campus from their final Chapel Service to their House Assembly, the cohort encountered high-fives, cheers and applause.

Following the House Assembly, our Executive Team cooked lunch for our 12s in an act of service.

Friday will be the last opportunity for our Year 12 students to join together as a complete year group when they celebrate at their Year 12 breakfast, which will then culminate in the Valedictory ceremony in the evening.

Our visual art students have continued to wow us with their annual Year 11 and 12 Art Exhibition, with the event opening to rave reviews last week. It provided a wonderful opportunity for our Staff, students and community members to come together to view our students' amazing creations. Showcasing the creative, artistic and imaginative skills of our students, the pieces displayed included ceramics, acrylic prints, drawings, paintings, sculptures, plus much more.

The St Mark's P&F, proud supporters of our Art Exhibition, also presented their awards to three Year 12 works. Congratulations to this year's winners:

• P&F Special Mention Award, presented to Josh Sanders for his work titled “Joji”.
• P&F Art Excellence Award, presented to Tiffany Zheng for her work titled “In My Head”.
• P&F Art Acquisition Award, presented to Rebecca Harvie for her work titled “Flawed Perceptions”.

A big thank you to the amazing team in the Art Department for not only showcasing an amazing exhibition but for guiding our students and helping their creativity shine.

We are looking for an Old Scholar or current parent whose workplace can assist with a 2-week work placement for a Year 11 student.
The placement would be from Monday 30 October - Friday 10 November 2023, in either of the following:

• Video editing
• Videographers
• Sound production
• Corporate media role

If you are able to assist please email community@stmarks.wa.edu.au

It is magpie swooping season, and we have had reports that there are a number of magpies nesting in the trees around the school. The crosswalk and pergola area near the PAC seems to be affected more than other areas.

Please be careful when moving around the school grounds.

A friendly reminder that, unfortunately, it is not possible to drop any forgotten Sports Uniform items off to your child.

If your child leaves their Sports Uniform at home, there is no need for you to drop it off at school.

For that one Physical Education lesson, they will be required to sit out.

Please check your account or contact familyaccounts@stmarks.wa.edu.au for an account balance to finalise family fees this term.

• Quarterly payment arrangement fees are DUE : 24 October 2023
• Monthly payment arrangement fees are DUE : 27 November 2023
• Fortnightly payment arrangement fees are DUE : 10 November 2023

Thank you

We are excited to share that our supplier of our uniforms now offers online ordering.

Head to https://shop.tarauniforms.com.au/brand/st-marks/ to view the range and place your order at your convenience.

Please note that orders are to be collected from the Uniform Shop onsite at School during their opening hours.

Our Science Department is looking for approx 50 shoeboxes. If you have any shoeboxes you are willing to donate, please drop them to our Science Department before Week 3.

No lids required :)

Our Year 7s would like all of your old cards, anything from Christmas cards to birthday cards to greeting cards. They will be repurposed for a Christmas activity in Term 4.

All donations are to be left at the Main Reception, please.

The second school busy bee is scheduled for Saturday 28th October from 0830am.

This event is another great opportunity to bring our community together to support the school and will be followed by a sausage sizzle.

Please meet at the Quadrangle at 0830 and bring your own tools, including old brushes, containers for painting, cleaning products (spray n wipe, sponges, buckets, squeegees), rakes, shovels and wheelbarrows.

Parent commitment hours are available for families that attend. Food/drink donations are at capacity for this event.

Please email busybee@stmarks.wa.edu.au if you are able to attend.

P&F Committee

The St Mark’s Senior Library has approximately ten boxes of weeded books that need to be disposed of. If you know of any charities, youth centres, or the like that could benefit from a donation of some or all of these books, please feel free to email library@stmarks.wa.edu.au to discuss.

We would be happy to count this towards your Parent Commitment Hours if you are able to make the arrangements and/or deliver the books.

We look forward to hearing from you!

St Mark's is again looking for volunteers to assist with supervision for the upcoming exams from 31 October to 10 November 2023.

Please send an email to snrschool@stmarks.wa.edu.au with your available dates and times. Morning (8:30am to 12:30pm) and afternoon (12:30pm to 4pm) sessions are available.

We are furiously raising money for our 2024 Music Tour to New Zealand, and what better way than with the traditional sausage sizzle? A big thankyou to those volunteers who assisted and baked cakes for the Referendum Snag Fest last Saturday!

Our Music Tour Parent Group have one more sizzle coming up and requires volunteers to assist. See the details below:

• The Bunnings Sausage Sizzle on Sunday 26 November. Book your spot here: https://signup.com/client/invitation2/secure/10629836800/false#/invitation
  

Elevate Education will be hosting a free webinar for our parents on Wednesday 25th October. Elevate Education works with our students, delivering high-impact workshops on study skills, motivation, wellbeing, and exam preparation. By tuning into their webinar series, you will learn how you can help better support your children at home by reinforcing the skills they learn at school:  

Wednesday 25th October @ 6:30pm (AEDT)

How You Can Help Your Child Manage Their Time

Click here to register for free

​​​​​In this webinar, Elevate will be showing parents how to:

• Align family expectations on homework
• Work with your child on managing other activities, such as your child's hobbies or sports
• Create the best weekly planner tool for your child

Lit Therapy Workshops

Lit Therapy is running free Anxiety Workshops from their Hillarys practice for students in Years 6-9. The workshops will be set in a relaxing environment and be hosted by two young provisional psychologists who will make attendees feel very welcome.

For further information, please download the following:

• Workshop Information Sheet
• Workshop Flyer

Do you love to chat, give back to the School and are great at notetaking?

Well if this sounds like you then the OSA would love to hear from you!

The OSA are looking for an Old Scholar who would like to join the OSA Committee and undertake the role of Secretary. The committee meet once per month, and if you are a current parent, you can earn Parent Commitment Hours!

If this sounds like something you'd be interested in please contact the OSA President, Philippa Lonie via email.

The Old Scholars' Association Little Lions Playgroup is back for Term 4 , and we'd love to see your little cub there this Friday!

Join us every Friday (during St Mark's term time) from 8.45am - 10.30am for lots of fun and games. Little Lions Playgroup is a community-based group run in conjunction with Playgroup WA and caters for children up to school age.

Those families attending our Kindy and not in session on Fridays are more than welcome to join as well.

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.

The P&F want to remind our families to please log their hours. Please see the attached letter regarding Parent Commitment Hours for 2023. PCH Letter.

If you have completed hours this year, log them here 2023 Parent Hours Log.

You can also check the hours you have logged by clicking on Parent Commitment Hours Detailed and entering your family code. This document is updated at the end of each term.

If you have any questions, please contact Sarah McCormack at parentcommitment@stmarks.wa.edu.au

Next year, all current P&F positions will be dissolved, and the P&F Association will be looking for fresh nominations for the 2024 committee.

If you have considered joining the Committee or someone who would love to be involved please send an expression of interest for the P & F 2024 committee to secretary.pf@stmarks.wa.edu.au or email them for more information.

The St Mark's Parents and Friends' Association (*P&F*) continually provides a high level of support to the School by funding projects that are not essential for education, but have a positive effect on our School community.

The P&F is inviting staff, parents and students to submit project proposals for funding in 2024.

Criteria for Project Funding Project ideas are being sought from the School community.

Funding applications and projects will be assessed against criteria set by the P&F in conjunction with the School Executive.

As a general guide, projects should:

• have a positive impact on our School community (this may include parents and the broader School community, not just students);
• not be for normal classroom resources, substitutional for, or incremental to, School budgets;
• preferably not be restricted to an individual year group or subject;
• be considered appropriate by the School Executive (among other things, in keeping with the School's values
• be non-recurrent in nature so that the P&F input is not spread too thinly or committed for many years.

If you have ideas that meet these criteria, please:

• research the idea;
• obtain indicative costs if possible;
• talk the ideas through with your Department Head (or similar);
• and email a letter of request, together with supporting documentation outlining the project details and costs, to treasurer.pf@stmarks.wa.edu.au by Tuesday 21 November 2023.

The P&F will consider all applications over the December 2023/January 2024 school holidays and may contact you for further details or invite you to attend a meeting to present your proposal.

Examples of projects that have been funded (or part-funded) by the P&F in the past are:

• Foyer refurbishment in the Barbara Godwin Performing Arts Complex
• Sheltered area outside the Junior School Phys Ed office
• Whitfords Avenue shade shelters
• Toyota Coaster bus
• Air-conditioning in the Chapel and Barbara Godwin Performing Arts Complex
• Bike shelters
• The St Mark's App
• Outdoor seating
• Membership to the Sustainable School Shop
• SunSmart UV indicator

We look forward to hearing from you.

The St Mark's Fathering Project Committee is busy planning again for the annual campout on the school oval. There will be lots of activities to enjoy and meals organised for you too.

Scheduled for the weekend of 4-5 November, it's an easy way for dads or father-figures to make some fun memories with their kids and to meet other school dads.

Event Details:

• Gates open for set up 10am, Saturday 4 November
• Activities kick off at 1pm but join us whenever suits you - there will be a Dodgeball Tournament and Dads vs Kids 'Capture the Flag' plus time for free play to run on the oval, climb a tree, kick a footy or throw a frisbee
• Dinner (hot dogs and burgers) provided at around 6pm
• Breakfast (bacon/egg rolls and cereals) provided at around 7am
• Pack down and exit by 10am on Sunday 5 November

Ticket Options:

• Full experience including dinner, breakfast and all activities - $30 per family
• Saturday activities and dinner only (sneak home to your own bed) - $20 per family
• Saturday afternoon activities only (head home for dinner) – FREE but please book for numbers.

Want to get a sense of what the day is all about? Check out last year's event on YouTube: https://youtu.be/_9icHakAl7Q?si=Cml_vML82OC7lyw0

Ticket bookings: https://www.trybooking.com/CLRGJ

For more details, contact Josh Newton, 0403 466 132 | josh.newton@r-group.com.au.

The Sustainability Festival is on 21 October at Hillarys Marina. Check out the info below for event details and how to enter the Poster Competition.

The WA Government is developing a new three-year Action Plan, which will set out the actions the Government will take to improve outcomes for young people in Western Australia.

If you are aged 10 to 25 years, please come along to a ‘Building Tomorrow, Have Your Say’ workshop, share your ideas and help shape the future of young people in WA!

Whether you’re passionate about protecting our environment, improving education, finding employment opportunities, fighting for social justice, promoting mental health, or even tackling issues in your community, we want to hear from you!

Each interactive workshop will be professionally facilitated to ensure you have the opportunity to share your thoughts. Participants will be treated to delicious food and go in the draw for a chance to win exciting prizes, including Apple AirPods, sports tickets, exclusive mentoring programs and much more.

Click here to register for a workshop near you!

Want to have your say but can’t attend a workshop in person?

You can also have your say by attending an online workshop, completing our online survey or making a written submission in response to the Consultation Paper – Your views, your future.

Visit communities.wa.gov.au/YouthActionPlan

Redhage Basketball is back for Term 4 at St Mark's! Check out the flyer below for more information.