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WATSSA Newsletter Term Two, 2022

Bayulu Remote Community School

Happy 4th Birthday WATSSA

On the 7th of June 2022, WATSSA will celebrate its 4th birthday. How far our little Association has come in those 4 years. 2 Great conferences and the ICT update day back in 2018 with DOE. A seat at the table with the ICT directors in at Central office. Seats on the SNE project with DOE and the Lift alliance. And now the team has joined with CPSU/CSA Union and have have a number of delegates on the working party.

Great work everyone.

We've continued meeting with the project team at Central and the CSC regarding the new Standard Networking Environment (SNE). Based on your feedback and recommendations, we provided a list for the project team to investigate. We will keep you updated with the process. Remember, if you still want to add your two cents, log it for us here: SNE/SOE redesign

We've locked in a date and venue for this year's WATSSA ICT in Education conference. I am excited to say our event will be at Crown this year, on the 23rd and 24th of November. The team and I are working on an outstanding itinerary and hope to have some great guest speakers and valuable workshops. We'll have ticket sales starting in Term 3 so save that date! I'd love to see everyone there for the two-day event.

Memberships: Don't forget to update your annual membership. And remember it is tax-deductible. Updates can be made via the website.

I hope you all have a safe and wonderful term break. The WATSSA team and I look forward to seeing you all again this year. Thank you for your support.

Regards, Michael Raymond. - WATSSA President

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We want your help!

Hello Everyone,

We need your help. As most of you know, WATSSA strives hard to close the perceived gap between central office and schools. In the perfect world, we would all work cohesively as one team. Over the past 6-9 months, we have had many reports from our members of unsatisfactory service from the CSC. Whilst we acknowledge the impact COVID has had on all industries, we don’t feel it can be used as the sole excuse.

We took these concerns and added them to the agenda for our termly meetings in central office. However, at the meeting, our statements were refuted. Our evidence was treated as colloquial and not an accurate representation of what occurs in schools. The mechanism used to refute our claims was ticket feedback surveys. LIFT Alliance has maintained a 92% positive feedback approval rating on over 4,500 surveys.

We are acutely aware that many of our members do not complete these surveys for many reasons. These include lack of time, unwillingness to complete within the two-day time frame whilst emotions are still high, and fear that claims made could hinder promotion or cause trouble for someone—all valid reasons. However, we must all make a concerted effort to complete these survey forms if we wish to implement any change or address these issues. We must make the time; we must encourage colleagues to do the same.

However, we want it to be clear to our members that we must be respectful when completing any form of feedback. We are professionals, after all. This is not a witch hunt or a vendetta against the LIFT Alliance; it is simply us trying to address an ongoing issue that we feel is not being taken seriously. We must be sincere and objective in our feedback. We may feel happy that a ticket has finally been resolved and the person who fixed it was great to deal with, but we still need to be objective and consider all elements. For example, the ticket may be resolved but was a two-week turnaround acceptable for the learning outcomes of our school’s students? If not, then please give it the appropriate level of feedback.

We need to get the message back loud and clear that the service has been anything but satisfactory so far this year. When we speak to you guys or others in schools, it is clear that the service is not up to scratch. We will get no traction until we give this feedback in survey data back to the Lift alliance. Together we can directly impact and develop the awareness required to implement change. This is not a call for complaints but a call for objective and constructive feedback within the context of the educational outcomes of students. If a job is done well and in a timely manner please give the appropriate feedback. Additionally, WATSSA is investigating methods for us to collect feedback from members so we can help come up with ways to improve the service for all.

Jon Stanley - WATSSA Vice President

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Term 2 Holidays Event at Duncraig 7th July

Come along and join us for an informative networking day at Duncraig SHS. We will be showcasing some of the new software that schools have been using this year. Along with Morning Tea, Lunch and a Sundowner.

Scott from Fastvue will be joining us to show you some of the new and up coming features as well as how to get the most out of your Fastvue reporter.

The team from Ricoh will be there to showcase Laserfiche with some live demonstrations of how Duncraig and Lynwood SHS are using it. Duncraig will also demonstrate the new digital automated enrolment process using Laserfiche.

Vivi - Have you heard about it but want to know and see more? See how Duncraig has transformed how Staff and students connect and share content with TV & Projectors throughout the school.

Schoolbench will also join us to walk you through how their software can help schools securely manage photos & videos, along with a live demonstration from Lynwood SHS.

And don't forget a great chance to network again with our fellow peers.

9:00am - 3:30pm

Duncraig SHS administration building

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Farewell to Glenn Veen

We at WATSSA would like to say a big thank you to Glenn for his past 22 years with DoE. His oversight has helped shape and enhance ICT in our schools. Glenn has been a wholehearted supporter of WATSSA, assuring us that if we created our association, we would not go unheard at Central Office. He was true to his word as we see the impact WATSSA is having on decision making around ICT in education.

We wish Glenn a happy farewell and all the best in retirement.

Shaun Barnett and Glenn Veen at last year's ICT awards

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SAML/SSO

Great to see so many Schools using Keycloak as their SSO solution. Here are some of the best school logon pages we've seen so far that have updated the login page.

Some of the best SAML logon screens

Thanks to everyone on ICTCollab that have been sharing their SAML/Keycloak configs and information. Those of you that haven't been on for a look, check it out. ICTCollab

There's a great number of applications that you can now use with Keycloak and more information is appearing each day.

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Join the union today! Together we can make a difference!

Late last Friday afternoon, following a unanimous vote of our Council, your Union formally rejected the first offer from the McGowan Government for your pay and conditions.

See the full letter rejecting the offer here.

More than 600 members turned out at short notice to a snap mass members meeting and unequivocally recommended that this insulting offer be rejected. This is a great start towards building member power and mass campaign action across the public sector.

In its offer, Government said:

NO to a pay increase that keeps pace with the cost of living

NO to your Right to Disconnect

NO to additional Personal Leave for Mental Health

NO to adequate Working from Home and Infectious Diseases Leave provisions

To shift Government on public sector wages and get the outcomes and respect you deserve we need to build action at the workplace. Small or large - every action sends a message to Government that you won't accept this kind of insult and you will fight for your right to a fair deal.

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Come along and join WATSSA at Solutions IT's WA Education Summit in August

Solutions IT are giving WATSSA members a discount on the ticket price. So why not come along. Get in quick as there is only a limited number of tickets left.

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Farewell to Internet Explorer!

Farewell to Internet Explorer that was finally retired on the 15th of June

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Cyber Security Advice for Schools

For cyber security guidance and other support services, please contact the Customer Support Centre through the ICT Self-service Hub.

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ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE CHANGE – LOCALLY MANAGED WINDOWS SERVERS

Our current antivirus software solution, McAfee Endpoint Security, is being retired and replaced with Microsoft Defender.

Locally Managed Windows Servers

If your school has a locally managed windows server, the Microsoft Defender package will be made available to install through the Microsoft Software Centre from Monday, 27 June 2022.

On completion of the install, McAfee will be automatically removed and the server will restart.

If you elect to install after Thursday, 28 July 2022, McAfee Endpoint Security will be automatically removed from all locally managed windows servers after 4pm. Microsoft Defender will be installed at this time. The server will restart between 10pm and 11pm automatically to complete the installation.

Enquiries relating to this communication should be directed to the ICT Customer Service Centre by raising a support request through the ICT self-service hub or calling 9264 5555.

Tim Yorke

Chief Information Officer

Information Communication Technologies (ICT)

23 June 2022

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Bayulu Remote Community School

Bayulu Remote Community School

Bayulu Remote Community School is located on Gooniyandi country 15km from the town of Fitzroy Crossing within the Shire of Derby-West Kimberley. Currently there are 67 students. The 20 dedicated teaching and support staff play a pivitol role in shaping and developing young students to reach their full potential in their learing journey, and as valued community members. The school caters for students starting in Kindergarten through to Year 6.

Where the Bayulu Remote Community School is located in the Kimberly, WA

Established on GoGo station in 1957, Bayulu Remote Community School was the first station school in Western Australia. The school began in two caves on the side of the Parmarrjarti hills on Gogo Station. The school was a pilot school at the time, pioneered by Cyril Burcham, a young teacher who had only graduated three years prior and had been working at the Fizroy Crossing mission school.

The caves were originally carved out during World War 2 as air raid shelters. They are 4 meters wide and just high enough for an adult to stand up in. Each cave served as separate classrooms. The school was located in the caves between 1957 to 1962. The caves still remain with evidence in the walls where the shelves and blackboards were hammered in.

An early photo of the Bayulu Remote Community School (originally supplied by the Department of Education).

In 1962, the Department of Education constructed a single classroom and some accomodation for teachers about 400 meters from the caves. The school still currently sits on this spot.

The school is very proud to be one of the leading remote schools having won the WA Premiers Excellence in Aboriginal Education Award in 2017 and recognised as a finalist in 2016.

The majority of students live in other nearby indigenous communities: Bayulu, Gillaroong, Karnparrmi, Joy Springs, Ngalingkadji, and Mimbi, comprising 92% of the student population. They speak Kriol as their first language and Standard Australian English as an additional language. The school focus is to provide a safe, stimulating environment where Aboriginal culture is embraced and celebrated. The staff strive to build strong relationships with students and the community, thus building and maintaining a deep sense of belonging.

Bayulu Remote Community School Website ABC New Article State Library of WA Article

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Receive bonus subscription months

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• Beat the price rise

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With quotes valid for 30 days, an order before 1st October will still be at the old price. This gives you time to deploy in the Term 3 break.

In addition, Fastvue has a promotion for you: One bonus month for every year bought.

To be eligible, register interest in Fastvue here before the end of August to request a quote.

Subscriptions purchased will not start until the solution is installed.

Some new updated features in Fastvue Reporter

The update will be available in the upcoming release.

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Before we go!

Head over to the new 'Past Events' page on our website. You can download past programs and keynote slides from DoE and WATSSA. Also have a look through the photo gallery.

WATSSA's Past Events

We have WATSSA shirts available in a range of sizes and colours. Show your support and grab a shirt! Head on over the the WATSSA website for all the information and to purchase.

https://watssa.asn.au/

Thank you for supporting WATSSA