Issue 11 - 2023

I am delighted to announce that Shirley Steel has been appointed as our new Head of Primary for 2024.

For the past five years, Shirley has been Head of Junior School (PK-6) at Peter Carnley Anglican Community School (Wellard and Callista campuses). Previously at John Septimus Roe Anglican Community School, she was the Deputy Assistant Principal (Primary) (2017-2018), and Head of Early Years (2013-2016).

Shirley has recently completed a Master of Education Specialisation in Leading Education, and the Wollaston Certificate in Anglican Leadership.

Shirley is very excited to be joining our school and is particularly looking forward to being involved in our New Metrics Program.

Other new leadership positions that have been created in Primary include Deputy Head of Primary (Pastoral Care) and Deputy Head of Primary (Teaching & Learning).

Current Head of Early Years, Jo Crawshaw, will take on the new position of Deputy Head of Primary (Pastoral Care). This role is responsible for leading the pastoral care of students in Years PK-6 and the design, development and delivery of our Primary pastoral care programs.

Current Head of Junior Years, Sue Stewart, will take on the new position of Deputy Head of Primary (Teaching & Learning). This role is responsible for leading teaching and learning in Years PK-6. This position has a strong emphasis on research and the implementation of best practice in all areas of instruction.

We are also introducing the following Head of Year positions in Primary:
Head of Years PK-P: Elda Cappi
Head of Years 1-2: TBA
Head of Years 3-4: Tracey McAllister
Head of Years 5-6: TBA

We believe that these new changes will greatly strengthen our pastoral and curriculum offerings for our Primary students, and we are looking forward to 2024 with great enthusiasm.

Every year, our graduating Year 12 students are given a copy of the book “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” by Dr Seuss. Over 100 students and staff joined me to make a video as a very special farewell gift for our graduating Year 12 students of 2023. You might like to take a look! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLzYKP9BQFE

The program will be led by CJ Jackson. CJ is Director and Head of Coaching at SkyPlay Academy. CJ has more than 30 years playing and coaching experience in high-performance basketball, including: Head Coach - Perth Redbacks Men NBL1, Head Coach - Scotch College, Former SBL Coach of the Year, Former Perth Wildcats Assistant Coach, Former Basketball WA Operations Manager, Former SBL General Manager.

There will be 30 coaching sessions per year, across Terms 1-4. In 2024, coaching sessions will take place on Wednesdays during Period 4 (PCG) and the lunch break: 11:45am-1:20pm (approx). There will be no charge for the coaching sessions.

Students will be expected to purchase a Specialist Basketball Program Singlet to wear at every coaching session. The cost of the Singlet for 2024 is $40.

Application forms are available now from Mr Storer or Mr Lowndes in the PE Department. Dates to note:
Application Deadline: Fri 1 December 2023, 4.00pm
Trials: Wed 7 February 2024, 11:45am-1:20pm

This is a very exciting new program for our school that has already been met with much excitement and anticipation from our students as Basketball is one of our most popular sports.

Thomas Davies (Year 12) was shortlisted for the final round of the School Curriculum and Standards Authority (SCSA) Awards for Outstanding Achievement in VET (Creative Industries category). He attended his interview on 11 October. This is an outstanding achievement and a testament to the hard work and endeavour that Tom has displayed throughout the year. Names of award winners will be published on the SCSA website on 20 December.

The SVACS team performed exceptionally well and won a number of awards. Abigail Lawson was awarded 1st place for Year 8 and also won the Most Promising Philosopher Award. David Jacobs also performed exceptionally well and took out 3rd place in the Year 11 category.

The organisers of Philosothon at UWA were so impressed by the SVACS team that we were invited to compete in the Australian Philosothon. What an amazing result for our first year!

Valedictory Week for our graduating Year 12 students was a huge success. Valedictory Fun Day was a celebration of the second last day of school before final exams and gave students the opportunity to wear some very creative outfits.

Valedictory Day began with a Tree-Planting Ceremony. Every year, since 2016, our graduating students have planted a tree in our Avenue of Trees. The students write the words for the plaque, which this year read: “Our time in this place has shaped and framed our future canvases. It is with gratitude and respect that we will remember and cherish the opportunities given and friendships created as we branch into futures yet untold.”

Our Valedictory Assembly was a fabulous commemoration where we recognised each Year 12 student individually and highlighted their journey through the school.

We also acknowledged 12 Veteran Students who started at SVACS in Kindergarten in 2008, accumulating 14 years in total at our school.

One of the highlights of Valedictory Day each year is the traditional Walk of Honour. Our Year 12s join hands with Pre-Primary students (clutching balloons) as they undertake their final farewell walk. The balloons are then collected at the end and tied on the Year 12 Arch for celebratory photos.

For the first time, our Valedictory Dinner was held at the Ritz-Carlton. This was a wonderful event and a real highlight to finish a very memorable day for students, families and staff.

All these students will be expected to be excellent role models for the entire SVACS community. They will need to:

• Be prepared to give extra time
• Be reliable and competent
• Be cooperative and able to work effectively with others
• Relate well to students and staff
• Organise and encourage students in a variety of activities
• Be enthusiastic and loyal to the school
• And prepared to work in the interests of the whole school community.

I have no doubt that our 2024 Prefects will be able to serve the school admirably. Congratulations to:

Head Prefects: Ethan Dutaillis & Grace Trainor
Deputy Head Prefects: Prince Awienab & Laila Hemmings
Chapel/Service Prefects: Charlotte Gibson & Declan Rajakaruna
Performing Arts Prefects: Finley Hearn, Liam Kennedy & Bella-Rae Powell
Sport Prefects: Joshua Emsden, Chloe O'Dell & Kathryn Wilson
House Prefects (Irwin): Angelica Madafferi & Nana Somuah-Boateng
House Prefects (Moore): Leah Gardiner & Emily Probert
House Prefects (Stirling): Tara Hunt & Saksham Seth
House Prefects (Waylen): Chane Duvenhage & Thokozani Mugwagwa

Our Alumni were certainly amazed at how the school has changed since their graduation year. It was wonderful to catch up and hear about their achievements over the past decade. They were so excited to be returning to our school as they still hold their time spent here very close to their hearts!

It is fantastic to see our whole school theme for 2023, RESPECT, being demonstrated in our school community.

SVACS STARS

If your child has achieved something special and you would like the news included here, please don’t hesitate to contact Helen Brown, Publications & Marketing, on publications@svacs.wa.edu.au

Term 4 Group Tour Date

Friday 24 November 2023 at 9.00am

All Group Tours depart from the School Chapel.

To register for a Group Tour, please contact our Registrar on 9297 9506 or email enrolments@svacs.wa.edu.au

WITHDRAWALS

We understand that this is a time of year when some families may be considering moving out of the area as job opportunities arise, or other family circumstances change. Please take into consideration the school policy for student withdrawals:

One full term’s notice in writing is required of your intention to withdraw a student.

This means that you must give at least 10 school weeks’ notice of any withdrawals (a school week is defined as a week during school term time—not school holidays).

If you do not give sufficient notice, you are required to pay a term’s fees in lieu of notice.

We receive many requests from parents leaving the school to waive the late withdrawal fee, which is a standard charge and standard practice in independent schools in Western Australia. To be fair to all our parents, and to keep our fees as low as possible, we must adhere to the policy of enforcing the late withdrawal fee for all students.

Addressed to the Principal (Ms Melissa Powell), a withdrawal notice should be sent via email to enrolments@svacs.wa.edu.au

Paul lists many of the common vices that we experience in normal life, including selfishness, greed, boastfulness, conceit, hypocrisy, ingratitude and unkindness. Whatever we believe, we can probably agree that we would prefer to live by more positive virtues, and would like others to do the same. This is the Truth that St Paul urges us to walk in: the rejection of vice in favour of virtue.

What prevents us from walking in the Truth? Why do we need to be told to do so? Paul refers to the persecutors, evil persons and imposters, who are walking in the opposite way and going from bad to worse. He says they are deceived themselves, and they deceive others. What appears to be true/right/good is in fact false/wrong/bad. His urging us to walk in the Truth is a call to carefully consider whether the way we are walking through life is consistent with what we claim to believe in – in his case, the teachings of the Church and the Scriptures.

In last Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus is approached by some ‘deceivers’: people who appear to be walking in the Truth and following the Scriptures, but actually want to trap and silence him. In response, he offers the wisdom that there is always a right thing to do, and it can be quite easy to work it out.

They want to know if they should pay taxes to a pagan emperor, with the implication that this would be a form of idol-worship. Jesus says: If you are due to pay tax, pay it, but don’t confuse that with paying honour to God. Money is of relatively low value, and is just a day-to-day way of a society functioning (or not). God, however is of ultimate value, and eternal significance, and those who claim to be believers and worshippers owe God everything. This is the Truth that Christians try to walk in.

The situation developing rapidly in the Holy Land, where so much of this teaching took place, is of grave concern. Anglican Christians working in the area urge us not to take sides, not to retaliate against members of any religion or cultural group, and to offer support to those charities and agencies trying to feed, clothe and shelter the victims of the conflict.

War and acts of terror are examples of the vices that Paul lists: they appear to offer a path to the Truth, to the goal of land ownership or control or riches. But the Truth is that people on both sides lose lives, homes, futures. Walking in the Truth means seeking justice and human dignity, loving our enemies and making peace with them.

Father Toby
School Chaplain

Prayer for the Holy Land

Almighty and everlasting God:
Our days are in your hands;
we lift up all those in the Holy Land who are victims of violence and injustice,
that you might empower your Church to bring healing to the wounded,
relief to the suffering, and comfort to those who mourn;
we pray also that you would soften the hearts of all those involved in the recent conflicts,
that they would be led to work for justice and lasting peace
in the land where your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,
first came to bring hope and abundant life to all people; 
these things we ask in his Holy Name. 

Amen

In the afternoon it was the Kindergarten children’s turn. They did an amazing job and mostly managed to stay in their lane when racing! They also participated in a range of activities which saw them practising their throwing skills using gum boots, bean bags and balls.

To set the scene, they listened to ‘Elephant’ from Carnival of the Animals, by Saint-Saens. Students considered how the composer used tempo, dynamics and pitch to make the listener think of an elephant, before moving around like an elephant to get a feel for the music. They then used untuned percussion instruments to create a rhythmic piece to depict an elephant doing certain activities, such as stomping, running and sleeping. Students were required to consider the instrument they chose, the tempo and dynamics. Finally, they performed their composition for the class.

Mrs Victoria Swift
Music Teacher

They listened to a series of guest speakers talk about how they give of themselves each day through self-less acts. They heard from Tracey Harrison from Bullsbrook St John Ambulance Volunteer Service, Kelly Keall from Anglicare WA, and Liam Swainson from the Salvation Army. The students will embark on a series of visits to the residents of the Willowbrook Retirement home in the coming week.

The students then attended Swan Valley Adventure Centre for a two-day camp in which they learned more about their personal strengths and undertook activities that pushed them beyond their comfort zone including orienteering, the flying fox, the commando course, the ‘Blackout Zone’ and bushcraft.

Mrs Suzanne Stewart
Head of Junior Years

With the important message this year that we are all ‘Here to Hear’, this important day was used to grow connections across the School. Staff and students wore yellow to recognise the day and enjoyed a variety of activities throughout the week to acknowledge the importance of empathy, connection, and community. As part of our Buddy Program, Primary students met with their Secondary buddies for the whole school Lap-a-thon.

During recess and lunch, there were games and music for the Early Years students, a handball competition in Junior Years and Hacky Sack competition in Secondary. Other fun activities included an RU OK Quiz, dancing and karaoke with music in the quad, board games, cupcake decorating, a scrunchie making workshop and watching funny mindful videos in the Performing Arts Centre Theatre.

Courtney McAuliffe & David La Galia
School Psychologists

Year 7 Immunisation update

The WA Department of Health has confirmed that adolescents aged 12-13 years only need one dose of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine to be considered to be fully vaccinated. On Thursday November 9th only students who were not vaccinated on Wednesday May 10th will receive the HPV and dTpa (protection against diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough) vaccines.

Year 7 Parents/Carers who have not provided consent are encouraged to do so online VaccinateWA (external site). Alternatively, hard copies have been provided to students and are also available at Student Services.

Debbie Davies
Head of Secondary (Pastoral Care)

St George’s Cathedral is the Mother Church of the Anglican Diocese of Perth and Province of WA and is an amazing example of traditional English “Gothic Revival” architecture with its cross shaped design. Apart from being a spectacular building visually and structurally, it is also a very active place of worship on a daily basis and a hub for world class music, drama and visual arts.

After being welcomed and given background information on the Cathedral by Father Noah, the Assistant Curate, students moved through the Cathedral in groups visiting the Soldier’s Chapel, the crypt and up to the High Altar and Chancel hearing stories and viewing treasures, completing a workbook as they went. Father Toby amazed everyone by playing an excerpt from Bach’s Toccata in D minor on the Chancel Organ.

Following our visit, we received very positive feedback from staff saying: “We enjoyed having you here and were impressed by the behaviour of your students”.

Sallyanne Bushe-Jones
Head of Service Learning

This was a wonderful chance to develop employability skills, including communication, teamwork, problem solving, initiative and self-management. It was brilliant to hear such great feedback from the host employers about how the students conducted themselves throughout the program. Well done to all Year 10 students!

Josephine Finlay
Deputy Head of Secondary: Teaching and Learning

Mark Lee Barnes-Roberts
Careers Coordinator

We look forward to seeing you at the Exhibition this week.

Monday: 8am - 11am | Wednesday: 8am - 11am | Thursday: 12.30pm - 4pm

Please note: pre-booked appointments will take precedence over walk-ins.

Please see the School Website for more information and online ordering.