12 November 2020

Newsletter Articles

Important Dates

From the Principal’s Desk

At the time of writing, we are yet to hear from the Minister of Education about the proposed amalgamation/restructuring of our school and our partner colleges. It has been a month since the public consultation has closed and we all hope a decision is made soon. I have subscribed to the Governments media releases and whilst a lot is going on in education I have not seen anything about our school. We are also keen to hear about the facilities audit of our school which was carried out last term.

Mrs Whittington, Ms Bates and I have been busy recruiting education assistants and teachers to our school for 2021. It is a lengthy process involving advertising on the government jobs website and then following strict procedures for selection. We will be offering contracts to some teachers shortly to cover for staff on leave in 2021. Thanks to Mrs Reid for helping out with the education assistant panel.

Enrolments for next year look strong. We will have little room to enrol students other than in year 7. Transition has begun for our new year 7s already, and we will have two classes. We will be operating five classes on our senior campus, including two Pathways groups, and eight classes on our middle school campus. A transition afternoon tea on 11 November 2020 will be held for interested parents of years 9 and 10 students.

Our year 12 students have been busy filling up our social media pages with their exploits at the leavers’ dinner and at the presentation ceremony held at Curtin Stadium on Saturday 7th November. They all looked incredible in their gowns and sashes. It was nice to see so many parents there cheering them on. A big thanks to all the staff who turned up to help out – the day could not happen without your support. We wish those students leaving us all the best and welcome those staying on in Pathways. Have a restful holiday because 2021 will be big!

The end of term 3 was our fun days as we had no camps or Adventure World excursion this year due to Covid. Students enjoyed the laser tag and Aboriginal art incursion. A lot of delicious food was consumed over the two days, and the year 10 students had a successful DFES Cadet camp. One student remarked to me that if we do this just for the end of term, imagine how cool the end of the year will be!

I would like to acknowledge Zidane and Alex for acting as guides for our workplace learning appreciation breakfast. They looked fantastic in their Cadet dress uniforms. Huge thanks to the WPL team for getting the event organised. We have a great bunch of employers, and support organisations plus our job coaches were also recognised on the day. Please see below for a full list of the businesses that supported us during 2020.

The finance committee will meet soon to start on our 2021 school budget. We have done several OHS inspections recently will no significant issues arising. The School Board will meet later this month to go over the Business Plan and set charges and contributions for 2021. The middle school P&C met last week, and the canteen has made a profit mainly off the Government Job Keeper allowance.

The weather will start to warm up, and we strongly encourage our students to “slip slop and slap”. A hat is an excellent thing to have. We have plenty of sunscreen in each classroom. We also try to do the vast majority of the “2 hours of physical activity“ in the morning before the suns gets too hot. The gym is being well used as is our recreation room with the big fan!

Andrew Wilson

Businesses that supported our students

The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award and the Ignite Award CCESC Ceremony 2020

On Tuesday 27 October students in years 7, 8 and 10 who had completed The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award (year 10) and the Ignite Award (years 7 and 8) were presented with their certificates and pins by Patrick Hall, the Mayor of the City of Canning, and Sean Moring, the Program and Engagement Officer from Awards WA. As part of their Award, each student completed physical recreation, community service, skills and adventurous journeys. Due to current health precautions in the community to reduce the chance of spreading COVID19, the Award Ceremony was only able to be attended by CCESC staff and students, so photos and short videos have been made available to parents and caregivers who were not able to attend.

Congratulations to all these students on achieving their Ignite Award:

Level 3 Ignite Award

Level 4 Ignite Award

Congratulations to these students on achieving their Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award (Bronze):

Air Bear goes North

During the term 3 school holidays I went on a road trip to Broome and Karijini National Park with Mrs Thomas. Because Broome is so far away from Perth, we had to make some short, overnight stays along the way. Before getting to Broome we stopped at Geraldton for an unplanned two night trip due to car troubles (Mr Thomas had to drive back to Perth to swap cars!) so we had to make up a day’s driving, going straight from Geraldton to Karratha. That meant twelve hours on the road, including a short break for lunch and a couple of rushed toilet breaks!

When we got to Broome the following day, we were exhausted and looking forward to some chill time on Cable Beach to watch one of its famous sunsets. We weren’t disappointed. Not only is Cable Beach stunning at sunset but is equally stunning during the day, boasting powdery, white sand, turquoise ocean and clear blue skies. The best time to go is during the dry season (May-October) because during the wet season (November-April) the ocean is full of poisonous Chironex box jellyfish and the Irukanji, making it a dangerous time to swim.

I made sure to be sun smart by wearing a hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, protective clothing and keeping in the shade. A passing surf lifesaver was even lucky enough to have me help patrol the beach. Fortunately, everyone was swimming between the flags and nobody needed rescuing on my body board!

Other places we visited while in Broome were Gantheaume Point, at very low tide to hunt for fossilised dinosaur footprints (we couldn’t find any but if you Google it you’ll find pictures), Broome’s iconic Matso’s Brewery for a delicious lunch and the Malcolm Douglas Crocodile Park, where I got to hold a baby crocodile with Mrs Thomas – I was a bit scared and needed support.

Broome was so amazing that I think the Thomas family will be visiting again next year.

After Broome, we based ourselves in Tom Price to explore Karijini National Park. Karijini is truly a magical place and one I would recommend to anyone who appreciates natural beauty. We visited most of the gorges, waterfalls and freshwater swimming pools, however I didn’t swim like many other people because the water was freezing. I may also have taken a couple of days to dry! We would’ve like a bit more time to explore and recommend visiting one gorge per day, so you can really relax and enjoy the world class scenery.

We were away for two weeks and when Mrs Thomas and I got back to work it felt like we needed another holiday to recover from our holiday! We covered over 6000 kms which is almost equal to driving from Perth to Adelaide and back again! Although much of our time during the holiday was spent in the car, it was worth the drive just to see how the colours of the landscape change along with the flora and fauna as you travel north. We truly are very blessed to call Western Australia, ‘Home’.

Air Bear

Class Updates

7JS

In term 3, 7JS has been learning about natural, constructed and managed features in HASS with Ms Goodin. As part of our learning journey, we have been making a 3-D model, including these features. A great group effort, the finished product looked amazing!

Lisa Goodin

7JS

7S

Term 4 is halfway through but we would like to begin with a flashback of the last two days of term 3 which were “Fun Days”. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves by not only participating in a wide range of activities but also having a delicious lunch provided on both days. “Laser tag” on Thursday was fun, and we didn’t realise how much we had been running around tagging each other until the end of the day when most of us were exhausted. On Friday, we had the opportunity to add our bit to the big canvas of Urban Indigenous Art. There were also other activities like dancing, movies, Wii, Minecraft and riding the hill trollies. It was indeed an enjoyable experience.

Term 4 has started smoothly, with all of us attending school regularly and working well on achieving our IEP goals. We are hosting Assembly this term, and we have been busy practising and organising ourselves for it. We have also started making some masks during our art lessons for the same. On Tuesday of week 3, we walked to the City of Canning for our Ignite Award ceremony. We received our certificate from the mayor. Some of us were nervous, but we are all proud to have completed the requirements to achieve the certificate.

Susan Solomon

Hill trolley races and laser tag

8M

So here we are, entering the home stretch of 2020. It has been a very different year, and the students have displayed a mature attitude to the challenges and tribulations this year has thrown their way. They are all to be commended.

We are finishing up our novel ‘In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson’ by Bette Bao Lord, for English and PAThS. We are looking forward to comparing a very similar movie that we will watch over the coming weeks.

The students attended the Ignite Awards ceremony at the City of Canning on Tuesday 27th October. Well done to all those students who were presented with certificates. As a class, we would like to make special mention of Jessica, who joined us halfway through the year. Since arriving at CCESC, Jessica has participated in the Ignite challenges diligently. Even though Jessica did not receive a certificate, she attended the awards in support of her peers. Your support for your peers, Jessica is highly admirable, and we all thank you.

Hopefully, the students told you about the surprise party that the staff threw for them at the end of last term. I mention this now, as the students are still talking about it. They had the opportunity to play ‘old fashioned’ party games such as pass the parcel, musical chairs and even did an egg and spoon race. Many eggs were scrambled during the game, but we all had fun.

On Friday 30th October, we had the privilege of participating in a dance class by Infinite Limits Dance. The students immersed themselves in the beats and rhythms of the music. They enjoyed themselves immensely, some more than others.

Charline Martlew

8S

Students are learning about Employability Skills in Independent Living Skills. Employability Skills are THE SKILLS I NEED TO GET A JOB AND TO KEEP A JOB. These are their reflections:

Pat Spadanuda

Communication

Using technology

9C

At the end of term 3, students enjoyed “fun days” where they participated in a variety of exciting activities.

Aboriginal art incursion

Enjoying a game of laser tag

A few of the topics that we have covered this term:

Cando - Stevie is using the can-crushing app she created to record which flavours are the most popular.

Physical education at the senior campus:

Brendan Cunnane

9W

This term has begun with a rush, and we have been very busy finishing off tasks to meet some term 4 deadlines. In Maths we are measuring the school and marking it onto our school’s site map so that we can transfer this into Minecraft and try to make a replica in our Cannington Community ESC world. We are running into some difficulties with the dimensions of the blocks in Minecraft though because they are 1x1x1m, which is not what the bricks of our school are.

In English, we have been practising our speaking and listening skills – this is a challenge for some of us. On Mondays, we break into pairs and tell each other about our weekend. We then return to the classroom and report back to the class about what our partner did for the weekend. This is teaching us the skill of listening for information and summarising what has been said. This task has been challenging, but we are learning to listen attentively to the other person rather than thinking about what we are going to say next.

In Science, Ms Goodin has been working through some taxonomy information with us – we are finding out some really interesting things about vertebrates and invertebrates.

In HASS, Mrs Whelan has started working with us on a unit of work called ‘Coaching Young People for Success’. This is an exciting course as it allows us to explore what makes us tick, what we are good at and what we need support with. This is in preparation for our ITP meetings next year and gives us the language we will need for this process.

This term, the garden has blessed us with many potatoes. We have sold almost 25kg of baby potatoes, as well as beetroot and beans. This week we planted sweet potato runners in the large garden bed, and we are planning to plant some cucumbers, zucchini and other summer crops in the next week. Last week we cleaned out the pond in the garden area, as it needed some attention. It is now filled with clean water and ready for a new fountain to be installed.

Nathan and Henry working on the pond

Recently we noticed some unusual bugs on our tomato plants. We were worried that they were a new pest. However, when we did a quick search of Google, we found that they are baby ladybugs that have chosen our tomato plants to be their nursery!

Ladybug baby

This week we did our final planting out for 2020 – we spent quite a lot of time wetting the soil and making ‘mud pies’ with the wetting agent to make sure that our soil will hold water, especially leading up to the hot weather.

Making mud pies

In Independent Living, we are learning about needs and wants and how this can affect our ability to save money. We are planning an excursion later in the term to practice some budgeting skills.

We recently attended a Transperth travel training workshop hosted by CREEC. This was an excellent opportunity to brush up on our knowledge of public transport. We explored Journey Planners and how to stay safe when travelling independently.

During a recent Health lesson, Mrs Whelan got us to experiment with verbal and non-verbal communication – she gave each of us a newspaper and gave us five minutes to plan what we were to make. After the planning, we had to not speak for five minutes while we made what we had discussed. We then had two more cycles of not speaking and then speaking. We found it challenging to communicate without words, but our constructions were amazing, and we had fun working with our partners.

Turoa and Cole's light sabre cutlass

We are looking forward to the rest of this term and getting ready for the challenges of year 10!

The Class of 9W

Kiara and Hudson chilling in the garden at lunchtime

10H

Mundaring Transition Excursion

As part of the transition program, the year 10 classes joined the senior students at Mundaring for an Indigenous experience. The students were able to take part in many activities, including face painting, milling flour, lighting a fire using sticks, identifying bush tucker, protecting the environment and sustainability. We were also able to learn more about Aboriginal culture and history. The students found this experience enjoyable, and they also coped well with the millions of flies that seemed to like our company!

Enjoying our Indigenous experience

Recreational Pursuits

For Recreational Pursuits this term, the students will be swimming and taking part in team games (basketball and dodgeball). There are two groups, and each activity will run for five weeks before students change over. The team games are being held over at the Sevenoaks gym, and this has given the students another opportunity to explore the senior school campus. They are so excited about being able to use this facility next year at recess and lunch.

Having fun at basketball

Dismantle

As part of the transition process students have been given the opportunity to take part in the ‘Dismantle’ program. The program uses bicycle mechanic activities and mentors to help young people develop social skills, build confidence and connect to educational and vocational opportunities. The Dismantle program allows our students to build a bike from scratch and paint it in their chosen colour and design.

Building our bikes

GSI Retail Course

This term, four 10H students are completing the GSI course in Retail. The course has a significant focus on teaching students the required skills needed when working in a retail environment. For the practical component, the students were able to work in the Good Sammy’s Op Shop on Albany Highway in Cannington. They enjoyed this experience and couldn’t believe the different types of goods that customers can buy.

Judi Janes

Good Sammy’s

10LT

As always, 10LT has been super busy! Some of our highlights so far this term have included working towards our ITP goals, the overnight camp at the end of term 3, taking part in recreational pursuits (basketball and swimming) and attending transition activities at the senior campus with the current years 11 and 12 students. Two special outings we have taken part in were the senior school transition trip to Mundaring and walking to the City of Canning to receive our awards from the mayor of the City of Canning.

Each student below has expressed a part of the school term which has been particularly significant to them:

Jenny Lockyer and Carissa Thomas

Group 1

The end of the year is near, and Group 1 is working hard to complete all set work. The students have been working exceptionally hard on studying for their learner’s permits. We have also begun transition with the year 10 students, which has been a blast so far. Group 1 students have been very welcoming and are showing real leadership skills when the year 10s visit. Some students were lucky enough to be selected for the Dismantle Program, where they restore an old bike. We are very excited to see their finished products! Continue below to see what we have been focussing on so far this term:

Mathematics: We have split into groups and are looking at different types of budgeting. Some students are looking at needs and wants, some are looking at the cost of clothing, and why we make the choices we make, and others are looking at the immediate and ongoing costs of pet ownership.

English: We are learning how to write a storyboard and script for a video and practising our listening and speaking skills.

ASDAN: We are working on creating a promotional video about the emotional benefits of physical activity, being outdoors, community participation and volunteering.

DFES: We are learning about bush survival – we made a solar still.

Keys for Life: We have completed all lessons and are finishing off our journals and studying for our learner’s test.

Health: We are learning how to identify and manage risky situations.

Life coaching: All students are working on their ITP Goals.

Stephanie Brown and Group 1 Class

Group 2

Some of the students in Group 2 are nearing the end of their schooling experience. They have been working extremely hard completing their final assessment tasks and portfolios.

During English, the students have been researching the short and long term effects of alcohol. They also took part in a range of activities using the FATAL VISION GOGGLES.

Fatal vision goggles activities

The students have also completed their final round OARS testing.

During Health, students have been investigating health problems. They have delved into the causes, effects and treatments available.

During the year 10 transition, the students visited Mundaring to take part in an Aboriginal cultural excursion. The students had a fantastic time learning how to throw spears, locating food, preparing food and face painting. Some students also had the opportunity to be involved in Dismantle.

Face painting and food preparation

The students have been busy taking part in several graduation activities such as; breakfast, graduation rehearsal, dinner at Brando’s and a visit Curtin University where the graduation ceremony will take place on Saturday 7th November.

Mustafa Hussein

Curtin University graduation tour

Group 3

We have had a busy start to the term, including all students completing final assessments and some students reducing their days or leaving for 2020.

We have started transition with the year 10 students coming to our class each Monday for two hours, and it was pleasing to see how they followed instructions and fitted in with the class. We also had our first transition outing to Mundaring, the flies were annoying, but it was great to see most students engaging in the Indigenous cultural experience. We are off to Shelley Beach in week 4, and the students will be kayaking, riding bikes and scooters and fishing. Hopefully, the weather is kind, and most students enjoy challenging activities.

The students are getting ready for the Presentation Ceremony at Curtin on 7 November, and most have had a few practices for the big day. The year 12 dinner was a fantastic night, and it was good to see the students and staff get dressed up and have a fun night together

This term Zidane gained his licence, and it is great to see him start driving to school and enjoying the independence and responsibility that comes with gaining your licence. I hope it motivates all the students in our class to keep working on their hours or practising the theory test questions.

Dwayne Griffin

Group 3

Pathways

Pathways students were busy completing their work at the beginning of the term, with the main focus of getting all their BME products made, labelled and priced ready for Market Day later this term. It’s great to see that the students are continuing to check the Connect Portal on any updates and waiting for the official date of Market Day so that they can return for the day to help sell their products at their stall.

Panthi working on products for Market Day

While they have now officially finished attending, you may see some students around completing some hours and modules with WPL and traineeships and also finishing some of their projects in Visual Arts on Fridays. It was also lovely to see some Pathways students at the graduation dinner held at Brando’s with the year 12 students.

Cindi Griffin

Design and Technology

Year 7 woodwork

Students have nearly completed their first year of woodwork. It is great to see students confident in the workshop environment and working independently. Both year 7classes have now completed a wooden game that uses hand-eye coordination to roll steel ball bearings into punched holes in the base. Students fitted clear acrylic to the top as a see-through cover. These tops had to be drilled very gently to avoid breakage. Every student in Mrs Solomon’s class made their game tops without a single breakage, which was a great achievement.

Year 8 woodwork

Students have been working hard, making a serviette holder. Students traced their hand onto timber and then used a jigsaw to cut out the hand shape. The wooden hand shape is incorporated into the model as a weight to stop the serviettes from blowing away in the wind. Families often value this project as children get older.

Year 9 woodwork

Students are about to finish assembling their Apache model helicopter. This project has taken a long time to complete as a holiday break, and a series of school operations have reduced the number of woodwork lessons for year 9. The next project will be to make an insect hotel with materials that were collected on a recent excursion into the Perth hills.

Year 9 enterprise

The year 9 Enterprise, CANDO collecting team, has asked me to place a reminder in this newsletter regarding the collection and recycling of aluminium cans. (every aluminium beverage can sold in WA is suitable, including those that previously contained a percentage of alcohol)

Please continue donating cans by placing them in the green bag in the garden area at school. The students have noticed a decline in the donation rate of cans because collection points are now open to the public. The CANDO team use iPads to record the types of cans they collect and use the data for their maths and science lessons. We are planning an excursion to a Containers for Change collection point later in the term. Students will participate in the container sorting process and have an opportunity to operate an RVM (Reverse Vending Machine) and redeem their 10c from the cash dispensing machine.

CANDO cans

Year 10 woodwork

Students have completed their footstools. They used foam rubber, suede and a staple gun to make the cushions. It was great to see them being challenged to have a go at using a compressed-air staple gun. I watched anxious students’ faces turn into smiles as their competence increased. Students have begun making a large wooden steam engine. The steam engine has many components and will provide an opportunity for more woodturning on the lathe and the application of some bright colours as decoration.

Tradestart students

Tradestart students visited the Careers Expo at the Perth Convention Centre last week. The number of displays was reduced this year due to restrictions. Our students were interested in the pilot training stands that had flight simulators the students could use to have a go at landing a plane. One of our students expressed his interest with members of the Australian Defence Forces who had a long-range surveillance vehicle on display. Some of our students had a go at laying some bricks and found out that it is not as easy as it looks!

Tradestart students outside the Expo

Back at school, we are looking at a range of levelling devices ranging from plumb bobs and water levels to five line and rotary laser levels. Our students are very comfortable with the use of new technology and become competent users of laser levelling equipment very quickly. Being competent to use levelling devices is a great skill that applies to industry and DYI projects at home.

Year 10 DFES Cadets

Year 10 Department of Fire and Emergency Services Cadets are working through a module called “Living in the Field”. Students have been looking at a range of foods that are suitable for camping and, in some cases, doing some hands-on tasting! As students have developed camping menus and shopping lists, we have been looking at which foods need refrigeration. This has led to discussions about the applications for solar panels and their uses in the field from charging mobile devices to running camp lights and portable fridges.

Mark Arrantash

An Esky and a couple of bags of ice will keep food cold for 1-2 days before more ice is needed. A bag of ice costs $3.90

Workplace Learning

As the year quickly comes to an end, so does the school journey for some of our amazing students. They will soon be saying “Those were the best days of my life”. We wish our leavers all the very best for their future.

This year we had an interrupted workplace learning program, and we all had many challenges to overcome. We had an opportunity to spend time in the classroom honing employability skills, and we would like to congratulate our resilient students that picked up and continued with workplace learning.

This term as part of their transition, the year 10 students have been meeting weekly at the senior school where they have enjoyed breakfast together before participating in either an offsite work placement or onsite workplace learning program. It has been lovely getting to know them better, and we look forward to next year.

We would like to give a special mention to Allana Downing in securing two days paid employment at GSI Belmont. These positions only come from hard work and dedication. Well done, Allana.

Thank you to the employers, job coaches and agencies who provide such valuable support to our students. We held the Appreciation Breakfast on Friday, 30 October, to show our gratitude. We were thankful to Zidane and Alex for being our ushers and greeting the guests as they arrived. You both looked very smart in your DFES uniforms, and your manners were impeccable.

Carollyn Pears and Vera Edwards

Destination Survey

Every year we invite ex-students back to the school for a chance to network with other past students and provide us with feedback on our teaching and learning programs. This opportunity also allows us to get a good snapshot of where the students are currently with their work and leisure programs, which assists us in our constant reflection of our transition planning.

This year we are trying something new. Due to some restrictions placed upon us during the time of ‘Covid’ and feedback from many students who have been unable to attend in the past, we will be dedicating a whole week to the survey, and it will now be done individually via a phone call from one of our lovely staff members.

Over the next few weeks, please watch out for posts on our school social media platforms with more information about the survey and how you can get involved. This year we will be calling on students who graduated in 2019, 2018 and 2017.

In the meantime, if you have changed your contact details since you left school, please phone our office on 9351 2480. We look forward to hearing from you!

Katherine Athanasiou and Carollyn Pears

Interest-Based Options

For interest-based options during term 3, the following students chose to participate in watercolour painting with Ms Goodin. Aaliyah, Charlotte, Jac, Mandy, Ryan and Isaac put so much effort into their artwork. Their results were so brilliant that we decided they had to be framed.

Lisa Goodin

Interest Based Options

School Chaplain

The holidays went very quickly, for me anyway. I kept extremely busy with my gardening, making sure that the front of my house has a nice visual appearance. I’d weed some section of the garden and plant new shrubs and flowers in another. I surprised myself as I hated gardening with a passion before owning my own home. Whilst doing this, I was thinking about our selves and how mental health can be a little hard work sometimes. By putting in some effort, bloodshed and tears (no not bloodshed, but maybe a splinter or two) I was able to be proud of my achievements, and you could see this as it is a well-presented garden (I’m not biased).

Sometimes it takes a little hard work to look after yourself. Your happiness and keeping on top of those things that stress you are not going to go away by clicking your fingers. It takes time and will need looking after from time to time. People will start noticing a difference in you. It’s possible, and I believe in you. Find something that can help you release those emotions and negative thoughts that are rattling through your mind. It might be going for a walk, seeing a counsellor, drawing, listening to music or even GARDENING!

Know that you are worthy and an individual with a purpose. You are unique and are loved. I hope that you can be encouraged and be mentally healthy. Stay safe in term 4, and I’ll look forward to sending another chaplain’s chat in the next newsletter.

Justin Van der Westhuizen

A Word from the School Psychologist

Hi everyone, I hope the term is going well and happy week 5.

Being new to the school, I thought I’d share with you a little bit about what the role of a school psychologist is. School psychologists use knowledge and expertise to help support students to achieve academic success, psychological health, and emotional wellbeing. We work closely with administration, teachers, students, parents and interagency partners to identify causes for a student’s difficulties and to support with planning. At Cannington Community Education Support Centre this term, I have worked closely with parents, teachers and students to support with learning and educational planning. If you are concerned about your child and would like to access the School Psychology Services, please speak to your child’s classroom teacher.

Luwandi Perera

Information from the Community Health Nurse

Sex - talking to your child

Parents often feel uncomfortable raising this topic with their children, but young people need accurate information about sex and sexuality to be able to negotiate sexual relationships safely and responsibly and to become sexually healthy adults.

Your child will hear information from many sources, but as the most influential role model in your child’s life, you have an important role to play in ensuring that your child receives the information that allows them to make safe and healthy choices.

Useful Resources

'Talk soon. Talk often. A guide for parents talking to their kids about sex' is an excellent book that will help you with tricky conversations. Get your free copy at the link below.

Try the ‘Get the Facts’ website and discuss with your child -

SECCA - a non-profit organisation designed to support people with disabilities, in their efforts to learn about human relationships, sexuality and sexual health across the lifespan; as well as helping them to develop skills that will empower them to make informed choices while acknowledging their capacity to enhance the quality of their lives.

SECCA App - The SECCA App is a free innovative resource to support access to relationships and sexuality education for people of all ages and abilities. Register for free at:

If you have a concern about your child’s development, please contact me on 9351 2411.

Years 7 and 8 Immunisations – Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Second Dose

Earlier this year, students in year 7 received the first dose of the HPV vaccination. It is essential that each one of these students receives the second dose to complete the vaccination program for maximum protection.

The Immunisation Team will visit the school on WEDNESDAY 18th November to administer the second dose of the vaccine.

For more information about the vaccine, please visit

If you have any questions, please contact me on 351 2411.

Amy Myles, Community Health Nurse

Star Tech

As we near the end of what has been a very different kind of year, it’s important to remain alert to those who wish to scam us of personal details or money. Technology allows scammers to operate scams over a wide area with ease, using methods such as recorded phone messages and email messages with malicious attachments or hyperlinks to trick people. You may be asked to give personal information such as name, address and bank details. Likewise, you may be directed to a website that looks like a respected company but is actually going to a suspicious location. You also may be asked to make a payment using gift cards.

The Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DMIRS) runs services to help people avoid scams. Among these services is information about currently active scams and who to contact if you have information about, or have been targeted by, a scam. More information about this, and the other services offered, can be found on the Western Australian Scam Net site:

Stay safe, and I’ll catch up with you again in the next Newsletter.

Pete Bazen

Office Information

Payments

Thank you to everyone who 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 years 11 and 12 students are compulsory. Our bank details are BSB 016 270 A/C 340822406 (when using online banking, please remember to state your student's name in the details box; otherwise we cannot identify the relevant student).

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. Your cooperation would be appreciated. Parents are welcome to park down the side of the school near the bus bays.

Visiting the School

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

Tanya Buchan