The Lion's Roar - 23 February 2022

Congratulations to Sarah (Year 12) who has been offered places in both the Diploma and Bachelor in Music courses for Contemporary Voice.

Sarah auditioned for the WA Academy of Performing Arts at the end of Year 11. Competition for places at WAAPA is fierce among university-aged students, so for a school student to be offered a place is a huge achievement. Sarah has made an immense contribution to the Music Department during her time at St Mark’s, playing flute in bands and orchestras, singing in choirs and studying both ATAR Music and a Certificate III in Music Industry.

Sarah starts her Diploma of Music this week and we all wish Sarah the very best with her future endeavours!

After further consideration, the P&F Annual General Meeting and Welcome Sundowner, scheduled for 2 March, has been postponed. Please see the letter below.

2022 P&F AGM Letter

Year 2 Visual Arts students have commenced the year by looking at abstract depictions of the face. They have been introduced to both modern and traditional artists, in preparation for their clay piece.

Students were encouraged to experiment with repetitive lines, various shapes and iridescent paper to enhance features of their abstract face.

Some unique and individual works are emerging from our creative Year 2s!

Please see the letter below from the Community Nurse.

From the Community Nurse

Do you need some support to get homework done or need help with assessments, study skills and organisation? Students are invited to attend Homework Club! The club will run for Year 6-9 students on Tuesdays from 3.30pm to 4.30pm in the Library Glass Room (students will be split into year level groupings to adhere to COVID restrictions).

We will start the term by checking all assessments are in the diary and recorded on the term planner, as well as checking in on our organisation for each subject.

If there is something in particular you would like us to support your child with, please don’t hesitate to contact us via rrourke@stmarks.wa.edu.au or kswan@stmarks.wa.edu.au

Mrs Rourke and Mrs Swan

Last weekend the first Girls Programming Network workshop for the year was held. Five St Mark's students from Years 7 and 8 attended.

At the event girls got to code the game Guess Who. Depending on computing skills, the students got to either create a programme that picked a Guess Who character at random and gives you hints to help you guess, or the user chose a character and the computer had to guess the character. Attendees also played games like Bingo, Celebrity Heads and Decison Trees to demonstrate theoretical concepts.

Each student had access to an online workbook to progress through at their own pace, with help from the many tutors in the room. One of the tutors was St Mark’s Old Scholar Taylah Griffiths (2016) and our very own Mrs Chomiak was a Room Leader. There were also 'Mentor Hangz' with ladies from FMG and Woodside, and an ECU student. During these times students got to ask questions about university, careers, subject selection and work environments.

In total, 65 students from around Perth attended. Feedback from the day was that it was great fun, everyone felt really supported and it was LGBTQI+ friendly. Thank you to everyone involved.

Congratulations to Emily (Year 7), Catherine (Year 8) and Summer (Year 9) who read the most books over the holidays and are the winners of the Summer Holiday Reading Challenge. We hope you enjoy your Event Cinema gift cards!

Well done to all students who participated in the challenge.

On Thursday 17 February the General Art students in Year 11 and 12 travelled to the city to experience a range of public artworks at Elizabeth Quay, a Street Art walking tour and the latest art exhibitions at the Art Gallery of Western Australia.

The group endured the intense heat of the day to take some photographs of Perth city, which will feature in the students drawings and artworks this year.

Year 11 and 12 students are invited to attend the Afterschool English Help Sessions, running on Tuesday afternoons from 3.30pm to 4.30pm in the open area of the Senior Academic Centre. Please contact Mrs Bowen for more information.

Every week, we receive updated advice for schools and we are adjusting our ensemble rehearsals to match. Please find below a letter from the Director of Music, along with an updated rehearsal schedule.

Any details specific to ensembles will be communicated to ensemble members and parents by the ensemble director.

Ensembles Update 23 February 2022

Registrations are now open in the new PlayHQ system!

The 2022 Winter Season commences Friday 29 and Saturday 30 April, and runs until Saturday 27 August (followed by finals for eligible teams) at Wanneroo Districts Netball Association, Kingsway Sporting Complex.

Details of training and game days/times are on our website - https://sm-nc.org/season-commencement/

We are currently in need of players for Year 6 and 7 teams. Please contact president@sm-nc.org if you have any queries.

With the new restrictions on gatherings on the School campus, the Parent Prayer Group will now meet at Dropinz Cafe in Mullaloo. The next meeting is this Friday 25 February. We will meet at 8.45am to start at 9am.

The Parent Prayer Group meets fortnightly on Fridays throughout the school term. We pray for the students, staff and the school community. Please feel free to send prayer requests to parentsunitedforprayer@gmail.com. We treat personal prayer requests confidentially and anonymously if needed.

Adolescence is the transitional stage of development that is usually associated with the teenage years. In 2018, the Australian Curriculum Assessment Authority redefined adolescence as affecting young people aged between 10-24 years. During this time, they experience rapid physical, cognitive and psychosocial growth which affects how teenagers feel, think, make decisions and interact with the world around them.

In this edition of SchoolTV, adult carers can learn how to guide and support their young person as they transition through adolescence.

SchoolTV - Understanding Adolescence

Grace Anglican Church in Joondalup is seeking volunteers for the Grace Café Drop-In Centre.

If you are able to assist, please email Denise Taylor on taylordenise701@gmail.com.