Term 3 Newsletter 2019

Page 1 Term 3 2019

Contents 

Page 2: Director’s Message 

Page 3: Karratha Basketball 

Page 4: Morning CrossFit 

Page 5: Woodside 

Page 6: YohFest 

Page 7: Karijini Trip 

Page 8: Governor Visit 

Page 9: Primary Transition 

Page 10: Employment 

Forum 

Page 11: Job Profiles 

Page 12: Pardoo Camp 

Page 13-16: Photo Wall 

About the 

academy 

T h e H e d l a n d C l o n t a r f 

Academy was founded in 

2019 and operates out of 

Hedland Senior High School. 

It caters for students in 

Years 7 to 12 and currently 

has 115 boys engaged in the 

program. 

About the 

Foundation 

The Clontarf Foundation 

exists to improve the 

education, discipline, life 

skills, self-esteem and 

employment prospects of 

young Aboriginal and Torres 

Strait Islander men and by 

doing so equips them to 

participate meaningfully in 

society. 

Message from the director 

Welcome to the first Hedland 

Clontarf newsletter. After many 

years in the pipeline, the Hedland 

Academy doors officially opened 

for the first time at the start of 

Term 1. 

The Academy has started with a 

flurry of activity, with the boys 

engaging well with the whole 

program. 

It was evident from the early part 

of the year that an Academy was 

well overdue in Hedland - with 

the Broome Academy being open 

for 12 years and Karratha open for 

10. 

This newsletter will be distributed 

at the end of each term, to keep 

students, parents, teachers and 

partners updated on what is 

happening in and around the 

academy. 

The total number enrolled in the 

academy currently sits at 115 

Director Clint Ernst opens the inaugural 

Hedland Clontarf Employment Forum. 

boys through Years 7 to 12, and 

we expect to reach 140 at the 

start of next year. 

A big highlight of the term was 

the employment forum held during 

Week 8. 28 of our senior students 

were exposed to businesses and 

job opportunities around town 

with the likes of Programmed, 

Sodexo and Kmart. 

The other highlight, and key to the 

future of the Academy, was the 

beginning of our primary school 

transition program. 

We have visited each primary 

school across Hedland, and have 

more activities planned in Term 4. 

This will get next year’s Year 7 

cohort excited about coming to 

high school and officially joining 

the Hedland Clontarf Academy. 

Please enjoy reading. 

Clint Ernst 

Academy Director 


Stars Shines at West Pilbara SHield 

The Hedland Junior Team 

at West Pilbara Shield. 

The Hedland Academy switched 

football for basketball in Term 3 as 

they headed south to Karratha for the 

West Pilbara Shield. 

With an intense training schedule 

ahead of the Week 5 carnival, the 

boys were ready to show their skills 

on the court. 

Despite battling windy conditions, the 

junior team toiled hard on the outdoor 

courts, with tight games against the 

two Karratha sides and Broome. The 

senior team, which featured a 

number of players from the Hedland 

SHS winning country week side, 

made it all the way to the Grand 

Final before falling short to Broome. 

It was a great day and a big thank 

you goes to the Karratha Academy 

for organising the carnival, 

community clean up and the dinner 

the evening before. 

Marshall Smith and Damon 

Bundamurra. 

The Hedland and Broome junior sides. 

The senior team. 


Morning Crossfit a hit 

The Hedland Academy's 

morning trainings turned up 

to another level as the 

temperature rose in second 

half of term. 

After a mix of morning 

football, dodgeball, soccer 

and European handball, we 

changed it up to get the boys’ 

hearts pumping with morning 

CrossFit. Led by the best calf 

muscles in the Pilbara, 

Eldride Edwards put the boys 

through a number of circuit 

workouts to get them 

thinking about fitness. 

Boys were put to work on 

battle ropes, kettle bells, 

dumbbells and core work. 

The change up got a lot more 

seniors down to training, 

while the junior boys really 

took the challenge well. 

A massive well done to all 

boys who got down to 

training this term. 

Joziah Taylor. 

Kyle Thompson-Wilson and Brayden Murphy. 


Frank Pickett was the star of the show in Karratha with the virtual reality headset. 

A look at working life With woodside 

The Academy’s senior boys got a taste 

of working life during the Week 5 camp 

to Karratha with a trip to Woodside. 

While the junior team was completing a 

community park clean up, Ashley 

Walker, Damon Bundamurra, Wayde 

Lockyer, Frank Pickett and Owen Wardle 

headed to the company’s visitor centre 

to get an overview of their Pilbara 

operations. 

Woodside’s Indigenous Engagement 

Officer David Atkinson spoke about the 

different pathways and career options 

to the boys. Daniel Farmer Snr, a site 

manager within the local operations, 

then talked to the boys about the 

company’s values and the expectations 

that are required to succeed. 

To finish, the boys donned virtual reality 

headsets to take a tour of the site, 

which provided lots of laughs, 

especially when Frank thought he was 

going to fall off the railing. 

A massive credit goes to the Karratha 

Clontarf team for fostering this 

relationship with Woodside. 


The group on stage during rehearsals. 

Performance 

The Academy’s Monday 

performance group has 

quickly progressed from 

practicing to performing. 

After spending the first 

two terms learning the 

basics of music and 

dance, they quickly signed 

u p f o r t h e i r f i r s t 

performance. 

Under the tutelage of 

Eldride, Barry and dance 

teacher Miss McDonnell, 

the boys learned three 

traditional indigenous 

dances for the showcase. 

In Week 6 the boys 

headed down the highway 

to perform at YohFest, 

alongside other schools 

from around the Pilbara. 

group 

makes mark at yohfest 

Dressed and painted in 

traditional ceremonial 

attire, Stirling Flatt, 

Vincent Edwards, CJ 

McDonald, Brock Knoles, 

Henry Atu and Kyle 

T h o m p s o n - W i l s o n 

represented themselves 

incredibly well. 

With the lights dimmed 

a n d t h e d i d g e r i d o o 

reverberating around the 

hall, the boys came out 

looking the part. 

Following three dances 

and a freestyle to end, the 

boys were rewarded with 

a standing ovation. 

A big thank you to Miss 

McDonnell all her support 

with the dance group. 

The boys ready to perform. 

Henry and Stirling backstage. 


The boys hiking 

through Dales 

Gorge. 

Reward camp at karijini national park 

The Hedland Academy got out into nature in Week 

5 with a reward camp out at Dales Gorge. 

Following the West Pilbara Shield, a night in Tom 

Price and some elite bus driving by Clint, the boys 

arrived into Karijini National Park. 

There was no time to rest as the camp trailer was 

dropped off and it was straight into hiking. 

Descending down into the gorge was like stepping 

back in time, as the group headed to Circular Pool. 

Never one to take a step back, Frank Pickett was 

the first to have his shirt off and jumped straight 

into the water. 

His yells of excitement was only matched by the 

water’s coldness, which became a challenge to the 

other boys as the majority of the team jumped in. 

The team heated up as they trekked to the next 

waterhole, Fortescue Falls, which provided a lot of 

fun under the running water. Fern Pool again led to 

some excited boys as the traditional bomby 

competition took over. 

Following setting up camp, we headed for another 

drive along the picturesque Hammersley Ranges, 

before the boys had a race up the hill to the Mt 

Bruce look out. 

A torch-lit barbecue dinner at the Circular Pool 

lookout was the perfect end to the day, with the 

boys showing their proficiency on the utensils and 

even more so in front of a plate. 

Camping out under the stars, the boys got to see 

the Milky Way in all its glory, before the boys fell 

asleep with a moon rise on the horizon. 

Howling dingoes in the distance woke us up early 

in the morning, before we headed back to Hedland, 

wrapping up a great week. 


Year 7 student Alan Hodder greets the Governor of Western Australia Kim Beazley. 

WA Governor Kim Beazley visits academy 

Term 3 at the Academy started with a very 

special guest as the Governor of Western 

Australia Kim Beazley visited the rooms. 

In Hedland as part of a wider Pilbara tour, Mr 

Beazley came past the room which was 

remarkably his first time into a Clontarf 

Academy. 

Greeted by the staff and students of the 

Academy, the former leader of the Australian 

Labor Party was treated to a pillar presentation 

where the boys ran him through what being a 

member of Clontarf is all about. 

Mr Beazley peppered the boys throughout with 

questions about what it means to them to be 

part of Clontarf and what their future 

aspirations are. 

Question time then turned to Mr Beazley as the 

boys asked an array of questions, especially 

regarding his time as the Australian 

Ambassador to the United States. 

Raziah Stewart put the Governor’s sporting 

knowledge to the test while Stirling Flatt was 

particularly impressed that he used to have 

regular meetings with former President Barack 

Obama. 

The boys represented themselves wonderfully 

and set the standard for all future pillar 

presentations. 


Dylan Ross at Baler Primary School. 

Primary school transition 

The Hedland Academy staff 

have been on the front foot 

in Term 3 visiting the 

primary schools across town 

to meet the next generation 

of Academy members. 

Staff conducted 10 visits to 

the five primary schools 

across Port and South 

Hedland, as well as a 

special trip out to the 

students at Yandeyarra 

Remote Community School. 

The boys were put through 

their paces at a number of 

key activities, including 

leadership and teamwork 

games, traditional dance 

and music, as well as having 

a bit of a kick of the football 

out on the oval. 

It was a great experience 

and expect to see the 

primary students over at the 

academy room throughout 

Term 4 as the transition 

program and activities ramp 

up before 2020. 

Mike Exell and Eldride Edwards with the students at South Hedland Primary School. 


Employment forum a big success 

The 2019 Hedland Clontarf Academy Employment Forum. 

Port Hedland is known as the 

town of opportunity, and this 

was on show during the 

i n a u g u r a l C l o n t a r f 

Employment Forum. 

H e l d u p s t a i r s a t t h e 

Wanangkura Stadium, the 

forum brought together 

b u s i n e s s a n d t r a i n i n g 

providers from across the 

Pilbara to meet members of 

the Clontarf Academy. 

While more established 

a c a d e m i e s h a v e b e e n 

running forums for years, the 

sense of excitement for this 

first event could be felt 

throughout the morning as 

questions were going back 

and forth between the guests 

and the boys. 

Qube, Programmed, Kmart 

a n d S o d e x o a l l h a d 

representatives talking about 

the career pathways on offer 

for the boys. 

Apprenticeships Australia, 

Bloodwood Tree and Hedland 

Senior High School’s school 

based traineeship program 

all talked about the further 

training the boys could 

undertake. 

While traditionally more 

comfortable in a matching 

pair of football boots and 

shorts, the boys not only 

acted the part, but also 

looked like they were ready 

for their first job interview 

wearing Academy shirts and 

formal pants. 

Frank Pickett holding down 

emcee duties provided lots of 

highlights, before operations 

officer Dylan Ross’s ‘Roaming 

Dyl’ segment brought the 

house down. 

North West Employment 

Officer Tom Lewis described 

it as one of the best forums 

he has been to, setting the 

stage for event to grow in 

the years to come. 


Big employment push in the academy 

The inaugural Hedland Clontarf 

Employment forum has not 

been the only activities based 

around getting boys into the 

workforce. 

Many of our members have 

been doing work experience, 

b e e n e x p o s e d t o j o b 

opportunities, or even working 

part-time. 

Here is just a few snapshots of 

what our academy members 

have been up to. 

The Programmed table at the Employment Forum. 

Name: Rowan Dann 

Year level: Year 12 

Job: Casual Program Assistant 

Location: JD Hardie Youth Centre 

What I like about it: "I enjoy 

working with young people and 

being a leader in my community.” 

Name: Jaxon Alec-Aubrey 

Year level: Year 10 

Job: Work Experience Plumber 

Location: Port Haven Village 

What I like about it: “I liked 

being able to experience a range 

of different roles during the 

week.” 


Year 8 and 9 boys out at Pardoo Station. 

Juniors get back on 

Henry Atu ready to go mud crabbing. 

The boys helping prepare a kangaroo. 

Country at Pardoo 

The Year 8 and 9 boys 

headed north with Barry 

Taylor and Eldride 

Edwards in Week 9 to 

get on country at Pardoo 

Station. 

As part of an effort to 

reengage the boys with 

their schooling, the boys 

got back to basics by 

camping out under the 

stars. 

After rolling in and 

setting up camp, the 

group headed straight 

out to experience what 

Pardoo has to offer. The 

boys dived right into 

fishing and crabbing, 

while everyone taking a 

turn at the throw net 

was a highlight. 

The group also got to 

experience a tour of the 

a r e a f r o m t h e 

Traditional Owners from 

the Ngarla language 

group, before everyone 

got a go at skinning a 

kangaroo, preparing it 

for a big campfire cook 

up. 

I t w a s a g r e a t 

opportunity for the boys 

to reconnect with the 

Clontarf program and 

each other, to get back 

on track for Term 4. 


The Photo Wall 

There are few things Hedland 

boys love more than photos of 

themselves. 

Here is a collection of photos 

the staff have taken of them 

at the various activities 

during Term 3. 

Barry Taylor with Port Hedland Primary School students. 

Declan Rahman. 

Tyrone McKenna strikes a pose. 

Montell Pickett helping clean 

up a park in Karratha. 

Mike Exell with students from Yandeyarra RCS. 


Joel Comeagain at the Employment Forum. 

Ashley Walker with Qube’s Farid Dhat. 

Frank Pickett at Kingfisher Village. 

The boys taking in the sights of Tom Price. 

The senior boys with Wirraka Maya. 

Boys on camp enjoying Fortescue Falls. 

Seniors with Sodexo representatives. 

Brayden Murphy doing his Kmart application. 


Mid-hike in Karijini. 

Xavier Lee with a throw net at Pardoo. 

Glen Eckerman at the opening of Port Tower. 

Eldride Edwards running the cool down after CrossFit. 

The LSEP boys enjoying cooking class. 


Eldride Edwards with Roadie Leering. 

CJ McDonald working hard. 

The swag set up at Karijini. 

DJ Reshaum on the decks. 

Fishing out at Pardoo Station.

Term 3 Newsletter 2019

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