We arrived at Carnarvon yesterday at 4 pm and looked over the PCYC where we would be camping for a night. This is a recreation facility with a skate ring, indoor basketball court, boxing ring and other amenities. We decided that we would sleep in the gym. It is carpeted and has many mats, which one could move around.

Then we went to the Civic Centre where the "Underage Rage" was to be held. They gave us hamburgers for dinner and then invited us to the Woolshed, a big dancing hall with a temporary stage. The stage manager helped us set up our instruments.

We were the first ones to play. Gabby was our leader. He played the lead guitar, sang most of the songs, and held the whole thing together. Adrian played rhythm and Deromitt bass guitar. Tremaine was our drummer. Terri and I sang two songs and played the tapping sticks for all the others. Robert (and for one song Deromitt) played the didgeridoo, which made our songs sound really awesome. The people liked what we did and wanted us to play once more later on but we were too tired to do it.

In the Woolshed we met many relations who had come to Carnarvon for Pop Roy’s funeral the next day. We also met many Carnarvon kids who had been at Tardun sometime ago. They were happy to see us.

Robert danced like Michael Jackson and a big mob of girls formed a circle around him. We left the "Rage" after the Heavy Metal Band (who had borrowed our bass guitar) had finished their crazy show. We wanted to have a good sleep.

At the PCYC the boys put the music at full blast and Gabby did a dance. We only went to sleep when Fr Gerhard turned the light off and settled down in his corner. We didn’t hear Jane, Jim and Brother John coming in because we were all sound asleep.

Now we are travelling back to Tardun as fast as we can, because Fr Gerhard has to be at St Mary’s for Evening Mass.

At Carnarvon I met my real Mum Joanna whom I hadn’t seen for a long time. She took a photo of Robert and me. Eleanor took a photo of all of us together.

My Dad Patrick was there too. When he heard and saw me sing he started crying. Uncle Elvis also cried. He said to me, "I didn’t know that you can do that". They all were very proud of us.

Katrina and her kids were there too. They gave me a big hug. I also met my oldest sister Jocelyn. She goes to TAFE.

Last night we played for the "Underage Rage" at Carnarvon. Then they put a Disco on. Robert and I danced with all the other kids. A big number of girls gathered around us. We missed our Ball at Morawa, but we had something as good at Carnarvon.

Our band consists mostly of boys; but Terri and I belong to it also. We are good singers and go with the boys whenever they perform in other places. In Carnarvon Terri and I sang "Echo Voices" and "Proud Mary".

Gabby, Tremaine, Adrian and I formed a band. Gabby plays lead guitar, Tremaine plays the drums, Adrian plays the rhythm and I play the bass guitar. We went to Carnarvon to perform at the Children’s Festival. We had a few practices before our trip and Gabby made up a song about Bidyadanga. Bob sometimes plays the didgeridoo.

Carnarvon Primary School invited us to dance at their NAIDOC Celebration and run workshops. Maurice took us there in the KFC bus. There were 12 of us, namely 6 boys and 6 girls. We arrived the night before we were to dance and stayed at the Carnarvon Camp School. Maurice gave us a good time and made us laugh with his funny stories.

In the middle of the night Maurice got very sick and had to be flown to Perth. At 3 am Colleen called her brother Clayton in Geraldton to come and pick us up. In the morning we did our dances with Pop Ross before recess but cancelled the workshops. Clayton drove the bus back to Geraldton and there Fr Ray met us to take us back to Tardun. He had just been on a visit. So we arrived much earlier than we had planned.

MUSIC AND OTHER FUN (Gabby)

Our house is a great place. We have our own gym room with weights and exercise machines. When Fr Gerhard bought the new set of drums for the band, we could take the old one to our house. With these drums and our three acoustic guitars we make a lot of music.

The basketball court is just behind our house. You find us there every afternoon. We’re getting better and better in this sport.

I came to Tardun only at the beginning of this term but I feel quite at home. Marjorie and Ainslee are looking after us and giving us a good time. Indoors we watch movies and play on the computer. Outside we play on the Fort and have races in the go-karts. We ride on bikes and play basketball and football. We jump on the trampoline and help Brother John move the sheep from one paddock to the other. My Mum has been in Tardun too and Fr Gerhard found some pictures of her and printed them out for me.

Last Sunday we went to the Christian Brothers’ Open Day. We bounced on the trampoline and played golf.

They call me AJ but my real name is Aaron James Bellotti. I am in year 8 and live in the Junior High School Boys’ house. Boarding at Wandalgu Hostel is not always easy. The School Bus leaves at 7:40 in the morning and returns at 4:20 in the afternoon. That’s a long school day. At night we then have our homework to do. But there are a lot of fun things that brighten up our days.

Our netball team consists of Taryn, Zoe Mc, Nicole Farrell, Phynea, Lexine, and me. Tamisha is our Coach. We didn’t do too well so far but we are improving. We spend a lot of time at the Youth Centre. Our group does the weekly cleaning there. Kylie and I are the best billiard players.

Last Sunday all the Tardun kids went to St Mary’s for their Open Day. It was very good because the food was good.

Last Sunday we went to the Christian Brothers for their Open Day. I went horse riding heaps of times. At St Mary’s I saw my sister Elizabeth who had come with the students from Bindoon. I was so happy to see her and stayed with her all the time. I gave her $5 to keep. My cousin Leilani and I had a go at the trampoline and Elizabeth watched us. Then Elizabeth had to go back to Bindoon. I wanted her to stay but she couldn’t

When Fr Gerhard came he took a picture of some other kids and me on horses.

Every Saturday night we play basketball which everyone looks forward to. We have five teams, with the best players all separated. Even the year seven kids join in. These basketball evenings are great fun.

In the second term holidays I went to Perth for a Health Service Careers’ Workshop for which my teachers had nominated me. There were about 26 kids from all over WA, as far as Kununurra in the North and Kalgoorlie in the South. We did a lot of things during that week.

When we arrived on Monday night we were all introduced. On Tuesday we walked just across the road from Curie Hall to Shenton House, where Aboriginal people stay to study in various universities and institutes. We spent a day there. The students told us what courses they were doing. One of them is already a Doctor of Medicine.

On Wednesday we went to the Children’s Medical Research Centre across from PMH. From there we went to Marr Moorditj, an Aboriginal university, where we cut pig trotters and stitched them up.

On Thursday we went to a dentistry building and made some moulds of teeth. At 5 pm we went shopping and at 6 pm we had dinner. During dinner we had a birthday party for another girl and myself. It was fun. On Friday I left for home.

ASPIRE BREAKFAST (Rebecca Drage)

Selected students from almost all WA High Schools came together in Perth for a special breakfast meeting with the Director General of the Department of Education and the Minister for Education.

I went down to Perth with Mrs Calver and two other students. We stayed at Beatty Lodge and had dinner at the Food Hall.

On Friday morning we went to the Aspire Breakfast. We all had to go to our given tables. Our Guest Speaker was Ms Tina Altieri. She talked about her life and told us how she has achieved her goals in life.

On 15 and 16 August we put on a school production in the Morawa Shire Hall. We called it "The Guru of Uluru". It was based on the Musical "The Wizard of Oz" but had a lot of local references in it. I was the Tin Man, one of the main characters besides Dorothy, Scarecrow and Lion.

At first I had butterflies but soon got over that. We did the show 3 times. Everybody who came to watch the play enjoyed it. People came up to me and said that I had a cool Tin Man suit. I loved it too but could not keep it. Apart from that, it was cool.

After school last Friday, the High School girls and boys dressed up for their School Ball. We looked really smart. Father Ray came from Perth to take photos of us.

We arrived at the Morawa Town Hall at about 7:30 pm. Soon Lexine, Zoe, Rhiannon, Rosie, Nicole, Robin and I were dancing. We had great fun until about 11 pm Fr Ray told us that it was time for us to leave. It was a very good night.

On Sunday it was boys picnic. We went to a place out in the bush. First we went down to the river to have a look. Then we lit a fire. When the thick wood had burnt down, we started cooking our lunch, hamburgers, on the grill. After that we kicked the footy and listened to some music. A bit later we had some cake and started to head home. On the way back we saw lots of emus, kangaroos, and goats. It was a good day that I enjoyed.

A WEEKEND AT PINDAR (Halijah)

OUR SCHOOL BALL (Eric Lockyer)

Last Friday night the high school had a ball. 160 people attended, including 6 boys and 16 girls from Wandalgu. The ball started at 7 pm and finished at 11 pm. The theme was "Moonlight on Ice". They had food, drinks and sweets. They had a band playing. They were called "Fat Dog" it was a good night and I had a good time.

Last Sunday we went to St Mary's for their Open Day. A lot of people were there, and we had a lot of fun things to do like playing golf and jumping on the trampoline. We went to the gym room to have a look around. There were lot of different things there like chin ups, Speedball, punching bang, and other good things. After we finished trying to get some muscles we went to the computer room to played some games. Then we went to the gymkhana to watch the St Mary's boys ride the horses.

Five weeks ago Bill's brother Pat came across from Melbourne to help Bill, because he had to go and have an operation on his hands. After the operation he was not allowed to use his hands for about three weeks. When his hands were better we went out, driving Pats Ute around Wandalgu to look for firewood so we can keep the house nice and warm.