Indigenous Education
The Aboriginal Program at Trinity College is establishing itself as a successful and unique program. Mr Gary Malarkey (’70) Aboriginal Education Officer/Teacher
We have had a fantastic year with many developments, spectacular events and success stories. I have thoroughly enjoyed my year in this program and I am pleased to be back at Trinity College having been seconded to the Catholic Education Office last year. Ms Karrene McLernon, an experienced English teacher, has assisted me with the program and together we make a fabulous team. We have an excellent rapport with the staff and students and the students are thriving in our community. With a team from various Catholic schools, both rural and local, Ms Karrene McLernon and I went on a tour to New South Wales to learn about the implementation of Personalised Learning Plans (PLPs) for Indigenous students. This proved very enlightening as we had the privilege of visiting schools that have extensive experience with PLPs.
Nixon Hamlet (10.4) conducting a didge lesson at St Columba Primary school
28
The results were amazing. The high level of commitment by students, teachers and the community was definitely evident. We have started to implement PLPs for our Years 7, 8 and 9 and so far the process has been very positive. We look forward to revisiting, in early 2013, the goals that the boys have set for themselves.
We have introduced a new initiative for our Aboriginal students to enable them to recognise their achievements each term. The initiative is called The Gold Club and promotes academic achievement, encouraging our students to work hard and achieve to the best of their ability. We have two certificates GOLD member and SILVER member. We tally the students’ results at the end of each term in the areas of Effort, Behaviour, Organisation, Academic Grade and Punctuality. The students are awarded a certificate and a morning tea with Headmaster Mr Banks. The students really enjoy this and as always we feel it’s great to acknowledge those students who are striving to achieve. The Indigenous Youth Leadership Program (IYLP) proudly sponsors some of our students. These sponsorships are greatly appreciated and ensure that our Aboriginal students have every opportunity to realise their potential. We have been successful in acquiring another six scholarships for our students this year that will be accessible for 2013. This year six students benefited greatly from these scholarships as they were involved in the orientation program early in the year at UWA, providing them with the opportunity to run through literacy and goal setting programs as well as team building activities. Angela Murphy and Allan Beattie attended our NAIDOC assembly and were thoroughly impressed with our students and our Indigenous Program.
