Students and staff of Lumen Christi College were recently awarded for their efforts in promoting reconciliation in their school community, bringing children’s book “The Toast Tree” to the stage.

Head of Arts at Lumen Christi College, Carmen Stewart and Aboriginal Liaison Officer, Simon Stewart together planned a collaborative program that saw wonderful participation of students from the college. So successful was the program, that it received the Arts and Culture Award at the recent Partnership, Acceptance, Learning and Sharing (PALS) Awards.

The PALS Program encourages Western Australian schools to develop projects that promote reconciliation in their local school and community. It engages non-Aboriginal students to learn more about our rich Aboriginal culture and allows all students to embrace reconciliation through shared learning and mutual respect. Lumen Christi College was one of over 600 submissions, so accepting the PALS award from Ben Wyatt MLA is a wonderful achievement.

“The Toast Tree” was written by Indigenous writer Corina Martin and affirms the role of family and caring for the environment. With the help of Lumen Christi Arts staff, Carmen and Simon brought it to the stage. Year 7 students embarked on this ambitious project, bringing to life this delightful storybook through participation in drama, dance, music, art and digital art, and were even lucky enough to perform with the author as guest of honour!

With the assistance of PALS funding, Carmen and Simon were also able to host a meaningful NAIDOC celebration that included the sharing of Noongar language and the creation of a community canvas with renowned Indigenous artist Jade Dolman. Jade shared both her knowledge on the Noongar Seasons and Indigenous Art techniques with an enthusiastic group of students. The completed artwork now has pride of place at Lumen Christi College.

The college has been proud of the effort both staff and students made in creating cultural understanding through the Arts. It is with the assistance of PALS that the richness of this experience was shared with the whole college community.

Congratulations also to Mater Dei College who was a joint winner in the Student Engagement and Community Participation category, and to Mary MacKillop Catholic Community Primary School who came runner up in the Environment category.

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