29 February 2024

Important Dates

From the Principal's Desk

Kaya, and welcome to our first newsletter of the 2024 school year. We have started the year with enrolments close to capacity—a special welcome to our two new year 7 classes and their families. Even with the hot weather, everyone has settled in well. I am excited about the year ahead and all the learning we will do together.

Staff started the year at Technology Park in Bentley, where we had sessions on trauma-informed practice and caring for the carers. Both sessions are part of our Mental Health and PBS priority areas. The other School Development Day involved CPR training and curriculum development. Our staff are continually looking for evidence to find the best programs and teaching techniques for our students. We have a number of literacy and numeracy support teachers on staff, an OT and a speech therapist we purchase services from.

It has been very pleasing to see so many parents/caregivers attend meetings to develop programs for their son or daughter. It is so important that families and the school work together with the students to set goals and develop strategies. We are here to listen and resolve any issues and get feedback. The staff here are committed to our vision of empowering every student to reach their potential.

Our school board has been stable since last year with Emma Blake as chair, and we also have Stephanie Turner as the college/ESC P&C president. We appreciate all our parents on the board and the P&C for giving their time and expertise.

Our student councillors will soon be announced, and they are part of school decision-making, giving agency and voice to the students. With a CAN-DO attitude, anything is possible.

None of our students are doing NAPLAN this year, whilst several senior students will sit OLNA testing. Our school does extensive assessments that inform our teaching programs, so please talk about progress with your class teacher. We are focused on delivering a functional curriculum to meet the needs of our students, and test scores often don’t give a clear picture of what a young person can or can’t do.

Mrs Tracey Creighton returns as our school psychologist and joins our student services team, now headed by Mr Dwayne Griffin, who has taken over from Mrs Athanasiou as manager. This year, Mr Griffin and Mrs Pears will take a more significant NDIS parent liaison role. We understand how challenging “NDIS land” can be, and we are here to support families.

We farewelled Mrs Edwards, who retired and Mrs Dutson and Mrs Womersley, who have taken on new careers. I want to acknowledge all three staff members for their work for our school over several years and wish them all the best. We will be running a recruitment process soon to replace these positions.

Whilst our website is being upgraded, I encourage our community to keep updated via our School CONNECT page and by checking your child's class CONNECT page.

Facebook: Cannington Community Education Support Centre | Perth WA | Facebook
Instagram: www.instagram.com/canningtoncommunityesc
Website: www.canningtonesc.wa.edu.au
Email: cannington.esc@education.wa.edu.au
CONNECT: https://connect.det.wa.edu.au

Our senior campus at Sevenoaks Senior College has had boom gates fitted. There will be no drop-off or pick-up for Sevenoaks parents on the school grounds. Our parents can drop off and pick up and will be given parking permits to display on the dashboard. Park at the front – time limit 15 minutes. If you need to enter the senior campus after 9:00 am or before 2:30 pm, you must ring our reception on 6235 7296 for the gates to be opened. In term 2, the northern gate nearest the Leisureplex will be closed permanently.

The middle campus at Cannington is getting new uniforms. We have been briefed on the designs as the college has re-branded itself with a new logo and colours. Students do not need to rush and buy new uniforms immediately. - It will be a couple of years before the new uniforms are entirely worn. Given the rate at which teenagers grow, this may not be necessary—further details to follow.

Enjoy the rest of the newsletter, and please let us know if you wish to add anything to future newsletters. I am looking forward to this term and the rest of the year. The senior students are excited about their Rottnest camp, and everyone can’t wait for Fun Day at Kalamunda Water Park later in the term – a huge thanks to Mrs Whittington and Ms Janes for organising these events. I would also like to acknowledge the staff who will go on camp and be away from their families and the staff in the water with the students on  Fun Day – exemplary!

We will recognise Harmony Day and ANZAC Day this term, and we are having cricket clinics on-site and the cricket interschool carnival at Kalamunda, so there are lots of activities going on.

Andrew Wilson

2024 Student Councillors

Congratulations to the following students who are our 2024 councillors:

Class Updates

7AF

I can't believe we have been at school for a month already. Yet again, where has the time gone? Our students have worked hard this month, and I am incredibly grateful to be their teacher. I am looking forward to some exciting times and events. We have Fun Day on March 22^nd at Kalamunda Water Park to look forward to, and then it's the holidays. Yes, it's only a 9-week term.

The students have had fun getting to know each other, the school, and the timetable. We have had a good time playing educational games in literacy and numeracy and completing reading and maths tests.

We also did lovely watercolour art and made greeting cards for the upcoming Market Day. I am so impressed with the kindness of the students in this class and their patience and manners. We have had the most amazing first few weeks.

Annie Foyster and 7AF

Creating beautiful watercolours

7SS

The students have had a fantastic start to the school year. They are all settling well into high school and enjoying the various activities and lessons. It is good to see them transition quickly into their option classes and participate actively in all lessons. In woodwork, students have enjoyed working on their first project, making a token holder. In PE, they are having fun practising their throwing and catching skills. Cooking lessons on Wednesdays are enjoyed by most of the students.

As the students get dropped off in the morning, seeing them walk independently, join the breakfast club, have a toast or pancake, and socialise with their friends is great. It is wonderful to know that they have all made new friends.

In literacy, we have started by engaging in activities that are helping us to get to know each other and identify each other's strengths. We have also put together our class rules through discussions where everyone contributed by adding to the rules. In numeracy, we are working on our number and measurement skills with lots of hands-on activities involved. We have used measuring cups and spoons to measure the ingredients and make playdough in the classroom with Mr Arrantash. Now, we are making different figures with the playdough and measuring their length and width.

Thank you to all the parents for finding time to attend IEP meetings. It was a pleasure meeting you all and learning more about the students. Class Connect is the main communication platform, and all updates are posted regularly on Connect.

We look forward to a fun-filled term and a fantastic year ahead.

Susan Solomon

8CL

The 2024 school year has begun smoothly, with students keen to return to school after the summer break.

They have enjoyed our program so far, which has integrated activities they happily engage in, such as Minecraft, learning about different international foods and playing turn-taking social games.

The students have done an amazing job creating self-portraits in Minecraft and building models of their favourite international foods. Later in the semester, students will work together to build a model of the human body for science.

Minecraft self-portraits

Students have been learning to play various games they haven’t yet learned, which has become a big part of our social skills program and now literacy, as students learn and practise how to explain the rules of a game to another person. Hopefully, they can share their knowledge with their friends and families.

Practising our social skills

Carissa Lee

8MS

We have had an industrious start to the year and are pleased to return to school after the holiday break. It's always nice to catch up with our friends and find out what everyone has been doing. A few people were even lucky enough to leave the country.

There has been a slight change within the classroom this year. Mrs Martlew is the classroom teacher on Mondays – Thursdays. Ms Spadanuda is continuing her support role for literacy and numeracy, is now teaching the class HASS and is the classroom teacher on Fridays.

We are about to start a new novel, Paper Planes, by Steve Worland. Some of our literacy sessions will be based on this term. We have already begun basing our science lessons around making and flying paper planes. So far, Diesel has thrown the record at just over 8 metres. In addition to flying paper planes during science, we are also learning about the environment: What it means and classifying whether they are natural or human-made.

Tavis flying his plane

Diesel and Lebron showing natural and human-made

Numeracy sessions have focussed on measurement. We all enjoyed spending time out of the class measuring the distances between various locations around the school. Using the trundle wheel and counting each click as the wheel turned was fun. Always keeping the wheel in direct contact with the floor wasn't easy. Some of us looked funny using it as we have grown so much, and the wheel handle was a little too short. Mrs Martlew's watch even told her to check her shoes and posture as she became a fall risk.

Elena with the trundle wheel

It is with sadness that we bid farewell to one of our classmates. Lebron will be leaving us later in the week. We wish Lebron and his family all the best and safe travels as they move interstate. You will truly be missed, Lebron.

Charline Martlew and Pat Spadanuda

9MH

Seeing our students back and ready to tackle year 9 is great. During literacy, students researched a chosen city and listed some unique facts about it. They also identified the ingredients and steps necessary to make a jam sandwich, created a simple sentence about their favourite toy, and participated in a library scavenger hunt.

City research

Library scavenger hunt

Sentence writing

In numeracy, students used a cafe menu to work out the cost of each item, measured the heights of each student, ordered the Australian currency from highest to lowest value, identified odd and even numbers and surveyed their peers on their preferred ice cream and sport then tallied the results to worked out the results.

In science, students continued identifying the difference between solids, liquids, and gases.

During indigenous studies, students identified the meaning behind the Indigenous flag and took part in KWS during the acknowledgment of the country.

During health, students discussed the importance of slip, slop, slap, slide and seek when out in the sun. Students discussed the different types of drugs found in the community.

During career education, students watched a short video about different jobs and what they do. They also completed an activity listing their hobbies and interests.

In cooking, students made toasted sandwiches.

Mustafa Hussein

9SN

We hope everyone is enjoying being back at school. It is incredible to see how quickly everyone has settled back into the class routine, which is slightly different from previous years. Developing ICT skills is our focus for this semester.

We have been exploring careers and learning to write emails correctly in literature.

Students are learning about fractions in their daily lives through hands-on activities in our Monday fraction lessons. We are also learning about time zones in Australia and creating budgets.

Learning about fractions

In science classes, we have been learning about the weather. Throughout week 2, students completed a weather chart every morning.

My Creation is the most popular lesson of the week. Students share something they did or made on 9SN Team every week. The students are allowed to comment on the shared creations.

In our art class, we have started learning about Aboriginal symbols.

Enjoying art

Saadia Niazi

10VL

Term 1 has gotten off to a flying start. Everyone has transitioned back into the school environment and has a positive attitude, which is a pleasure to see.

Almost all parents have met with me for their ITP meetings. These meetings have been valuable for learning more about the students and sharing input about dreams and goals we can work on in the classroom to help them.

Students have many different programs in year 10 and enjoy trying everything out. They have community service, recreational pursuits, workright, E-Safety, business management enterprise and life coaching.

Students are excited for Fun Day in week 8. More details will follow.

Flag raising for community service

Practising skills for the Duke of Edinburgh Award

Friday’s gym session

Vanessa Laudehr

10WP

Hello, parents and carers. It has been an excellent start to the year, with students settling in well and adjusting to the expectations for year 10. The curriculum is slightly different this year, with some subjects requiring students to attain a certain number of hours to pass that subject successfully. I would encourage parents to ensure their child attends school as much as possible to complete the required hours. The year's first half focuses on the curriculum and student learning. The second half will see the students begin to undertake workplace learning.

The students have been completing an ASDAN subject called E-Safety, which has given them the skills to understand what is required to stay safe online and some internet etiquette.

Another function required in year 10 is to undertake community service and experience what volunteering is all about. Our class has volunteered to do the laundry for the school. The students collect the laundry from the various school departments and wash, dry, fold, and return the clean items to the relevant departments - a big task, and the class is slowly getting into the routine.

The class has also been learning to hand-sew in textiles, and this is proving to be challenging for some of them, but I know that with practice, they will all achieve this skill.

As some of you know, I have been conducting Individual Transition Plan (ITP) meetings. These meetings are important to gather information about what goals and dreams your child has for the future and what it looks like. The ITP and relevant goals will be created from the initial brainstorming session. These should be completed by the end of the term.

Warren Preece

11JL

2024 has been great in 11JL. The students have transitioned to the senior campus very smoothly. They are getting used to the change of scenery, new subjects, Thursdays in the workplace, and Friday option classes, and they are super excited about the senior school camp at Rottnest next month.

The Harmony Day celebrations with Sevenoaks Senior College were a highlight. The students enjoyed celebrating cultural diversity by listening to and viewing music and dance performances, participating in art experiences, tasting foods of various cultures, and seeing native animals.

Enjoying Harmony Day

See below for what the students are looking forward to in year 11:

Jenny Lockyer

11MM

11 MM has enjoyed a wonderful term full of exciting learning and engaging activities. The class team is delighted to see all the students develop and transition to their new classroom at the senior school.

Some highlights include Harmony Day activities, workplace learning and electives on Fridays.

A special thank you to the fantastic class staff who have supported the students this term. The class is excited about the upcoming camp at Rottnest Island. Congratulations on a great start to the year, everyone!

Enjoying Harmony Day

Michael McGoldrick

12CG

The year has started with a bang! 12CG has hit the ground running, enthusiastically getting stuck into the curriculum. All students have a work placement or a school based traineeship. Electives have been chosen, and all students are enjoying their Fridays. Good luck to Isaac and Daelen, who will begin their TAFE courses this term – I’m sure they will love it!

ITP meetings are complete, and students have come up with some amazing goals for themselves.

The year 12 students have been given their leavers jackets. They look fantastic and are being worn with great pride.

Year 12 leavers jackets

Our English, Maths and ASDAN focus on transitioning from school to the wider world, including recreation and work.

Harmony Day on 21^st February was a great success, with all students getting involved in various activities and tasting food from around the world. Ava, Winston and Jaimie were fantastic helpers on the day, with the boys cooking 200 sausages and Ava creating amazing face and body painting.

Ava enjoying her work

All senior students will complete a St John First Aid course next Monday.

We look forward to the upcoming camp at Rottnest, a four-day experience. I’m sure there will be a few tired bodies by Friday!

Cindi Griffin

12WW

The year has started with a rush, with students and staff enthusiastic about the 2024 year 12 program. Once again, this class has two teachers: Mrs Whelan on Mondays and Tuesdays, workplace learning on Wednesdays, and Ms Woon on Thursdays. Friday is our options day.

In P-Unit English, we look at the skills and qualities that make us employable, which will culminate with the students updating their resumes in preparation for applying for jobs in the coming months.

In P-Unit Maths, we are refreshing our money and counting skills and learning to apply these to everyday situations. The practical aspects of these skills are invaluable to us as we transition to life after school.

In Enterprise Education, we have created a project called ‘Jack Horner’s Pies’. We will be making pies each week to sell to staff on the senior campus, as well as freezing some to be sold later as a frozen product to be taken home). So far, we have done some market research to find out what people’s preferences are between sweet and savoury, whether any staff members have allergies, and how much they would pay for a pie to be delivered to their classroom in time for lunch on a Tuesday. We have received some excellent feedback and look forward to starting this soon.

We are continuing with literacy and numeracy skills and working on our DFES Cadets program and our workplace learning skillset on Thursdays when Ms Woon is with us.

Most students enjoy workplace learning placements on Wednesdays, with some also attending TAFE one day per week to complete a skill set in various areas such as Animal Welfare and Construction.

Overall, the students are enjoying year 12 and the different things our curriculum exposes us to.

Rhoda Whelan and Lynna Woon

Design and Technology

Year 7: Students have hit the ground running this year! Both classes are quickly getting used to moving to option spaces away from their main classroom, which can be a challenge for many. Our new students are quickly getting used to wearing items of PPE and learning where the tools they need are stored. They have completed a token holder to go on their desk at school to keep their reward tokens. The next model they will make is a finger car. This model is relatively fast to make and will come home soon.

Finger car and token holder

Year 8: Woodwork students are completing a serviette holder that uses an outline of each student's hand as a weight to keep the stack of serviettes in order when there is a breeze. Students have enjoyed using the wood burner to add details to their handprints, such as fingernails and jewellery.

Year 9: The students have begun making a model monster truck. This project incorporates templating and using our biggest hole saws and fastener bits to create the wheels. The students will also look at aero dynamics to shape the bonnet and cabin components. They will be encouraged to design and complete a radical paint job when the parts are all assembled.

Year 10: Our two classes have decided to make products to support the work of Kanyana Wildlife Sanctuary. The Sanctuary constantly needs bird perches, bat boxes and marsupial pouches made from fabric. We are undertaking this project for the service section of the bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award. Students are also gaining many new skills as they make and assemble items to preset specifications supplied by Kanyana. They have also been learning about Australian native animals and the rate of injuries from being hit by cars and other hazards our lifestyle has created.

Tradestart: Students have begun the year with a keen interest and a swag of skills they have learned in the middle school workshop. It has been great seeing students settle in quickly and get to work. The course work has kicked off with a metals-specific safety induction and a walk-through of a new range of machines that will be used to do their projects. Students have also been busy making a small dog kennel project designed to get them to read working drawings and transfer the information onto their work. They have extended their new knowledge by marking and fabricating a practice paper toolbox. Now the practice is complete, students are beginning to mark out the sheet metal version of their toolbox and have learned a few tricks along the way!

Mark Arrantash

Physical Education

The first 3 weeks of school have been busy, getting to know the new Year 7 students and the students at the senior campus (where I’m teaching on Mondays). Already, we have been conducting skills tests to assess students’ capabilities, working on our basketball skills, and preparing for the interschool cricket carnival in week 6 (as it was cancelled in term 4 last year). The year 10 students’ recreational pursuits program has started with “Rock and Water” activities, and they begin ten-pin bowling excursions in week 7. Classes have also enjoyed playing simple games like dodge and poison ball. I’ll continue to assist classroom teachers with delivering their health programs, including HPE theory lessons, to the senior students. Despite the extreme heat, the students have been keen to participate, with most classes conducted in the recreation area to avoid direct sunlight.

I am looking forward to another productive and fun-filled year ahead!

Year 7 students enjoying a workout

Year 7 students practising their cricket skills

Year 10 performing balances in Rock and Water sessions

Colin Pestell

Workplace Learning

We have had the most fantastic start this year - 14 students successfully applied for various TAFE courses, 10 are working through a school-based traineeship, and every student has a workplace learning placement.

After an interesting start, where some students arrived at a workplace only to find the business had moved addresses over the holidays, all students have begun their workplace learning journey this year. They have impressed their job coaches, who support them in the workplace, and their supervisors. 

TAFE courses will begin this week. We anticipate a smooth start to the programs but are prepared and ready for anything unexpected. The students are both excited and nervous about entering a new environment, and we will pass on information as we receive it to help ease their nerves.

Congratulations to the students who are starting new school based traineeships this year. Although the start dates for Hudson Hough and Oliver Thomas have been postponed, they are still motivated and excited to begin. Dylan Ryan has been doing a fantastic job at Jason Windows, and when we visit, it is hard to pick him out from any of the other staff in the workplace. Jessica Dunn has just started work for her SBT and has impressed the employer already. Germano Masino, Ava Moore, Lachlan Nightingale, Monique Park, Xavier Sorenson and Reece Hogarth all started their SBTs last year, and most have worked through the holidays and are working through their TAFE modules.

Sadly, we said farewell to Mrs Edwards early this year; retirement was too enticing. Thank you, Ms Watkins, for stepping in to keep the program continuing so successfully.

Winston and Jayden at GAP

Carollyn Pears

Student Services Update

We welcome all students, old and new, to the 2024 school year. Our team looks forward to supporting and guiding all our students and their families. Please don’t hesitate to contact us for any welfare, extra support, or attendance issues - we are here to help.

Our team consists of:

Dwayne Griffin

Dandelions WA

During the Christmas break, the wonderful team from “Dandelions WA” donated 60 school bags to our school. The bags were filled with everything required for the school year. They contained stationery, lesson books, calculators, protractors and rulers, socks, headphones, lunch boxes, and some even had toiletries included.

Our school is very grateful to the Dandelions WA crew and all their hard-working volunteers who contribute their time and effort. Dandelions WA is a not-for-profit organisation that works hard to promote and provide what is needed to create dignity, health, acceptance and opportunity. The volunteers don’t receive financial compensation. They stand for spreading kindness and growing hope, and we at CCESC endeavour to do just that.

Terri Te Kani

Hello from the School Psychologist

I am your provisional school psychologist and will work at Cannington Community ESC this year on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. I was here in 2022, and I have returned this year. It is great to be back, and I look forward to supporting the school to maximise social and emotional well-being and learning outcomes for all students.

Any caregivers or teachers who would like to request my involvement with a student, please get in touch with student services to request assistance.

I am seeking expressions of interest for a free positive parenting workshop we would like to offer. It was developed by the Positive Parenting Program (Triple P). Triple P helps make raising kids easier. It gives you tips and ideas to help raise happy and confident kids, see more of the behaviours you like and less of the ones you don’t, and have better relationships with your family. Don't hesitate to contact the school to register your interest in attending.

Please click on the link below for information regarding workshops. These sessions focus on children without a disability but may offer some valuable strategies.

Tracey Creighton

Thank you – Pelagic Marine Services

Cannington Community ESC would like to thank the Pelagic Marine Services for sponsoring the transport of our 10 tricycles to Rottnest Island for our senior school camp.

The vision of Pelagic Marine Services is “to provide great service to our customers, efficiently and with high quality in every area of our business”. Terry Taylor and the owners, Chris Norman and Michael Sier, definitely live up to this vision by helping our students access Rottnest Island while on camp.

We cannot be more appreciative of their support and look forward to sharing some photos of the students enjoying the island.

Angela Whittington

Office Information

Payments

Thank you to everyone who has paid their contributions. Just a reminder, you can pay your contributions by EFTPOS or direct debit on our website – parent payments or by payment plan. Please do not hesitate to contact the office to arrange a payment plan. 

All charges for years 11 and 12 students are compulsory. The school cannot subsidise your child's excursions/camps if charges are not paid (or an approved payment plan has been made) by the end of term 1 each year or until charges are fully paid. 

Middle School Parking

Please note that parking is not permitted in the driveway at the school's entrance, as indicated by the 'no stopping' markers and yellow line, as this causes a traffic jam on Wharf Street and is dangerous for students. The disabled parking bays are for people displaying an ACROD sticker only. Your cooperation would be appreciated. Parents are welcome to park beside the school near the bus bays. Parents picking up children from the bus bays need to arrive early before the buses.

Visiting the School

All visitors must sign in at Reception/Business Centre and receive a yellow visitor label.

Tanya Buchan

Saver Plus

Please click below for information:

West Rise Basketball Competition

Please click below for information:

Friendship