Curtin Calls May 2025

This month two of our students were featured on the Department of Education website for their incredible success in their sporting domains. Year 8 student Charlotte won a gold medal for her performance in the Under 15, 100m sprint final, making her the fastest female in Australia for her age group while Year 12 student LeBron Newton-Taito has signed with a top talent agency from the USA after being scouted at a rugby training session. Read Charlotte’s story here and LeBron’s story here.

Year 11 Ballet student Preston Shean has been selected as an RAD Advanced I Bursary Finalist.  He will be one of seven outstanding dancers to travel to Sydney for the national final on Sunday 15 June 2025. One dancer will be awarded the $5,000 Australian Advanced 1 Bursary. Good luck to Preston!  

The Australian Advanced 1 Bursary is held annually and the $5000 award, is provided for further classical ballet training in the Royal Academy of Dance syllabus and associated pre-professional training upon agreement with the Royal Academy of Dance.  

The Bursary is offered at the discretion of the adjudicator based on the candidate’s ability to fulfil the marking criteria. 

Congratulations also go to Ballet students Shannen Curtis and Raine Lee who were Semi Finalist’s in Advanced 1 Bursary, pictured with their tutor and College Alumna Isabella Knight. 

Inspired by the elements we delve into aspects of Earth, Air, Fire and Water in this year’s student choreographic season. In small groups, students have been empowered to explore their creative potential, challenge themselves in group decision making, and give life to their visions on stage through choreography and design. Join us to celebrate the culmination of the students’ hard work, dedication and talents in their own works.  

Don’t miss our upcoming dance performance, Universal—a celebration of movement, music, and connection that promises to inspire and uplift! Come support our amazing students and experience the magic they’ve been working so hard to create. It’s going to be something truly special!

Book your tickets here!

Mrs. Thomson’s Year 9 maths students have been diving into ‘Brain Snacks’ – a series of fun, fast-paced problem-solving activities designed to challenge their thinking and sharpen their skills. From number puzzles to logic challenges, each snack-sized task gets students thinking outside the box and collaborating in creative ways. 

Working in groups students enjoy the satisfaction of solving unique problems.  Together they’re building resilience, improving reasoning, and discovering just how exciting maths can be!  

Brain Snacks aren’t just tasty for the brain – they’re proving that learning can be dynamic, engaging, and seriously satisfying. Keep it up, Year 9 – your mathematical mindset is going from strength to strength! 

Media Arts Represented at 2025 AtomWA Media Perspectives

The work of three Certificate II Creative Industries: Media classes was selected to be screened at the AtomWA General Media Perspectives on 7 May. The prestige of such a generous selection is noted. The AtomWA Perspectives events are a showcase of the best of the best from Western Australian media arts programs.

JCCA productions made up for almost a third of the evenings run time with year 11 productions: “Totally Outback!” and “Ghost Stories” and year 12 production “The Sacred Summit” coming to a total of 34 minutes. The films were well received with much praise being levied in the quality of production, performance and consistency across the films.

Mr Hardy represented the media team along with a handful of the class of 2024 alumni at the event.

Congratulations to Year 8 Gifted and Talented Media Arts student Kaarin, whose photograph Reaching for the Heavens was recently shortlisted in a local under-16 photography competition focused on Fremantle and its surroundings.

Kaarin’s striking image — a dramatic perspective of St Peter’s Basilica captured in bright light — was entirely conceptualised, composed, and titled by him. Another standout from his recent work, Last Glimpse of a Dream, offers a softer, panoramic view of the harbour and reflects his thoughtful visual storytelling.

Although he didn’t take out the top prize, Kaarin’s creativity and evolving eye for detail have not gone unnoticed. His growing confidence and the strength of his artistic voice are a credit to his dedication — and to the support of the Media Arts team. Well done, Kaarin

Year 7 Music Theatre student Arini participated in Fremantle Eisteddfod this month where she was awarded 1st position in Classical Solo Vocal category in her age group. As a winner she got the opportunity to perform in the Junior Winners Concert on 31st May. Congratulations Arini! l

Lexy, one of our talented Year 10 Music students, has been busy writing, recording and releasing original songs — and they’re now streaming on Spotify.

Lexy’s musical journey started with violin at age four, but it didn’t take long for her love of singing and songwriting to take centre stage. She’s performed with the WA Youth Orchestra, sung at Crown Theatre to thousands, and now works with Perth producer (and recent Grammy nominee!) Calvin Bennett.

Her latest track dellilah is available now, with more on the way. Have a listen and support one of our own: Lexy on Spotify 🎶

The Year 11s went to Wadjemup/Rotto for two days one night. On day one they went around the island hopping on and off the bus exploring different snorkelling sights. Day 2 they walked around to a couple different sights to get some more snorkelling in.  

Students got to see a variety of marine life thanks to fantastic weather and conditions.

The Year 11s spent Term 1 practicing their snorkelling and finning skills in preparation for camp.

Our Year 8 girls football team had a great time representing the College at this term’s lightning carnival. Congratulations also to our mixed Year 10–12 Ultimate Frisbee team, who finished an impressive third in their recent competition!

Through the Your Move program, we gather data on how students get to and from school.  

We do this through an online survey where students get asked how they travel to and from school. They also get asked their opinion on traffic management around the school, any issues they would like to raise and how we could better promote active travel.  

We have been collecting data in Term 1 and Term 2 since 2019. As you can see from the graph, 60–70% of our students use public transport.  

The Roots and Shoots club analyse this data regularly and use it to inform the next moves on how to better the experience of our active travellers and how to promote more active travel.  

An issue that has been raised in multiple of our Hands Up Surveys is that the buses are too crowded and run at times that male them hard to catch at the end of the day. Roots and Shoots in collaboration with the Student Presidents are working with Trans Perth to hopefully come up with a solution. Stay tuned to see what comes next.  

On Sunday 13th of April at the start of the school holidays, four of our members ran an art stall at the Samson Tree and Wildlife Festival at Samson Park. The festival highlighted the numerous environmental and ecological benefits of trees and wildlife. We hung up posters, collected some leaves, and laid out paints, markers, and crayons; directing our stall at kids for some leaf art! We coached them through the process, and many paint-covered leaves and bookmarks were created. In the breaks of people, we visited the other stalls, getting the chance to make some terrariums and screen-print some tote bags. It was a beautiful day, and very fun to connect with the community through a lens of educating about sustainability and nature.

– By Year 11 Roots & Shoots student Jasmine

On Thursday 17th of April the Roots & Shoots team went over to Cantonment Hill after school to help clean the place from pollution and rubbish that is clogging up the wildlife. Cantonment Hill is also known by the indigenous Whadjuk people as Dwerda Weelardingup, meaning “place of the dingo spirit” and the peak of the hill is referred to as Walyrup, meaning “sea-eagle nest”. Cantonment Hill has a strong cultural significance for a number of reasons; it is part of the story of the Seven Sisters dreaming, Dwerda is the Dingo spirit guarding the river mouth and is the place from which families sent smoke signals to their incarcerated relatives on Wadjemup.

– By Year 8 Roots & Shoots student Emily-Rose

Over the course of four weeks, Year 7 students dedicated themselves to developing science fair projects of their choice, turning the experience into an engaging and hands-on learning journey. Their hard work culminated in an exciting presentation during Week 10 of Term 1 at the school’s science fair. It was fantastic to see students confidently share their discoveries and creativity with a supportive audience. The presence of friends and family added to the celebratory atmosphere, making the event a memorable milestone in the students’ learning. 

Year 7 students dove into the world of chemistry with test tubes in hand, mixing chemicals and creating solutions like budding scientists. With stoppers sealing their experiments, they tested substances to discover which were soluble and which stubbornly refused to dissolve. It was a fizzing, swirling, hands-on journey into the magic of materials — where science came alive through every bubbling reaction and crystal-clear solution! i

Year 8 students put their energy know-how to the test by building and racing mousetrap cars, turning classroom theory into high-speed action. Using their understanding of energy transfers and transformations, they cleverly harnessed potential energy from the spring-loaded traps and unleashed it as kinetic energy to power their creations. With wheels spinning and cars zooming across the floor, it was a thrilling fusion of physics and engineering — all driven by brainpower and a bit of mousetrap magic.  

In Year 8 science, students are introduced to the use of microscopes as a tool for exploring the microscopic world. By learning how to properly use a light microscope, they develop essential skills such as focusing, adjusting magnification, and preparing wet mounts. A common activity involves examining onion cells, where students carefully slice a thin piece of onion, add a drop of iodine stain, and place a cover slip to create a wet mount slide. This hands-on experience helps them observe the structure of plant cells, including the cell wall, nucleus, and cytoplasm. Through this process, students gain a better understanding of cell biology and develop important scientific skills such as observation, analysis, and recording results. 

Our Year 9 EEE and Challenge students recently visited the Point Walter River System as part of their studies on ecosystems. The excursion provided a valuable opportunity to explore a local wetland environment and apply classroom learning in a real-world context. Throughout the day, students attended a lecture by a specialist scientist on wetland ecosystems, conducted sampling and analysis of macro-invertebrates, and performed water testing for abiotic factors such as pH, salinity, and dissolved oxygen. They also took part in a guided walk to observe bird diversity and assessed the overall health of the wetland. It was a highly engaging and educational experience that greatly enriched their understanding of ecological systems. g

Year 12 students stepped into the shoes of doctors in a dynamic role-play activity, using clinical scenarios to diagnose patients with nervous and endocrine system dysfunctions. Drawing on their in-depth knowledge from the course, they analyzed symptoms, asked probing questions, and pieced together diagnoses like true medical professionals. They had to then advise their patients of a possible treatment for their condition as well as delving into the world of future opportunities for treatment or even a cure. It was a brilliant application of their learning — bringing complex biological systems to life through realistic, hands-on problem solving that challenged both their knowledge and critical thinking skills. 

We are wishing the ATAR students all the best with their upcoming exams.  

As part of their Food and Fitness course—and in celebration of Outdoor Classroom Day—our Year 9 Food Technology students spent time caring for Meearn Boodjah, the College Bush Tucker garden. Activities included weeding, collecting rubbish, and planting new native species such as the Pincushion Hakea and Firewood Banksia, which are both important food sources for the endangered Black Cockatoo.

While not all six Food Technology classes were able to participate in planting, students took the opportunity to reflect on the benefits of learning in an outdoor environment. Their thoughts included the joys of sunshine, fresh air, and the calming, mindful nature of gardening.

To find out more about the global initiative, visit Outdoor Classroom Day.

Year 11 student Louie began his work placement at Black Swan this term by diving into their very first Giving Day Campaign on Thursday 1 May, allowing Louie to gain real-world experience in a professional arts organisation. 

By contributing to a major fundraising initiative, Louie not only learnt about the behind-the-scenes mechanics of a fundraising campaign, but also offered the team fresh insights and youthful energy. 

Work placements like this are an invaluable way for students to explore potential pathways, strengthen their resumes, and connect classroom learnings to real-world application, all while making meaningful contributions to the arts. 

Black Swan work placements are available for students in Years 11 and 12. If you have a student in mind who you think would thrive in this unique opportunity, click here to learn more!  

Get creative by exploring make up and nail design!  In this taster experience, students get to tour through the new facilities at Murdoch TAFE, they also got to learn tip and tricks when applying make-up and Nail design.

Year 9 and 10 students participated in the Try-A-Trade program in the following fields:   

• Civil Construction at Thornlie TAFE
• Carpentry/Bricklaying at SkillHire.
• Plumbing and Painting at NextGen Training  

Brought to you by the Construction Training Fund (CTF), this 2025 program offers a fantastic chance for students to explore various trades, discover potential career paths, and acquire essential job skills.  

The civil construction field encompasses some of the most essential building projects that are completed in our world each year with the creation of infrastructure involving anything to do with water, earth, or transport. A civil construction worker is typically involved in all facets of general civil construction works, including manual excavation, concreting, laying pipes, pavement repair, grade checking and simple levelling, site drainage and traffic control.  

Carpenters and joiners construct, erect, install, finish and repair wooden and metal structures and fixtures used on the inside and outside of buildings, both for residential and commercial constructions.  Carpenters may also work on large concrete, steel and timber structures such as bridges, dams, power stations and civil engineering construction.  

Bricklaying is a skilled trade using masonry materials such as clay bricks, concrete blocks, mortar, lintels, cement or pre-cut stone to repair and construct a variety of structures including walls, retaining walls, chimneys, decorative arches and fireplaces in residential housing and commercial projects. 

Painting and Decorating is a finishing trade. Painters apply paint, varnish, wallpaper and other finishes to protect, maintain and decorate interior and exterior surfaces of domestic, commercial and industrial buildings and other structures.

Plumbers and Gasfitters are responsible for installing more than just plumbing inside a house. They use a variety of skills, tools and materials to install systems for hot and cold water, heating, sanitation, drainage and guttering, water tanks and solar water heating systems while consistently ensuring their work complies with regulations.

Over two Saturday mornings in May the Visual Arts Department offered the opportunity to Year 10, Year 11 and Year 12 GAT Visual Arts students to take part in a life drawing classes .

The classes were taught by our new visual arts teacher, Mrs. Tennille Vickers. 

Life drawing is an art form that involves drawing or painting a live model. It is a valuable practice that can significantly enhance observational skills, foster creative expression, and instil perseverance. The wonderful results of the workshops can be seen in the Corridor Gallery in the Visual Arts Dept. We continue to be astounded by the creativity and skills of our students. 

This year Year 9 and Year 11 GAT visual arts students have been involved in an on-going partnership project with Murdoch University for, connecting Humanities, Arts and Social Science (HASS) concepts such as Human Rights, Peace, Empowering Care, Advocacy and Activism. Students visited Murdoch Uni and had hands-on input from academics and artists, working towards the creation of artworks in class. They took part in a number of workshops over two days exploring how art and activism can come together to address environmental challenges and address change.