Kennedy Baptist College’s first ever House Day gave us the opportunity to embrace the fun, the strength, and the chaos of community. This jam-packed Friday in our third week of term had three main elements to it with students breaking out into ‘Vertical Forms’, coming back together for our Arts Showcase, and racing against each other down during our Interhouse Cross Country.
The initiative of the Vertical Forms set down the structure of the day with students returning to their groups throughout the morning and engaging in sessions based around some of the Kennedy values. For Boldness, students went out of their comfort zones with all-in Macarena dances and some whole-class Karaoke. During our sessions on Service and Faith, our staff were able to express both where they have served in the past and how their faith has carried them through their life journey, opening up space for discussion on these topics.
The term ‘Vertical Form’ comes from the intent of our Pastoral Care team to broaden students’ view of the Kennedy community beyond just their usual peers, and so Forms on House Day were made up of students from the same House rather than simply the same year group.
This format was reflected in the Arts Showcase assembly, with students sitting together with their Houses. This Showcase was a fresh opportunity for students to experience and encourage the individual talent of those in the Arts Learning Area, with a range of musical and dance performances keeping the crowd engaged and clapping along. Extra space was given to those creative pursuits that are more difficult to show on stage with videos elevating the work of our visual arts, media, and photography students.
We were also blessed to have Australian Idol Top 8 finalist Drea Onamade with us, offering an inspirational performance alongside an equally inspiring interview with our Head of Performing Arts, Mrs Anthony. We look forward to Drea continuing her role with us as a music tutor and to have her on board as the vocal director for our production of Annie: The Musical.
After Vertical Forms and our Arts Showcase, the energy of staff and students spilled out onto the Murdoch Sports Grounds as our Interhouse Cross Country concluded the day. Students had the choice to run in a competitive three kilometre time trial or to support their peers as they came across the finish line. The best times of those running approached just 10 minutes with Year 11 student Beau the best of the boys while Year 7 student Zara set a high bar when she set the best girls time, winning by just three seconds.
After the time trial, all students went on a ‘Lapathon’, running between four different stations where they could be splattered in the colours of our four Houses. Most students chose the pathway of colour, loving the opportunity to end House Day in a blend of colour.
Thank you to our Heads of House for organising and executing such a great day, and for helping to create the great structure of Vertical Forms that will continue to help improve the Kennedy community.
