10 November 2002 Edition No. 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100 Dear Parents and Friends,
The Son of God - One of us STAFF CHALLENGE One area that continued to be a challenge was to attract sufficient staff to run the Hostel effectively. All house parents’ positions remained unchanged since the middle of last term except the Senior High School Girls’ house. This stability provided a sound basis for effective care. In the Senior High School Girls’ house, Loretta Turner followed Aileen Larkins in the position of House Parent but since the start of this term, Rita Costa cares for this group. She had come from Shepparton in early September to help us in the Kitchen but went to the girls when the need arose. Her background in Child Welfare is an asset. Some great young people now staff our Kitchen. Colleen Drage only re-joined us about a week ago. In the meantime, Melissa managed the Kitchen with the help of Eleanor Simpson and the two new Lay Missionaries Irmi Eberl and Patricia Broja, who arrived from Germany on 10 October. Melissa took only a couple of weeks off at the end of third term to have her second child, Nivee Rose Ann Drage, but was back on the job at the start of this term. She manages admirably the two duties of being Mother and Head Cook and also is a good help to Irmi and Patricia who are trying to improve their English and learn the Australian way of doing things. STAFF TRAINING All House Parents, and also Sue, took part in a First Aid Course run here on 16 & 17 October by the St. John Ambulance from Morawa. All participants passed the test and received the Senior First Aid Certificate. This will qualify them to supervise children swimming in our Pool. THE FUTURE OF TARDUN The Pallottines are proceeding steadily along the path of making the necessary preparations for an eventual hand-over of Wandalgu Hostel to the Aboriginal people. The immediate task ahead is the setting-up of a Community Development Consultancy. The Wandalgu Interim Management Board has held a number of meetings in which it considered the terms of reference for such a Consultancy and the financing of such an undertaking. Michael Reutens, who, through his involvement with Mercy Care has plenty of experience with such work, is our advisor. FUTURE ADMINISTRATORS Sue Alderman has done us a great service by taking over the administration (first with Paul Hotton and then on her own) when Fr Ray left at Easter this year. Under her care, the Hostel has flourished. The high standards of childcare have been upheld. Student numbers have increased and all students received ample opportunities to develop all their potential. However, it was clear from the start that Sue would be available for this work only for the rest of 2002. We had to look for someone to carry on her work. Advertising in relevant papers has resulted in a Korean couple showing interest in this work. They are Kyung and Kang Lee from Sydney. They both come with qualification in Education and Community Development work and are suited for the position. They visited us recently to see what the job entailed. Fr Ray has told them in the meantime that they are accepted and they are due to arrive on 22 November.
CHILDREN’S PROGRAMS The students continue to receive tuition and encouragement in the areas of their ability and interest. Ten students are now enrolled in the Geraldton Little Athletics Centre and travel to Geraldton every Saturday to train and compete with Geraldton’s junior athletes. We thank Brian Jones for looking after this group every Saturday. Olive Boddington comes every Monday to tutor the High School girls in traditional dot painting. Under her guidance they produce some excellent work. Trevor Garretty comes every Thursday for band tutorials. Advanced student musicians teach beginners the basics of guitar play throughout the week. In Trevor’s tutorials all this work comes to fruition. Nicole North from Morawa District High School now comes every Wednesday night to teach 10 students how to produce pottery on the wheel. During the week these people then have two practice sessions each with me. Nicole notices some progress every week. The most outstanding student potter is Madonna Simpson. She now teaches younger students. Every Thursday afternoon Judy Simpson engages a group of High School boys in an intensive literacy program and every Monday evening Erin (on her day off) assists the year 11 students in subjects where they need help. Wandalgu Catholic Primary School has made Aboriginal Dance a firm component of its curriculum. This unit contains three components. Ross Boddington directs the Murchison Dances. The teachers rehearse the Murchison Stories, which were first told to us by George and Ross Boddington and then put in drama form. The teachers also keep alive various small dances that came to us from other areas through dance instructors like Jim Webb, Daniel Garlett Mort Hansen, and Malcolm Mitchell. The Wandalgu Dancers have become well known in the district and had a busy schedule throughout this term performing at public functions and in schools. On very important occasions some High School students join the troupe. CONFIRMATION Seven students are preparing themselves for the Sacrament of Confirmation, namely Colin Clifton, Michael Kelly, Eric Lockyer, Rhiannon Taylor, Cassandra Halden, Deanna Halden, and Rebecca Derschow. Bishop Justin Bianchini from Geraldton will confer the Sacrament on them during Mass on Sunday, 17 November. Eric will also be baptized and receive First Holy Communion. Preparing these students is a great pleasure because they are so sincere in their effort to become ready for receiving the Holy Spirit. Besides attending the numerous meetings each one made a beautifully decorated pottery cross as sign of their dedication to Jesus and we spent one afternoon in Christian Community Action, improving the surroundings of our Jirraminda Crèche. COPING WITH THE DROUGHT Everybody agrees now that Brother John made the right decision when he did not put in any crops this year. Farmers who did not bite the bullet at seeding time lost it all. In a further development, Brother John sold off most of the sheep and agisted a small remnant of ewes and lambs to farms in Irwin and Georgina. This is a very costly exercise, but in our own paddocks all would have died of starvation. They are tinder dry and empty. The whole landscape is under stress. The trees are dying. The water level in the bores has dropped dramatically. How long will we have water for our daily needs? With dead and dry bush all around us we’re getting worried about bushfires. Brother Günther is working hard to get a second, better, fire fighting unit rigged in case of an emergency. We have to be prepared. NEW LIFE AT THE OLD SCHOOL Work at the Old School continues to make good progress. The Youth Centre proves very popular. The Jirraminda Crèche in the back block gives the pre-schoolers a good chance to learn many basic skills. Since the end of last term we also created a small flat for visitors next to the Crèche. Our own men have carried out all these projects at the Old School. Bob Hodgson and Christian Weißhaupt started. Ken Rowlinson is the main worker at the moment, but Brother Günther, Gerry Duck and John Kramme also offer generous help. Chris Mathyson from Warburton stayed with us just one week and worked there every day. Thanks to all these workers and also to the generous benefactors in Germany who regularly send contributions! GRADUATION Two students from Wandalgu finished year 12 at Morawa High School. Cara Simpson boarded at Wandalgu from her first to her last school day except for the years 1996 and 1997, when she did year 6 and 7 at home through the Carnarvon School-Of-The-Air. Having to overcome some physical disability, she always has been a struggler and we admire her for the tenacity with which she pressed on with her education, supported by her parents. Marika Dale was with us for only for 3 years. She joined Cara (and others who have since left) for year 10 and worked steadily to achieve good results. We honoured the achievements of these two young people and said goodbye to them with a barbecue on the High School Boys’ lawn. Cara and Marika’s families stayed with us for a few days and enjoyed the celebrations. Sue presented a little farewell gift to them and I gave them a photo-book to remember their Tardun years VISITS BY EX-STUDENTS It happens more and more frequently that former students visit us. They’re always most welcome. Those who found their way back to us recently include Casey Narrier (now competing in high jump on the international level), Nathaniel Franklin (who has given up athletics and is a rising star in football), Terrence Dale and Roseanne Simpson.
On behalf of all staff and students at Wandalgu I wish
you God’s blessings for Christmas.
FAREWELL FROM SUE It is with both sorrow and excitement that I say goodbye to the Wandalgu Community. I am moving further north and closer to the ocean and I know I will enjoy that - casting the rod into the waves and hauling in all those huge snapper and other reef fish…you can’t bet that!! My time at Wandalgu has been terrific and I thank you all for the opportunity to get to know and understand you better. My life has certainly been enriched by this very unique place. I thank you for the generosity and acceptance into the community that has been shown to me by all and you can rest assured that I will miss Wandalgu very much (although I will not miss the phone). I will endeavour to stay in touch.
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CHRISTMAS WISHES