Here we are half way through Term 3 already, with many of us perhaps looking forward to the prospect of some warmer, drier weather to follow what seems to have been an unusually cold, wet and windy winter.

We recently welcomed Adelle Brown to the Secondary Arts Department. Adelle is teaching Music in Lower Secondary.

We have also welcomed a number of new families to the College, with 26 new students joining us so far this term. Our enrolments staff have been busy fulfilling requests to ‘visit us’ for a College tour, and then to find immediate places, and our staff and students have embraced every opportunity to engage with prospective families, and to showcase and share what they love about our community.

You will all have completed, or been aware of the Australian Government Census on 10 August. The College is also required to complete the census, reporting our student numbers as at the census date, and this determines the calculation for our Federal Funding. The College 2020 Performance Report will soon be placed on the College website. I encourage families to consider this report and to view the results of the College Survey.

Our thoughts and prayers are with all families who are affected by the impact of COVID-19, particularly those with family/friends who are overseas, as well as those interstate in Australia. We continue to be vigilant in our efforts within WA to keep our communities safe; however, you have our assurance that our staff are well-prepared and we have plans in place to continue providing learning for our students in the case of any further lockdowns in WA.

Early in the term, our Primary students braved the weather to walk to their swimming lessons at the Arena. Our staff complemented all the children on their smiles and positivity, despite the often wet and blustery conditions. Our Primary students and staff have also enjoyed one of their favourite times of the year this week, participating in Book Week celebrations, including dressing up as their favourite characters and embracing the theme Old Worlds, New Worlds, Other Worlds.

Languages Week provided opportunities for Secondary students to embrace more of the culture of the languages they are learning, with practical and participatory events planned throughout the week. Our IT team also embraced the week with a change to our regular ‘musical’ lesson sirens which required us to attempt to ‘interpret’ the lyrics! Primary students have their Languages week to look forward to in Week 7.

National Science Week is always enjoyed across the College as we celebrate science and technology. Students in Primary celebrated this in Week 3 and students in Secondary school during Week 5. The theme this year was Food: Different by Design highlighting the Sustainable Development Goals. The focus in the Science building on alternative food sources was fascinating, while in primary, a number of investigations took place including a series of experiments to find “which colour mug makes hot chocolate taste the best”.

Secondary Inter House Athletics pre-events were on, then off, then on again with the inclement weather influencing the decision to go ahead or postpone. Eventually, between showers, we managed to complete all the pre-events in preparation for today’s carnival. Primary students will complete their pre-carnival events in Week 7 and are looking forward to their carnival later in the term.

At a recent Primary Assembly, students, staff and families were excited to hear from Michael and Christine Mesiti who founded House of Hope - Africa, located in Zambia. This charity was brought to our attention by former Head Boy James Butler (2014) who had visited Zambia himself. The Primary school began supporting this organisation 7 years ago with a sausage sizzle, and now organises an annual lap-a-thon, which has raised over $10,000. This year’s lap-a-thon will take place on 31 August.

Student leaders are important in our College, and the selection process for the 2022 Secondary Student Council included interviews, speeches from the prospective Head Boys and Head Girls, and student and staff voting. Each year, students are encouraged to nominate, be nominated, and take on the opportunity to provide leadership to and represent their peers, and to support staff at Inter House and other College events.

The 2022 College Production, High School Musical, has finally been announced amidst much excitement and anticipation. Auditions for students currently in Years 6-11 will begin next week.

Mid Term Break

A reminder to all families that the College will be closed on Monday 23 August for our annual mid-term break. This is an opportunity for staff and students to take an extra day to refresh and prepare for the remainder of the term, and a great opportunity for an extended weekend. For families with children also at other schools, please be aware that this is an LJBC break.

Once again, we encourage you to keep the College Calendar close by – it provides a snapshot of the rich and varied activities that our passionate staff organise and create for your children to participate in. We have also published our term dates for 2022 on the College website.

1 Peter 3:8 …be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.

God Bless

Paul Sonneman-Smith

College Principal

During Week 1 and 2 of Term 3, our Pre Primary to Year 6 students had the opportunity to participate in the Interm Swimming lessons at the HBF Arena. Many of our students were very excited to go for swimming lessons as it was their first time. The weather played along allowing the students to enjoy the nice fresh air as they walked daily to the Arena. 

The Primary students also relished the opportunity to develop their vital swimming and water safety skills and the Department of Education Swimming coaches commented on the excellent behaviour and good manners displayed by our students. When speaking with some of our students, there were many highlights they mentioned. They especially enjoyed the last day’s fun splash session in the leisure pool to celebrate their achievements. Some of the Year 1 students were sad that the lessons had to end and they are already looking forward to next year’s lessons. 

We are very proud of all of our Primary students for their achievements and that the LJ WAY was demonstrated to our local community.

Michael Gaudin 

Primary Student Engagement Leader

National Science Week is Australia’s annual celebration of science and technology. The school theme for National Science Week 2021 is Food: Different by Design.

Our Primary teachers and students embraced the theme and enjoyed many exciting and fun activities in class and on campus to promote Science.

The students in Year 1 designed healthy salads and created them with fresh produce from the Trandos family farm. The students learnt about the different types of vegetables and how they are grown and then created wonderful rainbow salads which they enjoyed eating very much!

Linked to their HaSS studies on Early World Explorers and the Spice Trade, the Year 4 students discovered tea! They made their own tea blends with spices and leaves from early days and learnt about infusion and the tea brewing process. Integrating Science and Writing, they took a stroll down Elf Road. To entice the students and engage them in this text, a display of delectable sweets, ‘scarlet strawberries like gleaming embers, and bowls of fresh fruit’, complete with a chocolate fountain was set up! The children enjoyed learning about the heating and melting process and of course, testing their cacao creation by sampling it!

In Year 3, the focus was on food production. One of our parents, Mr Trandos visited the Year 3s and taught them all about his tomato farm and the process of planting seeds to grow into tomato plants. The students used fresh tomatoes to cook tomato relish to bottle. Being creative, the Year 3s designed and created stickers for their homemade tomato relish bottles. What a great week of learning!

A few year three students shared their thoughts on their learning during Science Week:

"I liked National Science Week because we got to learn all about tomatoes and to see them." Sophie

Sienna said: "I enjoyed making and bottling the tomato relish because we got to try some on crackers."

"What I thought was amazing was that we got to make tomato relish and learn lots about tomatoes." Harper

"We learnt that Tomberries are the smallest tomato." Chelsea

"Tomato seeds grow in melted rock strands." Jade

"I learnt that the best temperature to grow tomatoes is between 22 – 26 degrees." Sophie

Our young Kindergarten students were so excited when they discovered the healthy fruit and milk smoothies they made on Tuesday, changed to a different dairy food overnight. After they stored the smoothie liquid in the freezer overnight, the liquid turned into a solid – they made ice cream!

Can you imagine the fun they had 'selling' their ice creams in their shop! It was a great day for learning in Kindy.

To finish off a wonderful week of discoveries and learning during Science Week, Farmer Damian and his dairy cow Amelie, joined us on campus. The Dairy Incursion covered the production of milk starting from the feed dairy cows eat, to the eventual milk product. The best part was students and staff trying their hands at milking a cow!

Why do we love Science? Science develops problem solving, critical thinking and best of all, curiosity. Go be curious and discover the wonderful world out there.

Christina Roodt

Primary Teaching and Learning Leader

In March 2021, six Year 10 students participated in the first round of the National Brain Bee Neuroscience Competition. Four of these students were selected from approximately 600 WA participants to go through to Round 2. Although the students did not make it through to the next round where only one student in the state was chosen to compete in the National Final, they still achieved excellent results. Congratulations to these students (pictured) for completing Round 2 of this fascinating and challenging competition.

Susan Smith

Science Teacher

The Silent Tragedy

There is a silent tragedy that is unfolding today in our homes and concerns our most precious jewels: our children. Our children are in a devastating emotional state! In the last 15 years, researchers have given us increasingly alarming statistics on a sharp and steady increase in childhood mental illness that is now reaching epidemic proportions.

Statistics do not lie:

• 1 in 5 children have mental health problems
• A 43% increase in ADHD has been noted
• A 37% increase in adolescent depression has been noted
• There has been a 200% increase in the suicide rate in children aged 10 to 14

What is happening and what are we doing wrong?
Today’s children are being over-stimulated and over-gifted with material objects, but they are deprived of the fundamentals of a healthy childhood, such as:

• Emotionally available parents
• Clearly defined limits
• Responsibilities
• Balanced nutrition and adequate sleep
• Movement in general but especially OUTDOORS
• Creative play, social interaction, unstructured game opportunities and boredom spaces

Instead, in recent years, children have been filled with:

• Digitally distracted parents
• Indulgent and permissive parents who let children “rule the world” and whoever sets the rules
• A sense of right, of deserving everything without earning it or being responsible for obtaining it 
• Inadequate sleep and unbalanced nutrition
• A sedentary lifestyle
• Endless stimulation, technological nannies, instant gratification and absence of boring moments

What to do?
If we want our children to be happy and healthy individuals, we have to wake up and get back to basics. It is still possible! Many families see immediate improvements after weeks of implementing the following recommendations:

• Set limits and remember that you are the captain of the ship. Your children will feel more confident knowing that you have control of the helm.
• Offer children a balanced lifestyle full of what children NEED, not just what they WANT. Don’t be afraid to say “no” to your children if what they want is not what they need.
• Provide nutritious food and limit junk food.
• Spend at least one hour a day outdoors doing activities such as cycling, walking, fishing, bird/insect watching
• Enjoy a daily family dinner without smartphones or distracting technology.
• Play board games as a family or if children are very small for board games, get carried away by their interests and allow them to rule in the game
• Involve your children in some homework or household chores according to their age (folding clothes, ordering toys, hanging clothes, unpacking food, setting the table, feeding the dog, etc.) 
• Implement a consistent sleep routine to ensure your child gets enough sleep. The schedules will be even more important for school-age children.
• Teach responsibility and independence. Do not overprotect them against all frustration or mistakes. Misunderstanding will help them build resilience and learn to overcome life’s challenges,
• Do not carry your children’s backpack, do not carry the homework they forgot, do not peel bananas or peel oranges if they can do it on their own (4-5 years). Instead of giving them the fish, teach them to fish.
• Teach them to wait and delay gratification.
• Provide opportunities for “boredom”, since boredom is the moment when creativity awakens. Do not feel responsible for always keeping children entertained.
• Do not use technology as a cure for boredom, nor offer it at the first second of inactivity.
• Avoid using technology during meals, in cars, restaurants, shopping centres. Use these moments as opportunities to socialize by training the brains to know how to work when they are in mode: “boredom”
• Help them create a “bottle of boredom” with activity ideas for when they are bored.
• Be emotionally available to connect with children and teach them self-regulation and social skills:
• Turn off the phones at night when children have to go to bed to avoid digital distractions.
• Become a regulator or emotional trainer for your children. Teach them to recognise and manage their own frustrations and anger.
• Teach them to greet, to take turns, to share without running out of anything, to say thank you, and please, to acknowledge the error and apologize (do not force them), be a model of all those values you instil.
• Connect emotionally – smile, hug, kiss, tickle, read, dance, jump, play, or crawl with them.

Valuing Children

Article written by Dr. Luis Rojas Marcos Psychiatrist

Helen Del Frate 

Dean of Students

LJBC Football Academy teams are competing in the School Sport WA Champion Schools Competition this year, and this week our boys and girls teams played their quarter final fixtures. Below is an overview of the QF results:

Junior Boys (Y8) 5-0 win Away against Safety Bay Senior High School 
Intermediate Boys (Y10) 2-1 Win at Home against Lynwood Senior High School
Senior Boys (Y11) 0-1 Loss at Home against Butler College
Junior Girls (Y7-9) 2-0 Loss at Home against South Coast Baptist College
Senior Girls (Y10-12) 3-0 Win at Home against Emmanuel CCS

Well done to all teams for reaching the Quarter Final stage of the State Championships, and good luck to the teams who have progressed to the Semi Finals: To reach the final four of the highest level of State-wide school competition is a fantastic achievement. We are looking forward to watching the teams continue to build on their strong performances throughout the year.

John Walmsley
LJBC Football Academy Coach

Bell Shakespeare

We were lucky enough to get a visit from the Sydney theatre company, Bell Shakespeare, who performed Romeo and Juliet with a modern twist to the Year 10 to 12 Drama students.

Our students enjoyed the show and the opportunity to ask the actors questions about their careers in the Performing Arts.

Black Swan State Theatre Company

Our 2021 Drama Captain, Jake Battle, had the special privilege of partaking in work experience with Black Swan Theatre Company. Twenty-six students were chosen from high schools in Perth and Bunbury to participate in a two-day event on Friday 23 and Saturday 24 July at His Majesty’s Theatre.

The event included:

• A tour of His Majesty’s Theatre, including the Museum of Performing Arts
• Artistic Director Clare Watson sharing her journey as Artistic Director of the company and Co-Director
• Zoë Atkinson sharing her design process and final scenography for York together with an informative history of design.
• Literary Director Polly Low guiding students through the process of writing for the stage with an emphasis on stories of place, which was explored further with devisor Andrew Sutherland, on the following day.
• Soaking in the ambience of the Maali Festival before seeing a matinee production of York at the State Theatre Centre of WA.

“The deep spiritual journey represented in York is both chilling and inspiring. The delicate balance of comedy and tragedy leaves you feeling both unsettled and in awe. It was truly breathtaking, setting a promising precedent for the future of rich Indigenous storytelling working in unity with the modern theatre experience. The program as a whole was unlike any other, and the raw passion and love each speaker shared for their craft challenged me to explore my own passions further, not only in dramaturgy and scenography, but also in my writing. The relationships forged and skills earned will prove invaluable to me in my theatre journey, and I am so fortunate to have been given the opportunity to network with so many like-minded individuals and gain a small glimpse into the creative minds behind Black Swan’s latest masterpiece.” – Jake, Year 12 

That’s a Wrap!

Congratulations to Year 11 student, Andrew, who has been cast in a lead role in the feature film Sweet As!

Andrew recently returned to school after filming along side a star-studded cast including Tasma Walton (Mystery Road, Looking for Grace), Mark Coles-Smith (Last Cab to Darwin, The Circuit) and Ngaire Pigram (Mystery Road). Sweet As is the first Western Australian feature film to be written and directed by a female First Australian. The production took place over five weeks in various locations within the Pilbara region.

“It’s a touching story based on true events, which follows four at risk teens who go on an outback safari tour in Karratha. A few highlights of the experience for me were, meeting all the people, becoming a family with the cast and working with director, Jub Clerc, on her first feature film.” - Andrew 

We are all very proud of Andrew and look forward to seeing him on the big screen soon!

Madelaine Jones
Director of Secondary Drama

To celebrate Languages Week, Year 9 Japanese students had the opportunity to learn some anime drawing skills with former student and illustrator Holly Fox. Holly showed students how to draw the different body parts of an anime character and students creatively drew some amazing characters. We would like to thank Holly for sharing her expertise with us!

Meagan Maassen

Head of Languages

Our Year 12 Outdoor Education Class mountain biked from school to Yanchep last week along the Yaberoo Budjara Heritage Trail. They then camped in the National Park, went caving, tackled a high ropes course, hiked and camped out on the Cockatoo trail before jumping back on their bikes for a relaxing 28km ride home.

The Yaberoo Budjara Heritage Trail begins in Neil Hawkins Park on the shores of Lake Joondalup, and runs through Yellagonga Regional Park, Neerabup National Park and onto Yanchep National Park.

Anna Pargeter 
Health & Physical Education / Outdoor Education Teacher 
Chris Carter 
Head of House Lancier / Health & Physical Education Teacher

It has been a wet, cold and incredibly muddy Cross Country season with our athletes battling the elements in almost every race.  Cross Country events are seldom cancelled and it is a sport that requires speed, stamina, endurance and definitely a strong positive attitude.

Over the last few years, LJBC has built a strong group of Cross Country athletes which has been evident at both the All Schools and State Cross Country events this year.  Our athletes displayed strong performances in all divisions, with the following students making the 2021 National Team for either All Schools and/or the State Cross Country team:

• Kiera (Year 7)
• Nicola (Year 7)
• Ben (Year 8)
• Matthew (Year 8)
• Luke (Year 9)
• Tayla (Year 11)

I am really proud of the mateship displayed amongst all our Cross Country athletes and with the winter season almost over, this means the summer season starts soon.  I am looking forward to seeing what we can achieve at the ACC Athletics A Division Carnival this year, with training already taking place on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.  If you have not yet joined the training sessions, it is not too late. Hope to see you there.

Tayla

Year 11

The Music Department welcomes Ms Adelle Brown this semester. Adelle will teach Years 7-9 Music classes. We are excited to welcome her as part of the Music team at LJBC.

Congratulations to Annelise in Year 12 for achieving Honours for her Grade 5 clarinet examination with AMEB. This is a wonderful achievement.

The annual Secondary Inter House Eisteddfod is on Wednesday 25 August. You are invited to join us in the auditorium from 9am – 1.30pm to watch our talented performers.

Tammy van der Nest
Director of Music PK-12

Earlier this term, Year 7 and 8 students learning Japanese, participated in a Japanese cultural incursion to celebrate Languages Week. Students had the opportunity to try their hand at karate, create origami, taste some delicious yakisoba noodles and watch an amazing taiko drumming performance by Taiko On. In addition, students created hachimaki (headbands) which are traditionally worn for sports carnivals or festivals in Japan to celebrate the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. We thank students for their exemplary behaviour and passionately embracing the Japanese culture.

Meagan Maassen

Japanese Teacher

Lake Joondalup Baptist College is thrilled to confirm that after the success of the 2020 Student Diversity Expo, we will again be showcasing what is available to those on the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS - https://www.ndis.gov.au/) through a variety of local services that are on offer to support our students and families.

Date: Thursday 2 September 2021

Time: 5pm - 7pm

Venue: Lake Joondalup Baptist College, Sports Centre Conference Room

As parents and carers, you will be given information about school supports through an NDIS plan and have the opportunity to talk one on one to staff from local agencies regarding their services. This is also a great opportunity for parents to meet the Learning Enhancement Team from K – 12.

Representatives from the following agencies will be present at the Expo:

• Guest Speaker will be Audrey Rose from The Neurodiversity Network- who will be giving a short talk about her personal journey from diagnosis as an adult, and beyond.
• AIM Therapy for Children – offers speech and language, physiotherapy and occupational therapy services.
• Direction Psychology – offers individual therapy, group therapy and psychometric testing for learning behavioural disorders.
• Smart Talk – offers speech pathology and services that help students from speech to social skills.
• APM – helping families with disability access the support they need.
• Edge Employment – assisting people to find meaningful employment.
• Australian Foundation for Disability (AFFORD) - national provider of disability supports that inspire and enrich lives every day.
• The Neurodiversity Network (Audrey Rose) - assisting clients with individualised support to navigate the NDIS in order to develop and achieve lifelong person-centred goals.
• Autism Association of WA – supporting personal development, equality of opportunity and community participation of people with Autism.
• Peoples 1st Program – specialising in providing education and counselling in resilience, self-esteem, hygiene plus much more.
• Ocean Heroes – helping children build confidence through surfing
• Your Way Personal Coaching Services (Sarah MacDermott) – Information and coaching to empower and support families to engage more confidently with the NDIS

These agencies specialise in providing support to students and families during their school life. If you would like to attend this event please RSVP (with number of attendees) by email to Sarah.Ferreira@LJBC.wa.edu.au by 30 August 2021.

Acting Head of Secondary Learning Enhancement

We understand that situations change, and remind you that if there is a possibility that you may withdraw your child(ren) from the College during or at the end of 2021, our policy requires that we receive written notification of ten school weeks’ notice, addressed to College Registrar. Registrar@ljbc.wa.edu.au.

Sally Yeomans
College Registrar