This collaboration also honours the close ties between Christ the King and Seton. Seton’s Arts Technician, Paula Mondalane, who has worked within the Djarindjin Lombadina community and continues to advocate for Seton’s support in the region, has been instrumental.

With limited access to formal attire in their region, Christ the King students initially faced significant challenges in finding dresses for this special event. The initial call-out for support on Seton’s Facebook page quickly gained momentum, with shares across multiple community pages sparking a remarkable response from the Fremantle and surrounding areas.

Over 90 beautiful dresses have been donated – far exceeding the original goal – allowing Seton to extend this support to other remote CEWA schools in the Kimberley, where students also need dresses for their school balls. The kindness of Seton families, staff, and community members has embodied the spirit of solidarity and shared values within our Catholic schools. Many donors expressed genuine joy at the thought of young women wearing these dresses, sharing in the excitement of the occasion and imagining the smiles it will bring.

Seton students also played a special role in this project. A team of 20 students embraced the spirit of giving by creating individual swing tags with personalised messages for each dress. These thoughtful notes add a unique, personal touch to each garment, expressing the excitement, support and joy our students feel in contributing to the celebration.

Given the large number of dresses, the school will now reach out to other remote local schools to see if they would like to use the dresses for their end-of-year events. She also plans to establish a collection in the Kimberley region where students can hire formalwear (including dresses, shoes, men’s wear, and accessories) for years to come. Already, a supporter in Broome has offered a venue to house this growing collection, ensuring Kimberley students have access to attire for special occasions.

The Christ the King School Ball, set for 28 November, brings together students from the Djarindjin Lombadina community, home to the Bardi coastal people, for a memorable evening. Seton Catholic College is honoured to play a part in making this night extra special for Christ the King students, and we are thrilled that community support has made it possible to help make special occasions memorable for students at other schools as well.

Seton student, Katie (Year 9) said:

“Being a part of this project was an incredible opportunity to be able to create something new, as well as bring joy into other people’s lives. I really enjoyed the creative aspect to this project, as I was able to step outside of my comfort zone and try something new. It means the absolute world to be part of a project like this, and I cannot believe that I had the opportunity to be involved in such an incredible project.”

Eva (Year 8) added:

“I loved being a part of this project and it made me feel very happy. One thing I enjoyed the most about making the swing tags was being able to colour them and write things on them that would make people smile. I really enjoyed being a part of it!”

Sharon Le Ray said:

“Christ the King students are delighted and overwhelmed at the response from Seton Catholic College students and families to kindly donate these beautiful items of clothing so they can look spectacular at their ball.

“In particular, the students loved the personal touches such as the kind wishes on handwritten tags. This all started out with a small request for assistance but as usual, the Seton Catholic College community that I remember with great affection, always delivers in the most extraordinary way! God Bless you all for your generosity of spirit.”