Principal's Report

Many wonderful things have been implemented this term to get our school year off to a positive start. Summer carnivals for year 7 and 8 athletes, the House Swimming Carnival, interschool AFL football games and a range of camps and excursions have been enjoyed by our students, who have ‘embraced opportunities’ to participate in these activities. The school has also continued to work on strengthening partnership opportunities with the community to develop learning pathways and connections to ‘real world’ experiences and future careers. Partnerships that foster authentic learning for students are the cornerstone of innovative work being done across the school in a variety of programs, including Work-Place Learning for year 11 and 12 students, the year 8 – 10 Academic Extension Program, year 8 – 10 Engagement programs, the year 10 Rural Operations program, the year 10 Alcoa Prospects program and the Deadly Koolinga Chef Program for Aboriginal students in years 7 – 10 to name a few, some of which are featured in this newsletter. We are extremely grateful to our partner organisations for their support to create learning contexts beyond the classroom. I hope you enjoy reading about the wonderful experiences and achievements of our students through engagement with these programs.
Among other noteworthy events was the election of our Student House Leaders and School Captains, whom we recognised and celebrated at a formal assembly early in the term. This dedicated group of students spanning years 7 – 12 have committed to serve the student body by representing ‘student voice’ in planning and decision-making about important projects and activities within the school. Each ‘House’ has a student leader from each year group, ensuring that irrespective of age, all students have a peer representative to share and promote ideas, to listen to feedback and to work as part of the larger student leadership team across the school. Congratulations to our School Captains, year 12 students Zoe Scott and Ben Salter, who will have the additional role of being School Board members to ensure student representation at the highest level of school leadership. My congratulations to the 2023 School Captains and Student House Leaders. I look forward to working with you throughout the year.
Many of you will have noticed the significant progress of the new Sports Hall and Performing Arts Centre, which is rapidly starting to take shape. As we finish this term, the buildings are close to the ‘lock up’ stage of the project, after which the internal fit-out will continue. At this stage, we are expecting to take over the finished buildings by the end of term two, with final operational implementation (students using the facilities) set to occur during term three. As the saying goes, ‘good things come to those who wait’. It has certainly been a long wait, but I am increasingly confident and excited that the new buildings will provide students, staff and our wider community with many ‘good things’.
This term has also seen the work of our wonderful P&C ramp up and have a positive impact on the school community. They work largely behind the scenes, but the tireless effort of our dedicated volunteers has certainly been noticed. This year, thanks to the fundraising efforts of the P &C, we have incorporated House coloured bucket hats into our school uniform, with all year 7 students receiving a free hat to launch this initiative. We are hoping that the trend will catch on, with students in other year groups able to purchase House hats from the school canteen. The hats are a great way to show House spirit and be sun-safe, and we encourage all students to get behind this initiative. Besides the House hats, the P & C has been busy providing service to the school community, having run a Valentine’s Day raffle, a sausage sizzle for the House Swimming Carnival and an ‘Eggstravaganza’ of an Easter raffle. All funds raised go to projects that directly benefit the school community. We are very fortunate to have such a proactive, involved and committed group of people supporting our school to provide great experiences, services and opportunities for our students. If any parents, carers or volunteers over the age of 18 are interested in becoming part of this fun and dynamic team, please contact Sharon Gangell – P&C President on 9531 7000
Finally, I have recently sent a letter to all parents and caregivers about the emergence of some negative behaviours among a minority of students that are concerning, and the school’s approach to addressing the impacts that these behaviours can have on school culture and student wellbeing. My sincere thanks to the parents and caregivers who have taken time to share feedback and suggestions with us as we work to reinforce school expectations of students and maintain a safe, orderly environment where all students feel comfortable to learn and belong. Overwhelmingly most commentary has been positive, expressing supportive and constructive feedback for the actions being taken. For those who may still hold concerns about access to toilets, I wish to reassure you that students are able to use toilet facilities upon request during classes and that the measures in place will evolve into a more streamlined permanent process during the course of term two. Your assistance in managing this transition is greatly appreciated.
As always, we have packed a lot into ten weeks! As we head into school holidays, I thank you all for your support and partnership to navigate the many complexities of term one. Have a safe and relaxing holiday and from all at Pinjarra Senior High School, Happy Easter.

Jan Stone
Principal

Chaplain's Column

Jackie and I have had a great start to the year and feel so privileged being able to support students, staff and families once again. You can generally catch us at the school on the following days:

Jackie – Monday and Wednesday:
Justin – Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday.

It’s been exciting helping our new Year 7 cohort settle in to high school and over this term Jackie, myself and the Heads of each House have run some great activities to further help the students build good friendships with peers and positive relationships with staff! This culminated in the Year 7 Activity Day this week which included team games on the oval and in the gym, followed by a super-messy Colour Run!!

We are also looking forward to running the GRIT (Growth Resilience Integrity Traction) program with small groups of Year students this year, building personal skills, social/emotional capacity and teamwork.

At your end, please keep up the communication with us and more importantly, with your kids. We live in an age where we can be almost anywhere in the world and communicate instantly by phone or satellite with anyone, and yet we often fail to communicate across the kitchen table with our own families. Enjoy your kids while they’re still around, keep checking in and encouraging them to share what’s going on in their lives at the moment! Praise their efforts and even if your own experience of school wasn’t great, always try and speak positively about going to school, about learning and about embracing new opportunities.

Finally, we hope you have a safe, refreshing holiday break and that the Easter story of new life coming out of what can sometimes be tragic circumstances, brings you HOPE!

Justin Hill and Jackie Greene

School Chaplains

 

Pinjarra/Waroona YouthCARE – Supporting school Chaplaincy

Our committee continues to support our local school Chaplaincy program, if you’d like to help with our sausage sizzles etc. we’d love to hear from you! For more info please contact our Chairperson Sheryl Gangell on 0424 239 367.

The Pinjarra/Waroona YouthCARE Committee

P&C Update

Vaping

Pinjarra Senior High School, like many other schools, has seen a recent increase in young people vaping.
E-cigarettes, or ‘vapes’, are not safe for young people. They come in many shapes and sizes and can be hard to spot as they can look like everyday items including highlighters, pens or USB memory sticks.

Key vaping facts
• Many vapes contain nicotine. Nicotine can cause long-lasting negative effects on young people’s brain development, including impaired learning ability and altered mood, and can increase the risk of depression and anxiety.
• Vapes can contain the same harmful chemicals found in cleaning products, nail polish remover, weed killer and bug spray, which can lead to serious lung diseases.
• Young people who vape are 3 times as likely to take up smoking cigarettes.

The laws around selling vapes
It is reported that young people often purchase vapes online, from retail stores or from friends and contacts in the community. However, it is illegal in WA to sell e-cigarette devices and nicotine vaping products to anyone regardless of age, unless they are prescribed by a doctor for smoking cessation purposes and obtained with a prescription from a pharmacy.
E-cigarette devices and their components, whether they contain nicotine or not, cannot be sold by tobacco or general retailers in WA. You can report suspected illegal sales of vapes to the Department of Health by emailing TobaccoPolicy@health.wa.gov.au.

Talk to your child about vaping
It’s important to take the time to talk to your child about the risks of vaping. Try to start the conversation in a relaxed easy-going way, and remember your goal is to have a conversation, not deliver a lecture. Importantly, get the facts at: www.education.wa.edu.au/drug-education

Year 7 Activity Day

Our Year 7’s had fun Embracing Opportunities with house activities run by our Heads of House and School Chaplain!

Zero2Hero - Mental Health Guest Speaker

Our Year 8&9 students had a fantastic guest speaker from Zero2Hero speak to them about the importance of being able to “Love Yourself”. They explored how to maintain optimal mental wellbeing, promote positivity, and connect with themselves.

Student Leadership Excursion

27 student leaders met with students from HCIS (an international school in Singapore) at Fairbridge. They were involved in a range of activities focused on “becoming agents of change”. The activities included a mine field game, sharing of school initiatives and finishing with a scavenger hunt and lunch. Students met and shared different cultural values and the structure of their schools. PSHS students were surprised to hear that the international school have 7 different councils and a range of committees within the councils. Some of these included the school initiatives committee, the boarding council committee which focused on student care, the green council which focused on environmental sustainability, co-curricular council and the house council which was similar to PSHS house groups. Zoe Scott addressed the school and introduced our House structure and Bailey Jokic shared some knowledge about the Outdoor Education program and the PFNA program. The international students were amazed by our involvement with water-based activities as this was not familiar at their school. The integration between the leaders was admirable as students embraced every aspect of the day.

State Government Initiative – Career Practitioners in schools

The school focus in Term One is Embracing opportunities. Earlier this term, I had the opportunity to work with a large group of Career Practitioners at a conference in Perth. As Pinjarra SHS’s Career Practitioner, I look forward to championing our students, encouraging student aspirations, and connecting students with life opportunities. Students will be assisted with a range of experiences over the year including various exposures to the world of work, pathway planning, the ability to build work capabilities and develop through career learning to successfully transition to post school pathways.

Mrs Julie Gray, Career Practitioner

Photo: Mrs Julie Gray (Left) with Education Minister Dr Tony Buti and two fellow Career Practitioners.

Workplace Learning Update

Year 10 Pathway Planning and 2024 Pathways

All Year 10 students, in Pastoral Care, are working through Pathway Plans. Pathway planning encourages students to explore, identify, evaluate, and reflect on the learning and work pathways available; recognise opportunities; make connections and manage transitions.

Importantly, pathway planning provides opportunities for students to identify their aspirations, reflect upon their achievements and set goals for continuing success.

Career development is an ongoing process for all students and the use of pathway planning tools assists to connect current learning to future learning, work, and life opportunities.

Opportunities are offered to students moving from Year 10 into Year 11. A student’s Year 9 Semester Two report and Year 10 Semester One report are an integral part of the application process and students should be aiming to work to their best ability to achieve their best results. Extra-curricular activities, sport, part-time employment, volunteering, and an up-to-date portfolio (Time Capsule) including a résumé are some considerations that will assist students to be competitive for the opportunities available to them.

Please be encouraged to discuss future pathways with either the Career Practitioner or VET Coordinator

Mrs Julie Gray (Career Practitioner) and Mrs Lelaine Boardman (VET Coordinator)

This free opportunity was an exciting chance to explore beauty and personal services at the brand new facilities at South Metropolitan TAFE (Mandurah Campus). The Career Taster Program is designed to challenge students’ thinking and make connections between education and post-school opportunities. There is a focus on practical activities to engage with the world of work. This is a unique opportunity to be involved in an adult education experience at South Metropolitan TAFE (Mandurah Campus).

The twelve students paired off and left Mrs Gray to be the nail model. With nail polish removed, hands and arms massaged, cuticles pushed, nails buffed, and a shape chosen (who knew there were 12 different nail shapes – has anyone got lipstick shaped nails?), a base coat was painted and then there was only one thing left for Mrs Gray to do – choose a colour… purple of course! The pairs were then the nail technicians or customers, and a great deal of conversation was had while nails were created.

After lunch, the group discussed eye shape with make-up tips for each shape and then proceeded to false eye lash, shadow and gem their way to a new look.

Students on the day commented that they should do more of these types of activities at school, that it was interesting to hear about the many different pathways through TAFE and that they were looking forward to learning about different types of careers.

Mrs Julie Gray, Career Practitioner

Noongar Waangkan (Noongar Talk)

Noongar Bonar (Noongar Seasons)

In Term 1, Year 7 koolangka (young people) are learning about Noongar Bonar (Noongar Six Seasons) and know all the seasons.

Koolangka baalap moorditj kaadatjiny wer baalap kaadatj – Noongar 15 key words.

(The Year 7’s are strong learners and they know 15 key words in Noongar)

Noongar Six Seasons-

Boonaroo
Djiran
Mookaroo
Djilba
Kambarang

bonar – season
worala – weather
kedala – day
djool – dry
kaalang – hot
nyidiny – cold
balyan – wet
mar – windy
djoodar – sunny

Deadly Koolinga Chef Program (DKCP)

PSHS and Murdoch University are excited to bring to the school for Year 7 – Year 12 Aboriginal students the cooking class called the Deadly Koolinga Chef Program (DKCP).

DKCP is an Aboriginal adolescent cooking and nutrition project aimed at developing knowledge and skills in food literacy. Students learn about healthy foods, healthy cooking and healthy eating which involves food and kitchen safety, meal planning and budgeting, preparing, cooking and food storage. Information is based around the WA Live Lighter Campaign. Students will learn to cook meals for a family, and they will take the meals home to share with the family after each class.

Parents/Carers are very welcome to attend the program and assist or simply watch students enjoy the experience of cooking.

The research project has been developed using a multi-sectoral approach, and partnerships have been secured with the following organisations in the Peel region (Bindjareb Nyungar region) of WA:

  • Nidjalla Waangan Mia Aboriginal Health Service, Peel Region
  • Murray Districts Aboriginal Association – Pinjarra
  • Winjan Aboriginal Corporation – Mandurah
  • Coodanup College – Clontarf Program (Aboriginal adolescent girls and boys)
  • Pinjarra Senior High School (Aboriginal adolescent girls and boys)
  • Primary Schools in Mandurah (Mandurah, Greenfields and Dudley Park)

Pinjarra SHS and Murdoch University are excited to offer this hands-on approach program to your child and you.

The school has run two Year 7/8 sessions, with great success and enthusiasm from all students and will continue to offer the program to each year group through to Term 3.

Monday Program dates:

Term 2
May 8 & 22
June 12 & 26

Term 3
August 14 & 28
September 11 & 18

Mrs Julie Gray, Career Practitioner

Boordiya Yoka (Boss Women) Women's Group

The Yoka have been doing some weaving; painting; learning language; and yarning. They have also been doing some clay work and brainstorming a t-shirt design for the Yoka group ?

Alcoa Updates

Alcoa Community Consultative Network Meeting

Alcoa Pinjarra Refinery hosts a Community Consultative Network (CCN) Meeting with the objective of facilitating open dialogue between the local communities and Alcoa.

Pinjarra SHS has, for several years, had a staff member, Mrs Julie Gray (Towns/Karlak) and two student representatives at this meeting. This year the two senior school students representing the school are Ben Salter (Year 12 – Forest/Djarlma) and Amy Moody (Year 11 – Forest/Djarlma). Former students Jody Wopereis (Student representative 2021 – 2022) and Heather-Jane Scott (previously involved in Alcoa Prospects Program. Towns/Karlak) are also representing youth at the meeting. Please feel free to direct any questions you may have about Alcoa operations to our current student representatives or staff Representative.

Mrs Julie Gray, Career Practitioner

Photo – from Left to right: Ben Salter, Heather-Jane Scott, Jody Wopereis, Amy Moody

Alcoa Year 10 Prospects Program Launch

Wednesday 15th February saw the successful launch of the eighth Alcoa Prospects Program at Pinjarra Senior High School. The program has seen over 350 female students through the many activities offered to encourage females to consider the myriad of opportunities within the resources sector. Year 10 girls at school on the day attended this year’s launch and listened to some Alcoa background information, watched videos and had the chance to ask questions and network with the Alcoa representatives at the conclusion of the launch. The students were also treated to morning tea and a gift bag.

The next event in our Prospects calendar is a Mine Site and Refinery Tour with the chance to see behind the scenes and ask questions about all the career opportunities that the students observe while we are out and about.

Mrs Julie Gray, Career Practitioner

Year 10 Alcoa Prospects Mine and Refinery Tour

Thirty nine excited Year 10s dressed in long pants and long sleeves filed onto the bus for their first excursion as part of the Alcoa Prospects Program. A behind-the-scenes tour of Alcoa’s Huntly Bauxite Mine and Pinjarra Alumina Refinery, incorporated an insight into the variety of career pathways available at the company, with time to listen to and ask questions of the employees at Alcoa.

Pinjarra Senior High School Year 10 student Harmony Alchin said she thoroughly enjoyed the tour, especially learning about the company’s mine site rehabilitation process. “The most interesting thing I have learned today was how Alcoa rehabilitates the forest and just how many people they have working on it,” Harmony said. “I’d like to thank Alcoa for welcoming me to join the prospects program and for all the employees who shared what their roles do here at Alcoa.”

The Pinjarra Prospects Program is an interactive student mentoring initiative run by Alcoa and Pinjarra Senior High School. It aims to make local young women aware of the potential career and educational opportunities available at Alcoa, and to engage participants interested in following a career path in Enterprise, Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics (ESTEAM).

Alcoa Pinjarra Alumina Refinery Manager Mark Zaborowski said. “I wish the group of students every success in their future career aspirations and hope to see them working for Alcoa in the near future.”

The group looks forward to their next activity as part of the program.

Julie Gray, Career Practitioner

Science Updates

Year 8 STEM Project Class

We have just had our third lesson together as part of our weekly Year 8 STEM Project class. This year the class is being run as an elective and is open to both AEP and general pathway students. This will give more students across the school the opportunity to develop their leadership, enterprise, problem-solving and critical thinking skills.

Students have initiated and begun developing their projects. Students are very enthusiastic and have done a wonderful job emailing and talking to leaders in our community, and they have been rewarded with very positive responses and invitations to collaborate.

Here is a snapshot from students about some of the projects that are underway:

  1. School STEM vegetable and herb garden“I am helping out in the STEM garden. Today we added soil and worm castings to the garden beds and watered them very well. We planted basil, chives, cucumber, eggplant, capsicum and lettuce then cleaned up some rubbish. I’m having so much fun throughout this experiment.” (Ashton, Hope and Luke). The food produced and harvested will contribute to our school hospitality program, our morning Breakfast Club, maybe the sale of a meal through the canteen as well as provide us with some food to share and enjoy later this term.
  2. Solar Car Build “Today, our team of four students tested the solar panels and measured the voltage output when the panels were placed at different angles. A 20 to 40-degree angle on the solar panel seemed to yield the best results so far. We spent time contacting the solar car manager and the car kits should arrive next week so we can practise building and teach the rest of the class. We will use the angles to design and build the solar cars that we hope we will race against other schools in the Solar Car Challenge in Collie during March.” (Ainslee, Sophie, Lachlan & Jayden)
  3. Supporting aged care residents at Bedingfeld Park LodgeStudents have been emailing and talking to the Lifestyle Coordinator at Bedingfeld, as students want to give some of their time and company to the aged in our community. We have been invited to join residents (dementia and general residents) for an afternoon of activities very soon.
  4. Supporting homeless & families in need in our community– “We emailed and spoke to the Manager of Murray House Resource Centre & Pinjarra CRC. We have been invited to Murray House for afternoon tea next month, to talk about ideas for how we may be able to provide some support, activities, or resources by partnering with others in our community. We are excited as we have lots to look forward to!”

Jo Tregonning – AEP Coordinator and Science Teacher

Year 12 ATAR Physics Experiment #1

Year 12 ATAR Physics class using small scale equipment to measure the mass of the Earth.

Applying all their newly acquired knowledge of gravity and acceleration, the students are able to see how a known mass moves in the Earths’ gravitational field. This information is entered into Newton’s formulas and the students are able to calculate the mass of the Earth.

Synergy Schools Solar Car Challenge

Wahoo!! What an outstanding day. Students were wonderful to take out, represented our school with pride and demonstrated many great life skills of cooperation, problem-solving, patience, engineering know-how and determination.

We set off early this morning with 15 students from our Year 8 AEP Project class and travelled to the Synergy Schools Solar Challenge in Collie. We met other students and teachers from Allanson PS, Amaroo PS, Fairview PS, St Brigid’s School Collie, St Mary’s Catholic School Boyup Brook and Narrogin SHS.

After a short introduction, students had one hour to work with their team to build a solar powered car and test it prior to the race heats. It was a nail-biting time for one of our teams that had issues with their vehicle not running and then going backwards…. but they got it sorted just prior to the start of their race heat.

We had two teams in the B-division best-of-three races with Narrogin SHS…. and yes our team nailed the win. Congratulations to Kaila, Taylor, Caitlyn and Lachlan on your tenacity for not giving up and coming out with a win.

We also had two teams in the A-division heats. Our team “Solar Stars” Sophie, Ainslee, Ashtyn and Ruby constructed a great vehicle built for speed, so although slow on take-off, their car quickly overtook other racers over the 20-metre course to take out the overall win. Congratulations.

Our “Solar Stars” have been invited to represent Pinjarra SHS at the Grand Final solar car race at Murdoch University on Tuesday 4 April. They will be racing against other winners from the events held around WA in Bunbury, Albany, Kalgoorlie, Geraldton and three metropolitan competitions. We wish them the very best of luck.

Year 12 Biology

On 16 March, our Year 12 Biology students carried out gel electrophoresis to analyse DNA. The aim was to determine whether minke whale and/or tuna meat was in a fisherman’s boat catch. They were able to separate the sections of DNA using an electrical current through agarose gel to see that the fisherman was guilty of harvesting illegally caught minke whale. Take him to court!

The following week, on 20 March, our Biology students then did a more complicated analysis as part of an incursion with BioBarcode Australia. They learnt the skills of using a micro-pipette to load their prepared sample Master Mix in a machine. The PCR machine amplified the quantity of DNA via repeated heating/cooling cycles, resulting in an incredible 1,073,741,824 sections of the target gene P450 being replicated. Students then had enough P450 gene from quokka and koala samples to analyse. Students loaded the samples into the gel electrophoresis machine and ran the electricity for 30 minutes. The genes separated into different lengths to show that quokkas have short P450 gene (like us) and koalas have a very long P450 gene which enables them to eat and digest gum leaves that are toxic to other mammals.

Year 8 AEP Project Class

Some of our students in the 8 AEP Project class have chosen to create projects that link with the homeless and aged in our Pinjarra community. Students have sought out and contacted potential partners nearby to our school via email and phone calls.

On 22 March, we walked to Murray House Resource Centre and met with Elaine and Sonya to discuss ideas for supporting homeless in our community. Students had many ideas to contribute, and these ideas will form the basis of our Term 2 projects in 8AEPPR class. Some of the ideas discussed included: making blankets out of foil-backed chip packets; fundraising (run-a-thon, food stalls, gift registry); cooking food after completing a food handling/preparation course; linking with business, Church community and our school Chaplain Justin Hill to support their and our projects. So…. watch this space…. I am sure Term 2 will be busy!

On 29 March, we walked to Beddingfeld Park Aged Care facility and spent the afternoon with residents. Once again, this is a project initiative that is student led and driven. It was a wonderful afternoon full of feel-good vibes. Students and residents chatted, played Uno and balloon soccer, and worked together to make decorative folded fans in the colours of the Spanish flag. Students were full of stories on the walk back to school about what they did and asked to go back again soon.

Feedback from Vanessa (Lifestyle Coordinator, Beddingfield Park) was: “The residents loved and enjoyed the visit from the students yesterday! They are looking forward to another visit.”

We plan to visit again in Term 2 and take some more activities to share.

Health & Physical Education Updates

PFNA Triathalon

Pinjarra Football and Netball Academy held its first event under the new structure.

With 92 students in attendance, we bussed over to Mandurah where students competed in a ‘triathlon’ event at Hall Park. The day was set up in small teams consisting of Year 8/9 boys and girls working together to complete as many legs as they could in the given time frame. The three legs included a swim, a stand up paddle board and a run. This was set up in relay style, with one team member competing at a time, tagging the next as they finished their round.

Our Year 10 PFNA did a fantastic job of running the event taking on the numerous roles of team leaders, scorers, helpers and cooking the bbq. The students did fantastic job allowing the day to run very smoothly. A big thanks to the Year 10 class for organising and running a successful day and the teachers who supervised on the day. A huge congratulations to all the Year 8/9 boys and girls in trying their absolute best in the hot conditions.

Interschool Swimming Carnival

Our Year 7 players and Year 10 coaches attended the AFL 9’s Summer Carnival on Friday the 31st of March. It was a great day for all involved!

Summer Carnival

On Monday the 13th of March, 23 of Pinjarra SHS’ most eager swimmers headed up to HBF Stadium, Mt Claremont to compete in School Sport’s WA E-Division Gold Interschool Swimming Competition. This was the school’s first Interschool swimming appearance in many years and was a great opportunity for these keen students to represent their school. The competition was strong and with not every race position filled, the squad did extremely well to come 4th overall on the day. A special mention is to go to Jordan King (Y12) and Amelia Chapman (Y9) who both took ‘Champion Girl’ for their age categories. Additional mention to Reef Softley (Y8) who received ‘Runner-Up Champion Boy’ for his category. A warm thank you to all the parents who were able to attend on the day to support our students. We are looking forward to next year’s competition and are hopeful to be able to seat a larger squad.

Year 7/8 Summer Carnival

Thursday of Week 9, two teams were taken to compete at Mike Barnett Stadium in Rockingham for basketball as well as another two teams to the MARC to compete in Volleyball. The day was extremely successful, it was great to see students taking on opportunities to represent the school and play many back-to back games.

The results from the day are as below:

Girls Basketball: 5th

Boys Basketball: 5th

Girls Volleyball: 4th

Boys Volleyball: 4th

Friday of Week 9, two teams were taken to compete at Anniversary Park in Rockingham to compete in AFL9’s. Both the boy team and girl team showed fantastic sportsmanship and attitude throughout the entire day.

Community News, Events & Promotions

Charges and Contributions

YEAR 7 – 10 VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS

Thank you to those families who have already paid Contributions and Charges for 2023. We appreciate your support very much.  Your assistance helps us to work towards our whole school targets and priorities.

YEAR 11 & 12 CHARGES AND YEAR 8 – 10 HIGH COST ELECTIVES

Please be reminded that Year 11 & 12 charges are compulsory as well as Year 8-10 High Cost electives. Thank you to those that have already paid.

Payment options are listed below. Alternatively, to assist in lessening any financial burden a payment plan can be negotiated.  Bank deductions can be set up and we can accept amounts as little as $10 per week. In order to arrange this, please contact the school on 9531 7000.

Proposed Charges and Contributions were included in your child’s 2023 Info Pack.

Payment Plans

If you would like to look at starting deductions, please contact our friendly administrative team at the school office for assistance either by phone (9531 7000) or email (pinjarra.shs@education.wa.edu.au).

PAYMENT OPTIONS

  • Internet Banking:
    BSB: 633000      Account No: 120445655
    Description: (eg Student Name (John Smith) Yr8, CC (Contributions & Charges), Yr10Camp etc).
  • By telephone using credit card facilities on 9531 7000.
  • In person during office hours (8.30am – 3.30pm), all EFTPOS/Credit Card options are available.
  • Negotiate a Payment Plan.
  • Post in a cheque.
  • Centrepay – this can be set up by parents contacting Centrelink

Thank you in advance for your continued support.

School Board AGM

Mastermind Exam & Revision Programs

The Pinjarra Senior High School Board Annual General Meeting will be held on the 4th of May, 2023 at 4:00pm.

All members of the community, parents and families are welcome to attend.

External Support for Students, Families and Community Members

As we approach our Term 1 holidays, we want to remind our community members of Mental Health support options available to our region. Please see the following contact numbers which are free, and you can call in emergencies, when you, or someone you know, requires Mental Health support, or if you have questions about support options. The below numbers are for adults and children, unless otherwise specified.

Urgent mental health assistance

  • If someone is at immediate risk of harm or in need of urgent medical help, call triple zero (000).

Support helplines

  • Beyond Blue
    • Free online and telephone support for anyone feeling anxious or depressed.
    • 1300 224 636 (operates 24/7)
    • beyondblue.org.au (offers online live chat service operating 24hrs, 7 days a week)
  • Lifeline Support
    • For anyone requiring mental health support.
    • 13 11 14 (operates 24/7)
    • lifelinewa.org.au​ (offers online live chat service operating 24hrs, 7 days a week)

Support for young people, specifically

  • Headspace Support
    • For young people aged 12 to 25, and their families. Telephone and web chat available, as well as local headspace centres.
    • 1800 650 890 (7 days: 9am – 12:30am AEST)
    • headspace.org.au (offers online chatroom support 24/7)
  • Kids Helpline
    • Free qualified counselling service for young people aged 5 to 25.
    • 1800 551 800 (operates 24/7)
    • kidshelpline.com.au (offers online chatroom support 24/7)

Support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, specifically

  • 13Yarn
    • Free phone support for all ages, can discuss yourself or someone you’re worried about, to talk with an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Crisis Supporter.
    • 139276 (operates 24/7)
    • 13yarn.org.au
  • All services listed above are all available to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, however 13Yarn is specifically for First Nations People.

Traffic Wardens Needed!

WA Police is reporting a shortage of Traffic Wardens in the local area, and is currently looking to recruit.

To become a Traffic Warden, applicants require access to email, a full driving licence with access to a vehicle, and the ability to work 10 shifts per week.  The shifts will be an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon.

If you are interested in becoming a Traffic Warden, please call 6274 8731 regarding any queries or if you would like an application pack.