Dear Students, Parents, and Staff,

Firstly let me introduce myself, my name is Seamus Toman and I have arrived at St Aloysius from Ireland via Rockhampton, Queensland. I have been totally humbled by the welcome I have received from the students, staff and St Aloysius Community. I look forward to working with you and serving this community for many years to come.

So what has been happening on the Senior Campus? The year has started at a brisk pace, the Ignite Program has made an impressive start, the Athletics Carnival demonstrated the camaraderie and supportive nature of the students. The Opening Liturgy, Campus Assembly, and Ash Wednesday have all witnessed respectful behaviour from the students and this has been very pleasing.

As we cross the halfway point of the term, our focus now turns to academic achievement. Please continue to check in with your child and encourage them to work to the best of their ability. If you have any concerns regarding assessments and examinations, reach out to your child’s subject teacher. Education is a partnership, the saying “it takes a village to raise a child” resonates here. Let’s work together to maximise your child and our student’s time here at St Aloysius.

St Aloysius is a school that has a great sense of community. Part of that is wearing the uniform with pride and a sense of belonging. It is so good to see the students streaming into school in their formal uniform complete with blazers.

Once again, thank you all for a fantastic welcome and I look forward to working with you all throughout the year.

Each year our students in Year 9 learn about the impact of British colonisation on Indigenous Australians. This unit allows for an in depth look at the traditional lifestyles of the Palawa (Tasmanian Aboriginal people) of Lutruwita/Tasmania. Students also learn about significant Palawa people who lived during the early 19th century; an era of intense conflict that saw Tasmania’s First Peoples dispossessed of their traditional lands. 

This year, our Aboriginal Student Success Teacher Anne-Marie McWatters was joined by Palawa knowledge sharer Adam Thompson, in teaching the young Year 9 historians. Adam brought in a range of cultural items including red ochre, kelp water carriers and stone tools, including spongelite. He shared his knowledge of people like Manalikina/Mannalargenna (Adam’s ancestor), the storyteller Wurati/Wooreddy and young Mathinna. Students were highly engaged in the lessons, asked questions and took extensive notes. Many sketched items during the lesson while they examined cultural artefacts and listened attentively.

Adam Thompson is an author and co-director of the first Tasmanian Aboriginal screen production company, Kutikina Productions. He worked for over 20 years in many different roles, with the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre. As a history officer, Adam has helped preserve his community’s history through research, recording oral history and collecting and cataloguing community photos. Selected by his community to bring home Tasmanian Aboriginal remains from the British Museum, Adam also negotiated the return of more of his people’s remains from multiple institutions across the United Kingdom. He has worked as a ranger on the Bass Strait Islands and coordinated statewide land management programs.

The College is very grateful to Adam for regularly coming into the College each year to help with the delivery of various History and English units of study, ensuring we include Aboriginal perspectives as a cross curriculum priority in our teaching and learning.