Kate Mullin Association

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Krystle Devine has been awarded a Kate Mullin Scholarship.

Krystle is a proud Malgana woman from Shark Bay, WA, currently living in Tom Price, the home of her husband’s family the Muntulgura Guruma people of Tom Price. They have three children aged 10 months to 5. She values the importance of education, believing it ito be the key to generational change to create future opportunities. After the birth of her daughter, she completed a bridging course through CDU in 2021, to be accepted into Curtin 2022 to start her academic journey. For the future generations, she will educate the importance of creating a safe, supported and welcoming classroom environment to inspire children to become life-long learners.

In her spare time she raises awareness and funds for cystic fibrosis, and volunteers at her children’s primary school on the P&C. She sees her most important role as being a good mother and role model for their children.

Shanae McGuire has been awarded a Kate Mullin Scholarship. Shanae is a Noongar Ballardong Whadjuk woman, living in the Geraldton region and is in the 2nd year of a Bachelor of Education (Primary) at Central Queensland University. As an Aboriginal Education Officer she knows the importance of involving families in the school community for learning opportunities, and of having positive relationships with organisations to whom she can refer families. She also volunteers time to connect with stakeholders and community organisations within the Geraldton region to ensure she can build relationships with children and families within her area.

Getting the Kate Mullin Scholarship will allow her to continue her community involvement whilst studying, by easing the financial pressures. The funds will go towards books, teaching programs and subscriptions that have assisted in her education degree thus far.

Brooke Cuthbertson has been awarded a Kate Mullin Scholarship. Brooke is in her final year studying for a B.Ed at Edith Cowan University (ECU). Working as an Aboriginal Liaison Officer, she identified that the reading abilities of indigenous students were significantly less than non-Indigenous students at the school. As a result she is very passionate about working closely with indigenous students, their families, and their communities to close the gap in education. She understands the transformative impact that education can have on the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.

She is currently employed as Program Coordinator for Shooting Stars in Collie Senior High School, where she works with over 40 Aboriginal girls, combining advocacy and support, engagement activities, motivators, and health and wellbeing sessions to strengthen students’ confidence, cultural identity, and positive attitudes, while promoting their health and wellbeing. She aspires to use her teaching qualification to continue this important work within the Noongar community.

The Kate Mullin Scholarship will enable her to undertake her nine-week professional practicum and has inspired her to help others and to give back to the community when she graduates.

Shanae Tesling of Central Queensland University (CQU) has again been awarded a Kate Mullin Schlarship for 2023

Shanae is an energetic, fast-learning, friendly, and hard-working young woman. She is studying for a B. Ed. (Primary) at CQU through their campus in Geraldton. Prior to studying, Shanae worked at Champion Bay Senior High School as an Aboriginal Education Officer.

She has strong time management and collaboration skills developed from various sporting and school engagements – she is strongly involved with local basketball and netball clubs as umpire, coach and player, has in the past been selected as a Student Councillor, and was Artist in Residence at Rangeway Primary School during NAIDOC Week.

Kate Mullin Educator Award 2022
This year’s winners of the Kate Mullin Educator Award are a two-way teaching team who were the outstanding nominees and are very much appreciated by their colleagues and community – Ed Shaw and Marilyn Daylight from Purnululu School at Frog Hollow, Ord River.
Ed and Marilyn, together with the students in the Primary Class, have created an inclusive, positive learning environment based on trust, that encourages academic challenge.
In the classroom Ed and Marilyn students speak a combination of Kriol and Gija as their first language. They are encouraged to write in whichever language they feel most comfortable with, before code-switching this into English. The Gija language is taught by another staff member, and Ed participates in these lessons as a learner alongside the students. This develops his own knowledge of the Gija language while also demonstrating his valuing of it and the Gija culture.
This year Ed and Marilyn implemented an innovative program called the Trail Cameras Project. It was highly motivating for the primary school students involved and included several On Country trips for them. They used their knowledge of the Gija country to predict where native animals were most likely to be found, and participated in On Country learning trips to set up the trail cameras. Later they reviewed the footage in class, and used it as the focal point for conversations around the animals, their movements and action, foods, seasons and Country itself. The students were able to use their knowledge of Giga culture and Country to engage in rich discussions, which led to them writing more complex sentences and larger texts describing the process of setting up the camera and the animals that were observed, and then reporting where, when and why the animals were located at certain times.

Dear Friends

We have previously held Sundowners to support our Scholarship Program. The past year has continued to be a challenging time for us all. Unfortunately, we have had to hold off scheduling our very successful Fund Raising Sundowner until later in the year. This function has been an ideal way of thanking previous supporters and again seeking support for our ongoing Scholarship Program.

However, the Kate Mullin Association has still been busy seeking applicants for scholarships and are pleased to advise that we currently have four scholarship awardees. Shanae Tesling is in her second year at Central Queensland University and Kathleen Murphy is in her third year at Curtin University. Curtin University has recently introduced the On Country Teacher Education Program which is specifically designed for existing education assistants to become qualified teachers. We have recently awarded scholarships to Shanine Flemming and Brianna Taylor-Ellison who are both participating in this program.

We will let you know the details of our next Sundowner once the arrangements have been finalised. In the meantime, and as the end of the financial year (EOFY) approaches, we are seeking your support to allow KMA to continue our Scholarship Program.

Tax deductible contributions can be made to our bank account as shown below:

Name: The Kate Mullin Scholarship Fund
BSB: 036-150 Account No: 266140
Reference: Include name.

Or send a cheque to KMA Treasurer John Goodall, 67 Lawley Crescent, Mount Lawley WA 6050.

100% of all funds raised goes towards the scholarships.

I look forward to your support and hope to catch up at our Sundowner later in the year.

Kind regards

Dr Ken Mullin
Chair, Kate Mullin Association

Winner Kate Mullin Educator Award 2021
The winner of the Kate Mullin Educator Award for 2021 is Linah Enosa of Broome Senior High School.

Linah is an outstanding educator who is very much appreciated by her colleagues and community. She has worked at Broome SHS for many years as a long-term AIEO, Two Way teacher, leader and cultural consultant.

She has a passion for the cultivation of home languages and Two Way teaching which has been at the centre of cross-cultural partnerships and co-design of programs and curriculum. She has mastered code-switching, is able to code-switch between cultures, and has worked tirelessly to support students to use their home language as a bridge to access Standard Australian English.

Linah helped plot and lead a renewed direction for the school in the area of whole school literacy promoting best practice in EALD pedagogy.

She has also worked with the teachers to embed Aboriginal Histories and Culture into the curriculum, with the result being highly engaged students as well as important learning opportunities for the staff. The depth and breadth of her traditional cultural knowledge is immense and has enriched the experience of all of the students.

Linah’s role at the school extends far beyond the classroom. She also works tirelessly to build links with Aboriginal families and community to improve student engagement in their schooling. She is a core organiser of community events including community breakfasts, parent nights, NAIDOC celebrations and more. She is involved in the Aboriginal Education Committee and Aboriginal Advisory Committee.

Linah is indeed a most worthy winner of the Kate Mullin Educator Award and we congratulate her on this recognition of her achievements for her school and community. It is inspiring to hear of the great work being done in one of our schools by such a dedicated educator.

Kate Mullin Educator Award 2021

Submissions for the 2021 Kate Mullin Educator Award are now open. The Award aims to recognise and celebrate educators who demonstrate excellence in the teaching of English to Aboriginal students - students whose first language may be Aboriginal English, an Aboriginal Language or a creole such as the Kimberley Kriol. The educator can self-nominate or be nominated by a line-manager, colleague, student or community member.

This $3,000 Award is designed to recognise and celebrate educators who demonstrate excellence in the teaching of Standard Australian English to Aboriginal students whose first language is not English. We know there are many educators in schools throughout Western Australia who are doing wonderful work in this area. If you know one or more of them, please see the information on the attached flyer and nominate them for the Kate Mullin Educator Award. Self-nominations can also be made, as can joint nominations for educators who team-teach.

The $3,000 award will be presented at the WATESOL AGM in December 2021. We invite applications from teachers (Aboriginal or non-Aboriginal) and other Aboriginal Educators to apply. The award can be presented to individual applicants or colleagues who make a joint application. More information as well as Nomination Form can be found on http://katemullinassociation.org/educator-award/.

The closing date for nominations is 1 November 2021 so please make your application soon.

Aboriginal Scholarship Fund-Raiser

The Kate Mullin Association (KMA) is holding a Scholarship Fund-Raising event at Esperance Yacht Club on the 31st July 2021 from 6-8 pm. Refreshments will be served.
The Fund-Raiser is in aid of the Kate Mullin Scholarship Program, with the purpose of assisting Aboriginal people from regional or remote WA to study for a B.Ed. and return to teach in Aboriginal schools.

The Need
A critical barrier to Aboriginal people competing successfully for jobs in modern Australia is an inadequate education and particularly inadequate English literacy. There is a huge gap in literacy standards between non-Aboriginal and Aboriginal children in WA, increasing for children from remote communities. Successive “Closing the Gap” reports have found that the gap is not closing. Illiteracy covers almost all the skills one needs to face real life challenges in a competent, confident way. It directly flows on to one’s ability to compete for employment or go on to further studies.
A major contributor to the barrier is the recruitment and retention of teachers to work in and with Aboriginal communities. When found, teachers are typically thrust into what for them is a challenging environment with which they have little empathy or understanding. They are faced with students who have an entirely different set of cultural values, and who do not speak English as their first language. The result is a cultural mismatch – students fail to learn and teachers only stay a short while, before passing the problem onto the next recruit.

The Scholarship
The Kate Mullin Scholarship is specifically designed to address these issues, and has been developed with expert advice. The scholarship will assist Aboriginal people from regional and remote communities (eg Aboriginal Teacher Assistants) to become teachers and return to their communities, hence ensuring longer term continuity of teaching for the students, providing effective role models, and, critically, bringing valuable bi-lingual and bi-cultural abilities to the classroom experience.
The scholarship targets Aboriginal students from regional and remote WA who want to go on and teach in a predominantly Aboriginal school. We work with 3 universities who provide the teaching: ECU, Curtin and Central Queensland. The scholarship is $5,000 pa per student for the 4 years of their university course.
Recent graduates from the Kate Mullin Scholarship Program include Malcolm Maloney, now teaching in Champion Bay, near Geraldton, and Sarah Callow from Esperance, now teaching in Boulder.

The Kate Mullin Association
Kate Mullin was a passionate and visionary ESL literacy consultant who made significant and far-reaching contributions to Aboriginal literacy in WA. Kate worked with the Association of Independent Schools of WA, introducing Scaffolding Literacy to young Aboriginal readers in remote and regional areas in WA with excellent results. Tragically Kate was killed in a car accident in 2008. To commemorate her life and work, and to pursue her passion for improved Aboriginal literacy, the Kate Mullin Association Inc. (KMA) was established with the vision being “Through improved literacy Aboriginal students will enjoy the same opportunities and choices as all other Australian students”.

The Kate Mullin Scholarship Fund has Deductible Gift Recipient status and all donations are tax deductible
Please donate by going to: http://katemullinassociation.org/support-us/

KM’s Chairperson’s Annual Report is presented.

Fundraising
• We had another sundowner event on 21 February 2020. Ron was MC again, and there were speeches from Ken, John and Margery. Don read out updates from the 2 student recipients of the Kate Mullin Scholarship - Malcolm Maloney and Michael Wohlrab. Ken Wyatt was unable to turn up on this occasion, but we still raised $12,000 on the night and shortly thereafter.
• Richmond Wealth joined ARC Infrastructure and Insight Geomechanics as corporate supporters this year.
• We won the Tucker Foundation grant which will support 1 scholarship student for 4 years @ $5K pa.

Scholarship
• We signed agreements with CQU and ECU again, and a Letter of Intent with Curtin university for the 1st time.
• Rhonda Oliver and Graeme Gower made us aware of the “On Country Teacher Education Program” (OCTEP) at Curtin, a B Ed (Primary) degree designed specifically for Education Dept AIEOs. This course fits very well with the objectives of the Kate Mullin Scholarship.
• We awarded scholarships to Tiffany Humes of ECU and Sarah Callow of Curtin this year. Sarah is from Esperance and knows Brendan. There were no new scholarships for CQU students.
• Sadly Michael Wohlrab and Tiffany Humes of ECU withdrew from their respective courses this year. However both Malcolm Maloney and Sarah Callow completed their respective courses – our first successful graduates.

Teachers Award
• Thanks again to Michael & Julie Jacobs of the Lindsay Cozens Trust for their support of the Kate Mullin Teacher Award again this year.
• The judging panel comprised Kerry Handley (AISWA), Patsy Konigsberg (Ed Dept) and Kylie Agale (Cath Ed), ably led by KMA committee member Sophia Sabatier.
• The winners were Philomena Manado & Vincent McKenzie, Aboriginal Teacher Assistants at Christ The King Catholic School, Djarindjin Lombardina, north of Broome in the Kimberley. The presentation was made to them at the WATESOL AGM, where their Principal surprised them by inviting them into her room where a Zoom session was underway with the AGM.

Oral Health Project
• This year we kicked off a competition for schools in the Kimberley where they have to prepare an advertising campaign for oral health amongst Aboriginal children. The competition is jointly run with the Kimberley Dental Team who have funded the prizes to the tune of $10K. The winning entries will be chosen on a basis of good literacy and effective messaging.
• We have had great support from the three Education sectors in the Kimberley - Education Dept, Catholic Education & AISWA – all of whom are represented on the Project Board.
• The actual competition will be held during Term 2 2021. A communique has been sent out to all Kimberley schools, and we have contacted the 3 respective Principal organisations.

Committee
• John Goodall took over the running of the Kate Mullin Scholarships this year.

Strategic Plan
• We were very fortunate to get the services of Jennifer Duffecy to help draft our Strategic Plan. She organized a Zoom workshop in July 2020, and prepared a 1-page strategic plan as a result. Don and Ken made some minor amendments to finalise the plan.

Other
• John Goodall produced 2 Newsletters in the course of the year
• Several Committee members visited Esperance in July 2020, where they visited Wongutha CAPS with Brendan, and were feted with excellent hospitality by the Florisson and Franzone families.
• In October Ken and Bev went on “Tracks to Two-Way Learning”, a professional development course for teachers working with Aboriginal students. It was run by the Education Dept’s Patsy Konigsberg and Glenys Collard.