PRINCIPAL

Late last week I joined a group of Year 11 students at Bunbury Regional Hospital who were hosting the P.A.R.T.Y. Program (Prevent Alcohol, and Risk-related Trauma in Youth).  We toured the hospital and had explained to us the processes involved in a trauma presentation. We visited the Accident and Emergency and Intensive Care Unit and discovered that when you become a patient you lose your independence and your dignity. The number of health professionals and the specialised equipment at each stage of the process was amazing. We heard from Ambulance Officers, Emergency Department Nurses, Rehabilitation Therapists, Drug and Alcohol Counsellors, and finally a paraplegic who shared his story. 

One of his key regrets was not that he was in a wheel chair, but that he had put his parents and family through the experience. The key messages from the day were:

• The impact of accidents goes far beyond ourselves and affects our families, friends, emergency services workers and community members. They called this the ripple effect and it is particularly the case in rural communities where people know each other.
• Accidents will happen but we are less able to react safely to avoid an incident if we are inattentive (mobile phones, fooling around with friends in the car), speeding, driving tired or under the influence of substances. 

Congratulation to Brodie Hewer

Brodie (Year 12), with a team of Harvey Volunteer Fire Brigade members, recently attended the National Under 17 Fire Fighting competition in Victoria and placed second. Residential Supervisor Natalie Wellington’s son Cam, was also a member of the team. It is very pleasing to see young people involved in any volunteer organisation, but especially emergency service organisations.    

Open Day

We are well into planning our Open Day which is scheduled for Saturday 27th May. This year we will include a “Careers in Agricultural Industries” display so that current and future students and families can see the range of career opportunities available and speak to industry representatives.  

If anyone in our College community would like to promote careers in their industry they are welcome to contact me. Our focus will be broadly the agricultural industries.

Regards to all and have a great weekend

Steve