The Lion's Roar - 8 February 2023

ATHLETICS STAR

Congratulations to Year 8 student, Isaac, on competing for Joondalup Athletics Centre in the Athletics West State Relay Championships last Saturday. His team came home with a silver medal for the 4x100m relay!

Well done, Isaac!

AQUATHLON CHAMP

We are excited to share Zac in Year 6 has been selected to represent Western Australia in the 2023 Aquathlon Championship. The team will be competing at the School Sport Australia National Championships in Devonport, Tasmania in March.

Congratulations, Zac!

'Y2-5 Meet the Teacher Evening' - Wednesday 8 February

Schedule for Years 2 & 3

• 6.30pm Classroom Sessions - Meet your child’s teacher
• 7.10pm Transition
• 7.20pm Meet the Special Area Teachers
• 8.00pm Evening concludes

Schedule for Years 4 & 5

• 6.30pm Meet the Special Area Teachers
• 7.10pm Transition
• 7.20pm Classroom Sessions - Meet your child’s teacher
• 8.00pm Evening concludes

Thank you to everyone who attended the Parent Information Evening for Years 9-11. Please find below the resources available from the evening.

• The Resilience Project
• TRP Welcome Letter
• The Resilience Project video
• Wellbeing Centre Information
• Special Conditions Year 9-11
• Feb 2023_P&F Presentation_Parent Info Sessions
• Parent info night 2023 ICT for TL
  

Year 9 OAS

• 2023 YEAR 9 OAS CAMP PARENT INFORMATION PRESENTATION UPDATED.pdf
• Year 9 OAS Camp Promo.mp4
• Why participate in OE.mp4
• Challenge by choice video.mp4

Year 10 OAS

• Year 10 OAS Parent Presentation
• Challenge By Choice
• Benefits of Outdoor Education
• Year 10 OAS Expedition Promo Video

Would you like to learn more about coding, hacking (cybersecurity), robotics or anything computing related?

Then come along to our Computing Club.

• When: Tuesdays afternoons: 3.30 - 4.30pm (starting Tuesday 14 February)
• Where: B2 Computer Lab in Busselton
• Open to all students from Years 6 to 12

No need to sign up - just come along at 3.30 and there is no need to come every week.

Any questions ask Mrs Chomiak or Mr Blair.

Edith Cowan University would like to invite High School girls and gender-diverse students to our Term 1 Girls Programming Network event.

In this workshop, students will be coding in Python a Flappy Bird Game. GPN offers a safe learning environment where a mix of university and industry women come together to help you over the day. Ask the superstars about their university experiences or about their job! Come along, extend your skills, make friends, and meet people who have similar interests.

Bookings can be made through the link here.

Does your child need some support to get homework done or need some help with assessments, study skills and organisation?

Supervised Homework Club

• Years 6-9
• Tuesday 3.30-4.30pm
• Library Glass Room

We will start the term by checking all the 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 you would like us to support your child with, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

rrourke@stmarks.wa.edu.au, kswan@stmarks.wa.edu.au

Mrs Rourke and Mrs Swan

We hope you have all downloaded the re-furbished School App and selected your preferences for 2023. If not, it is available for free on Google Play and the App Store. The preferences have changed for 2023, so to ensure you do not miss extra-curricular or other general notices, please update your settings as a matter of priority. Your preferences will also carry over to the calendar on the App.

Just to keep you in the loop, our aim is to make the App a one-stop shop for parents to get their year group and whole school notices, info and reminders etc. Please note that this will not affect teacher-to-parent emails, Consent2Go emails, or notices posted to the SEQTA noticeboard for student reminders.

We will be pushing our bulk notifications (eg. Weekly Bulletins, whole year group/school emails) to parents via the App and SEQTA for Term 1. Eventually, we'd like everyone to be using the App as their go-to.

CAREPLANS

Does your child have a careplan for a medical condition?
Please make sure the Wellness Centre has a current plan along with any medication required.

ILLNESS

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

Please note that students with any COVID symptoms should not be sent to school regardless of a negative RAT test.

If your child presents to the Wellness Centre with any cold/flu symptoms we will have to call you to come and collect them.

Should your child have gastro symptoms please do not send them back to school until 24 hours clear of the last symptom.

Thank you for your understanding.

Wellness Centre Team

A friendly reminder that it is 40km/h in School Zones and please reduce your speed further on School grounds.

Remember during drop-off and pick-up times, the traffic in and around the School can get very heavy. Please be aware of double parking, overtaking and exiting the School, as these can limit driver and pedestrian fields of vision, and can cause accidents. Please also be vigilant when exiting vehicles.

Please do not double park at any location, including (but not limited to): Kiss ‘n Drive points, St Marks Drive, School parking lots, access gates and across our neighbours’ driveways.

Please do not overtake stationary cars on the School grounds, especially in Kiss ‘n Drive zones.

When exiting the School grounds, please ensure you look both left and right carefully before re-entering St Marks Dr, particularly around our neighbour’s driveways.

The Secondary Assistance Scheme is available to parents/guardians with children enrolled in Years 7 to 12 who hold an eligible concession card (a Pensioner Concession Card or a Health Care Card).

The Secondary Assistance Scheme comprises of an Education Program Allowance of $235 which is paid to the school and a Clothing Allowance of $115 that is paid to the parent.

Applications open at the commencement of Term 1 2023 and close on 6 April 2023. Forms are available from Main Reception during Term 1 between 8am and 4pm.

PAYMENT NOMINATIONS must be submitted by today (Wednesday 8 February 2023). Please ignore the error message, we are receiving your nomination. Download the Payment Form here.

There is no need to submit a payment nomination if you have paid your 2023 fees in full. Thank you.

• Annual Fee Due 14 Feb 2023
• Quarterly Fee Due 14 Feb, 16 May, 8 Aug, 24 Oct 2023
• Monthly Fee Due 25^th of each month Feb to Nov 2023, or the next business day if the 25^th is not a business day
• Fortnightly Fee Due Friday fortnightly commencing 17 Feb and ending on 10 Nov 2023

Subject and music adjustments will be amended later in February once payment nominations and queries are effectuated.

Please contact Kaye at familyaccounts@stmarks.wa.edu.au if you have any queries.

Thank you for your patience during this busy start to the 2023 school year.

As directed by the Department of Health, all parents of students in Year 7 and 10 will be given the opportunity to have their child vaccinated at school.

Your child should have brought home an envelope with information and consent forms.

All forms, even if they do not require vaccination should be returned.

If you have not returned your forms, please do so by the end of this week (Friday 10 February).

Regards,

Tracey Nottingham
School Nurse

Toe by Toe will be returning in Week 5, Monday 27 February, in both the Primary and the High Schools.

We will send out reminders to families of students included in this program.

Please find below details of how to join a music ensemble and the Music Handbook for 2023.

• Primary Music Ensemble
• Secondary Music Ensemble
• Ensemble Rehearsal Schedule
• Instrumental Music Handbook

If you are hiring a school instrument this year, please keep an eye out for an email from our Arts Administrator in the next week or two with your instrument loan agreement. This document must be signed by both the parent/carer and the student, and returned to the school as quickly as possible, either via email or in-person to the Music Office.

If the loan agreement is not signed, the student will not be able to continue taking home the school instrument until the agreement is returned.

If you have any questions about your loan agreement once received, please contact Jaina van Reyk.

This year's whole secondary musical is School of Rock!

Based on the famous 2003 Jack Black film, Andrew Lloyd Webber and his team have created a fun, electric musical spectacular about following dreams. We will have spots for 50 or so actors, dancers and/or singers across Year 6 - Year 12 so we'd love interested students to go to https://mytickets.co/ to find out all the information about auditioning for our show.

IMPORTANT DATES

• Auditions: Sunday 19 February
• Rehearsals Start: Thursday afternoons from Week 4
• Show: 25th - 29th July 2023

By the way - four years ago, Brent Hill, St Mark's Old Scholar from the Class of 2000, starred as Dewey Finn in the first professional production of the show around Australia and you can watch him in action here: YOUTUBE

Time is running out for Choir and Primary Choirs Sign-ups close Friday 10 February 2023.

• Year 2 and 3- Crescendo Kids choir
• Year 4 and 5 – Take Note choir
• Viva Ritmo Voices: Auditioned choir- Years 3-5, sign-ups close Wednesday 8 February with the audition date Thursday 9 February at 7:40am. Sign-up is required, please use this link: Choir sign-up link

Primary Production 2023- Sign-ups close Friday 10 February 2023
Every 2 years the primary school has a production. This year the production auditions will happen during Term One and open to students who have shown a commitment to a Performing Arts group in Term one.

To audition for the Primary Production you must be signed up to one or more of the following Term 1 groups:

• Drama Club (currently full - no more places available)
• Take Note Choir
• Viva Ritmo Voices

Choir sign-up link

Call for Artists

Defeat the Beat is an annual music competition featuring super-talented local young people. The City is calling all bands, soloists, DJs, hip-hop artists and talented young people to showcase their musical abilities. Great prizes are up for grabs including studio time, photo shoots and more. Entries close Sunday 26 February. From the entries received a number of acts will be selected to perform at the final
competition on Sunday 2 April.

There are a number of conditions you must meet to enter the competition:

• Young person or group must be aged 12 – 18 years (inclusive);
• At least one group member resides or attends an educational institution within the City of Joondalup;
• Individuals may only represent one group or solo act;
• First-placed groups from previous year’s competitions may not enter; and
• Material submitted must not contain offensive material or coarse language.

You or your group will need to complete the entry form below and submit a link to your music by including a SoundCloud link, a Youtube link or a dropbox link. This can be either an original performance or a cover performance and doesn’t need to be of a professional standard.

For information on all programs and services currently available, please follow the Youth Services Facebook page

• Defeat the Beat Flyer
• Defeat the Beat Entry Form

As a way of encouraging excellence in education and rewarding high achievement, St Mark’s is offering a limited number of Academic Scholarships for students entering Year 6 in 2024 (current Year 4 students). Registrations for the 2024 program are now open and close on Friday 17 February 2023. The Scholarship is open to all, inclusive of current and waitlisted students, as well as to those with no current connection to the School.

Up to four Scholarships are available, with partial tuition fee remission. The number of Scholarships awarded each year and the percentage of tuition fee remission is at the discretion of the School Council.

The Scholarships are awarded based on the performance of the student in the Scholarship examination. Shortlisted candidates may also be interviewed prior to the final selection of Scholarship recipients. Scholarships will be awarded for the student's entire secondary school career at St Mark’s (Years 6 to 12), subject to ongoing review.

More information, including key dates and eligibility, is available on the School website. Registration for the Scholarship testing should be submitted online here by Friday 17 February.

If you have any other queries regarding the 2023 Academic Scholarship Program, please email scholarships@stmarks.wa.edu.au or call (08) 9403 1342.

Tickets are selling fast, and it's your last chance to be at the hottest event in town this weekend! Rumour has it there is a special guest attending who breathes fire?!

All Old Scholars who graduated from St Mark’s in 1993, 2003 and 2013 are invited to the Milestone Reunion on Saturday 25 February 2023.

We can't wait to see you all and hear what you've been up to since leaving the land of maroon and blue!

Ticket details are available here.

If you have not received an email regarding the reunion, it means we do not have your current email - please update your details here.

Did you know that our Old Scholars' Association Little Lions Playgroup is run on-site every Friday during term time? We'd love to see your little cub there this Friday!

Join us from 8.45 a.m. to 10.30 a.m. 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. 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.

That's what guests will be vying to hear at the next Fathering Project Quiz Night at St Mark's!

Prizes are rolling in from the community and there are rumours of some EXTREMELY generous ones this year!

If you would like to donate a prize from your business, please contact Damon - damondenooyer@gmail.com.

This Quiz Night is hosted by the dazzling Quiz Master Jon Lewis 6PR 882AM who keeps everyone laughing all night long. It's a great excuse to get local friends together for a bit of fun for the adults.

Booking link: https://www.trybooking.com/CFPEU

Tickets are now available at $20 each or make up a Table of 8.

Attendees remember to bring gold coins to participate in the Coin Toss game.

Donations to damondenooyer@gmail.com

The Parents Prayer Group (PPG) meet fortnightly to pray for the students, staff and school community. We will be meeting every second Friday at 9am in the School Chapel, starting 10th February.

Please sign in at reception and perhaps stop by the coffee van on the way.

All are welcome.

Please share any prayer requests by emailing parentsunitedforprayer@gmail.com or call Wing Shattock on 0433 002 151.

The Anglican Schools Commission International are seeking caring families to host, regional, interstate, and international students. We invite you to be a part of the ASCI homestay community where you will be supporting education, whilst developing strong foundations for cultural understanding.

• NO COST TO REGISTER
• LONG TERM HOSTING
• SHORT TERM HOSTING
• SCHOOL HOLIDAY HOSTING
• HOSTS RECEIVE A FORTNIGHTLY PAYMENT*

All enquiries to Accommodation Coordinator | homestay@ascschools.edu.au

Visit the link Become a Host Family - Anglican Schools Commission (ascschools.edu.au) for more information

*T&Cs apply

ASCI Hosting Information Flyer

Young people living with disability are particularly vulnerable to manipulation and risk in the online world. In fact, the eSafety Commissioner stated that 50 per cent of young people living with disability in Australia aged 8-17 had talked to a stranger online in the last 12 months, and that this group experiences bullying at twice the rate of the general population.

Addressing this issue meant a bespoke and diverse approach to online safety education was needed to have a positive impact, so we partnered with the Office of the eSafety Commissioner and Interaction Disability Services to create a FREE online learning program, specifically tailored for young people living with disability and their parents and carers.

This program is self-paced and specifically designed for diverse learners, covering content that will equip and empower young people living with disability.

Head down to your local skate park this summer to take part in the City of Joondalup’s BMX, Skate and Scooter Competitions for ages 11 - 25. There will be amusements, art workshops, giveaways and more for the whole community.

For more information visit the City's website or contact 9400 4929.