West Coast Secondary Education Support Centre eNewsletter

Principal's Report

As we reach the end of Term 3, I reflect on how quickly his year is flying past! Once again, it has been a busy term – with many opportunities being presented for students in a range of different contexts.
Upper school students were selected to attend the City of Joondalup Council meeting and Youth Forum. It was a wonderful opportunity for our students to experience a council meeting and to ask questions. The students behaved impeccably and are to be commended for being such positive representatives of the Centre.
This term, when the cherry blossoms were on our trees, we celebrated the annual Japanese Sakura Festival – signalling the start of spring. Staff and students learned about our sister school in Japan and then enjoyed sushi and green tea. Each class made a collage and these were presented and judged – with winners receiving canteen vouchers. Thanks to all staff who helped with the organisation of the event.
Sports carnivals are wonderful opportunities for students to demonstrate their skills in a different context and the Athletics Carnival was a fabulous day where our students mingled with Warwick SHS students and had a fabulous time. What an industrious place the Work Skills room has been this term – with students packaging 400 delegate bags for the WAECSSA Conference! This has been a valuable experience for the students and it looks promising that we will receive more requests for work like this in the future. Well done to Mrs Woods and Mrs Barton for marketing the Centre so well!
The 2022 School Ball was postponed from March and was instead held last Friday. It was a wonderful evening and everyone had a “Ball”! Thanks to all WSHS staff who worked so hard to organise this lovely event and thanks to the WCSESC staff who accompanied the students.
The two-week holiday break will be a valuable opportunity for staff, students and families to enjoy some time to recharge their batteries, ready for Term 4. We are already talking about the end of year assembly on the 30th November and about the students who will leave us at the end of November. Before we know it, we will be changing classes and in preparation for 2023. I wish you all a very safe and relaxing holiday break and look forward to seeing you next term.
Regards,
Carol Clarke
Principal

Principal Appreciation Day

On August the 16th we surprised our Principal Carol Clarke with some well deserved flowers and cake for the Principal Appreciation Day 2022.
The students and staff did a great job keeping it a secret as they made cards and signs with lovely words about what makes Carol the awesome principal that she is!
Mrs Clarke was so surprised and a bit emotional when we presented the items to her in the staff room, and she followed up with an email, thanking all staff and students for their kind words.

Erica Waldock - Teacher

Bushfire Plan 2022/2023

Each year, a Standalone Bushfire Plan is prepared and submitted to the Education Department. As the 2022-2023 bushfire season approaches our updated plan has been completed and submitted.

A copy of this plan is available for anyone to read. Please let us know if you would like copy emailed.

Deborah Pember - Health and Safety Officer

2022 School Ball

On Friday the 16th of September, West Coast SESC joined Warwick Senior High School for this year’s School Ball, held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Perth.

Firstly, we would like to extend our thanks to Clare and Guy Palmer (Hannah Palmer’s parents) for offering to host this year’s pre ball party. Students and their families were invited to attend and this enabled the students to meet up and get excited together, enjoying a soft drink and a delicious snack before travelling in a limousine to the ball.

The students were dressed impeccably, and to document the special occasion they had some fantastic photos taken with their family and friends at the pre ball party. They then travelled to Kings Park for photos overlooking the city and had some formal photos taken on their arrival at the Hyatt Regency Hotel.

During the night, students enjoyed a delicious buffet meal and spent the majority of their time on the dance floor. Our students showed great enthusiasm on the dance floor and they always endeavour to get the party started!

The students should be commended for their fantastic behaviour on the night. They communicated effectively with others, danced with their friends, displayed great table manners and were a credit to themselves and their families. The night was fabulous and we are sure that they will remember the event with fond memories in years to come.

Staff and students voted on the night and the special awards were presented to Talia for Best Dressed Female, Ethen for Best Dressed Male and Luca for Ball Personality of the Year. Congratulations to these students, who were presented with a $50 Westfield Gift Card.

Thank you to all staff who helped to organise this event, to the staff who took the amazing photographs and to those who supported the students on the night.

Rebecca Wenn - Education Assistant

Physical Education: Athletics and AFL Carnivals

During this term, the students at West Coast primarily focused on Athletics training and the basic rules and skills needed in the game of AFL. Both focuses for the term culminated in carnivals; the athletics carnival being a full school event and the AFL carnival being an event that our students had the option if they wanted to participate.

Athletics Carnival
The athletics carnival was held on the 25th of August and involved all students from both West Coast SESC and students from Warwick Senior High School. Our West Coast students participated in both track and field events including sprints, long jump, discus, shot put, tug of war, novelty games and for those brave enough, triple jump! In the weeks leading up to the carnival, our students used the Physical Education lessons to prepare for each of these athletic events. By the time the carnival came around, our students had a good understanding of the rules and objectives of each event. West Coast students wore their faction colours and provided points to their team through participation and effort. Our students did West Coast proud by participating, trying their best and a few student won their heat! A special mention to Troy, Zac, Lorenzo and Christopher who each contributed five points to their factions. It was a great integration of West Coast SESC and Warwick SHS and we cannot wait for the athletics carnival next year!

AFL Carnival
Students from West Coast were also given the opportunity to participate in the Kalability Kickability AFL carnival this term. This year, the carnival was held on the 7th of September at the hosting school Kalamunda SESC’s local oval. Representing West Coast SESC on the day were 41 students, the most we have ever brought to a carnival! We split our students into 4 teams: one Division 1 team, two Division 2 teams and one Division 3 team. All of our teams played with heart and gave their maximum effort, showing great sportsmanship throughout the day. We managed to come home with one trophy for the Division 1 team. Well done, West Coast!

Our students showed a keen interest in Physical Education this term, and their efforts across both carnivals are commendable. Well done, West Coasters!

Ryan Koppl - PE Teacher

Landsdale Farm

Students and staff have had an amazing Term 3 working at Landsdale Farm. It has been a busy and productive time at the farm and our hardworking students (and staff!) have embraced every opportunity to help out.

It has been wonderful to see students from different classes and year groups come together to work enthusiastically and responsibly as a cohesive team on a wide variety of farm jobs. Our tasks have included landscaping, garden maintenance, clearing paddocks, sanding and oiling bird boxes. As well as gaining valuable experience in farm work, students also work collaboratively to help prepare a well-deserved BBQ lunch. We can’t wait for Term 4 at the farm!

Julie Day - Teacher

Area L

Area L students have had a busy Term 3 filled with lots of new and interesting activities.

Students attended the Athletics Carnival with Warwick SHS students in Week 6. They participated in lots of different activities of their choice, including running races, team sports, shot put and long jump among others things. Staff and students came to school dressed in their faction colours to show their support. Mrs Abbott even came to school wearing a multicoloured hat to show support for every faction!

We have been learning some Auslan signs as part of the newly established LOTE program at school. The focus is on learning signs for common feelings words, as well as the four Zones of Regulation colours (blue, green, yellow and red). We practise using these signs at least twice a day as part of our check in time. It is amazing how quickly the students have all picked up and remembered the signs! Impressively, they can even remember some of them without using the visual Auslan check in chart (photos below show some of the signs that we have learned).

Some of the year 10 students in Area L and Area H have been enrolled in a Certificate I in WPL course, provided by Activ Industries and taught every Tuesday at school. Students have been learning about safety signs and rules in the workplace, how to prepare for an interview and how talk to a Supervisor when they have a problem in the workplace. In Term 4 they will also be visiting the Activ Industries workshop in Bentley for a week. The photos below show students Elliot and Logan finding the evacuation map at school.

Year 10 students have also been working on finishing their Asdan Transition Challenge portfolio for moderation at the end of the year. We learned all about logos and their purpose and features. Using a choice board, students then chose a combination of colours, shapes, letters, numbers and objects (related to their interests) before sketching a draft design and finally creating it on the computer. For another activity, we found out the birthdays of our classmates, and asked them what things they liked before finding a hypothetical present for them online. For Mason, who likes listening to music, his classmate Deacon found him a pair of headphones.

Students have also been working hard in class on their IEP goals, completing related activities in Numeracy and Health classes.

Every Wednesday, we visit the school library so that students can return and borrow books to take home or read in class. They are getting really good at navigating the shelves to find their books of choice. Some students, like Ethan, are experts (he goes there at least every second day!). They have been practising their social skills, remembering to greet the librarian and say their name so the librarian can loan their books to them. Below is a photo of Ella finding some books to read on one of our library visits.

On Friday in week 9, Area L and H students had the opportunity to go on an excursion to the Western Australian Museum, Boola Bardip. We travelled there by coach and took part in a tour of the Aboriginal culture and history exhibits before going on their own, self-directed tour of other exhibits that were of interest to them.

Thanks for a great term everyone!

Christine Abbott
Teacher

Area K

Area K students had a busy Term 3 working on their goals. As a reward for all of their hard work, and to promote community participation and a fun learning experience, students enjoyed their day out on 14th September to Warwick Super Bowl. They displayed good sportsmanship and teamwork throughout the bowling activity. Students also ordered their meals and enjoyed their special treats. It was a fun-filled excursion!

Nimi Mammen Teacher

Book Week 2022

In week 6 of this term, we all decided to get involved with the annual Book Week festivities, as promoted by the Children's Book Council of Australia to highlight the importance of reading and encourage engagement with literature by young Australians.

This year’s theme was “Dreaming with eyes open...”, and staff and students had the opportunity to come to school in fancy dress, either linked with this theme or as their favourite book character. Both the staff and students were very eager to participate. Some were so enthusiastic that they even came to school dressed up a week too early. But that’s ok because we got to enjoy their costume twice! We saw various characters from all walks of life! From Harry Potter to Where’s Wally, Alice in Wonderland to Red Riding Hood, The Cat in the Hat to the Marvel universe, and so many more - too many to name all of them!

Some class and admin teams worked collaboratively to dress as characters from one story, with honorable mentions to Area K for their Red Riding Hood cast, and the office staff who dressed as characters from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. An honorable mention also goes to the “Ugly Stepsisters” Mr R and Mr Red. Ignore the name of your characters, you guys were dressed beautifully!

I look forward to finding out next year’s theme and seeing the ideas everyone comes up with!

Christine Abbott Literacy Coordinator

Council Meeting and Youth Forum

On Tuesday the 16th August, a small group of upper-school students had the opportunity to attend the City of Joondalup Council meeting and Youth Forum.
The Youth Forum was attended by 12 different schools with a total of 52 students in attendance. The forum was run by Sain Dzemail from “Insain Youth Services” and focussed on empowering young people to strive for a future that best benefits their goals. By learning to vocalise their own needs to local government groups, young people are enouraged to strive towards their desired future.

Our students were active members of the session, providing great responses and ideas to the open discussion, so much so that they all received gift vouchers from the organisers for their much-appreciated participation. Attending the Council Meeting was a fantastic opportunity for our students to observe the platform in which members of the public interact with Local Government to have their voices heard, and to familiarise themselves with the processes undertaken at these Council Meetings. Two of our students, Byron and Seth, prepared questions to ask of the council members at the beginning of the meeting during “questions from the public” time. This was a terrific opportunity for the students to see how a council is run and how the public is represented at the Local Government level.

We look forward to being invited to attend the next Council Meeting and Youth Forum in 2023!

Zachary Redknap Teacher

Sakura Festival

On Tuesday 6th September, students and staff celebrated the annual Japanese Sakura Festival. Students made an effort to dress up in Japanese-themed clothing and colours. During week 7, they participated in various Japanese culture-based activities in their respective classrooms to widen their knowledge and cultural awareness about Japan.

On the day of the event, the students were made aware of our Sister School association with Fukuyama-kita Special Support School, located in Hiroshima, Japan. Student-presenters shared their learnt knowledge about Japan’s art, technology and traditions through PowerPoints and read-outs. The winners of the collage competition were announced and the following classes bagged the prizes: 1st prize goes to Area A; 2nd prize goes to Area H; 3rd prize goes to Area J. The first, second, third prize class winners received a certificate and canteen food voucher worth $30, $20 and $10 respectively. All the other classes received a box of chocolates for putting in such a good effort.

The students enjoyed sushi, a warm cup of green tea and cool lemonade after the event. It was a beautiful day!

Nimi Mammen Teacher

Art and Enterprise

Term 3 has whizzed by in a flurry of activities. There have been pompoms galore, made in preparation for wreaths to sell at our end of year market. Students have been very enthusiastic when practising mastering a new ‘pompom making gadget’ and we are amassing lots of colourful pompoms!

In addition to the wreath preparations, our Enterprise classes have also been working on card making, dog toys, heat packs, bunting and trivet making in readiness for the market. Junior classes have been enjoying making wind chimes, kaleidoscopes and collages.

We are looking forward to an equally busy and productive term 4.

Gaye Yanev & Sue Kelly
Art & Enterprise

MiniLit

MiniLit is a literacy based program designed for students who require support via intensive tuition in reading and spelling. The program is offered in small groups of 4-5 students and occurs 4-5 times per week.

Each Lesson has 4 main components.
SOUNDS AND WORDS: During these activities students learn to pay attention to different sounds in words and they associate these with the letters of the alphabet.
TEXT READING: Students get to practise their new skills via small group reading of a book aimed at their current reading level. This is an important strategy to build their reading confidence.
STORY READING: Which involves the facilitator reading and discussing the story to improve the student's vocabulary and comprehension skills.
WRITING: Concentrating on punctuation, forming words and sentences, and hand writing skills before putting these skills together.

Our students have had a very successful year and have all worked amazingly hard together in class. I look forward to working with these students again next year and welcoming new students into this highly effective program.

Mrs Lindsey Parlitu
MiniLit Coordinator

TEACCH and Work Skills Classroom

What a term! Students have assembled 400 Delegate Bags for the WAECSSA Conference. With each bag having six items that needed to be inserted, it was a huge task, but one that all students really enjoyed.
As a thankyou, Mrs Barton and I were invited to the WAECSSA Gala Dinner at the Crown Ballroom.
The feedback from the organisers of the conference was amazing and they were so happy with the Delegate Bags.

We have also been making confetti from native leaves, or “leafetti” as Mrs Barton likes to call it.
Mrs Wenn's son is getting married soon and the students have been using shape punches and scissors to make the leafetti, which is environmentally neutral and biodegradable. The students will then measure it and fill small organza bags which will be handed out to guests at the wedding. It has been a relaxing and enjoyable job, with students and staff chatting while they work. We would like to do another wedding in Term 4 - if anyone would like us to make some 'leafetti' for them, please get in touch.

All students continue to make improvements with their independence and skills. We are looking forward to a fantastic Term 4.

Karen Woods and Kirsten Barton Education Assistants and TEACCH/Work Skills Coordinators

I.T. and Design & Technology

Construction This year at WCSESC we have started a new construction program. This program aims to encourage our students to recycle, reuse and reduce. We collected used pallets, broke them down and cleaned all the timber to make it into usable timber for outside projects like planters or benches etc.

Woodwork This term, our lower school students have been busy making wooden racing cars.

Computing We have been doing various interactive, online quizzes on technologies. This has been covering a variety of topics such as: the internet, hardware, software and what programs we use on our PCs. Our STEM Smart students have been designing Pixel art images and then making them into animations. All the class have signed up to Canva (online desktop publisher) and everyone had a go at making posters for Daffodil Day using this platform. There were some great posters created by the students. We also created Memes for the You Can Do It Competition.
Lisa Key Teacher