Issue 1 2024 - Residential Manager

Residential Manager

John Overton

The start to the school year has been exciting and full of opportunities for our new and existing students to integrate and settle into the College for 2024. We are really pleased with the approach the College has endorsed to commence the school year, which aimed to provide a meaningful transition and comprehensive induction for our newly enrolled students.

Whilst the Term 1 Calendar is full of activities, it has also facilitated a fantastic platform to the 2024 year. Our staff have been excited by the changes to the start of the year and they have played a pivotal role in welcoming and settling our students into life at WACoA Denmark.

Within residence, 96 students are enrolled and living onsite this year, with an even split of 48 Girls and 48 Boys. We have welcomed students from as far as Paraburdoo, Karratha, and Broome and maintained a strong connection to the South West and Great Southern catchment areas. It is really pleasing to offer positions to students from remote locations and this is a testament to the College for broadening its profile to become a state-wide institution.

Orientation Program

Our staff recommenced on Monday 29th January with our school development day which provided an opportunity for the final stages of planning to be implemented to welcome our new students and prefects on Tuesday the 30th January. Our newly elected College leaders provided feedback in Term 4 2023 and expressed that they would like to be a part of the Orientation Program. We listened and the Prefects were involved in the Orientation Program activities, from meeting and greeting to leading tours and conducting panel interviews. The initiative and ideas were all student led and created such a fantastic environment for our newly enrolled students.

Our schedule over the next few days was busy, but we felt it very important to provide a comprehensive overview of what life is like at the College for Day and Residential students. Following our Principal address, parents had the opportunity to participate in COMPASS and REACH sessions. After parents said their goodbyes, the program was handed back to our College Prefects to lead an activity in small groups:

Group 1 – Site Tour

Group 2 – Recreational / Team Building

Group 3 – Student Services

Another aspect of the program that were important to the College Prefects was the integration of Day and Residential students and therefore were invited for dinner to conclude Day 1 of the program.

Day 2 - was all about discovering what makes WACoA great and why the Agricultural Industry is a fantastic area to be involved in. Most of our day was spent in the Lecture Theatre hearing from key internal staff and external members of the Agricultural sector to share their perspective on what makes our College and this industry a worthwhile investment. It was fascinating to hear each perspective and I am sure each student connected with a different presenter, but again the highlight of the day was conducting a Question and Answer panel with all six College Prefects and Board Chair – Mick Pratt. Our students directed questions towards our panel that provided context around student perspective and it made for a feature of the program and impactful session.

From 2pm our existing students arrived back to the College and were welcomed by our staff. They were encouraged to integrate with our new students in preparation for school commencing. Overall the program looked different to previous years, however, we believe it went a long way to settling nerves, building relationships and ultimately providing a meaningful introduction to life at WACoA – Denmark.

WOW Eco Cruise / Tree Top Walk

Our first weekend in residence saw new students and Prefects travel to Walpole – students were able to experience two local tourist attractions throughout the day whilst the focus was to also keep building and forming relationships. The WOW Eco Cruise is a fantastic boat tour into the unique waterways of the Walpole and Nornalup Inlets, whilst the Valley of the Giants Tree Top Walk is a series of suspension bridges set across the stunning ancient tingle forest.

Both local attractions are excellent tourist operations that captures the Great Southern Region whilst also providing another medium for our new students to interact and get to know each other.

Peaceful Bay Camp

The end of week 4 is dedicated to our first overnight camp experience of the year with 35 students rolling out the swags to camp at Peaceful Bay Caravan Park. The College has a great relationship with the owners of the park, and the feedback we receive is always positive. A big thanks to the entire residential team for giving up personal time to commit to the camp for two nights and a special mention to Kaina from the kitchen team for coming out to the campsite to provide our delicious meals – awesome effort.

The camp focus is essentially about recreational activities which included:

- Fishing

- Swimming

- Snorkeling

- Beach walks

- Beach games

The camp was a really enjoyable experience, and whilst the weather was not perfect all involved had the opportunity to unwind and spend some time in nature. Fishing seemed to draw the most interest with a huge squid being landed by Ian Bock (Yr 12) to claim first prize in our first fishing competition for the year.

Other Activities

Following the closed weekend the calendar continues to be filled with excursions and activities all involving residential students and staff, this includes:

- Wagin Woolorama (Wk 6)

- Harvey Sports Carnival (Wk 7)

- Industry Adventure Tour (Wk 9)

As the Term drawers closer to holidays we are committed to providing ongoing opportunities for our residential students to participate in. Moving forward, Term 2 will see the implementation of additional activities Monday – Friday to cater for:

- Movement and Exercise

- Talking Points

- Wellness

- Team building

- Fun

I am working with our Prefects to coordinate and finalise these activities and continue to engage our College leaders in the process to ensure we capture student participation.

As Term 1 continues to move at a fast pace we are continually aligning our students to the College values and provide support to our young people when necessary. I am very pleased with the way the year has started and look forward to continuing that momentum into Term 2.

John Overton
Residential Manager
WACOA - Denmark