When the new hostels have been completed and students have moved in, the old boys hostel area will become a part of the school and will be upgraded and renovated with meeting rooms, teachers offices, small classrooms and a fully fitted out Hospitality area. It is likely that the existing old large classroom will be fitted out as a chapel. The girls hostel will become a visitors centre for parents, other schools, Board members, and other visitors. Wongutha will be quite different at the end of all of these changes.

Wongutha has also received notice that our submission for a “Healthy Active Australia” grant has been successful and our “Living Black and Strong” project will provide for gym equipment and more sports choices as well as promoting more healthy choices and activities. During the year Wongutha staff members have been busy working on the sports stadium building a new entrance, lining the area with timber walls and fitting equipment. Staff also constructed a new plant operators shed during the year and renovated the new addition to the girls’ dormitory. Lots of other improvements have occurred as well and the amazing staff team at Wongutha have been busy all year to make the school, the curriculum, the grounds, and the hostel, better for the students. Thankyou very much Wongutha staff!

This year a group of graduating year 12 Wongutha students has again gone to Thailand with three staff members, to work in an orphanage and speak at schools. This will be a life changing experience for these students as they share their faith, share Indigenous art and customs, and help out in different ways. Viewing another culture and helping those less fortunate is a worthwhile and important end to year 12 for these students.

Many of the students at Wongutha have worked very hard this year, achieving very pleasing results in their chosen subjects. Students have gone off to different workplaces in the Esperance community and have gained a reputation for being reliable consistent workers. This is often hard for students as they are out on their own with people they have never met before, in an environment very different to what they are familiar with. Students who have a good record working at these work placements should have no trouble in finding work and training opportunities wherever they go. Thank you very much to these hard working students and to the wonderful caring employers that provide work placements.

As in any year there have been a few incidents of disappointing behaviour and it is my hope that students have learned from these experiences also, and that these occurrences will help us grow into better people.

The CAPS Board have supported and worked with me and the Wongutha staff, putting a lot of their own time into managing educational opportunities for Indigenous students and I thank the Board members from all of us.

We are looking forward to 2009 with some excitement and there are some interesting and positive changes at Wongutha. We thank God for his hand of guidance and protection over Wongutha in 2008,

Steve Florisson

During term 3, five schools from around the state (Wongutha, Emmanuel Catholic College, Rossmoyne Senior High School, Coolgardie CAPS and Goldfields Baptist College) were challenged at Morapoi Station.

Activities included snake handling, team building, archery, spear throwing, motor bike riding, canoeing, bush survival, honey ant eating, swimming at Niagara Dam, traditional cooking and food.

Speaking of food, the cooks did a great job. The diet on the camp consisted of steak, steak, chops, chops and some (if you had to) salad.

Sections scrambled for points to become the winner of the regional camp. Isaiah Rodger’s team, The Wolves won the overall competition by a massive 500 points.

Interaction between the students of the various school was immediate, good and in depth. Many students are still keeping in contact.

• Down at the workshop
• Trip over to Mundrabilla
• Up on Bluff Knoll
• Bushrangers south-west camp
• Country Week Basketball

On Friday 13th June 2008 Wongutha CAPS held a day of cultural activities with Esperance Primary School’s year 3s as a part of their NAIDOC celebrations¹.

The Wongutha students shared their skills by teaching the Esperance Primary students how they prepare and cook damper. They also shared dreamtime stories from their different regions of Australia.

A wonderful feed, which included kangaroo and emu, was cooked underground for all to enjoy. While it was prepared and served by Wongutha students and staff, everyone was entertained by the very talented school band.

The lovely lunch was followed by an afternoon of sports fun and activities, including face painting and socialising. A great day was had by all and everyone learned much.

Please check out our new Networking page and contact us though it.

(The short version is here: Leave a comment on the Networking page, send us a profile, give us a ring or see us on Facebook)

The staff and year 12 students who recently travelled to Thailand have returned safely, with some wonderful memories and some great stories.

They visited an orphanage over there, as well some schools. They enjoyed learning about Thai culture and teaching the locals some Aboriginal culture.

Click on the photo above to see some more great shots. Watch this space for some more stories, perhaps from the students themselves.

We learned the names of different energies and how they are produced. They also taught us about the universe and what it is made up of, including planets and stars. We learned the names of different planets, what they look like and whether there are any living things on them. We really appreciated them visiting our school. It was a great day.

…by the business class

On Sunday 5th August we left Wongutha and headed for Albany. We stopped at Bluff Knoll in the Stirling Ranges on the way through. Congratulations to Tyrone who was the only student to climb to the top with teacher Gary Paul. Tamara was the fittest female who made it two-thirds of the way up.

Monday was cold and wet. We met with Ryan at CALM who shared his stories about working with CALM. He encouraged all students to do their best, work hard and leave behind the things that are not going to help them get a job.

After lunch, we visited Emu Point and Two People’s Bay, where we saw what we thought was a Potoroo, but turned out to be a Bandicoot.

On Tuesday we left Albany and headed to Margaret River. On the way we stopped at Demark.

We visited Bartholomew’s Meadery (we saw a queen bee in the hive, tasted different kinds of honey and sampled ice creams made with honey), a Toffee tasting factory (Hmmm!!!), and the Dinosaur and Wildlife Park.

Our brave students Jeremiah, Melissa, Teonie and Tamara handled the South West Carpet Python. Darrlynne, Melissa, Tamara, Esther and Jeremiah had cheeky parrots perched on their shoulders while Tamara, Esther, Jeremiah and Tyrone fed the kangaroos.

Next it was on to the Tree Top walk at Walpole, walking amongst the “giants” of the South West seeing the red barked Tingle trees, grey Marri and the tall Karri and Jarrah trees.

We arrived at the Margaret River CALM camp quarters shortly before dark. In the evening we had a BBQ tea and interesting talks from CALM officers Phoebe and Ken about their work as CALM Rangers.

Early on Wednesday we headed to Mandurah to meet with the Winjam Community members for a BBQ and Damper lunch. Afterwards we were given a guided tour where we were introduced to traditional methods of hunting, bush medicine and where Jeremiah, Teonie, Darrlynne and Melissa were able to fashion hunting sticks .

That evening we attended the Career Expo at Hale School in Perth and listened to Mary G and other speakers encourage Indigenous youth to make something of their lives.

On Thursday we visited the Police Academy and then Yanchep National Park where we listened to CALM officer encourage us in our studies and work choices and then taught us how to throw boomerangs and spears.

Friday, we travelled back to Wongutha, arriving 5pm after a great trip.