4 minute read

Immersed in the Kimberley

from Trinity News Magazine - Summer 2022/23

from Trinity News Magazine - Summer 2022/23, page 54

Vale

In 2022, eighteen Year 11 students; Thomas Blayney, Joel Carcich, Oshay Calgaret, Matthew Crock, Alvarez Dharma, Nicholas Gordon, Pierce Edmonds, Harry Hansen-Knarhoi, Jehan Hopkins, Matthew Maine, Thomas McGrath, Thomas Murray, Xavier Nicoletto, Fraser Perkins, Luke Perlini, Nicholas Siciliano, Ted Smith, and Nathan Tobin spent 14 days in the Kimberley, immersed in a world which is very different to their own. They assisted in community primary schools with classroom activities, played football and basketball, went on outings with the students and learnt from cultural presentations about the rich and diverse culture of the people.

Oshay Calgaret, Alvarez Dharma, Harry Hansen-Knarhoi, Thomas McGrath, Fraser Perkins and Ted Smith spent time in the primary school classrooms of the Halls Creek District High School. They also visited the home of Sister Alma, a Sister of St Joseph, who runs an op shop and helps people in need. The boys learnt a lot from her about the life of Aboriginal people here as she spoke about her experiences of working in the Kimberley for over 20 years, ten of those in Halls Creek.

Wyndham is the northern most town in Western Australia and often also the hottest place during September. The group of six students, Joel Carcich, Pierce Edmonds, Jehan Hopkins, Thomas Murray, Luke Perlini and Nathan Tobin, accompanied by Mr Peter Oliver and Ms Gabrielle Ietto had many adventures during their visit based at St Joseph’s School. Even though they were a little apprehensive in the beginning, they soon felt at ease in the classrooms. They joined the 5/6 class for an on-country experience at El Questro Station and enjoyed hikes through and swimming at places like Zebedee Springs and Emma Gorge. Nan Jan, a local Elder, gave a Welcome to Country and the children told the boys many stories. The boys developed some wonderful relationships with the children and thoroughly enjoyed their final activity for the day which was a game of dodgeball named Call of Duty with the teachers.

The Lombadina group, flew direct to Broome and then drove to Lombadina which was their base for the week. From there each day, they split into two groups which travelled to Sacred Heart, Beagle Bay (Matthew Maine, Xavier Nicoletto and Nicholas Siciliano and Ms Garland) or One Arm Point School (Thomas Blayney, Matthew Crock, Nicholas Gordon and Mr O’Malley).

The boys who went to Beagle Bay loved the morning fitness activity and time in the classrooms with the children. It was definitely a two-way experience with the boys being challenged to go beyond their comfort zones, and at the same time, encouraging the local students to be more vocal and sociable with their peers. Nicholas Gordon writes about the experiences at One Arm Point:

On our first day, we were treated to a cultural tour of One Arm Point, visiting different landmarks around the community and the local fish breeding site where we saw lots of local sea creatures including fish, squid and turtles. Over the days at school, we rotated between classes helping with numeracy and literacy, physical education, health lessons and at recess and lunch we played games with the students. On Wednesday we helped with an excursion for the 3/4 class and an end of term celebration for the high school students. We swam, played volleyball, and had a barbecue with the community. We were also privileged to see a turtle prepared traditionally and cooked on an open fire for the group. On the public holiday we were taken out fishing by one of the teachers at One Arm Point, who was a former WAFL player coached by Mr O’Malley. We went to Hunter’s Creek and then on to

Cygnet Bay to have a swim and lunch to celebrate Matthew Crock’s birthday. On Friday we joined the 5/6 class for a cultural experience learning from traditional owners about their life on country which included mud-crabbing. The experiences of this week will last forever. The second week in Broome was a mixture of educational and Christian Service activities with some time to relax and enjoy the environment. Each day students explored the history of Broome and the Yawuru and Bardi people, visiting the Broome Historical Museum, the St John of God Heritage Exhibition and Goollari Media Radio Station. They experienced the amazing Astro Tour, exploring the night sky, a tour of the Crocodile Park led by an Aboriginal ranger, a presentation on pearling at Cygnet Bay Pearls and an Aboriginal Cultural experience of food, story and dance. They participated in Sunday Mass at Broome Cathedral and assisted with serving people who are homeless or marginalised at the Parish Sunday lunch. Other Christian Service activities involved students, in small groups, in the Feed the Little Children programme, the breakfast for people in need at the McMahon Caring Centre, and the PCYC afternoon sports programme. We managed to fit in several swims at Cable Beach and Coconut Wells, walks along Redell Beach and a visit to view the Dinosaur Footprints at Gantheaume Point. Finally, some delicious and nutritious meals were created by the boys for all to enjoy and our nightly reflections, on the experiences of each day, were always very meaningful and heartfelt responses to the many issues that arose during the Immersion.

Thanks must go to the wonderful team of staff who accompanied the students; Mr Anthony Byrne, Ms Adelaide Garland, Ms Gabrielle Ietto, Mr Peter Oliver, Mr Jason O’Malley and Mr Joshua Weymouth.

Mrs Marya Stewart Director of Christian Service

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE CLASS OF 2022 ON THEIR WACE RESULTS