Curtin opens the door to Shenton students

Eight Shenton College students have started their journey to university while still at school through the Curtin University Innovative Schools Scholars Program.

Enrolled in units this semester from creative writing to epidemiology, fine art to programming, the students have extended their learning in their chosen fields.

The staff at Curtin University welcomed our students and supported their enrolment at the Curtin Connect Student Hub at a special orientation event. Students met their professors, classmates and course advisers and took a tour of the campus.

The students, in Years 10 & 11, attend classes either on campus or online, participate in lectures and discussions, and complete all the assessment and learning requirements of the first year units they are studying. The students say the work is challenging and they enjoy the extension. The advice they give is that the key to managing university is to be organised and read ahead.

The Curtin Innovative Schools Scholars Program is a pilot program for 2019, offered to Shenton College through the Innovative Schools Consortium Partnership with the university.

Ben Wyatt visits for NAIDOC Week

Ben Wyatt, the State Treasurer, visited Shenton College in the last week of Term 2 to talk to Senior School students about the importance of NAIDOC Week. Celebrations are held across Australia in July to acknowledge the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

This year the theme was Voice. Treaty. Truth: key elements to the reforms set out in the Uluru Statement from the Heart. These reforms represent the unified position of First Nations Australians. Initially to have a First Nations Voice to Parliament enshrined in the Constitution and second, a Makarrata Commission to supervise treaty processes and truth-telling.

For generations, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have looked for significant and lasting change. The 2017 Uluru Statement from the Heart built on generations of consultation and discussions among Indigenous people.

National NAIDOC Co-Chair John Paul Janke believes 2019 is a unique opportunity to hear this nation’s Indigenous voice. This year is the UN’s International Year of Indigenous Languages.