From the Principal...

The school has been awash with a great variety of events and I will take the opportunity to mention a few. I was privileged to be able to attend the Night of the Notables on Wednesday night. Students had spent a great deal of time and effort preparing their research, presentations and speeches. It was wonderful to see their confidence in public speaking and the rich variety of notable individuals that they portrayed. I congratulate them on their efforts. I would also like to congratulate all our students who participated in the inter-school athletics, particularly the exceptional performance of our girls. Last weeks performance of Cinderella and Rockerfella was a delight and I was amazed to see the incredible turn out of parents and family members. I commend all the students and staff on their efforts in preparing for the evening. 

Yesterday in the Secondary School we were served up a treat in the form of the English and French assembly. We were entertained by a very amusing take on Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, a French version of Little Red Riding Hood and a very thought provoking speech reflecting dealing with themes of racial tension, to name but a few. It was a wonderful and entertaining celebration of language.   

A number of the performance events at Beechboro and Ellenbrook over the last few weeks reminded just how things appear to have changed from when I was at school. To see so many students stepping up in front of their peers and performing or engaging in public speaking, is testament to the opportunities and indeed confidence that is engendered in modern students. The importance of skills like public speaking can never be underestimated.   

Public speaking is distinctly different as a form of communication in that it requires thoughtful writing as well as talented social interaction.  The speaker must create something worth sharing and then perform.  the fact that the speeches are live add the extra dynamic dimension, anything is possible, from error to powerful adlibbing. The versed speaker can read the audience and respond to the mood and need of the moment. It is powerful and interactive. Good public speaking carries emotion and inspiration. All these are powerful skills to teach students to hold themselves in public forums and in future in the workplace. Good public speaking and performance develops commitment and work ethic. Draft, revision and redraft and then practice, practice, practice are all essential parts of the process. It develops confidence and comfort in otherwise pressured social environments. I think you would agree that these things we would desire for our children.  

Justin Krause
Principal

Primary School News

From the Head of Primary...

Cinderella and Rockerfella

It was an absolute privilege and delight to experience our Primary Production, Cinderella and Rockerfella on the Wednesday 31 August. Almost all students from Years 3 to 6 were involved in some way, around 160 students!

The Production was directed by our Primary Music Specialist, Mrs Diane Durham, who was ably supported by Mrs Leonie Petrusma (Secondary Dance Specialist) and Miss Caity Stafford (Secondary Drama Specialist). As always the Production received the strong support of the Primary staff team, most of whom were there on the night working behind the scenes.

​Stuart Harris
Head of Primary School

Year 1 | Fathers Day Morning
On Thursday 1 September the Year 1 students had a fantastic Father’s Day morning with dads, mums, uncles and grandparents. We planted tomato seeds, made kites, gave daddy his ‘stache’ of lollies, took fun photos together and built Lego creations. We finished the morning off with egg and spoon, wheelbarrow and piggy back races.

Thank you to all the family members who came along to spend the morning with us. Wishing all our dads a Happy Father’s Day!

Year 1 Excursion | Shipwreck Galleries and Cicerello’s Aquarium

On Thursday 25 August the Year 1 students went to Fremantle for a double excursion at the Shipwreck Galleries and Cicerello’s aquarium.

At the Shipwrecks Gallery students dressed up in olden days clothes and attended school with a very strict Mrs Brown, who made the class wash their hands and write on slates with slate pencils. She showed them how to wash clothes the old fashioned way and peg them on the line using dolly pegs. At Cicerello’s students saw lots of interesting sea creatures in the aquarium. We even got to touch and hold sea stars, sea apples, a crayfish and a Port Jackson shark!

The group then went to Bather’s Beach and built sand castles using things found on the shore like seaweed and coral. After a lunch of fish or chicken and chips on the Cicerello’s boat, students fed the fish. After enjoying some free time in the Shipwrecks Galleries where student observed lots of old things from shipwrecks, we headed back to school.

Secondary School News

From the Head of Secondary...

It is the time of year when the AFL football finals begin again. Players are competing for positions in each team. Teams are competing against each other to win. Interestingly, if you ever have the chance to speak to players or staff involved in AFL clubs, they only spend a small amount of time talking about winning, despite winning being their end goal. Instead, what they do spend a lot of time talking about is process or in other words how they are going to give themselves the best chance of winning.

There are a few key themes that stand out when talking about process. One, is that everyone on the team must consistently do their personal best. Two, everyone on the team should be supportive of one another. Three, everyone on the team is working towards a common goal and finally four, the team prepares together over an extended period of time.

Our Year 12’s are about to start their finals series and I would encourage each one of them to focus on the process and how they apply themselves in what can be a stressful situation, not just the end results. They have all been working towards a common goal of achieving WACE. I have seen that the group is supportive of each other, I believe most students have been putting in their personal best and they have certainly been preparing together of an extended period of time, for some of them they have been together for over 12 years. As the examination period looms prepare in the best way possible to give yourself the best opportunity. For all other Secondary students, you are currently building a solid base of learning so you can perform in the Year 12 finals series in the upcoming years.

Prepare your work outside; get everything ready for yourself in the field, and after that build your house. Proverbs 24:27

Jordan Smith
Head of Secondary School

We were informed on saving the lives of joeys that were hit by motor vehicles. This information came in handy the next week as Michelle Woodard, a student who attended the excursion, rescued a baby joey using the information from the trip. The excursion surely came in handy for this incident and the joey, named Scarlett, has survived.

The biology students were then given a tour of the local forest. We were told about the effects of fire and disease on Western Australia’s Jarrah trees. Students professionally classified flora and conducted quadrat sampling, a technique they will practice as part of one of their assessment tasks.

The excursion was both informative and entertaining for the biology cohort. It is hoped that students will learn from this experience and apply it to their future biology studies and everyday life to conserve our unique Australian environment.

By Jonathon Walker

Year 8 Christian Living

In Christian Living, we have been learning about Jesus’ miracles. Our group was
focusing on one of his most well known miracles, “Walking on Water”. We had fun
recreating his miracle in a contemporary style, using costumes from The Drama
Department, and props from what we had in the music room.

Whilst learning about this miracle, the message we received from it is that you have
to believe and trust in God and believe in his way’s. One of our group members made
the music for the role play and the backdrop, whilst we performed.

Over all, we had fun doing the role-play. It was a great experience and a great activity
for all of Mrs Argus’ class.

By Shelby Fisher, Angelina Do, Peter Sullivan, Kira Woulfe, Benjamin Jones and
Mikhayla McLean

Ellenbrook Christian College Golf Competition

Congratulations to all our Golf Academy students who played in the ECC Golf Day
held at The Vines Golf and Country Club. It was fantastic to see all our students in the academy playing a 9 hole competition, some of them for the very first time. Thank you to the leaders who offered support to our younger students. There was some excellent golf displayed and a great atmosphere.

Winners for the day were:
Louise Clayton (Year 5)
Fisher Morgan (Year 6)
Trafford Wilcox (Year 8)
Henry Lines (Year 9)

Katie Clayton
Head of HPE K-12

Year 7 STEM DAY

On Tuesday 16 August the Year 7 students took part in a STEM Challenge Day.

They used their experience and skills in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics to execute their projects. 

The students were split into teams of six and given the task of designing and building a device that could pick up objects and accurately locate them on a given target.

Their devices had to be remotely operated from a distance of 1.1 metres away, be controlled to perform small and accurate movements, move both vertically and horizontally as well as pick up objects of different sizes and shapes.

In the final test they had to move a tennis ball (the heart) and a ping-pong ball (the kidney) into a model of a human body – much like performing a simple organ transplant. But this wasn’t the hardest part – they had to do it remotely via a video screen with no direct vision of the ‘human body’ or their device.

They had a budget of 150 'Faradays' to purchase materials, tool hire and technical assistance.

This was a 'life or death' challenge!

WOW! What a day! The students were amazing! They worked so well in their teams and produced some fantastic, imaginative ideas.

This was no easy challenge when it came to putting their ideas into practice, building their designs and ensuring they worked.

Lucky for them there was a qualified engineer on site to assist and help them make their ideas a reality.

Alliance Engineering Consultants specialises in civil and structural engineering designs and concepts.

The Director Jeff Kazazi, kindly donated their Lead Engineer, Steve Keating and his expertise for the day. Steve worked with each team to review their ideas and offer support and guidance on whether their designs would produce the required end result.

Steve was also involved in the final judging process.

So, did the devices work?

Absolutely! Well done to all the students, as no two devices were the same. 

Thank you to the parents who helped throughout the day. A special thank you to Steve for his time, he was a natural with the kids and encouraged them to think outside the box.

Kerry Martin
Acting Head of Transistion

Inter-House Athletics Carnival 2016

Congratulations to all our students who competed in the Inter-House Athletics Carnival. The day began with our Primary students officially opening the event with an Olympics opening ceremony. Following this students competed in various track and field events contributing to both individual and House point totals. The atmosphere on the day was fantastic with both staff and students working hard to create a memorable day.

The winning House on the day was Flynn followed closely by Garlett.

Katie Clayton
Head of HPE K-12

Associated Catholic Colleges Inter-School Athletics Carnival 2016

On Monday 5 September students from Years 7 to 12 competed in the Associated Catholic Colleges Inter-school athletics carnival. Many students have been training hard for the day and we had some outstanding effort and individual performances. The senior girls finished in 1st place and the junior girls, Years 7 to 9, finishing second which gave us overall girls champion status. Our senior boys also placed 3rd overall. As well as an outstanding team effort we also had some individual successes on the day.

Winona Lloyd (Open girls) Overall Champion
Seth Perris (Open boys) 3rd Place Overall
Asha Smith (U15 girls ) Overall Champion
Shanae Power (U14 girls) Overall Champion
Madeline Cram (U14 girls) 4th Place Overall
Tahlia Mbuyi  (U13 girls) 3rd Place Overall 
Bart Kongor (U13 boys) Overall Champion 

Congratulations to all our very talented students.

Katie Clayton
Head of HPE K-12

Ever Considered Becoming a Teacher?

Teaching is a true calling – a career dedicated to serving others. Teaching is mostly joyous and at times challenging, but it is always meaningful.

Applications are now open for our Bachelor of Education (Primary) and Master of Teaching (Primary) degrees.

Our small class sizes and low staff - student ratio ensure a nurturing learning environment where students are known by name, not lost in the crowd.

To secure your position visit www.scea.institute or call 9274 6411 for more information.

From the Dean of Students...

As our Year 12 students head towards their exams, I am reminded about the importance of having strong emotional resilience when dealing with stressful situations.

Resiliency is having the ability to overcome challenges, being able to ‘bounce back’ from setbacks, and becoming stronger and wiser in the process.

Emotional resilience is being increasingly studied by child development experts as an important factor toward having a positive mental health and school success. The focus is now on the extent in which children are able to moderate their own emotions and behaviours when faced with challenges and stressful events in life.

Children develop a number of coping strategies over time in order to deal with daily frustrations and other strong emotions that they may feel. As parents we can assist with the development of these coping strategies, promoting resilience in your children, in the following ways:

• Establish a safe and supportive environment
• Set clear rules and boundaries requiring respect and cooperation
• Role-model strong social and emotional skills
• Set strong expectations about effort, attitudes and behaviour
• Encourage children to show respect and consideration for others
• Teach children important social skills and values
• Give attention to positive behaviour in order to reinforce them

(Department of Education and Early Childhood Development)

Students are taught how to regulate their emotions and develop emotional resilience through our Social and Emotional learning programs, which form part of the Health Curriculum. An example of this is our ‘You Can Do It!’ program which is taught in our Primary School, teaching students the importance of resilience through the use of two characters, Ricky and Rosie Resilience.

Year 8 Immunisation Reminder.
Just a reminder the final round of immunisations for students in Year 8 is on Monday 12 September 2016. To ensure that the day runs smoothly we ask that your child wears their College sports uniform for the day. 

Thank you for your assistance with this matter.

Michael Bolan
Dean of Students K-12

Student Services

Student Services Team
Mrs Lorraine Wheeler, Mrs Lyndsey Turner and Mrs Joanna de Grauw (Student Services team) can be contacted on:

• Email: ellenbrookss@scea.wa.edu.au 
• Phone: 08 9297 9230

​Lost property 
If your child has lost an item of uniform, please check the lost property box located in Student Services. Items left in the box at the end of term will be disposed of.

Absent or Late 
If your child is unwell or arriving late, please contact us through our:

• voicemail service on (08) 9297 9292; or
• the absentee email, eccabsentees@scea.wa.edu.au; or
• our new text service number, 0416 905 250. 

Late Arrivals/Early Departures
Please remember that students who arrive late to school must be signed in by a parent (Primary) or sign themselves in (Secondary) at Student Services.

An early departure slip must be obtained from Student Services prior to you collecting your child early from school. If your child is being picked up for an appointment 
during school hours, to avoid delays, we ask that you notify us in advance by email, text or a phone call. If someone else is collecting your child for any reason, their details must be sent by text, or emailed through to Student Services, by a parent listed on the enrolment documents.

Excursion Permission
Permission for excursions must be completed by following the link that has been sent out to parents in an email, prior to the day of the excursion. Any student who does not have a completed form will not be able to attend the excursion. If you have any problems accessing a permission link that has been sent, please contact Student Services.

Reminder
If you need to visit the College during the day, to drop off lunch, or forgotten equipment for your child, please do so via Student Services. For the safety of all students, we do not allow visitors to wander through the College during the day.

Bike Helmets
There are an increasing number of students riding to the College who are not wearing a bike helmet. It is compulsory in Western Australia that all cyclists wear an approved helmet while riding. For more information on this, and other cycling road rules, please visit the Road Safety Commission website at: https://rsc.wa.gov.au/Topics/Cycling

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