Dear Parents/Carers, Families and College Community

Well I am not quite sure where the last 10 weeks went! It has certainly been an action packed term as we returned to some normality and were able to be involved in and offer activities and excursions that previously we were not able to due to COVID.

Queen Elizabeth II

Following the passing of the Queen, the College has being flying its flags at half-mast as a mark of respect. The passing of a monarch and the coronation of the new King is something most of us will only likely see once in a lifetime. The public holiday as a National Day of Mourning was a great mark of respect and a way to enable people across the country to stop and reflect on the Queen's life, and the positive impact she has had as a leader and a role model.

Year 12 Dinner

It was great to see the Year 12s gather as a group at Brugan on Tuesday night. This was an opportunity for the students to go out one last time together as a cohort to reflect on their past two or three years at the College. It was a great evening and well done to all involved for organising this event.

‘ARCO’

This show ‘ARCO’, produced by WA Youth Theatre Company, will be presented at the HRCC (Harvey Recreation and Cultural Centre) on Thursday the 13th of October. The College has been made aware of this event, having previously taken students to cultural productions at the Rec Centre over the years. At this stage the College has reserved 20 tickets for the 6.30PM option for high schoolers to attend.

“At FRINGE WORLD 2020, Adam took out the ECU Performing Arts Award for his performance in an early version of the show (a 20-minute piece within WAYTCo’s four-part production ‘Body Rights’). ARCO has since been supercharged with the exciting animations of Perth-based neurodiverse artist Ben Hollingsworth and developed into a delightful show for children and families: ARCO Jnr.

ARCO (Jnr/Snr) is an illuminating exploration of what it means to be autistic, from one young man’s perspective. Reflecting on the dominant themes of his young life, those captured by the show’s title acronym (autism, rejection, community/celibacy & optimism), Adam reminds audiences of the universality of rejection and yearning to connect. Through direct and sometimes uncomfortable questions, such as “Who here hasn’t been rejected?”, Adam, through ARCO’s honesty and interactivity, disrupts notions of normalcy and difference and creates, by show finish, a compelling sense of shared humanity between performer and audience.”

The work features brilliant, engaging, colourful art work/ animation by Perth neurodiverse artist, Ben Hollingsworth, which is a real treat and uplifts the entire show.

Adam's story celebrates themes of rejection, optimism and difference and has been reviewed as “intimate” and “eye opening”. The show goes for 45 minutes plus a Q&A’s.

The cost is $6 for students. Both Day and Residential students are invited to attend with specific details being provided in the first two days of next term. Students will be able to register their interest at the front office.

Staffing Updates

Steve Watt returns from long service leave at the beginning of term 4. With Steve’s return the shuffle of staff who have been filling in with acting roles reverses to what it was at the end of Term 2. I will return to the role of Vice Principal, Shaun Cantwell to the HOD Trades and Matt Depiazzi to BC Teacher. Thank you to both Shaun and Matt for taking on these roles for the term.

Thank you to Shane McKenna and Keith Thompson who were on part time, fixed term contracts to cover Mr Depiazzi whilst he was filling the HOD Trades role. Both are experienced Trades teachers and I know that the students and Trades staff have really appreciated your efforts this term. Hopefully we will continue to see both of you from time to time as you undertake casual relief at the College.

At the commencement of Term 4 we will welcome Jake Williams to the Class staff. Mr Williams is our replacement Math teacher for Rob Cousins who left at the end of Term 2. In addition to teaching Math, Mr Williams will be teaching Year 10 HASS. We look forward to welcoming Mr Williams to the College.

Thanks must go to the Class staff who have taken on extra this term to cover the Math and HASS load until Mr Williams was able to be released from his current school to commence at the College. Thank you to Lauren Day, Mel Butler, Katie Franco and Tania Pfitzner for your dedication and professionalism in covering the classes. In addition, thank you to Mike Spragg who came in one day a week to cover the Year 10 HASS class.

Great work and thank you to all the students.

National School Opinion Surveys (NSOS)

Another reminder that the survey for Year 12 students and parents is currently open and will be through until the close of business on Friday 21st October. This will enable parents to provide their feedback and responses. Thank you to those who have already completed the survey.

A link was previously emailed to enable access to the survey. Any Year 12 parents who are yet to complete the survey are encouraged to provide their feedback. A copy of the link has been forwarded to all Year 12 parents again for easy access. For those who have already completed the survey, please ignore this reminder. When you complete the survey you will receive a response indicating the survey has been submitted or completed.

End of Term

Thank you to all students, parents and staff for your support and help over the past ten weeks whilst I was in the role of Principal. I am looking forward to the break and coming back refreshed for Term 4.

Stay safe, look after each other and have a great break over the school holiday period!

CORPORATE SERVICES MANAGER

TERESA HICKMAN Teresa.Hickman@education.wa.edu.au

TERESA HICKMAN

Teresa.Hickman@education.wa.edu.au