5 July 2019

Newsletter Articles

Principals Report

Wow, what a term we have had! It has been jam packed with amazing opportunities for students and I’m so proud of how everyone has participated. Our 3 virtues chosen for Term 2 were Courage, Flexibility and Cleanliness. The classes presented their assembly items earlier this week. It was great to see students share their own personal thoughts on the virtues with staff, students and family who attended.

Students in FG03 welcomed Ms Vivian as their classroom teacher this term. Everyone has settled well and students are working on developing their employability skills in preparation for their work placements next term. They have also enjoyed cooking some amazing meals and continue to work on understanding their own emotions.

Ms Higham’s class - T1, have explored using Google Maps, their local communities. It is wonderful to hear students talking about travel training and becoming confident with their use of technology. There is some superstar chef’s in this class too with some delicious meals being made during cooking classes.

T2 have been working hard with Ms Lucas and Ms Tolomei this term. They have continued to enjoy their social games and have taken great pride in keeping their school and community clean. They have also been looking into budgeting and planning holidays as well as setting their own personal goals for their work placements. Students work placements have begun and there are rave reviews about students in their workplaces. These will continue into next term.

Canberra Camp saw 10 Year 12 students with 7 staff travel over for our first interstate camp. This was an amazing opportunity for students with so much crammed into 5 days. Students were so well behaved and I was extremely proud of how everyone represented the school. Everyone was very appreciative of all the work Ms Hawkins and other staff did in the lead up to organise such a fabulous time for everyone.

Excursions have been a big feature this term. SciTech was a hit with year 11 students. They went and explored all the displays whilst the year 12 students were away on camp. Students went fishing with FishAbilities. It was great to see students practicing their casting techniques with some students catching their own fish. Retail students have started shopping for their ingredients, mixing it up between steak burgers and sausage sizzle. These are delicious! Students were invited to tour the DisAbility Expo with their classes at the Mandurah Forum. Parents and Caregivers were also invited to attend these tours. All students received a ‘show bag’ which they were able to collect information of services which they were interested in. Thank you MLA David Templeman for supporting and interacting with us while you visited the Expo.

Music Rocks continues this term. Jam sessions are still on Tuesday mornings where two groups get the opportunity to learn different instruments and rehearse two different songs. Group 1 chose and learnt “Another one bites the Dust” and a song by Maroon 5, while Group 2 chose and learnt “Fight Song” and “TNT. There was a concert held at Badlands Bar in Perth on Sunday 30th June. 5 students performed 2 different sets. They were amazing and very brave!

Wearable Arts was held earlier this term. The Visual Art students worked hard on their hat designs earlier in the year and submitted their entries in the school competition. They looked amazing! Ms Tolomei took students to go see the festival whilst it was on and everyone was so proud of their work. Congratulations to Adam who received an award for his entry. Next term a whole school project will be undertaken, to create a whole school entry for the Cast Away Exhibition. I can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with.

Meadow Springs ESC Transition – We have been lucky enough to be joined for a number of weeks with students in Years 4, 5 and 6 as they come over for a visit. They have worked hard in workshop to make their own little foldable chair and making burgers in the kitchen for everyone. It can be quite scary for primary school students to come to a school with students in Years 11 and 12, but it has been a pleasure to have them join us on Tuesdays. We hope you have had a great time. Next term Riverside PS ESC will be joining us for a similar program and we will begin our Year 10 Transition Program with Halls Head College ESC also.

A collaborative partnership with Halls Head College ESC saw a number of Parent Tours occur. It was great to see parents accept the offer and come explore all the amazing opportunities between the two schools that are available to their children. The feedback from visitors was really positive and reminds us of how proud we are of everything we do here at JTCESC.

On June 28th, the JTCESC DisAbilities Expo was held at the Mandurah Forum. This was a huge event which saw over 50 providers participate. This was a fabulous opportunity for the Mandurah community to engage and interact with service providers and agencies that are available in the local community. Huge congratulations for all the staff involved in the lead up to this mammoth task. Your hard work and dedication to such an important event for JTCESC is greatly appreciated. Thank you to all our students who participated as well and for everyone that came down to see the event. We can’t wait to do it all again next year!

I wish to personally thank the whole school community for their support this term whilst I have been Principal. I look forward to continuing in the role for term 3. If you haven’t already done so, please check out the John Tonkin College Education Support Centre Facebook page. You can see lots more of what happens throughout the year. I hope you all enjoy reading our newsletter and have a safe holiday.

Amanda Flood
Principal

Dates to Remember

Classroom News

FG03

Susan Vivian

This term has flown by! In numeracy we have been investigating money, measurement and place value. Students have had a lot of fun with shopping catalogues, money bingo and MAB blocks.

In literacy we have been learning about taking telephone messages, writing accident reports, filling in forms, as well as writing procedures. This has been useful in cooking, when we have written our recipes before heading to the kitchen to cook. So far, we have made pizza, gingerbread biscuits (they were going to be gingerbread men, but Mrs V lost the biscuit cutter!) and nachos. Sadly, Lily and Lachlain thought the nachos were a bit too spicy. Everyone has been enjoying Music Rocks and the students have picked 2 songs to perform; TNT and Fight Song. It is a pleasure to see everyone participating and having such a great time. The songs are sounding very professional and I’m looking forward to the performance on the Thursday 30th June in Perth.

“I like music rocks because it is my favourite thing to do and I enjoy singing with my friends. We have been learning about money and finding addition easier.” Lily Rose

In Health we have been learning about the Zones of Regulation and students have begun to identify their own emotions. We have talked about self-control and things we can say, think and feel about unpleasant situations.

T1

Julie Higham

In T1 we are enjoying our daily reading and keeping up to date with the news and current affairs. We are sad to have said “Goodbye” to Sophie who moved to Queensland earlier in the term. We have continued our cooking lessons; some of the things that we have made so far include beef burgers and fried rice. Students are becoming increasingly OSH aware in the kitchen, following hygiene regulations and becoming aware of the dangers around equipment, especially knives. The students have been learning how to keep their fingers away from knife blades by using a bridge hold and claw grip, or using a fork to hold ingredients still while chopping and slicing.

Students have also been practicing their numeracy and literacy skills in the kitchen. We have been measuring quantities; timing dishes in the oven; following and sequencing recipes and adjusting quantities to suit fewer or more people.

In Health we have been learning about gender stereotypes, healthy and unhealthy relationships, and where to access help in the local community. We have also learnt about staying safe on social networks and what information it is safe to share and what should be kept private.

T2

Laura Tolomei/Kristin Lucas

This term T2 have been out at Workplace Learning one day per week. It is heartening to see how well our students have adapted to their workplaces. In class time we have been concentrating on budgeting and the costs associated with moving out from home. Students found it enlightening and have come to realise how expensive living away from home can be.

We have continued our morning walks which not only give us opportunity to get fitter, but time for our students to socialise with one another and staff. The students have continued with their cooperative games with croquet being a firm favourite. We have also enjoyed watching BTN each week and discussing all of the week’s top stories.

Visage

Trish Bradford/ Marnie Wyllie/Marg Bowman

Term 2 has taken off like a rocket! The girls have been working hard and broadening their knowledge and experience learning how to perform mini facials, pedicures, operating the cash register and fulfilling the theory component of Certificate I in Retail Services.

To celebrate Mother’s Day, the girls implemented their existing skills by holding a “Mothers Pampering Day” which included a delicious morning tea they prepared and served to their customers. We were also lucky enough to have some board members and our regular loyal clients attend our Salon Day. All the girls shone brightly and everyone had a lovely experience.

Retail – Certificate 1

Clare Munro/Nat Harris/Peter McClay and our amazing cooks – Brodie, Jack, Lachlain, Jackson, Cameron

This Term has gone so quickly!

The weekly sausage sizzle has been such a great success that we have decided to take on something a little more complicated. On Wednesday June, 19th, instead of our fantastic hotdogs, we prepared sold steak burgers – they were a great success! Students have been doing their research and working out costings. We treated the rest of our staff and students to a free steak burger, on Wednesday June 5th, as a trial run before we offered this delicious option to the rest of the John Tonkin College Campus. As always, we are keeping ourselves (and our customers) safe by using protective equipment, correct work practices and following our safety procedures.

Workshop

Mark Barritt/Susan Vivian/Marg Bowman/Lorna Craggs/Trish Bradford

Workshop students have made good progress on their major personal projects during Term 2, and they are starting to take shape. Students have been busy cutting, drilling, sanding, gluing, screwing and clamping as they are keen to see their projects finished.

The 3D Printer and the COZMO Robots continue to challenge and entertain students and staff.

Construction

Mark Barritt/Lorna Craggs/Meagan Green

Students have been busy during Construction doing some wall tiling including learning how to safely use the electric mixer and the tile cutter.

Students had a go at doing some practice brick paving in our training area and then did the real thing fixing up some damaged paving around the loading bay at the back of John Tonkin College.

Well done to the Construction students for doing a great job for the school.

Emergency Cadet Program

Peter McClay/Nat Harris/Sharan Hegney/Julie Higham

Learning areas for Term 2 have been new ground for most Cadets. We have studied water safety, VHF radios, compasses, navigation and map reading. We also conducted two excursions.

Our first excursion in week seven was to the Mandurah Offshore Fishing and Sailing Club with Fishability for a morning of fishing from the jetty and learning to cast from the beach. Jacob caught a large Leatherjacket fish but could not quite get it onto the jetty. Minutes later Zac caught the same fish and luckily managed to get it onto the jetty this time for some pictures prior to it being released. After the fishing we all went to the Mandurah War Memorial. This was a short visit due to the arrival of some inclement weather.

Our second excursion was on the last day of term to the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (Fisheries). We learnt about the important role our Fisheries Officers have to conserve, sustainably develop and share the use of Western Australia’s aquatic resources and their ecosystems for the benefit of present and future generations. We also checked out all the safety equipment used on boats and saw some cool displays and equipment. We then had a look at the Fisheries and Police boats.

After the DPIRD visit we went 200 meters up the road to the Mandurah Volunteer Marine Rescue. We were informed about the important work done by a dedicated group of volunteers who play a vital role in helping to ensure the Mandurah and Peel marine environment is a safe place in which to work, live and play. The Mandurah Volunteer Marine Rescue Group works closely with the WA Police Service, coordinating and performing search and rescue missions at sea and throughout the Peel Region waterways.

Workplace Learning

Kristin Lucas/Susie Smith/Marg Bowman

Thank you to all parents/carers and students for being organised for the work day and representing our school so well within the community.

We are so proud of our T1 students who have completed their work placements for 2019. Feedback from our fantastic and supportive employers has been wonderful.

Sam - working at Woolworths Greenfields, had staff fighting over who she would be working for!! They all loved working with Sam.
Jackson - also working at Woolworths, improved in his ability to work independently and show initiative.
Sophie - working at Tree of Life Café, was admired and commended for her diligence and willingness to complete any task assigned to her.
Preston - had a stint at Workpower who were very impressed with how quickly he grasped new tasks, executing each new skill to perfection.

Students from T2 commenced their placements in Week 4, have been working well in various locations in the community; Woolworths, People Who Care, Men’s Shed, Good Samaritans, Spudshed, Chipmunks, Falcon Library and our long time host employer Hot Klobba are again giving a student some work experience. Our school is very appreciative of the employers who allow our students to gain an understanding of being an employee and their experience is added to their resumes.

We would like to remind parents/carers that should your student be unable to attend the workplace (or school), please phone as early as possible so that we are aware of any absences. Some students are supported in the workplace, and by having early notification we can redeploy our staff accordingly. You have employer details on the paperwork sent home when the placement was confirmed. If you need another copy, please let our office know – phone 9583 7380.

As many parents/carers drop off and collect the student from the workplace, your promptness at both ends of the day is appreciated. If you are unable to collect at the nominated time, can you please phone school so that we can let our support know you will be late.

T2 – have a fantastic placement – we shall be making regular site visits and getting lots of photos for your ASDAN and portfolios.

Transition

Jocelyn Carosin

On Friday, 28th June, 2019, Mandurah Forum was the location for the 2019 Disabilities Expo, with over 50 service providers setting up tables throughout the Forum. This is the first year we have hosted the event in such a public arena, and it has given the event much needed exposure to educate the public on the many services available to assist people who are living with disabilities.

NDIS was a popular stand with visitors who could find out the process for being registered and obtaining a plan, which will then allow access to the many supporting agencies. If you are not registered with NDIS you will need to do so at your earliest convenience.

Students from JTCESC proudly represented the school by sharing their school work on the Workshop/Construction, Visage/Retail, Art and Cadets tables. It was wonderful to see our students so enthusiastically joining in the Expo and showcasing all the exciting tasks they participate in at JTCESC. They also had the opportunity to check out all the stands and obtain information and brochures.

SERVICE PROVIDERS WHO EXHIBTED AT THE EXPO:

Visual Art Certificate 1

Laura Tolomei/Charm Guest/Jocelyn Carosin

Our Visual Art Certificate 1 students are awesome! I am amazed and proud to see how their skills have developed. We finished making the headpieces for the Mandurah Wearable Art Challenge and they were on display at MPAC. CASM will have a display of the artwork if you would like to drop in to see what they have achieved.

Much of our art has focused around “drawing with our eyes not our heads” which involves looking carefully at the subject being drawn rather than relying on memory. As a result, their drawing skills have improved hugely.

Big congratulations to the Visual Art students.

***STOP PRESS***

How fantastic are our Certificate 1 Visual Arts Students? Fantastic News for one of our talented students.

Adam Chrisp has taken out the Councillor Caroline Knight, Deputy Mayor Award for his artwork - Dr Iron Strange in the Mandurah Wearable Art Headpiece Challenge.

Congratulations Adam, a well-deserved award. We are all proud of you.

Visual Art

Laura Tolomei/Marnie Wyllie/Charm Guest

We have had a productive term, experimenting with light and shade using watercolour then used this idea to create artwork.

We have also entered a competition run by Education Support South Network, with the theme “Celebrations”. I was amazed at how creative our students are; they took to the challenge with much gusto. Everyone had a go with the variety of ideas and techniques making me proud. Judging will take place soon - stay tuned to our Facebook page for results.

Breakfast Club

Rebecca Christensen

Breakfast Club has been very busy as always. A BIG THANKYOU to the students who come in and help set up and cook for Breakfast Club. Cooking is such an important life skill and also fun and rewarding.

At the start of term, we had a “Bullying No Way Day”. As part of the celebrations we made sushi and sausage rolls.

While the Year 12s were in Canberra the Art and Visage students cooked lunch for everyone; 3 types of pasta and sauces, salad and garlic bread. There was spaghetti, gnocchi and ravioli, followed by chocolate mousse. A great time was had and the pasta was “bellissimo”!

Georgia’s Famous Milo Pikelets

Ingredients

• ¾ cup of milk
• 1 egg
• 1 cup self-raising flour

• 1 tablespoon caster sugar
• 3 tablespoons Milo
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

Method

1. In a large bowl mix dry ingredients, then add wet ingredients. Beat until smooth.
2. Pan fry small spoonful’s in frypan on a medium to low heat.
3. When the pikelets bubble, it’s time to turn them over.
4. Serve plain or with cream or ice-cream.

Other News

School Board 2019

We would like to introduce the current JTCESC School Board

• Back row: - Grace McLaughlin, Sharyn Pickett, Simon Mills, Kristin Lucas, Nancy Hartnett
• Front row: - Sarah Merks, Sue Hill, Amanda Flood, Fiona Gardner, Lorena Mitchell
• Absent: - Chelsey Parkey, Nigel Irvine

Music Rocks

WOW, our students are really channelling their inner Rock Star in Music Rocks. Each week they get better and better at playing together. They have been rehearsing a new set of songs for Term 2 and they are sounding awesome. This term they will be performing at Badlands Bar, Aberdeen Street, Perth on Sunday 30th June, commencing at 4.35pm.

Canberra Camp

Week 3 was a busy and very exciting week for some of our Year 12 students. After many months of planning and organising it was finally the time when we flew to Canberra for a full and very interesting week exploring. Students (and staff) were so well behaved and were congratulated everywhere we went for being respectful and polite young adults. Jason our bus driver answered all our questions and told us some fun facts whilst we visited lots of places

Monday we departed school with 10 very excited students and 7 staff preparing for the trip to the airport. Staff, parents and family members saw us off as we headed to the airport. We had a good flight over and landed very late. The 2-hour time difference made getting to sleep a little difficult with lots of excited students still awake at midnight.

After a sleep in on Tuesday morning we went to Mount Ainslie Lookout where we enjoyed lunch with a view of Canberra on a beautiful day. Mr McClay almost lost his lunch to a very adventurous crow. The Australian War Memorial was very interesting. There was lots of statues and museums with interactive videos and activities. Clayton and Monique represented the school and laid a wreath at the Last Post Ceremony. After dinner we had a night tour of the Australian National Botanic Gardens; we saw a sugar glider and a few sleeping birds in the trees and heard some sounds of local wildlife.

Wednesday morning after a big breakfast we had a tour with Ethan of the Australian Institute of Sport. Students got to spend some time in the Sportex centre where they got to practice their sport skills. We then went for a tour of the training centres. We left and had lunch on an oval which had a view of Old Parliament House on one side and the river looking down to the War Memorial on the other before going to Questacon. This place was amazing! It had so many things for everyone to enjoy. Highlights are the Vertical Slide, The Moon room and the Earthquake room. We returned for dinner before heading out again for a night tour of the National Dinosaur Museum with Annabelle. There was a giant T-rex out the front that moved and roared when we walked up. Students saw replicas of the megalodon shark jaws, a dinosaur like an echidna but the size of a big sheep as well as being able to feel a real meteorite.

Thursday morning, we had some rather tired people but away we went to the National Museum of Australia. We had a morning session in the K-Space zone where we had to work together in teams of 4 and work through different challenges. This was hard but students were much better at this than the staff. After we went for a tour through some of the exhibitions where they saw Pharlaps heart and many took photos sitting in a big scoop. After lunch we went to Parliament House and went for a tour. There are over 450 rooms in the centre with the Senate being light red / pink like our ochre and the House of representatives being green like our gum leaves. We had a quick tour of the Australian Mint and learnt about our currency before some of us got to stamp our own Bushranger coins. After dinner we made our way to Mount Stromlo Observatory where we got to go star gazing through telescopes, went to through the science labs and saw some satellite space computers and learnt about asteroids which also get called ‘space potatoes’.

Friday morning started with a trip to the Potter Foundation Technical Learning Centre where everyone got to make their own rockets and test them using the PSI launcher. Challenges included going through loops, going the furthest and spinning. Mr Barritt gets a special mention for his rocket that got lost in the atmosphere (ceiling). After our ‘rocking’ morning, we went to the Telstra Tower where we got to have a look through the telephone Museum and go to the observation deck and look out over Canberra. After this, our last stop of the day was to the National Arboretum. This is a tree sanctuary where lots of trees are being planted from all over the world. Some students went for some hikes up the hills, others relaxed and enjoyed some downtime after a big week. There were lots of selfies had as we all looked back on a fun filled week. Jason then took us back to the airport where we waited for our flights back to Perth. When we arrived back in Mandurah late on Friday night we had some very happy family members waiting to greet us.

It was a wonderful opportunity for students to go on and it was so well organised. Big thank you to Ms Hawkins and all other staff in organising the camp. All students were very thankful for being given the opportunity.