In front of 1,100 guests that gathered at the Adelaide Convention Centre on Wednesday, 27 May, two Year 9 students from Mount Carmel College, Danielle and Rachel braved the stage and wowed the audience with a speech about what reconciliation means to them and how it is embraced by all at Mount Carmel College.
The College then held its annual Reconciliation Week Mass on Thursday, 4 June, led by Fr Tom Gleeson, and attended by staff, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and their families from Mount Carmel College, Dominican School, Our Lady of the Visitation School, Whitefriars School, Our Lady Queen of Peace School and St Margaret Mary’s School. The Mass created a sacred space where these communities came together in respect of the traditional custodians of the land and were welcomed by Aunty Alice Rigney, who led the gathering in a traditional Welcome to Country.
The theme for National Reconciliation Week 2015: ‘It’s time to change it up’, reminding us that great achievements take courage and persistence. And “change it up” qualities embraced by Mount Carmel College. The College was approached by Reconciliation South Australia this year to speak about Reconciliation at the school and what it means in the school community. The ‘Proud Race Project’ that the College has been undertaking with Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish School for the last three years, has, through Visual Art, brought together students in the spirit of reconciliation and produced the beautiful Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island bollards that are often see around the school grounds. Indeed, Reconciliation SA found such great value in this project that they used the image of the bollards as their 2015 emblem and on their National Reconciliation Week t-shirts and hoodies.
For Mount Carmel College, reconciliation means building positive, respectful relationships between the broader Australian community and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples for the benefit of all Australians. To create positive change there needs to be more people talking about the issues and getting involved.
Mount Carmel College’s Reconciliation Action Plan highlights the week as a key moment to both reflect and plan for a better future, and to engage with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families within the College and with partner primary schools of the Catholic North Western Community.
Four Catholic schools across South Australia have been awarded $6.34 million in grants for capital works to improve learning spaces, increase opportunities for disadvantaged students and cater for more diverse learning needs.
The State Government grants — $6.34 million for Catholic schools and $6.38 million for independent schools — are for building projects to commence over the next year.
Introduced in 2018 to ensure all students have access to a first-class education, the latest funding under the scheme has been approved for four projects at Catholic schools and 103 smaller projects at independent schools.
