Issue 6 2023 - Principal

Principal

Rebecca Kirkwood

Last newsletter I began by writing, ‘Over the past few weeks we have had such wonderful reasons to celebrate how fantastic our College is.’ Here I am a few weeks later and find myself writing that very same statement again!

On the 25th August, the College was fortunate to host the Education Minister Toni Buti. The Minister spent about ninety minutes on site and participated in a tour of our facilities speaking to a variety of staff and students. I took the opportunity to celebrate the great things we are doing and also used his visit as a chance to share a few improvements we would like. I spoke about our aspirations to increase our residential capacity and the much needed improvements in F Dorm. He was very receptive to our requests. College Captains Dakota Dalton and Jackson Conti did a fabulous job of taking the lead while he was on site, sharing their plans for the future and highlighting how the College has helped prepare them for life beyond school. 

Enrolments for 2024 are filling fast and we are experiencing an unprecedented amount of interest. This year we have received almost eighty applications for forty-five available positions for Year 10 in 2024. Most of these students are seeking residential positions. However, we unfortunately don’t have enough beds to accommodate them. As many of you are aware, our enrolment numbers are comprised of a combination of day and residential students.

I believe the success of our agricultural program is built on the premise of our intimate delivery. The breadth and depth that we offer could not be maintained if we were to grow our student population, so I am not eager to increase our overall student numbers. It would however be nice to offer more positions to those families who cannot access our program because of distance. I will continue to have conversations and seek support from the Department to improve and expand our residential offerings.

Two weeks ago, Mr Mungioli and I led conversations with Year 10 families about subject choices for Year 11. We began the process by hosting a Senior School parent information workshop. We guided families through the process, explaining that we have recently surveyed the students about their subject preferences, which will guide us to make student centred timetable decisions. 2024 will see an increase in the frequency of double periods and the ability for General students to complete single ATAR courses. 

Working on the principle that all students have strengths and weaknesses, I firmly believe that students should be challenged in all of their courses. This means that for some, an entire ATAR pathway may not be appropriate, but they may have an area of passion or strength in one area such as Maths or Agriculture Science that they would like to explore at a more challenging level. In 2024, we will allow those students to build on their strengths and enrol in single ATAR courses. 

Our Year 12 students are on their final stretch and are almost ready to leave. I spoke to the Year 12 students last week about the importance of remaining focussed and the need to complete all outstanding work. Earlier in the week, I wrote to families and students reminding them of some key dates as we move towards the exciting milestone of Year 12 graduation. Please read those emails and call us if you have any questions.

On Wednesday, I travelled up to the Perth Royal Show to accompany Mr Jones, Mr Ward, Mr Marshall, Residential supervisor Keir and the Farm Skills students. We will be joined on Thursday and Friday by Mr Seib and Mr Schultz with more students participating in the Royal Show. Attendance at the Perth Royal Show is one of the highlights of our year and there is definitely a buzz around the school as different groups of students get ready to depart to compete in a variety of agricultural events. With over thirty-two students making the trip to Perth, it’s sure to be a great week. 

This week will of course conclude Term 3. I look forward to seeing all students return, ready for learning on Monday morning 9th October at 8.10am.

Rebecca Kirkwood
Principal
WACOA - Denmark