2024 Term 1 Issue 1 Newsletter

Principals Message . . .

We have had an extremely busy start to Term 1 with new students settling into their new classrooms extremely well.  I would like to thank all staff who have come back to school after their much-deserved summer break enthused and energised to ensure that each student achieves the best possible outcomes in all aspects of their education. 

We continue to strive to offer a wide range of experiences to apply the skills taught in classrooms to real life contexts.  Navigating successful pathways one student at a time is our overall focus during your child’s time with us and your continued support and collaborative partnership helps ensure this is a reality for every student enrolled with us.

Our School Council has held their first meeting for 2024 and I look forward to their continued support in guiding the school’s strategic planning, vision and future growth. 

One of the most significant events this Term has been our relaunch of our school.  We now have a new logo and a new website and the branding on all school publications includes beautiful artwork which, the students created with the support and direction of Kylie Graham, esteemed local, Noongar Artist.  Kylie’s inspiration for the artwork embraces our students journey through schooling and beyond.  The painting is centred with a gathering spot at our school, symbolising community, unity and belonging. The leaves in the artwork signify a feeling of personal and collaborative growth. The third design of footsteps illustrates the creation of pathways that empower individuals to realise their full potential and be prepared for graduation, ready to face the challenges of the world.

Please feel free to come into school anytime to view the artwork which is displayed in our reception area.  The relaunch was extremely well attended and while parents enjoyed a presentation about program delivery from key staff, students had great fun at our “Be You, Be True” themed disco.  The purpose of the relaunch is to increase our school profile in the wider community.  If you are aware of families looking for an alternate school for their child, please share our website details with them and encourage them to contact us.  

As part of the transition planning process at our school, we held a Support@bility session which included  BizLink who shared information about Disability Employment Services and NDIS funding and Lightbulb Skills who focussed on accessing Social Connections and independent living skills.  All presenters are highly valued in their expertise but the networking with other parents at these sessions is just as valuable and I urge you to attend. 

I was extremely proud of our fabulous cricket players who returned from a recent cricket carnival with a trophy for winning the first division.  All students participated fully with much enthusiasm and commitment to demonstrate fabulous fair play and sportsmanship.  Thank you to all staff who were on hand to encourage and support our students during the day.

Students also enjoyed an excursion to Red Hill to learn all about how we can reduce and avoid waste and selected students attended the annual RAC B Street Smart Road Safety event which is designed to show students the realities of risky behaviours on our roads.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Jodi Wells who stepped into the MCS role this Term.   Jodi settled extremely well into her position and quickly became part of our team.  Jodi has been integral to the organisation of our school Re-branding and has brought clarity and perspective to our financial operations.  Jodi will take up a position at Kinross College in Term 2 and we wish her every success in her new position.  Good Luck Jodi!

Our first Open Day will take place on Tuesday 7 May, swimming lessons will take place in Week 7 of Term 2, our staff development day will take place on  Monday 22 April - students do not attend school on this day. 

 I wish all of our families a wonderful Term 1 break and thank you for your ongoing support of our school. 

Christine Lester
Principal

Contributions & Charges . . .

Just a friendly reminder that statements regarding school contributions and charges were emailed out last week. A big thank you to the families who have promptly settled their accounts, your support is greatly appreciated.

For those who haven't had the chance to make payment yet, we kindly ask you to do so at your earliest convenience. Your contributions play a vital role in supporting the individual educational programs offered at our Centre. They also help us budget effectively for subjects and various enriching activities that benefit our students.  Your cooperation ensures that every student receives the best possible education and opportunities.

Thank you for your continued support and commitment to our school community.

Free Home Internet for eligible families ...

The Australian Government School Student Broadband Initiative (SSBI) is offering free home internet for eligible families with school-aged students until 31 December 2025.
To be eligible, families must:
have no active broadband service

• have a device capable of accessing the internet
• live in premises where they can access a standard NBN service
• have a child living at home who is enrolled in an Australian school.

The free broadband starts from the day the service is activated with a participating internet provider. Families will not be placed on a paid service by the internet provider at the end of the free service without consent.

For technical support/ more information and to abtain a list of participating internet providers - call NBN Co School Student Broadband Initiative on 1800 626 269.  

If you think you are eligible and want to self-nominate for the free broadband offer call the National Referral Centre on 1800 954 610 (Monday to Friday, 10 am to 6 pm Australian Eastern Daylight-saving Time)

B1 Classroom . . .

Term 1 is always an eventful Term on the CJs calendar, and this year was no exception. The B1 students have been busy getting to know each other and themselves while also exploring many interesting topics in the classroom. Highlights include the cricket carnival, the Red Hill Waste Centre excursion and cooking nachos!

It has been a pleasure to have Amelia, Renae, Lachlan, Jaan, Bradley, Jaime and Rhys in our class. I look forward to the rest of the year!

Mikail Koulianos
Class Teacher

B2 Classroom . . .

The start of 2024 for our new and previous B2 students at the Centre has been a very action packed and enjoyable experience. This fun and charismatic bunch have all done incredibly well as they have found their way around the school both physically and socially. I have been very impressed with how quickly they have been able to create and maintain relationships with their peers and be so confident in approaching all that our Centre has to offer. At the start of this Term students of B2 have been focussing on building team chemistry with their fellow classmates and learned what was going to be ahead of them this year.

Students have been busy discovering their interests and working hard in their certificate courses, elective units and realising the importance of work skills as they dive into simulated work at Bean@bility and work placements such as Cuddly Animal Farm, Ashfield Primary School and West Care.  In between their English, Math, Health and STEM work, B2 students thoroughly enjoyed their Bush Ranger excursion to Red Hill Waste Management Centre as we went on an exciting bus tour through their landfill seeing how Perth’s waste gets buried underground.

This Term I have been so pleased to see each student embrace their new school and become more confident as they have made such a positive and encouraging impact in their learning within the classroom and their experiences during school outings.   

Andy Dixon
Class Teacher

B4 Classroom . . .

B4 classroom have had a busy and exciting start to the year, filled with many interesting and enjoyable activities providing a variety of opportunities to learn. Students have undertaken many activities including Preliminary Units, Work Place Learning, Certificate Courses, STEM, Keys 4 Life, ASDAN, Bushranger Cadets, Community Access excursions, Rock and Water, Bike@bility, and Bean@bility.

As part of our Preliminary English, students are investigating career and education pathways and opportunities for when they leave school. In our Preliminary Math, we have concentrated on developing student’s independence in the community. We have practised skills with money handling and improved our communication skills. During our class shopping program, all the students demonstrated their cash handling and team work skills, and they made some healthy and tasty meals. While out in the community, students behaved in a mature and positive manner, demonstrating respect for each other and their environment. 

All students have contributed to a great learning environment, where their confidence in different activities has grown, because students encourage each other and enjoy each other’s company and successes.

Steve Ryce
Class Teacher

B5 Classroom . . .

B5 students havee made an excellent start to the year, with all students settling in smoothly and making remarkable progress across all subjects. It's heartening to see the classroom community coming together so well.

Each student has taken responsibility for their individual classroom duties and morning routines with a positive and proactive attitude. They have created their own personalised timetable for the term, which has helped them develop their organisational skills.

The students have started their preliminary units in Math, English and Health, and also enjoyed an enlightening Bushranger excursion to Redhill Waste Management Centre. Everyone is eagerly anticipating the upcoming holidays, but they're also excited about the start of a new Term!

Melissa Coultas-Jones
Class Teacher

B6 Classroom . . .

After a difficult start to the Term, B6 students showed great resilience to push forward and achieve an incredible amount in a short time. From smashing out spreadsheets on Excel to smashing sixes in cricket.  I would like to thank each and every student for making this an outstanding class to be a part of.

This would not have been possible without the contributions of Shane, Louise, Ed and Karen, who have all worked hard to set the stage for a fantastic year to come.

Jack Scott
Class Teacher

Classroom Achievement Awards . . .

Congratulations to the following students who received a "Classroom Achievement Award" at our student assembly for term 1, 2024.   We are very proud of you all and your academic achievements! 
Keep up the good work.  

B1 Classroom -  Amelia B
B2 Classroom - Brooklyn H
B4 Classroom - Stephanie K
B5 Classroom - Ryley M
B6 Classroom - Riley O

Student Councillors . . .

Our 2024 student councillors have had a very busy start to the year - Lena, Domenic, Han, Matthew, Riley O and Duay are a passionate group of young people, working as a team to encourage a sense of belonging, togetherness and respect amongst all students at our school.

The student councillors oversee school events and fundraising, helping to develop social skills and friendship building amongst peers. They utilise our student notice board to share awareness of community issues, encouraging students to become confident, compassionate and active citizens in the community.

The first event of the year was the highly successful Be You, Be True Student Disco. The theme of the event was an encouragement for students to be proud of who they are, to be true to themselves and accept others for who they are. A fantastic night was had by all in attendance, as students danced up a storm and belted out tunes during karaoke! 

The student councillors also encourage students to recognise and write a student award nomination form for other students who are demonstrating our core school values - Belonging, Respect, Resilience and Courage.  Students selected from the nomination ballot box then receive certificates of recognition, announced during our weekly assembly. This is a wonderful way to acknowledge and promote positive behaviours in our school.

We are looking forward to seeing what our student councillors have planned for the year ahead!

Kat Pruiti
Student Wellbeing Officer

Be You, Be True Student Disco . . .

Cricket Carnival . . .

Students at the Centre battled it out with other schools on the cricket pitch at Kostera Oval in week 6. With great displays of athleticism, teamwork and sportsmanship, our students tried their absolute best to succeed, all the while having a big smile on their face.  I would like to thank Kalamunda Education Support Centre and all staff for making it such a memorable day for our school. Congratulations to the division 1 team for finishing first and to the following students for winning awards:-

Div 1: Best on ground: Ethan - Coaches award: Han
Div 2: All team players
Div 3: Best on ground: Brad -Coaches award: Riley O
Luci G Award: Riley O

Jack Scott
Teacher

Certificate I Retail . . .

We are having another busy start to the year in Certificate 1 in Retail Services. The students complete five units of competency to achieve this certificate or get a Certificate of Attainment if they successfully complete some of the units, but not all five.

Students are learning about applying safe work practices, organising themselves and the work area, communication and working effectively in the workplace, and operating retail equipment.

The course involves theory and practical work and the students practice what they are learning in our simulated workplace Toast ‘N Shake.  They are supported in taking orders, making toasted sandwiches and milkshakes, delivering customer orders, taking payments by cash or eftpos, and ensuring the workplace area is clean.  and of course well presented in their Toast ‘N shake uniform. 

Students have completed units in Work Health and Safety so that we know the requirements of working safely in our simulated business.  We have started making and selling toasties and milkshakes in our class, and will be expanding this to the whole school in Term 2. It has been pleasing to see all the student’s confidence in performing all the retail tasks grow throughout the Term, and these transferable skills will help equip the students in future employment opportunities.

Steve Ryce
Teacher

Making Sandwiches . . .

Ringing in sick . . .

Emergency Evacuation Drill . . .

Certificate I in Hospitality . . .

This year we have two new students, Domenic and Lachlan L, accessing the Certificate I Hospitality course supported by Education Assistant Louise Southern at Dianella Secondary College.

Students take part in this course every Wednesday and complete a combination of theory and practical work related to the hospitality industry. Students work towards achieving six units of competency towards the full Certificate I Hospitality qualification.

Students practice working hygienically in a kitchen environment to create a range of meals and learn the skills necessary to serve patrons in a hospitality setting. It is fantastic to observe students gain so many skills in this area over the year.

Liz Collodel
Deputy Principal

Cafe Culture . . .

Over the past few weeks, students in Café Culture have been hard at work achieving their skill set in preparing and serving espresso coffee and using Hygienic Practises for Food Safety. Students have been dedicating a lot of time completing their theory work to a high standard and applying what they are learning in their practical experiences.

Students are becoming increasingly confident in organising their workstation, texturing milk, extracting coffee and cleaning equipment to a professional standard. Students have made great progress through their first theory unit “Using Hygienic Practises for Food Safety” as I have had engaging participation through their class discussions and students have demonstrated excellent skills in following many health and hygiene procedures.

I have also been incredibly impressed with the determination from each student as they have worked so hard to learn and apply new skills like using the steaming wand, grinding and tampering beans and developing an understanding on how to make common coffees such as a Flat White or Cappuccino. It has been a phenomenal effort from everyone, well done!

Andy Dixon
Teacher

Photography - Skillset . . .

2024 is the first year we are offering the Photography Skillset at CJs and it has been an absolute pleasure teaching such keen and curious students. Students first learned the basics of the camera, including how we look after it and the different parts it contains. They then accelerated and started learning about the elements of design and rules of composition. Students learned and demonstrated difficult concepts such as emphasis and the rule of thirds.

We have already seen some promising work in this class this Term, and I eagerly await to see what the rest of the year holds.

Mikail Koulianos
Teacher

ASDAN Photography . . .

ASDAN photography course has proven to be an enjoyable experience for both me as the teacher and the students. The enthusiasm and involvement of the students has been remarkable, with their eagerness to take their cameras out and explore various photography elements.

The course has also provided a platform to discuss the shift from film to digital photography and its impact on the art form.  The experience of teaching ASDAN photography for me is showing to be a pleasure and feels encouraged by the students' receptiveness to the subject matter.

Melissa Coultas-Jones
Teacher

Rock and Water . . .

With a new group of students embarking on their Rock and Water journeys this year, it has been an exciting start in Term 1.  We have focused on identifying our body’s signals, how these relate to our emotions and how we can use strategies to keep ourselves calm.

As students progress, we will be completing new challenges about how to communicate and use body language effectively, while showing respect to ourselves and others.

Jack Scott
Teacher

Bushrangers . . .

This Term, students participated in a first aid seminar, learning and revising our first aid skills, which we do every year in preparation for the excursions and activities we will conduct this year.

Students have been learning about how we can create a more sustainable community, how our actions impact the environment, and focussing on recycling and reusing in our everyday lives. They have engaged in activities about the effects of pollution and usage and in week 7, visited the Red Hill Waste Management Facility for a tour of the site and five rotating activities based on being aware of what can and can’t be recycled and correct methods of disposal of hazardous items.  The excursion was a great day, with lots of hands on activities and learning.

We also participated in a 'clean up' day, where students did a fantastic job collecting and auditing the rubbish collected around the Centre.  This data was used to complete our audit report, which we submitted to Wastewise.

Steve Ryce
Teacher

Red Hill Excursion . . .

Waste Audit . . .

First Aid . . .

Yoga . . .

This Term, students are learning mindfulness yoga - combining breathing techniques with movement.  Students check in how they are feeling before and after every class.  Each week, students perform movements on their yoga mats and in a standing position, followed by meditation relaxation towards the end the session. 

The goal for each student is to be able to perform three yoga movements on their own by the end of Semester 1.

Gina Russo-Forcina
Yoga Instructor

Home Ec . . .

This year in Home Economics, students will be working towards creating a range of recipes for sharing. Students have been creating meals modelling the Australian Healthy Eating Guidelines and discussing the importance of nutrition, an active lifestyle and making healthy food choices.

Over the year, students will review and reflect on the recipes prepared using the ‘language of food’ principles and will also experience a range of table settings and learning simple table etiquette when serving their delicious creations.  

Cath MacDougall
Teacher

Art . . .

Students have been looking at a range of artists to draw inspiration in creating their own original artworks using a variety of elements and media. This Term, students have been busy designing and creating masks, each using their own unique sense of creativity to add various colours and designs to their art pieces.  Art classes give our students the opportunity to really express themselves using a variety of design elements. 

We look forward to seeing the amazing creations our students produce over the year.

Dee George
Teacher

Music and Choir . . .

Students have been busy this Term playing guitar, keyboard and singing . Each Thursday during periods three and four, selected students have been participating in a 45 minute traditional group music lessons with a practical focus.

In the program’s third year, students are now learning at their own pace covering parts of the instrument, instrument tuning, chord chart reading and playing songs. Keyboard and choir students have also been busy learning musical fundamentals and concepts. In term four last year, the first performance took place.

Matthew S and his band - The Tumultuous Rubble played to a packed B4 classroom during a lunch break.

All students are showing progress and it is hoped that these experiences may spark interest to continue learning, practising and playing music beyond school.

Ed Thieme
Music Specialist

STEM . . .

Traditionally STEM has been treated as an elective subject, in which students would participate in STEM with me on a Thursday. However, this year we have decided to shake it up a bit and have each class complete a STEM project with their regular teacher. This was to reinforce that “STEM style problem solving” is not a skillset that is restricted to just the subject area but should be a mindset that our students take with them throughout life; whether this is problem solving social conflicts or how to travel to a new destination.

This Term students’ STEM project was to create a straw bridge that could carry a weighted load. Students researched, planned and prototyped their solution. Unfortunately, this Term’s busy schedule meant that we didn’t have time to have our inter class bridge competition, but we plan on completing this challenge first thing next Term.  Well done everybody.

Mikail Koulianos
Teacher

Workplace Learning . . .

2024 has seen us get right into work placements with those students who were out last year often returning to the same work placements again in 2024.

We currently have 70% of our year 13’s out at work placements and 70% of our year 12’s out at work placements, along with students attending traineeships or enrolled in  VET courses.  We have students in work placements orientated towards retail, community services, animal care and property care to name just a few.

As we are always looking to engage with new businesses to be able to offer our students a range of opportunities for work placements, we would love to hear from you if you have a business or know someone who might like to support a student or two with a work placement. 

Please call 9413 4850 and speak with one of the workplace learning team.

Virginia Abson
WPL Coordinator

Support@bility . . .

The Work Place Learning team  (WPL) host one Support@bility parent support session each Term.  Term 1 parent support session was held on 22/03/2024 at CJSC ESC - presenters were BIZLINK Quality Employment and Lightbulb Skills: Building Independence, with eight families from various year groups attending.

Matt, Beau and Beth from BIZLINK talked about the employment services BIZLINK can offer, such as personal job matching and assistance with training and support.  BIZLINK are able to provide support to school leavers with a disability who are still navigating employment options and what they are interested in doing for a career. They provide ongoing support as needed by the individual. Beth spoke about the NDIS in general terms and more specific information in regards to School Leavers Employment Services (SLES). SLES funding is able to be used in the last year a young person is at school and the year after they have left school. BIZLINK can be contacted by emailingmatthp@bizlink.asn.au

Megan and Desley from Lightbulb Skills told us about their initiative with developing workshops for participants working towards living independently.  Lightbulb Skills have workshops focussing on kitchen skills, being social, housekeeping skills, having a “get away” or getting on the road and learning to drive. These workshops help the participants to develop the skills they need to embark on life’s different adventures.  Participants can utilise their NDIS Core Supports funding to participate in Lightbulb Skills workshops.  Megan can be contacted by email on info@lightbulbskills.com.au.

Free Event to Razzamatazz Show . . .

Cyril Jackson ESC students and families are invited to attend the 2024 Razzamatazz Shows at the Astor Theatre Perth (Mount Lawley) in April.

Lions Clubs (WA) hosts the Razzamatazz event to provide an accessible live theatre experience to students of all abilities and backgrounds. 

With free entry, and weekend and weekday dates available, Razzamatazz Shows are perfect for school excursions or a family day out. 

Please see the attached '2024 Razzamatazz Event Flyer' for show dates, times and how to book complimentary tickets.