Student Wellbeing 

Hello and welcome to the 2024 school year. I’m your new Wellbeing Coordinator and I have been overwhelmed with the warm and welcoming atmosphere from both staff and students!

As I’ve mentioned to most of you, teaching was not my first profession. After my stint at Ag School, I found my way into the shearing sheds in Western Queensland and later through the Wheatbelt and Goldfields of WA I found brief employment with Wesfarmers and then Elders as a trainee auctioneer before moving to the Goldfields to dabble in mining. However, my love of the land soon saw me managing sheep stations and harvesting wild sandalwood with my father. After the birth of my second child, I realised living remotely was not going to provide the opportunities to my children that I had when I was growing up. When I failed the mathematics requirement to enter the police force, I was determined to get myself a better education and we moved to Perth where I enrolled in Year 12 to do my ATAR at the age of 25.

After successfully completing my ATAR and finding a new passion in the scientific field, I completed an honours degree in forensic chemistry, and by the age of 31, was working as a research chemist at the Chemistry Centre of WA in Hay St (now at Curtin Uni). City life wasn’t for me, and after 2 years, I found a job as a Production Chemist in the oil and gas industry, which took me all over the world. However, the land was still calling, and in 2010 my wife and I moved to a farm in Pingelly, where we still raise sheep and operate a thoroughbred breeding program. I decided to begin teaching a few years later, with a view to teaching ATAR sciences such as Chemistry, Physics and Human Biology. I did this for a short while before realising the need for students social and emotional development as a precursor to being able to maximise their academic potential.  

I have recently completed a degree in Psychology, and together with my teaching background and life experiences, I hope to be bring a proactive approach to Wellbeing for both staff and students. This year’s program will incorporate some new ideas and many of the same initiatives as last year, spearheaded by a talented and dedicated support team. My biggest emphasis is that everyone feels safe about asking for, or accepting, help when it’s needed. My door is ‘always open’, and I look forward to working with you all in 2024! 

Fortnightly Motto – People do well if they can, if they could be doing well, they would be doing well! 

Aaron Morton

Wellbeing Coordinator