Yirara College

This term the Yirara College community has farewelled our principal of the past four years, Mr Chris England.

Yirara College Baptism and Communion Day 2002 was celebrated on Sunday 6 November. Sixteen students were baptised in the Yirara College chapel, and 28 celebrated their first communion.

Many of the students of Yirara College come from communities served by Finke River Mission (predominantly Central Desert). But most students come from remote communities beyond Central Australia that are not connected with the Lutheran Church.

In term 3 we began the Sharing Languages Project at Yirara College. Students from every community have been invited to share their languages with their teachers.

Yirara College in Alice Springs is ahead of the curve in ensuring education is delivered to its students who can’t attend school due to COVID-19 restrictions.

‘No gathering for Easter worship’. Is that a disaster? Not when we work together to find creative solutions.

Yirara College was honoured to be chosen to host His Royal Highness, Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex KG GCVO, Chairman of the Board of Trustees for The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award, acknowledging the 60th anniversary of the award in Australia.

After six years away from Central Australia working with the Uniting Church in Darwin, I have recently begun working as the chaplain at Yirara College. Beginning again in Central Australia brings new questions and new ways of seeing things.

Yirara College is a boarding school in Alice Springs for Indigenous students from remote communities. Our recent relationship with Civil Train in delivering the new Earth Tec program to students has been highly successful.

Ladies from the Alice Springs and Hermannsburg Lutheran churches shared their history and knowledge with Yirara College staff during professional development sessions earlier this year.