The Leavers assembly on Monday 11^th November was energetic, fun and a great way for staff, students and families to celebrate and acknowledge the graduating students time at Leeming ESC.  Congratulations to all these students who have worked so hard to achieve positive post school pathways through employment, independent travel, community connections and friendships, these students have very bright futures ahead of them. We are all very proud of this cohort of students and look forward to celebrating their achievements on Friday 22^nd November at the Pagoda in South Perth for their final dinner.

Congratulations to Caden Sharp who was awarded the Caltex Best All Rounder Award at the Leeming SHS and Leeming SHS ESC Year 12 final assembly. The award recognises the all-round contributions a student has made to their school and community. Caden was a very worthy recipient of this award for not only his school achievements but also volunteering his time out of school for important community charities.

As our Leavers are enjoying their last few weeks of school our new 2020 Year 7’s are starting their transition into high school.  The Year 7 Transition program started in week 4 and will conclude in week 7. A very warm welcome to all our new students and families, I enjoyed getting to meet you all at the parent information morning tea and look forward to getting to know all the students over the next few weeks as they become familiar with staff and their new school environment.

Congratulations to Mrs Dinning and all the students and staff involved in the Anzac Day project this year. Leeming SHS ESC won the 2019 Anzac Day Schools’ Awards Secondary School Category. The judges said the entry demonstrated a whole school approach. The inclusive activities which involved listening to stories undertaking oral history, completing worksheets and fundraising developed the students learning of wartime history, and were suited to a wide range of abilities across all year levels.  The judges thought the school's entry was unique and congratulated them on their fundraising efforts in support of Soldier On.

The State Government has announced a new Student Mobile Phones in Public Schools policy. The policy requires all public schools to implement a ban on the use of mobile phones for all students from the time they arrive at school to the end of the school day. This extends to the use of smart watches which need to be on aeroplane mode during this period. Minor changes will be made to our current Mobile Phone Policy to meet the newly announced minimum requirements. To support our students meeting the requirements of this policy, all student mobile phones will be collected by the classroom teacher in the morning and locked away until the end of the school day. If you have any concerns about the new policy, please contact me to discuss further.

We are very fortunate to have such a supportive school community and I would like to thank the Tan family and Raphael family for their generous contributions to our Student Disco and Family Day this term. The student disco was a great opportunity for students to socialise with their peers, have fun, dance and enjoy time with staff and friends. Thank you to Mrs Parwani and the Disco Committee for organising the event, and to the staff who gave up their time to support on the night at the disco, students had an awesome time with lots fun and dancing. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing students so happy and excited to see each other, there were lots of smiling faces and positive social connections, a wonderful experience for everyone. Mr Muir, your DJ skills were exceptional, you had the students dancing all night!

Family Day is on Thursday 19^th December, the last day of the 2019 school year for students. Thank you to Ms Stewart for coordinating the day and the Raphael family for your generous donation. Family Day is a very special day to meet as a school community, relax and unwind after a busy school year, we look forward to seeing you all there.

Thank you to families who have already paid their child’s fees and charges for 2019.

The total amount payable for Years 7 to 12 is $300.

Credit card payment is now available using our bPoint banking facility via our school website (Leemingesc.wa.edu/payments). Click the ‘make an online payment’ link and enter the requested details.

BPoint can also be used to pay for camps and excursions.  Ensure the event the payment is to be receipted against is clearly stated in the detail area of the payment screen.

Please note we do not have EFTPOS facilities but payment can be made either by cash or cheque or alternatively you can pay directly into the school bank account.  State the students name / fees or event as your reference.

BSB Number        066040

Account               19900866

Name                  Leeming SHS ESC

The School Board met on October 28th and we discussed, among other things, matters relating to the senior school structure in 2020, the Department of Education Behaviour Management Policy and its application to our school, as well as capital and maintenance expenditure programs on the campus. The Board has two vacancies for parent members and I encourage anyone who would like to participate in this important function of our school to consider submitting an expression of interest. Any of the School Board members would be pleased to explain how our meetings operate and the necessary commitment.

Following on from our Board meeting we held our third Annual Public Meeting and this was very well attended. Thank you to all who came along to the meeting.

Our school community project continues and our chaplain Vangi Evangeli has highlighted a need for white socks (large sizes), any sneakers of large sizes in reasonable condition, cheese slices and margarine.

Anything you could contribute would be greatly appreciated. Please bring any items to the main administration reception.

Digby Claydon

Chair

School Board

Thank you to families who have already paid their child’s fees and charges for 2019.

The total amount payable for Years 7 to 12 is $300.

Credit card payment is now available using our bPoint banking facility via our school website (Leemingesc.wa.edu/payments). Click the ‘make an online payment’ link and enter the requested details.

BPoint can also be used to pay for camps and excursions.  Ensure the event the payment is to be receipted against is clearly stated in the detail area of the payment screen.

Please note we do not have EFTPOS facilities but payment can be made either by cash or cheque or alternatively you can pay directly into the school bank account.  State the students name / fees or event as your reference.

BSB Number        066040

Account               19900866

Name                  Leeming SHS ESC

The Uniform Shop (within the school next to the Canteen) sells both new and good quality second-hand clothing items.

REGULAR OPENING HOURS:

Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays 10:15 am to 1:45 pm

If you need to contact the Uniform Shop please call directly 08 9237 6858

New School Uniform

We officially have new lower school polo shirts and sports shirts available to buy from the uniform shop. New senior school shirts will be available to buy shortly with jackets following next year. There is no deadline to change to the new uniform. All students will be able to wear their current uniform until they need a replacement.

Dear students, parents and staff of ESC 1, this is my final entry for the Leavers of 2019. What a year! In reflection, every student should be very proud of their achievements as they have embraced their learning and goals to make the most of their final year of education.

At this point, we hope the lessons that have been learnt over the years will place them in good stead to have a wonderful life post school. Although it will be sad to see each and every student finish their education on the 22^nd November 2019, I know they will be happy in knowing they have ‘finished’, and are ready to embrace their world.

I ask students to be kind to themselves and to others, to seize every opportunity ahead, and to always remember:

“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” By Harriet Tubman

ESC 2 had a great start to Term 4. This term, the amazing ILC team introduced chat group sessions where students use AAC devices to communicate with their peers.  Some students loved using it to communicate about all the things they like. Our verbal students thoroughly enjoyed the session and loved the opportunity to become a communicating partner with our non-verbal students.

This term, we also introduced another wonderful program - Peaceful Kids. Students speak freely about how they feel, learn to do simple meditation and more importantly are given strategies to help them deal with challenging situations. Here are photos of our students picking the emotion cards and discussing how they feel.

Our class will be going on a camp in week 7 to Quaranup. Please look out for the information pack in the next couple of weeks.

Hello from ESC 4. It has been a busy start to term 4, year 10 has begun our work placements and it is great to see all students embrace the challenges and grow to meet the responsibilities. We went on camp to Point Peron in week 4 and we were lucky enough to enjoy beautiful weather and had a lot of fun and laughter trying new experiences.

The students have settled into term 4 in ESC 4 with great maturity by successfully accepting and adjusting to change. We have a happy room where everyone tries their best to succeed. We look forward to the opportunity to participate in a Christmas stall closer to the end of term to sell our spice products and use our enterprise skills.

Once again I would like to acknowledge my extremely hard working EAs, Prue Harcourt, Lyn Johnson and Kavitha Subramaniam. These staff have built wonderful and supportive relationships with our students. Thanks also must go to the parents and carers of all our students at Leeming ESC for helping us to develop relationships with your children to support them in moving towards independence.

Term 4, (October/November) brings the Noongar season of kambarung – the start of the flowering season, as boodja (land) becomes littered with an explosion of growth.

Our Frog Pond and Garden project is thriving and we have now introduced tadpoles in the hope that they will grow into frogs and feel secure in their new surroundings. Working in the garden has been an enjoyable and rewarding team project. The students and staff are very proud of the tremendous habitat they have created.

This term we will be accessing public transport to Kardinya Shopping Centre for our CBL. Two of our students will begin travel training with Mrs Broadhurst in preparation for future independence with Transperth. All students have been successful in using their SmartRiders, reading timetables and displaying responsible behaviour when in the community. We will also be venturing to Woodman’s Point with the other year 8 classes, for Fishability. This coincides with World Disability Day and the wonderful volunteers will help teach our students the art of fishing, reinforce caring for our environment and the importance of physical activity and fresh air for our mental health.

Halloween was celebrated in style in our class. We decorated our room, dressed up for the occasion and then had a class party to celebrate the many birthdays that were happening in October. It was ghoulishly good fun!

As we start to wind down this busy term, we begin to reflect on what has been such an amazing year with an awesome group of students. We are so proud of you ESC 5!

You’re off to great places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, so…. get on your way!  - Dr Suess

A warm thank you from Mrs Vann, Mrs Broadhurst, Ms Smith and Ms Palma.

What an amazing start to our last term of year 8! I can’t believe how quickly the year has gone, and how much we’ve achieved together. Term 4 has already kept us extremely busy with many fun events. In week 2 we all loved the school disco. It was awesome to see so many students embrace the 80’s theme, and come dressed in their best bright colours with big hair. Karleigh won best dressed! We were also super excited to start our swimming lessons in PE with Miss Heard at Riverton. This has definitely been a highlight so far, which is evident through the smiling faces in all the swimming photos. This term during Bush Rangers, we have started learning about the Australian flora and bush tucker that is around our school. We have learned about the Balga (grass tree) and Mooja (Christmas tree) so far, and went on a scavenger hunt around the centre to find them! We have also started our Peaceful Kids program which focuses on mindfulness through meditation practices. We are loving the meditation sessions so far, and in week 3 we planted our very own plants to look after, as a reminder to look after our own bodies and minds too. We have also been working very hard on learning our dance routine to Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’, and are in the middle of our dress rehearsals. We are performing our dance at the week 5 assembly!
We are looking forward to our term 4 CBL program starting in week 5 to Carousel, and to finishing the term on an exciting and positive note with Family Day, which will be jam packed with fun water based activities. Bring it on!!

The students in ESC 7 have had a very exciting beginning to Term 4 - 2019, with lots of learning activities happening.

Our class has learnt about the lifecycle of our pet silkworms. We have watched them transform from larvae (worms), into silk cocoons and then moths which have finally laid eggs.  All ready to start the silkworm lifecycle again. (Luckily we found a mulberry tree next to ‘Cluckingham Palace’ and used the leaves to feed our silkworms. Thanks Mr Z for planting it!).

We have gone on CBL to the Kardinya Shopping Centre, using public transport. This excursion helped develop our knowledge about safe local communities, protective behaviours and using public transport. This was a great experience enjoyed by everyone. We have also started swimming lessons this term which will continue for 8 weeks. They are a highlight of the week for all the students and our amazing EAs (Miss Hodge and Ms Mitchell).

Overall, we have had a great start to term 4 with many memories being made and lots of laughter. We are very excited about the last 5 weeks of year 7, and all the great things planned.

We will then be all grown up ready for year 8 and all the new adventures to come!

Can’t believe it’s week 5 of term 4! My little men have been working very hard in learning about their Skeletal and Muscular system in science. They took pictures of themselves and created their own skeletal system.

In history they have been learning about ancient Egypt, their culture, tradition and food. The most exciting part was learning about the Pharaohs and what went in their tomb and the students imagined themselves as Pharaohs and wrote about what they would like in their tomb when they get mummified.

Bush Rangers has been very interesting learning about the role of rangers and Aboriginal officers in national parks.

Peaceful Kids meditation was introduced this term and the students have embraced this new programme. They are beginning to understand their emotions and becoming more resilient to changes and feel calmer after the meditation. They are learning ways to cope with everyday challenges by using meditation as a strategy.

The ESC 8 students participated in Student Council Elections on the 4^th of November. They cast their vote and put it in the ballot box. They learnt that each vote is very important in selecting the right candidate.

The students also participated in the whole school graduation assembly to bid farewell to the leavers of Leeming Senior High School and Education Support Centre.

Miss Heard has started the swimming program on Wednesdays and our students are enjoying the swim to beat the heat.

The highlight was participating in Diwali celebrations, the Indian Festival of lights. It was rather heart-warming to see all my students participate and take interest in knowing about my culture and the festival. They tried some traditional Indian sweets and savouries. Well done boys!

We cannot believe that the end of 2019 is fast approaching! It has been a very busy start to term 4 so far and the students have been busy learning, creating and solving problems each week. Our literacy focus for this term is Harry Potter & The Philosopher’s Stone. Each student was sorted into their own house and are earning house points for an end of year reward. In maths groups we have been challenging ourselves weekly with budgeting, symmetry and place value. During D&T groups, students have participated in STEM opportunities to create some really amazing things such as rainbow spinners, paper cup walkie-talkies and light reflecting skittles! Our brand new Aboriginal Sensory Garden has provided many opportunities in Bush Rangers and art for us and we are so grateful to Mrs Kaiser for creating this space. Although Market Day was cancelled, ESC 9 has prepared some fabulous ‘Inspirational Photo Frames’ that we hope to sell at a smaller venue later this term. Watch this space.

The fabulous ESC 9 team!

Blake - The best thing I liked this term was cooking. The thing I enjoyed most is measuring. The reason I like measuring is because it has to be precise. The thing I liked to make was any type of baking such as brownies, cupcakes, pancakes and waffles. 

Charlotte - I love family day and I love cooking brownies and I like Notre Dame and I like CBL. My favourite part of this term is family day because I want to go on the water slides. It makes me super happy.

Nabillah - This term I have really enjoyed going to mainstream dance class, I like dancing with my group. Cooking is my favourite subject, I loved making burgers they were yummy.

Poppy - I am looking forward to CBL because we are going on buses and trains and buying lunch at Gateways Shopping Centre. We also get to look at the shops.

Adam - I loved art because I drew a snake. I also loved doing Bush Rangers because we made the music wall. I enjoyed doing sport because we went to Notre Dame. I loved dancing because we are doing THE GIT UP dance.

Sian - I enjoyed voting for student councillor. I enjoyed Notre Dame, it was fun. I love cooking, this term we cooked lots of food. I am looking forward to CBL because we learnt new skills.

The ladies from ILC continue to teach us the fundamental skills and knowledge to better communicate with others, however, where initially they only worked with select students in our class, they now work with all students and all staff. We enjoy the pace, variety and content of each lesson as we improve in our communication; accessing devices, learning Key Word Signs and better structuring our sentences.

In sport, we have been practising our tennis skills with Mrs Pereira. We have been learning to hit the ball over the net while also keeping it in the correct zones. While some of the students are already playing games on their own, others are still developing skills and are supported by staff. We will look forward to our weekly sessions. This term, all classes are trialling a new health program called Peaceful Kids. Peaceful Kids is a programme that teaches mindfulness to lessen anxiety and stress and increase resilience. It helps students deal with the day to day stresses that they encounter. The program has been embraced in our class with students and staff enjoying the practical activities such as meditation, journaling and discussion.

The School Disco was a huge hit with the students in our class. Most students attended and rocked the night away! Many came dressed up. It was a great chance for students to socialise outside of regular school hours but in safe environment. Students enjoy participating in craft ideas, which are usually led by Mrs Smithson. From painting mini plant pots to fabric painting calico bags to stencilling on chalk boards, students are usually engaged throughout. They have a great time and often also use this time to wind down and relax. We’ve had a great term 4 so far and look forward to the last leg of our year 12 journey!

From staff in ESC 13.

Term 4, week 5 and we are on the home straight.

ESC 14 had a lovely start to the term with a visit to the Cahuna Koala Park in Byford. The students enjoyed walking amongst the wildlife which included ponies, donkeys, kangaroos and wallabies.

Cahuna Koala Park staff gave an informative talk on koala’s. The students were surprised to hear that baby koalas are called joey’s and koalas stomachs work overtime to break down the toxins from the eucalyptus leaves they eat. Another interesting fact the students learnt on the day is that baby echidnas are called puggles.

The students enjoyed the excursion immensely. 

As part of their ASDAN, CBL and Bush Rangers courses, the class has recently visited Holey Moley, Wireless Hill Reserve and Scitech. The boys continue to be exceptionally well behaved and can always be relied upon to show politeness and respect to the members of the community that they interact with as a part of these excursions. They will soon complete their ASDAN course and are presently planning their own excursion. The boys have worked enthusiastically throughout the whole year and this has given them the opportunity to learn about the core aspects of making plans to meet up with friends for a drink, a meal or to do a sporting activity. This has included choosing who to invite, selecting a suitable place and time as well as knowing what items they need to bring with them, planning the route and letting others know where they are going.

The students wanted to go to Holey Moley as a part of our ASDAN Out in the Community course and afterwards they all said how much they had enjoyed it and that they would love to go back again.

We also went to Wireless Hill Reserve, this time as a part of our Bush Rangers course. The students were given the opportunity to learn about the importance of our reserves and investigated how we can protect them for future generations to enjoy. They also had a sausage sizzle as a treat.

We recently spent a very interesting couple of hours looking around the exhibits at Scitech. As part of our visit we attended a demonstration entitled Maths and Explosions which was very interesting and enjoyable.

Supporting charities

The boys also supported the charity “Operation Christmas Child” by generously contributing to the filling of shoe boxes with gifts suitable for a child. Activities such as these allow the students to develop their understanding of the world and are very valuable in this respect.

Medal winners

Two of the boys won medals recently. Tarkin won his medal for competing in the Special Olympics State Games for soccer where his team were very successful. Likewise, Tom won his medal for showing his skills on the soccer field and was voted the most consistent player of the tournament.

In the classroom

The students have worked hard throughout the whole year and now look set to obtain passes in all their certificate courses. This includes their ASDAN course and their Preliminary 2 Mathematics and English courses, where just a little more work needs to be done in order to complete them.

Notre Dame

The Notre Dame course came to an end in week two of this term and those students who attended were awarded a certificate of merit by their coaches. This programme offered the students a valuable opportunity to learn about sport and to practice their coordination skills one to one with their own personal coach.

 Life Skills

The students taking the Life Skills course have continued to work with enthusiasm and have made great progress so far this term. They all show due regard for safety when working in the kitchen and using kitchen equipment like kettles and toasters. They are all well on the way to being able to make themselves a hot drink along with a food item like a piece of toast and vegemite. It is also good to see they are developing skill in the area of cleaning up after themselves.

Work place learning

Once again, the students have settled into their work placements with several starting in new work areas. All the boys are reported to be doing well and all are saying that they are enjoying themselves very much whilst they learn new skills and further develop others.

Keys 4 Life

Finally, it was pleasing to note that after a lot of hard work, every student from 11.2 that took their Learners Permit test passed it with flying colours. Well done, boys.

Well done to the year 10 students who commenced their first work experience placements at the beginning of term 4.  It is great to see so many students in the correct clothing, learning new skills and doing our wonderful school proud. Remember to keep your SmartRiders topped up if travelling on public transport.

At the assembly on Monday, Azaria Denmead was presented with the Workplace Learning Employee of the Month Award.  Azaria is currently attending two retail placements, across both settings Azaria shows great attention to detail, works autonomously and as a valued member of the team. The Merit Certificate was presented to Mitch Vodanovic for his continued hard work at Alinea in the book discarding department. Mitch has completed the tasks with minimal support, to the required standard and is prepared and motivated to work each week. Well Done Azaria and Mitch!

Congratulations also to Levi Baker, Wil Simpson and Kye Strawbridge who have commenced work trials this term and Caitlin Pilkington embarking on a School-based Traineeship gaining a Certificate ll in Horticulture at Melville Glades Golf Club.

We congratulate and wish our graduating students every success for their future endeavours.

It has been a busy start to term 4, with many more sporting opportunities for our centre still approaching! Upcoming events include:

• Stephen Michael Foundation AFL clinics and carnival
• Sports Leaders Leadership Day
• Swimming lessons
• After hours tennis

Soccer carnival

In week 1, Leeming SHS ESC took two soccer teams to the annual Interschool soccer carnival held at Hartfield Playing Fields, Forrestfield.

Both teams had an awesome day, filled with excitement, great sportsmanship and fun. Congratulations to Leeming 1 who won all of their games and drew 1 game, what a fantastic effort. Also, congratulations to our Leeming 2 team who  had 2 wins for the day, scoring lots of goals and displaying amazing team work.

Below are the medallion winners for each team

Leeming 1

Fairest and Best- Oscar Cuffe-Cain

Most consistent- Tom Claydon

Leeming 2

Fairest and Best- Branden McCaw

Most consistent- Kenneth Hee

Notre Dame program

Some classes from our centre have been involved in a PE program run by the Health and Physical Education students at the University of Notre Dame. Classes travelled to Notre Dame every Friday in term 3, where our students worked one on one with a Notre Dame buddy, focusing on fundamental movement skill development. The Notre Dame students developed a personal skills program for each of our Leeming students, and delivered it for 1 hour per week.

Our students had an absolute ball working closely with their buddies and we cannot thank Notre Dame enough for providing us with this opportunity. There were great improvements shown in our student’s skills, hand eye coordination, confidence and sporting knowledge. We are looking forward to working with Notre Dame again in 2020!