Our Primary students enjoyed a wonderful evening at our annual Kindy to Year 2 Pyjamas and Movie night and Year 3 to 6 Fun night! Our younger students excitedly dressed in their warm pyjamas, fluffy dressing gowns, and with their favourite soft toy cuddled close, were ready for a movie screening of Toy Story together. Our older students were ready for action as they arrived at our Sports Centre for various games and challenges, including Hero Tag, Table Tennis, many giant Inflatables and a fabulous Silent Disco, complete with disco balls! Primary Parents were treated to a night off as their children enjoyed a fantastic night! We are so thankful to our amazing Primary Staff for their care of our wonderful students on the night.

Kindy Gold and Kindy Green were delighted to have WestOz WildLife come to our school. We were able to see a dingo, koala, bobtail and two snakes. We have been learning about living things and what makes something living. Koala’s can only live off eucalyptus leaves and dingo’s eat whatever they can, even koalas! It was so exciting being brave and touching animals that we don’t normally see in Joondalup.

Julie Campbell

Kindergarten Teacher

The new addiction we need to stop our teens before the effects can’t be undone.

The use of e-cigarettes is on the rise, particularly among high school students, and, given that the use of these devices is a relatively new phenomenon at the College, we feel it important to provide students and parents/legal guardians with some relevant background information. 

Electronic cigarettes and vaping devices are battery-operated devices that heat a liquid to produce a vapour that is inhaled. The fluid usually contains propylene glycol, glycerol, nicotine and added flavouring(s). The devices are designed to deliver the aerosol directly to the lungs. Some resemble conventional cigarettes, while more recently developed devices look like everyday items such as pens or USB memory sticks. The appeal of these flavoured e-cigarettes to adolescents has led to their rapid uptake around the world.

The Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) is concerned that e-cigarettes have ‘renormalised’ smoking. A worryingly recent study has also found that e-cigarette users were three times more likely than non-e-cigarette users to subsequently become tobacco smokers.

While the damaging impact of smoking tobacco is well known, the short and long-term health effects of e-cigarettes and vaping devices are still being researched.

Adolescents are more prone to makings decisions based on emotional or reactive responses, rather than logical reasoning, making teens more likely to take risks. If a student develops an addiction to drugs, developmental instability increases. The regions of the brain that are responsible for concentration, memory, neuroplasticity and cognitive decision-making are largely affected by nicotine. Thus, leaving a significant impact on students’ learning and overall health due to negative effects of brain development when exposed to toxins.

Students are getting vaping devices (pods, electronic nicotine delivery systems or ENDS, juice, etc.) from friends or acquaintances in the community. The Heads of House and my experience is that, in most instances, students are using them or buying them from one another, sharing, lending and passing them from person to person. If we want to get down to the original source, students are buying them online or having adults purchase them on their behalf. At the College we aim to support and protect our students in making better choices but also protect students from unnecessary exposure.

Vaping detection devices are revolutionary and perfect for implementation in areas of expected privacy, such as bathrooms and change rooms, without disturbing the privacy of people within those spaces. There are many ways in which each separate device can operate in a discrete manner to deter vaping in schools, while maintaining the private nature of bathrooms and change rooms. Students can still safely use these facilities without the worry of being watched or recorded in any manner and be kept safe from the harms of vaping emissions. The College is looking into purchasing some of these devices.

So why are students engaging in this practice? A key factor that is linked to substance abuse is peer influence. This acts as the main source of why students acquire vaping devices. If friends are a key component to access vaping habits, then they are also the solution to preventing them. By sharing this information with you, we are hoping it may open up a door for you to communicate with your son/daughter on the choices they make and how they can be a positive influence on their friends.

As always, the Heads of House and I are happy to discuss this topic with you should you have any concerns regarding your child/children, so please feel free to contact us.

Helen Del Frate

Dean of Students

On Wednesday 18 May, the Year 11 and 12 Visual Arts students went on excursion with Ms Burke, Ms Shaw and myself. We caught the train to the city centre where we went to the Art Gallery of WA and enjoyed a hands on sculpture activity. It was a lot more difficult than we anticipated to create objects from bundles of straw and wool! Next we viewed the 2021 Perspectives exhibition, blown away by the high standard of the top works of last year’s graduating ATAR Visual Arts students. After this, we visited PICA (Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts), where we saw the Hatched exhibition, which showcases Visual Arts tertiary graduates from around Australia. We had lunch in the city then headed back to Joondalup, inspired by the artworks we had seen.

Tracy Pender
Head of The Arts

The Secondary Library enjoyed five weeks of part-time service from a TAFE Library Technician practicum student. This has been our first collaboration with the Library Studies department at North Metropolitan TAFE and it was hugely successful. The very capable student, Yumi, provided fantastic support, especially during a COVID-19 staff shortage.

We look forward to further collaborations with TAFE and wish Yumi well as she embarks on her new career!

Kate Di Florio
Secondary Teacher Librarian

This term, the Chaplaincy department is running our lower school girls program ‘Blossom’. It has been popular with the girls, and we have been focusing on the topics love, respect, honour, conviction and self-confidence. So far, we have made positive affirmation jars, magnetised pegs, individualised bracelets and had delicious food provided by Mrs Jackson (Foods Teacher). Upper school helpers Talia V and Niamh R have also been in attendance to share topics with the girls and help with activities.

Blossom is run at lunchtime in Room 12 each Thursday until the end of term.

Catherine da Silva

Secondary Chaplain

Photographs for LJBC students will take place in Week 9 of this term (Wednesday 22 June, Thursday 23 June, and Friday 24 June). With a catch-up day scheduled for Thursday 21 July.

All students will have an individual photograph taken and class photographs will also be taken of every Primary Class and Secondary Connect Group. Photographs from these sessions will be available for purchase by families – order envelopes will be distributed to students prior to Week 8 (each student will receive a personalised envelope).

Sibling photographs will once again be taken before school from 7.30am to 8.30am.  More information about how to book in for these will be sent in the coming weeks.

If you have any questions regarding the photo days, you are most welcome to email me at Sarah.baker@ljbc.wa.edu.au

Sarah Baker
EA to the Dean of Administration

Regular Uniform Shop hours during school term
Tuesday and Thursdays 8am to 4pm (closed 11.30am to 12.30pm)

Uniforms may also be purchased online using Flexischools (www.flexischools.com.au). Flexischools requires you to register an account before commencing with the ordering of uniforms. The online service provides sizing charts to assist you when placing your orders.

We understand that situations change, and remind you that if there is a possibility that you may withdraw your child(ren) from the College during or at the end of 2022, our policy requires that we receive written notification of ten school weeks’ notice, addressed to College Registrar. Registrar@ljbc.wa.edu.au.

Sally Yeomans 

College Registrar