Principal 

Stephen Watt

Stephen.Watt@education.wa.edu.au

Dear Parents/Carers, Families and College Community

Parents and carers of Year 10 students would have received a link via email to a ballot to elect a Year 10 representative to the College Board. Voting will close on 7am Monday morning and we will be in a position to announce the successful candidate next week. My thanks to those who put themselves forward. 

College Board Meeting

The first College Board meeting will take place on Thursday 1 April to coincide with end of term and parent/carer/staff interviews. This meeting will be an open meeting, where any member of the College community can attend and listen to the proceedings. There will be a discussion about the 2020 School Performance Data Review against our Business Plan targets.

Upgrades and Improvements

Our new pasteuriser is on site and is currently being installed. Along with the brand new $150 000 pasteuriser, there are upgrades to the milk pipes and bottle filling to meet food safety standards. We will soon be consuming our own fresh milk at the College.

You might have noticed earthworks near our Dairy which is part of an overhaul to the effluent handling system. The Dairy produces significant wash-down water which presents a potential environmental hazard. 

With funding assistance from Western Dairy, a new settling and holding pond are being constructed with enough capacity to hold a winter’s worth of effluent. In summer the water will be pumped into the irrigation system thus recycling water and nutrients. 

On the west side of the main shed behind Trades we are constructing a full length veranda which will be used to store vehicles and machinery under cover and eventually to include a farm training and meeting room. I am looking forward to tidying that part of our College which is on our main entrance and in having our valuable machinery under cover and protected from the elements.

Water Use Efficiency

I am interested in having a conversation about improving our water use efficiency on parts of our Farm given lower irrigation allowances and lower annual rainfall. Our Farm staff and Agricultural Advisory Committee are working through some of the issues and options, but I’m also interested in hearing from anyone in our College community that has some expertise in the area. 

Have a great weekend.

 Steve