The Lion's Roar - 7 June 2023

ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

Congratulations to our running superstar and Year 12 student, Charli-Rose, on being awarded the Athletics West Junior Athlete of the Year. Charli-Rose was awarded the prize on the same day as the HBF Run for a Reason, where she was the third female to complete the 12km race.

We are delighted to bring you the extraordinary accomplishments of our Viva Ritmo Voices! Under the guidance of the talented Mrs Kristy Raymond, our choir participated in the Fremantle Eisteddfod on Friday and achieved a historic milestone by securing first place in the Under 12 Choral section for the very first time in our School's history.

This exceptional group of voices consists of students from Years 3 to 5, showcasing joy, excellence, and a strong sense of teamwork. The students have dedicated themselves to fostering an atmosphere of unity and support, recognising each individual's unique skills and contributions, all culminating in a harmonious collective sound.

The adjudicators were overwhelmed with praise both during the judging and afterwards. In fact, one of the adjudicators was so captivated that they expressed a strong desire to delve deeper into our remarkable Music Program and the exceptional sound that Mrs. Raymond has cultivated with the choir since its inception two years ago.

We extend our heartfelt congratulations to the remarkable students and the dedicated support staff, including Mr Andrew Martin, Ms Leah Guelfi, Ms Jean Andrews, and Ms Clare Frazer. Their unwavering commitment has played an integral role in the success of our choir.

The success of our Viva Ritmo Voices is a testament to the unwavering commitment to excellence within our school community. We couldn't be prouder and eagerly anticipate the bright future ahead for these sensational singers.

You can view their performances from the Eisteddfod here.

Congratulations to our team for their remarkable performance at the ACC Cross Country event at Perry Lakes last week! Finishing 8th overall out of nearly 90 schools is an outstanding achievement.

Special congratulations to our Year 9 boys, who not only excelled in their age category but also secured the 1st position overall. This is a tremendous accomplishment and reflects their hard work and dedication to their training. It's also worth highlighting the individual successes of Cohen, Ezra, and Tyler, who secured 5th, 8th, and 9th places, respectively.

Additionally, Charlie-Rose's 1st place in the Open Girls competition is a remarkable achievement. Her dedication and skill are truly commendable.

Considering the challenges of exams and the unavailability of some students due to illness or injury, it's even more impressive that our team members stepped up and represented the School with pride.

Congratulations once again to all the students who participated in the ACC Cross Country event. They have demonstrated exceptional sportsmanship and have made everyone proud. Well done to all the runners who gave their all and ran their hearts out.

Last week's Year 8 Medieval Day was an unforgettable journey back in time!

Our students wholeheartedly embraced the medieval spirit and took part in a captivating array of activities, creating a truly immersive experience that brought history alive. Aligned with our HaSS History curriculum, the day was a perfect blend of excitement and educational enrichment.

Undoubtedly, the highlight of the event was the peer assessment of the astounding Medieval Shoebox Museums meticulously crafted by our students. Each museum showcased a fascinating collection of intricate artifacts and detailed historical information, showcasing their remarkable creativity.

Our talented Year 10 Dance students demonstrated a medieval dance performance before they generously shared their expertise by teaching their younger peers the art form. The lower SAC was transformed into a vibrant medieval court, filled with House rivalry, as everyone enthusiastically learned the intricate steps and twirled to enchanting tunes. Congratulations to Moyes House for securing victory in the dancing contest!

Furthermore, the catapult construction competition ignited an immense sense of enthusiasm among the students. Working together, they applied their engineering skills to design and build their own catapults, aiming for the perfect launch.

Year 8 Medieval Day was an absolute blast, seamlessly weaving together history and fun. The day was a testament to the passion and dedication of our staff, and it was wonderful to see our students embrace the medieval era with boundless energy and curiosity.

Check out the step back in time here.

The Year 9 Business and Personal Finance classes have been participating in the ASX game over the past ten weeks. The game provides students with the opportunity to learn about the share market and how it works. They receive $50,000 in virtual cash to buy and sell shares in over 300 companies listed on ASX using live prices in simulating real share market conditions.

Congratulations to George for winning the competition in Year 9 at St Mark’s and for coming 14th in Western Australia!

Well done, George!

Mr Brock and Mr Irwin are looking for students to join the School's rugby team. Training takes place before school on Wednesdays from 7am - 8am.

The season will commence in Term 3.

We will aim to enter multiple teams in both the Male and Female Northern School Rugby Competitions.

• M/S Girls
• S/S Girls
• Years 6/7/8 Boys
• Years 9/10 Boys
• Years 11/12 Boys

If anyone is interested please contact either Mr Brock or Mr Irwin.

Everyone is welcome.

On Wednesday the 14 June, our Year 9 and 10 Specialist and Certificate II Music students will have the opportunity to share their talents with a live audience in the PAC.

There will be a range of different solo instrumental, vocal and ensemble performances covering a diverse range of genres. In particular, we are proud to present the first performance from the Year 9/10 Funk Band!

Your free tickets (and special interval treat!) can be secured through Trybooking: https://www.trybooking.com/CITGM

Interested in starting an instrument?

Studies show that playing a musical instrument lowers stress and increases well-being – why not start something new next term and enrol online? Our Instrumental Music Handbook contains all the instruments we have on offer and lots of other useful information. Enrolment is ongoing unless a withdrawal form is lodged at least two weeks prior to the end of term.

If you would like to withdraw from instrumental lessons for Term 3, please complete the online withdrawal form before your tutor’s withdrawal deadline (most have this as Friday 16 June). After this deadline, another term of music lessons will be charged for before the withdrawal can take effect.

Old Scholar and former violin tutor Sarah Papadopoulos is returning to St Mark’s!

Sarah is an incredible performer who has travelled all over the world, specialising in Baroque performance and currently performs on both modern and Baroque violin with a number of Perth orchestras. This is an opportunity not to be missed for any violin students learning privately who would like to transition to lessons at school or any students who would like to start a new instrument.

Sarah is currently taking enrolments for Term 3 but only has limited places available.

If you’d like to start lessons with Sarah in Term 3, please complete the online enrolment form and put Sarah Papadopoulos in the “preferred tutor, if any” section.

Due to popular demand, David Goldfinch has opened up another half day of teaching and is taking enrolments for Term 3.

David is an experienced piano tutor and music teacher who loves to make learning music fun, and his lessons quickly book out. As a St Mark’s parent himself, he loves working with our students and can cater for a wide variety of genres (classical, jazz, contemporary etc.).

If you’d like to start lessons with David in Term 3, please complete the online enrolment form and put David Goldfinch in the “preferred tutor, if any” section.

Wowee, how about that weather - it sure made enjoying the long weekend a little more indoorsy unless you had one of our St Mark's umbrellas! Did you know that we had Perth's wettest June day in 37 years?

If your umbrella is not fairing so well after the past few days ... Never fear. We've got you covered!

The Uniform Shop has large-sized, sturdy St Mark's umbrellas available to purchase, and at just $27.50, you can't go wrong!

• 127cm wide canopy for extra rain protection
• Non-slip handle
• Folds down neatly for easy carrying
• Includes umbrella cover for easy storage

They are perfect for those weekends on the sporting sidelines, walking to/from school, and even make a great gift for an Old Scholar!

Grab yours today!

We have seen an increase in the number of students presenting to the Wellness Centre with COVID / Cold and Flu symptoms, so please keep your child at home if they are sick.

Please be reminded that students with any symptoms should not be sent to school regardless of a negative RAT test. If your child presents to the Wellness Centre with any cold or flu, or COVID symptoms, we will have to call you to come and collect them. For information regarding the latest rulings relating to COVID cases, please click here.

Unfortunately, there are still lots of other viruses in the community, and we need to protect our staff and students.

If your child is sick with any illness, please keep them at home.

Thank you for your understanding.

Wellness Centre Team

This next presentation from The Resilience Project is all about Empathy and Kindness.

Empathy is our ability to put ourselves in the shoes of others to feel and see what they do. We practice this through being kind and compassionate towards other people.

Brain imaging data shows that being kind to others registers in the brain as more like eating chocolate than like fulfilling an obligation to do what’s right (e.g., eating brussel sprouts)!
Research shows that practising empathy, such as performing acts of kindness, taps into our brain’s ‘mirror neurons’, builds compassion, and our behaviour becomes more social and community-based.

View Part 3 of the series here:
Part 3 - Empathy: https://theresilienceproject.com.au/2023-parent-carer-hub-inspire-hugh/

Here’s an activity to practise empathy and kindness:

1. Reflect on someone in your life who could benefit from an act of kindness today. It could be a friend who would love some affirmation about their work, your pet who deserves an extra treat, or a family member who would love a phone call or text message.
2. Make a plan for who you are going to give an act of kindness to and what you are going to do.
3. If you want to add accountability to your plan, share it with someone else and encourage them to do the same thing.
4. Follow up with each other in a few days time to ask how it went!

Sources: Psychology Today, UC Berkeley, Greater Good Science

For mental health resources and support information, visit The Resilience Project’s Support Page.

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:

Did you know that NAIDOC Week is held during the first week of the school holidays, and there are heaps of activities happening around Perth to celebrate the week that our families can get out and immerse themselves in?

Head to the following links to learn more:

https://www.joondalup.wa.gov.au/kb/resident/naidoc-celebrations

https://www.naidoc.org.au/local-events/local-naidoc-week-events

Attention all space explorers!

Blast off into outer space this Winter School Holidays with Junior Engineers new out-of-this-world Coding and Robotics Camps for Kids 5 to 13 years old!

Book now to secure your place and learn their new space-themed curriculum!

https://jnrengineers.com.au/school-holidays/

ECU's School of Science have put together an exciting range of workshops available at their Joondalup campus for high school students from Years 7 -12, for the upcoming July school holidays. Most only cost $16.50 per day and some activities do require students to have specific accounts.

Activities include:

• Micro: bits and Bots – Car Rally
• Web Development
• Arduino – breadboarding and C++
• Learn to Linux
• Information Security – Minecraft

Plus, many more.

For more information please view the attached flyer here and visit the ECU website - to find registration links https://www.ecu.edu.au/schools/science/events-and-activities.

Mindfulness for fidgety fingers:

Spend some time trying out a range of mindfulness activities for when you can't sit still. Each workshop has a key strategy that participants will take home with them.

• Micro Mosaics - design and take home your own 20x20 micro mosaic
• String Art - design and take home your own string masterpiece
• PHILOSO-BRICK™

An innovative program that uses a multi-sensory approach to explore philosophical thinking. PHILOSO-BRICK™ workshops foster creativity, imagination, and social-emotional growth while developing critical thinking, abstract reasoning, and problem-solving skills. Using the Philosophy in School’s community of inquiry approach and LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® methods and materials, your child will explore ethical and philosophical ideas in a supportive and psychologically safe environment.

Venues

• Fremantle
• Floreat
• Osborne Park

Dates

• Thursday 6 July 2023 - Tuesday 11 July 2023 (UTC+08)

For further information and booking details, click here.