Indigenous Education Program

by Director of Students, Mr Mike Silcock

The Indigenous Education Program is on the move

The Indigenous Education Program is on the move. The St Patrick’s Indigenous Education Program is excited to be moving from our current location to the very heart of the school at the highly accessible junction between the Sir Hugh Divine and O’Malley wings. This central space will benefit our current Indigenous students as well as our non-Indigenous students, as we continue to grow a positive culture of awareness across the College.

From Term (4), as we transition back to onsite learning, all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students will be invited into the new space for Recess to get to know one another. All College students and staff are encouraged to visit at other times to learn about Australia’s history and how St Patrick’s College is pursuing Reconciliation with First Nations people.

The move of the Indigenous Education Program is part of a strategic plan to embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders opportunities within the College’s teaching and learning program. Managers Fiona and Jason will offer ongoing mentoring to students throughout all classes in partnership with our teaching staff. We are all very excited for what lies ahead both for our program and as afforded to us by the move into this new space.

Six Graduating Students

At this time, the Indigenous Education Program would like to recognise and congratulate the fantastic effort of our six Remote Indigenous students, who will graduate at the end of this term, with their respective VCE and VCAL requirements met. These students have come from varied backgrounds, but have been united at St Patrick’s, where they have all successfully pursued their various academic journeys. We wish Leyton Priest, Fred Batman-Baird, Tyrone Holt, Ethan Councillor, Stanley Tipiloura and Delroy Tranter all the best as they return home to represent the College as graduates. A small dinner was held in our Boarding Precinct on their last night in recognition of their time at the College. It was not our usual, end-of-year Year 12 celebration, however it was an enjoyable evening and a poignant way for the boys to conclude their time at the College. We now look forward to supporting all our remaining Year 12 Indigenous students as they complete their studies at the College and await an announcement by the College on how our Year 12 students, en-masse, will have their time with us recognised.