Residential

As I reach the end of my second week at Cunderdin Ag I have been delighted in how the students, parents and my colleagues have all made me feel so welcome. Cunderdin is a wonderful College. Like a small village really,  and like any village, it takes us all working together to raise resilient, kind and well-educated young people. It has been wonderful to connect with families and if I haven’t yet, I do hope to meet many of you at the parent function on Saturday or as we take photos of our gorgeous College Ball cohort. 

These two weeks I have been getting to know the students and Residential Staff. I am very impressed with the level of skill and dedication that our Residential Staff show to our boarders. I am looking forward to building the team and should anyone be interested in a career in boarding please contact me as we are currently advertising. We have professional development opportunities coming up and all boarding staff will be able to increase their skill set.

Attending the Dowerin Field Day has been a highlight as I got to spend quality time with our students.  Talking about their future dreams, getting to know them and discussing ways we can improve the boarding experience as they study Year 11 and 12. As young adults they are keen to have the freedoms to make decisions that suit them but we are working on the fact that with maturity and decisions comes responsibility.  It is important we encourage our young people to think about the ways their behaviour impacts others and themselves. As has been highlighted by Mr Dowell, personal accountability and respectful relationships are our focus.

My focus is always student safety and wellbeing. Using farming WHS examples, I have spoken to Student Council and the whole of boarding at dinner announcements on the expectations we have in boarding here at Cunderdin Ag. Everyone has the right to feel safe, to live in clean and tidy dorms and to enjoy  good food and extra-curricular activities. Just as our students future employers will look at their personal presentation, their ability to follow instructions and how they speak to their colleagues and the public, we too have high expectations. 

I am currently preparing a student survey on the catering here at Cunderdin and I look forward to sharing the results and our future proposals with you. Given we have many health conscious and sports-focused students here I would ask parents and carers to please have the discussion with their children about healthy snacks as I have to be honest, I have been alarmed by the amount of unhealthy options many students have in their rooms.

The Open Day is coming up next week on Friday 3rd September and I look forward to seeing our students show off their many skills. 

Looking forward to meeting many of you in person on the weekend!

Kristine Van