What a magnificent event! WACSSO Conference 2024!

Thank you to all those who joined us for WACSSO Conference 2024!

Attended by over 400 registered attendees, representing more than 220 P&C Associations from around the State, the highly successful 2024 WACSSO Conference was formally opened by the WACSSO President, Pania Turner, with Kevin Fitzgerald providing a moving Welcome to Country. Consistent with the future-focused theme ‘Innovate, Collaborate, Advocate’, over the weekend, delegates listened to motivational and informative presentations from a range of guest speakers, including keynotes SJ Price and Natasha Blycha who spoke on the topic what AI Means for Our Children. We closed Conference 2024 with an incredibly moving keynote from Judy and Tim Sharp, whose presentation A Double Shot of Happiness took delegates on a poignant journey of what is possible with the power of community and the love of family.

The weekend also included the participation of students, through the popular student panels, and performances from the Bayswater Primary School Senior Choir, bands from Perth Kidz Rock and incredible soloist, Chelita Fontana from Churchlands Senior High School.

Along with the keynotes, guest speakers at Conference included the Hon Dr Tony Buti MLA, Minister for Education and Training, Lisa Rodgers PSM, Director General of Education, the Commissioner for Children and Young People, Jacqueline McGowan Jones and Dr Megan Paull and Dr Katherine Sugars, from Murdoch University. Milanna Heberle from the Department of Education led an important discussion on the changing world in which teachers teach, and major conference partners Pippa Gauden from Containers for Change and Aisling Pawlowski from the FreshSNAP also provided essential information to delegates.

Conference workshops were held each day, offering the chance for delegates to dive deep into topics of interest. Workshop topics included the Digital and AI Risks for Children, Achieving Impactful Advocacy, Nature Spaces for Play, Trailblazing with Containers for Change, the Business of Running a Canteen, E-Scooter Safety, Writing Successful Grant Applications and Working Together – School and Parent Partnerships. Workshops were well attended, with overwhelmingly positive feedback from delegates.

The ever-popular student panel saw delegates meet three incredible young students, each of whom had an impressive story to tell. Sophie Hennighan from John Curtin College of the Arts spoke of moving from the country to the city and following her dreams to join the police force, Orlando Hickey spoke on being an effective and dynamic cultural leader dedicated to empowering the next generation of Aboriginal youth and Ella Murphy spoke on the value of community service and finding the right school as a neurodiverse student. The students remained on stage while the audience asked questions; everyone was impressed with the poise and maturity of these emerging leaders.

Day one of Conference closed with the highly anticipated Networking Sundowner. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the performances from two student bands, as well as the opportunity to connect in the relaxed atmosphere. Sunday morning saw the return of our popular ‘Sunriser’, sponsored by RAC, with delegates taking full advantage of the fun and games designed to make new connections (and win some prizes!)

“Across the weekend, particularly during the agenda and AGM session, it was inspiring to see the passion of P&C delegates as they spoke on behalf of their school communities”, said WACSSO President, Pania Turner. “The collective call to action from P&Cs across WA remains a powerful aspect of the WACSSO Conference, which drives WACSSO’s advocacy work,” she added. Agenda items raised and passed included a number of updates to WACSSO Policy to ensure that it remains contemporary and meets the needs of schools and P&Cs now, and into the future. One of these updates includes reference to the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence within our public education system. Two items raised by P&Cs that will empower WACSSO President to advocate for safer bus travel to and from schools for rural students and an increase to funding based on student characteristics were passed.

Once again, the quality of the artworks on display was amazing! It was so hard to pick a winner that WACSSO President Pania Turner had to choose two! As announced at the conclusion of Conference, the winners of the artwork competition this year were:

  • Peoples School Choice Award Winner: Burns Beach Primary
  • President’s Choice Award – School: Dianella Heights Primary and Onslow Primary (jointly awarded)
  • President’s Choice Award – Student: Lochlain from Excelsior Primary

We congratulate the winners and all those schools and individuals who had their art on display. We had many, many comments on how outstanding the art was this year.

Additional congratulations goes to Calista Primary School for winning the inaugural P&C of the Year competition, run by the team at Containers for Change WA. In recognising this school, Containers for Change Community Development Lead, Pippa Gauden, spoke of their amazing activations in the community, which included collection bins for every year level (K-Y6), a competition that rewards the year level who raises the most funds for the school, an education component that is delivered via interactive assembly items and significant community engagement, including getting local businesses on board to collect containers to return to the school, and door knocking in the neighbourhood. Well done to the Calista Park Primary School P&C!

The 2024 WACSSO Annual Conference was a special event, made possible by the hard work of the WACSSO team of State Councillors and staff, presenters, partners, and our amazing network of Western Australian P&Cs. This year’s event again drew high numbers, and the atmosphere buzzed consistently for the whole two days, which was fantastic to experience. here.

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