Vice Principal

Dean Pfitzner

Dean.Pfitzner@education.wa.edu.au

Another busy start to the year.  Given the manner in which it has flown by, the year will soon be over. The term has certainly been a positive one with the focus being on the students, their courses and progress through these.

Interim Reports/Interviews

These have been completed by staff and parents/guardians should have received these.

On Friday 12th April the instructional staff will be available for parent interviews to discuss the interim report and progress to date. The interview process will involve a series of five minute sessions that parents will have booked in advance. Parents and staff are asked to be mindful of the schedule and timeline to ensure that all booked interviews occur efficiently and on time. Details about the booking process have been emailed to parents/guardians.  It is expected that your child attends the interview.

In summary, the program for the last day of this Term is as follows;

Periods 1- 3           Normal timetable

10.00am—Students finish Class, Farm, D&T

10.00am – Assembly

10.15am – Morning Tea

Students may depart from this point through the normal leave processes. Day students leaving before 3.00pm will need to have written authorisation from their parent/guardian handed to the Vice Principal/Manager Student Services before they will be allowed to leave the site.

10.30am – Interviews commence

11.40pm – Lunch

12.30pm - Interviews commence again

2.00pm – Teacher Break

2.11pm – Interviews commence again

3.00pm – Interviews finish

Timetable Changes Next Term

From time to time we change days in the week where there is a public holiday or day lost so that the same days are not always lost. These days are marked on the calendar and have an impact on whether a student is on farm, trades or class.

Please refer to the College Calendar for these changes and look out for the notification through College communications.

CONNECT

Staff across the College are implementing the use of the devices into their program with great success and are utilising ‘CONNECT’. This is an online platform that has been developed and is owned by the Department of Education. Students can access their learning material online from anywhere, submit work and undertake discussions too – a very powerful tool!

The College is continuing to change its culture and expectations to that of the digital world. During next term the College plans to move towards giving parents/guardians access to the Department of Education ‘CONNECT’ which will enable them to see their child’s progress in each of their subjects and provides an additional means of communication, with staff and the College. Some parents/guardians and students may be familiar with this process as they may have come from a previous government school where this had already been implemented.

An updated ‘Information Technology User Agreement’ has been provided via email to all parent/guardians and students. Some key points to highlight from the agreement are:

• Students are to ensure the device is used appropriately
• The use of the device during instructional time is teacher directed
• The device must come to classes/section fully charged as there is no charging of the device during 8.00am to 4.00pm.

Work Experience

The College acknowledges and is aware that Work Experience for students is an important part of the curriculum and development for students as they transition from school to the world of work to assist them in determining a career or pathway that is of interest to them. With the nature of the curriculum program and the offerings of the College the following strategies are in place to assist students with work experience:

• Year 10 Students – Week 9 of Term 4 is a compulsory week of work experience for all Year 10 Students. Week 10 of Term 4 is an extra optional week for students to complete additional work experience.
• Year 11 & 12 Students – there is no formal time allocated within the curriculum for students to complete work experience. Students are encouraged to access work experience under a private arrangement during the school holidays, or once they officially finish during Term 4. Students will need to arrange their own insurance cover.

General Issues

During the term there have been some issues that have arisen and it is timely to remind parents and students that we require and appreciate their support in maintaining the minimum standards as outlined in the College Handbook.

On a positive note, students in general are to be commended to date for the following:

• Being punctual at arriving to the College and their timetabled classes
• Their positive general appearance
• High standard of personal grooming

They are all great ambassadors for the College, congratulations and well done!

Digital Footprint

For the youth of today social media is one of their main mechanisms of communication and socialisation. Students need be aware and mindful that they appropriately use social media (Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, etc) and do not use it to make negative posts or comments about staff, students or the College. Some tips are:

• if you would not say it to the person face to face, do not post it.
• If you would not show your Grandma the picture you have taken – don’t post it!

Students who misuse their smart phones or devices in such circumstances will have them confiscated according to the relevant College Policy and depending upon the level of misuse or inappropriateness, further disciplinary action may be required or referral to agencies outside of the College.

Students need to be aware and fully cognisant about the ‘digital footprint’ they are leaving and the potential consequences now and into the future.

Please do not hesitate to contact me at the College if you require clarification on any of the items mentioned above or other aspects of the College.

Have a great break, enjoy your well-earned rest or change of scenery and return safe at the beginning of next term. I look forward to catching up with parents/guardians on the last day of term.