Middle School Bulletin - Term 1, Week 3

We’d like to take a moment to remind all families about the importance of keeping children at home when they are unwell, especially when they have a fever or contagious symptoms.

Recently, we’ve had instances where parents have requested their children be allowed to remain at school despite having a fever. For the health and safety of all our students, it is essential that if your child is showing signs of illness, particularly a fever, they must be kept at home and arrangements should be made for their prompt collection if they are already at school.

Additionally, we would like to remind all families that if your child has experienced gastro symptoms, they should stay at home for a minimum of 24 hours after the last bout of symptoms to prevent spreading the illness to others.

We truly appreciate your cooperation in ensuring that our school remains a safe and healthy environment for everyone. Thank you for your understanding and support.

Health Centre Team

Please note that the Uniform Shop accepts EFTPOS only - no cash purchases. If your child needs to purchase an item, and you are not able to be there with your EFTPOS card, you do have the option of calling the Uniform Shop and providing your card details over the phone

Online Ordering

TARA Uniforms Online Ordering is available with orders collected from the Uniform Shop during opening hours. For convenience in Terms 2 and 3, grey tights are available for purchase from the Cafeteria via SmartRider or EFTPOS.

Uniform Shop Trading Hours - Term Time

• Mondays: 7.45am - 11.15am
• Wednesdays: 7.45am - 11.15am
• Thursdays: 1.00pm - 4.30pm

Please note: Uniform Shop operating hours differ during School Holidays

Location and Parking

The Uniform Shop is located between the Early Learning Centre and the Art Rooms in the Busselton Building. Parking is available in Visitor Parking, accessible via St Mark's Drive Gate 2.

Contact

For Uniform Shop queries telephone 0434 211 591 during opening hours. For urgent matters, please email customer.service@tarauniforms.com.au.

The St Mark’s office continues to field regular complaints from the businesses surrounding the School as our community is utilising private parking spaces in the different centres when dropping children at and collecting children from school as well as parking for extended periods during the day.

The areas we are referring to include:

• Endeavour Business Centre (cnr Endeavour and Banks Ave)
• Whitford Business Centre (Mitre 10, Better Pets, Auto Masters, Supercheap Auto)
• Endeavour Childcare and Whitford Family Centre

We understand the convenience of parking there, but we ask that you do not utilise the car parks in any of the centres surrounding St Mark’s as the School does not want to tarnish the relationships we have with the local community. Year 11 and 12 students must park their vehicles in the Muzz Buzz carpark.

Our school community benefits from strong relationships with the business community, and compromising this relationship may result in the loss of benefits such as the use of the Muzz Buzz carpark for students and as an overflow for major organised events, plus the multitude of hands-on educational opportunities that arise from the positive relationships we have established over many years.

If we cannot gain the support required to respect the business community’s parking spaces, the City of Joondalup Rangers may intervene in the area at critical times of the day.

We must always be respectful of our neighbours and not intrude on their amenities by parking on their verges, in their driveways or carparks.

Thank you for your support in this matter.

Please see attached flyer with parent information regarding NAPLAN for later in Term 1. For information, NAPLAN is for all Year 3, 5, 7 and 9 students.

Here are the details of the GPN Perth Term 1 workshop:

• Date: 15th March
• Time: 10am - 4pm (registration from 9.30am)
• Location: UWA EZONE
• Content: In this workshop, we'll be making a Secret Diary Chatbot. We will teach the computer to help us write and read from a diary and protect it with a password and other fun tricks! We have also revamped our mentor hangs session for the older students, with some amazing women from industry coming

• Sign Up;

If you would like to save the dates for the rest of our workshops this year, they are: 10th May, 9th August, and the 29th November.

Following the resounding success of last year's Career Conversations, we are excited to announce the launch of our Career Curiosity Series! This initiative aims to further support our students in making informed decisions about their future careers by connecting them with valuable insights and real-world experiences. We believe that parents and alumni hold a wealth of knowledge and diverse perspectives that can be incredibly beneficial to our students.

What is the Career Curiosity Series?

The Career Curiosity Series builds upon the foundation of Career Conversations by creating opportunities for students to explore various career paths, develop essential skills, and understand the connection between their interests and future possibilities. These sessions are designed to:

• Expose students to a wide range of professions and industries.
• Provide insights into the skills and knowledge required for different careers.
• Encourage students to think creatively about their future options.
• Help students leverage curiosity in strategic thinking, innovation, and design thinking.
• Facilitate career curiosity conversations, encouraging students to explore the fit and possibilities between themselves and work.

How Can You Get Involved?

We invite current parents and alumni to share their expertise and experiences with our students through various avenues:

• Be a Guest Speaker: Share your career journey, insights into your industry, and advice for students interested in pursuing a similar path. The Career Curiosity events are held before school (7.30 am - 8.35 am).
  
  We are looking for speakers on the following days in the following areas:
  
• TERM 1:
  • Wednesday 5 March 2025 - Medicine and Nursing
  • Wednesday 12 March 2025 - Apprenticeships (Electrical, Automotive/Heavy Diesel), Plumbing, Building)
  • Wednesday 19 March 2025 - Emergency Services
  • Wednesday 26 March 2025 - Cyber Security/IT/Computer Science

• TERM 2:
  • Wednesday 15 May 2025 - TBC
  • Wednesday 28 May 2025 - Allied Health
  • Wednesday 4 June 2025 - Environmental Science/Conservation/Coastal and Marine
  • Wednesday 11 June 2025 - Commerce
  • Wednesday 18 June 2025 - Small Business/Entrepreneurial
  • Wednesday 25 June 2025 - TBC

• Work Experience Opportunities: Offer students the chance to gain hands-on experience in your field.

By participating in the Career Curiosity Series, you can play a vital role in shaping the future of our students. Your unique perspectives and experiences can help them discover their passions, develop essential skills, and make informed decisions about their education and career paths.

Contact Us

If you are interested in participating in the Career Curiosity Series or would like to learn more about how you can contribute, please get in touch with Amanda Kemp via email akemp@stmarks.wa.edu.au.

We look forward to partnering with you to empower our students to explore their curiosities and achieve their career aspirations!

The Parents Prayer Group (PPG) meet fortnightly to pray for the students, staff and school community. We will be meeting every second Friday 9am in the school chapel, starting 14th Feb. 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.

Download the flyer here.

Put it in your calendars; the Art Show will return this October!

Opening night is October 10th, with the show running through to the 12th!

This year, we aim to have over 100 local artists showing over 350 pieces, live art demonstrations, musical performances, interactive art classes, a People's Choice Award, raffle prizes, and much more.

More information will be released as details are finalised, but this is going to be a show you won’t want to miss!

To stay up to date, register your interest at the link below. Don't forget to tell your friends!

https://forms.gle/UZx3HKNuSmVRymQi9

Tickets are selling fast, for our Old Scholars' Milestone Reunion on Saturday 22 February 25.

All Old Scholars who graduated from St Mark’s in 1995, 2005 and 2015 are invited, and 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.