From the Principal 

Welcome Back!

It is with great enthusiasm that I welcome you all to Term 4! To say last term was a busy one is an understatement and I trust that all staff and students took some time during the break to rest and recuperate.

It was a pleasure to attend the Royal Show during the holidays and watch our students compete. Huge congratulations to all of the students who competed - you did us all very proud! The Farm section has a comprehensive breakdown of the fantastic results from the show.

A large proportion of our Year 12's have now finished up, with some returning this week to finish off outstanding course requirements, complete their Certificate III Agriculture course and/or prepare for the upcoming ATAR and WACE examinations. Although at breakfast on Monday morning, it looked as though many of the Year 11's forgot what an early start looked like, it has been a fantastic start back to the term for this group.

This term we will be working closely with the Year 11 cohort and the incoming Student Council to further build on the positive culture and enhancing the 'student experience'. We aim to foster a young adult-type environment here at the College through promoting independence and personal responsibility. I am keen to also hear from parents about how they feel we are going with balancing rules, expectations and routines with students having independence and autonomy. Feel free to email me through your thoughts.

Year 11's requirements for Term 4

As always, every day matters as our students work their way through a significant workload in order to meet the requirements for all of their courses and attain their WACE. Compared to a typical Year 11 student, our 'General Pathway' students are essentially enrolled in a minimum of eight (8) 'subjects/VET courses' compared to those students who attend Senior High Schools who typically enrol in five (5) courses total. Our longer days, allow us to provide more offerings across Farm and Trades (which is what makes us unique) and the workload associated with accessing these additional course opportunities cannot be underestimated.

Any absence can have a significant impact on a student's ability to complete these courses, attain their Certificate II and III qualifications and also attain their WACE. I appreciate some students may prefer to depart early to assist with harvest, however, we cannot support this concept as these absences will severely impact their progress and place unnecessary strain on their Year 12 workload. Our students are assessed right up until the end of Week 7, across all areas of the College and I ask that parents please support our request for students to maintain their commitment upon enrolment, to attend until the end of term. We encourage our Year 12 General students to work hard to finish up at the end of Term 3 to go and do harvest.

Eligibility for Certificate III course entry in Year 12 and alike can also be impacted by poor attendance rates.  

Changes to public health measures from 14 October 2022

From Friday 14 October, COVID-19 mandatory isolation requirements will be removed. This change was agreed to at National Cabinet and further information will be provided later this week.

Current settings remain in place until midnight Thursday 13 October. Please visit healthywa.wa.gov.au for up-to-date COVID-19 related support and advice.

All of us have an important role to play in supporting a healthy community by following the advice outlined on healthywa.wa.gov.au. Given our residential boarding context, as always, we ask that students who are unwell stay at home particularly in the early stages of their illness when they are most infectious.

Please do not hesitate to contact the College should you have any questions.

Wishing you all a great rest of the week and all the best for this season's harvest - here's hoping for a good one all-round!

Matt Dowell

Principal