Dean Pfitzner

Dean.Pfitzner@education.wa.edu.au

Welcome Back! As we know the Olympics are scheduled later this year in Tokyo. For those who are familiar with athletics and in particular the 100m sprint, you would be aware that if you ‘break’ at the start you are disqualified. We have had a bit of a false start, but we have not been disqualified – we have hit the ground running.

It is great to see the students from last year return and be joined by the new students to the College to form the 2021 cohort. Across the College the start up process, induction and introductions have all been smooth.

BYOD and WiFi

Most students now have their devices connected to the College WiFi. In addition, please check your child has an activated version of Office (and not just the trial version) so they can access the required software (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook etc).

The wireless access points at the College are scheduled to be replaced during the first term holidays to assist with connectivity around the College. If students are having any issues with connectivity they can come to the front office to seek assistance and/or make an appointment to meet with Mr Chris Wilson, the IT Technician at the College. Mr Wilson works Tuesdays and Thursdays at the College.

Attached is a copy of the ‘Getting Started and Connected – at School’ information that was provided to new students at the beginning of the week. It outlines how to access Connect, change their password, join the College WiFi and add their student email to Outlook. This is a helpful resource for all students.

Timetable/Course Changes

Students are reminded that if they have a query/issue with their timetable and respective course selections to arrange a time to come and meet with myself. Where possible, within the constraints of the timetable and availability of space within classes, students have received their preferences.

Unfortunately, for some Year 11 & 12 Trade Focus students, not all of their preferences could be accommodated on the Friday Optional extra day. Based on current enrolment numbers at the College, the majority of classes in Trades and space on the Farm are at capacity. There may be opportunity later in the year as students finish projects and qualifications that spaces become available, at which point requests can be reviewed. Thank you for your understanding.

Year 12 Work Experience

As part of their course selections, some Year 12 students indicated they were interested in undertaking work experience if they had met the criteria as outlined in the Curriculum Prospectus and Course Selection Information completed last year. The criteria is as follows:

Completed 4 Trade qualifications if you have been at the College for two years, or
Completed 2 Trade qualifications if you have been at the College for one year (to drop a day of Trades)

The deferred start to the year threw a spanner in works so to speak. Mrs Raper and myself will be meeting with the students who indicated they were interested in work experience, outlining the process to place students, expectations and tasks of the students. The process to have students placed generally takes 3-5 weeks to ensure we are working within and meeting the Department of Education requirements, and Covid restrictions for respective hosts.

We will keep you informed of the process, updated as to when the students are placed and are to commence. We ask for your patience and support with this process. Students in the interim will remain in their normal timetabled classes.

Communication is important from the College to parents and visa-versa. Please do not hesitate to make contact to seek clarification or discuss any matter throughout the year.

I look forward to catching up with you throughout the term and the remainder of the year.

HARVEY AG WEEKLY WRAP-UP

"Excellence and Innovation in Agricultural Education"

Issue 1 · 12 Feb 2021

In this issue