From the Principal 

Ngala kaadatj nidja Nyoongar Ballardong Boodja - "We acknowledge this is Nyoongar Ballardong Country"

Thursday 26th May is National Sorry Day and from Friday the 27th May, National Reconciliation Week begins. These events provide us, an opportunity to foster the growth of respectful relationships, shared by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and other Australians.

We acknowledge that here at Cunderdin Ag College, we respectfully live, work and learn on Nyoongar Ballardong Boodja (country). Here at the college we have a 'Cultural Committee' who work on various projects to ensure we are culturally responsive. Our soon to be released updated Business Plan includes the priority area - 'we are culturally aware and responsive and work in ways that value the knowledge and perspectives of Aboriginal people and their histories and culture'. Our Cultural Committee consists of representatives from all areas of the college responsible for the development and implementation of a Reconciliation Plan.

The 2022 Reconciliation Week theme is ‘Be Brave. Make Change.’

2022-2024 Business Plan and 2022 National Schools Opinion Survey

Our incoming Business Plan has been finalised and will be presented to the College Board next week. The development of this 3-year strategic plan has had input from all key stakeholders throughout last year, including staff collaboration and consultation, student feedback and voice, parent surveys and various feedback channels, the College Board and our Agricultural Advisory Committee. This plan ensures the priorities we have flagged align with our collective vision moving forward for areas of continuous improvement. 

The recent National Schools Opinion Survey (NSOS) that many parents (71), students (102) and staff (46) completed, provides us with fantastic feedback on how we are tracking as a college and areas of focus moving forward. The college is always looking for ways to improve, and this feedback from key stakeholders, plays a significant role in providing us direction.

I am pleased to report the fantastic growth across all staff, parent and student's opinions from 2021 to 2022 in the table below:

2021/2022 NSOS Mandatory Questions Comparison

Vaping

Vaping is becoming much more common in society, particularly amongst young people. I spoke to all students on Thursday regarding my concerns that some students are partaking in this activity while at school.

Vapes are not water. The main ingredient in vapes is propylene glycol, vegetable glycerine or glyercol. Vapes can contain the same harmful chemicals found in cleaning products, nail polish remover, weed killer and bug spray. They just don't put it on the pack.

Vapes come in a number of flavours such as blueberry or bubble-gum that make them appealing. Many vapes also contain nicotine, the same highly addictive substance found in tobacco cigarettes.

Testing has shown that vapes labelled 'nicotine-free' can have high nicotine levels. People can think they are using nicotine-free vapes and can unknowingly quickly develop a nicotine addiction.

It is illegal to sell a vaporiser in WA. Additionally, staff and students are not permitted to smoke cigarettes or use vapes on college grounds. As per our College Guidelines, there are consequences associated with breaching these expectations. 

Most students have already participated in sessions regarding vaping, and we will continue to educate students on the effects of vaping and impact on their health.

Wishing everyone a great weekend ahead, and for those in the midst of seeding, I hope you have had a nice drop of rain to get your crops up and going.