Principal Report 

I believe we have had a really positive start to the growing season this year. Once again we have had an early break of season followed by a relatively dry April. Thankfully, we have had significant rainfall over the past two weeks. We have also experienced lovely crisp mornings and mild sunny days but lots of days without rain too.  Here’s hoping for a long and productive growing period in 2021.

We have also had a very smooth and enjoyable start to the term with our students quickly settling back into their learning programs. 

Priority Maintenance Program

As I have mentioned in previous newsletters, the College has been allocated $654,533 to address building maintenance issues identified through the College’s Building Condition Assessment Report.

We requested that the removal of the old piggery and the widening and resurfacing of Jack Moore Avenue be the priority. Demolition of the piggery and the Jack Moore works have now been completed. 

The new air conditioning system for the Lecture Theatre has been installed and is a great improvement on the previous system. The roof replacement and repairs to the Gym, Change Room, Lecture Theatre and Dormitories have also been completed. The refurbishment of bathrooms in the residential facility is close to completion with the painting and tiling of the final two rooms over coming days. The maintenance programme has been an inconvenience to our staff and students but the final result will be very pleasing.

Farewell Kevin Ryan

We said farewell to Kevin Ryan (College Level 4 Chef) at the end of Term One. Kevin has been a wonderful Chef, colleague and friend over many years at the College. He has done an outstanding job and will be greatly missed. A panel has been formed to select a new Level 4 Chef and Level 3 Cook. We are planning to fill these positions over the next few weeks.

Excursions

There has been significant discussion between staff, parents and students about how often students can miss class to attend major excursions such as Wagin Woolorama, Gate to Plate and Harvey Sports Carnival. Time lost is particularly important for ATAR students who are preparing for external ATAR exams.

In future, students who wish to be involved in a major excursion must have permission from their teachers to attend and miss their class. Students would obviously have to be up to date with assessment tasks before having permission to attend. 

OLNA

Our student performance in the first round of Online Literary and Numeracy Assessment (OLNA) this year has been very pleasing.  One of the main achievement targets in our 2017–2020 and 2020-2023 Business Plans has been to achieve a Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) achievement rate of 90% or better. Some years we’ve been unable to achieve that target – invariably because of the OLNA.  The OLNA performance of our current Year 12 students, however, makes us optimistic that we’re on track to get there this year. 

School Enrolment Interviews

The College’s Deputy Principal, Amanda Gaunt, and I have been busy interviewing prospective students for 2022 on most Tuesdays and Fridays for the past several weeks.  Given the very strong demand for places I would urge anyone who is thinking of trying to secure a place for their son or daughter to do so as soon as possible.  Application forms can be downloaded from our website. 

ANZAC Day

Fourteen College students and three staff attended the Denmark Anzac Day parade and service in Denmark on Sunday, 25th April. As always, our students were wonderful representatives of the College. Year 12 students Jack Wellstead and Kasey James laid a wreath on behalf of the College during the ceremony.

Equine Intra-College Challenge

Equine students who own a horse are able to participate in the Intra-College Equine Championship.  The College Equine trainer Elissa Forbes co-ordinates this Intra-College Championship with students participating in events to gain points toward the Championship.  At the end of 2021, the Year 10, 11 and 12 Champions and Overall Champion will be awarded.

Phases include:

Dressage

Hacking

Show Jumping

Cross Country

Barrel Racing

Games

I was fortunate to be in the audience for the Cross Country event last weekend and was very impressed with the attitude and skill of the students involved.

Emergency Evacuation Procedures

We are intending to put considerable effort into refining our Emergency and Critical Incident Management Plan over coming weeks, including running an emergency evacuation drill during residential time and during the day learning programme. The nature of our school makes it quite a challenge to quickly account for the whereabouts of everyone in an emergency situation, but the drills certainly assist us to identify areas for improvement and make us better prepared. 

Early Finish 4 June and BBQ for Parents

The College would like to extend an invitation to all our Parents/Carers to join us for a late barbecue lunch on Friday 4th June from 12.30 – 2.00 pm.  With the 2.10 pm finish on the Friday before the Home Weekend, there’s an opportunity for Parents/Carers picking up students to arrive a little earlier, have a barbecue lunch and socialise for an hour or so.  Parents and carers can also watch some student sporting events which are being held between 12.30 and 2.10pm. The College is providing an early close of 2.10pm on Friday 4th June to allow students and parents to travel home during daylight hours.