CONNECTION AT JC.

  • After engaging in conversations with college staff and executives, we are pleased to let everyone know that our voices have been heard.

    The proposed timetable and connection class modifications are being reconsidered by the executive team incorporating feedback from students, parents, and staff members who have expressed their opinions.

    Thank you to everyone who participated in the survey or shared their concerns with college staff. The overwhelming negative feedback they received has encouraged them reconsider these changes.

    We will keep everyone informed of any further updates as soon as they become available.

  • In 2026, John Curtin College of the Arts is Introducing a new class to fit the College’s need for Pastoral Care. This class will be known as “Connection”. Connection will focus on a range of topics such as Personal and Social Development, Academic Skills and Study Strategies, School Culture, Spirit and Identity, Careers and Future Pathways, Wellbeing and Health, and last but not least Intercultural and Ethical Understanding — this period also will serve as your whole cohort Assembly Period.

    For Years 7-10, this change will take one enrichment period a week, resulting in Enrichments being changed from term based to semester based. In Years 11 & 12, this change will remove a “Non-Contact” Period, more commonly known by students as a “Study” Period.

  • In 2026, The College will conduct a one-year trial aimed at “improving consistency and student well-being.” The adjustments are as follows:

    - A Uniform start time of 8:40am across all days, with the warning bell taking place at 8:35am.
    - Lunch Break will be extended to 40 Minutes, with a warning bell sounding at the 35-minute mark.
    - Finish time is changed to 3:25pm on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday instead of 3:10pm.
    - Finish time remains 2:30pm on Thursday and Friday
    - Period 3 on Friday will be 10 Minutes Shorter.

  • The impact of these changes affects everyone in the college in many different ways.

    Timetable Changes:
    The later start would not change much in practice, as everyone already gets to school around that time, and given the pushback is only five minutes, the change will not drastically affect most people’s schedules. The longer lunchtime will allow for more time for clubs or sports games but comes at the cost of a later finish, which affects more people negatively than positively.
    The 3:25pm finish time affects everyone in the college community. The 15-minute delay impacts students’ ability to study, do sports training, make it to work, catch public transport, spend time with friends, and attend rehearsals after school. Many students live far away, and that 15-minute difference can mean getting home at 4:30 instead of 5:30. For staff, it extends the time spent after school doing marking and attending meetings, meaning they could be late to picking up kids, cooking dinner, or being with family.

    Connection Classes:
    By adding these connection classes, Years 7–10 students will lose two enrichment classes per year, as enrichment will change to a semester-long class with one period per week. Years 11 and 12 students will lose a critical non-attendance period (commonly referred to as a study or free period), which will hinder their ability to study for exams, complete homework, and finish assignments.
    The content of the connection classes is mostly already covered in Health Studies, meaning many students will see it as pointless or a waste of time, likely resulting in students not taking it seriously. For teachers, the change does not properly address requests for pastoral care or reduce workload compared to other similar public schools.

    Overall, The impact of these changes will be far-reaching. The lack of consultation with student focus groups, staff, and other community members means these changes likely will have unforeseen impacts that have not been considered. We need to work together to ensure our voices are heard.

  • Upon first hearing of this change, we found ourselves puzzled. We did not know why this change was being made or to whose benefit it would be for. We decided to ask around our fellow students in order to get more opinions about these changes and see if people shared our sentiment. Upon receiving overwhelmingly negative feedback we have come together to try and advocate for the student body to try and stop these changes in their tracks.

    We believe that if pastoral care needs to be implemented then it should be driven by student and teacher focus groups and modelled after schools who have successful systems like Bob Hawke, Churchlands or Melville. Further, we believe that if having a longer lunch and later start comes at the cost of EVERYONE leaving school 15 minutes later then it should not go ahead.

    We will continue to fight this and work to get it changed because we believe the school should be student-driven, every initiative should be centered around students and involve student voice and that changes that affect everyone should not be decided by few people.

    We will fight,

    Matt Holmes & Lachie Wynne

    Year 10 Students & 2026 Student Council Candidates