For the second year running, Wongutha CAPS is hosting a group of school-based trainees. Harold Madden and Guy Evans are completing a 12 month Certificate II in Agriculture on the Wongutha property, while Kristy O’Brien is doing Certificate II in Business at Wongutha with additional experience at the CBH office in Esperance. Traineeships are paid positions where trainees can earn while they learn. Trainees are instructed in a variety of areas relevant to their certificate. Guy and Harold gain experience in animal husbandry, fencing skills, machinery use and servicing, water supply issues, waste removal, gardens and lawn care as well as some building maintenance. Kristy is training in office duties such as filing, computer skills and phone usage. There is a particular emphasis on grounding the Trainees in OH&S, First Aid and driver training, with all three progressing through their learner’s permits towards a full drivers licence. At the end of the 12 month program, trainees receive a Certificate II from Curtin VTEC. This is recognized Australia wide and should establish these trainees towards a secure future in their chosen industry. Second-year students who prove themselves this year and complete their VET certificates can apply to do a school-based traineeship in 2010. At the time of writing this post, 12 of this years students have shown interest in traineeships at Wongutha.
Hostel life is one of the elements that makes a student’s stay at Wongutha CAPS enjoyable.
Hostel manager Wayne Rogan and his staff place family life and Christian teaching as a high priority when looking after the boarders.
Wayne instills a sense of security and trust between staff and students which enables students to come to the staff if they have issues or concerns just as they would at home. Staff are keen to ensure that boarders receive training in life skills and are able to participate in local sport competitions.
The hostel staff are committed to enriching the lives of the young people in their charge, ensuring a happy and wholesome stay.
With a good mix of physical activity, positive encouragement and varied entertainment, students find that their stay at Wongutha is memorable and supportive of their educational program.
2008 is almost over and it has been an interesting year with lots of good things happening. Probably the most exciting development is the building of two new hostel buildings (girls’ and boys’) which will start in the next few weeks. There is a boys dormitory and a girls dormitory. The buildings have been designed to take full advantage of the winter sun and each room will have a reverse cycle air conditioner. Each hostel will have twenty double rooms (two students in each room), two toilet and shower areas, a gymnasium area, TV area, games room and eating area (for suppers etc). The dormitories will have new furniture and fittings throughout. The Commonwealth Government has provided just over $2 million for this project.
During term 3, five schools from around the state (Wongutha, Emmanuel Catholic College, Rossmoyne Senior High School, Coolgardie CAPS and Goldfields Baptist College) were challenged at Morapoi Station.
Activities included snake handling, team building, archery, spear throwing, motor bike riding, canoeing, bush survival, honey ant eating, swimming at Niagara Dam, traditional cooking and food.
Speaking of food, the cooks did a great job. The diet on the camp consisted of steak, steak, chops, chops and some (if you had to) salad.
Sections scrambled for points to become the winner of the regional camp. Isaiah Rodger’s team, The Wolves won the overall competition by a massive 500 points.
Interaction between the students of the various school was immediate, good and in depth. Many students are still keeping in contact.
Check out what we have been up to at (and away from) Wongutha over the last couple of months.
On Friday 13th June 2008 Wongutha CAPS held a day of cultural activities with Esperance Primary School’s year 3s as a part of their NAIDOC celebrations1.
The Wongutha students shared their skills by teaching the Esperance Primary students how they prepare and cook damper. They also shared dreamtime stories from their different regions of Australia.
A wonderful feed, which included kangaroo and emu, was cooked underground for all to enjoy. While it was prepared and served by Wongutha students and staff, everyone was entertained by the very talented school band.
The lovely lunch was followed by an afternoon of sports fun and activities, including face painting and socialising. A great day was had by all and everyone learned much.
- NAIDOC week is 6-12 July in 2008, when Wongutha students are back in their home communities. As a result, Wongutha holds NAIDOC celebrations early, during school term. From “What is NAIDOC?”: “NAIDOC originally stood for ‘National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee’. This committee was once responsible for organising national activities during NAIDOC Week, and its acronym has become the name of the week itself.” ↩
To everyone who has a history with Wongutha…
Please check out our new Networking page and contact us though it.
(The short version is here: Leave a comment on the Networking page, send us a profile, give us a ring or see us on Facebook)
Friday November 30th saw 130 staff, students and special guests, gather at the Esperance Civic Centre for the annual Wongutha Prize Night and Graduation Ball.
For students, this a culmination of a years hard work.
Nearly 80 awards were presented with some students receiving more than one accolade.
Congratulations to the 10 year 12 students who graduated. We wish them well for their future.
The staff and year 12 students who recently travelled to Thailand have returned safely, with some wonderful memories and some great stories.
They visited an orphanage over there, as well some schools. They enjoyed learning about Thai culture and teaching the locals some Aboriginal culture.
Click on the photo above to see some more great shots. Watch this space for some more stories, perhaps from the students themselves.
On Monday 12th November the SciTech Roadshow came to Wongutha and demonstrated to the students different hands-on science experiments such as making magnetic bars.
We learned the names of different energies and how they are produced. They also taught us about the universe and what it is made up of, including planets and stars. We learned the names of different planets, what they look like and whether there are any living things on them. We really appreciated them visiting our school. It was a great day.
…by the business class
