The Chronicle Issue 9

Dear Parents, Guardians, Friends and Students

It has certainly been a busy few weeks. I can’t believe three weeks are already completed of our 2021 Academic Year. All the students have transitioned to their new classes and we have welcomed a small group of new students to our Edmund Rice family.  

Our senior students have been on camp this week, two of our staff have spent time in the Mulan community sharing in the experiences of their school and meeting families and our junior students visited Sacred Heart College to engage with an exciting Aboriginal dance troupe. All of this alongside of our classroom times! The students are very lucky that the staff look out for opportunities to enhance their learning outside of the class. Keep an eye out in the Chronicle to see reports about these activities over the next couple of editions. 

I am constantly reminded this year of our motto Stronger Together which is really at the essence of everything we do. We do all of our work through a unique lens and this year has reinforced this for me. I often question myself and others by asking ‘What would Jesus do?’. He is our guide and the one we turn to, particularly in times of need. We don’t always get everything right, but I want you to know that your students are always paramount in our thinking and their best interests are always our first consideration. 

If you even have any concerns about your son or daughter please do not hesitate to ring the College and speak to someone. In the first instance, your child’s classroom teachers or house parents are the first port of call. If you still have concerns, then the next step are our House Coordinators, or in Boarding our Team Leaders. Again if you are still not happy, for boarding matters it would be our Head of Boarding. Next it would be our Deputy Principal and finally me.  

These steps are important because often the classroom teacher or house parent can listen to you and deal with anything straight away. They are also the people who spend the most time with your son/daughter and have a unique insight into them and their interactions with others. No concern or question is too small or insignificant. It is always easier if we can catch things early.  

God bless

Marie Barton
Principal

All Saints

All Saints provides us with a wonderful opportunity to stop, reflect on and celebrate all the amazing people who have weaved themselves into our own ‘Tapestry of Life’.

These people are our Saints and have had an impact for good on our life and have helped us to grow into the people we have become. Therefore, on All Saints please celebrate these people that have made your life so special. Some may now be in heaven, others we may have lost contact with over the years for many different reasons, others may have had a huge impact and are more colourful in your tapestry while others are just in the background and others pop in and out of our weave. Nevertheless, all interactions and personal encounters are gifts from God and have made us who we are. On All Saints please keep all these people in your thoughts and prayers. As educators we have the privilege of coming into contact on a yearly basis with many new students who also have a big impact on our lives. They bring us joy and at times give us opportunities to practice our patience! But most of all through these interactions we are nourished by our student’s stories, humour and presence.

World Teacher’s Day is being celebrated everywhere today. All the staff who are alongside me are my Saints. They check in on me if I have a rough day, I laugh with them when we share stories about their lives, we have cried together over many of life’s challenging moments. Our staff are so amazing and do so much more than the role description outlined in their jobs. They are flexible, agile and creative but most of all they are kind, caring and empathic. Thank you to all the Edmund Rice staff who are my Saints every day, every lesson.

We are the richer, happier and wiser because their lives have been entwined with ours.

Paula Bacchiella
Deputy Principal

Mulan Visit

Connecting with our communities has been a difficult task this year due to Covid and travel restrictions.  With the easing of internal borders, we were given an amazing opportunity to travel to Mulan and spend time with the people and students of the community.

Mulan community for us was quite literally, in the middle of nowhere, but surprisingly close to the Northern Territory border.

Our first step on our adventure was the three hour layover stop in Broome where we took the opportunity to catch up with ex Phys Ed Teacher, the lovely Miss Bella, and then onto Kununurra for the night.

Not really knowing what would be available once we got to Mulan, we did a grocery shop and hit the road early Monday morning.  What a drive! We live in an amazing state and the landscape didn’t disappoint.

Vast tracks of road cut through the most amazing red hill ranges, and outback flats which were a deep lush green from the seasonal rains. Horses and cows dotted the roadside from Warmun and beyond all the way into Halls Creek. The Tanami is a drive we will never forget.  Long stretches of corrugated dusty road that felt like it never ended.  It actually felt a little weird travelling south as we had just flown so far north.  Major roadworks and ten hours of driving saw us finally arrive in Mulan just before a spectacular sunset.

Mulan is a small community, approximately 110 residents. We were immediately greeted by one of the school teachers who directed us to our accommodation. A quick unpack and tour of the town gave us our bearings.  A  community store, nurses station, primary school and the homes of our beloved students gave us our direction for the next ten days.

Tuesday morning we helped transport seven of our boarding students to the Mulan International Airport to begin their journey back to ERC and then we headed over to the school to find our feet.

The staff are busy at school from just before 7am, preparing for the kids to come in and have breakfast.  The bigger kids tend to walk to school, little ones are picked up by their teacher in the school car each morning. Weetbix and honey for breakfast along with a cold juice and a quick round of play time on the monkey bars or playing with the footy ensues. Once everyone has cleaned up it’s time for uniforms and school starts at 7.45 -8am. Finish time is 1.45pm.

Educational time involved moving between the senior class (Year 5 and 6 and the kindy/pre-primary class) and focuses mainly with one-on-one literacy and maths with the big kids and fun activities with the little ones.

Before school and after school time was filled with walks to catch the sunrise and sunsets and listening to the kids playing in the town, enjoying the land and all it has to offer.

We were very excited to be invited to go to the Balgo swimming pool to attend a concert being held which included two Mulan students who had written a song about their community.  It was amazing to see so many people show up and enjoy the night and support the girls in their endeavours.

This competition is run to educate students in the feeding and preparation of Merino sheep for competition.

Six Merino Wethers were selected by participating schools just before the Covid outbreak. The animals were all shorn and schools given 7 months to prepare the animals for the Merino Wether judging. All animals were supplied by the same Stud, hence had same genetics. The aim of the competition being to see how the animals are affected phenotypically by grazing on pasture from WA Regions with differing climates and feeding plans.

On Tuesday 20 October schools attended Narrogin Agricultural College for the finals, each presenting a Team of 4 of the best Wethers.

The competition was run in 2 sections:

1. Wool and meat yield commercial value
2. Exhibit presentation and handing.

On arrival at the venue strict Biosecurity Protocols were followed to prevent the spread of weeds/seeds to the hosting property.  Students assisted in the weighing, tagging and wool sampling of their sheep prior to commencement of the ‘On The Hoof’ judging.

The schools were all very well presented and our ERC Team consisting of Chris Harris, Lola Markin, Madi Fawcett and Delena Hall certainly looked smart in the Handler section. They did a splendid job demonstrating great teamwork and collaboration skills throughout the day.

All sheep were again shorn and wool was judged on yield, quality and market value for each team. Each team assisted in the weighing, fleece throwing and skirting processes for their sheep. ERC Team wethers showed good wool quality and balanced nutrition for the duration of the preparation period.

At the conclusion of the event, data from all sections of the Challenge was provided as feedback to schools. This data indicated sheep from dryer regions would require supplementary feeding to meet minimum weight requirements for competition and market demands for higher meat and wool prices overall. Sheep grazed in the Great Southern region did very well with ample quality pasture year round. Good nutrition providing for better weight maintenance and higher quality wool combined. As a condition of entry there was no restriction on what diet is fed to the sheep, just how they are fed. Sheep were to be paddock run (not shedded) or on a feeder.

Phenotypically, wool colour was also clearly affected by exposure to different environmental conditions. Those in Northern Wheatbelt regions showed darker wool patterns again compared to the lighter coloured sheep from the Southern regions.

Many thanks to Mr Mike Whitely who ran ERC Sheep Club with the students this year and was proactive in selecting, preparing and transporting the wethers ready for the Merino Wether Challenge. His wealth of knowledge and guidance was most appreciated. Also thank you to Miss Karen for providing the team boots and hats. The ERC Sheep Showing Team did a fantastic job given none of them had ever been involved in this competition before. They all learned so much and are keen to return in 2021!

Jennine Thomasson
Agricultural Science/APS Teacher