Specialist Programs

BEST 

I will be the 2023 BEST Coordinator and I look forward to seeing all our athletes achieve their goals this year. If you have any questions, issues or concerns please come and speak to one of our amazing team or myself. My door is always open so please come and say hi. I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome both new and returning BEST students for 2023. I know many of you continued to train hard and compete in your sports over the break but I hope that you had time to rest and recharge.

2022 was a return to ‘normal’ for a lot of sports with travel enabling camps and competitions to get back up and running. A large number of athletes made various national, state and representative teams and I congratulate those students on the hard work, dedication and commitment needed to achieve selection. The data that the BEST program collected throughout the year was overwhelmingly positive. Athletes should reflect on their achievements, learn from their challenges and set SMART goals for the future.

The 2023 BEST staff are:

• Year 7 – Rory Stewart
• Year 8 – Mark Longbottom
• Year 9 – Kim Nimmo
• Year 10 – Kyle Smith
• Year 11 – Cameron Allan
• Year 12 – Kyle Smith

There are a number of things that will help you to achieve in 2023.

• Be organised (check your BEST timetable regularly).
• Surround yourself with a positive support network. 
• Be a supportive class member
• Only compare yourself to yourself
• Communicate with your BEST teachers around training load and injury management
• Make positive choices around the school and in the community
• You have a choice to work hard or not. Only you can make that choice. 

I look forward to working with you throughout 2023.

Kyle Smith

BEST Coordinator

VASP 

GAT

On behalf of the whole Gifted and Talented team, I would like to extend a warm welcome to our incoming students and their families. We have 19 students joining us in Year 7 – an increase from the past few years and an ideal size.

Last year was an exciting time for the GAT program, topped off by the Showcase event in the library at the end of Term 4. We expanded the opportunities for excursions and some highlights included outings to the WA Museum, Scitech and ECU Joondalup and the State Theatre Centre. GAT students continued to excel in co-curricular activities and competitions, such as the WA Debating League and Engineering Challenge. Students were engaged in challenging, real-world tasks. A key example of this was a Year 10 Science GAT class project, in which students mapped the pedigrees of dolphins in Koombana Bay. Late in 2022, we partnered with UWA to allow several Year 10 students to undertake first year university units as part of their course in 2023.

Year 7s have a camp scheduled in Week 3. Parents, do look out for a Consent2Go link in your email. Also, a polite reminder that we are a BYOD school, so students need to bring a charged laptop or ipad/tablet to school each day. I would also recommend students bring a diary each day and make a note of key dates for assessments. In the coming weeks, students will learn about opportunities to participate in a range of clubs at school – some of which meet at break times or after school. I would encourage all students to make the most of these opportunities, to foster friendships, build social skills and provide enrichment.

PBL

2022 was a hugely successful year for PBL cohort with many students being accepted into VET pathways and apprenticeships in 2023. Several of these were the result of successful work experience placement and opportunities. We achieved 100% success for the students in their Keys4Life program seeing many students attain their learners permit via the program in Semester 2. We also held a successful community Auction on Personal Projects which helped to promote the skills and abilities of the PBL students and allowed them to showcase their hard work.

This year you will have the opportunity to participate in workplace learning, personal development, assigned and personal projects filled with choice and strengths leveraging, OLNA preparation and resources, Keys4Life, Barista Training and improved numeracy/literacy skills.  

For 2023 Project-Based Learning, myself and Education Assistant, Ricki Clifton look forward to assisting students to re-engage with learning and find success based on personal strengths. I would love to take the opportunity to welcome the new cohort to our program and look forward to collaborating with families to support a pathway into senior schooling.  We hope you have had an opportunity to rest and recharge heading into 2023.

Amanda Ferguson

PBL Teacher

Shedworks Program

I would first like to welcome the successful 2023 candidates for the Shedworks Program. Tammy and I are looking forward to a busy and engaging year through a diverse range of activities and experiences.

We now have a new building which is located between the industrial workshop and the career rooms 24 and 25. There are some advantages of being located on the school site. We have access to cooking rooms, workshops, art rooms and the school garden to name a few.

Early in Term 1, we will have the opportunity to camp at Conto’s camping ground near Margaret River, visit Forrest Adventures in Busselton, volunteer at the based Bunbury playgroup, and volunteer with the dolphin discovery centre in the Storm Chasers program.

Other things that we will do during the year will include visiting community businesses of interest and industrial workshops to see and experience different workplaces. By the end of Term 2, the students will start to choose a workplace experience and work there on a regular basis. This will give them an opportunity to see and feel a different workplace to determine where their interests or possible career pathway lie.

We will also complete a first aid course, address learners driver’s licences, complete a white card if required, create a tax file number, and obtain a USI (unique student identifier) number. This will all form a part of a resumé that will help to demonstrate learned experience and create currency for the workplace.

There is a horse float to finish, a trailer or two that need work and potentially personal projects that could be designed and produced. Last year we helped a farmer in Upper Capel extend his cattle grid. We also built and installed black cockatoo boxes at a property in Donnybrook.

We are looking forward to a jam-packed year and finding the career or pathway toward the student’s career.

Jamie Turnbull and Tammy Foot

Shedworks Program Teacher and EA