Issue 8 - 2024

Our new Dance Studio opened at the beginning of Term 3. Students and staff are delighted with the new facilities, including:

• 100m2 room, including 80m2 performance area
• Sprung floor
• Ballet bars and full height mirrors
• High ceiling
• Storage area

The lawn on the southern side of the Dance Studio has been re-turfed. The old basketball court at the front of the Performing Arts Centre has been removed. The ground level has been raised and new lawn has been laid on top. Both of these new lawned areas look great!

Our new 7 classroom block (10A) has had its footings installed and the concrete pad has just been laid. The builders are hopeful that the roof will be on before the end of Term 3.

Our two-storey building (10) groundworks are continuing as planned. Work on the new basketball court and two new volleyball courts on the Secondary grassed area will commence later this term.

The Primary playground is open. New paving and wide stairs have been installed at various places around the campus to allow for easier access and movement of students. Several painting projects were also completed over the school holidays.

To achieve this, students had to achieve a minimum number of Academic Achievement Certificates (outstanding results across a range of assessment tasks) and/or Application Certificates (consistent endeavour, improvement, positive attitude to studies) across a range of subjects in Semester One. All classes in Years 7-12 were eligible for certificates.

Extra special congratulations to Heer Shah (Year 7), Panav Thakkar (Year 7), Skye Goldsmith (Year 8) and Mia Atkins (Year 10) who were awarded an Academic Excellence Silver Badge for achieving eight or more Academic Certificates in one semester. What an achievement!

Well done to Students and Staff who were presented with an EXCELLENCE Certificate for Term 2! These certificates recognise those who have upheld our whole school theme of EXCELLENCE by: Doing Your Best; Learning From Your Mistakes; Being Proud of Your Achievements.

We are hoping to see lots of families enjoying breakfast together. Tickets are $5 each and will be available through FlexiSchools. Further details will be emailed to families in coming weeks.

Both our Boys’ team and Girls’ team entered into the A-Division, competing against some highly skilled teams from several government and independent schools in the North-East Region at Warwick Stadium. This was a fantastic opportunity for the students, and they should be extremely proud of how they competed during their first outing at this event.

Our Senior teams had two home fixtures before playing a three game half-day Carnival. Congratulations to our Year 7 Boys and Years 8/9 Boys Soccer teams who had fantastic seasons and both teams ended up playing finals. A special mention goes to our Year 7-12 Girls Soccer team that is predominantly made up of Middle Years students who played very competitively, indicating that the future is bright! Well done to all students who participated this season.

These include:

• Always be aware of children - both yours and others
• Follow the speed zones applicable to roads located around the school
• Encourage walking or cycling to school to drop off or collect children
• Plan your trip so you arrive with time to spare in case you have to walk a distance
• Use pick up/set down areas where possible
• Be aware of any speed and/or parking restrictions and adhere to them
• Use crosswalks at all times
• Drive, park and behave responsibly – saving a couple of minutes is not worth the risk
• Take notice of sign restrictions - vehicles should not stop, park, drop off or pick up children at all where sign restrictions are in place
• Safe drop off and pick up - ensure your vehicle is facing the same way as the direction of traffic flow.

Thank you for your support in ensuring the safety of our community, especially our precious children.

Interviews for future applications occur approximately 18 months prior to the year of entry. Some year groups are already full or very close to being full.

If you have not already done so, please submit application forms for future students by contacting our Registrar, Mrs Merri Corr on 9297 9506 or by email enrolments@svacs.wa.edu.au.

We understand that this is also a time of year when some families may be considering moving out of the area as job opportunities arise, or other family circumstances change.

To assist with our planning for 2025, we would appreciate families advising us as soon as possible of any future student withdrawals. This will also enable us to offer any available places to families on our waitlist.

Please also 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 .

If any of your children will not be returning to SVACS in 2025, the school must receive written notice of your intention before Wednesday 9 October 2024.

Thank you for your assistance in helping us with our planning for 2025.

NOAH BROWN

Huge congratulations to Noah Brown (Year 10) who has just competed in the Asia Obstacle Sports Championship in Malaysia. He had an incredible weekend, with 12 races over two days. Noah competed in the Youth (13-16 years) and the Open Male divisions. He finished 4th by 0.8 seconds in the Youth division and 2nd in the Open Male, bringing home a Silver Medal! What an amazing achievement.

CHARLIZE SIBLEY

Congratulations to Charlize Sibley (Year 7) who recently represented Western Australia at the Australian Polocrosse Nationals held in Queensland. Charlize and her team had a fabulous campaign, ending the competition as the National Winners of the Under 12s Division. Charlize also achieved a great individual result and was awarded Best #2.

Carpe diem! Seize the day!

Melissa Powell

Principal

We follow an annual cycle from Advent to Pentecost which takes us through the main events of Christianity every year. This is sometimes called the ‘Sanctification of Time’: organizing and arranging our lives and worship around the Gospel rather than secular priorities.

Each season has a colour: white or gold for Easter and Christmas and saints’ days, representing celebration, joy, purity and hope; purple for Advent and Lent, representing anticipation, royalty, expectation, waiting, preparation and penitence; green for Ordinary Time – the season between Pentecost and the end of the cycle when Advent starts again – representing growth and life; red for Pentecost and saints who were martyrs, representing the fire, passion and energy of the Holy Spirit and the blood of those who gave their life for their faith.

We are now in Ordinary Time, so the green banners hang in the Chapel, with their symbols of wheat and grapes reminding us of the centrality of the eucharist and Jesus’ gift of himself in bread and wine, and his sacrificial love and mercy.

We usually hear one of the Bible readings from the previous Sunday in the Anglican ‘lectionary’ or pattern of readings. As we celebrated NAIDOC week, the reading from the letter of St Paul to the Ephesians happened to be about breaking down barriers between races and people, and we explored, in all four Chapels that week, the positive and negative possibilities of walls.

Students considered how walls, both physical and metaphorical, can be used to divide and exclude, as well as provide entertainment and safety; the importance of building bridges between separated people, and the Christian teaching that we should think of each other as living stones, in one single construction: a human family, built on the foundation of Jesus, rather than as strangers and foreigners.

Fr Toby
School Chaplain

Prayer Based on Ephesians 2

Heavenly Father, forgive us for the times when we have elevated ourselves above others, who may not have the same heritage, background, or understanding, that we have been granted. Thank you for making us who we are and that we are equally important to you, with our own specific role to play. In the face of division and separation, help us to build bridges, not walls, with Jesus as our rock and foundation. We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen

https://prayer.knowing-jesus.com/Ephesians/2

NAIDOC Week is an important event on the calendar of our nation. Recently we proudly celebrated it at SVACS. In addition to whole school events, each class embraced NAIDOC Week according to the ages and stages of their students. There was campfire cooking, damper, roasted kangaroo tail, storytelling, Aboriginal history, and much, much more!

When visiting the classrooms I am always pleased to see our students engaging well in their learning and interacting respectfully with each other and their teachers. My last Newsletter talked about our school values in action, and I am thrilled to see the values continue to be ‘lived out’ in all we do in Primary School. Well done Primary School, you’re off to a great start in Semester Two.

Pre-Kindergarten students have been celebrating NAIDOC Week by reading books, drawing Aboriginal symbols, painting the Aboriginal flag and making damper.

Kindergarten – During Week 2, students in Kindergarten were excited to be a part of the NAIDOC week celebrations. Throughout the week the students engaged in variety of Indigenous experiences, which allowed them to immerse in the Indigenous culture. The students enjoyed making their own damper and participating in story time. They also had the opportunity to listen Indigenous music

Pre-Primary students have been investigating the First Nations people's Connection to Country and how they use and care for the land with respect and sustainability. They learnt that traditional fish traps were built using rocks and parts of plants to catch fish on the changing tides. Some of these traps you can still see in Albany! They experimented on our own to see if we could build a small trap and catch some fish – it worked very well! The Pre-Primary students created a beautiful Aboriginal-inspired art piece as part of the investigation.

Year 1 students are exploring the features of Australian money. The students have learnt the importance of money to buy goods and services. They also have enjoyed purchasing pretend items from our make-believe classroom cafe.

Year 2 students have begun exploring the world around them in Geography and are looking at all the continents of the world, including our home in which we live, Australia. They explored the significance of the country we live on, Whadjuk Noongar boodja, and linked this to our school celebration of NAIDOC week, where all Year 2 students participated in a workshop focusing on Noongar language, song and dance.

Year 3 - Alongside our whole school NAIDOC Week, the Year 3 students have been learning about this year's theme which is ‘Keep the fire burning! Blak, loud and proud’. We discussed what that means and ways we can 'keep the fire burning' throughout the whole year. The students made fires, using paper, colours and crepe paper.

Year 4 - The Year 4 students returned to school this term and jumped straight into their Friendology Camp. It was two days of fun-filled team building activities. On the first day, students completed three tasks. In Lego Masters, they were challenged to work together and build various structures. Circus skills saw the students learn about pushing themselves and keeping on going when things don’t go to plan while learning some exciting new circus skills.  ‘Minute to Win It’, proved to be very competitive with the students taking part in a variety of activities that tested their ability to stay calm under pressure. The sleepover component in the Chapel with pizza for dinner followed by the movie ‘Wonder’ was a real highlight for a lot of the pupils. The second day was just as good as the first. After a cooked breakfast from the Café, the students completed the Survivor Challenge with Total Team Building. They had to work together in their groups to gather immunity tokens that they needed at the end of the day to complete a quiz. All the students demonstrated a number of Our School Values and it was a wonderful experience for both students and staff.

Year 5 students have finished their Biological Science study of Introduced Species in Australia. The students used their notes gathered during an incursion and research completed online; to compile an Information Report about their chosen species and the impacts it has had on the Australian environment. They reported whether it is indeed beneficial or deemed a pest.  

Year 6 students were blessed to spend time with Athol and Bethany. The Year 6 students were able to experience a yarning circle with Athol and listen to what life was like living on the Aboriginal reserves. Our cooking skills were also put to the test as we cooked damper and kangaroo tail with Bethany’s expertise. It was a tasty treat for all! The Year 6 cohort also worked collaboratively to create a piece of Aboriginal artwork. 

Physical Education - To start off Term 3, all Physical Education classes have been learning about understanding movement. Year 1 and 2 students have been focusing on how the body responds to exercise, and why our heart beating faster, our breathing getting heavier and our bodies getting hot and sweaty are all good things when we are exercising. Year 3 to Year 6 students have been discussing the benefits of being physically active, and how it improves our physical, mental and social health.

Music - Pre-Primary students have learnt a song about a dog called Rover. They learnt the lyrics by using different types of voices, such as whispering, thinking, shouting, speaking and finally singing, imitating the teacher. Next, they had great fun improvising new lyrics, to sing the song about their own pet, with some students bravely volunteering to sing a solo to the class. There was great excitement when chime bars were used and students accompanied themselves singing.

Italian – There was lots of fun and excitement for the Yr 1 students when Pinocchio came to class to help the children learn the names of the body parts in Italian and to share with them some Zucchero Filato!  

Junior Years Assembly by 6A: 9am on Tuesday 30 July

Early Years Assembly by 1H: 9am Thursday 1 August

Junior Years Assembly by 3C: 9am Tuesday 6 August

Junior Years Assembly by 6K: 9am Tuesday 13 August

Early Years Assembly by PPB: 9am Thursday 15 August

Dress Up for Book Week Assembly: Tuesday 20 August

Interschool Cross Country (selected students): Friday 30 August

Junior Years Assembly by 5H: 9am Tuesday 3 September

Early Years Assembly by 1B: 9am Thursday 5 September

Junior Years Athletics Carnival: Friday 6 September

Primary School Open Morning: 9am to 10am on Thursday 12 September

Last Day of Term Three and Casual Dress Day: Friday 20 September

Thank you to everyone for supporting our Primary School. I wish you a wonderful Term 3!

Mrs Shirley Steel

Head of Primary School

SEMESTER TWO CO-CURRICULAR PROGRAM

The Semester Two Co-Curricular Program is now available on SEQTA Engage.

Student participation in our Co-Curricular Program contributes to nurturing a deep sense of belonging, in line with one of our School's key priorities. Engaging in such activities not only develops interpersonal connections, positive friendships and a sense of agency but also promotes inclusivity within the community, thereby substantiating its profound impact on students’ overall sense of wellbeing.

YEAR 7 IMMUNISATIONS

The Department of Health will be conducting a school-based immunisation programme for Year 7 students on Monday August 26th. The program offers a booster dose of diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough (dTpa), the chickenpox vaccine, as well as a vaccine for protection against human papillomavirus (HPV).

Please note that students in Years 7 should wear PE uniform on the day of their immunisation.

All students require parent/carer consent before they receive any vaccinations at school. 

Please find attached the link for students to register, preferred method.

Login - VaccinateWA (health.wa.gov.au)

A paper consent form can be accessed through SEQTA Engage.

For further information on the vaccines please visit the following website:

School-based immunisation program healthywa.wa.gov.au

WEEK 5: BULLYING NO WAY NATIONAL WEEK OF ACTION

The National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence has a new name - Bullying No Way: National Week of Action.

Bullying No Way Week will take place from Monday 12 August to Friday 16 August.

This year the theme is 'Everyone Belongs’. Throughout the week, we will host a series of events and activities acknowledging this important week, culminating in our third Buddy Activity of the year.

When we all feel like we belong, bullying struggles to find a place. It's about embracing who we are, respecting everyone's differences and standing up together against unkindness.

Parents/Carers can find more information at: For families (bullyingnoway.gov.au)

YEAR 12 CHILDREN FAMILY AND THE COMMUNITY

Students in the Year 12 Children Family and Community course have been investigating the issues facing families experiencing unexpected trauma. They chose to investigate the issues facing families in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Perth Children’s Hospital.

The Year 12s collaborated with the PCHNIC unit staff to come up with the project. The project is called Bonding Hearts. Students sewed and packaged kits of two flannelette hearts which are used to assist bonding, while the neonates are in humidicribs. The baby sleeps on one heart and the mother wears the other and then swap to promoted bonding through sensory awareness of each other. The project is one of the first of its kind in Western Australia.