As we start the end term we see the return of the warmer weather.  Our Year 12s have now finished and are currently completing their final WACE exams.  We look forward to farewelling them at Valedictory on 18 November.

Year 12 final celebrations

As we ended last term, we held a special breakfast for our Year 12s followed by a final assembly, where the staff and students were able to farewell our students. This is always an emotional day  as we reflect on our their journey through high school. This year the Year 12 ball was at the Convention Centre. It was a spectacular evening and I want to thank all our staff who attended to supervise.

OLNA testing, exams and Workplace Learning

This time of the year is a busy one for final assessments and exams. In Week 3 and 4 we had the addition of a new OLNA testing schedule for our Year 9s. In Week 5 and 6 our Year 11s will undertake their ATAR exams and in Week 5 our Year 10s and Week 6 our Year 9s will have their end of year exams. 

Year 11 students who do not have exams will be participating in Workplace Learning. There will be a study program at school for those Year 11s who are not attending a placement. We thank all our community members who generously take on our students to help them prepare for the workforce.

Quiz Night

At the end of last term, we held our annual quiz night. It was an amazing community event with a fun, friendly atmosphere. This year we raised over $11 000 which was an outstanding effort and we will use this money to upgrade areas of the school when the build has been completed. Thank you to all our staff for supporting this fundraising event and especially to Angie Lukan who coordinated the evening and sourced the prizes. Thank you to all our staff, families and community members for donating prizes and to Cynthia Pickering for her support to Angie.

Congratulations to our Music students

At the end of last term some of our music students participated in the Contemporary Music Ensemble Festival.  We congratulate Brooke Daljac, Chloe Daljac, Silas Kempt, Abigail Letts, Mark Rouillard and Riley Sachse who received an Excellent Award at this festival, and congratulations also to teacher Dom Zurzolo.

Congratulations to our Outdoor Education students

Many of our Outdoor Education students are completing their expeditions now that the weather is improving. Recently our Year 11 Outdoor Education ATAR students walked the Cape to Cape covering an impressive 131km in 3 and a bit days.  Congratulations to these students and their teachers for their efforts.

Wellness Week

Week 2 of this term we held a wellness week where we focus on things we can do to be physically and mentally healthy. Thank you to Louise our School Nurse for organising the week and to Bea and Sarah our School Psychologists for their support and activities, and to our Student Services team and Student Councillors for running a range of lunchtime activities during the week. Thank you also to all those who helped behind the scenes – it was really appreciated.

Greatest Shave

During wellness week we held our annual fundraiser for the Leukaemia Foundation to raise money for research into treatments and a cure for blood cancer. Each year we have brave students and staff shave their heads, while others colour their hair or support the cause by purchasing items from the bake sale or making donations. A huge thank you to Mr Cameron and Mr Eden and Alex Wakeham and Ryan Death for being brave to take the shave this year. The school raised over $3600 for the cause and this is an amazing effort – congratulations to our school community!

Twilight Concert

One of the highlights for our school events is the annual Twilight concert which is held in the main quad from 5pm while the sun goes down. Thank you to Marcus Roberts and Michelle Vivian for coordinating the evening and to all our music and IMSS teachers who prepared the students and supported the performance. The weather was particular perfect this year and the finale as always was spectacular - featuring all of the music students, this year performing songs by the Doors. Thank you to the MusiKal parents for their support for the evening and for their fundraising. Their efforts support the music department in purchasing equipment and this year we saw the fruits of this with the new marimba on display.

Kalamunda Day

Each year we hold Kalamunda Day to celebrate our school values of Pride, Respect, Resilience, Love of Learning and Community. It is a way for us to reflect on what these values mean to us and to celebrate the diversity of our school community. During our assembly we hold a flag parade of all the countries of birth of our students and staff (this year we had 44 countries represented). Following our assembly, we have an afternoon of activities organised by our staff in Learning Areas. A highlight for the day is the staff band who perform.

Interschool Athletics Carnival

In Week 3 we sent a team of students to participate in the Interschool Athletics Carnival. We congratulate all our students on their efforts and were very pleased to win the 7-10 Gold Division. We also congratulate Sienna Jones and Lily Adjuk who were both named champion girls for their year group. Thank you to all our staff for support the students to participate in this event.

Write-a-book in a day

Congratulations to our Year 9 group, 'The Random Kiddos', for being shortlisted for an award. They are Sheyanne-May Bain, Jasmine Barton, Talay Hollier, Sophie Horne. Chloe Jacobs, Kieran McGlinn, Alicia Mikosza, Zoë Pearce, Zoe Besch. You can read these books in our last issue of the News Review.

Building update

These are some progress photos from our building program.

Wishing everyone all the best for a successful last term.

Helen Deacon
Principal