The Anchor

Senior School

From the Head of Senior School

Senior School has been full of energy this week.  

 

I have loved having our Year Ten students back at school after their work experience week and their school holidays.  They have had many tales to tell and are enthusiastically swapping thoughts and ideas about their pathways and upcoming course selections. Year Eleven students have had time to reflect on their first semester of their chosen pathways and a few students have made tweaks to their courses while others have set goals for the new semester. For our Year Twelve students, this is a significant term.  It is their final term of regular classes and learning.  They all experience mixed emotions at this time of year and I encourage them to continue to support each other as they have done so beautifully all year.

 

Our annual visit from the Tertiary Institutions Service Centre (TISC) was well received by our students on Wednesday and helped explain they mystery of combining, moderating and scaling marks at the end of Year Twelve to create ATAR scores.  While none of us are able to predict exactly what will happen to all of the marks in any given year, at last we have a better of understanding of why marks are adjusted and the factors taken into consideration.  Please feel free to investigate more by looking at the TISC website TISCOnline.

 

This week, I would like to showcase three of our students (cover image) who have shown great initiative and created amazing opportunities and experiences for themselves.

 

Leo Fleming in Year Eleven responded to an online advertisement with a 300 word submission and won a highly sought after place on a Mining Camp.  He said, “The Focus on Mining Camp" is a five day, residential camp for high school students to experience what it's like to study and work in the mining industry in WA. I'll get to tour mine sites, participate in hands-on workshops and meet industry leaders. The program targets students in Years Ten, Eleven or Twelve who have an interest in science or engineering and would like an introduction to the mining and resources sector. The camp is free with all travel, meals and accommodation provided thanks to the support of Northern Star Resources, Rio Tinto and the WA School of Mines.  I’ll be attending the camp in Kalgoorlie from 27 September to 1 October.”  We wish Leo all the best for his exciting week away.

 

Matt Edwards in Year Eleven applied to Leeuwin for a sponsored place on one of their voyages. His application was accepted and he spent the recent school holidays sailing from Exmouth to Dampier and back again. He told me, “It was hard work but very rewarding and I would love to go again.  The highlight for me was all the wildlife I saw.  There were whale sharks, turtles, dolphins and many other creatures.” Matt has written an article for the Leeuwin magazine as part of the sponsorship deal and thanks his friend who told him about it.

 

Matthew Walmsley, also in Year Eleven, has finished writing another song. Let it Fly is an easy listening reggae style track which will be his fourth song release.  He is grateful to Mr Fowler and his friend Nathan for their support with the performing and recording side of the project and is looking forward to releasing the track on 26 August.  It will be available on Spotify as well as all other platforms.  This is the same date as Radioactive where Matthew is excited about performing the song for the first time in public.  He is also looking forward to performing the song to the whole school later this year.

 

One of the best parts of my job is talking to students and getting to know more about their passions; they inspire me every day.

 

Mrs Victoria Turnor | Head of Senior School

Year Ten Work Experience Week

During the final week of Term Two, all of our Year Ten students had the incredible opportunity to spend the week exploring an area of interest for a future career through the Year Ten Work Experience program. This is an invaluable opportunity for our students, which sees them step out of their comfort zone and their usual daily school program and experience the world of work. All students were working with adults and treated as such. 

 

I would like to share a reflection from one of our students, Elsie Wright, who was fortunate enough to spend her week with South Coast Natural Resource Management Inc. and Bush Heritage Australia. 

My name is Elsie and I am from Boxwood Hill. I grew up on a conservation bush property that sits on the Pallinup River. Both of my parents come from environmental science backgrounds, which has fostered my love for the bush on the South Coast of WA. It is an incredible thing going for long walks through the bush at home, looking for perhaps a significant plant (mum is a botanist), or simply just being immersed in the environment, as well as being given the opportunity to be involved in cultural burning with local Noongar elders, which is so valuable. By learning and exploring the landscape you live in, it provides a deeper connection and understanding which is so special. I have always been taught to take all the opportunities that come my way and it really is so rewarding to have more knowledge of the place I live in and feel so privileged to have grown up in.I chose to do work experience at South Coast NEM and Bush Heritage, as I always thought it would be interesting and when exploring possible career options, it ties into my love for the environment with improving environmental management and solutions for the future. This week has been an amazingly diverse one, looking at different projects underway with South Coast NRM in the office, and spending two days in the field with Bush Heritage. These field days were a highlight as it was lovely soaking up the incredible bushland around Monjebup and the Stirlings, especially as it is the local area I grew up in, so learning more about the area was so valuable. I also got very lucky in getting the chance to see some very special wildlife like the mallee fowl, echidna, and adorable pygmy possums. In the future I'm hoping to study environmental science at Uni and end up in a job working in environmental management or conservation.

 

I would love to take this opportunity to commend all students on a fabulous week, I have very much enjoyed hearing their stories and sharing in their reflections during class this week. I would also like to express my gratitude to the businesses, both locally and further afield for supporting our school and students during this program. I look forward to working with you again in the future.

 

Mrs Renae O'Donnell | VET & Careers Coordinator

Fogarty Futures Leadership Conference 2022

Applications close Wednesday 3 August. 

More info here: www.fogartyfutures.org/apply

First Aid course for 'L' & 'P' Platers

  • The initiative involves a student signing up with St John's for the one day ‘Provide First Aid’ course 8.30am to 4.30pm.
  • The course is offered by St John's to L (yellow plate) and P (red and green plates) drivers.
  • There is a 60 to 90 minute online pre-assessment that needs to be completed prior to attending the course. 
  • The value of the course is $160, on completion, the student is given a first aid kit, to the value of $150.