September 15, 2020 by rosie.gamble

Term 3, Week 8

“It doesn’t matter if you win or lose; it’s how you play the game.” How many times have you heard this saying or said these words to another person? The way we “play the game” or “do life,” is an important concept that we should regularly reflect upon. I would suggest that more and more, the messages that our children are receiving each day unfortunately indicate, that it doesn’t matter how you play the game. They are hearing the message that mediocrity is cool and that standing out or performing well or at your best is not. Today young people use the word SWEAT or SWEATY, to describe the behaviours of someone who is trying their best. This is intended to be a negative term, but I ask the question, when did doing your best and giving 100% effort become uncool? Certainly, it’s a given, that for any individual to become successful in life, that giving 100% in all that you do, is the number one prerequisite to master. We can’t control our talent, but we can control our efforts. There are many well-known stories of successful people, people like, Bill Gates, Michael Jordan or Dr Fiona Wood who, in their pursuit of excellence, are well known to many; these people are always working to their full potential. We must not forget or ignore the fact that successful people have failures and setbacks, on the contrary, they have many failures, but these people are not deterred from attaining goals based upon another person’s negative words or demeanour. Accepting mediocrity or “near enough is good enough” attitude is simply not an option. Clearly not every young person will become a famous international success story, so does it matter how you play the game? If we want our young people to successfully manoeuvre through the challenges that are presented to them throughout life’s journey and to be the best that they can be, we need to be teaching them from a young age that doing your best, in all things, on all occasions, is a worthwhile practise. Whether our students are great mathematicians or not, literary scholars or not, athletes, thespians or musicians, the list goes on, they need know that a mediocre effort doesn’t cut it. It doesn’t matter if you are the best at something, the worst at something or if you find yourself somewhere in the middle, our mantra should always be that giving 100% is how the game should be played. Russell Gilchrist Dean of Parresia

Maths Club

Every Wednesday in the Library from 3:30-4:30 Mathematics teachers make themselves available to provide help and tuition to students with their Mathematics learning. If students need extra help in maths coming to Maths club should be one of the first things they do! Come along with questions that you need help with, or just use the time to do your maths homework in a setting where you can get help straight away when you get stuck. This is something that all who come benefit from, from Year 7 to Year 12, and at all levels of ability from the weakest to the strongest maths student.

A Knight’s Tale – Year 11 Drama

Year 11 Drama are in the mist of studying “Drama Performance Events” learning how to plan, develop and stage a full theatre performance. Each student has been in charge of a different department; publicity and marketing, stage design, costumes, hair and make-up, lighting and sound, props and directing. Next Tuesday they will perform their play “A Knight’s Tale” for Years 3 – 6 during their Drama lesson, so they can evaluate the effectiveness of the performance.

Fairy tale Folly – Year 9/10 Drama

Year 9/10 Drama have been busy organising sets, costumes and rehearsing their fairy tale play; “Fairy tale Folly”. The play is a mixture of multiple fairy tales which have been mixed up and require the audiences help to put the stories back into the storybook. 9/10 Drama will perform to Year 1 and 2 students next Wednesday. Year 1 have recently studied fairy tales which raises the pressure and expectation on the 9/10 Drama students to create believable characters.

Love Languages Posters Competition

At the end of Term 2, Year 7 students had to be creative and express the reasons why they love learning languages and particularly French. Students selected Julia’s poster to represent St Stephen’s in an inter-school competition organised by Modern Language Teachers Association with the support of the WA Government and the Office of Multicultural Interests. Julia’s poster has been short listed and selected to be displayed in the MLTAWA’s online gallery in celebration of Languages Week 2020. Julia received her certificate of merit during last Assembly.

Let’s cook French specialties !

On Tuesday 8 September, Year 8 students enjoyed preparing two traditional French recipes. On the menu, delicious croque-monsieur and apple cakes. A fun way to learn about French language and culture.

LAW Society Mock Trial SSS Carramar defeat Hale School

With a very inexperienced but enthusiastic team, St Stephens Carramar was able to defeat Hale School 134-126 in a civil matter that involved a damaged burger restaurant, ‘Meat is Murder’ chants and a red mohawk ! This concluded an abbreviated competition for 2020 on a winning note. Team (L-R) Joshua Plummer (Teacher-in-charge), Abigail Legge, Tahlia Beckitt, Riana Shah, Tegan Shirdon, Emily Forsythe, Eloise Hanna, Darcy Beckitt & Sarah Wordsworth (Coach). Absent: Peter Ferreira

School Holiday Program

Are you all sorted with your school holiday plans? With less than two weeks to go, make sure you book in for the best learning experience around! In partnership with St Stephen’s School, Fire Tech Australia have over 20 exclusive courses designed to educate, entertain and inspire the next generation of innovators, with courses suiting children aged 6-9, 9-12, and 12-17. There are limited seats available so hurry and get in quick! https://www.firetechcamp.com.au/

WA POLICE FORCE ABORIGINAL CADET PROGRAM – Now open

Do you know someone who would make an excellent Cadet? The Western Australia Police Force is looking for applicants to join the Aboriginal Cadet program. The program provides participants with a first-hand view of the dynamic and exciting world of policing. Cadets gain exposure to a range of unique policing activities and get a true taste of what it means to be part of the WA Police Force family. We encourage you to identify members of the community who may be suitable for the program and to speak with them about this exciting opportunity. Applicants must be between 17 – 25 years of age and of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander decent. Cadets are paid during their training and will earn a nationally accredited qualification (Certificate II in General Education for Adults). The next cadet intake is scheduled to commence in early January 2021 and applications from both metropolitan and regional locations are being accepted. An Aboriginal Cadet Program Information Session is scheduled for Saturday, 10 October 2020 at 9:00am at the WA Police Academy in Joondalup. Potential applicants are encouraged to book via the Step Forward website. This is a great opportunity to learn more about the recruitment and selection process and what it is like to be a cadet in the WA Police Force. To learn more and to download an application form, simply visit the Step Forward website. If you would like any further information, or should an applicant require support with their application, the Police Recruiting team is available and happy to assist. Ph: (08) 9301 9707 police.recruiting@police.wa.gov.au Thank you for supporting the program. POLICE RECRUITING WA POLICE FORCE

Term 3, Week 6

As part pf the pastoral care team at St. Stephen’s, I’ve had the opportunity to help many students through difficult times over the years. As a means of self-improvement and professional development, I’ve recently started reading the work of Brene Brown; a researcher who studies courage, shame, vulnerability, and empathy. Sounds heavy doesn’t it? Here’s a little of what I’ve learned.

Imagine this scenario. You drop your child off at school or at a friend’s or at sport and you go about your day. An hour later, you check your phone and there’s a missed call from your child. What’s the first thing you imagine? If you’re like most people, you’ll imagine that something bad has happened and you feel the need to jump in and rescue them. It’s instinctual to want to protect our children.

We want our children to be resilient and courageous, however, we don’t want to see them fail or struggle. Unfortunately, the only way to grow courage and resilience is to fail and go through struggle. The key is learning how to get back up again and do so independently.

According to Brene Brown, courage does not exist without vulnerability. Vulnerability is the ‘willingness to show up and let people in’. Every courageous act, no matter how small opens us up to being hurt or embarrassed.

Our children will go through struggles in their lives, particularly during adolescence. There may be friendship issues or concern about failing grades. When our child says they’ve failed a big test or caused a friendship issue, our response if often, ‘it’s all good, don’t worry about it’ and ‘just find someone else to hang out with’. Unfortunately, when they hear this, they continue to worry.

If our response becomes, ‘tell me why you feel bad about it’, they feel heard and supported. This open the lines of communication and deepens the trust and connection we have with our children. They need empathy not sympathy.

Empathy creates ‘an environment hostile to shame’. It allows us to build trust with our children so that we can have the hard conversations. They can hear our feedback and be held accountable when they haven’t done the right thing and develop the ability to adapt to change.

If our children are to develop courage and resilience, they will do so while facing challenges. As parents, it’s difficult to watch our children struggle (I’ve been there), but it is crucial in their journey to becoming wholehearted individuals.

Take care

Mrs Sarah Stockton-Rice

Dean of Charis

Meet the UWA Scientists Day

On Thursday 27 August our Year 10 students went to the Science Café at UWA . Here are some photos of the fun they had on the day

Year 11 River Cruise

Friday 28 August saw the gala event Year 11 River Cruise. Students and staff alike shared a wonderful night together cruising on the beautiful Swan River. The theme of the night was “Famous Faces”, and with this theme The Beatles, Star Lord, Borat, characters from Inside Out, Cat in the Hat along with many more stars from both the past and the present graced the us with their presence. Thanks to Mr Mark Batten for his organisation of this fabulous event. We already look forward to 2021 with expectation and excitement.

Year 7 Team Building Day

On Wednesday 19 August, the Year 7 cohort traveled with their Deans to The Swan Valley Camp for a day of fun, focusing on Team Building and Leadership activities. Students were divided into 4 different groups and experienced physical and mental challenges in their quest to conquer the activities set before them. Obstacle courses included mud runs, rope climbing, commando crawls, see saw team balances, avoiding the mine fields and many other enjoyable activities. The Year 7’s learned of the importance of being resilient, working together, listening to others and how to agree to disagree with respect. We look forward to our second team building activity in Term 4.

A Day@DNA Zoo Incursion

As part of our National Science Week program, on Wednesday 19 August, Year 11 and 12 Biology students participated in an on-campus workshop where they learned about the emerging field of research that is conservation genomics. In a collaborative project between UWA and BioBarcode Australia, scientists are attempting to further protect Australia’s biodiversity by mapping the full genetic complement of some of Australia’s most threatened and vulnerable species of plants and animals.

Facilitated by a visiting UWA PhD student, our students participated in a partly hands-on, partly virtual experience where they magnified a sample of DNA using biotechnologies such as Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and gel electrophoresis. They also used Virtual Reality (VR) goggles to “walk though” the structure of a chromosome.

It was a great opportunity for Year 11 and 12 students to consolidate some skills and concepts that form part of their Biology curriculum, as well as to speak in person to a young scientist who is currently furthering her studies in the field of Australian marsupial susceptibility to parasites.

Elizabeth Kirby – HoLA (Science)

French Day

Year 7’s enjoyed celebrating French Day and assisting their Year 4 buddies in the preparation of Father’s Day.

Movie Night

Last week, the secondary school house captains organised a movie night for our year 3-6 students. It was a great night enjoying pizza while “Despicable Me’.

Australian Childhood Anxiety Treatment Study for 7-12 year Olds

A team at Griffith University is conducting a nationwide study that provides services at no cost to families. The study includes the following:

A thorough assessment of your child’s anxiety with a trained psychologist via the telephone;
Your child receiving one of two kinds of home based treatments delivered on a PC, laptop or tablet; and
Two follow-up telephone assessments with a trained psychologist 6 and 12 months after treatment to track your child’s progress.

Click on the links below for more information and contact details

ACATS Information Flyer

ACATS Information Sheet

August 18, 2020 by rosie.gamble

Term 3, Week 4

Our St. Stephen’s School community is one of great resilience. In the face of pressure and challenge, resilience refers to an ability to bounce back and get on with the task at hand.

As 2020 dawned, terms such as “social isolation”, “lockdown” and “on-line learning” were relatively unfamiliar but in the months ahead, they would find their way into our everyday language. That teaching and learning continued in an organised, effective and purposeful fashion during the “Covid upheaval”, is a great testimony to the resilience of our students, families and staff.

Resilience is a character trait that is well needed in our current culture. A recent report, “The Future of Education”, conducted by McCrindle Research, highlighted the tension that exists between the teaching and learning of core skills as compared with the development of character traits such as resilience. The results around the development of character traits in schools were interesting. Amongst parents surveyed, 57% favoured an increased focus by educators on the development of character/wellness traits like resilience, as well as, leadership, empathy, adaptability and persistence. Amongst educators surveyed, 58% favoured a greater focus. Increasingly, these traits are being seen by the community at large, as essential components for success.

At St. Stephen’s School, an intentional focus on the well-being of other people is a key to developing these character traits in our students. This aligns with our school motto: “Serve God, Serve One Another”. Recent and planned activities in this arena of school life include meal preparation alongside the Heathridge Salvation Army, a Secondary-wide collection of socks as part of the Uniting WA Winter Appeal, garden maintenance for elderly residents in Gingin, knitting of squares for winter blankets, the post-Covid re-establishment of the SSS Lakeside Joondalup Food Rescue and partnering with Rocky Bay to support some of their recreational-based therapies.

It is a great encouragement to see the heart of our community for the well-being of others. As well as fostering the character traits we are seeking to nurture, student exposure to the work performed by so many community groups models a commitment to purpose and achievement. These ongoing activities are House-based and form part of our Homeroom Curriculum.They will remain central to the education of our students, as we seek to grow young men and women of faith with the capacity and confidence to change the world.

In Christ

Mr Stephen Meagher

Deputy Head of Secondary

French Incursion

On Wednesday 12 of August, Year 7 and Year 4 students met.

A fun time for singing to practise time and sharing facts about a sustainable environment. Year 7 assisted their buddies in finalising their drawings for a competition.

All students enjoyed it so much that we will meet again on French Day held on Wednesday 26 August

Madame Richardson 😊

Primary French Teacher

Arts Tour 2021

WHO: Current Year 10 + 11 interested in the Arts. Priority given to students studying an Arts subject in 2021 – Cross Campus.

WHEN: 30 June 2021 to – 7 July 2021 (June/July School Holidays)

WHERE: Melbourne + Sydney

WHAT: Visit art exhibitions, museums, theatre shows, music events, drumming lessons, shopping and much more

WHY: Because it is unbelievable fun for people who love The Arts!

ACTION: Expressions of interest will be taken in Term 4…………………….Deposits taken early Term 1, 2021

Science Week is here!

SCIENTIFIC REACTIONS

Science can be interesting, intriguing, exciting and… surprising! We kick off Science Week with some entertaining photos of Carramar Year 6’s visit to the Secondary Science Labs.

SCIENCE WEEK 2020

The week you’ve all been waiting for is finally here – Science Week! This year’s theme is Deep Blue – Innovation for the future of our Oceans.

Most of the problems facing our deep oceans, require innovation in Science and technology to help overcome. Issues like over-fishing, plastic and chemical pollution, and changes in ocean temperatures and acidity, are some the problems threatening the health of our oceans and survival of many marine species. To raise awareness amongst our student body, there are a number of activities that will be conducted during Homeroom this week – videos to watch, daily Homeroom activities and prizes to be won.

The Library has also got on board most wonderfully. The Library has been decorated with mobiles and posters. Visuals are streaming on the screens all day and there are puzzles and books on display in keeping with the theme, with which students can engage. Heartfelt thanks to the Library team for their enthusiasm.

As part of Science Week, a very special and unique opportunity has been made available to our Year 11 and 12 Biology students on Wednesday 19^th August. We are one of 10 Perth schools who will be participating in a real time webinar on conservation genomics. CONSERVATION GENOMICS is an innovative and emerging area that can play a powerful role in saving many endangered species!

This one-day online event will showcase the exciting work of a unique global collaborative project by DNA Zoo. Since 2018 DNA Zoo have mapped over 100 endangered species genomes using innovative, open access software encouraging a global effort to save Australian species.

Our Yr 11 and 12 Biology students will get a sneak peak at a new social enterprise, BioBarcode Australia. Students will get to see their new way of bringing DNA technologies to schools and the community, which includes digital PCR and virtual reality innovations to “walk through” chromosomes. We will be guided by a guest DNA Zookeeper in person at our school this Wednesday 19^th August.

Thank you, in anticipation, for your engagement with Science Week.

Mrs Kirby

Image courtesy of The rise of Australian marsupials (Authors Karen H. Black, Michael Archer, Suzanne J. Hand, and Henk Godhelp, 2012)

CHARIS CHAMPIONS

Congratulations to Charis House who took out top spot at the Carramar Secondary Athletics Carnival last week! Students showed their House pride by not only dressing up in some great costumes, but by participating in numerous events to win points for their House.

Numero Competition

Congratulations to students that competed in the Numero competition held at the Carramar Campus and the Numero Competition Finals held at Duncraig Senior High School.

School Tours

Do you have friends or family considering St Stephens Carramar for their child’s education?

We regularly conduct small group school tours to give prospective families the opportunity to ask questions and tour the school while it is operating.

Our next group tours are

Primary School Thursday 1 September 1.30 pm

Secondary School Thursday 1 September 2.30 pm

Whole School Thursday 5 November 9 – 10.00 am (bookings available online)

November School Tour Booking Link

Places are limited and bookings essential. Please contact our Admissions Department to book in to our September Tours. Ph. 9243 2108 or email admissions@ststephens.wa.edu.au

The Show Must Go Online

If you missed the curtain call, you can still view the show for the next two weeks via the following link

Carramar Campus:

Click here to view the show

The Show Must Go Online! CARRAMAR 2020

Password: TSMGOCAR

Clubs and Extra Curricular Activities

Psychology Club – Every Wednesday Lunch time S1

This week’s topic “Why do we believe in the supernatural?”

Contact: Mrs Smoker

St Stephens School Foundation Gala

MORE THAN 75% SOLD

Keen for a night out? Get your tickets to the St Stephen’s School Foundation Gala now as more than 75% of tickets have been sold!

Join us for a night of entertainment, prizes and dancing on Saturday, November 7 at Crown Perth.

More details at www.trybooking.com/BHKWP Bookings close October 20.

Image may contain: text that says "PLEASE JOIN US FOR THE ST STEPHEN'S SCHOOL FOUNDAT TION alt Proudly sponsored by PENTANET Perth Powered nternet"

August 4, 2020 by rosie.gamble

Term 3, Week 2

Welcome to the Secondary Blog!

Dear Parents,

Being Head of the entire campus is a wonderful role that has enabled me to really leverage our PK – 12 structure, the skills of our staff and the blessings of our facilities to provide our students with so many more opportunities than previously experienced. Indeed, having such oversight has also unified us all the more and ensured that a deeper understanding of Primary and Secondary teaching paradigms has been gained by staff.

On Wednesday evening last week, we had an outstanding turnout to our Year 5 & 6 Parent Information Evening where Mrs Beare, Mr Meagher, Madame Pilote and myself discussed the above in the context of students transitioning to Secondary. The Deans taking Day Start once a fortnight, the use of Science laboratories, students walking to their specialist subjects unaccompanied, older students attending Year 6 Camp and a ‘whole campus’ Cross-Country Carnival are but a few ways over the last three years where we have intruded on the traditional ‘transition’ program to diminish the divide between primary and secondary.

Enhancing this is our ‘curriculum cross-over’ project whereby secondary students undertake learning activities with primary students so that both of their learning experiences are enriched and relationships are created. Year 11 Certificate in Outdoor Education students work with Miss Uglow in primary PhysEd lessons, Year 10 – 12 Childcare students spend time assisting in our Early Years, Year 9 HASS students study WWI and Gallipoli with our Year 3 students, English and Biblical Studies students write poetry and stories to read to our little people, senior students assist Miss Uglow with the primary carnivals and…. there is so much more. New programs, new facilities, new opportunities all created by intentionally thinking ‘whole campus’.

The re-structure to create my role, therefore, has born much fruit, and will continue to do so, because of the greater ‘view’ that it offers of a school that was PK – 12 and now is PK – 12 in the fullest sense of the word.

We hope you enjoy this fortnightly communication.

God bless,

Mr Brett Roberts

Head of Campus

THE SHOW MUST GO ON…LINE!

The Show Must Go Online, written by Beat by Beat Press in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, is the first of its kind – a musical to be rehearsed remotely, performed virtually and shared with audiences online. It is a bit like life imitating art, with the plot centred around a group of students who are desperately trying to save their Drama Department by turning their cancelled show, “Brushes with Greatness: A Dental Hygiene Musical”, into a virtual production.

Click here to see the promo

After months of virtual rehearsals, awesome enthusiasm and incredible creativity from 29 of our Year 6, 7 and 8 students, the premiere of The Show Must Go Online! is scheduled for this THURSDAY AUGUST 6 at 6:45pm. It’s quirky, fun, and very family friendly – and you get to watch it from the comfort of your own living room.

To reserve your free ticket, and receive the password to view the show, please click the link below:

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Year 10 – 2021 Year 11 Subject Selection Interviews

Following on from the Year 10 Parent and Teacher interviews this evening, appointments are available with Mr Rob Crewe to assist students in selecting their Year 11 subject preferences. Appointments for Subject Counselling can be made via the Parent Portal/Plan the Term/ Interview Bookings/Login to Edinfo. Book your Subject Counselling interview

Keep up to date with Careers and Course Information via the Careers Web Site St Stephens Careers Information Site

Secondary Inter House Athletics Carnival

The Secondary Inter House Athletics Carnival takes place this week with pre carnival events being run during lunch times (Monday – Thursday ) and concluding with the Year 7 – 12 Carnival on Friday 7 August. The weather forecast is for a sunny day and we are looking forward to healthy and fun competition between our houses. The carnival is a compulsory event for all students.

Languages Week

Bonjour Hola Nī Hão

This week we are celebrating the importance of languages within Australia and worldwide as part of WA Languages Week.

In language lessons this week, we have been discussing what other languages families within our community have knowledge of and use within their home.

We have also launched the Teachers of French Association annual sticker competition, which a number of our students have been successful in in previous years.

A number of classes worked in groups to think about what they know about other languages and cultures. The students then presented to the class about the ideas and language they had discussed.

Below is an example of their thoughts from a group of year 8 students.

Mrs Harris and Ms Kuntz

Year 9 Outdoor Ed Camp

Last week the Year 9 Outdoor Ed class experienced their first hiking camp down to the Kaadadjan Centre in Dwellingup. Hiking along the Bibbulmun Track, the students and staff were very lucky with the weather conditions for this time of the year. Kaadadjan was the ideal location for students to put into practice their campcraft skills that they had been learning in class and included setting up tents and cooking a nutritious meal at the end of the day. It wasn’t all work with a game of ‘Capture the Flag’ being held when the night had fully taken over. It was hard to say if the staff were too good at spotting or whether the students had difficulty hiding in silence but a fun time was had by everyone. The next morning saw the group wake to mist covering the paddock and emphasised the meaning of Dwellingup as the place of “mist, fog and dew”. A return walk to Dwellingup got the students warmed up in no time and we were escorted to the end of our hike by the chattering of red-tailed black cockatoos. It was the perfect introduction to Outdoor Education expeditions and I am sure that students took a lot away from their experience. The Yr 9 program now shifts from a land based program to a water based program as they prepare for the Rottnest trip in Term 4.