warnbro chs education support centre news

Year 8 Bell class with their Lego f gures

WARNBRO CHS EDUCATION SUPPORT CENTRE

| 2020NEWS Term 3

Dates to Remember OctoberMonday 12th - Students Return for Term 4

Monday 19th - Friday 23rd - Book Week

Monday 26th - Year 12 Valedictory

Friday 30th - World Teacher Day

NovemberMonday 2nd - Friday 6th - Workplace Learning Week

Tuesday 10th - Year 6 Transition Luncheon

Monday 30th - Friday 4th - Workplace Learning Week

DecemberThursday 3rd - Year 10 Rivercruise

Tuesday 8th - Christmas Markets

Thursday 17th - Students Last Day Term 4

| WARNBRO CHS ESC NEWS

News from our Principal

Dear Families

Term 3 has continued with the theme that we have experienced throughout 2020 - “adapting to change”. In order to adapt to change, we have been doing things differently (flexibly), persevering through challenges while remaining positive about possibilities.

These skills have transferred across different contexts, though are beneficial for life. For example, our Year 9 students have participated in The Big Plan - a person-centred planning process that provides our students with the opportunity to explore their future, and remain positive about the possibilities ahead. For our Year 12 students, their time in school is ending and will now need to consider the challenges they may experience once they leave. Our future Year 7 students are also beginning their transition, where they are exploring the differences between primary and high school.

We continue “adapting to change” to maintain our health and safety due to COVID-19. The WA Department of Health is monitoring the situation and we act on their advice. As a school, we are continuing to maintain our current cleaning regime in Term 4, practising physical distancing, good hygiene, and recommending staff and students to stay home if experiencing flu-like symptoms.

In regards to leadership within our school, there have also been changes this year. Originally, Kim McCollum had been chosen to work on the COVID-19 Support Team and has been in the role since the end of Term 1. As a result, I have been Acting Principal and Scott Beattie has been acting Middle School Deputy. I now wish to advise that Kim has taken a two-year contract in the role of Director of Public School Review. Due to the length of time that Kim will be away from the school, her position will now be advertised and a selection process will be required for the role. We will be notified of the result of the process by the end of Term 4, and this will be shared with all once a decision has been made by the Department of Education.

I wish all your children a nice break, and look forward to seeing them on Monday the 12th of October to commence their final term in 2020.

Marianne ManganoActing Principal


Notes from MS Deputy

Wow, what a busy term it has been for Middle School!

Our Year 9 students have been working hard to adapt to changes as their classroom environment has been altered, but all are doing a great job. This group of students are also participating in the Big Plan program every Tuesday afternoon and it has been great to see so many parents and other family members coming in to support their child. The Big Plan looks to highlight dreams and focusses for the future, for each of the students as an individual, and it is great to see the thinking that has gone into each activity.

In the last few weeks we have also seen our Year 7 and Year 8 classes present Community Time. These have been the first opportunities we have all had to get together face to face since COVID-19, so it has been an exciting time for all. The presenting classes all did a great job and we hope it isn’t long before we are finally out of Phase 4 restrictions and are able to cater for parents to attend once again!

The Year 7’s also completed their final immunisations, and although scary, they all approached it like true champions and we are very proud of them all - just as we are of the Year 9 students who have been having a go at the OLNA and doing incredibly well.

I have also been lucky enough to spend time in all six of our Middle School classrooms and have been completely blown away by the work that students are doing. There are so many highlights, including a plethora of great ideas coming through as classes prepare for the Bendigo Bank competition to improve our local community, some amazing helicopters in Science experiments, and of course some really exciting work around Digital Technology in the classrooms.

In Week 6 we also started our Year 6 to 7 transition, with students from feeder Primary Schools in our area who have enrolled at Warnbro for next year making their first visits.

I was thrilled to meet this great bunch of students, and staff will continue to work with them right into term four as we familiarise them with the High School setting and support them to prepare for exactly what a day in High School will look like!

A big thankyou once again to all our staff who do such an amazing job working with our students.

Acting MS Deputy Scott Beattie


Cowan 7

The year has continued extremely well for students in Class Cowan. Although Term 3 has seen a change to teaching staff, the students have demonstrated an admirable ability to adjust to these changes, and we are very proud of their attitudes and achievements. As an example of their

flexibility and courage, the Cowan Year 7 students recently led their first ever Community Time Assembly at High School, and feedback on this event was very positive.

Our newest students are quickly progressing through Year 7, and the growth in their personal skills and understanding of the role they play in progressing their learning is visible and inspiring.

This term we have expanded on our abilities in all learning areas, including practicing and enhancing our skills of problem solving in Mathematics. Focusing mostly on learning about place value, using money, and number bond addition, students have worked hard to expand their understanding of these core maths concepts.

Class Cowan has also explored their understanding of Physical Science with looking at how things move. The class created their own helicopters out of paper, and investigated what would happen to its flight if the helicopter design was changed.

It has been a fantastic start to second Semester, and we look forward to the remainder of Year 7.

Stanley 7

In Protective Behaviours, Stanley students have been learning about feelings and our personal strengths. We have discussed the many amazing qualities that each of us has, and created some exciting work to express these. This included an acrostic poem to describe ourselves using the letters of our name, and a rap including things we like and are good at.

We have also been creative in Maths while practising our skip counting. This skill helps us count money by different increments. Our favourite way to practice this is to play Buzz, where we count around a circle until someone says the ‘buzz’ number, which means they sit down.


Forrest 8

Term Three is well underway and we have been very busy in the Forrest classroom. Some highlights of the term include a magnificent presentation of Community Time – the very first one LIVE after the COVID-19 restrictions were put in place during Term 2. Students showed great perseverance, overcoming obstacles such as technical glitches and last minute nerves, to deliver a stellar performance in the Sambrook Theatre. Another highlight has been a new addition to our class community, and we are very pleased to welcome Jayden. Students have also been enjoying extending their reading repertoires through weekly visits to the Library and our class novel study of Roald Dahl’s humorous book, ‘The Twits’.

We have also had a lot of fun with our Maths unit this term, which has been all about ‘Metric Measurement’. Students have been engaged in deep, rich learning by participating in a number of hand-on activities, exploring and measuring length, weight and mass, and capacity. One particularly fun activity was our ‘Paper Planes Tournament’, where students tested the aerodynamic validity of their paper plane designs by measuring whose plane could travel the greatest distance.

As we head into the home stretch towards the school holidays, students will be very busy completing units of work and consolidating previous learning. Well done to Forrest students for all your efforts this term - keep up the good work.

Bell 8

This term, Bell has been looking at persuasive writing. Students started off the topic by looking at differing opinions on subjects while playing a game of “Disagree or Agree”. This helped us to identify why we might use persuasive writing.

We then looked at the structure of a persuasive text and why it is important to follow - in order to make it convincing enough to change a person’s opinion. This included using emotive language, or what the students liked to call “strong words”, because they make you feel strongly about something.

Students were then given opportunities to practise using their skills using the persuasive text structures. They had to try and convince each other to change the opinions that they had stated during the “Disagree or Agree” game at the start of term.

For the rest of term, students will now focus on creating a persuasive text piece for their Bendigo Bank presentation.


Yagan 9

This term the Year 9s revisited handwashing processes that keep us all safe. This was a really fun activity - using gloves and pink paint to show that we need to be very purposeful when washing our hands, especially to make sure the soap reaches all areas and can wash germs and bacteria away.

As a class, we often talk through events and news that is in the media. Sometimes these current affairs confuse us and even scare us a bit.

Some questions we talk about are: How could the virus come to Western Australia? Would our school close again? Would we need to do online learning again?

With all these questions, the Year 9s keep themselves updated with technology by working regularly in Connect and using more computer or iPad-based tasks in their learning. So, as well as advancing our IT skills, the students will be prepared for home schooling if needed.

Well done Year 9s - you are great role models.


Yr 10 Deputy

What an exciting term it has been for the Year 10 students. After a bumpy start to the year with a lot of workplace excursions cancelled and home-learning required due to COVID-19, the Year 10’s hit the ground running this term and quickly applied their class-based learning to the workplace. In Week 4 and 8, students showed courage and perseverance as they had their first experience of Workplace Learning. The school has been very proud of how positive and willing to learn they have been throughout this process, and we look forward to seeing how they continue to develop during Workplace Learning in Term 4.

The Year 10 students also showed incredible leadership this term through the Little Buddy-Big Buddy program, where they hosted students from Endeavour Primary Schools and showed them around our school in preparation for transition. We were very impressed with our Year 10s positive attitudes, which will no doubt contribute to further success as they move through Senior School.

I have also been lucky to start getting to know the Year 9 students who have been engaging in The Big Plan this term. The Year 9 cohort have all been keen to explore the next stage of their schooling, and have openly shared their hopes and dreams for the future. I cannot wait to work with them all further for their official transition in Term 4 and into next year as they start their Senior School journey.

Yr 10 Deputy Kelly Stevens


Business

Term 3 has been incredibly busy for our Year 10 Business Class.

We have welcomed a new student to our classroom who is sharing her knowledge of AUSLAN with the class. We have been learning greetings, feelings, animals, the alphabet and colours. We use colours and animals in our Morning Meeting groups.

The students have been working hard on their Business Certificate I assessments, and are on track to successfully achieve this by the end of the year.

During Enterprise, we are encouraging students to speak more naturally and conversationally. This is to build their confidence and connection when collecting jobs for the classroom business. They have been a little nervous, not reading from a script, but each week it is becoming a little easier.

Our Work Place Learning weeks were a huge success. The feedback from staff and supervisors was extremely positive - we are absolutely thrilled with their commitment and attitude. Our students are looking forward to more of these opportunities as they progress through Senior School.


Notes from Senior School Deputy

One of the wonderful things about being the Senior School Deputy is seeing our senior school students transition into confident, mature young adults. We recently had the pleasure of seeing this in action during the students’ participation in Workplace Learning. This term, students in years 10 to 12 participated in their first week blocks of work experience for the year. The students represented their school proudly, demonstrating courage to try new things, and always acting with respect and kindness towards others. Our students experienced how they can contribute to their community and developed transferable skills that will assist them in their future lives.

Term 3 has been particularly busy for our Year 12 students who have been completing their Vocational and ASDAN courses by the reporting deadlines. The Year 12 students are to be commended for the resilience they have demonstrated throughout this uncertain year. Despite the challenges and changes faced, they have remained focused, organised and determined. Their successes and achievements will be celebrated with the school during the Farewell Community Time in Week 10.

SS Deputy Hannah Stoneham


General Education for Adults

This term the Adult Education class were excited to be able to get their working gear on for the first round of Workplace Learning this year. It was amazing to see the students get involved and give 100% effort towards their work tasks – many developing skills in completely new areas. All students successfully completed a number of days in the workplace and used the experience to explore and evaluate work environments that might be of interest in the future. Despite a downturn in some industries, the students were able to gain experience working in landscaping, gardening, childcare, hospitality, fast food, a supermarket and education. Everyone used the opportunity to fine tune their customer service skills ready to resume our class Enterprise business in the coming weeks.


Hospitality

Students have continued to blow us away with their growing confidence while running the class coffee enterprise, “Dream Bean”. Each week students take drink orders from staff across the Education Support Centre and Mainstream, before using the espresso machine to make a range of delicious hot beverages.

It has been very pleasing to see our students display flexibility and resilience during Enterprise, particularly as they have faced the challenge of running our business from different locations depending on the weather – using the Coffee Cart in the courtyard on sunny days, to the Classroom Café set up during inclement weather. Learning to work in varied environments and utilising different equipment and procedures provides our students with valuable skills which will put them in good stead for future workplaces.

Our class not only takes responsibility to run the practical side of an enterprise, but are also involved in completing administrative duties, which includes calculating profits and following banking procedures. Students enjoy estimating their takings for the week, before processing EFTPOS receipts and cash takings. Across the school, staff have been thrilled to see the students step up and take ownership over the Enterprise, which has seen them rewarded with wonderful positive feedback from customers.

Students were also able to get back out and into the community this term, having the opportunity to expand their experiences and put their skills into practice within a range of workplace settings, including retail, hospitality, automotive, horticulture and animal care. Many of our students seized the challenge to step out of their comfort zone and into new work places, with a number attending independently!

Hospitality students should be proud of the growth and maturity they have demonstrated during Term 3!


Directions Class

The Directions Class have been learning valuable life skills in a safe and nurturing environment.

Pictured here, our students are cooking a variety of food including healthy burgers, sausage rolls, sandwiches and omelettes. All students demonstrated great skills working independently and working together as a team, along with learning about safety in the kitchen and home.

Our students are also pictured here showcasing their skills and some of the techniques they have been learning on their Painting and Decorating course at TAFE. The students have been very safety-conscious in all aspects of their work, as well as enjoying the social interactions with students from other local schools.

Here, the Year 13 students are helping out at Chorus by valeting three vehicles during Workplace Learning. Chorus is a company that enables seniors and those with disabilities and mental health conditions to live the life they choose in their home and community. Our students are supporting Chorus by volunteering weekly, learning leadership, teamwork and safety skills, along with health and hygiene procedures.

Horticulture and Construction

It has been an adventurous term for the Year 11 and 12 Horticulture and Construction students as they have ventured out into the workplace during Workplace Learning. From the planning stages in our career lessons, students have developed positive skills in communicating well with others, asking questions and following instructions. These have then been actioned in the work place as we began filling shelves in Woolworths and IGA, stocking up the new clothes at Good Sammy’s and leading the horses around the yard at Horse Power.

The feedback from the employers was fantastic as the students represented themselves and the school extremely well. They were very respectful, responsible and did their best as they worked very hard throughout the week. And it is not far

off with Week 8 coming around again that the students will be out and about at Workplace Learning again.

“Potatoes, Potatoes, Potatoes” have been harvested by the Horticulture students and they have grown a huge amount in the school garden. Some have been seeded and are ready in the ground to grow even more whilst the larger potatoes are going to be used by the students to learn to make homemade potato wedges.


Sport & Leisure

Sport

In Sport this term the students have been putting the final touches on their ASDAN portfolios ready for submission. Students from the Adult Education class have been to the Children’s Forest in Baldivis and engaged in a bushwalking/bush photography session. Students in Horticulture/Construction and Hospitality have been on an excursion to the Warnbro Shopping Centre to buy ingredients for a healthy meal recipe they created. This excursion required the students to budget and use money handling skills. The students have worked extremely well this term and should be proud of their efforts.

Leisure

In Leisure the students have been looking at “Collections”. They have researched different things people like to collect and have identified the different equipment required for particular collections. The students were instructed to think about some of their own collections, which included items like snow globes, video games, crystals, books and DVDs. They then created a Powerpoint Presentation showing where to acquire the items for the collection, where the collection can be stored safely and any special equipment required for the collection. The students showed great interest in this topic, and should be commended for their persistence with some of the difficult aspects of the subject.

Visual Art

It has been a busy and enjoyable time within Visual Arts this term. Students have had the time to consolidate and apply their learning of art concepts and skills, and to create some really exciting and visually beautiful works of art.

A focus area of learning this term has been the ‘medium of collage’. Collage, as an art form, has been around since the invention of paper. It is described as ‘gluing various materials onto a flat surface’. Japanese poets created collages way back in the 10th Century, when they glued paper onto their hand written poems. Fast-forwarding to the 18th and 19th centuries, a popular pastime of young ladies was to keep a secret diary containing their innermost thoughts and feelings. By gluing keepsakes such as flowers and letters onto the diary pages, they would create a collection of memories in collage form. In the 1900s, Henri Matisse made the art form of collage famous. When illness struck and he was no longer able to paint, Matisse took an enormous pair of scissors to reams of coloured paper, and created his series of collage artwork he called ‘Cut-Outs’. Today, Matisse’s ‘Cut-Outs’ are worth millions of dollars, and are exhibited in art galleries all over the world.

In Art, students channelled their inner Matisse to design and create beautiful, colourful collages using geometric and organic shapes, and complementary colour combinations. Students showed perseverance and resilience working through the difficulties of using scissors to create the shapes, and the end results were impressive. Students engaged with the stories of Greek mythology to develop their own visual interpretation of the myth of ‘Icarus’. The results for both activities were spectacular. The final activity in this unit saw students apply their learning of collage with refined fine motor skills to create beautiful cityscapes in the vein of ‘Sun and Castle’ by Paul Klee.

Well done to all the ‘Artists in Residence’ in Middle School.


Literacy

The Art of listening “Pay attention!” “Now get this!” “Open your ears!” “Listen!”

Facts about listening:

• Around 45 % of total real-life communication involves listening.

• Attentive listening is a skill; practice this skill often and it will become easier for you.

Attentive listening behaviours:

• Be patient while you listen by allowing the person to finish what they are saying.

• Don’t interrupt while the other person is speaking.

• Adjust your body language to be open and friendly with attention directed at the person talking.

• Avoid distraction; stay focused on what the person is saying.

• Show interest by asking questions to clarify what has been said.

You’ll know someone isn’t listening when they:

• Interrupt you in the middle of a sentence.

• Look at you but don’t acknowledge anything that you said.

• Change the subject suddenly.

• Talk over you as you are talking.

Let’s all aim to be better listeners!

Literacy Coordinator Belinda Tomlins


Numeracy

The Term 3 focus in Mathematics has included a range of topics across the school, including a specific focus on Number, Measurement and Geometry. Below you will see some examples of the amazing learning going on in our Year 7 classes to achieve these outcomes:

Students in Cowan 7 using objects and number sentences to show part-part-whole addition.

Students in Stanley 7 representing written money amounts using notes and coins.

Students in Stanley 7 consolidating their learning about money using Paul Swan’s games and the interactive whiteboard.

Tips for home:

When discussing number knowledge with your child at home, consider representing ideas with both objects and a written problem. For example, if you are explaining how you have two lemon trees and five rose bushes to water, with a total of seven plants, you could point to the objects, draw a pictorial representation and write it as a number sentence. Seeing the same problem represented in different ways helps support conceptualisation and understanding.


Therapy Dog

This term we been lucky enough to have a Therapy Dog start at our school. Shamus is a four-year-old Irish Setter, who is specially trained to work with students - meaning he will not jump up, lick or approach the students if they are not ready for him.

Shamus is always accompanied by his trainer Lea, and it has been a pleasure welcoming them into our school.

It is important for us to note that therapy dogs are not service dogs. A service dog is an assistance dog that focuses on its owner to the exclusion of all others. Service dogs are trained to provide specific support for individuals with disabilities, such as visual or hearing difficulties, seizure disorders, mobility challenges, and/or diabetes.

The role of therapy dogs however is to react and respond to people and their environment, under the guidance and direction of their owner. For example, an individual might be encouraged to gently pat or talk to a dog to teach sensitive touch and help them be calm.

Research has shown that animal-assisted therapy can:

• teach empathy and appropriate interpersonal skills,

• help individuals develop social skills,

• be soothing when in an escalated state,

• improve individual’s skills to pick up social cues imperative to human relationships, and

• allow students to see how their behaviour can affect others.

Since being in our classrooms, we have already seen the different Shamus can make, with teachers already reporting a difference:

“Shamus visited us on Thursday morning, and straight away he called the attention of one very tired and grumpy student. Within the first five minutes of his visit, our classroom climate has gone from tired and slow to happy and active.” – Year 9

“We had Shamus is our class yesterday, and he instantly lifted the spirits in our class.” - Year 11/12

“We had a rather tricky task with technology not responding the way we wanted. When the first tears appeared Shamus was right there - gentle and willing to distract, redirect and help students to settle back into the green zone. It was fantastic to see how his gentle approach helped all students to achieve this task despite all obstacles.” - Year 9

“What a fantastic classroom helper. Shamus, you are a star!” - Year 7

Shamus and Lea will continue to visit the school on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

WARNBRO DAY 2020!!

PAGE 17 | WARNBRO CHS ESC NEWS


Family Liaison Officer

One of the main tasks as Family Liaison Officer is helping families with Centrelink payments. I assist parents with the paperwork for Carers Allowance, Carers Payment, Disability Support Pension and Pensioner Education Supplement.

I would like to take this opportunity to focus on the Disability Support Pension.

When a student turns 16 and they meet the eligibility requirements (e.g. Australian Citizen, Disability Diagnosis), they can apply for the Disability Support Pension.

As the Parent/Carer, there is an additional form to be filled to make you an authority on their account. This can be until they turn 18, 21 or indefinitely. You will need to supply a copy of Photo ID to go with the form.

There is a lot of information required in order to complete the application.

Students will need:

- 100 points of ID (e.g.: Australian Birth Certificate, Medicare card, Student card),

- An Australian Bank Account in their own name, and

- An Australian Tax File Number.

This is the link to apply for the Tax File Number: https://identityservice.auspost.com.au/ato/landing

Once completed, you can print off or save a copy to your phone, and apply in person at any Australia Post Office. Your child will need to be present with you, and will need their 100 points of ID.

Please contact me on [email protected] if you would like to book an appointment to complete these forms, or if you have any other questions relating to Centrelink.

Family Liaison OfficerTeresa Nvota

Wellbeing

This term we have launched a new attendance reward for our students. After achieving 100% attendance over a two-week period, students will be offered a warm milo at recess or lunch. The milo is served in our fancy, re-usable travel mugs, and has proven to be a big hit with students!

The reward is to encourage students to improve their attendance and recognise those students who are consistently present at school.

Amanda BakeYouth Worker


Board Member - Emma Arnett

What is your job outside of the school board?

NDIS Liaison Officer with Down South Therapy Services

What is your role on the school board?

Community Liaison

What do you love about WCHS ESC?

The Community Spirit, smiles on the staff and students faces when I visit the school and the continual positive feedback from families attending the school.

What are some of your hobbies?

Gardening and cooking when I get time

Do you have any pets?

Yes Bella who is a spoodle, 5 years old and Apricot colour.

What is your favourite food?

I love all sorts of pasta dishes as I have an Italian heritage. Oh and lemon meringue pie is a must

Staff - Heidi Bone

How long have you been working in the school?

16 years

What is your role in the school?

Manager Corporate Services

What do you love about working at WCHS ESC?

The passionate and caring staff, watching student grow and flourish into young adults with purpose in our community, celebrating the good moments in our school.

What is your favourite food?

Hmmm, I do enjoy a hot soup with fresh bread. We have a soup day each week with my team, these are just scrumptious!

What are some of your hobbies?

Art, walking, family time, grandchildren and drinking coffee with friends.

Do you have any pets?

We did have chooks, a dog, guinea pigs, budgerigars, rabbits. A bit of a menagerie at my home. But not anymore, I have outlived them all.

Meet our Warnbro CHS ESC Community

At Warnbro CHS Education Support Centre we want your child to flourish and

achieve their very best. To get the best education, they need to attend school

every day.

PAGE 20 | WARNBRO CHS ESC NEWS

Why is going to school so important?

• Every day at school counts towards a student’s learning. Students, who attend more, generally do better at school and in life.

• Going to school every day helps children learn the important life skill of ‘showing up’ – at school, at work, to sport and other commitments.

• Missing school means missing out on learning – which can often make it difficult to catch up later.

• It is a legal requirement and can result in fines of up to $1000.

If your child’s attendance drops below 89% they are at increased risk of experiencing difficulties in school and later in life. Where attendance is of concern the school will work with students and families to improve attendance.

In order to support each child to flourish and attend school every day we will:

• Create a sense of community and belonging at the school.

• Offer an engaging learning environment tailored to your child’s needs.

• Support your child to develop their social and friendship skills.

• Create opportunities for your child to have success and a sense of achievement.

• Monitor every student’s attendance.

• Work with you to support student attendance.

• Offer support options such as the Youth Worker, School Psychologist and external agencies.

What can you do to help?

• Act early. Let the school know the underlying reasons why your child is not going to school.

• Support your child to get enough sleep. This may include monitoring internet, mobile phone and other electronic device use at night.

• Don’t let your teenager stay home unless they are genuinely sick.

• Give clear and firm messages about the importance of attending school.

For more information or support, please contact us and a staff member will be happy to help you.Warnbro Community High School Education Support Centre2 Swallowtail Parade, Warnbro 61699553 0122


Would you like to join the Warnbro CHS Education Support Centre School Board?

Do you want to be involved with planning the school’s strategic direction?

Want to help the school achieve the best outcomes for students?

Nominate now for the School Board!

Nominations close on Friday 30th October 2020. Complete the nomination form below and email it to

[email protected]. Nomination forms are also available from Reception.

WARNBRO COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOL

EDUCATION SUPPORT CENTRE

2020 SCHOOL BOARD PARENT NOMINATION FORM

I would like to nominate myself to become a member of Warnbro Community High School Education Support Centre School Board.

Name: ___________________________________ Date: ________________

Signature: __________________________

Please return to the Education Support Centre front office by Friday 30th October 2020

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