I would like to welcome our new families to the school and hope that our returning students are well rested and ready for an exciting year ahead.   It has been a smooth start to the year so far, despite the extreme hot weather.

Congratulations to our Class of 2023

Our Year 12s continue to do us proud and last year was no exception.  Last year we had a WACE achievement rate of 96%, well above like schools (92%) and the state (90%).

Sixteen of our students received a SCSA Award of Distinction or Merit and many of these students received the Principal’s Award at the end of 2023.

Declan Cowin and Ari Davidson received a Certificate of Distinction and Certificates of Merit went to Erin Aiken, Livy Bowden, Samantha Clements, Noah Gowland, Isabella Harris, Trinity Hewlett-Banning, Sharlini Hollier, Isabel Jeffreys, Kitty Kingston, Mikayla Lanigan, Enya Matthews, Sean Rudolph, Anisha Sullivan and Ethan Thomas.

87% of our students completed Year 12 with a Certificate II, III or IV and 37% o our ATAR students received an ATAR over 80.

Congratulations to all our Class of 2023, and we wish them well as they begin their next chapter in their lives.

Congratulations to our KPA program

We congratulate Anna Head, Michelle Vivian and our KPA students for their nominations for “Best School Production" and “Best Ensemble in a Musical” in the 2023 ITA Robert Finley Awards – for our production of Disney’s Frozen Jr last year.  You can read more about the awards in this issue, and whilst we did not win, were delighted to be named in the Top 5 Youth Productions for 2023.

Welcome back to our Italian Exchange students

We welcome back Lilliana Wright, Talay Hollier, Luca Englaender, Savannah Friday, Ana Fehrman and Nicole Cooke from their exchange to Italy at the end of last year, returning over the Christmas break.  They had an amazing time experiencing culture and immersing themselves in language.  Thank you to Maria Pennington for all her support for this program and the students participating.

Building update

As you can see, the main building project is moving along well, with our Visual Arts block beginning its first floor, and the Teaching Block completing the foundations and footings. 

We were very excited to start the new year with two new rooms, Food Technology and Science.

Road and carpark safety

Over the next few months, there will be many deliveries and vehicles entering the building site, and we ask parents to take care when picking up and dropping off students.  A reminder that the main carpark on Canning Rd is not to be used for student drop off or pick ups, and safer locations are:

• Cotherstone Rd – Students may be dropped off along the school side of this road. Please do not park during the afternoon (2.30 to 3.30) bus pick up times.  Parents may park during the school day (9.00 – 2.30pm)
• Central Rd – Students may be dropped off along this road where they can access the school via the supervised crossing.
• Kalamunda Sporting Complex (Kostera Oval) – Students may be dropped off by the clubs rooms on Recreation Rd and access the school via the oval.

Year 7 Values Week

We send a huge thank you to our Year 7 staff, Kelly Walker (our Year 7 Coordinator) and all those who helped out during Year 7 Values Week.  We hope that our values of Pride, Respect, Resilience, Love of Learning and Community resonate with our new Year 7s as they transition into our school.

Our Year 7s spent two days at the Bickley Camp site participating in activities and challenges.  They also spent time at school having an induction to the library and getting their BYODs connected to the network.

This year we held a Year 7 swim trial during Values Week.  This was a wonderful way for students to end the busy week.  Our school House Carnival was held on Friday 24 Febuary and was for competitors only.  Despite adjustments to the day due to the heat, students enjoyed the opportunity to compete in the carnival.

School Board and P&C

I encourage new parents to get involved in our P&C and our School Board. 

Our P&C meet twice a term and manage the operation of the school canteen. 

The school board also meet twice a term, and positions are for 3 years.  School board members contribute to the effective governance of the school by monitoring student achievement, finances and approving contributions and charges and uniform changes.  Board members also provide feedback and advice on school planning and assist in promoting the school vision and values.

This year there are new positions vacant and an election process is currently underway.

P&C Movie Night – save the date

The P&C will be holding a movie night at the school on Tuesday 26^th March and further information will be emailed to parents shortly.

Piano Donation

We are very thankful for the donation of a beautiful piano to our school by Kaye and Raymond Mitchell.  Ray was a former student at the school and so it is very special to have this connection.  Thank you also to Mr Puvanendran for organising the pick up and drop off of this instrument.

School calendar

Each Year Coordinator will be placing a school calendar on their year group's Connect page.  A term calendar is also available on the school website and will be updated each term.

Contributions and Charges

I would like to thank those families who have already paid their school charges and contributions.  For some families it might be easier to make arrangements to pay the balance over the year via a payment plan.  Please contact our manager of Corporate Services, Natalie Robertson to finalise your account or to set up a payment plan.  These funds are used to pay for teaching materials to deliver high quality programs for your child.  All tuition, staffing and infrastructure costs are provided by the Department of Education.

Welcome to our new and returning staff

This year we have some new staff joining our school and we welcome:

Melanie Hogg and Sharon Mann (Year 7 team – Maths/Science), Joanne Pescodd (Year 7 team - Hass/English), Teagen Sloman (English/Hass), Chelsea Walczak and Kayla Maritz (Science), Nick Stretch (HOLA Technologies), Catherine Bode (Maths), Lauren Smail (Maths/Science), Alex Gallagher (Home Ec), Monique Lehembre, and Natalie Robertson (Manager Corporate Services).

We would especially like to welcome Luthfia Putri Utami and Satsuki Imagawa and welcome back Davide Gottardi, as Language assistants this year in Indonesian and Japanese and Italian respectively.  We are very fortunate to have them working with us to enrich the learning for our Language students.

Wishing everyone all the best for the term.