Our College offers various educational programs providing varied learning opportunities for students from Year 7 to Year 12. We have a proud tradition of cultural, spiritual, academic, and sporting excellence. The pastoral care at the College enables a safe and caring environment where students can confidently grow to achieve their full potential. We believe in our motto' Learning for Life' as we aim to foster the students to make a difference in our world.
As a Catholic school in the Edmund Rice tradition, Clontarf Aboriginal College is a place of learning and understanding that respects Aboriginal culture and spirituality and encourages students to reach their dreams.
Welcome to Whadjuk Nyoongar country. Ninja Whadjuk Nyoongar Boodjar Noonook Nyininy. This is the Whadjuk Nyoongar country you are sitting in. Clontarf Aboriginal College is situated in Whadjuk Nyoongar Boodjar. Nyoongar* is the general name for Aboriginal people in the south-west of Western Australia. Of the fourteen Nyoongar language groups, the people who live in the Perth region are known as the Whadjuk people.
The Whadjuk land south of the Swan River and west of the Canning River to the coast is Bilya (Beeliar). The land across the Canning River to the Helena River is Beeloo land. The Canning River is the border between these two great Whadjuk clans. Here at the Canning River, the Youran (bobtail lizard) meets the Nyingarn (echidna). The You is the totem animal for the Bilya people, and the Nyingarn is the totem animal for the Beeloo people.
This area once had an abundance of wildfowl, especially Moornyi Koolyak (black swans) and ducks – traditional Nyoongar food. It was a vital camping ground where Whadjuk people foraged, fished, and hunted. It was here that they gathered to camp under their Mia Mias (shelters).
After they arrived in 1829, Wadjela (white) colonists quickly took over the Whadjuk Nyoongar Boodjar and used it for farming. The Whadjuk people fought a losing battle against this loss of their land. In this first conflict, the Whadjuk people were led by Midgegooroo and his famous son Yagan.
This was a sad story of dispossession, which finally left the Whadjuk people without the land on which they depended so much – spiritually as well as materially. The Whadjup Nyoongar Boodjar (Clontarf) site remains an important spiritual and cultural significance for contemporary Whadjuk people.
Clontarf Aboriginal College has taken the Moornyi Koolyak – the black swan rising in flight – as its crest's central image. This powerful image directly links back to the traditional Whadjuk Nyoongar Boodjar on which the College now stands. *Nyoongar can also be written as Nyungar or Noongar. Nyoongar is the spelling adopted by the Board for the 2005-2008 Strategic Plan.
Blessed Edmund Rice inspires the Clontarf Aboriginal College Christian Service Learning Program. Blessed Edmund Rice was the founder of the Christian Brothers. Students at Clontarf Aboriginal College are encouraged to live out their call to Service as Edmund Rice did and do Service a core aspect of College life. Christian Service is a fundamental responsibility of each Christian person. As reflected in the Christian Brothers' motto – 'To do and To teach' and the College motto of 'Learning for Life.' Therefore, it is our responsibility as Christians and as a Catholic College to live the Gospel values actively and 'To do' Christian Service while learning valuable lessons for life.
That Clontarf Aboriginal College:
- Assists its students to be confident and creative persons with a high degree of self-worth
- Promotes pride in and in-depth understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identity, culture, and spirituality
- Develops a culture of excellence in all areas of school life
- Be a pre-eminent Catholic Aboriginal College in Australia
Clontarf Aboriginal College promotes the following core values:
- Respect for self, others, and the environment
- Learning
- Aboriginal spirituality
- Community
- Self-discipline
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