The Lion's Roar - 21 June 2023

Arts Week 2023 for our secondary school has been a tremendous success so far, captivating students with its vibrant array of activities. The week kicked off with an electrifying performance by our Funk Band, setting the stage for an exciting week ahead. The infectious beats and catchy tunes had everyone tapping their feet and grooving to the music.

Tuesday saw students transported to the musical theatre world with a lunchtime sing-a-long. With classics from "Hamilton" to "Sing," the air was filled with joyous melodies as students enthusiastically belted out the lyrics, embracing the spirit of some much-loved musicals.

To test their knowledge and love for cinema, a Movie Buffs Quiz was organized, challenging students to identify famous movie quotes, characters, and soundtracks. The quiz ignited friendly competition and showcased the breadth of film knowledge among the participants.

Adding a touch of spontaneity and street performance, our talented busking trio, Ashlyn, Phillipa and Luke, entertained students during Wednesday lunch. Their lively musical performances created a vibrant atmosphere, drawing crowds and adding an extra dose of creativity to Arts Week.

One of the highlights of the week is the presence of our Artist in Residence, Katie Sharples. She has introduced students to the world of printmaking, demonstrating various techniques and encouraging them to unleash their creativity. The students have been eagerly experimenting with different printing methods, producing unique and visually striking artworks.

As Arts Week 2023 continues, there will be more moments of inspiration, creativity, and artistic expression. This celebration of the arts has truly brought our secondary school to life, fostering a deep appreciation for creativity and showcasing the immense talent within our student body.

We would like to invite you all to seize the opportunity we have all this week, to come and meet our P&F-sponsored artist Katie Sharples inside the entrance of the Busselton building and to look over her amazing exhibition of printmaking work and clay sculptures. Grab a coffee from the van and come on inside!

Katie is a super interesting contemporary multi-media artist who lives on a farm out of Toodyay and is spending the week with our students and us to work on her current body of work. There are also some lunchtime printmaking activities for all students and staff who want to try some of her techniques in the Busselton Building during Arts-week from Tues-Thurs.

Katie explores themes of hardship, drought, isolation, contemporary masculinity and the fragility of the land and the people who live on it.

Her experiences and the way she makes comment through her work is an invaluable insight for our students and for us all. Katie will be producing new work each day while she is here, so it might be good to pop in a few times to watch her progress.

The act of preparing meals for people in need not only addresses their immediate nutritional needs but also offers a transformative experience for all involved. By preparing meals for the Grace Café (Joondalup Anglican Church), the Year 5 Global Citizenship students developed culinary skills, teamwork, time management, empathy, problem-solving, and confidence.

Our students not only made a positive impact on the lives of others but also gained the tools to become compassionate, responsible, and active global citizens.

Last week, ten Year 5 and Year 6 students took part in the Australasian Junior Ethics Olympiad. This was an online event that had our students competing against students from the eastern states, New Zealand and Hong Kong.

It was a unique opportunity for our young individuals to develop essential skills while exploring ethical dilemmas by fostering reasoning, promoting critical thinking, and encouraging collaboration.

Programs like this encourage our students to become ethical leaders who can navigate moral complexities and make informed decisions.

Well done to our two teams' achievements our Year 5 team placed 4th out of 20 schools, and the Year 6 team placed 14th out of 20 schools:

• Year 5 team: Liv, Dominik, Isabella, Taeven and Charlotte
• Year 6 team: Alexis, Olivia, Matthew, Owen and Ayrton

In Chapel, students have been looking at the idea that winning is not everything and shouldn’t be the main focus of our games and experiences, as nice as it is to win sometimes. Whether we’re involved in sports, board games or other hobbies, we can focus on:

1. Having fun.
2. Staying fit (mentally and/or physically).
3. Looking for opportunities to congratulate others’ successes, especially those on opposing teams!

Students also learned that, ultimately, we can rest in the fact Jesus won for us on the cross when he died and rose again.

This humorous video starring Mr Pressley, Mrs Greaves, Mrs Hues and Mr Mason helped reiterate that message while having a bit of fun at the same time:

“I Gotta Win” is available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K808TV5MXUo and Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/3bChKC70RpnB3WNR1F6neW?si=11c91c3f612c4c3e

We are fast approaching the end of Term 2 with the last day being Friday 30 June (normal finish time) for a three-week break. The first day of Term 3 is Tuesday 25 July.

We wish our families and wonderful and safe holiday break.

NAIDOC week celebrates the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It is celebrated by all Australians and is a great opportunity to recognise and learn more about the history and culture of indigenous communities.

NAIDOC stands for National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee. Its origins can be traced back to the Aboriginal rights movement, when on Australia Day 1938, protestors marched through the streets of Sydney to highlight the status and treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. Today, it is a week-long celebration held in July that consists of range of traditional and contemporary activities.

NAIDOC Week is an important event that helps build positive relationships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. It enables a deeper understanding of our differences and similarities. NAIDOC week is an opportunity for all Australians to eliminate bias and discrimination by reflecting and reconciling the wrongs of the past to facilitate hope and build a fairer future. Families are encouraged to join in and support young people in learning the significance of NAIDOC Week.

This Special Report offers suggestions on how families can celebrate NAIDOC Week together. We hope you take a moment to reflect on the information offered, and as always, we welcome your feedback. If this raises any concerns for you, a loved one or the wellbeing of your child, please seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to your special report.

In the final part of The Resilience Project's parent series, Hugh shares an important message about allowing our children to experience adversity.

The key to building resilience in our children is allowing them to experience failure, hardship, disappointment etc. As parents, we can be too quick to resolve our children's challenges which can deprive our children of enormous growth opportunities. These typically happen when we experience failure and uncertainty. As parents, we should be there for our children when they fail, but not fight their battles for them.

View Part 5 of the series here:
Part 5 - Summary:https://theresilienceproject.com.au/2023-parent-carer-hub-inspire-hugh/

Thank you for participating in this Parent and Carer Digital Presentation series.

You can re-watch the videos and access activities and resources anytime via the Parent & Carer Hub.

The St Mark's P&F Association is delighted to confirm that they will be hosting a quiz night on Saturday, 9 September 2023 - book your tickets now!

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.

Parent volunteers are required for the following duties:

• Floor & Bar Setup
• Ticket checks & Raffle ticket sale at the entrance door
• Bar Duties
• Floor cleanup and packing up

If you can assist with any of the above volunteering duties, please contact Nirbhay Gupta on email nguptawork@gmail.com

The St Mark's community are invited to join the St Mark's P&F for their general meeting on Tuesday 27 June 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.

Nick Irwin (Head of Outdoor Education) will be our guest speaker and will present a session that will look at the history and development of the award-winning St Mark’s Outdoor Education Program and highlight the key learning experiences in the Year 6-12 courses.

The presentation will also examine the theory of Outdoor Education, benefits for students, as well as current research in this field and areas of innovation delivered in the program.

Nick has some fantastic footage from the OAS camps that our students have attended, which will form part of this presentation.

It would be great to see as many of our community members attending - even some of our students who may be keen to hear more about the program and to see what opportunities lie ahead as they move up through the school.

View our latest Walpole Outdoor Adventure Studies Camp here.

Check out more Outdoor Adventure Studies videos below:

We're still riding high on the excitement of an incredible afternoon filled with laughter, learning, and soaring paper planes! The ELC Paper Planes and Pizza event hosted by The POSTMEN was an absolute blast, and we're thrilled to share the video highlights with you.

Fathers/father figures and their children came together to embark on a creative adventure, designing, building, and flying paper planes in an exhilarating test of speed and distance. The atmosphere was filled with enthusiasm and a sense of friendly competition as participants put their engineering skills to the test.

Apart from the competition, the event provided an opportunity for quality family time and fun-filled moments. Laughter echoed through the air as students and their loved ones shared in the excitement, cheering on their favourite planes and revelling in the joy of the occasion.

As the event drew to a close, we gathered for pizza and to celebrate the accomplishments of the day with prizes awarded to those with the most flight time and the greatest distance covered.

We want to express our gratitude to everyone who joined us for this incredible event. Keep soaring, dreaming, and reaching for the stars! Stay tuned for more exciting POSTMEN events in the future.

View the video from the day here.

Redhage Basketball are back for Term 3! For further information, please check out the flyer below or head to their website.