Immersions

The Year 10 and Year 12 students are invited each year to apply to attend an immersion to work alongside the staff and students of The School of St Jude in Tanzania.  The school of St Jude was established by Gemma Sisia (nee Rice) in 2002 to educate the poorest of the poor and is now one of the top academic achieving schools in the country. Gemma Sisia is a country girl from Guyra in NSW who has achieved great things for some of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable children in the world. Gemma’s seven brothers attended Joeys as boarders. This immersion is a tangible expression of ‘mission’; those who participate are undertaking a pilgrimage, an exploration of their own spirituality and place. Ultimately, it challenges our students’ perception of needs and wants.

At the annual immersion to the Kimberley region students have the unique opportunity to bear witness to and experience the dichotomised lives and culture of Indigenous people in the Kimberley.

Time is spent in Broome and in remote untouched communities reaching out as far as the Wunaamin Miliwundi Ranges. Daily activities range from visiting the Broome drop-in centre for disadvantaged children, engaging with the Stolen Generation Community, camping, fishing, hunting and gaining an understanding of traditional cultural education through storytelling and visits to sacred meeting sites and 30,000 year old rock art.