A/Principal 

Steve Swallow

Steve.Swallow@education.wa.edu.au

Early Finish on Friday 25th September 2020 - end of Term 3

The College learning programme will continue to 2.10pm on Friday 25th September and resume 8.10am on Monday 12th October.  The College is providing an early close of 2.10pm on Friday 25th September to allow students and parents to travel home during daylight hours.

Phase 5 of the WA COVID-19 roadmap pushed back

Based on the latest health advice, Phase 5 of the WA COVID–19 roadmap due to be implemented on Saturday, 1 August, has been delayed. The new tentative date for Phase 5 will now be Friday, 23 October. A final decision on whether Phase 5 can proceed on this date will be decided in the coming weeks. 

As a result, the College will continue to operate using the Phase 4 Operating Guidelines for Western Australian Public Schools.

2020 Parent Survey

It’s that time of the year when we start seeking feedback from our key stakeholders about the College and our operations.  One of the most important surveys we conduct each year is our online Parent Survey and parents will have already received an email with the following link to enable them to access the survey: 

Not many of us enjoy doing surveys but the reality is the feedback we receive from our parents is critical to our improvement processes, so I encourage you to please take the time and effort to share your views. 

2020 Residential Survey

We will  also be asking for an additional commitment of time from the parents of our residential students to complete a survey specifically for our residential program.  As most of our parents would know, we’ve had a strong focus on safety and support in our College residence, particularly over the past 12 months, and we’d like some feedback from the parents of our residential students as to how they think we’re going, and where we can continue to improve.  The link to access the 2020 Residential Survey is:

College Ball

What a terrific job Kelli Gillies and her team did with this year’s College Ball.  The kitchen staff provided yet another wonderful meal and the Pepper and Salt restaurant/function centre was an excellent venue.  I’m sure it will be an evening that lasts long and fondly in the memories of those students who attended.  We were also pleased that the parameters we put in place to reduce the likelihood of our students attending “afters” parties were strongly supported by parents, many of whom enjoyed a meal together at the Boston Brewery while their son or daughter attended the ball. 

All in all, the 2020 College Ball was a classy, fun and safe event for our students – everything we hoped it would be.

Year 12 Finish – Behaviour Expectations

While we know that many of our ‘non-ATAR’ Year 12’s are becoming very keen to finish their education programs at the College as soon as possible, we are expecting all Year 12’s to return to the College in Term 4.  After that, once students have completed all their course requirements, they will be allowed – in fact, they will be required – to leave the campus. 

It is also that time of the year when we need to remind students and parents that the College will not tolerate any disruptive or destructive behaviour from Year 12’s in their last week or two of school.  Students who engage in that type of behaviour will be suspended and place their invitation to Graduation at risk. Over the past few years, our Year 12 students have left the College in a very positive manner. I feel sure the 2020 Year 12 group will do the same. 

Public School Review

It has been confirmed that our 3-year public School Review will take place in Week 7 of Term 4. The review had originally been programmed for Term 2 but was cancelled due to COVID-19. The format of the review has changed over the past few months and schools have been provided information on the updated requirements of the process. We will be required to review and report on College operations including; Relationships and Partnerships, Learning Environment, Leadership, Use of Resources, Teaching Quality and Student Achievement and Progress. Parents, staff and the wider college community will be invited to contribute and provide feedback to the review panel.

2021 Student Information Day

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the majority of W.A. College of Agriculture – Denmark prospective 2021 students and their parents/carers have not had the opportunity to visit the College in 2020. The College Open Day, another opportunity to inspect the school had also been cancelled for this year. 

The College community invited all new 2021 students and their parents/carers to attend a Student Information Day on 21 August at the W.A. College of Agriculture – Denmark.

The Student Information Day included:

• A presentation in the College lecture theatre outlining courses of study, vocational educational and training qualifications, tertiary pathways and training pathways.
• An inspection and tour of the metals and engineering workshop, automotive workshop, classrooms, science laboratory and computer rooms.
• A tour of the College farm, horticulture enterprise, vineyard and robotic dairy.
• An introduction to the residential and boarding facilities including a guided tour of student dormitories, dining room, laundry and sports gymnasium.
• Lunch in the College dining room.

The 2021 Student Information Day was a great success. It was a welcome to our new 2021 students and their parents / carers to the College community. Sixteen staff were involved on the day and did an outstanding job. Their time and efforts are greatly appreciated. 

Staffing Changes

Jason Frankham – Eade was appointed as a Dairy TOAI  at the beginning of Term 3.

The College is now advertising for the second time for another TOAI Dairy position which we hope to fill in the next few weeks. The TOAI Beef position has also been advertised as Jo Angilley will be on maternity leave next term with a possible extension. Applications closed for both positions on the 15th September. 

Director, Agricultural Education

Sally Panizza, Principal, WA College of Cunderdin has accepted a fixed term appointment as the Director, Agricultural Education.

Commencing in Term 4, Sally will lead a team to support Agricultural Education across the state. The team will be based in Central Office.

Sally brings to this role, not only her background in farming, but her experience as Principal at Southern Cross District High School and WACoA Cunderdin, and leadership across the Avon Schools Network. 

I understand that Margaret Ross (Co-ordinator – Budget and Resource Management) will be moving from the Curriculum Support section (Padbury) to the new Ag. Education section at Central Office. I believe that the return of the Ag. Education section to Central Office will see greater support for the WACoA at a system level.