This past week, our College was alive with the energy, stories and spirit of our friends from the north. We were proud to host students and staff from St Mary’s College, Broome, and staff from Sacred Heart School, Beagle Bay, for the next chapter in our City-Country Partnership Programme (CCPP).
This visit was more than just a series of activities, it was the continuation of a relationship built over time, strengthened through shared experiences in each other’s communities. It book-ended our Term 2 Rubibi (Kimberley) Experience, where Chisholm staff and students travelled north, and now our country friends walked on Wadjuk Boodja, learning with us here in Perth.
The CCPP is supported by Catholic Education WA (CEWA) and the Yadha Muru Foundation (YMF), and it is a living expression of CEWA’s Transforming Lives commitment. We recognise First Nations people as the custodians of this land and, as a priority, we commit to providing educational opportunities for First Nations students to help them reach their full potential with a strong sense of identity and agency.
The week together was rich and varied. We began with a Welcome to Country by Noongar Elder Angus McGuire, gathered around the firepit within our Yarning Circle. Chisholm students together with our visitors presented impressive projects at the CEWA STEM Showcase on topics such as town planning, earthquake resilience and space agriculture. They joined in to attend some Chisholm classes, reconnected with buddies, shared meals and filled our gym with laughter and friendly competition.
One highlight was our joint excursion to Kings Park for the Plants for Space – Grow for Launch workshop. This space salad experience was the perfect link back to the students’ earlier work at the Kimberley Asparagus Farm and an extension of their STEAM elective greenhouse project which connects food production, sustainability and innovation.
Our visitors, together with a group of Chisholm students appropriately spent A Day on Country at the McGuire Family Farm in Beverley, sharing kangaroo stew and damper and learning from the land together.
Our partnership extends beyond students. Sacred Heart School staff spent time in our Design and Technology workshops, upskilling in the use of their new laser cutter, planning Badunk (wood) projects for their workshop and designing a fire pit to take back to their community. This practical skill-sharing is what will keep the connection alive well beyond the week itself and lends itself well to a sustainable partnership.
We were honoured to have Colin (Bud) Gibson and Bev Angeles from YMF join us, bringing wisdom and perspective that deepened our conversations around cultural responsiveness and equity in education.
Weeks like this remind us that Closing the Gap is not an abstract target – it is something we work towards daily. It happens when we choose respect over assumptions, relationship over distance and shared purpose over isolation. These city-country connections are shaping all of us, and they are, quite simply, transforming lives.
We are already planning exciting things for Term 4 this year and look forward to welcoming students from Sacred Heart School, Beagle Bay to Chisholm Catholic College as part of these plans. I personally wish to sincerely thank all the staff involved in the City-Country Partnership Programme for the selfless and humble way they have gone above and beyond for our partnership schools this week. Your generosity of spirit, creativity and dedication have not gone unnoticed.
Mrs Belinda Pietropaolo
Deputy Principal – Administration
