Issue 7 2024 - Residential Manager
Residential Manager
John Overton
That’s a wrap - the school year is all but completed and as we look back on 2024, we can be proud of our students and staff achievements. For me personally, I have thoroughly enjoyed observing all aspects of College life this year and embraced the high functionality of our staff and students. Everyday, our team commit to growth and ongoing improvement and the College is well placed to prepare our students for not only the Agricultural sector, but any industry they may choose to pursue in the future.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff, students and families for their ongoing support within my role of Residential Manager this year. Our teams are very excited and looking forward to next year which I have no doubt will result in great outcomes for our students. The three departments I work across genuinely care for our student cohorts and I hope all families feel well supported.
Awards Ceremony
We welcomed back our Year 12 students on Friday 15th November for our Awards Ceremony and officially sent off our class of 2024. The event is a highlight in the calendar and an opportunity to celebrate the Year 12 students time at WACoA – Denmark. The event was well attended and a fantastic way to celebrate the achievements of our Year 12 cohort.
Enrolment Days
In week 8 - we welcomed all our newly enrolled students into the College for an overnight stay to experience a “taste test” of life at the school. Once the formalities of enrolment were completed, the new students had the opportunity to participate in a range of activities across multiple areas of the College. This provided the platform for the new students to get know each other, form relationships, and integrate with our current students to really feel as if they were a part of the College.
Aside from getting to know each other and familiarising ourselves with the new personalities, the highlights of the experience were the “getting to know you” activities led by student services and our currently enrolled students. We also participated in a local excursion with Denmark River Cruises taking us on a tour of our local water systems which was followed by hot chocolates and home made scones on the bank of the Denmark River.
Residential Activities
As students began to depart for the year and numbers reduced, our residential team continued to provide activities for our students outside of school hours. Students continued to participate in:
Beach swims/walks
Park Run
Albany Movies
Pizza Nights
Mixed Netball
Bike rides
Dorm points system challenges
This all blended between weekend farm rosters, sporting commitments and the general program. Our students and staff have done a fantastic job balancing out the tail end of the Term.
2025
A break over the summer gives everyone a chance to wind down, refresh and come back to the College motivated to learn, improve and contribute to the operations of the school. The start to the school year has been amended based on feedback from students, families and our experience. The thought process is to enable new students to transition in, conduct a thorough orientation and integrate our new and existing students as well as we can. The following outline is an extract from a letter that will be distributed to families before the commencement of the 2025 school year:
29th January 2025 - Administration office is open
Tuesday 4th February:
9.00am College Prefects arrive in class uniform to assist new students
10am new residential students welcomed to the College by staff and 2025 College Prefect team
10.30am morning tea available in the Dining Hall for all families
11am welcome address delivered by Principal and key staff to new residential and day families in Dining Hall
11.30pm REACH residential parent session delivered by Residential Manager John Overton
12.15pm parents depart and students engage in orientation activities with Prefect team
7pm Day students are collected from orientation activities
Wednesday 5th February:
New residential and day students continue to engage in Orientation activities supported by the Prefect team:
8am new day students are returned to the College by their caregivers or Albany School Bus Service
All new day and residential students continue to engage in orientation activities
2pm all returning residential students are welcomed into residence
2pm all new day students are collected from the College by caregivers or via the Albany School Bus Service
Thursday 6th February:
8.10am classes commence for all students
All students are asked to wear their High Vis uniform remembering that jewellery does not form part of this uniform
End of Year
As 2024 concludes, I would like to wish our WACoA Community a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. If you are travelling or just staying at home, please be safe and enjoy the summer break. We are excited about our revised Orientation Program to start next year, combined with a busy Term 1 planner, we are set up to provide meaningful and positive experiences for new and existing students.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year – Bring on 2025!
John Overton
Residential Manager
WACOA - Denmark
