Tiwi College Newstiwicollege.com/images/newsletters/Tiwi College News Term Two 2012.pdf · Poli cian Warren Snowden MP oﬃcially opened the ... 2012 By Ailsa MacFie On June 14 Tiwi

Inside this

issue ...

Athletics Carnival

Football matches against Xavier

Class news

Family Group Home reports

Interviews with Tiwi staff

Student achievements

Special activities

The Growing Young Women’s Program

Term Two, 2012

Tiwi College News

Tiwi College Pickertaramoor Melville Island NORTHERN TERRITORY Ph: (08) 8970 9024 Fax: (08) 8970 9025 Postal address: LMB 127 Winnellie, NT, 0822 Principal: Ian Smith [email protected]

By Aggie Puruntatameri

One of our most inspiring groups of visitors this term was Kyle Vander Kuyp and the Red Dust Role Models. Kyle used to be a champion hurdler and he represented Australia in the Olympics and Commonwealth Games. Now he goes to schools in the community to support Aboriginal children and inspire them to build their confidence. He works a lot with a program called AIME (Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience). Kyle and his group were at Tiwi College for 2 days . When they came to our Senior Girls’ class, Kyle talked about his experiences and also about public speaking. Two of our girls presented speeches. They talked about their experience of

going to Canberra for a leadership camp. Then the two young Aboriginal boys travelling with Red Dust spoke to us about life at their boarding school in NSW, especially the good and also difficult sides of leaving home to get a be er educa on.

Kyle spoke to us at the assembly about when he was a li le boy he was so shy that he wouldn’t talk to anyone. He had an Aboriginal mum who gave him up for a

adop on at the age of 5 weeks old. He knew that his background was Aboriginal but he didn’t know the details. When Kyle was a li le boy, Maurice Rioli visited his school and told him “don’t feel ashamed about your Aboriginal background.” A er Maurice spoke to Kyle, Kyle didn’t worry about anything or anyone, he felt so proud of his Aboriginal background.

Tiwi College Library officially open By Cecillena Mungatopi

On Thursday 3rd May we had the opening ceremony for the new library which was built last year. The Primary School kids sang the Australian anthem. We had visitors from Darwin and Canberra, as well as around Tiwi. Mr Smithy spoke about how important books and computers are to literacy and learning. Poli cian Warren Snowden MP officially opened the library. Adam (from Taste It, Do It, Live It) and some Tiwi College students cooked up dishes like fresh barramundi rolls and buffalo burgers with na ve herbs and spices. A small group of students helped to serve food to guests.

In the Library there are heaps of brand new books. It all looked amazing at the opening. More shelves and desks have arrived since then and more laptops will be coming soon. What I like about the Library is the brand new books, and the computer rooms. The library room is just the right place to hang out, because it looks amazing and there are lots of books to read at lunch me or borrow and take home. I hope the visitors come back again someday to visit our school and see the library when it is completely finished and students are borrowing lots of books.

Inspiration from Kyle and Red Dust

From the Principal

Tiwi College Newsletter: Term 2, 2012 page 2

Awuna, I have been very pleased with the opera ons of Tiwi College this semester. Our family community should feel confident that their children are in good hands during the week. We are the students’ family away from home. We are the Picka Family. Throughout the semester we have undergone a review of our curriculum, with an aim to improving the way we teach and what we teach. Much tes ng takes place to check if students are improving. There is a clear pa ern in every class: the be er the a endance, the greater the chance of improv-ing. We ask that you help your children improve by helping them get organised. They need to have their bag packed and be at the shop wai ng for pick-ups every Monday – every week. Next term I would love to report that we have more students who have a 100% a endance rate. We now have a VET Coordinator on campus: Phil Collier. Phil spent his first weeks on campus planning next year’s VET courses, as part of a three year plan for Tiwi College students to be in the best possible posi on to succeed in the Tiwi workforce. Next semester we will have our Senior Boys par cipate in Cer ficate II Sport & Recrea on and rotate through Carpentry, Hor culture and Manufacturing as well. Our Senior Girls will complete Cert I in Business Management. All senior students will par cipate in short courses such as First Aid to help prepare them for the workforce. Adam Clark from Morris will con nue his tui on in Catering, with an emphasis on assessment in Cer ficate II in Hospital-ity (Kitchen Opera ons) next semes-ter. This will involve students being invited to a end the Ma lda-Zircon mine at Lethbridge Bay & mines in Western Australia to prepare meals for the workers there as part of their training. This is an exci ng program to look forward to!

Our Family Group Homes have been working very well as a team. Currently their main a er-school program is the development of a garden for each house, with the plan that each student will look a er his or her own plot and grow vegetables. They will be able to take these home at the end of each week to family in the communi-es.

We will have a counsellor a ending

the college as part of our well-being program next semester. She will provide great guidance to our resident counsellor, Mr Solo. Our aim is to help our students cope with any issues they might have and be able to enjoy life and a end school with a posi ve frame of mind. Next term we begin our rela onship with AFLNT, with a Development Manager located at Pickertaramoor,

overseeing the boys’ program and the girls’ football development. AFLNT will provide incen ve-based trips for students with excellent a endance and behaviour. Let’s see all students here week 1 – and every week a er that! Should any families wish to enroll their children at Tiwi College, please see any of our board members and they can provide names to Brian &

Jennifer Clancy. I wish to thank all staff for their hard and conscien ous work this semester. It has been very challenging in many ways as our staffing was not complete un l Term Two. In spite of this, staff have consistently been professional in their approach and have always had the best interests of the young Tiwi in their hearts. I would like to express my gra tude to them on behalf of the whole school communi-ty.

I hope all families have a wonderful Bush Holiday in country. I and my staff look forward to seeing all students again in Term Three (pick-up: Wednesday 25th July). Mana, Ian Smith

Attendance is the key to success

Half way through the year and so much has occurred within the school community. We con nue to have growing interest in the college from many organisa ons and schools around Australia. We have had visitors from Red Dust, CDU, CSIRO, TLC, TITEB, Smith Family, Mission Australia, The HaydenWay Project, Zircon Mines, The Fishing Lodge and many more. Our strong rela onship with Scotch College con nues: this term our academic staff worked with Scotch College staff on an educa onal program for the Middle School Boys. We have also developed a rela onship with St. Pats in Brisbane, which has developed from football trips into football scholarships for two of our boys. We have had a produc ve term academically. Student a endance has been high due to students making a choice to come to school and learn. Teachers have worked on developing innova ve programs in Literacy and Numeracy as well as other subjects such as History, Geography, Science and The Arts. The school vision has also focused on providing career-centred skills and pathways through VET subjects. Staff con nue to promote posi ve student outcomes through a combina on of rigorous teaching, care and respect for their students, and role-modelling posi ve behaviour. Students’ learning does not just take place within the classroom. This term has seen students par cipate in many different ac vi es. These include:

Senior Young Women comple ng one week’s work experience in Darwin;

Our GYW’s Program taking girls to the State AFL selec on trials, which led to 4 of our girls being selected for the NT team;

the Scotch - Tiwi College Skype Program; students going on academic excursions to the

Museum in Nguiu and Jilamara Art Gallery in Milikapi ; field work with CDU, CSIRO and the Tiwi Rangers; the Senior Young Men’s Auskick Program in Garden Point ; and two of our Senior Young Women, Caitlyn Moreen and Cassie Black, selected to a end the Na onal Aspiring Leaders’ Summit in Canberra on

scholarships from the Smith Family; A group of boys travelling to Queensland to play

football at Narrangba, a trip which culminated in Kenny Puruntatameri and Adam Tipungwu being selected for scholarships to a end St. Patrick’s College.

It is great to see teachers and students engage in posi ve interac ons both in and out of the classroom. Staff have modelled a high level of professionalism in their planning, development and prac ce. Semester One has been a busy

and produc ve one in which staff have worked hard to implement current curriculum and programs whilst looking ahead to future changes and aspiring to improve the school even more. The students have faced challenges in being away from home, living in a structured environment and coping with the academic content each day. However, they have made excellent

choices in having a go and a ending each week. Even though they are away from home they s ll have a strong sense of their culture, which they share with visitors and school staff, par cularly in the Family Group Homes. I am proud to have colleagues working together for these Tiwi kids to put them on a path which will lead them to a bright future. I look forward to next semester and more exci ng challenges for us all. Sila Pati

Strong relationships in our community

Tiwi College Athletics Carnival


By Ailsa MacFie

On June 14 Tiwi College held the second Athle cs Car-nival in the school’s history. Students were grouped into three teams—Red, Yellow and Blue—and they quickly bonded as teams and barracked loudly for their teammates. Students worked their way around a variety of track and field events, including 800m, 400m, 100m, relay, high jump, long jump, shotput and discus, compe ng against other students in their age-group. The relay races were par cularly popular with spectators. The teachers’ relay was hotly contested but the result was skewed when a number of compe tors (including the Vice-Principal) appeared to engage in chea ng and foul play! Another exci ng event was the under-6s race, which brought out compe ve ins ncts in some and

tears in others as the long, hot day drew to a close. The day ended with a narrow margin between the teams in first and second place. Well done to the Yel-low team for their victory. Students quickly vowed to perform even be er next carnival—and to be be er stocked with face paint and streamers at next year’s event. The event certainly brought out a strong feeling of school spirit and school pride amongst staff and stu-dents alike. We hope to regroup in these teams for other types of compe ons throughout the year. All staff worked hard to make the event a success, from those managing and organising teams to those running each event. Par cular thanks go to Ben Kelly for organising the whole event and ensuring everything ran so smoothly.

Athletics carnival results First place: Yellow Team – 571 points Captains : Kenny Puruntatameri, Alex Guy Second place: Red Team – 566 points Captains: Clancy Puruntatameri, Cecillena Mungatopi Third place: Blue Team – 398 points Captains: Stephen Stassi, Cassie Black

Term 2, 2012 Tiwi College Athletics Carnival


Age group champions

Primary Ethan Ullungura Rosemary Wooley ed with Tyson Tippuamantameri U13 Patrick Puruntatameri Shauna Apua mi U15 Alex Kan lla Bobe e Minniecon U17 Clancy Puruntatameri Cecillena Mungatopi

Primary School

Tiwi College Newsletter: Term 2, 2012 page x

By Stephanie Redgment

At 8:30am the siren sounds for the start of school. By 9am all the primary students have arrived. A er formally saying good morning, we are ready to start our day. First up is Literacy. The students love to read their new Honey Ant Readers and to write about going hun ng with their families. They write in their books and draw amazing pictures. Then they use the computers to create a slick document. Some mes the students have a visit from the senior students so they can read together. Next is Mathema cs, also known as Numeracy. The students are keen to move through pages of work.

The teachers are the ones who have to keep up with the students’ pace! A er lunch come many different ac vi es. The students love Art with Miss Annie and Sport with Mr

Ben. On special occasions the students are lucky enough to have guest speakers pop into the classroom or skype us from afar. Tennis and Music lessons are a new addi on to the a ernoon rou ne. By 3pm it’s me to pack up and make the classroom dy and clean. By quarter past three the students are ready to head home. The students take their

home readers with them for some extra reading in the evening. It’s been a good day full of learning and fun for all.

A day in the life of the Primary School class

Term 2, 2012 Middle School Young Women


Here are some of the highlights from the Middle School Young Women’s class in Term Two. Amazing things we discovered – Annie Puruntatameri In Term Two we found out about World War Two. Many coun es were involved. We found out that The Great Wall of China was built to keep other

people out of China. We discovered that Aboriginal people have been here for 40,000 years or more. We felt proud about that. We learnt that Eddie Mabo was the first Aboriginal man to go to the High Court to fight for his land and rights. Literacy – Arthurina Moreen and Ailsa MacFie In Literacy class we work in groups with students of a similar ability. This means we can learn at our own pace and level.

We do lots of ac vi es involving reading, wri ng, spelling, speaking aloud, listening, using computers, working individually and working with others. Some students are

reading from graded readers as they con nue to work on their phonics and decoding skills. Other students are reading novels. Some students wrote argumenta ve essays on different topics. All students worked on poetry and descrip ve wri ng about the senses. Numeracy – Annie Puruntatameri In Term Two in Maths we learnt about volume, perimeter, shape, measurement, weight, height and length. We measured the classroom and the Melville room building with Miss G.

History – Jessica Stassi In History with Ms Ailsa we have been learning about Aboriginal history and the First Fleet. We learnt by watching a history DVD called “My Place” and doing wri ng about the story. The Senior Girls did Powerpoint infor-ma on shows with voice recordings so we could read and listen about history. We are now trying to write a song for the Primary kids so we can teach them history. At the start of Term Two we learnt about World War Two for Anzac Day. We wrote a diary for a li le girl who got bombed in Darwin. Geography – Jessica Stassi In Term Two we have been learning about geography. We chose a country and found out informa on of the country. We looked at the popula on, flags, language, what they eat and what their culture is. We thought about which country we would love to visit. Art – Shenaida Bush We made Japanese windsocks which are now hanging outside the library. We also went to Jilamara Art Centre at Milikapi . We went inside to have a look then Miss Annie said “can you girls draw the statue”. In class we also made lino-cut prin ng and painted cricket bats. We have also done drawings using perspec ve lines. Behaviour and A tude – Aggie Puruntatameri The Middle School Girls are good at taking good care of school property. We are also good at keeping our drawers and belongings neat and dy. A few mes this term we were disrespec ul to our teachers. But we don’t want all teachers to think that we are silly so that’s why the Middle School Girls would like to be good and listen to the teachers. We are happy to go back home and see our family. Goals for Term Three – Arthurina Moreen Next term we want to show more respect. We want to be polite in every lesson. We want to act like role models for Primary students and our friends. We want to get to class on me.

Middle School Young Men


By Josh Mackenzie

It has been busy term in the Middle School Young Men’s classroom. We lost a wonderful servant to our class Dennis Henry and gained another gem, Aus n Wo-naeamirri. I would like to thanks Den Den for his contribu on to the class and welcome Aussie. In Literacy the students have taken their reading to the next level. Every day the students get out their books and start reading. They engage in new words and vocabulary each day and as a teacher this is very exci ng. In Mathema cs with Mr Ben the students have focused on three main areas: Number, Sta s cs and Measure-ment. In Sport the students have been playing hockey on the basketball court. The students were also privileged enough to be taught soccer skills by some very talented Irish gap students who were visi ng the school with Red Dust. In Art the students have been working with Anne during

homework to produce a variety of different pieces. The highlight in this class was students pain ng mini cricket bats which will be presented to Mathew Hayden and the other corporate visitors at the HaydenWay Cricket Day later in the year. Amongst all the hard work and the busyness of the term the highlight for the students was a visit to the school by Kyle Vander Kuyp. He came to the school through the Red Dust Role Models program with some students and staff from St Greg’s in NSW. This school has a very good Indigenous scholarship program and our students were privileged to meet two fine young men who a end. They shared their experiences of moving away to boarding school and it was a very valuable experience for our class. All in all it has been a very special term for the Middle School Young Men. Thank you to everyone involved. Have a great bush holiday, Mr Josh

Term 2, 2012 Senior Young Women


I only have room for a few of the Senior Girls’ many achievements from Term Two. Firstly, I am so impressed at how their confidence in themselves has grown. Nearly all students have given formal presenta ons to the class this term. This would not have happened in Term One. Secondly, the students have worked very hard on their History/Literacy projects. Not only is their increased knowledge about Aboriginal and Australian history empowering for them, but they have also passed on valuable ideas to the younger students. Finally, many ar cles in this newsle er (and the previous edi on) were wri en by these young women. They should feel very proud of their wri ng and ideas. Ms Ailsa Literacy – Alex Guy In Literacy we have wri en a lot about our different history topics. We have been increasing our vocabularies by prac cing spelling rules, and new words in sentences. We have also done more speaking in front of the class. Numeracy – Bobe e Minniecon This term in Maths we have been learning about data, graphs and also measurement. We measured the perimeter of the Melville Room. We also calculated how many students a end Tiwi College then we put that informa on into graphs. Music This term at Tiwi College we have been doing Music classes with Miss Tic Tac and Ms Ailsa. We made characters and talked about how drug affect culture. Then we wrote all the music and the words ourselves. We are entering a compe on next term.

History – Ella Wonaeamirri This term in our class we’ve been learning about Tiwi history, Aboriginal history and the first white people who came to Australia. We’ve watched the documentary about the first Aboriginal Australians and the first white Australians who arrived in 1788. We went to the museum over at Bathurst to look at some of the Tiwi history. Geography In Geography we are learning about different places and giving informa on about the currency name, popula on, countries around our country and its capital city. Drama – Caitlyn Moreen In our drama class we have done some fun ac vi es, warm ups and also role plays. We are building a character and our aim over this term and next term is to make a performance about how life on the Tiwi islands has changed across Australian history. VET Business and IT This term we started Cer ficate One in Business. We have been working hard as always. We have been learning how to type fast. Our first topic was careers and how to get informa on about a job. Behaviour & A tude – Cassie Black In class this semester we have been very respec ul towards both Ms Ailsa and Ms Tic Tac. We have a joke with them but we also work really hard. We have improved a lot in listening and working extra hard without breaks. The most important thing is that we’ve been much more confident about speaking aloud and up in front of the class. Our Goals – Cecillena Mungatopi and Caitlyn Moreen Our goals for next term are sharing ideas and joining in the class ac vi es more o en. Also we will try not to laugh at others when they make a mistake, especially if they are up the front speaking. Our goals are to do more homework so we get be er quicker. We should do extra reading at night and on the weekend. We also want to be on me or early to class.

Senior Young Men


By Ben Kelly and the Senior Young Men

This term has been very exci ng for the Senior Young Men at Tiwi College. We have had the privilege of learning some wonderful new skills and par cipa ng in a range of new VET courses. Here are some of the highlights from the term. Level One coaching and umpiring course with AFL As part of our VET Sport and Recrea on course we did a Level 1 coaching and umpiring course with AFLNT. Kevin and Adam who ran the course flew in and taught us all the skills we need to run Auskick for the kids in

the communi es. As part of our sport and recrea-on course we

will be running Auskick in the three main com-muni es on the Island.

Auskick – Garden Point Our first assignment was Garden Point Primary School. On Thursday a ernoons our class would put on our uniforms and drive from Pickertaramoor to the com-munity to take the kids for Auskick. When we got to the community we would wait at the oval for the kids to finish school. When the kids got to our clinic they were very excited. We took them through drills and ac vi es and they seemed to have a lot of fun.

VET workplace skills Wednesday a ernoons we have been work-ing on workplace skills though some introduc-tory VET cours-es. These are Hor culture, Manufacturing and Con-struc on. In these courses we have learnt valuable workplace skills. These skills will help us become work ready before we finish school. VET Cert I in Conserva on and Land Management We have done field trips with teachers from CDU to learn about the different jobs you can do in CLM and what they involve. On a closing note we would like to wish Kenny and Adam all the best for next semester with their schooling at St. Patrick’s in Brisbane and their football with the Brisbane Lions Academy.

Tiwi and CDU partnership Charles Darwin University (CDU) is working with the college to run VETis Cer ficate I in Conserva on and Land Management. Lecturers Adrian Hendry and Michael Hicks have visited and run field trips to show students some of the employment opportu-ni es that are available on the Islands to students with an inter-est in Land and Resource Management. The CDU staff are focusing on prac cal, hands-on experiences for the students. This has involved field trips to weed infesta-on sites with the Tiwi Land Rangers, to the Ma lda Zircon sand mine site, and to the Planta on Management

Partners’ Yapillika Forestry Base. On each field trip the students have met with supervisors and management staff and have been shown the day-to-day opera ons and safety management of the workplaces. The course will con nue in Terms Three and Four and will also include work experience placements. This is an edited version of a CDU report.

HaydenWay Garden News By Jason Ryan

Term Two has been an exci ng and ac on-packed period within the garden. Since last newsle er, the school has seen the establish-ment of a VET program which in-volves senior students taking a more hands-on approach to learning skills that do not neces-sarily revolve around a classroom environment. So far the Senior Boys have taken on this course

and all of these students have excelled in some area or another. The VET Course in the garden has been shaped around the use of machinery in accordance with OH&S prac c-es. It also incorporates the iden fica on of plants and weeds, which then enables the students to eliminate weeds to increase crops yields. All measures we have currently done are visual, which is an area the students seem to be able to adapt extremely well to. Earlier in the term we had a visit from the Stephanie Alexander Founda on which specialises in kitchen gar-dens and runs a very successful gardens in schools pro-gram. They came in for 2 days and prepared food from the garden including 4 ducks which were killed and prepared from scratch. These ducks plus many other

dishes were served at the Thursday night com-munity dinner. A major focus this term has also been cleaning up the old greenhouse towards the back of the College. The green-house hasn’t had any work done to it for several years so as you could imag-ine it has become overgrown with weeds and trees. The greenhouse will become the nursery for all plants in the garden. Recently we have been having problems with chooks, ducks and bandicoots ea ng small plants. The greenhouse will allow the students to plant seeds, watch them grow and then transplant them down into the garden when they are of an size to survive the on-slaught from the animals. Term Two has been a fantas c building block for the students star ng to take ownership over what the jobs in the garden. Over the last 9 weeks, 3 students have become increasingly interested in the garden. They have been doing extra work and coming down in breaks, which is a pleasure to see. A special thanks to all the teachers for suppor ng the classes. We hope we can con-nue to build on

what we have to make something extremely spe-cial.

Term 2, 2012 Learning outside the classroom


VET Workplace Skills utilising staff talents VET started as a structured subject area for the Senior Boys during Second Term. Boys were engaged in three different learning areas. Construc on, run by Mr Phil Harmer, is based on carrying out work around the school and learning construc on skills including plan reading, leveling proce-dures, OH&S, measuring techniques and instruc on skills.

In hor culture, run by Mr Jason and Mr Anthony, boys were given set tasks to carry out and instruc on in the various areas of the school farm, including the plants and prepara on as well as the tools and equipment involved in the area.

Manufacturing, with Mr. Phil Collier, was an introduc on to some of the tools and techniques used on the work site and in the machine shop, with an emphasis on safety and the correct tool and machine strategies, plus materials and joining procedures.

Art


Art at Tiwi College By Anne McMaster

Art at Tiwi College con nues to enrich the stu-dents’ weekly curriculum. Some students take Art during the school day as a specialised sub-ject. Others complete Art ac vi es during homework me as an extra-curricular ac vity. Middle Young Women planned and designed some Japanese wind socks for the veranda of the new library. They learnt about another cul-ture, and how to paint on tex les. They also prac sed pain ng on boards and using a visual diary to document ideas and thoughts. At the end of Term Two Anne took the girls for an ex-cursion to the new Jilamara Art Gallery and Mu-seum. The Primary students are working on pieces to be included in a book about life at the school.

Excursions and Trips

Term 2, 2012 Taste It, Do It, Live It


The highly successful ‘Taste It, Do It, Live It’ program con nued throughout Term Two. Selected students took part in catering ac-vi es such as cooking for and wai ng on

guests at the Library Opening and hospitali-ty-scale catering at the mine kitchen. The Middle School Young Men’s and Women’s classes learnt break-making skills from Ad-am and ‘bush muesli bars’ from The Out-back Chef, Jude Mayall. Both recipes u -lised na ve ingredients. Even bigger ac vi-es are planned for Term Three, so watch

this space!

Growing Young Women’s Program


Highlights of the GYW Program By Natasha Bennett

Term Two started with a blast for the Growing Young Wom-en’s Program. The end of the second week saw 4 girls — Ella Wonaeamiri, Jessica Stas-si, Edmena Kan lla and Juli-e e Puruntatameri — off to Darwin for the NT AFL tryouts, which were a huge success for the girls: all four were select-ed! In the following week our senior girls heading over to Darwin for work experience. All the girls did a great job, and I think I can safely say they had a fantas c me as well.

We were back to business from week 4 onwards with our training, focusing on football this term to help get

our young NT team ready for their state matches in Adelaide. We had some great scratch matches thrown

in there and I’m fairly sure a women’s Tiwi Bombers team is in the making here at Tiwi College! The girls certainly proved that in their excellent performance against the Xa-vier College girls’ team in our end-of-term match held at Tiwi College. We hope to have more games against Xavier in the future. An aspect of the points sys-tem that has been outstand-

ing this term is homework. All of the girls, Middle and Senior, have shown up each week consistently, and with enthusiasm, to complete more schoolwork. A big thanks to Ms Ailsa and Miss Sandy for dedica ng their evenings to ensuring the best results for our girls. Overall, a fantas c term by the girls. I’m looking for-ward to Term Three, when we will have even more ex-ci ng ac vi es and fun to par cipate in.

Work experience By Natasha Bennett

On Sunday 29th April, the Senior Girls headed to Darwin for their first block of work experience this year. Thanks to The Smith Family for organising this program. Part of the experience was to also board in pairs with a host family while in Dar-win. The girls were understandably shy to start with, but by the end of the trip, they seemed very a ached to the families which was great to see. The week-long experience began with a training workshop to prepare the stu-dents with numerous skills needed for the workplace. The main focus was on communica on and confidence. Tues-day was the first day of official work

experience. All of the girls were dressed and ready to be picked up, nervous of course. Picking them up at the end of the day, I was interested to see how they handled their first day. I was pleasantly surprised by the smiles on all of their faces. They had made it through and were keen for the next day to begin.

Visi ng them throughout the week I saw the girls work-ing well, and was proud when they all made it through

to the end of the week with great reports from the managers. This was a very worthwhile and important experience for the Senior Girls, and one we will hope to con nue each year. Here are some reports from the girls’ perspec ve, on what they learnt and how they enjoyed it.

Term 2, 2012 Growing Young Women’s Program


Alex Guy and Bobette Minniecon We worked at Kmart in Casuarina in Darwin. Our boss was called May however there were many people who work in different are-as. We worked eight hours a day. Our colleagues were really nice to work with, especially May as she was really helpful. We liked every-thing but the best bit was when we were pu ng out the makeup items plus we got to try on different makeup. The most important thing we learnt was com-munica ng with different peo-ple and how a business is run. Our host family was nice. The parents had a lot of respect for us. They had two li le boys. We had heaps of fun with them. Their names were Elisa and Xavier. Each day when we came home from work we would go swimming or just re-lax and watch TV. We enjoyed staying with our host families; we hope to go back and visit them. In the future we would love to go and work at Kmart because it was fun, enjoyable and interes ng to work with others as part of a team.

Caitlyn Moreen and Maggie Kerinaiua Maggie and I worked at McDonalds in Stuart Park. We worked with lots of different people. We worked for about 7 hours each day. Our work experience job in-volved cooking and cleaning. We pre y much liked everything about our work experi-ence job. The best part of the job was when we were helping out with the cooking. We also had to wear hats all the me because it was part of the rules. Our host parents Brian and Debby have three children called Chloe, Hamish and Ruben. They only had their two sons staying with them. Their daughter Chloe has her own house. Chloe is staying with her boy-friend. Next me when we go in to

town I would like to go and visit them. If not I would ask them if they could come to the Tiwi Is-lands (Milikapi ) to visit Maggie and I. Our host family was really nice and kind to us. We really enjoyed staying with them. Each day we would go and take the boys to do their sports training. They would

go to soccer training for one hour and then a er that they would go and do basketball training at the DBA

centre. A er work each day we would go and play kick with the boys or we would play basket-ball with them. On Thursday night we went to Mindil Mar-kets with our host family. On Friday night we went shopping and met up with the other girls at Casuarina Shopping Centre. I enjoyed the work experience because it gave me confidence

and allowed me to learn more about certain jobs.

Cassie Black and Aggie Puruntatameri We both stayed in Nightcliff with a couple name Jacin-ta and Daly who had two kids. They were nice, funny and liked to joke around. We really enjoyed staying with them. A difference we no ced between their life and ours is that they live far away from their family and they don’t hunt for food in the bush like we do. We worked at Crocodylus Park. Each day we prepared food for the animals and fed them. We worked for 9

hours. We both like how we got to feed the animals. However we hated how we had to clean up and stand in the hot sun for hours. Our colleague, Tiffany, was very helpful and friendly. The difficult part was how we had to pick all the fruit and vegetables out of 4 big wheelie bins and sort them out into the fridges each morning. The fruit and vegetables were for the ani-mals. It was a good experience even though some parts were good and some parts were boring!

Student achievements


Tiwi College girls win leadership scholarships By Cassie Black and Caitlyn Moreen

Cassie: In Term One, Ms Ailsa encouraged all the Senior Girls to apply for a scholarship offered by The Smith Family to go to the Na onal Aspiring Leaders’ Summit in Canberra. We had to explain our ideas about leader-ship and write about something we would do in our community to use our leadership skills if we got to go on the camp. Ms Ailsa and Ms Tash helped us check our spelling and wri ng, but all our ideas were our own ones. In Term Two, Caitlyn and I found out that we had both been offered schol-arships. Only 30 were given out around all of Australia, so ge ng two at Tiwi College was really good. The scholarship covered our airfares, the cost of the camp and some warm clothes and equipment for going camping. Caitlyn and I flew from school to Darwin to Brisbane to Canberra and went to the Outward Bound base camp. Later on in the day the others arrived and they all just came up and started talking to us. The next day, Sunday, Caitlyn and I had to split into two different groups. My group went to the ropes first and I climbed right to the top. It was hard but I took the chal-lenge. A er that we had to go back to our base site and pack to get ready to go out in the bush for 3 days of camping! It was so ring to pack because there was so much stuff. We had to take it in a BIG camping pack. Caitlyn: For part of our Leadership Summit, we went out camping at Numadgi Na onal Park. We camped for 2 nights and 3 days. The first day when we got to the camp sites we did a lot of hiking. The most challenging ac vity I did was when I

abseiled down the big high rock. The ac vi es we did while we were on the camp were abseiling, going to Lego land, climbing the mountain and also doing heaps of hiking. There were a lot of different teenagers who came from all around Australia. Before we went down to Canberra I thought I wouldn’t talk to any of the other teenagers. Then when we met each other we started to talk a lot and share bit about ourselves and where we come from. A er we got to know each other we became friends. The instructors at the Outward Bound base camp were very nice to us. They were also funny people. The other teenagers we met were very nice and were also friendly to us. Cassie: When we came back from camping we had a li le rest then we got up early in the morning before breakfast to do some running. It was the best run but then again I wanted a sleep-in a er all that walking on the hike.

Then we had to plan our speech for 2 days un l the big day when we would do our public speaking. A few of the topics that we all came up with for the public speaking project involved young people with their drug habits, petrol-sniffing, teenage pregnancy and young kids going to school without having breakfast. These are not just happening in Indigenous communi es but in other towns around Australia as well. I was so nervous about ge ng up and talking in front of so many people who I didn’t really know. But once I got up I got into it and wasn’t that nervous because I had support from all my new friends and Caitlyn as well. Overall, I had a great experience and if there was one thing I could do again and again I’d choose the camp!

“But perhaps the highlight of the whole day was the presenta ons from two young women who had travelled from Tiwi Islands to par cipate. … Cassie and Caitlyn talked about their desire to make changes to their communi es. … They were posi ve and confident and provide hope for the future of those communi es.” — Wendy Field, Head of Policy and Pro‐grams, in a report to Smith Family staff

Edited version of text provided by Greg McMahon Students from Narangba Valley High School’s Vipers AFL Academy recently played host to students from the Tiwi College as part of the school’s ongoing closing the gap ini a ve. In a rela onship that has con nued to flourished, students from both schools joined together forming the now famous ‘Tiwi Vipers’ combine side uni ng young indigenous and non indigenous teenagers. Consis ng of boys from years 8 to 11, the Tiwi Vipers toured South East Queensland with a mix of footy, adventure and chance to make new lifelong friends. The Vipers started with a game against Nudgee College. It was neck a neck up to half me, un l Tiwi Viper coach and former Melbourne Demon Aus n Wonaeamirri threw Kenny Puruntatameri forward who promptly blasted home 5 majors to give the Tiwi Vipers an unassailable lead. Aus n described Kenny’s performance akin to a jet aeroplane taking off with his breathtaking speed and accuracy. The team played against a number of different schools but they s ll had me to try surfing, a high ropes course and trip to climb Mount Beerburrum. They also par cipated in a live cross on ABC Radio, visited the Gabba for the Lions vs

Collingwood match, plus had a game of their own under lights against the Brisbane Lions Academy. Vipers Director Greg McMahon said, “the rela onship con nues to grow from strength to strength, with las ng friendships that con nues to shape and improve a tudes and percep ons towards a culture different to your own”. With the Tiwi College set to play host for the Narangba students in August, Tiwi College’s Shane Tipuamantamerri added, “we can’t wait to show the boys all the cultures, wildlife and football they have been hearing about all week”.

Girls U16 AFLNT Se-lection Camp By Natasha Bennett

A er weeks of excitement, Thursday the 26th April saw 4 girls, Steph Mackenzie and myself head into Darwin for the AFL NT selec on camp. Ella, Jess, Gypsy (Edmena) and Julie e had been given the chance to represent Tiwi College, and the Tiwi Islands, in this year’s tryouts. The girls were separated into teams within the schools cluster, so Tiwi and Palmerston joined to make a team which soon proved unbeatable. Awesome rucking skills from Gypsy gave our girls a flying start, and with some pinpoint passing from Jess and Ella, Julie e finished off beau fully with the goals. A er the small round robin, the Palmerston/Tiwi side proved too strong and were clear winners. This, of course, gave the selectors a chance to see how the girls could mix with new team mates and work with each other. The first day’s training concluded with a first aid lesson.

The girls were red, but fi ed in a quick visit to Casuarina shopping centre! A er more matches, plus skill-building and drill sessions, the grand final of the two top teams played off. It was close, with both teams demonstra ng impressive skills. Tiwi/Palmerston proved their dominance in the end, though, and won the grand final. We celebrated with a trip to the movies to see The Avengers. The final morning began with more skills and strate-gies and by early lunch it was me to announce the teams. I was proud to sit there as they announced that all four girls from Tiwi College had successfully made the squad. From everyone at Tiwi College, good luck for the Na onal compe on down in Adelaide in July!

Term 2, 2012 Student achievements


Tiwi Vipers footy trip

Family Group Homes


Family Group Home Co-ordinator’s Report By Solomone Radaniva Tuibua

I acknowledge the land of the Tiwi people, your honourable ancestors, the ex-is ng leaders and people of the Tiwi Islands. Ni sa bula vinaka! (Fijian gree ng) Welcome to my first ar cle as the FGH Coordinator at your beau ful school. The provision of a home away from home for your children has been our first priority in our service as FGH parents at Tiwi College. All credit to the Tiwi people for such a great educa on boarding model. With a focus on good and healthy rela onships, we make sure that your children are loved.

At mes, ‘tough love’ is called for and you would understand that these measures were and would be taken for the safety and benefit of other children under our care. We emphasise mutual and personal trust with your children, not forge ng that they are kids. Like a glass tumbler, trust is fragile and once broken it must be earned back. With the help of teaching staff we stayed focused in the imparta on of appropriate disciplinary measures, hoping that your children will be-

come be er and trustworthy ci zens of your land. We acknowledged good and posi ve achievements and accordingly celebrated their successes during the semester. We have had tears to shed at mes when uncalled-for issues were experienced from them. We hope that your children will one day realise that they were loved, trusted and respected. Understanding your children will con nue to be our aim as we forge ahead.

Being the longest-serving staff-member at Tiwi Col-lege, I observed that FGH parents, academic staff and ground staff rela onships developed really well dur-ing the semester; this has obviously rubbed off onto students, and their numbers and consistent a end-ance clearly prove this. Who would imagine the lead-er of a school always amongst his students and yarn-ing away like they were his own grandchildren? We

have seen amazing change in the school community this semester. We hope that what we have been impar ng at our Tiwi College homes will ripple over and through your community, your homes and your hearts for a las ng existence.

As house parents, we have come to really enjoy our me at the college. It is challenging, yet we love it. Like our expecta on for your children, Tiwi College has also become a home away from home to us. To the boarding students, we love you and our prayers go with you. Have a healthy and enjoyable bush holiday with your family and rela ves! We look forward to seeing you again next term.

Term 2, 2012 Family Group Homes


Family Group Home 1 By Meaghan Ravula

We have had an awesome me in our house this term! At the start of the term we had a special visitor to our house, Steve Wrigley (Meaghan’s Father). It was his first me here and he thor-oughly enjoyed every moment. We were very pleased to see some of our senior students step up and lead the younger boys when they were performing dances.

This term we have started our new gardening project and we have really en-joyed seeing the young men ge ng involved in that! We have also all enjoyed the arrival of our new pool table and have had a lot of compe ons on it already. On a note that isn’t so posi ve, we had to crack down on some of the young men’s messiness this term. We came up with a rule that if there was a mess or dishes not washed, everyone would only have a cup of tea and bread for dinner instead of a cooked meal. This threat worked well and the dirty dishes problem was fixed! As always, there

have been ups and downs, but overall the young men that we look a er have grown in so many ways this term and we are happy to see them enjoying themselves in our Family Group Home. From Pisa and Meaghan

Family Group Home 3 By Isoa Waiqaragata

One of the highlights of the term was being the first group to serve at Thursday night community dinner. This was a big responsibility for us, but the boys were able to overcome shyness and set they gave service with a smile. A funny incident was when the baby of our house, Peter Lynch, snuck up the line to get chicken drums cks because he figured there would be nothing le when it came to the servers’ turn to eat! The boys have been hard at work with their gardens. Now, they have pumpkins growing on their plots and watermelons, too, soon to be followed by cucumbers and cabbages to take home when ready.

Most boys’ personal hygiene and grooming has improved greatly this term. They have also improved in terms of know-ing and following the school rou ne, and being conscious of me.

We have had lots of fun and funny moments in the house this term, such as when some boys put on a sister-girl fash-ion parade which had us in tears with laughter! Akanisi and I hope all our boys have a wonderful break and come back to school every week in Semester Two. From Isoa and Akanisi

Family Group Homes


Family Group Home 4

By Aliti Soqali

It is said that the only constant in life is change. Yes, we have noted change within our girls, who returned in Term Two with a desire to do well. This is great to see. They have built good rela onships with the other girls and have come to know each other be er a er the Term One interac ons. At first some of our new girls were homesick. This is understanda-ble, but it wasn't long before they felt right at home due to the efforts of their housemates.

This term the girls have had the opportunity to par-cipate in a variety of ac vi es: football training,

pool games, table tennis, basketball, personal groom-ing and the Life Skills Program. We are proud of our students for learning new skills and, in the case of Edmena Kan lla and Julie e Puruntatameri, using their skills to represent their state. Well done, girls! As we come to the end of this term, we would like to

thank you all for the part you have played in making the term be er than the last. Yes, we have come far. There were hiccups along the way, but we were well supported by our team. We have enjoyed looking a er our girls. There is nothing more we want than to as-sist them in achieving well and developing their gi s and talents, whether they be person-al, academic, spiritual or social. We would also like to express our apprecia on of Pastor Solo for his words of encouragement and his daily support to students and parents. Last but not least, thank you all for a great term and we wish all our students a safe and happy bush holiday with their families. We look forward to seeing you all in the coming term and con nuing to develop FGH4 as a welcoming place where each student is respected and encouraged to reach their full poten al. Come on girls, let’s turn a new page and make a difference in the coming term. I know you can do it! See you next term, Aliti and Filipe

Family Group Home 5 By Timoci Vea

The boys in Family Group Home 5 love to play footy and they train hard a er school. They love to play pool with the girls from FGH4 or play video games a er school. They are working hard in our vegetable garden and have plant-ed watermelons. The students learn many things when they live in a family group home. The boys are learning to be responsible. They s ll need to improve in this more, but we are glad to say they are making progress. Some mes the boys can be very noisy.

Some of the best moments from this term at our house have been when the boys went to bed ear-ly! We have had lots of fun and funny mes. A funny moment was when we all told stories and the boys were really scared. They went straight to sleep because it was dark outside! We hope our boys have a safe and happy bush holiday. We hope they come back ready to learn more in Term Three, from Tim and Viola

Term 2, 2012 Family Group Homes


Family Group Home 6 By Anthony Lyons

It’s been an exci ng Second Term with the arrival of our new baby boy Abel. The girls really enjoyed mee ng and spending me with the new mem-ber of Family Group Home Six. We have also welcomed new girls into our house for the term. The girls have a had a busy term with sports training and life skills a er school. As a part of the Life Skills Program the girls have been par cipa ng in preparing a vegetable garden for our home. This term we have been focusing on soil and plot prepara on so when the girls return for Term Three we can start plan ng our vegetables. The girls are looking forward to growing their own vegetables and taking them home for their families in the community. It has been great to see the girls training hard for football this term. Just recently all the hard work paid off with their win over Xavier

College. We have had great term with the girls, with a majority of them returning each week for school. We have had a few birthdays this term and enjoyed celebra ng these with a party. The girls have had a posi ve a tude on the whole and have been will-ing to help when needed. We look forward to all the girls returning next term for another exci ng semester. We wish all the girls the best for the bush holiday, from your one and only FGH6 family, Anthony, Stef, Kloe and Abel

Term 2, 2012 Interviews with… Tiwi staff In the Term One Newsle er, girls from the Senior Young Women’s class interviewed the family group home parents. This term they have focused on the Indigenous staff at the college. (Unfortunately some were absent when these interviews took place.) They feel very proud of how many Tiwi staff work here, and would like the wider community to know more about these people.

Shane Tipuamantamerri (Tippa) By Alex Guy

Shane Tipuamantamerri, known as Tippa, is one of the Tiwi staff at Tiwi College. He went to school at Garden Point Primary School and also Milikapi Primary School. When he was a teenager he

went to Kormilda College. However, he got expelled so he went to St John’s College. His favourite subject at school was History. Before he came to Tiwi College he worked in Arnhem Land, on a pearl farm. He found out about this job from Karl Gunderson, who called him from Clontarf and asked him if he wanted the job here. Tippa believes it’s important to have Tiwi staff so kids can look up to Tiwi staff and learn from them. In the future Tippa want to have his own business and have students form Tiwi College working there.

Bianca Daniels By Bobette Minniecon

Bianca went to primary school at Milikapi and Garden Point, and went to high school at St John’s and Kormilda Colleges. Her Favorite subjects at school were English, History and Ge-ography. Before she came to Tiwi College she was working as the Sport and Rec Officer at Milikapi . She started working at Tiwi College two years ago. Bianca found out about the job from her cousin. She works as the Primary School teaching assistant. She believes that it is

Interviews with... Tiwi Staff


important to have Tiwi staff so when the kids have any issues with staff and students, Tiwi people can be there to assist and sort everything out. What Bianca loves about Tiwi College is its peaceful feeling, that it has great people, and she can get away from humbug in the community. One of the challenges Bianca faces is trying to get kids to listen and to speak English in class. Bianca’s plans for the future are to get married and have kids.

Dianne Moore (Tic Tac) By Ella Wonaeamirri

Dianne Moore, also known as Tic Tac, went to Ludmilla Primary School and Kormilda Col-lege, both in Darwin. Her favourite subjects were English and Community Studies. She worked at Karama School as a tutor, mainly in a grade 3/4 class. She started working at Tiwi College 4 months ago. When she first heard about Tiwi College before the school was built, she wanted to work here. Tammy, Tippa and Smithy told her about this job. Her job mainly involves working with the Senior Girls but also some mes with the Middle Girls as she always works in Ms Ailsa’s classes. She says it is good to have Tiwi staff at Tiwi College because they know the students’ culture and background, and hopefully it makes it easier for the students to come school. Three things that she loves are: firstly, she loves the loca on about the bush; secondly, she loves the mixture of the students; and the last one is that she loves the way it is easy for staff to get along with each other. The challenges are that we don’t have all of our stu-dents all week. Her plans for the future are that hopefully she will be working here for a long me, and to become a full teacher with her own class.

Joy Moreen By Vanessa Daniels

Joy went to school at Milikapi Primary School and Slade School in Warwick. Her favourite subject at school was Maths. She worked at Milikapi School before she came here at the start of 2011. She found out about the school from the Tiwi Land Council and the Tiwi Edu-ca on Board. Joy some mes works in the office doing paperwork. Another job is helping houseparents and ge ng the girls out of bed and ready for school, especially when Stefanee Lyons was away having her baby. She believes that it is good that we have lots of Tiwi people at this school. She enjoys being here with people who are friendly when she’s away from home. The challenges are ge ng to work on me every day and making kids come to school every week.

Austin Wonaeamirri (Aussie) By Maggie Kerinaiua

Aus n went to Milikapi , Garden Point and then went to high school at Kormilda College and St John’s College. His favor-ite subject was VET because he got to work and learn new things. He worked in Melbourne for 5 years, then to Xavier College Aus n started term2 at Tiwi College in term 2 Tippa and Smithy gave Aus n a call to let him know about the job. Aus n works with Middle School boys with Josh and footy with Tippa. He thinks it’s important to have Tiwi staff to sup-por ng the Tiwi kids. working and training and helping kids. The challenges are on being me making sure the kids are doing the right thing Aus n wants to be leader in the Land Council so he can lead his people.

Indigenous staff unavailable for the interviews: Laelia Dunn Mark Smith Kumsi Ullungura Gladys Puruntatameri

Term 2, 2012 a


Tiwi College vs Xavier On Friday 15th June, Tiwi College hosted Xavier College for two eagerly an cipated football matches. The Senior Young Women’s class spent the morning pain ng banners in blue and gold which festooned the Growing Young Women’s Building’s balcony. The scores in the women’s match were close in the first half, with both teams playing strongly. However, Tiwi College pulled ahead in the second half and won by a very confident margin with a final score of 40-26. The Tiwi College men’s team showed off their strong ball skills and team-work, which reflected their dedica on to training this year. The final score also reflected this: Tiwi College beat Xavier with a resounding 29-2 victory. We are very pleased to be building a closer rela onship with Xavier Col-lege and look forward to more matches and ac vi es next term.

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Documents

Tiwi College Newstiwicollege.com/images/newsletters/Tiwi College News Term Two 2012.pdf · Poli cian Warren Snowden MP oﬃcially opened the ... 2012 By Ailsa MacFie On June 14 Tiwi