Message from the Principal

Stories capture a moment in time, they educate us, they help us grow and make sense of the world around us. Some stories aim to provoke an emotional response, for after all we are emotional beings and it is a big part of what makes us human.

I have had the privilege to be back at John Curtin and be a part of your stories in 2022.

We are all part of the JCCA story and we are players in the history of our College on the hill in Walyalup (Fremantle). 2022 was a good year, full of success for our students. Whether that success was demonstrated on the stage, on the oval, in our galleries, on screen, in our classrooms or in the yard, I guarantee if we counted all the successes, we would lose count, it would be overwhelming. It is amazing to consider the 65,000 plus years of history that precede us and what an honour that we are part of the story of education, of care, of connection, belonging, celebration and family that has occurred on and around our school from the world’s oldest and continuous culture.

The Whadjuk people have been telling stories for millennia, passing songlines that connect people. In fact, one of the oldest oral stories of humankind is about what you see from our College windows and grounds every day – Wadjemup (Rottnest Island) and how it was once connected to Walyalup. Over thousands of years the connection between the two places disappeared as the ocean rose but the story has stayed constant and is passed on by Elders till this day and for many more to come.

I have no doubt that this past year has been a difficult one; an unusual one and I have often heard people say they “will be glad to see the back of 2022”. However, this report is proof of the celebration and joy of what it is to be part of the John Curtin community, even whilst living through, schooling through, a global pandemic.

It’s surreal to think that in early 2022 you were probably getting phone calls from us to say that your child had been deemed a close contact and must immediately be picked up from school to isolate. Which meant your household went into lock down and... well you know the drill, as we lived through that story. I would like to take the opportunity to thank you all for the support you have given our school, I have valued the many discussions I have had with you all.

Principal Travis Vladich