Residential Manager 

College Ball

The Winter Ball was a grand event and from the feedback we have received the students enjoyed the evening and the venue.  Sophie Cuthbert and Matt Dykes were sashed as our 2020 Belle and Beau of the Ball and Kasey James and Riley Pes our 2020 Princess and Prince of the Winter Ball.  We were so fortunate with the weather, with the rain starting to fall just as everyone was ready to head back to the College. 

We hope that Pepper and Salt Restaurant will be available into the future for our College Ball and thank Silas Masih for clearing the calendar prior to and after the event.  I would like to thank Shamus Butell, Riley Pes, Davin Jarvis, Hamish Bowie and Tristan Ballard for their cheerful assistance in setting up for the event. Kevin Ryan and the kitchen staff catered for the pre-Ball and Ball event and yet again the food was outstanding, thank you to our wonderful kitchen staff. 

Our residential staff who coordinated the transport and kept an eye on everyone and were spotted dancing up a storm at different times of the night, I hope you enjoyed yourselves.  Thank you to Melanie Martin who stepped in and helped us out with her photography skills on the night and last but not least our cleaning ladies who made sure that Pepper and Salt Restaurant was left as we had found it; and not a feather in sight. 

I usually say, ‘that’s it! I am not organising another Ball’ however, the team effort and acceptance of our rules regarding attending the Ball really made a difference this year. Thank you to everyone who was involved, I certainly appreciated it.

Travel Arrangements for Home Weekend and End of Term

The College will organise travel arrangements (bus tickets) for the home weekend and  end of term.  Please advise the school or your child of the travel arrangements for the end of Term 3.  The College books outward travel for home weekends  and the end of Term, the return ticket is booked by the parent/guardian and must be booked to arrive early afternoon preferably into Denmark; late arrival will incur a pick up fee if the student is arriving into Albany by the College of $100.00; all other travel arrangements throughout the term are to be arranged by the parent/guardian.

Appointments 

We understand that at times we will be required to transport students to emergency appointments and/or the hospital during school hours due to injury or illness.  If students are presenting with cold and flu symptoms and/or have communicable illnesses parents are required to collect their child as soon as possible.  Of late students are making appointments during the school day, we ask that parents and students organise appointments for after school and that prescriptions are written with an adequate number of repeats so students are not missing classes for this purpose.  If students are required to attend specialist’s appointments in Albany, it is the responsibility of the parents to transport their child to this appointment.

Cash for Containers

The College has signed up and has recently accepted delivery of the first three pods to start collecting eligible beverage containers which will allow the College to “cash in” the containers for 10¢ each, joining 200 refund points across the State. 

The scheme aims to reduce landfill and give back to the community, Containers eligible for the refund include most aluminium, glass, plastic, steel and liquid paperboard beverage containers between 150ml and 3L, according to the Containers for Change website. There are some beverage containers that are not eligible for a refund. Generally, ineligible containers are those that are less than 150ml and greater than 3L.  We will provide further information for staff and students so it is clear what can and cannot be recycled. 

Tomorrow Man – has been and gone

Rhett Corker was the facilitator for ‘Breaking the Man Code’ workshop - What does it mean to be a bloke today? And what do we want it to look like tomorrow?

 We could not have picked a more perfect match for our young men than Rhett.  He was so relatable and immediately won the students trust.  The feedback that we have received from both staff and students has been extremely positive.  This workshop had our young men ‘digging deep’ on occasions which resulted in a powerful experience with some stepping forward to be real heroes in the workshops. Our young men were sharing and learning from each other about honesty and courage when faced with adversity. Showing support, kindness, and respect all the way.

Some feedback from the students

Do you think the workshop will change the way you'll interact with others?

"Yes, I will be able to have more serious down to earth conversations"

"Yes, I will make sure they are going good and will check in with the boys more often"

“Yes, we now know that others are facing hard times and that we can talk about it instead of bottling it up"

"Yes, treat them with respect and compassion"

"Yes, by knowing them and their back story better"

"Yes, because it's not just yourself going through things"

"Yes, I know now that I can talk to people and feel that I am not weak for wanting to talk"

We look forward to including a series of Tomorrow Man/Woman workshops into the program over the coming year.

RU OK? Day 2020

The College recognised this very important day which coincided with our Tomorrow Man workshops.  The kitchen provided us with their special RU OK? cupcakes, we bumper stickered some of our vehicles and put a banner at our front gate to raise awareness.  Our student councillors and some staff could be seen from space in their bright yellow t-shirts.  All jokes aside, it is so important to be able to support your friend and start a conversation using these 4 steps.

1. Ask RU OK?
2. Listen without judgement
3. Encourage action
4. Follow up

LEAVE – usernames and passwords

Please keep your username and password in you notes sections of your phones; quite often the reset can be completed by yourselves simply by reinstalling the app and logging in again. This is very important; you can reset your own password if you know where to find it.  I know that Reach can be troublesome but spending some time using the App might help with user issues.

REACH APP Features

• Create leave events
• View and Manage Leave Events
• Sign in and out of school campus
• Manage Hosts
• Personal Leave Calendar

SPEAKUP! app – anonymous reporting

Powered by information technologists with over 40 years’ experience in hardware and software solutions, Speak UP!® is an international company that provides schools an opportunity to prevent the abuse and bullying that takes place on and off the internet.

When students anonymously report incidents through the web or phone app, they are not only helping the innocent victims of bullying and cyberbullying but they are also empowering themselves by standing up for others and for themselves.

When students report using the app the report comes through to both mine and the Principals email address simultaneously. It is compulsory that all students have the app on their phone.  All students will have access to the app.

WHY IT WORKS….

Students can report an incident when:

• They don’t want other students to know they are reporting
• They don’t feel comfortable talking to an adult about the incident
• They don’t know which adult to talk to
• There isn’t an adult available
• They want to report the incident anonymously

Tutoring and Homework Help

There is a Facebook group that you can join to access local tutor information.  Please contact the College if you would like more information regarding this.

Laundry

Our laundry staff have made a request that students take their clothing to the laundry in small lots every day rather than accumulating their washing.  This is now more important than ever for students to have their clothing laundered in the commercial machines.  Our domestic laundries have been temporarily closed.

Second hand clothing is available in the laundry.  Check with Carol and Mel our laundry ladies if you need to change sizes of clothing before buying anything new.  We welcome donations of the College uniform (in good condition) as students leave the college. 

Clothing without name tags will be displayed on the table for collection when the laundry is staffed, otherwise it will be packed away until the following shift.  A record of lost clothing is kept in the laundry.  If students have lost an item of clothing, please report it to the laundry staff.

College Uniforms

There are second hand uniforms available in the laundry and via our Facebook group WACoA Denmark – Buy and Sell – Second-hand uniforms 

Health and Wellbeing

The College continues to provide support to students requiring doctors and other health related appointments. Where possible these appointments are made outside of school hours to minimise disruption to the school program. For any follow up appointments with specialists the College asks parents and carers where possible to make these during school holidays.  Please contact the College if your child has any medical imaging needs before appointments are made in Albany.  When students are ill in residence the College will provide immediate care and will arrange necessary medical appointments. To minimise the spread of illness all students who are unwell are required to remain in their rooms, eat after all other students and minimise contact with other students until recovered. If students are unable to participate in the learning program for more than one day the College will contact families to discuss alternative care arrangements.

Vehicle Forms

We are experiencing students arriving on site with vehicles prior to these forms being completed.  It is very important that students and parents adhere to our vehicle guidelines.

Prior to any student vehicle/motor cycle being brought to the College please ensure all forms are completed and up-to-date and that any vehicle or motorbike that comes on to site has been approved.  Quad bikes will not be approved as part of our recreational motor cycle program.

Medication

Reminder for all parents and students -  we require students to hand in any medication that they have to residential staff; medication is recorded, stored and administered from the residential office.

Reminders

Weekend Leave – have it in REACH by WEDNESDAY NIGHT…..or no leave