Kiara College Newsletter - Term 4 2021
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Principal's Message
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Armed For Life
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Mental Health Expo
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Yoh Fest
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Farewell to the Graduating Class of 2021
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Visit from the Electoral Commission
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The "Giving Back" Project
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Camping in Margaret River
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Bright Star - The Musical
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UWA Year 8 Discovery Day
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Dreaming at ECU
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Kaleidescope of Colour
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K-Fest Photographs
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Christmas Carollers
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Important Dates for 2022
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Secondary Assistance Scheme
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ABSTUDY Supplement Allowance
Principal's Message
Kaya moorditj moortj, maarmen, yorga wer koolanga
Hello good families, men, women and children
2021 has been a wonderful success as our journey for continuous improvement continues. Staff, students, families and community all combine to form what is a formula for students’ success, achievement and progress. Additionally, our School Review confirmed and supported our growth and improvement and acknowledged significant milestones across the College.
We look forward to growth in the number of enrolments in 2022 as this trend of the past few years continues. The benefits of this for our community is greater choice and pathway opportunities, as we seek to continuously improve outcomes and engagement for our students and families. Our building program has largely finished, and over the holidays the outdoor basketball stadium will have the final surface coating applied and some minor ground works and garden beds finalised. We look forward to a grand opening in Term 1.
I am on leave in Term 1 and Kaye Stevens will be taking on the role as Principal. I have every confidence in Kaye’s astute leadership, and her passion and pursuit of whole school improvement. Welcome to Bryan Rodrigues who will be the Associate Principal for Years 9 and 10 in Term 1.
This year, our graduating class once again shone, with parents and student aspirations being realised. Students gained: places in courses of choice at TAFE; the job or apprenticeship they were seeking; or that competitive place at university, including two students embarking on a degree in medicine.
Thank you to parents, caregivers and families, who have supported all of our students in 2021. Your dedication, care and nurturing has been significant in their progress.
I wish all students, families and staff a safe and restful break, and looking forward to setting challenges and achieving personal goals and milestones in 2022.
Take care and be safe
Grant Brown
PRINCIPAL
Armed For Life
Kiara College students from all year groups participated in a series of Wellbeing Day workshops and presentations run by Adam, Courtney and NBL1 player Justin King from Armed For Life.
The workshops focused on developing resilience, self-awareness and managing emotions. Our male students attended “Real Men” with female students attending ”Real Beauty” sessions. Students also had the opportunity to participate in basketball workshops run by NBL1 player Justin King.
Showing off their refined skills, the students faced off against Justin, Adam, and college staff in an epic lunchtime basketball game. It was a fast-paced game and the students smashed the teachers, much to the delight of most of the College, whose vocal support was deafening. Not even an NBL1 player could save the teachers and staff from the crushing defeat on the day but it did build some good “street cred” for them amongst the students.
What a way to spend one of the last days at school for 2021 and an absolute privilege having Armed for Life at the school again. We can’t wait to welcome Adam and the team back in 2022 with a definite rematch on the cards!!
Mental Health Expo
The Kiara College Mental Health Expo was a huge success this year!!
It was a fun-filled day with many organisations attending to provide and facilitate information, activities and prizes for the students to win. We were lucky enough to have the Salvation Army with us for the whole day supervising several inflatables as well as running games with the students and staff.
A big thank you to the team at Roogenic for donating teas, honey and native bush foods for our students and local community so they could learn about, and taste, local bush tucker.
We also thank the following organisations for attending and engaging with our College community, and supporting us in what we do:
- Act Belong Commit
- Altone Youth Services
- Anglicare WA
- Brake the Psychol
- Headspace
- Helping Minds
- Lifeline
- Mission Australia
- Outside the Locker Room
- Parkerville
- Project Hope
- SHQ
- Street Doctor
- Suicide Support Car
- Therapy Focus
- Wungan Kartup
We look forward to working with these amazing organisations again in 2022, and thank everyone for their contributions and support in 2021.
Yoh Fest
Kiara College is lucky to have such dedicated, passionate and hard-working music students, who consistently deliver amazing performances across the year!
During Term 3, our Year 11 Certificate II Music Industry students began working on a unit of competency that required them to compose a chart topper, with one of the criteria for it to be performed for a specific competition.
Act-Belong-Commit YOH Fest (Youth On Health Festival) is a performing and visual arts event for WA school students and combines the fun of the arts with health education that creates a unique, exciting and valuable experience for young people. It is a state-wide competition that educates and empowers thousands of young people every year to lead a more positive and healthier lifestyle by using the ARTS platform for primary and high school students to explore important health issues, and to harness their creativity and enthusiasm to convey these health messages to their peers.
The students decided to use YOH Fest as inspiration for their work, and began writing a song that would fit into the theme for 2021, “Keeping Up Appearances”
Entitled ‘H.I.D.E’, the song’s message focused on how teenagers are forever locked away behind screens, filters and makeup and never really show their true self, consistently hiding who they really are.
The students were invited to the YOH Fest Grand Finals at the Mandurah Performing Arts Centre in October where they performed to a large audience during the intermission. With harmonised guitars, big and bold voices and a few extremely intricate guitar solos, the Kiara College Certificate II Music Industry students were announced as the Act-Belong-Commit YOH Fest 2021 Original Song Winners!
Congratulations to Sean, Tobias, Ellie, Charlie and Trishia for their amazing work and incredible prize-winning performance!!
Farewell to the Graduating Class of 2021
The Kiara College community came together to celebrate with a mix of happiness and sadness the graduation of our 2021 Year 12 Students at the start of the term. This year’s graduates added their own personal touch to the traditional events held to celebrate the end of their college years by setting up a waterslide behind the English block on the second last day of school. A small group of Year 12 students and staff braved cooler weather to show off their best slide moves, while Ms Stevens and Mr Grubba kept the water and detergent flowing.
On the last day of school, Mrs Grogan and a legion of supporting staff hosted the popular and much loved Year 12 Farewell Breakfast. The breakfast was attended by all graduating students and provided a wonderful opportunity for students and staff to enjoy some delicious food, reminisce about times shared at school, and celebrate with some fun awards.
The graduates moved from breakfast to watching the Year 12 End of Year video, after which they had their Final Year Assembly that was attended by the all College staff and students, along with invited family members. The Year 12 students walked into the applause of the College, with the formal program including Mr Brown’s Principal’s Address, followed by the College Captains’ Address from Ronna Pua and Jonnabel Lobo.
The Graduating class were treated to a respectful and emotional guard of honour by the Kiara College community as they walked through the school gates for the last time. There were plenty of tears flowing as students said their final farewells to each other, to other students, and to teachers. A group of Year 12 students then boarded the Kiara College bus for one last reward excursion, a relaxing day at Adventure World that proved to be a perfect way to unwind and relax.
The last formal event for the Year 12 Students was the annual Presentation Evening held in October that celebrated their academic achievements. It which was held at the Rise Maylands and was well attended by over 200 people including students, families and friends, staff, and special guests.
An emotional highlight of the evening was a vocal performance by a group of Year 12 students singing “These Days” which brought tears to the eyes of everyone in the room, and was later featured in a Department of Education Twitter post by Leon Wilson, Assistant Director of Education, North Metropolitan Education Regional Office, who attended the evening.
Past student Manjot Singh, Kiara College Graduate - 2015, gave an inspiring keynote address to the Graduating Class.
The presentation of awards was made even more special with presenters providing a brief background on each student receiving an award.
My New Gallery
Visit from the Electoral Commission
Our RISE students were lucky enough to have Jaqui Smith from the Electoral Commission visit in Week 6. They were commended for their knowledge of our democracy, their full participation in the mock election where all students were either a candidate or a polling official, and helping to count the votes. Jaqui forwarded a very complimentary email, thanking the class for their fantastic behaviour and participation during this lesson. Well done crew!
The "Giving Back" Project
During Term 4, Ms Jeewa and Matua Epiha worked on an integrated project with some of their Year 7 English, HASS and Mathematics students on a project called "Giving Back." The purpose of the project was to teach the students about showing gratitude and thanks towards their loved ones and learning that the act of giving back is a value that we should always be thinking of.
As part of the project, the students prepared, cooked and served a 3-course meal for special invited guests that included sausage rolls, spring rolls, chicken green curry with rice, spaghetti bolognaise, apple crumble and self-saucing pudding.
Students were involved in all aspects of the afternoon including menu design, budgeting, preparing shopping lists and cooking.
There were some very satisfied guests leaving the College who could not stop talking about the beautiful meals they had eaten, and how impressed they were that the students had done everything themselves. They also loved the additional entertainment that was provided when the class sang several songs, guided by their Maths/Science teacher and guitarist, Matua Epiha.
Ms Jeewa and Matua Epiha commended the students on their work with budgeting, designing the menu, as well as their collaboration and positive interactions with their peers and guests.
Camping in Margaret River
Undalup Association facilitated a fantastic Follow the Dream (FTD) camp for some of our students in the Margaret River region. With FTD students from Dianella Secondary College and Hampton Senior High School, it was a great experience for everyone involved.
They travelled from Wadjak Boodja (country), through Pindjarup Boodja to Wadandi Boodja (finishing at RAC Margaret River Nature Park) on Tuesday, and arrived in time to do an Acknowledgement of Country and a sensory activity in the daylight. The sensory activity involved students being put in pairs with students from different schools. One student from each pair was blind folded and the other had to direct them through a trail in the bushland, developing trust with their partner. After dinner, the evening finished with a Quiz Night.
Day 1 included a bushwalk followed by a bus trip to the bilya (river) mouth in Prevelly. Iszaac Webb (Wadandi Custodian), Wayne Webb (Wadandi Elder) and Toni Webb met the group when they arrived. Iszaac then led them up the bilya in their kayaks showing them different food sources and the vegetation required to make string for fish traps. They reached their destination where students were tasked with loading up the trailer with paperbark that would be used to make a Miya Miya (home - traditional shelter) later that day.
Everyone then kayaked back to the bilya mouth for lunch and the students had some free time afterwards. In the afternoon they worked with Iszaac and Wayne on building a Miya Miya from the materials they had gathered while kayaking, with the day ending with an evening of board games.
Day 2 started with the students working with other members of the Undalup Association to assist in protecting the natural vegetation in the sand dunes of Gracetown. They were tasked with removing the invasive weed in the dunes from their roots, which proved that many hands do make light work.
Learning how to surf in Prevelley was facilitated by Josh Palmateer’s Surf Academy and was a great experience for everyone involved. Students learned different aspects of the surf and familiarised themselves with the surfboard on the sand before moving to the maambakoort (ocean) with their coaches. All students had a good go at standing up on the waves.
After lunch, everyone travelled to an area of bushland where Iszaac, Wayne and Toni showed them the blood root as a food source, the leaves to rub on skin to deter march flies, skin remedies, leaves to make different bird noises and the resin from balgas that would be an ingredient for the glue for their next cultural activity. Back at the campsite students were given the opportunity to make their own traditional tool with Wayne and Iszaac.
On the final night the students watched a movie about Eddie Koiki Mabo. It detailed how his actions lead to the High Court decision which enabled all First Nations People to put in their claims for Native Title.
A big thanks to Denise Cullen (Hampton SHS Teacher) and Jody Epiha (Kiara College Teacher) for their work on the camp and their great support which encluded Matua Epiha creating and teaching the students a song to sing (using several Noongar words) to Wayne and Toni on the final morning.
Bright Star - The Musical
On the 17th November, Kiara College Drama, Dance and Music students from Years 9 to 11 attended an excursion to the Western Australia Academy of Performing Arts to see the matinee session of Bright Star: The Musical. Bright Star moves between the 1920’s and 1940’s in a sweeping tale of love, regret and redemption, wrapped up in a sweet bluegrass musical.
Students were seated in the Roundhouse Theatre where they watched the 2nd Year WAAPA students perform a fantastic musical! Students watched in awe as they saw how they could combine dance, music and drama into a full-blown production. From onstage mishaps to watching the music students performing live, all our students were hooked throughout the entire performance.
At the end of the performance, students were buzzing with excitement as they talked about what they had watched. It was a noisy and engaged trip back to College as they chatted eagerly about how they could be involved in our musical, Heathers, that is being planned for 2022.
UWA Year 8 Discovery Day
Follow the Dream (FTD) students from Kiara College, Dianella Secondary College and Morley SHS attended the UWA Year 8 Discovery Day.
It involved a quick tour of the Bilya Marlee Centre, home to the School of Indigenous Studies at UWA, where students experienced different courses that can be studied at UWA including Psychology, Zoology and Sport Science.
In Zoology, they observed the behaviours of live crickets and learnt the meaning behind some sounds of different animals. Students were taken into the world of Sport Science and shown some of the facilities. They were able to experience the exercises that Sport Scientists utilise on athletes.
The exercises assessed students’ flexibility, strength, agility, speed and power. Current Aboriginal UWA students (including past FTD students) were assisting the students throughout the whole day. By giving the students a sense of a few different study areas at UWA, the aim was to stimulate an interest in areas they may not have considered previously.
Dreaming at ECU
Last Friday our Follow the Dream program took students from Hampton SHS, Kiara College and Morley SHS and to attend Dreaming at ECU.
Our students had the unique opportunity to hear about courses, cadetships and scholarships available to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. Over the course of the day, students explored ECU’s Mt Lawley campus through a scavenger hunt, heard from Aboriginal students currently enrolled in ECU’s courses, and explored possibilities for their own futures including learning how to hack devices (Cyber Security), and protect them from other hackers!
The students had a fabulous day and thoroughly enjoyed the chance to learn more about future study opportunities.
Kaleidescope of Colour
It was a perfect day in Week 7 when Student Services facilitated the Colour Run.
Colour was the theme and fun was the goal, and it was definitely achieved with students and staff having a great time.
It was an awesome way to end the week before a long weekend, big thanks to our Student Services Team for once again organising an event that was appreciated by everyone that participated.
K-Fest Photographs
Christmas Carollers
Our Year 8 Kiara College Carollers spread the Christmas spirit when they visited classrooms, staff offices and the Administration Offices singing a selection of Christmas Carols in December.
With lots of cheering, clapping and singing along, everyone was entertained by the wonderful performances by the students and Mrs Leggo, it was a great way to get everyone in the mood for Christmas!!
The Administration Office were excited to have an encore performance which was shared on our College Facebook page, head on over there and check out the live performance.
Important Dates for 2022
ADMINISTRATION OFFICE - SCHOOL HOLIDAY HOURS
The Administration Office is closed from 12.00pm Friday 17 December 2021, and reopens Monday 10 January 2022.
School holiday hours for the Administration Office, from and including 10 January, are:
- Monday to Friday - 8.00am to 3.30pm
UNIFORM SHOP - SCHOOL HOLIDAY HOURS
- Tuesday 25 January - 8.30am to 3.15pm
- Thursday 27 January - 8.30am to 3.15pm
- Friday 28 January - 8.30am to 3.15pm
STUDENTS RETURN TO COLLEGE - 2022
- Monday 31 January
TERM DATES - 2022
- Term 1 - Monday 31 January to Friday 8 April
- Term 2 - Tuesday 26 April to Friday 1 July
- Term 3 - Monday 18 July to Friday 23 September
- Term 4 - Monday 10 October to Thursday 15 December
SIREN TIMES (Monday to Friday)
Please note, from the beginning of Term 1 Kiara College will no longer have a late start on a Wednesday.
College hours will be as follows:
- Before School - 8.28am to 8.50am (22 minutes)
- Period 1 - 8.50am to 9.54am (64 minutes)
- Period 2 - 9.54am to 10.58am (64 minutes)
- Recess - 10.58am to 11.21am (23 minutes)
- Period 3 - 11.21am to 12.25pm (64 minutes)
- Period 4 - 12.25pm to 1.29pm (64 minutes)
- Lunch - 1.29pm to 1.51pm (22 minutes)
- Period 5 - 1.51pm to 2.55pm (64 minutes)
- After School - 2.55pm to 3.17pm (22 minutes)
*"Before School" and "After School" denotes staff on duty.
UNIFORM SHOP OPENING HOURS
Uniform Shop hours during term are as follows:
- Monday - 8.15am to 3.45pm
- Wednesday - 8.15am to 3.45pm
- Friday - 8.15am to 3.45pm
PUPIL FREE DAYS
- Thursday 27 January
- Friday 28 January
- Tuesday 7 June
- Monday 18 July
- Monday 7 November
- Friday 16 December
The above dates are correct as at 21 December 2021, and are subject to change.
Parents will be notified in the event that dates change.
Secondary Assistance Scheme
The Secondary Assistance Scheme (SAS) is available to parents/guardians with children enrolled in secondary schooling who hold an eligible concession card.
The Secondary Assistance Scheme comprises of:
- $115.00 Clothing Allowance paid directly to the parent/guardian or the College, and
- $235.00 Educational Program Allowance paid directly to the school.
Conditions apply, more information is available below. Please note, the application form included with the 2022 Contributions and Charges was for 2021 and cannot be used for 2022. The correct form is available below as well as at our Administration Office.
Applications close Friday 8 April 2022.
ABSTUDY Supplement Allowance
The ABSTUDY Supplement Allowance comprises of the Education Program Allowance which is paid to the school.
The Allowance comprises of:
- $79.00 Education Program Allowance and paid directly to the College.
Conditions apply, more information is available below. Applications forms are available below and at our Administration Office.
Applications close Friday 8 April 2022.