Newsletter - October 2020
- Principal's Message
- Download the Schoolzine app
- Who wants to be a Hero?
- Daffodil Day at West Coast
- Athletics Carnival
- Containers for Change
- Home Economics morning/afternoon teas
- School camps
- Drama
- School Ball
- What is the West Coast Nest?
- Fishability
- Fishability Progam 2020
- Japanese Sakura Festival
- Enterprise update
- Integrated Cricket League
- Bushfire Information
Principal's Message
I am delighted to be back at West Coast SESC after an extended period of leave. After a few days, I felt as though I had never been away but when I looked at the students I knew from before, I realized how much they have grown and how much time has passed! There are some new faces of course, both in students and in staff, and it has been lovely getting to know them. I have to say a massive thank-you to Mrs Kriziotis for looking after the school so well in my absence. She has done a wonderful job! I was also delighted to find that David Wilson is our new Board Chair and I look forward to working with him.
It has been a busy time since the last newsletter and we have celebrated some fantastic events which you will read about in this newsletter. The Japanese Sakura Festival is always a lovely event and I was thrilled that the cherry blossom trees – which were planted at Duncraig and transferred to here – had survived and were blooming. The Warwick SHS Athletics Carnival was an opportunity for us to integrate with the mainstream students and it was a lovely day. Students have been on camps and I must take the opportunity to thank staff, on your behalf, for volunteering to stay overnight to supervise students. Without their goodwill, these camps could not occur. Senior students attended the Warwick SHS Ball recently and I would like to thank Jen Cahill for hosting a fabulous pre-ball party and Mandy Ault, who arranged the limousine for the students to travel there and back in. Again a big thank you to staff who came to the pre-ball and/ or attended the Ball to support the students and especially to Mrs Lester, who organizes everything for our students and Mr Yanev, who took fabulous pre-ball and foreshore photographs.
Mrs Gill organized a series of Fishability outings this term and students loved learning to fish. The volunteers who worked with our students were fantastic and we really appreciate their time and effort. We also recently held the WADSA Carnival and staff and students from Cyril Jackson Senior Campus ESC came over to join us. Some parents and family members came along to watch the students compete in races and other events. Mr Koppl did a grand job of organizing everything and Mr Glover put his BBQ skills to good use to cater for everyone with a sausage sizzle.
The rest of this term will fly past and it will soon be time for our whole Centre, End of Year Assembly where we will celebrate all of our students – and especially the ones who are leaving us. It will be held on Wednesday 2nd December, and letters will be sent home to all families and carers giving details. The Leavers also have a farewell breakfast with their teachers and this year that will be held on Monday 30th November. Again, details will be sent out to families and carers. Our annual Xmas Market will be held in our Conference Room on Wednesday 25th November and a wide range of beautiful items, produced by the students under the guidance of Mrs Yanev and Mrs Kelly, will be on sale. We will welcome some new Year 6 students for Transition days this term and I am really looking forward to meeting them all. The last two weeks of term will see some students attend swimming lessons and before we know it, it will be the summer holidays. Time just flies!
I have loved seeing parents, carers and families since I have returned to work and I encourage you all to pop in or to call me if you have any questions.
Best wishes to all
Carol Clarke
Principal
Download the Schoolzine app
You may have noticed that our newsletter has taken on a new look! This newsletter is the second newsletter that we have produced using the Schoolzine platform. Newsletters will be coming out twice-termly.
As part of this platform, we would also like to introduce you to the SZapp Mobile Application.
This app is going to be a fantastic tool for communicating and making information available to our School community. On the SZapp you will find the lastest Newsletter (plus previous newsletters), view the School Calendar, call the school office directly and visit our Website.
The SZapp is free to download and is available for both Android and iOS devices. Join us today!
Who wants to be a Hero?
In collaboration with the Disabled Children's Foundation we are proud to launch the Hero Campaign and invite you to become a fundraising hero for West Coast Secondary Education Support Centre.
You could win a share in $20,000! whilst also supporting West Coast. Please click on the link below to be taken through to the West Coast fundraising page. Tickets are $3.00 each and each ticket returns $2.00 to our Centre.
Ticket purchases are open until COB Tuesday 1st December. The raffle will be drawn the following day on Wednesday 2nd December.
Daffodil Day at West Coast
On the 26th August at West Coast Secondary Education Support Centre celebrated Daffodil Day. Daffodil Day is a day that people get together to raise money for research to find a cure for all types of cancers.
Area G planned the whole event from start to finish. In class we discussed options of how we could raise money for the Cancer Council. We decided to have a morning tea where everyone got dressed up in yellow. Along with this idea it was decided to run a few competitions. The competitions were to guess how many popcorn were in the jar, best dressed and an art competition.
The winner of the popcorn competition was Mrs Kriziotis. The winners for the best dressed male were Seth (Area F) and Jared (Area A). The winner for the best dressed female was Isabella (Area C). The winner for the best dressed class was Area E who had gone to the effort to design matching t-shirts. The winners for best dressed staff were Miss Hayley and Miss Tamra. The winner of the art competition was Area B who designed and created a flower pot of daffodils with an inspirational poem attached.
On the day, Mathew was assigned the job as the head photographer and took some amazing shots. Ami, Chevy, Claire, Miss Bailey, Mrs Robyn and Miss Graham served the food and took money from the staff and students. Isaiah was instrumental in setting up the decorations and dismantling them.
On the day we sold cupcakes, lemon slice, rice bubble slice, lemonade and energy balls (all home made by Area G and West Coast students) along with Daffodil Day merchandise - pens, magnets, keyrings and badges. After Daffodil Day, Area G developed a survey asking all of the classes what they thought of the day and the planning. We had positive feedback from all of the classes. They enjoyed watching Mr Red shave his head as he was also raising money for cancer research!
The total amount of money we raised was $367.50.
By Chevy and Claire
Area G
Athletics Carnival
On the 16th September, whilst middle and upper school students were at camp, our lower school students participated in the Athletics Carnival with Warwick SHS. Due to the event occurring on the same week as our school camps, middle and upper school students missed this carnival. The lower school participated in both track and field events including sprints, long jump, tug of war and novelty games. Our students were able to wear a colour on the day, supporting their faction and providing points to their team through participation and effort.
In the weeks leading up to the carnival, our students used their physical education lessons to prepare for each of the athletic events. By the time carnival day arrived, our students had a good understanding of the rules and objectives of each event.
Our students did West Coast proud by participating and trying their best in all of their events. A special mention to Elliot, Ethan and Mikayla who won one or more events on the day. It was a great integration of West Coast and Warwick SHS and we cannot wait for the athletics carnival next year!
Mr Ryan Koppl
Physical Education Teacher
Containers for Change
Home Economics morning/afternoon teas
In Term 3 Mrs Hipgrave and Mrs Weaver hosted class morning/afternoon teas, and invited their class teachers and administration staff from both Warwick SHS and West Coast. All students who participated enjoyed sitting with their classmates and socialising with each other.
School camps
For the first time, West Coast SESC Bush Rangers Camps were held consecutively at Swan Valley Adventure Centre in Week 9 Term 3 and each camp was a huge success. The rolling camps provided a logistical challenge for the Bush Rangers Committee; however, everything went off without a hitch. Thank you to Mr Redknap and the Bush Rangers Committee for their outstanding planning, organisation, and camp delivery. All students arrived to school and went off to camp, eager and enthusiastic to take part in the range of activities on offer during their camp, inclusive of Team Building Challenge, Commando Course, Flying Fox, Possum Glider, Black Out Zone and Archery. The catering was delicious, and we dined on lasagne, burgers, full cooked breakfast, and meat and salad rolls to name just a few things on the menu. The cadets and staff certainly didn’t go hungry. The cadets were all well behaved and were a credit to the Centre, their family and themselves. Camps bring out the best in our students- they encourage and support their peers without hesitation and are willing to try new experiences within their capabilities. We are continually amazed at our cadets and their strength, determination and tenacity to achieve individual goals. We are truly privileged to see the cadets take safe risks in a supportive environment, growing in confidence and blossoming as individuals. So much fun was had by everyone on each camp with fears overcome, big and small goals achieved, friendships formed and maintained, and memories made that will last a lifetime. A big thank you to all the staff who were involved, either beforehand or during the camp, especially the night staff who forgave precious family time to ensure it was a smooth and successful camp for all the cadets involved. We now set our sights on planning the 2021 West Coast Bush Rangers Camps. Stay tuned for details early next year!
Bush Rangers Committee
Drama
This month in Drama students have been learning about the rules of improvisation and how these can help them improve their Dramatic practices and affect the way in which they approach opportunities and obstacles in everyday life. Students have combined the use of “Yes, and,” with narrative structure, positive thinking and teamwork strategies to create improvised performances and participate in a range of drama games, including MacGyver, Roll a Role, Change the Channel, and Opening Lines.
It has been great to see students developing their confidence and creativity, with some great character actors and comedians keeping us rolling in the aisle all term! Well done team!
Mrs Tara Murphy
Drama Teacher
School Ball
Staff and students alike enjoyed a wonderful evening at the 2020 School Ball which took place at the Pan Pacific Hotel.
West Coast SESC staff, students attending the School Ball and their families were invited to attend a pre ball party which was hosted by Jen Cahill, Holly Fewster’s Mum. The house was decorated beautifully and delicious food was available to enjoy. We had access to the garden where some exceptional photographs were taken. We would like to thank Jen for her hospitality and making the night extra special for our students. We would also like to thank Mandy Ault and Vicky Turner for organising the Limousine for the night. What a spectacle seeing our students walk the red carpet and step into the most glamorous vehicle we have ever seen at our School Ball. Students were then transported to Elizabeth Quay to have more photographs taken by Steve Yanev. Thank you Steve for supporting this event and taking some amazing shots.
All of our students were well turned out, the girls so elegant and the boys looking so smart. Most of the evening was spent on the dance floor between eating the most delightful food.
Staff and students voted on the night for different categories and prizes were awarded to Holly Fewster for Best Dressed Female, Ayden Ault for Best Dressed Male and Ball Personality of the Year went to Bella Sonneman-Smith.
What is the West Coast Nest?
Perhaps you have noticed over the last few terms, our conference room has been transforming into a sea of branches, post-it notes, drawings and suggestions. It’s all part of a process we’ve called the "West Coast Nest", it’s a way we’ve been trying to find out what it is that makes our school great, what we value as a learning community and how we can continue to embed our values into everything we do. The aim is to find the ‘stories’ of our school, and we have done this by gathering information through surveys, observations and interviews across the school. Under the guidance of the crew at “No Tosh” and WAESPAA, our ‘Nest’ committee has been putting all our findings together to develop a document that we feel reflects our school. Recently we took part in an expo at Pan Pacific, where our group had the opportunity to discuss our findings with other schools, to determine a way forward with our project. We look forward to sharing our outcomes with everyone and invite you all to contribute your own West Coast stories to our nest.
The West Coast Nest Committee
Fishability
Area B, G and H’s 5-week course with “Fishability: Fishers with Disabilities”
On a sunny Thursday in August, students from Area B, G and H started their 5 week fishing course with the amazing volunteers from “Fishability: Fishers with Disabilities”. We met at Hillary’s jetty to find all of our fishing rods laid out (socially distanced), already baited and ready to go. After an informative briefing provided by the Fishability Coordinator, we were ready to start. The first session was so exciting. I don’t think any of us really expected to catch a fish……but EVERYONE caught fish and some even caught up to 7 fish! There were hoorays and woo-hoos up and down the jetty as students kept catching fish all afternoon! The volunteers told us that the fish we were catching were “Puffer Fish”, and that they are an important part of the ecosystem as they eat all the rotten stuff that sinks to the bottom and they help keep the waterways clean. Whilst we could not eat or keep the Puffer fish, we were shown how to carefully return them back to the water unharmed.
Each week the students developed more confidence and learnt new skills such as, flicking over the bailer arm, winding the line in, baiting their own hooks, casting the line, releasing the fish and even tying some fishing knots!! Our last 2 fishing sessions with Fishability were held at the beautiful Garratt’s Rd Bridge in Bayswater and at Jo Jo’s Jetty in Nedlands. It was easy to see the difference in the students' abilities, from the first week, where most students needed lots of help - to the last weeks, where the students were independently baiting their own hooks, casting the line into the water and winding up the line themselves. Special congratulations goes to those students who challenged themselves trying something new: whether it was catching a fish, first time casting the line or first time tying a fishing knot.
Fishability surprised us each week with prizes and awards for achievements such as “first time fishing”, “longest cast”, “most fish caught” and “trying something new”. On our final day Fishability awarded prizes to Mathew and Aaron for being the “Most Improved Fishers” and to Charlotte and Shenaye for being the “Most Consistent and Independent Fishers”.
A big thanks to the West Coast staff that also learnt how to bait hooks and release fish – and also went home smelling of bait and fish each Thursday! Another big thanks to the students for giving fishing a go!! I think everyone enjoyed themselves and certainly became more confident about their fishing skills. A final big thank you to the Fishability volunteers who generously and patiently helped and encouraged us to learn these new skills.
If you or your son/daughter would like to fish with Fishability please see their website https://fishability.org.au/ for dates and locations where they provide fishing equipment and bait for people with disabilities to use (Hillarys is part of Perth North Jetty).
As they say in fishing- wishing you all “tight lines”.
Mrs Katie Gill
Area H Teacher
Fishability Progam 2020
Japanese Sakura Festival
With the ease of COVID restrictions, we were able to organize our Term III’s Cultural Studies celebration of Japanese Sakura Festival on the 21st September. It is the time of the year when we commemorate our school’s relationship with our Sister School in Hiroshima, Japan.
A number of students livened up the day by dressing up in Japanese colours and kimonos. During P3 and P4, students participated and listened about their Sister School, Fukuyama-kita Special Support School, Hiroshima. Certain students from the Lower and Upper School did a great job of welcoming everyone with some enriching thoughts and presented interesting facts about Japan. After the presentation, the students enjoyed the Japanese culture of picnicking near Cherry Blossom trees and enjoyed sushi, green tea and lemonade. Over the week, they also engaged in learning some common Japanese language dialogues and phrases.
A spectacular Japanese spring experience by the students for the students.
We witnessed exceptional photography skills from our students who took amazing shots of the Spring Festival.
Mrs Nimi Mammen
Cultural Studies Coordinator
Enterprise update
Upper school students have been busy in our “Santa’s Workshop” in the Readshaw Room. Students have been making and creating some beautiful products to sell in our upcoming Christmas Market.
* Save the date – Wednesday 25th November, week 7 *
More details to follow closer to the date.
Mrs Sue Kelly and Mrs Gaye Yanev
Art and Enterprise
Integrated Cricket League
Wembley Districts Junior Cricket Club (WDJCC) are seeking enthusiastic and passionate cricketers of all abilities to come and give cricket a go for the 2020/2021 season.
The Club is supportive and inclusive about sharing the love of cricket in a fun, pressure free environment. Ask Shelly how you can become part of the team!
Bushfire Information
Bushfires happen every summer. They usually start suddenly and without any warning. As West Coast is a designated bushfire prone area, bushfires are a real risk to our students and staff, our school buildings and grounds.
The Department of Education (the Department) is committed to maximising the safety of its students and staff. West Coast SESC is on the Bushfire Zone Register. Inclusion on this register means that the school may be required to invoke a pre-emptive closure on a day for which a Catastrophic Fire Danger Rating (FDR) has been declared for. A Catastrophic FDR means that if a fire starts, it is likely to be uncontrollable, unpredictable and fast moving.
What does this mean for our school?
When given advance warning by the Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) that a Catastrophic FDR has been forecast for a given day, the Deputy Director General, may direct the pre-emptive closure of schools. If the school receives such a directive, you will be informed of the possible planned closure by a letter sent home with your child. Parents of students absent on the day this letter is sent home will be contacted by telephone, so please ensure the school has up to date contact details for you. In the intervening period between the declaration of the pre-emptive closure and the day of planned closure, DFES will keep the Department of Education informed of any change to the FDR forecast for the declared day. The final decision to pre-emptively close the school will be confirmed with the Principal no later than 4.30pm on the day before the planned closure.
If the forecast changes after that deadline, the closure will stand, regardless of improvements to the weather conditions later in the afternoon of the day before the planned closure or overnight. The intention is to limit confusion or uncertainty for parents and to allow you ample time to make alternative child care arrangements. Parents will be advised of the confirmation of closure, or its reversal, by a note sent home with your child on the day before the planned closure. Again, parents of students absent on this day will be contacted by telephone.
How will I know when the school is reopening?
It is anticipated that the school will typically only be required to close for a single day at a time, however this will depend on the weather. The school website will contain a notice to advise you of the current status of the school closure and when it is expected to reopen. I ask that you monitor local media for current information about fire danger ratings and notification of schools reopening. Staying tuned to ABC Local Radio in your locality is advisable. You can also check with DFES on 13 DFES (13 33 37) or www.dfes.wa.gov.au and Emergency WA website: www.emergency.wa.gov.au.
Alternatively, you can call the school on 9345 6600 or Regional Education Office on 9285 3600.
Questions? Please contact the school if you have any questions about planned closures during the bushfire season.