Principal 

Stephen Watt

Stephen.Watt@education.wa.edu.au

Dear Parents/Carers, Families and College Community

Late last week I attended an excursion to the Wellington Forest Discovery Centre and enjoyed the company of one of our Year 10 groups. Part of the trip involved visiting the Wellington Dam and seeing the amazing murals. If you haven’t yet been, I strongly recommend a visit. 

My congratulations to Ian Millichamp, Chris Dunlop and the students who were involved in this years Harvey Beef Gate 2 Plate competition. We placed first in the Schools competition and won the award for the most improved.  Our two feedlot teams (three animals each) placed 12th and 15th out of 62 entries.

Congratulations to Connor Carbone for being selected in the 17 year old WA State Academy for AFL.  Connor flies to South Australia this weekend for his first game.

An important part of being human is forming relationships and socialising with people of simular interests as ourselves. Students at our College form a special bond, especially if they are boarding because they live and learn together.  So it is not surprising that they invite each other to parties on weekends. Unfortunately the sort of things that our older students (especially those 18) do are probably not appropriate for the younger students (especially Year 10’s). 

Ultimately, the College is not responsible for students on leave but we do have concerns for their well-being and safety when we hear stories after weekend activities and have to deal with the fallout from poor decision making. I would urge parents to be aware of where their child is spending the weekend and the level of adult supervision. 

Again, some activities the older students are involved in are probably not appropriate for our younger students. 

Despite what our children tell us (and I know because my sons told me and I told my parents when I was that age!);

• your child won’t be the only one not going to the party
• you won’t be the only parent ringing the host to ask about levels of supervision
• you won’t be the only parent collecting your child at a specific time to ensure they have a safe bed for the night and to limit their risk.

My best wishes for negotiating the difficult terrain of allowing your child some latitude to develop their own coping skills while keeping them safe.

Internet and Mobile Phone Connectivity 

Next week we will be distributing a survey to collect some specific detail about student issues when accessing the mobile network and the College wireless internet. We are aware of some issues but need to be clear about their specifics.

ATAR Pathway

As previously communicated, we have been doing some thinking about other ways to accommodate students with some more academic ability and to enable access to university courses without undertaking a full ATAR program. We have a model which we think would be a good alternative and will canvas opinion from students and parents next week. Rest assured that any changes we make would start at Year 11 and likely not occur before 2023, unless there is overwhelming support to start earlier.

Have a great weekend.

Steve