20 September 2018

Newsletter Articles

Important Dates

From the Principal’s Desk

Cannington Community Education Support Centre has been selected to become an Independent Public School (IPS) in 2019. A public announcement was made by the Hon Sue Ellery MLC, Minister for Education and Training on September 11th. I would like to thank Mrs Cinnamon Bonnefin, our School Council chair, who took part in the selection process. Mrs Whittington and Ms Bates also deserve to be acknowledged for all of their efforts in getting the application ready. The Council and staff will participate in some IPS training in preparation for 2019.

We recently conducted our annual post school options survey with recently departed students. They attended a lovely morning tea at our senior campus. Look out for the article from Ms Janes. Our year 12 students will finish early next term before the next newsletter is published. The presentation ceremony at the Crown Resort will be covered in the next newsletter. I hope the students display maturity and enjoy their last few weeks of school, including the senior dinner at Brando’s. Students can remain at school until the end of term, parents/caregivers just need to contact the school to make arrangements.

This term we have farewelled a couple of long serving staff who have retired from the Department of Education. Ms Milligan has been teaching since 1972 in a number of schools across the state. She was team teaching with Mr Greenhough in year 10. Mr Greenhough will take over the class for the rest of the year. Mrs Dudman got her first position here at the ESC when it was at Cannington SHS. She was one of the first education assistants appointed to the school. We wish both of them the very best.

We are currently advertising for a number of vacant positions in our school for 2019. We will be conducting pools (number of suitable applicants) in Teaching, Education Assistants and Corporate Services. All government positions are advertised via this link:

All parent/caregivers should be receiving their child’s IEP or MAP shortly. Thanks to those who participated in setting the goals. It makes it much more meaningful when we all work together to benefit the students. Learning is not confined to the school. If you have any queries, please contact your class teacher for further information or clarification - talk to your son or daughter about their goals and what they are doing at school.

We are yet to collect school fees from a number of our families. As a school we clearly outline what are voluntary contributions and what are charges or fees. For instance, all costs associated with students in years 11-13 are compulsory fees and need to be paid. Please contact the Manager Corporate Services, Mrs Tanya Buchan to arrange payments if you have not done so already. Our fees are as low as allowed by the Department and indeed, don’t even cover the costs for Fun Day and school camps.

It’s always great watching our students give back to the community. Whether it’s part of our Ignite or Bronze awards or part of a SSCA program, our students are learning that we all have a role to play in making our world a better place and that gratitude costs nothing but is worth a lot. From helping to prepare food for people without a home through to collecting glasses and old mobile phones the students are doing a great job and hopefully feel proud of themselves.

I will be on Long Service Leave for the first three weeks of next term. Ms Bates and Mrs Whittington will share the principal duties. Mr Arrantash and Mr Greenhough will also be taking extended leave in term 4 to clear their long service liability. I hope everyone has a fantastic spring holiday break. Hope your team wins!

Andrew Wilson

Class Updates

7C

This term the class of 7C has been busy setting up and maintaining our new worm bins as part of our Enterprise lessons each week. The students helped Ms Gale move the old bins and lay some slabs. We have learned about the different foods and living conditions that worms enjoy and the importance of recycling. Each week we have been collecting food scraps from the school canteen to feed them and the worms have settled into their new home very well.

Our students have also begun, as part of their Ignite Award objectives, to voluntarily collect rubbish from the playground in Coker Park. The students have really enjoyed using the rubbish collectors to pick up rubbish and particularly like the challenge of picking up tricky objects. The students have learned about the different types of rubbish that people throw away and the importance of reducing litter to ensure a safe and beautiful park.

As part of their HASS and ASDAN objectives this term our class has also been learning about different countries and cultures from around the world. In particular, we have been researching the people, places and celebrations that are specific to each country that help define their culture.

In 7C we have been focusing on developing independence. Technology has played an important part in assisting students to become independent learners and encouraging task completion. Voice recognition software and headsets with built in microphones have enabled students to independently search for relevant topics to complete tasks. This was especially useful when researching countries for HASS and ASDAN.

Brendan Cunnane

7S

Time has flown so quickly and we are close to the end of yet another term. Students have been busy participating in a wide variety of learning opportunities in and out of the classroom. I am proud to say 7S students have all shown a mature attitude throughout this term and have been receiving lots of rewards for their positive behaviour.

Here are some highlights shared by the students:

Reading and Spelling Mastery - Nathan and Jaxon

During English lessons this term, we have been focusing on our reading and spelling skills. Each of us has a Spelling Mastery Folder with a list of words from the Oxford Word List. We learn to read and spell a set number of words each day and move it across the pockets in our folder after each attempt, until we have mastered it. We enjoy this activity and feel extremely proud of ourselves as we master new words each week and place them into the “Mastered” pocket in our folder.

Spelling Bug on iPad - Nadeer and Ryan

We have been enjoying learning to spell new words by using the Spelling Bug app on our iPads. Using our headphones, we listen to the word being read and choose the right letters to spell the word correctly. Learning is fun with the great apps we have on our iPads.

Cooking lesson with senior students - Casey and Hayden

On Friday of week 7, we walked over to the senior school campus and had a combined cooking lesson with Ms. Janes’ Food Science students. We enjoyed making pie and eating it with the senior students. This also gave us an opportunity to explore the senior school campus and mingle with the staff and students. We are hoping to have more visits in term 4 and enjoy participating in more combined cooking sessions with the senior students.

We still have one more exciting event to go before end of term - the ESSN Athletics Carnival. We are all looking forward to it.

Have a safe and relaxing term break!

Susan Solomon

7W

The past few weeks have seen a real push in our classroom to achieve our volunteer hours for the IGNITE award. We have done three main activities – Tree Planting with SERCUL, picking up rubbish around our school community and cutting up rags for a charity op shop.

Tree Planting

We tried to go tree planting in late July and then again in early August, but the weather was against us and both times we had to cancel due to storms being forecast. We found it interesting to watch the BOM website and rain radar on these days and learn how the radar can tell us where the rain is falling in real time. We finally went tree planting on August 30. We headed out to Bannister Creek and met up with two ladies from SERCUL – one of them was Hudson’s mum. We spent about an hour planting native plants along Bannister Creek before we headed back to school. We planted around 180 plants in that time. It was a great experience and something we would like to do again next year.

Rubbish Pick Up

As part of our chicken enterprise, one of our students identified that there was a large amount of rubbish around our school and some of it was starting to blow into the chickens’ enclosure. We decided that we could make a difference to our school by picking up rubbish – not only near our chicken run, but also in other areas around the school. We spent quite a lot of time collecting rubbish in pairs and when we had finished we felt good about the difference we had made.

Rag Cutting

Mrs Whelan found out that a local charity was using clothes that could not be sold at their op shop to cut into rags and then sell on to mechanics and other industries that utilise a lot of rags. Mrs Whelan got two big rubbish bags of these clothes and brought them to school. We spent several class sessions cutting up the rags. This also involves removing buttons and anything that might scratch a surface if they were being used as a polishing rag. We found some of this quite challenging, but we all liked tearing up the sheets and doona covers that were too old to be sold on. On Monday 3 September, Mrs Whelan was able to submit our IGNITE award books for assessment, and most of us have achieved the hours needed. The IGNITE award covers four areas: Skills, Adventure, Volunteer Work and Fitness and we have worked hard this year to achieve this. Those of us who have not completed the required hours will continue working towards this and will, hopefully, achieve these hours by the end of the year.

Rhoda Whelan

8JS

Students in 8JS are growing wheat to learn about agriculture and where our food comes from. We have seeded mace, wheat and canola, and it’s coming up OK (we seeded it quite late compared to the farmers)! We are conducting an experiment to see the impact of fertiliser on production and are measuring the height of the wheat every week. We have also learnt about the process involved in making flour. When our wheat is ready to be harvested, we will make our own organic flour (which we will probably make pikelets with…yum!).

In other news, students have been plugging away at their Genius Hour projects. The concept of Genius Hour allows students to work on a passion project of their choice as independently as possible. We provide whatever support is necessary to foster this independence, so that the students can be proud of what they have achieved with minimal help.

Some students have started new projects for Semester 2. Reece is now teaching himself HTML coding and Taimana is making his own game designs with Bloxels™. Olivia is creating some colourful expressionist art while Muskaan loves fashion and is creating designs for her own paper dolls (she will make her own catalogue ready for 2019). Jeremy is finishing off his stop-animation and will be looking at doing something in term 4 (possibly to do with cars)! Ashley is finishing off his Fantasy Rugby team and Shamira is typing away at her story to accompany her amazing Ocean Diorama.

In Term 4 we hope to show everyone our Genius Hour creations in a classroom exhibit. We will keep you informed.

Rachael Jones

8W

There has been a new addition to 8W this term – our furry friend Billie (Mrs M’s beloved dog). Billie has been here with us every second Friday to help us achieve a part of our ASDAN award. We have learned that there is a lot of work and responsibility involved with having a pet. Thank you to Mrs M for bringing Billie in!

In Independent Living we have been learning about how to make unhealthy foods healthier. Cup noodles are a quick and easy snack but they’re very high in salt, fat and sugar. To make it healthier, we added half of the pack of seasoning (instead of the whole pack). We also added in chopped spinach for fibre and an egg for protein. Although cup noodles are a “sometimes” food, we successfully made it healthier. Everyone thought it tasted way better!

In our literacy lessons we have been learning about cause and effect. Identifying cause and effect relationships within a story helps us focus on two important elements of comprehension: what happens in a story and why it happens. We have been linking cause and effect to real life situations and to other learning areas such as maths (order of operations, regrouping) and science (scientific method). Learning about cause and effect has helped us to strengthen our reading.

Lynna Woon

9T

This term has been incredibly busy. Students have been learning about figurative language in English. This is quite a tricky topic to understand and we have looked at sayings, videos and created our own statements using figurative language. Next term as a group Cameron, Hiba and Stephen will be creating a video on figurative language, so watch this space! The other students have been looking at sequencing. They have been focusing on cutting and pasting events such as going to school into the correct sequence and then recording themselves talking about an event in the correct sequence. This helps people understand what we are saying when we talk in the correct sequence, otherwise it can all be a bit confusing!

As always Fridays are filled with our Aboriginal Studies subject where we have now created our own Dreamtime stories. Everyone gave it a go, creating a draft, comic strip plan, then we put our story onto a PowerPoint presentation and then drew pictures. It has been a long process but everyone tried incredibly hard and produced some excellent stories with hidden messages such as don’t be greedy and don’t steal!

Also on Fridays we work with Ms Banks for career coaching. We have been looking at our hopes and dreams. Students have come up with some excellent short, medium and long term goals that often include getting a job and having a pet.

In week 8 the clouds finally parted and we were able to join SERCUL and plant some trees! We went with the two year 7 classes to Bannister Creek getting down and dirty for our Duke of Edinburgh Bronze award and providing a service to the community. Jason was a tree planting machine who didn’t stop the entire time we were there! Great job Jason!

For the final weeks of term 3, Hiba has been lucky enough to venture down to Pre–Primary where she has offered her support to the students. She has been incredibly mature and helpful, the kids loved her!

Zoe Thring

10C

We went to Forrestdale Lake by Conservation Volunteers WA bus on 30 August 2018. We learned about all the different plants and animals. We saw some small boxes on trees for very small bats to stay in during the day (microbats). We looked through binoculars at what’s around and saw black swans. Walking in the bush we began taking out weeds around the native plants. We were told there were snakes in the area and to keep an eye out. If we were to see one, we would stop and walk back slowly. We had a good time and we worked hard and learned new things.

Holleigh

Forrestdale Lake is one of the most beautiful places in the whole entire world. I think I should take my family there one day. I loved looking at the fake microbat in its box. I saw a few birds. I also loved looking through the binoculars. There are also snakes in the Forrestdale Lake area. It’s also possible that snakes slither onto people’s lawns even though some of them live far from the bushes or the woods. We were told that if you see a snake don’t actually speak “Parseltongue” like in Harry Potter, but just walk back very slowly and tell the others where it was. If you see a hive of bees do not get too close and tell somebody who can sort it out.

Hugo

Every Monday morning we make toys for kids for Christmas in Mr Arrantash’s work shop. We use wood to make a game called Noughts & Crosses. We cut, drilled and burned the wood, putting in the noughts and crosses using steel. We give the toys to Santa’s Workshop at Sevenoaks.

Courtney

Year 10 learn Netball at the Cannington Leisureplex with coaches from the Special Olympics every Tuesday morning.

We have coaches who teach us the netball rules and training drills. After the drills we play a game and it is fun. For a game we have two teams. One team wears a coloured bib and the other doesn’t. The most important rule is when you catch the ball, your feet can’t move.

Mitchell and Kevin

10G

For Community Service, we picked up rubbish at Mason’s Landing which is located along the Canning River and not too far from the school. It was sometimes hard to find rubbish in that area but we picked up bits of them. I liked doing this because of not just keeping the environment clean, but to enjoy the beautiful area we are working in and doing it as teamwork and exercising.

Zidane

In the last few weeks during woodwork, we have been making fidget spinners. My spinner is red and yellow. I had a bit of help, but I made most of it myself.

Chey

In woodwork we are making snow trucks for Santa’s Workshop. We are making them for kids who don’t have families and hopefully this will make them happy. We are also going to make toy cars and give those to Santa’s Workshop as well.

Wade

I enjoyed the DFES lesson when we made stretchers out of wooden poles, rope and rubber floor mats. Then we practised carrying people a short distance. In cooking we made apricot chicken. It was good. The fun part was when I got home, mum was making apricot chicken! But I like the school’s one better.

Jack

This is a list of things I have done this term:

• In woodwork we are making snow trucks and finger cars for Santa’s Workshop.
• In the Gym we are doing 20 minute workouts using exercise bikes, treadmills, weights etc.
• We are mowing, weeding, planting and cleaning up the bank in the garden.
• For DFES we are using the walkie-talkie sets, putting up tents and making stretchers out of wood, rope, towels and mats.
• In home economics we have made apricot chicken, fried rice and pumpkin soup.

Alex

In the last few weeks we have been doing gym. There’s always a 20 minute workout for each piece of equipment. I always go on the treadmill. We have also been doing Community Service every week on a Thursday. We always go to a place called Mason’s Landing. We go there to clean it up by removing rubbish but when there’s not much around I just enjoy the fresh air, the nearby playground and all the ducks that come by. There is usually this one weird duck that comes by. It looks like a turkey and wags its tail feathers a lot.

Ryan

I liked DFES on Fridays. We had fun with the CB radios. We got into teams and used the CB radio to find parts of a trangia stove hidden around Coker Park.

Joseph

For DFES we did lots of things like marching, putting up tents and using radios. I liked putting the tents up. These activities will help us to cope and to survive in an emergency situation. I liked making the wooden cars and trucks as Xmas presents for Santa’s Workshop.

Daniel

Group 2

This year at Senior School, we have been doing Keys for Life classes each Monday. In these classes we have learnt about how to be safe drivers and how to reduce our risk when on the road. At the end of the year we have the chance to sit a road rules theory test. If we score 24/30 or higher, it is a pass mark and we are issued with a certificate. Once you have the certificate, it can be used to get your learners permit at the Department of Transport Licensing Centre when you pay a fee and show 100 points of identification. There are currently four students with their P or L plates. Well done to Nic, Emma, Stacy, Tyson and Eugini who received their Keys for Life Pre-Driver Education Program in Term 3.

Jenny Lockyer

Group 3

Students have started the individual sports unit on Monday afternoons. It is pleasing to see students ready and eager to improve their abilities. The sports played each week include darts, ten pin bowling, pool and table tennis. Students have learnt about using positive thought and mental imagery to improve their performance. Each week the students have their performance rated using checklists and this makes up part of their final mark.

Dwayne Griffin

Group 1 and Pathways

Lawn Bowls Coaching: For the past two weeks on a Thursday the students from Pathways and Group 1 have been participating in a game of lawn bowls as a component of their Recreational Pursuits course. The students travelled via bus to Victoria Park – Carlisle Bowling Club.

At first the students were a little unsure but after some great coaching from a few of the senior bowling members they gained some confidence. The students all played barefoot as specialised shoes are required. By the end of the first session each student had quickly got the hang of the game and were throwing their bowls up the green close to the target which is a small white ball called a “Jack “or “kitty”.

On the second week a reporter from the Southern Gazette Newspaper came to take photos of the students. The students again showed great interest in the game and there was a bit of friendly competition happening with each other as their skills and interest were improving greatly.

The students are looking forward to their final session of coaching on Thursday in week 10.

Senior Food Science goes to The Pines Restaurant

On Friday, 17 August the Food Science class enjoyed the most wonderful lunch at The Pines Restaurant. The award-winning training restaurant at Bentley TAFE is an interactive training environment where TAFE students prepare for work in the hospitality industry. The hospitality and cookery students have the opportunity to fully manage the restaurant and showcase their skills in preparing and serving food and drinks to members of the public.

Our class was amazed at the level of ‘silver service’, the presentation of food and thoroughly enjoyed being waited on. We were also given a tour of the kitchen and met many of the chefs who were preparing the meals. The students made choices from an Asian themed menu for 3 different courses. It was absolutely delicious – especially the dessert!

Senior School Student Leadership Team

Tuesday toasties for teachers

Every Tuesday we will be selling ham, cheese and tomato toasties to the senior staff. Money raised will be go back to the school to help with covering the costs of graduation, camp and thank you gifts for the school. Please order our Tuesday Toasties and help us raise funds.

Senior Student Leadership Team

Design and Technology

Woodwork

Year 7 students have completed a utility box and coffee cup holder. Some classes have begun recycling HDPE plastic lids. The plastic lids are sorted, cut into four pieces and then placed in a blender before being melted into their new shape in an oven.

Year 8 students have completed their camouflage paintwork on their Spitfire models and are now working towards completing rocket launcher pencil holder.

Year 9 students have completed their apache helicopter replica model. Students have also completed an acrylic cake slice. Students were shown how to safely use a scroll saw and were able to cut out the cake slice shape by themselves. It was great to watch the students following the safety rules and concentrating on following the marking out lines as they cut.

Year 10 students are donating their time and skills to Santa’s Workshop by making wooden toys that will become Christmas gifts later in the year. The time completing these wooden models counts towards the community service section of the Duke of Edinburgh Award. Students are producing finger cars and naughts and crosses games at the moment. It has been a challenge for students to improve the finish of models to make them suitable for gifts.

Tradestart

Students have completed the potting bench in the garden and have nearly finished the new wheelchair access path also located in the garden. Students have become skilled at mixing concrete materials by proportion and adjusting the water in the mix to get the sump exactly right for path work. Some group members have tried their hand at working with trowels and edging tools with great success.

The Concrete Crew

Tradestart and Certificate 1 in Agrifood students attended a manual handling course this week. Students worked with a pallet jack and range of trollies learning how to move bulky items safely. The group also worked with a range of hand digging tools under the guidance of an instructor from Activ Training. It was great to see students practicing their new skills which will assist them at home and in the workplace in the future.

Physical Education – Middle School

The weather hasn’t been outdoor friendly this term, with a lot of rain each week. This has meant that on days when we can’t access the oval or courts we have used our new silent disco headphones to create an ASD friendly zone in the gym. When the weather has been good, all students have participated in various sports and activities to improve their physical movement skills.

Special Olympics Australia Partnership: As a school, we have started a partnership with Special Olympics Australia (SOA) that will give students access to SOA certified coaches as well as provide an opportunity for all students to participate in inclusive sports outside of school. This term the year 10 students participated in a four week block of netball at the Cannington Leisureplex with Daniel Olge (WA Sports Development Manager) and Mikayla (SOA certified coach) running each session. The students enjoyed each session and learnt a lot about the skills of netball. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Special Olympics Australia into the future.

ESSN Sports Carnival

On Wednesday the 19th September the majority of our students participated in the ESSN interschool sports carnival at Atwell College. Make sure you have looked at the school’s website to see more information and photos of the school’s events.

Jacob Sands

Destination Survey Morning Tea

On Monday 10 September, the Year 12 and Pathways students attended the annual Destination Survey Morning Tea in the Lecture Theatre. It was a fantastic opportunity to have our ex-students return and share their current pathways, careers and transition since they have left school.

We could not believe how much our past students have grown from the many experiences they have encountered outside in the real world. Many of them have their driver’s license and are working in full time positions. We even have a student working in hospitality at the Crown. Some students are also participating in TAFE courses.

The event ended with a morning tea where students were able to mingle and ask many questions, whilst gaining useful information on what lies ahead after 2018.

Many thanks to those who participated and put this event together.

Judi Janes

Workplace Learning

Term 3 can be the term of the dreaded winter colds and flus. This term we were pleasantly surprised with the number of students who were able to attend regularly.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank the employers who accept our students into their workplaces to gain experience. We know it takes a lot of time and effort on your behalf to have the extra responsibility but the skills gained by the students is invaluable for their future.

Thank you to Emma Birsa, Shantelle Quartermaine, Olivia Allen, Eugini Paesu, Jasmin Steiner, Lleyton Anderson and Chloe Ward for being great representatives for our school at the Passport to Employment Course this year. These students have gained confidence and knowledge to help them through their transition from school.

Congratulations to Stacy Northcott and Jasmin Steiner who completed Certificate II in Retail and Nosisa Mhlope who has completed Certificate II in Business. There are several other students still working to complete certificate courses. We will be able to congratulate them next term.

Congratulations also to Rhys Sturch, Amy Crouchley, Nic Bonnefin, Justin Ng and Jack McManus for securing work trials at either ACTIV or Interlife.

Farewell to the students who are leaving. One day you will look back and think “those were the best days of my life”. May all your hopes and dreams come true. When you come back for the Destination Survey you can let us know of all your achievements.

Carollyn Pears

Community Health Nurse

Year 8 Immunisation Program – Vaccine Information

The school-based immunisation team will next visit the school on Thursday 11th October 2018 to administer the second round of immunisations to year 8 students.

• The year 8 immunisation program offers free immunisations to students through the National Immunisation Program (external site).
• As part of the school-based program, immunisations are scheduled in two visits across the school year.
• It is important that each child completes the program for maximum protection.

Amy Myles

Office Information

Thank you to everyone that has paid their contributions. Just a reminder you can pay your contributions by EFTPOS, Direct Debit or by a payment plan. Please contact the office to arrange a payment plan. All contributions for Year 11 and 12 are compulsory. Our bank details are:

BSB 016 270
A/C 340822406.

Tanya Buchan

National Disability Services

If you hold a WA Companion Card and would like to access your MLAK (Master Locksmith Access Key) to access changing places - secure, clean facilities for people with disabilities who need space and assistance to use the bathroom when out and about in the community please contact:

National Disability Services
12 Lindsay Street
PERTH WA 6000
PO Box 184
NORTHBRIDGE WA 6865

T: 08 9208 9804
F: 08 9242 5044
W: www.nds.org.au

End of Term Assembly Award Winners

Congratulations to the following students:

Chess and UNO Competition

The competition involved 10 students playing Chess and 12 playing UNO from sears 7 to 10.

The Chess and UNO competition was held as part of the recess and lunch program that is run every day at the Middle School.

Though Chess and UNO can be serious games, the students weren’t too serious or overly competitive, many of them chatting with their opponents or wandering the room as their competitor made their move.

Well done to all the students, now you are all ready to be part of Chess and UNO Interschool Competition!

Chess

UNO

Bernardo Dewey

Bike Club

Bike Club is up and running at the senior campus. Our new space is jam packed with projects on the go. The students have been working very hard dismantling and sanding their bikes. It is fabulous to see the hard work the students are putting into their project as they have faced many challenges including removing rusty nuts and bolts. Next term we welcome Dismantle to assist us in spray painting our frames and reassembling the bikes ready for them to go home.

The students have discussed how they plan to use their bikes. Some will be helping their parents by going to the shop and others plan to ride to work/TAFE. Many have said they will be using their bikes to get more exercise.

We welcome Chayton to the group who is working very hard to refurbish his own bike.

Many thanks to Mr Scott Court for collecting and donating several bikes to our program. Another thank you to the Corry family for donating unused family bikes.

Aileen Womersley

Cannington’s got Talent!

On 13 September Cannington Community ESC and Cannington Community College held a talent show. This attracted many talented singers, dancers and musicians. Everyone was amazing in their performance.

Congratulations to Hugo Hendrawan, Holleigh Jones, Kayleb Dockary and Jaxon Hay!

Bernardo Dewey

The Chaplain’s Corner

What is a chaplain?

More than one person has approached me to ask, what is a chaplain?

The term chaplain is always thought to be related to religious aspects. For example, Cambridge English Dictionary defines chaplain as, “A Christian official who is responsible for the religious needs of an organisation.

But this does not necessarily mean that a chaplain needs to be responsible for religious needs. In the context of a school environment, the definition of chaplain is broader and its definition is not limited to religious aspects.

The National School Chaplaincy Association (NSCA) answered this question in a broader way. They said that school chaplains are in the “prevention and rescue business”. They’re helping students find a better way to deal with issues ranging from family breakdown and loneliness to drug abuse, stress and anxiety. A teacher is the person who teaches and also creates the atmosphere of authority - it may not always be that way, but that is the perception of a student. The chaplain is in the middle of that relationship, it is not the one that teaches or is seen as an authority figure. It is the one that attracts the student as a friend, the one that provides an ear to listen, and a presence to help. A chaplain’s passion is to help the lives of young people.

The second question that people ask me is ‘What do School Chaplains do?’. I would like to quickly respond to this question but I will expand on these more in future newsletters.

1. School chaplains are active in promoting student wellbeing, particularly through the provision of pastoral care.
2. School chaplains encourage reflection about the spiritual dimensions of life.
3. School chaplains have an educative role in the areas of beliefs, values, morals, ethics and religion.
4. School chaplains work as part of the school support team to facilitate a connection into the school network and wider community of students who are suffering from bereavement, family breakdown or other crisis and loss situations.

In conclusion, it is a privilege to be part of the Cannington Community ESC team as a chaplain. I enjoy spending time and providing guidance to students on issues concerning human relationships, welfare services and providing support in different areas.

Edgar Reyes