Yadha Muru Foundation is proud of a City-Country Partnership that has now been formed between St Mary’s College, Sacred Heart Primary School Highgate and Chisholm Catholic College, supported by Catholic Education Western Australia (CEWA).
Sacred Heart Primary School is an inner-city Perth primary school in Highgate and Chisholm Catholic College is an inner-city Perth high school in Bedford.
St Mary’s College is a co-educational Kindergarten to Year 12 Catholic School located in Broome with a rich history of educating students from across the Kimberley region for over 100 years.
This partnership is distinguished by its focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The partner schools have recognised that Aboriginal cultural knowledge, design and process can be taught and learned within the STEM framework. In addition, STEM is seen to give students in remote communities the tools required to improve engagement and lead to careers and further education.
“Sacred Heart and Chisholm have specialist expertise in the teaching of STEM and have been recognised through awards for their programs in this field. We are excited with the prospect of this partnership to guide the remote school with its knowledge of the value of STEM and its teaching to regional students. STEM isn’t just a subject area, it is a way of learning,” said Prof. Leanne Holt, Chairperson of the Yadha Muru Foundation.
Strengthening this particular partnership is the addition of CEWA to the program which provides important value-add services to help with the success overall.
“The partnership is between a cluster of three schools with CEWA providing organisational and logistical support to the community school in Aboriginal education, literacy and curriculum. As with all City-Country partnerships they seek to develop mutual advantage, but with a focus on collaboration and mentoring,” she added.
This partnership will also provide training and employment pathways building on opportunities in the Kimberley region, with significant mutual benefits to the students, schools and the communities involved.