W E S T E R N A U S T R A L I A’ S A WA R D - W I N N I N G C AT H O L I C N E W S P A P E R S I N C E 1 8 7 4
THE RECORD
We d n e s d a y, 1 3 A p r i l 2 0 11
THE
P A R I S H . T H E N AT I O N . T H E W O R L D .
$2.00
THERECORD.COM.AU
SPECIAL LIFTOUT: Praying the
Stations of the Cross
Pages 9 - 12
Schools at risk in Federal review: CEO BY ANTHONY BARICH WA Catholic Education Office director Ron Dullard has warned that remote schools in the Kimberley are at risk if funded on an individual basis based on student numbers. The Federal Government is currently reviewing funding arrangements for all schools for the first time since 1973, and the National Catholic Education Commission, of which the WA CEO is a member, lodged its submission on 31 March. The NCEC’s submission called for maintaining block funding to State and Territory Catholic Education Commissions so Catholic school systems can continue to distribute funds to schools like those in the Kimberley according to assessed local need. “Independent schools don’t cross subsidise or help each other; that’s not our system. We recognise that we know our schools best and we know where to give the support, like Clontarf and remote Kimberley schools which would not survive if given the amount of money generated by the number of students that they have,” Mr Dullard told The Record. A key part of the NCEC’s submission was appealing for equity in funding for disabilities, Indigenous students, those in remote areas, new arrivals and refugees for whom English is a second language, in order to achieve better educational outcomes. “They should get the same amount for their disability [or learning challenges] as if they were in a State school,” Mr Dullard said. Currently, students with a disability get a loading of up to 0.7 over and above that of a ‘standard’ student, but “the cost for educating a child with a disability could be substantially higher, so, to be equitable, the severity of the disability should attract funding to Please turn to Page 6
GOLD STRETCH
RING $54.00
Albany parish children give the ...
Straw of Life
Cameron Mitchell of St Joseph’s Parish in Albany with sisters Tighean, left, and Iona. The children hit on the idea of sending simple but effective water filters to children living in conditions of poverty in other parts of the world such as Africa and Haiti. The filters drastically reduce the presence of harmful bacteria and viruses in water to be consumed. They raised money by baking cakes and biscuits and selling them after Mass at St Joseph’s.
W
HEN the Mitchell children of Albany parish saw an amazing new personal water filter in an inventions book, they couldn’t have known where it would lead. Cameron Mitchell, 11, recently read the information about the Lifestraw personal water filter, showed it to his parents and asked if the family could buy some for the children in the world who needed them. “They thought it was a great idea, but said we could only afford to buy a small
number, and that’s when I decided to get together with my sisters to see what we could do to buy lots of them,” Cameron told The Record. Cameron told his younger sisters, Iona, 10 and Tighean, 7 about the idea and they got together to think of ways of getting money to buy filters for children in Africa and Haiti, the latter of which is still reeling from the effects of a devastating earthquake last year. They were very aware of the plight of children in those countries, having seen
videos and articles showing their desperate need for safe, clean, drinking water. The children decided to bake and sell cakes and biscuits over two weekends after Mass at Holy Family Church in Albany. The bake sales raised just under $1,000 and with 125 Lifestraws now on their way to the village of Tarakea, Tanzania, the trio have been inspired to do much more. “The ‘LifeStraw Personal’ is a portable water purifier that can be carried around Please turn to Page 6
BRAND NEW items exclusively made for
The Beatification of Pope John Paul II. See Page 20. The Record Bookshop