Middle School Bulletin - Term 2, Week 1

Please note the following changes to Cafeteria services on St Mark's Day, 24 April 2024:

• There are no changes to Cafeteria operations for Early Learning and Junior School
• Middle and Senior School students will have access to the Cafeteria for recess ONLY
• Middle and Senior School students WILL NOT be able to purchase or pre-order lunch on 24 April. Instead, students should bring their own lunch or bring cash/card to purchase lunch from the St Mark's Day Sausage Sizzle!
  

St Mark's Day Sausage Sizzle

As part of the Year 11 Fundraiser for Anglicare WA, there will be a sausage sizzle during the lunch break on St Mark's Day this Wednesday. This will be the only food available as the cafeteria will be closed for the Secondary School lunchtime on the day.

The Junior School (Year 2-5) will be able to purchase a sausage sizzle only (no soft drink). For Junior School students only - please place $3 in an envelope (please put the child's name on the envelope) and have your child hand it to the class teacher before the end of this week, Friday, 19 April.

We would love to sell as many as possible, so hopefully, our students will all be really hungry after running the cross country.

The cost of a sausage sizzle is $3, and cans of soft drinks are available for $2. Vegetarian and gluten-free options will also be available.

Uniform Requirements

ELC (K-Yr 1) Students: to wear their normal uniform.

Junior (Yr 2-5) Students: to wear their House Sports Uniform (with appropriate sports shoes and socks).

Secondary (Yr 6-12) Students: to wear their House Sports Uniform (with appropriate sports shoes and socks).

As we strive to create a safe and focused learning environment at our middle school, we kindly request that all item drop-offs for students and any visits to the school premises be coordinated through our designated Parent Reception area.

Additionally, for the safety and security of our students and staff, we require that all parents/carers and visitors sign in at Parent Reception upon arrival. Those without the check-in sticker may be stopped and asked to return to Reception to complete the sign-in process.

Your cooperation in delivering items to the Parent Reception and adhering to our sign-in policy is greatly valued and contributes to the smooth functioning of our school community.

K-12 School photos will take place during Term 2, Week 3.

Photo order forms were sent home with students during the first week of Term 2. These forms are to be completed and returned to your child’s class teacher/PCG tutor as soon as possible.

Please also take a look at the following flyer, which contains more detailed information: 2024 Photo Day flyer

Please view the Photo Day Schedule here.

Students must wear the formal winter uniform for school photos.

On Tuesday, 7 May, we will hold Parent-Teacher Interviews for Years 7 to 9. In light of this, all Secondary students will be dismissed early from School on this day at 1pm.

We are offering face-to-face and online interviews. You can have an online interview from 1:30 pm to 3:35 pm and a face-to-face one from 4:00 pm to 7:30 pm. The portal for requesting an interview will open on Friday 19^th April. You will receive an email from the school regarding registering for an interview. You will nominate the type of interview you would like and a preferred time. The system will allocate you a time. However, we cannot guarantee you will get the requested time. The nomination portal will close on Tuesday of Week 3, and you will receive an email by Friday of that week with your assigned time and a Teams link for an online interview if required.

We only provide interviews for Mathematics, English, Science, HaSS and Language subjects, and there are limited places. If you cannot secure an interview on the day, please get in touch with your child’s teacher directly to arrange a time to discuss their progress.

As you know, students can no longer use their mobile phones to make purchases in the canteen. Students can now purchase food using a SmartRider or EFTPOS card. Please arrange for your child to have a SmartRider or alternative card for purchasing food in the Cafeteria. This new system not only ensures a faster and safer transaction but also helps manage your child's expenses more effectively.

Our neighbours around the school have complained about risky bike and scooter riding near the school. Some students weave through traffic and put themselves at risk at times during the day when traffic is particularly heavy. If your child rides to school, please speak with them about keeping themselves and motorists safe by riding sensibly and safely near traffic on footpaths.

Great news! The Perth Girls Programming Network (GPN) is back for Term 3 and will take place on Saturday, 17 August.

The Girls Programming Network is for high school girls and gender-diverse students in Years 7-12 who are interested in learning how to program or improve their coding skills. GPN is a unique opportunity to make friends, meet people with similar interests, and learn about Perth's tech community.

Tickets are essential, and you can book yours here. Download the flyer here.

Save the date for the other 2024 GPN workshop dates later this year ...

• Term 4 - 23rd November
  

Due to the recent world events in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as the horrific tragedy that occurred over the weekend in Sydney, the world we now live in is a very different place. The hyperconnected nature of our current environment means we are constantly being reminded of the challenges we face via numerous media and social media channels. Our connectivity to the digital world exposes us to a barrage of messages that can leave us feeling overwhelmed. As a result, many children and their parents are reporting higher levels of stress and anxiety.

SchoolTV has several articles that provide strategies for managing feelings of overwhelm that you or your child may be experiencing. Please click here to access SchoolTV.

The ABC News has also released an article on helping children process the coverage. Please click here to access the ABC article.

It is a timely reminder that we should be mindful of turning the TV off and limiting social media for our children during this period.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to our Wellbeing Team should you or your child require any assistance.

Wellbeing Team: (08) 9403 1304 or psychsupportteam@stmarks.wa.edu.au

The Year 8 Extension class is writing poetry about “Walking in the Footsteps” by others. As such, we would like volunteers from our school community to share their experiences regarding their journey to Australia.

Students would like to delve into the reasons why this country was chosen, why they left their country, their experience when they first arrived, what they miss from their country of origin, whether it was how they thought it would be, and whether they experienced any negatives along with the positives…

We would love to see photos or documents reflecting their journey and history.

Our participants would need to be available at St Mark's on Monday, 29 April, from 9.50am to 10.40am.

We value you and the stories you have to share as part of the St Mark’s Community.

For further information and to register your interest, please contact Mrs McGibbon at pmcgibbon@stmarks.wa.edu.au.

Parent commitment hours are available for participating in this event.

St Mark's is again looking for volunteers to assist with supervision for the upcoming Year 11 exams from Tuesday 29 October to Friday 8 November.

Sessions are broken up into two time slots, morning (08:00am to 12:00pm) and afternoon (1:00pm to 4:30pm).

Please sign up here. Please only choose 1 session time per family to allow all families a chance at helping.

Please find below the current Parent Commitment Hour reports logged up to 15 April 2024. You will need your family code as shown on your St Mark's account statements, to check your individual log.

Parent Commitment Hours Summary

Parent Commitment Hours Detailed

We are sure you have seen the SEQTA email and App notice regarding the Uniform Survey. If not, we would appreciate it if you could take a few minutes to complete it and provide your feedback.

Your input from the survey will be valuable in shaping future decisions concerning the St Mark's school uniform. While the Uniform Committee will review all suggestions, not all will be implemented. Rest assured, there are no immediate changes to the uniform, so any purchases made at the Uniform Shop will not be affected.

If you have not completed the survey yet, please do so before Friday 26 April 2024. CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE SURVEY.

Thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback.

The St Mark’s Uniform Committee

The SEQTA Engage App now allows parents to notify the school of their child's absence. We encourage all families to use this method for reporting if your child is late, leaving early, or absent for a day. For absences longer than 3 days, please email using the absentee email address.

To enter your child's absences into SEQTA Engage, simply log in as usual, and you'll see a new tab called Absence at the top of the Welcome panel. Remember to include your name and reason for absences in the comment section.

Thank you for your support!

Please check your account is up to date. Quarterly remaining payments are due :

• 30 April
• 30 July
• 22 Oct

For any queries, please contact familyaccounts@stmarks.wa.edu.au

Thank you

With Term 2 now underway, we thought it was timely to remind our families to be neighbourly when parking around the School and also adhere to the Kiss n Drive rules.

• Please note that both Whitfords Avenue and Endeavour Road are school zones, so the speed limit is 40km/h during school hours.
• Drive carefully and be alert for pedestrians.
  Please do not park in neighbouring business' parking bays, including the commercial complex directly next door (which includes AutoMasters and Better Pets), the Endeavour Business Centre across the road, Endeavour Child Care and the Whitfords Family Centre. The bays in these facilities are set aside for their customers.
• Older students with P-plates/Drivers licences should park across the road near Muzz Buzz
• Remind your children to cross at points where Traffic Wardens are in operation.
• Please drive with caution, as there will be lots of excited children making their way to school.
• Please do not double park at any location, including (but not limited to): Kiss ‘n Drive points, St Marks Drive, School parking areas, 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.
• Remember, during drop-off and pick-up times, the traffic in and around the School can get very heavy, and some behaviours put our students - your children - at risk.

Thank you all so much for your assistance!

“SAVE THE DATE” for the Secondary School Eisteddfod, Week 6, Sunday 26 May from 2pm onwards. Open to all music students from Year 6-12 who learn an instrument at school or privately. You can enter either as a soloist or as part of a small ensemble. More information to come!

Calling all Old Scholars who have children currently attending St Mark's ...

We will hold our annual Old Scholar Generations photo on Tuesday, 30 April 2024, at 7.45am. If you and your child/ren would like to be included in our Old Scholar Generations Photo, please book your spot by clicking the link at the bottom.

We will be hosting a light breakfast catch-up in the Quad from 7.00am - 7.45am.

Please note that students will be required to wear formal winter uniforms.

Date: Tuesday 30 April 2024

Time:

• 7.00am for light breakfast and catch-up
• 7.45am for 8.00am for the Generational Photo

Venue: St Mark's Anglican Community School Hall

Please note that we will have a videographer filming the morning to capture footage of our wonderful Old Scholars and their families to promote the Old Scholars' Association.

Book your spot 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.