Belridge Secondary ESC News
March 2021
From The Principals Desk
Welcome to all students, parents and guardians to the 2021 school year. It was undoubtedly the most unusual start to the school year and I would like to thank our entire school community on rising to the challenge which made the eventual return to school as seamless as it possibly could be. Greeting all of the students upon arrival at school and seeing their eagerness and enthusiasm in returning, was a personal highlight for me as students and staff were all so excited to get the 2021 school year underway.
A special welcome to all of our new students and staff who have joined us and this year we have also welcomed students from a range of different schools in Year 7 -welcome one and all-we know that you will really enjoy the many opportunities here at Belridge SESC! You should all be extremely proud of the manner in which you have settled into your school routine.
This year we also have a number of new staff joining our team and we would like to welcome everyone-I am sure that you will find being a part of the team here at Belridge and working with our students to be extremely rewarding and enjoyable! We welcome Education Assistants, Melanie Ranashinge and David Moore, along with teachers, Keira Savin (year 9-1), Janine Notarianni (Year 9-2), Maggie Read (MAG 1 and DOTT) and welcome back to Nichola Manship (MAG1). As usual Term 1 is always extremely busy and this term is no exception with many planned events for our students.
We have many students who access the School Bus Service which is operated by the Public Transport Authority and parents/carers are reminded to please inform your bus driver if their child is absent, has an appointment or are not using the bus on any particular day. The bus service is at a premium and it is necessary for students to be prompt when being collected as any delays impact on all other students on the bus. Parents are also reminded that the gated car park at the front of the school is not for the collection and drop off of students. Please be mindful of the need to be vigilant and patient when collecting your child due to the increased number of students on our site.
Our Year 12 students eagerly awaited their School Ball on Thursday 25th February at Optus Stadium in Perth. All of our students looked absolutely amazing and it was a wonderful opportunity for our students to get ‘glammed’ up and celebrate their years of formal schooling. This is always a very special evening and was thoroughly enjoyed by both students and staff and is a highly anticipated event by all students at Belridge!
This term we have also celebrated the opening of the Belridge Performing Arts Centre which was extended and refurbished to include a 238 seat theatre, sound rooms, performing and rehearsal rooms, music room, green room along with a servery and foyer entry. The addition of this state of the art facility will enhance opportunities for all students to showcase their skills and abilities in a variety of ways and will be a much valued learning area for Belridge and the wider community.
I look forward to working alongside you all to continue to provide an exceptional educational environment here at Belridge Secondary ESC. Please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher or myself should you have any concerns regarding your child. Once again congratulations to all students on the mature manner in which they have settled into the new school year and we all look forward to an extremely positive year ahead.
Jenine Wall
Principal
Middle School News
Hello and welcome back to all the Belridge SESC families and to all our new students. The 2021 school year promises to be an exciting one filled with new opportunities and adventures for everyone. Thank you to all the parents and carers for working with us to ensure our new year sevens transitioned seamlessly into their new secondary school. Our year sevens are making excellent progress. We welcome three new teachers to the middle school team; Keira Savin, Janine Notarianni and Maggie Read. We also welcome back Nicola Manship. These four teachers are already strengthening the team of educators we have here at Belridge SESC. The students in middle school have settled in well and are working extremely hard. They are already engaged in the curriculum and enjoying spending time making new friends with their new classmates.
Staff have been busily engaged in preparing for the students return to school to ensure that they receive the best possible start to the year. They have also been involved in Professional Learning to ensure they are fully prepared to provide the best educational outcomes throughout the school year. We have held two middle school assemblies since returning to school this term. It was great to see so many certificate winners. It was also great to see that so many students had earnt raffle tickets for demonstrating a number of SAFE, RESPECTFUL and RESPOSIBLE behaviours since returning to school. We are extremely proud of both staff and students for their commitment to our whole school Positive Behaviour Support ethos.
Nominations, speeches and elections for student council are underway and we are extremely proud of all the students who nominated. Students who are elected will be presented with their student council badge at a special assembly in week 9 of Term 1. The primary function of the Belridge ESC Student Council is to create opportunities for our students to acquire leadership skills. As role models to their peers Student Councillors make a significant contribution in creating and maintaining a safe and friendly environment for the school community and promote and model our school values. We wish all nominees the best of luck.
We look forward to an extremely successful year for all the students at Belridge SESC.
Shayne Hutchings
Deputy Principal
Middle School
Senior School News
Be careful what you wish for. I was thoroughly enjoying the holidays wishing they could be longer! The lockdown made it a very patchy start to the year but somehow, even having to wear masks did not dampen the enthusiasm of all to be back at school and getting into routine.
This year there have been some changes to daily activities – Swimming is on Fridays and DFES runs Monday Tuesday and Thursdays. Community Access for Year 10 is on Thursdays with a new Travel Training schedule introduced.
The Year 12 ball at Optus Stadium was a real celebration of the maturity of our Year 12s. The students were a credit to us and seeing them as young adults was rewarding. My thanks to the staff who attended and enjoyed a very special event with our year 12s.
The MAG 2 class have started a Simulated Work Place program at Landsdale Farm which commenced yesterday. Each week they will be allocated jobs around the farm and assist with egg collecting, raking, sweeping and weeding. Landsdale Farm is now run by Family Support WA and our students will be instrumental in getting the Farm back to its former operations.
The Year 11 are completing Certificate 1 in Agrifoods through North Metropolitan TAFE (RTO 52786) The Lecturer Kath Smith teaches both Year 11 classes on Thursdays and they are focussing on propagation and safety in the garden. Assisted by Mrs Pauline Hull we are looking forward to the projects they complete in our garden ‘The Patch’.
The Year 11s are also completing an ASDAN Short Course in Volunteering on Fridays and I’m looking forward to their work at the Mullaloo Beach Coastal Care program.
DFES for Year 10, 11 and 12s involves personal and team challenges, activities based around sustainability and fire safety. There are a number of planned excursions and students are not permitted to attend without written consent. Please check your child’s bag for permission forms regularly.
11-1, 12-1 and MAG are completing a number of ASDAN Towards Independence modules which are Endorsed programs. Accreditation of their portfolios later this year will be reflected in their Senior School report at the end of the year, and also appear on their WASSA (received at the end of Year 12).
11-2 and 12-2 are busy learning café skills as part of their Certificate II in Skills for Vocational Pathways through iVET (RTO 40548). Cobra Café on a Monday is an enjoyable way to start the week and I personally look forward to the delicious lunches and coffee they prepare!
WPL has commenced with Year 11s participating on Wednesdays and Year 12’s going out on Tuesday and Friday. The lockdown threw a spanner in the works but thanks go to the dedicated teachers and our Support Officer Mandy Brown for their tireless efforts to get placements.
Student Council elections are underway and the Councillors will be sworn in at our whole school assembly on Thursday 1/4/21 at 2.15pm.
Belsurf is on next Friday 12/3/21 – permission slips will be coming home soon. Don’t forget to pack bathers, towel, sunscreen, food and water and a hat!!
I am looking forward to seeing you at the Parent Night on Wednesday 24th March in the undercover area commencing at 5.30pm.
Senior School Raffle ticket winners at our Senior School Assembly were:
10-1 Jack Mooney
10-2 Steven Mason
10-3 Luke Green
11-1 Maddi Sharp
11-2 Zoe Felstead
12-1 Zoe Hough
12-2 To be drawn at next SS assembly
Congratulations to these students for being recognised for being Safe, Respectful or Responsible.
Merit Certificates were presented to Clancy Waterman 11-1 and Jack Terry 12-2.
The start to the year has been busy but productive. There is much to be done in 2021 as we prepare all students for their life Beyond School. Please reserve Monday the 3rd May for the Parent Information Night. More details to follow.
Wendy Hughes
Deputy Principal
Senior School
Important Dates
Friday 12th March - Belsurf & Decadance excursion
Monday 22nd March - Staff Development Day - PUPIL FREE
Thursday 1st April - Last Day of Term 1
Friday 2nd April - Good Friday Public Holiday
Monday 19th April - First Day of Term 2
Wednesday 24th March - Parent evening - 5.30pm
Monday 26th April - Public Holiday - ANZAC Day
Monday 3rd May - Beyond School Parent Information Evening Years 10 to 12
From the Manager Corporate Services
Thank you to all those families who have already paid their child’s Contributions and Charges for 2021, this prompt payment goes such a long way in enabling us to plan and provide for the fabulous programs that we offer here at Belridge Secondary ESC. It is also important to remember that once students are in Year 11 and 12 these charges are compulsory and the expectation is that they will be paid at the beginning of the school year where possible.
We do understand that many of our families have conflicting financial pressures and to assist we are more than happy to enter into payment arrangements such as weekly, fortnightly or monthly payments for completion of these accounts. There are various methods that can be used to make these payments—cash, cheque, internet transfer or EFTPOS. We do ask that unless payment arrangements have been made that all monies are paid by the end of Term 1.
Any families holding a Centrelink Health Care Card, Pension Concession Card or a Veterans’ Affairs Card will be able to complete a Secondary Assistance Form at the start of the school year. This assistance will help with the payment of contributions and charges to a total of $235 and there is a payment of $115 towards uniforms or other associated costs which is credited direct to the parent’s account or, where there have been additional costs incurred, directly to the school. Applications for this assistance need to be submitted by Thursday 1st April 2021 through the school office. There is no option to access this assistance past this date so if you wish to take advantage of this please do so as soon as possible.
Please see below further details.
The Western Australian Department of Education provides an allowance to assist eligible families with secondary schooling costs. To be eligible for the allowance the parent/guardian must hold a Department of Human Services (Centrelink) or Veterans’ Affairs card that represents a statement of income for the family. The allowance consists of two components: $115 Clothing Allowance paid directly to the parent/guardian or the school. $235 Educational Program Allowance paid directly to the school. Application is made by the parent or guardian for student/s enrolled in Years 7-12 at a secondary school.
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA Parent or Guardian of student in Year 7-12 must be the holder of a card that is valid some time during first term.
Please do not hesitate to contact the office on 9408 8050 or email me directly at Stephanie.Camkin@education.wa.edu.au if you have any queries regarding this or our Charges in general.
Stephanie Camkin
Manager Corporate Services
From our School Psychologist
The Triple P – Positive Parenting Program® knows that all parents have different needs. That’s why Triple P offers a number of specialist programmes tailored to suit parents with very specific needs or circumstances. Stepping Stones Triple P is one of them.
What is Stepping Stones Triple P?
Stepping Stones Triple P has been developed for parents of children with a developmental disability. Because it’s based on Triple P’s proven parenting strategies, it gives you ways to deal with the kinds of childhood behaviour problems and issues that can make family life stressful. Stepping Stones Triple P has been evaluated with real families and has been shown to work with children with intellectual and physical disabilities who have disruptive behaviour.
What are the ways I may do Stepping Stones Triple P?
Seminars tackle the most common issues for parents of children with a disability and bring together large groups of parents – often 20 or more. Each seminar takes just 90 minutes and you can do one, two or all three in the series. The topics in the series are: Positive Parenting for Children with a Disability; Helping your Child Reach their Potential; and Changing Problem Behaviour into Positive Behaviour. Primary Care Stepping Stones is a series of brief counselling sessions with a trained provider. Sessions are between 15 and 30 minutes. You’ll meet four times (although sometimes more, sometimes less) over the space of a month or so. Your provider will be someone from your local health, education or welfare community – perhaps a family support worker, school counsellor, special education teacher or a family doctor. You’ll meet to tackle specific behaviours or issues that are particularly worrying you. You could discuss anything from your child’s fears and anxiety to mealtime dramas or disruptive behaviour. You’ll be given a targetted Stepping Stones booklet with more information to help you manage the problem at home.
Standard Stepping Stones is more in-depth and is recommended for families with significant problems at home. Standard Stepping Stones is done in private with a provider, who will help you develop a wide range of positive parenting skills. You’ll meet up for eight to ten sessions of an hour each. You’ll be shown excerpts from the DVD A Survival Guide for Families with a Child who has a Disability and be given the Stepping Stones Triple P Family Workbook.
Group Stepping Stones is great if you are having significant problems with your child’s behaviour or if you would simply like to learn parenting skills to help promote your child’s development and potential. You’ll meet with a small group of parents who also have a child with a disability. There’ll be just six sessions of around 2 ½ hours each. It will take a couple of months to complete. During the sessions you’ll watch DVD excerpts of the parenting strategies being used in real family situations and you’ll have a group workbook to take home. Your provider will also call you at home (three times for between 15 and 30 minutes) to answer questions, provide support and help you with any problems.
I am planning on scheduling a Seminar session for parents this term. More details will be provided when a date has been set.
Nora Gillespie
School Psychologist
MAG1
A huge welcome to all the new students in class MAG1 and, of course, our returning staff and students!
Everyone has been working hard to make our classroom a happy and relaxed place to learn and helping our students have the best start to the year. In our team this year we have our Teachers Mrs Manship and Mrs Read and our fabulous Education Assistants Mrs Hogben, Mrs O’Connor and Mrs Corley.
Students are adapting to their new environment, getting to know their classroom and enjoying a new outdoor space that can be accessed throughout the day for recreation, gross motor and sensory breaks. The students have been utilising this space to ride bikes, interact with water tables and build up core strength through balancing, rolling and jumping on recycled elements such as car tyres and giant PVC pipes.
As we are already in week five all teaching and learning programs are well underway. Students have been immersed in Four Blocks Literacy which means we are completing daily phonics, reading and writing. We are developing numeracy skills through concrete tasks using different materials and real-world applications through to increasingly abstract tasks allowing students to demonstrate generalisation of a taught skill. Communication skills are integrated across all learning areas and our guided reading lessons provide some interesting vocabulary practice for all students…What do they do with all the poo from all the animals at the zoo? (Author Anh Do). We have also commenced Friday swimming lessons and students seem to be enjoying their time in the water judging by the smiling faces.
I look forward to getting to know our students, their families and support networks more and seeing their progress as the year develops.
Nichola Manship & Maggie Read
MAG1 Teachers
Chinese New Year Celebrations
Belridge Secondary ESC celebrated Chinese New Year with a Lion Dance performance, performed by the YAOLIN Kung Fu Association on Monday the 15th of February. The Chinese New Year festival period lasted for 16 days, starting from Chinese New Year's eve to the Lantern Festival. In 2021, the Chinese New Year festival began on February 11th and went until February 26th. Lunar New Year 2021 is on February 12, and in terms of the Chinese zodiac animal, it's the Year of the Ox.
The lion dance is a form of traditional dance in Chinese culture and other Asian countries in which performers mimic a lion’s movements in a lion costume to bring good luck and fortune. The lion dance is usually performed during the Chinese New Year and other Chinese traditional, cultural and religious festivals.
Yaolin Kung Fu Association represented Australia in the “6th International Dragon & Lion Dance Championship” held in Shanghai 2017 (described as the “Olympics of Dragon and Lion Dance”). The routine received 1st place in the Western Division, and 2nd in the Overall Division under the “Traditional Lion Dance Routine”.
The students thoroughly enjoyed the performance and it was an opportunity for our school to celebrate cultural diversity and traditions. These types of events raise awareness about the ever-growing culture around us and it brings our school community closer together.
Shayne Hutchings
Deputy Principal
Middle School
7-1
This Term in 7-1 we welcome eight new students to our school. We also have Mrs W (Amy Walton), Miss M (Sarah Mann), Miss C (Patricia Cren) and Mrs Wood (Margit Wood) as our lovely assistants. Crystal Thompson is our Science and Technology Teacher and Ms Jane Hill is our Home Economics Teacher. We have had a productive and enjoyable start to the Term. I thought I would introduce our Year 7s in this newsletter and what they like about being at Belridge.
Lily - I like Library and Dancing. I like listening to music. I like the sandpit in the garden.
Evie - I like cooking and making stuff potato. I like dance club on Fridays at lunchtime. I like sitting next to Wil in class.
Matthew - I get to see the rubbish trucks from our classroom window and seeing the construction of the PAC.
Phoebe - I like playing games with my new friends and Wil. I like cooking and making pizza, apple crumble and stuffed potato.
Sienna - I like getting rewards like play dough after doing my work. I like gardening, art and borrowing books from the library.
Hayley - I like Art and Science at Belridge. I like drawing on the whiteboard and playing with putty as a reward. I like break times.
Jamie - I like playing with the locks in the sensory garden. I like playing money in Maths. I love play dough and slime.
Wil - I like lunch and recess because I get hungry and I get to see my friends. I like doing a bit of work too and then getting rewards.
I am proud of all the students in 7-1 for transitioning so well to High School and I am looking forward to teaching them this year.
Daisy Llanwarne
7-1 Teacher
7-2
In class our favourite activity is singing. Miss Jordan has been teaching us AUSLAN signs. We have already learnt the chorus to We are the Champions by QUEEN. We also really enjoy news time practising our social skills and learning something new about our friends.
Chloe Jordan
7-2 Teacher
7-3
Team 7-3 is composed of 7 wonderful young individuals Bailey, Cameron, Jhi, Jaxon, Oliver M, Oliver B and Sam.
We have had an amazing start to the year with the 7-3 students working hard and making a great transition into high school. The hard work of both our teaching team and our students has made for a fantastic beginning to our journey together.
What a year it has been so far, with lively class discussions, learning about the government, heated Connect 4 competitions, teaming up with the 10-2 class to participate in the school recycling program and we have even found time to create our own nature strip.
2021 is going to be a great year for Team 7-3.
Watch this space.
Simon Malloy
7-3 Teacher
and the 7-3 Team
8-1
All the students in 8-1 have had a wonderful start to the school year. It is exciting to see our friends from last year and welcome new friends into our class.
We have begun the year focussing on the school values, what they look like, sound like and feel like. We know that school rules keep us safe, listening to the teacher is respectful and looking after our belongings is responsible.
There are many other subjects that we are enjoying including Home Ec, D & T and Visual Arts.
We are looking forward to many other great experiences this term and throughout the year.
Ms Carlyon, Mrs Retallack, Mrs Nord , Mrs Oldfield & Mrs McCrory
Helen Carlyon
8-1 Teacher
8-2
Welcome to the new school year. Year 8-2 students have begun the year brilliantly, being a polite hardworking and respectful group of young people. Mrs Curran, Mrs Gellard and I are very impressed with every student! I have also enjoyed meeting parents and carers at our IEP meetings. These have provided a valuable insight into our students.
We have begun the year learning about Chinese, or Lunar New Year. Our students have completed activities about how the timing of the New Year is dependent on the phases of the moon and learned about the traditions of the celebration. 2021 is the Year of the Ox. We have discovered what our own zodiac animal is. We have lots of rats (including Mrs Egan and Mrs Curran), a number of pigs and also a dog (Mrs Gellard). We have had a lot of fun finding out about our characteristics according to the zodiac and decorating pictures of the animals, making Chinese dragons and lanterns. We have also tasted some of the traditional fruits that are eaten to celebrate the New Year and wished each other “Gong hei fat choy!” – Cantonese for "wishing you great happiness and prosperity."
Mrs Hutchings organised a group of dancers to come to school and perform the New Year Lion Dance. This was spectacular and enjoyed by all. Below are examples of the recounts our students wrote about this experience.
In Science students are learning about structure of the Earth and the Rock Cycle and in HASS we are studying landforms and landscapes. We will be conducting experiments to help understand the amazing science of how features of our Earth have formed. Our students have shown keen interest in these topics. They were absolutely in awe when they discovered that the planet Earth is approximately 4.6 billion years old. - Written in digits that is 4 600 000 000 years!
We are all delighted to be back at school and looking forward to a wonderful year.
Pauline Egan
8-2 Teacher
Chinese Lion Dance Stories by 8-2
Chloe Penn
On Monday February 15, 2021 the Chinese people did the Chinese lion dance to the students and staff at BSESC and we watched the lion dance, and they did it in the Performing Arts Block. They did it for celebrating Chinese New Year and it was so cool with the lion costume doing the dance and with the drums and cymbals beating. The Chinese New Year dance was so cool to watch.
Judd Solomon
Yesterday on the 15th we went to see the lion dance and watch the lions wearing the costumes and dancing in the middle. Giving out oranges and sweets and stand up and gave Mrs Hutching food for Luna New Year. They were in the Belridge new Art Centre. And they have red and gold on their costumes.
Euan Owen
MAG2
We have had a great start to the year here in MAG 2. We have all settled in nicely to the new classroom and are experiencing a welcome change of scenery with the new location.
Our teacher this year is Mrs Vales, Mrs Read is our teacher on a Tuesday and our wonderful education assistants are Mrs Devaney, Mrs Melia, Ms Hogan and Mr Nethercott.
We are all looking forward to what is going to be a fun year and sharing the achievements of our magnificent students – Kynan, Jeremy, Massimo and Michael. We have been discussing and preparing for the many exciting, timetabled activities on the horizon for the year including Landsdale Farm, Community Access and Swimming. This term for Community Access, we will be walking to Belridge Shopping Centre for students to purchase an item of their choice or a small number of items from a shopping list.
We have been making the most of the warm weather, ensuring we spend a bit of time outdoors each day whether it is for a nice short walk or some time on the bikes.
Well done to Kynan, Jeremy, Massimo and Michael for a successful start to 2021!
Katherine Vales
MAG 2 Teacher
9-1
9-1 have had an excellent start to the new school year and have all settled in REALLY well! Half way through high school already, wow! All students have entered this year full of enthusiasm and positivity and I am so excited to see what the year holds for us all!
Our wonderful students; Sari, Riley, Grace, Jayden. Abigail, Jada and Thaya have displayed superb work ethic every day and I am so proud of their individual efforts.
The hard-working education assistants in our class are, Ms Skehan, Mr Davey and Miss B. As a team, we have all worked hard to create a comfortable working environment for our students, revisiting the Zones of Regulation on a regular basis as well as establishing our daily routines and classroom expectations.
So far, we have been taking part in lots of fun-filled activities such as cooking in class for Pancake Day, having dance lessons in the new Performing Arts Centre, creating wooden block calendars in D&T and even celebrating the lovely Abigail’s birthday. This term, we have started to read Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Students are loving it!
Keira Savin
9-1 Teacher
9-2
When I found out that I would be teaching 9-2, I was told they were an amazing class full of brilliant students, and this has most certainly been the case so far!
We have spent the last few weeks getting to know each other and learning each other’s likes and dislikes and most importantly, respecting everyone’s opinions.
So far we have explored Chinese New Year and the origin of Shrove Tuesday. We have been participating in a “Buddy Up” scheme with Year 7, where our Year 9’s read to the Year 7’s. It has been beautiful to see the engagement of all students involved. We have also been joining up with the other Year 9 class for team sports for some fierce competition.
Although it was not quite the start to the New Year that we had all imagined, I just wanted to mention how proud I am of all the students in 9-2 who were so mature in their approach to wearing their masks.
I am so excited to see how the rest of the year unfolds with these wonderful individuals.
Team 9-2 Mrs Notarianni, Mrs McDade, Ms Leroy, Mrs Fryer and Mrs Stracey
Janine Notarianni
9-2 Teacher
10-1
Wow! What a great start to the school year with so many new programs to kick off the Year 10s upper school career.
We have enjoyed our Community Access exploring the local shops, group morning tea and shopping at Coles using the dollar up method to calculate how much to pay.
In DFES, with Mr Vandenbroeke and Mrs Bond, the class has picked the name ‘Team Foxtrot’. They are learning to use the phonetic alphabet and working safely as a team.
The students are cooking up a storm in the Home Ec kitchen with Ms Hill, enjoying sport with Mr Cann and Photography with Ms Grieves.
Well done to the staff and students of 10-1, for a fantastic start to the year.
GO TEAM FOXTROT!
Susan Osborne
10-1 Teacher
10-2
Welcome to 10-2. My name is Aileen Finn and I have the pleasure of being the teacher to this amazing group of Year 10 students this year. Our Education Assistants this year our Mr Partridge and Ms Street and we will be working together so that this year is successful for all.
The 10-2 is off to a flying start. The extra week off was unfortunate but when the students returned, they were all ready to get back into school life and routines. There are a number of new and exciting experiences ahead for the Year 10’s, including Community Access and DFES. The Community Access Program provides an opportunity for the students to develop their confidence when using public transport and when interacting with others in the community. Many of the locations visited during Community Access support and consolidate the students’ curriculum in Health, Maths, English and HASS.
The students in this class are excited to continue their involvement in the Environmental team. This year they have the extra responsibility of being mentors to the Year 7-3 class. The Year 10 students provide leadership to the Year 7’s each Friday when they team up to collect the class recycling from around the school. They then work together to organise the collections appropriately for recycling and reusing. The students record data on the items collected to assist in any improvements or education that may be required. The students will be deciding very soon, on the charities or collections the proceeds of their can and bottle collections will be donated to.
We all enjoyed Celebrating the Chinese New Year with an incursion organised by Mrs Hutchings on Feb 15th. The YAOLIN Kung Fu Association preformed a “Lion Dance” to celebrate the New Year.
It has been fantastic to catch up with many of you, the parents and carers of our amazing students during IEP meetings. Thank you for your time and I look forward to working with you all throughout the year. Please feel free to contact me at any time through my email Aileen.Finn@education.wa.edu.au.
Aileen Finn
10-2 Teacher
10-3
The students have had a great start to 2021, with everyone working well across all areas of the curriculum. Working alongside me in the classroom this year are Mrs O’Rourke, Mrs Van De Peppel, Mrs Blackie, and Mr Moore.
This year the students will be participating in a variety of new courses. One of these is Community Access. This course involves students visiting a variety of destinations, increasing their confidence when out in the community, while developing their money and travel skills. The students recently visited Hungry Jacks in Beldon, where they purchased a snack.
The students will also attend Photography and Performing Arts classes this year. These courses are taught by Ms Tsoulis and Ms McNulty from the Secondary College.
Another new course undertaken by the students is Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES). As part of the course, students will learn about working as part of a team, as well as safety in the home and in the bush.
You are very welcome to contact me at school anytime. My email address is stephen.macmahon@education.wa.edu.au
Stephen MacMahon
10-3 Teacher
11-1
Welcome back! The students in 11-1 have had an awesome start to the year.
On Mondays, students have to choose what they are going to make each week and write their shopping lists during their ASDAN Meal Preparation lesson. The students are further developing their independent living skills while in the ILC on Tuesday and Thursdays.
On Wednesdays, students as part of their ASDAN Workright program will be attending their individual work placements for workplace learning. 11-1 students will need to be organised in remembering their smartrider and companion card to use when travel training to and from work.
On Thursdays, Miss Kath from TAFE visits Belridge Secondary ESC to teach Certificate I in Agrifoods, so the students have been working hard already in our beautiful garden with assistance from Mrs Hull.
On Fridays, the students have been busy practicing their coffee making skills using a “real” coffee machine in the ILC with Ms Thompson. The ASDAN Out in the Community program is also on Fridays.
The students and staff are looking forward to their first DFES excursion for the year and Belsurf which are both happening in Week 6.
Kim Butler
11-1 Teacher
11-2
With a slightly delayed start to 2021, Year 11-2 have settled into life again at Belridge extremely well. Students have begun their Year 11 journey with enthusiasm by engaging in each subject.
In English, students have begun to look into Emotional Literacy, where they are developing five key dimensions of emotional literacy; self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills. Thus far, students have expanded their feelings vocabulary and learnt the difference between a ‘compliment’, ‘negative feedback’ and ‘constructive feedback’. To support their emotional literacy, students have also begun to study how to apply basic communication skills, with a focus on communication within the workplace. Students have looked into what communication is, how communication is used, different methods of communication and how to identify workplace communication procedures. All these skills are complimentary of other subjects and will be useful to students as they start their workplace Learning (WPL).
In Mathematics, students have begun a program that develops awareness and skills in planning, budgeting, spending and profit. In this program, students inherit money from a relative that they must spend on designing, developing and running a nature park. Students need to consider the cost of facilities, on-going running costs, entry costs, available space, and appropriate number of amenities in relation to the number of expected visitors. The students nature parks are currently in the designing stage and the students have certainly enjoyed spending their money!
Across both general health and protective behaviours, students are enhancing their communication, negotiation and consolidation skills through a Conflict Resolution program. So far, students have learnt what conflict is, what can make a conflict worse, how prejudices can play a part on conflict, and how they can identify feelings in themselves and others.
For Physical Education, our class have engaged in two different forms of physical activity; a fitness circuit and team games. For the team games, our class have joined with another Year 12 class to play different ball sports. So far, we’ve had excellent games of tee-ball and Kick-ball. During these games, students develop their gross and fine motor skills as well as enhance their sportsmanship.
On Tuesday mornings, the class engage in their Certificate II course in Work Skills and Vocational Pathways. To supplement this course, students are learning to make coffee. Each week, students have to organise the setting up of the coffee machine, create the labels, bag the biscuits, pour the coffee, deliver the coffee to the correct person and location, as well as complete theory elements associated to the course. The making of the coffees has fast become a popular skill for many of our students and they have already perfected the art of being a barista.
Thursday’s Certificate I course in Agri-Foods, delivered by TAFE North Metro has started well with students expanding their knowledge of tools and gardening equipment as well as hands-on experience in the Belridge Sensory garden. Behind each aspect of this course are the underlining-transferable skills that the students can apply to any industry or career, such as; health and safety, team work, communication and working to a timeline.
Finally, Friday’s ASDAN – Volunteering Course has begun with students researching what Volunteering is, how people get involved, why people may choose to volunteer and the benefits of volunteering to both one’s self and to the wider community. Active volunteering will commence next term.
So as you can see, it has been a busy start to 2021 for class 11-2. Well done on everything you have achieved so far and keep up the hard work!
Tom Cann
11-2 Teacher
Certificate I - Agrifoods
DFES - Team Tango
Liam - Student Councillor speech
12-1
What a great start to Year 12! Students have embraced the responsibility of being the leaders of the school.
12-1 have begun all their programs and will be completing 4 ASDAN modules over the year. These include Money Progression, Business Enterprise, Meal Preparation and Workright.
We have already decided on our Class Business and will be running a staff Car Wash to raise funds for the Perth Hills fire victims and animals affected by the devastating fires that occurred at the beginning of February. The car wash will cost $10 and students will be performing all tasks required to run the business from taking the money and booking in the customer to washing the car.
The class has already produced 2 fantastic meals for the class to sit together and enjoy. They have also practised their skills writing out shopping lists from a recipe and going to Coles to find the ingredients and pay for them.
WPL - Some students have already done their induction at IKEA with others to follow at their placements in the coming weeks. It is hoped students will all be at their work placements learning valuable work skills shortly.
The class had a fantastic start to Coffee Club. The tasks were shared across the students and everyone did an amazing job making the coffees and delivering them to all the happy staff.
Tonya Vander Loop
12-1 Teacher
12-2
This year, 12-2 moved to a new classroom. B7 is now our humble address and we are all settling in well making the class feel like we have always been here. The students adore the elongated tables and the excitement of being young adult learners working on laptops. We cannot wait until the new ones arrive so each student has one to work on!
Mrs Wearing is continuing to support 12-2 students and we have warmly welcomed Ms Mellows back to the class team as she has moved up with the students. We also welcome Mrs Willis to the Monday team who has shouldered the role of ‘Dessert Head Trainer’ in our Cobra Café concoctions.
As part of our weekly timetable, we have secured a period each Wednesday with the talented Mrs Hull and continue garden and workshop project which were greatly enjoyed in 2020.
Cobra Café has begun with a flying start. The student team members chose different mains and dessert recipes for each Monday of Term 1 and are to be commended on their dedication and enthusiasm to the program. We are continuing to iron out a few glitches as the term progresses due to the change of day, increase in staff orders and smaller class size – thank you to the classes who have offered assistance – but we are still getting lots of lovely positive feedback from our customers.
As part of the Prepare and Serve Espresso Coffee unit, Jack, Dylan, William and Jayden have begun a Thursday ‘Coffee Happy Hour Club’. These students wrote staff a letter asking for an expression of interest in helping them with their practical assessment by offering to drink 10 different coffee styles. The students received an overwhelming amount of support and therefore decided to organise a lucky dip to see which staff members received the sought after prize of free coffee. We hope to begin the assessment this week.
In Week Three we began the Keys4Life Program. Students focused on learning about peripheral vision and blind spots. We experimented in the classroom to see how good our peripheral vision is and spoke about using our rear vision mirror, side mirrors and turning our heads. In the coming weeks we will sit in the driver’s seat of a car to practice positioning our chair and mirrors and then finding where our blind spots are.
As part of this program, we began a three part series of RAC presentations. Gemma from the RAC Education Team presented a very informative session called ‘Back Seat Driver’ which looked at Driver Distraction. I was very impressed with the positive interest that the students demonstrated and their willingness to participate in asking and answering questions. The next two sessions are called Drink, Drugs and Driving, AND Buying a Car. In the last week of this term, we look forward to attending the RAC bstreetsmart event at the RAC Arena.
This year, the 12-2 team have decided to promote healthy living, fitness and good hygiene. The class is being encouraged to keep water bottles on their desks, use deodorant after break times and participate in movement activities. As part of the timetable, the students are participating in a fitness session led by Mr Pantelis on Monday mornings and are also super excited to join up with Mr Cann and his 11-2 class in a combined sports class where we can play team games. We have started with kickball for this term and thank you to Mr Cann for organising and facilitating and letting me be part of a team with the students!
In my opinion, the highlight of the term is definitely the Year 12 School Ball. The new venue of Optus Stadium was fantastic and the students looked amazing, enjoyed the atmosphere and danced the night away. (thank goodness I wore flat shoes!). Thank you to Mrs Alicia Holliday the BSC Year 12 Coordinator for organising such a memorable event. Congratulations to William from 12-2 for being awarded the ‘Mr Charming’ of the night.
In conclusion, we have started this school year on a high note and all students should be proud of their excellent efforts.
Lauren Thompson
12-2 Teacher
Year 12 School Ball
A wonderful evening was had by everyone who attended. Everyone was dressed to the nines and looked fantastic in all their finery. The girls glittered in their formal dresses and the guys dazzled in their suits. Special mention to William who looked amazing in his traditional kilt.
Everyone hit the dance floor and there were a lot of sore feet later in the evening.
Our congratulations to Amber in 12-1 and William in 12-2 for being award the titles of Miss and Mr Charming respectively.
Some photos from the Ball are below and we hope to have more to share with you in our next Newsletter at the end of the term.
NO LIMITS NETBALL
The No Limits program is a fantastic opportunity for participants with an intellectual disability aged 11 and over to engage with the sport of netball, meet new friends and play in a safe environment as part of a team. This initiative involves a weekly netball training program and a chance to participate in a statewide carnival in June.
The Landsdale Netball Club are looking for interested people who would like to train on a weekly basis on Thursdays and be a part of a club environment. Please message Lisa on our Landsdale Netball Club Facebook page or register@landsdalenetballclub.com.au
Community Vision School Holiday Program
Alternatively, please contact the school office and we can send a copy to you.