RESIDENTIAL

Welcome back to the final term of the year, how quickly the year has passed by.  Most Year 12 students finished up at the end of last term, with only the Uni-Ready students in for last week and a few students completing projects and certificates in a few areas. Everyone else has returned well-rested and ready to complete the remainder of the year.

Residential staff completed three days of training in the second week of the break, completing a CPR refresher course and a Youth Mental Health First Aid course here onsite with several other staff from other schools. It was really good to spend time with other staff working in similar fields and encountering many of the same issues.

The trainer was very engaging and made quite a heavy topic easy to understand, I am certain it will be very beneficial to everyone involved.

Beyond Blue

Next week, we are holding a “Big Blue Table” dinner here at the College; it is an initiative run by Beyond Blue. The idea is that we will have some information on the tables to help students with topics to discuss with each other on the night. 

We encourage both staff and students to dress in blue and in conjunction with the Student Council we will be awarding some prizes. Thanks to Ms Strehle for organising the event.  As this is a gold coin donation fund-raiser, all money raised will go to Beyond Blue. The students have set a goal of raising $300, so hopefully, everyone will support it well.

Halloween

The following week, the Student Councillors and the kitchen staff are planning a “Halloween" themed evening.

Some prizes will be awarded for the best-dressed student and staff member, so there should be loads of fun on the night.

Residential Activities

I have been very impressed with the offerings that Residential staff have undertaken this year, both after hours during the week and on weekends.

I am aware that we have needed to withdraw some weekend activities this year, but many things we plan have minimum number requirements and when students withdraw, we then need to postpone the excursion. 

One way around this and what several Perth schools use is, that you sign up to attend, which implies that you will financially commit to the excursion. If, for some valid reason, you then cannot attend, it is up to the student to find another student to fill their spot or pay the cost anyway. I would not like to enforce this, however it is disappointing for students and staff when we need to cancel. Planning and executing excursions to the Department's requirements is both very time-consuming and laborious, so when excursions are put off, staff are also disappointed.

Further to this above issue, it also affects the kitchen for catering purposes.