Middle School Bulletin - Term 1, Week 5

Dear Parents and Carers

We are excited to be able to communicate some details about the Year 6 Camp scheduled for week 9 of this term.

In the coming weeks, you will receive an email with a link to the Consent2Go details on camp. Please complete all the information in Consent2Go as soon as possible. This will allow us the time and space to plan for individual medical and dietary requirements.

Here is an overview of some key item for your planning purposes…

Dates

Homerooms 6.1, 6.3, 6.5: Wednesday – Thursday, 2-3 April

Homerooms 6.2, 6.4, 6.6: Thursday – Friday, 3-4 April

Location

Ern Halliday Recreation Camp

Other information

• Parents will need to arrange drop off to and pick up from the camp for their child.

• All students will have 2 days of camp activities and 1 night stayover.

• We have a strict no phones or electronics rule on camp.

• All food will be provided at camp. Students get a cooked breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner and supper, as well as a snack during the evening movie.

As we get closer to the date, we will keep parents informed, including a comprehensive outline of the camp, what to wear, and what to bring in plenty of time for students to be organised.

As with all camps, we expect exceptional behaviour from all students, and the School makes the final decision about student attendance. A Camp Code of Conduct will be provided for both students and parents to sign.

The Year 6 Camp will be a fantastic experience for students to challenge themselves, continue establishing and strengthening the bonds between themselves and others in the cohort, and build relationships with range of teachers. It will be an opportunity for personal growth outside of the normal classroom setting.

Should you have any questions about this experience please contact kbailey@stmarks.wa.edu.au or kclape@stmarks.wa.edu.au.

Yours sincerely

Kellie Bailey Kristin Clape

Head of Year 6 Deputy Head of Middle School

Chess Club at St Marks started this week with two days available for students.

Stanislav Smetankin is a Chess Master and currently ranked 4th in Australia. He's been coaching students on how to play chess in the United States, Indonesia and here in Australia having previously worked for the Sydney Academy of Chess. He has been highly successful and worked with young chess players with a former students of his finishing third in the World Cup in 2013 and winning the Australian championships for the under 16 at only the age of 9. He has a proven track record of highly skilled chess coaching.

The Chess Club would take place on a Tuesday afternoon from 3:30 to 4:30 and Thursday afternoon from 3:30 to 4:30.

There will be a $11(inc gst) per week fee charged for the club, and we will be charging this for the entirety of Semester 1. The Club will begin in Week 5 and continue to Week 9 of Term 2. Therefore, the fee for the remainder of semester one will be $165. All enrolment fees for attendance at this chess club are to be paid in advance. Unfortunately, if your child misses the Club, the fee is not refundable.

https://events.humanitix.com/chess-club-2025

Yours sincerely

John Stewart

Head of Senior School

St Mark's Anglican Community School is required to administer the NAPLAN assessments online for all students in Year 7 and 9. The testing period is from Wednesday 12 March to Monday 24 March. If students are absent on a testing day during this window, catch-up tests will be scheduled.

There are 4 NAPLAN tests which include Writing, Reading, Conventions of Language and Numeracy. Testing will be conducted in the Hall and students will sit the tests with their cohort.

There has been a significant increase in students eligible for testing accommodations. All students will therefore be accommodated in the Hall. Learning Diversity staff will supervise the tests alongside Classroom teachers.

All NAPLAN tests require the use of a laptop with the ability to play audio. All students need their fully charged laptop for all tests.

Students will also need to bring their own earphones to use for the testing. It is also recommended students bring a pen/pencil for planning/calculations.

The planned schedule for NAPLAN testing is available in SEQTA notices.

Kind regards

John Stewart

Head of Middle School

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.

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

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.