‘Bridging Now to Next’ is this year’s reconciliation theme and calls on all Australians to step forward together, looking forward using past lessons to guide us. At our whole College Assembly to highlight Reconciliation Week, Mr Norman Brahim from CEWA and Mr Jake Ricks, Chisholm teacher and proud Noongar man, spoke about the importance of respect, relationships and opportunities as three critical elements for the Reconciliation journey.
Mr Brahim also took the opportunity to acknowledge and recognise my part in that journey across many years in Catholic education and very kindly presented me with a special message and gift from CEWA. It was a very moving and humbling experience but one that has been supported by so many others as we have journeyed together.
There has certainly been much to celebrate for our students and staff as we continue to work in many ways in this space, both here on our own campus and further afield as we engage with other communities. Our City-Country Partnerships with St Mary’s College Broome and separately with Sacred Heart School Beagle Bay have been very rewarding and continue to foster great learning and cultural awareness. Most recently, a group of Year 9 students and staff travelled to Broome and engaged in collaborative work around an exciting STEAM project. In addition, three Chisholm staff spent time at Beagle Bay, continuing to demonstrate and establish teaching programmes around their Bardunk workshop, recently renovated over the past two years with Chisholm’s support. We look forward to reciprocal visits from these schools later in the year.
Late next term, another group of our students will embark on an On-Country experience with St Luke’s College students in Karratha, as we continue to enhance the growing connection between our two schools. I look forward to accompanying Brother Olly Pickett as he revisits St Luke’s, the school he effectively built and started in 1987, as we build on this relationship. This rich experience will include time spent working within the College and at St Paul’s Primary School as well as days on country at Karajini and Millstream.
As we build our relationships with their First Nations communities, we continue to form allies, demonstrating cultural awareness, understanding and reconciliation in action.
As the process for the appointment of the new Principal to Chisholm has now commenced, I ask our community to keep those involved with the appointment process in your prayers. I thank Father Zyggy for adding his prayer for this discernment process in this week’s issue of our Carolean.
Mr John Bormolini
Principal
