Principal

Welcome to the conclusion, of what is traditionally known in secondary schools, as the busiest term on the calendar! I know that as I write this, we have students either on Country Week, Work Experience or here at school. Reports from staff visiting students on work experience and from those accompanying our Country Week teams, have all been positive. Our students are engaged in their pursuits and are doing our College proud! Attending these types of events is no easy feat. I know there are additional costs and logistics involved and we thank the families for their support. I’m looking forward to heading to Country Week on Wednesday to catch up with the team. 

Forestry Project

On Friday, I attended a Growing in Forestry project meeting in Albany coordinated by the Food and Fibre and Timber Industries. I attended representing education in the Great Southern. The project was created because of the grave concerns Forestry has about massive employment gaps in their industry. I heard from industry groups and employment providers. Both myself and the Director of Training Services from the Southern Regional TAFE spoke about solutions. We understand that we have a role to play as RTOs delivering vocational courses in Forestry. The meeting was a productive one with some innovative planned actions. I look forward to continuing to build on the relationship with the Forestry Industry to create better opportunities for our students and industry.

Cultural Engagement

I also had the pleasure of attending a Cultural Protocols and Aboriginal Engagement session, hosted by the Environment Centre in Denmark. This was led by Shandelle Cummings, an Aboriginal elder, and her mother Aunty Lynette. The focus of the session was sharing the experiences of first nation people and explaining their custodial relationship with specific reference to the Denmark geographical area. Stories were shared both from the presenter and invited guests. There were representatives present from other schools, government agencies like Department of Primary Industry and Water Corporation. The session provided valuable information as I lead the College on the continuum of mapping ourselves against the Aboriginal Cultural Standards Framework.

Agricultural Immersion Day

The leadership team has been busily working on a project that came to fruition this week. As part of our new Business Plan targets, the leadership team wanted to increase collaborative relationships among staff. With 71 staff on site, all working in different sections at different times of the day, our opportunities to collaborate are often limited. Capitalising on reduced student numbers this week, we set up two separate experiences. Ten staff took up the opportunity to go on Farm and engage in an enterprise area with the Year 10 students. I spent the day in Sheep under the tutelage of Mr Schulz and Year 10 students Thomas, Danni, Zach and Thomas. We packed up sheep yards in one paddock, re-set them up in a different paddock and then spent the remainder of the day lamb marking. Other staff went to Beef, Horticulture, Dairy and Machinery. Staff enjoyed the experience and saw the value in creating strong staff relationships but also being able to work shoulder-to-shoulder with the students in a different environment to what they normally would. All reported that gumboots were now an essential part of their wardrobe!

Partnerships with Secondary Schools

Next term, we begin with a School Development Day. The Principals from the five public high schools:  North Albany Senior High School, Albany Senior High School, Denmark Senior High School, Mt Barker Community College and myself have all been working together over the past six months. This has resulted in a day of sessions catering for the two hundred teachers working across our sites. Teaching staff will engage in moderation sessions and professional learning opportunities with presenters attending from across the state. The combined day will also result in increased network opportunities. This has great benefit for a small school like ours. Our teaching staff often teach in isolation and creating these partnerships with neighbouring schools will allow us increased opportunity for moderation and sharing of good practices. All of which of course will result in better outcomes for our students.

School concludes this term for the Year 10 students at 2pm on Friday the 30th June. I will be travelling back on the bus from Country Week and we expect to be back in Denmark at about 7pm on Friday. For those of you who are travelling, please do safely. Have a lovely break and enjoy the time spent with your children over the holidays. School resumes on Tuesday the 18th of July; with residential students welcome from 2pm on Monday the 17th of July.

Rebecca Kirkwood

Principal

WACOA - Denmark