Dear Parents and Caregivers

Year 12
It was with great sadness that we farewelled our Year 12 cohort at their final Secondary Assembly on Wednesday 20 October and then at their Valedictory and Presentation Evening on Thursday 21 October 2021.

At their very first assembly in Year 7, I shared with them this quote from Vince Lombardi who was an Italian-American football player and later a coach: Perfection is not attainable, but if you chase perfection you can catch excellence. 

Below is the story I told at the time to illustrate this concept and to give thought to how it could be relevant to their lives beyond school. Usually, I look for a suitable folk tale or legend from long ago to explain my point, but this one literally comes almost from my own backyard.

Perfection is not attainable, but if you chase perfection you can catch excellence.

In 2016, I had been living in my present home for nearly four years. During that time, I had often heard piano playing coming from over my back fence. The fence is one of those Colorbond contraptions so you can’t see through it and it is very high, so I had no idea who it was playing the piano in the house diagonally to the north-west. However, I ascertained that there must be at least three pianists – a very accomplished adult and two younger people, probably children. When I first heard the music in 2012, one child I guessed was a bit older and progressing well and one just starting out. In my mind I imagined them as a mother, possibly a music teacher, and two children – possibly an older boy and a younger girl – just learning. But the truth is I had no idea if the adult was male or female, or if the children were boys or girls. All I knew was this, every weekend and in the holidays (because that’s when I’m home to hear them) they were practising… and chasing perfection.

Over the four years both children advanced considerably; so much so that it was quite difficult for me to tell them apart – both had progressed so much, but I suspected that the younger one may have been catching up! They play very well now and the adult continued and continues to practise regularly.

You might think that it could be annoying for me to listen to the piano being practised so often when I am relaxing in my backyard, but the truth is, as a teacher, an educator, it has been a great thrill for me … two young people chasing perfection and catching excellence, an older person holding on to excellence but continuing to chase perfection! 

That is my challenge for you as you gaze into the distant, unfamiliar, but exciting future, in whatever you do: Chase perfection in order to catch excellence. 

Added to this, having a positive attitude and being optimistic will help you to overcome problems to take on greater challenges and lead to achievement; they will also make you a happier person. 

Strongly aligned to being positive and optimistic are being determined, resilient and solutions focused. If Plan A doesn’t work, remember the alphabet has 25 more letters. Thomas Edison, the great American inventor, said something similar: I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work. He persevered to give us a number of items that are now integral to our daily lives, most notably the long-lasting electric light bulb.
 
We wish our Year 12s all the best as they complete their examinations, move on to further education and begin work as young adults.

Physical Education Assistant – Sport and Recreation Trainee
A vacancy exists for a Physical Education Assistant – Sport and Recreation Trainee for the 2022 school year.  This opportunity is available only to Frederick Irwin Anglican School Year 12 Leavers in 2021, and is for a full-time, one-year contract.  A Duty Statement and further information is available on the Employmentpage on the School’s website.  Closing date: Monday 22 November 2021. 

Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day will be observed by both Primary Schools and the Secondary School next week.  I am always so proud of the respectful manner in which our students engage in this observance.  Lest we forget!

Kerry Robertson
Principal

Dear Parents and Caregivers

Term 4 is always a busy and exciting term with many events and activities, and it is hard to believe that we are already halfway through the term!

We continue to prioritise both physical and mental health and wellbeing at our school. As part of our commitment to Act, Belong, Commit, we have

been involved in Service Learning opportunities with the Operation Christmas Child shoebox collection.  In Week 7 we are planning for our choir to visit the aged care centre, Mercy Place in Halls Head, to sing to the residents. We hope that both of these initiatives will bring joy to the lives of others. In Week 6, I have the privilege of accompanying our House Captains to Perth to have lunch in Parliament House with Dawesville MP, Lisa Munday. Again, an amazing opportunity for our student leaders.

All of our Years 3 to 6 students attended the Inter-School Athletics Carnival, held this year at Mandurah Primary School on Friday of Week 3. We were proud of the effort and sportsmanship of all of our students. Congratulations to Ramya Mehta, for her achievement as Champion Year 6 Girl and to Johan Esterhuysen who was Runner-Up Champion Year 5 Boy. Many thanks to Mrs Wendy Shepherd for her organisation of our team and all of the staff who attended and helped to make the day a success.

We also have other upcoming interschool sporting events in which a number of our students will be participating, including the Champion Schools Triathlon event, the Year 4 Red Ball Tennis, and Year 5 and 6 Cricket and Lawn Bowl event. 

On Thursday 11 November, we will be holding our Remembrance Day Service on the lawn area near the flag poles at Halls Head campus. Family members are welcome to join us for this event and students or family members are welcome to lay a floral token of remembrance if they would like to. Two House Captains will also be representing the Halls Head Campus and laying a wreath on behalf of the School at the Dawesville RSL War Memorial on Remembrance Day.

Kind regards and best wishes

Sue Kirke
Deputy Head of Primary — Halls Head 

Kindergarten 2023 
This term, applications for admission in 2023, particularly for brothers and sisters of existing students, will be considered for enrolment in Kindergarten at Frederick Irwin Anglican School, Meadow Springs and Halls Head.

Parents who wish their son or daughter to be considered for these years in 2023 should, if they have not already done so, submit an application as soon as possible.

If you have any queries please contact Mrs Jackie Smith at the School Office or email registrar@frederickirwin.wa.edu.au.

A vacancy exists for a Physical Education Assistant – Sport and Recreation Trainee for the 2022 school year.

This opportunity is only available to Frederick Irwin Anglican School Year 12 Leavers in 2021, and is for a full-time, one year contract.

For a Duty Statement and further information please see the Employment page on the School’s website.

Closing Date: Monday 22 November 2021 at 4.00pm

Term 1 Fee Statements were emailed to families on DATE and are due for payment on DATE. 

Families who have not paid or made payment arrangements with the Business Manager by the due date should be aware that a late penalty of $55.00 (GST included) may be imposed. The School has BPAY facilities and we encourage parents to avail themselves of this.

To assist families to budget for their school fee payments, we also offer weekly, fortnightly, bi-monthly or monthly payment plans.  For further information, please contact the School Office.

Term Dates 2021 

Term 4: Tuesday 12 October – Wednesday 8 December 

Term Dates 2022 

Term 1: Monday 31 January to Friday 8 April
Term 2: Thursday 28 April to Friday 1 July
Term 3: Tuesday 26 July to Friday 23 September
Term 4: Tuesday 11 October to Wednesday 7 December

Uniform Shop Hours for Term 4

Monday                       12.30pm – 3.30pm
Tuesday                       8.00am – 12.00pm
Wednesday                  8.00am – 12.00pm (from 3 November until end of Term 4)
Thursday                     8.00am – 12.00pm
Friday                         12.30pm – 3.30pm 

Blazer 2022
Blazers are a compulsory item of the winter uniform for ALL students from Years 7 in 2022. If you have not already booked an appointment please call the uniform shop as soon as possible.

If your current Secondary School child is in need of a new larger school blazer for 2022.  Please call into the Uniform Shop before 3 December 2021.

Blazers ordered after this date will have to be ordered individually and therefore will not be subject to the lower price afforded by the large order. Also, blazers not ordered by this time may not be ready for Term 2 of 2022, when the blazer is a compulsory uniform item for all High School students. 

Dry Cleaning your Blazer 
The first rule is that blazers should never be home-laundered. Treat your blazer like any suiting jacket – which is dry clean only. Just like a suit, blazers have high quality fabric (containing wool) together with fusing and lining which must be professionally cleaned. A quality dry cleaner should be used where possible.  

The above said, there are some dry cleaners that do not always dry clean in accordance with garment specifications. The primary complaint about dry cleaning is over-heating. When a blazer is over-heated, the fusing (used to make collars and the lapel maintain shape) will come away from the fabric and result in bubbles, a wave pattern or bulging. An experienced dry cleaner will know this and can prevent this from happening. 

Frederick Irwin’s blazer manufacturer recommends using a larger-scale dry cleaner rather than small shopping centre-based dry cleaners. Larger volume dry cleaners tend to be more professional and have experience with special garments. If you are in any doubt, do not be afraid to ask questions about the dry cleaner’s practices and knowledge.

Sound dry cleaning practices will ensure your blazer will last longer.

2022 Year 5 Students
In February 2022, your current Year 4 Student will be moving into Year 5 and you may need to purchase additional formal uniforms, as the formal uniform will be worn for the whole week (full 5 days) and students will change at school for timetabled sports. Please call the uniform shop as soon as possible. 

2022 Year 3 Students
For 2022, your current Year 2 Student will need to purchase the full formal summer uniforms, to be worn for 3 days with 2 full days of sportswear. If you have not already booked an appointment please call the uniform shop as soon as possible. 

Lost Uniforms
Can you all please check your child/ren's uniforms for names; if the item is not yours, please return it to the school office as soon as possible. If you know the child please pass it on to the owner. 

Please be mindful that all items of clothing must have your child’s name on them, this will not only reduce the risk of lost items, which result in additional costs for families but items can easily be returned. 

Second-hand Uniforms
Have you any uniforms that no longer fit, re-sell them through the uniform shop. If the items are freshly laundered and in a very good condition, the Uniform Shop will assess them to possibly include in the second-hand section.

Forms are available from either the uniform shop, Reception or online.

A new system has been developed to help process the second-hand uniforms into the shop and sell on for you. Unfortunately, any item that has been taken in cannot be returned if either unsuitable or unsold.

The Men's Shed Mandurah recently built and donated some large outdoor games to the Halls Head Campus.  These games will be available to students to play at recess and lunch as part of our ‘Act Belong Commit’ initiative.

Thank you to Mr Kevin Atkins, the Treasurer and Secretary of the Men's Shed, who personally delivered the items to the Campus. 

Thank you to all of the Halls Head families who contributed to the Operation Christmas Child shoebox donations.  Our House Captains and Head of Primary, Mr Clark, worked hard to load up all of these amazing donations to be delivered to the collection point.

Thank you again, all of these donations help those children living in vulnerable situations across the world. 

This continues to be part of our focus to Act, Belong, Commit. 

The Year 11 Politics and Law students got to visit the WA Supreme Courts as part of their studies. 

Humanities and Social Sciences teacher Mr Ashley Blake escorted the enthusiastic students on the day.  The students were able to learn more about the historical side of the Supreme court along with today's court system.  

The Year 11 Market Stall took on a slightly different format this year, as a smaller class size allowed the students to work collaboratively, rather than pit themselves against each other in the traditional way. The result was a very successful and enjoyable day in the sun, selling sausage sizzles, soft drinks and lolly bags to the hungry staff and students.

A strong social media campaign, combined with targeted polling of the potential market, allowed the Business Management team to offer products to suit the tastes and preferences of the customer. All students worked exceptionally hard to have all products ready to serve as the lunchtime bell rang. Pasitos, sausage sizzles and creaming sodas were flying off the shelves within minutes, and the innovative checkout system in operation worked so efficiently, that halfway through lunch we had officially sold out of all stock.

We were able to raise over $400 for the Peel Community Kitchen, a charity that helps feed the homeless and less fortunate in Mandurah. A huge thank you to all the Year 11 Business Management students for their hard work, as well as the entire Home Economics department for their generosity in helping with the setup, materials, cooking and cleaning. Also a big thank you to Mrs Singh for lending her expertise in market stall operations. The day was an enormous success, both in money raised and customer satisfaction. I look forward to building on this success and going bigger and better next year.

Mr Ashley Blake
teacher - Humanities and Social Sciences 

We are so excited that Frederick Irwin Anglican School will be hosting a family Christmas Carols evening, ‘Carols in the Quad’, on Tuesday 30 November 2021!   After having to cancel our 2020 Carols due to COVID, it's exciting to have this event back on the calendar!  

5.00pm     Families arrive – Food Trucks available, Face painting, Student performances
6.00pm     Carols Commence
7.15pm     Carols Conclude

Please note that from the commencement of the Carols section of the evening (6.00pm), families are strongly encouraged to be seated with their children within their picnic area. This will help to create a wonderful, calm sense of community, and allow families to bond together as they sing familiar Christmas tunes

Food trucks available on the evening include: Street Fusion (serving ribs, gourmet burgers and seafood), The Curry Truck (serving South African style curry), The Travelling Grazer (serving gourmet grazing boxes), Black Velvet and Honey (serving barista coffee, cool drinks and other beverages), and icy poles available to purchase. We also recommend packing a small picnic basket for the evening as well, should the food trucks prove popular! 

Please bring with you all that you need, and I suggest again that picnic rugs and mosquito repellent would be handy additions. (Please note: alcohol is not permitted at functions on the school property when children are present.)

The gallery below shows pictures from the 2019 Carols in the Quad! 

Class of 2001 Leavers enjoyed a wine and cheese evening for their 20 Year Reunion on Friday 29 March, after embarking on a twilight tour of the School to see the changes that have been made since they left.

Alumni were able to reminisce in the foyer of the Performing Arts Centre, as they looked back on past photos, Year Books and reminisced about the past and caught up on what everyone has been up to.

We hope they enjoyed the evening!

Congratulations to all the Secondary students who took part in the Schools Triathlon on Thursday 4 November at Champion Lakes Regatta Centre. This was the largest team Frederick Irwin has ever taken to this competition! 

Every student competed to the best of their abilities and it was great to see them cheering and supporting each other throughout the day. 

Some of the highlights included Year 11 student Michael Baker placing 5th in the Senior Individual race against some strong competitors and the Year 8 and Year 9 Girls placing 3rd in the Team Events.  

Thank you to Mrs Karen Watts, Mrs Maddy Pettit and Mr Dan Harrop for their support on the day plus parents Mrs Baker and Mrs Payne for their support. 

Congratulations to our own 'Matilda', Emma Kasher!  

On Saturday 19 February 2022, the Western Australian Charity Orchestra (WACO) will be presenting a concert at the Perth Concert Hall that will include the work 'Calling Downs' by Christopher Tin. 

Emma will perform 'Hayom Kadosh' with WACO as a soloist.  This is an amazing honour!

This summer, WAAPA is thrilled to be able to offer an exciting school holiday program at our campus in Mount Lawley. There are classes for students from Year 1 to Year 12 in drama, acting, screen performance, film making, music theatre and of course Shakespeare. 

For information about the many courses on offer please visit waapa.ecu.edu.au/summer-school or contact explore.waapa@ecu.edu.au or 9370 6775