Trinity Grammar’s new partnership with two schools in central Australia is a firsthand opportunity to help reconciliation become a reality, Mr Chris Wyatt believes.
The Head of Trinity’s Preparatory School hopes the venture will grow into a long-term alliance benefitting students at all three schools, and through them their wider communities.
Trinity Head of Operations Mr Stephen Heanly has a dream, too – that many other schools, private and public, join Trinity in creating enduring partnerships that serve city and country students alike.
Central Australia is a place of dreaming so it seems only natural for big-city visitors to dream large there.
The two Trinity leaders were part of the school’s first boots-on-ground visit starting a partnership with two remote schools in the Northern Territory, Alekarenge and Murray Downs.
They were joined by secondary teacher Mr Mark Waters, Mr Nick Larkin from the Junior School, Preparatory School teacher Ms Jess Newton, TESS (Trinity Education Support Services) Director of Counselling Ms Jess Staniland, and Director of TESS Academic Ms Renee Culgan.
The project got underway this year with a visit by 20 young Trinity students to the Territory, and a reciprocal trip by NT students to Trinity.
Trinity staff will also make regular visits to the Territory. Mr Wyatt said the immediate aim was to boost literacy and numeracy at Alekarenge and Murray Downs, and lift attendance levels.
The longer-term goal was to become “embedded” in the local communities and encourage more students to complete Year 12.
“My dream is for the Trinity community to see the importance of partnership, to come on board and say, ‘We’d loved to get involved’,” Mr Wyatt said.
“We also want to get the elders in the Northern Territory involved – they are a massively untapped resource for on-country learning both for the young people in those communities and for us as we visit.”
He said, as a Christian school, the partnership is “a chance to carefully reflect on ‘loving our neighbour’; it’s an opportunity to serve others but the reciprocal benefit is also a powerful thing”.
“It’s important not to see ourselves as just giving; you come away as a better person after interacting with people who have so much to share in terms of culture and experience,” he said.
“From our side, our goal is to support Trinity students to become part of a future where reconciliation is a lived reality for all Australians.
“In the Territory we want to make learning interesting, show the kids that being at school is engaging, so they don’t want to miss school days, preferring to stay at home; hopefully help them see a purpose and a sense of ownership of their own lives. If the community sees that, it could help build a pathway for young people into the workforce.”
Mr Heanly said he hopes the partnership is the start of something that can continue for a long time.
“An ongoing commitment is important to both the schools and the communities around them, not just being there one week and never seeing them again,” he said.
“That’s why we all wore the Trinity polo and shorts when we attended – to reinforce our school’s commitment. It was like a uniform for us.”
Mr Wyatt added: “When we leave, they ask, ‘Are you coming back?’ and they don’t just mean Trinity, they mean you personally.”
“It’s a place where a lot of people come through once. I want to see it become a place where we are trusted,” he said.
