3rd February 2020 FIRST DAY OF TERM
2 March 2020 LABOUR DAY - Public holiday
3-27 March 2020 OLNA - Numeracy, Reading & Writing
20 March 2020 Year 7-9 Junior Football Carnival
9th April 2020 LAST DAY OF TERM
It has been another industrious term at our College with many exciting things happening!
Cecil Andrews College entered into the Governor STEM Awards and were selected as a finalist! This is a very prestigious award and we were selected alongside Perth Ladies College, Hale School and Melville Senior High School. To be selected among a group of impressive schools such as these, is an achievement in itself! The judges visited on 23 October and were extremely impressed by our College and the education our students are receiving. On the day, we had an extraordinary team with staff, students, parents and community members and I would like to thank everyone who contributed during the preparation and on the day. I was very proud of the staff and students here and the culture you have worked so hard to build! I would like to thank everyone for all of the hard work you put in, particularly the Dream STEAM Team. To anyone who helped in any way – our students, our staff, our parents and our community members - well done and I thank you.
We said farewell to our Year 12 students earlier this term with a memorable Presentation Night on 15 October. I would like to thank Mrs Jones, Mr Morton, and Mrs Hill for creating a special night for our graduating class of 2019. I would also like to thank Mrs Read for the amazing catering on the night.
23 October was a busy day at the College. As well as hosting the Governor STEM Awards Judges at our school, we hosted a visit from Casuarina Senior College, another P-TECH school from Darwin who were here to learn more about our College and our P-TECH program.
Some of our Student Councilors attended a meeting with Mr Peter Tinley, Minister for Youth, to discuss topics including youth programs, overseas exchange programs and support programs for young people such as the Kids Helpline and Headspace.
We had a visit from Ms Suzy Urbaniak of CoRE Learning Foundation on 31 October. Suzy won the 2016 Prime Minister's Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Secondary Schools. She spent most of her day with us teaching some of our Year 7 and Year 10 students and inspiring them with different ways of learning.
I would like to thank Mr Setzinger and his team for organising another successful STEAM Festival for the school on Friday 8 November. Thanks also to community members and families for your participation.
On Wednesday 13 November, our school hosted a visit from Mr Anthony Albanese, Leader of the Australian Labor Party. As he toured our school and students showed him their work, I noticed the students were so confident in their conversations with him and very impressive! They represented our College to such a high standard and I couldn’t be prouder! Here is a link to an interview with Mr Albanese with Year 11 student Luke Sharp, who did a fantastic job:
https://www.facebook.com/CecilAndrewsCollege/videos/986340188390183/
This term I was invited by the Department of Education to attend a workshop “Developing the Department of Education’s vision for information communications technology (ICT)”, I took with one of our Year 9 student’s, Alex Smith, and his mother Laura Satur for their valuable input. They did a great job and were impressed the panel with their contributions to the discussion.
Our final dance performance of the year, “Lights, Camera, Action” was on 14 November. Mr Ghouse created yet another impressive performance from the students and it also included some staff as well! It was a great performance by all involved, as always, a pleasure to watch. Thank you Mr Ghouse for all the hard work you put in to create our performances.
This term we also hosted a Professional Learning Day for 15 Principals from both Primary and Secondary Schools around Perth, facilitated by Mr Adam Voigt on our restorative approach to keep improving our culture.
Recently, our Clontarf Academy and our Girls Academy have hosted their award nights. The Girls Academy also hosted a BBQ for primary school students.
In Week 8 and Week 9, we hosted two wonderful transition days for Year 6 students who will attend our school next year. Both days were a success and the students enjoyed their time with us and felt safe knowing Cecil Andrews College is where they will attend next year. I would like to thank Ms Paice for all her hard work making our transition days so enjoyable for the students.
We will finish the year with Christmas Carols on the oval on Monday 16 December and a whole school assembly on 17 December.
What a year it’s been for our school community! I am so proud of all of the staff, students, parents and community members who continue to make Cecil Andrews College a great place to come to school. These are just a few of many highlights from 2019:
- Mr John Townley won a prestigious Commonwealth Bank and Schools Plus National Award for his outstanding leadership and teaching out of 3500 applicants!
- We held a successful Careers Expo in Term 1.
- Cecil Andrews College was one of only three Perth schools selected by Rio Tinto to benefit from a $2 million contribution to offer Certificate II courses in automation to secondary students.
- Our School Ball was held in Term 2 and I was very proud of the students, who showed maturity and impeccable behaviour.
- Our Performing Arts Dance Students showcased their talents as part of the Dance Alliance's performance - Nexus. This was an opportunity to showcase the high quality performances and success of our Performing Arts flagship program.
- Our Upper School Football Team finished the competition undefeated, winning the East / South Fremantle District competition. This took them through to the state quarter finals where they fell just short losing by just 6 points. It was a great effort!
- I was invited to attend Planet P-TECH” in New York. This was a global education summit for P-TECH schools, colleges and industry leaders. I now have a global network to advance our P-TECH model and some key learnings for career development and workplace pathways. The last day of term for students is Thursday 19 December. Students will return to school for 2020 on Monday 3 February.
Finally, I would like to thank our Board and P&C for all they do for our school community. They donate their time generously and contribute to the school in a valuable way and I really appreciate everything they do for Cecil Andrews College. It does not go unnoticed!
I wish you all an enjoyable Christmas Break. Take care of yourselves and your families and loved ones. I am looking forward to seeing you all back at school next year, refreshed and ready for a new year of learning!
The students continue to enjoy hot food, warm drink or fruit juice with fresh fruit for breakfast before beginning their class lessons every Monday to Friday 7.30-8.40am. They have the choice of ham and cheese toasties, baked bean or spaghetti jaffles, pancakes, sultana bread toasted, French toast or cereal if they prefer. The students not only come to eat and drink but socialise with their friends and chat to the Chaplain also. The number of students varies from 50 to over 80 each day. It is a privilege to serve and encourage the beautiful young people who come to Cecil Andrews College and I really enjoy this part of my role as Chaplain in the school.
It is wonderful to see staff come into the Breakfast Club spending some of their precious time with the students. I believe this is very important as your presence helps students to see their teachers in a different light. The students love having you come to play table tennis with them. They really try to beat you, but some of you are very good players, and there is a great sense of competition. It seems a great time is had by all.
I thank the many staff and students for your efforts in running the Breakfast Club whilst I was away due to family illness. You did a wonderful job and I want you to know that I appreciate you and value each of you.
If anyone would be interested in donating food items, the following would be really appreciated:
Long life milk, eggs, sliced cheese, ham, fruit juice, self-raising flour, fresh fruit or sliced bread.
Gael Varian
Chaplain
Shevon took away the top award for highset academic achievement. She received all A and B grades in both semesters.