Newsletter Term 1: Nine of our amazing students commence a school-based traineeship with Mater Private Hospital Townsville and more

What's Going On Inside...

• Introducing our new Executive Officer - Brett Fragiacomo
• Tim Fairfax Family Foundation
• Introducing our trainee - Cassandra Page
• School Based Traineeships at The Mater Hospital
• Past students where are they now

Seed Foundation Australia is very excited to announce the appointment of our new Executive Officer Brett Fragiacomo. Brett lives on the Sunshine Coast with his lovely wife Ngwee and three beautiful children Brandon, Jake, and Talia.

Brett comes to Seed Foundation Australia with over 17 years of experience in community services and development, in the areas of Sport and Recreation, Health and Fitness, Youth, and Primary Health within Local Government, not-for-profit, and private sector organisations, across Queensland and the Northern Territory. Brett's most recent role was Acting General Manager with North Coast Aboriginal Corporation for Community Health which focuses on supporting community health within the Sunshine Coast and Gympie area.

Prior to that, Brett spent four years with East Arnhem Regional Council in the Northern Territory and nine years with the Australian Football League across Queensland. Brett is excited to have commenced with Seed Foundation Australia and looks forward to working within the team and with our broader stakeholders assist individuals to achieve their true potential in life through quality education, training and employment pathways.

Tim Fairfax Family Foundation

FFF partners with organisations delivering initiatives that promote student engagement and assist young people to develop their aspirations for further education and career pathways. Educators are developed and supported through professional development, peer networks and whole of school approaches. Below is a part of the report they had shared on us last year on their website. If you wish to see more this is the link. https://www.tfff.org.au/annualreport/2020/education/

Funding from TFFF enables Seed Foundation Australia's Engagement and Pathways Managers to provide individualised support and guidance for students, and to connect them with employment, traineeship and tertiary education opportunities. Seed Foundation Australia's relationship - focused approach is even more important for boarding students who come from various communities or islands across Cape York and the Torres Strait.

These include Aloomba, Doomadgee, Gordonvale, Yarrabah, Badu Island, Mer Island, Wujal Wujal, Mabuiag Island, Murray Island, Horn Island, Thursday Island, Boigu Island, Saibai Island, Yam Island, Coen, Kowanyama, Umagico, New Mapoon, Seisia, Palm Island, Pormpuraaw, Woorabinda, Weipa, Bamaga, Normanton, and Injinoo.

Host Employers in Townsville and Cairns offering School Based and Adult Traineeships play an important part in students’ career development, allowing them to gain real life experience that will not only assist with their career prospects but will also benefit their families and communities through sharing of the knowledge gained. As a result of their involvement with SFA, a higher proportion of students are now considering careers within their local health and social service industries.

Please join us in congratulating our 9 amazing students that have commenced a school-based traineeship with Mater Private Hospital Townsville this year and are working towards completing their Certificate III in Health Services Assistance.

The team at Seed Foundation Australia looks forward to mentoring and supporting these students during the course of their traineeship while they get an insight into a hospital setting and develop their skills. We have students from Kirwan State High School, Pimlico State High School, St Patrick's College, and Ryan Catholic College.

Welcoming Cassandra Page to the Team

We would like to also introduce Cassandra Page (Cassie) who joined the team late last year in September. She was successful in gaining a Full-time adult traineeship while completing a Certificate III in Business Administration.

Cassie is a proud Nywaigi, Yidingi, Mumburra, and Mununjali girl. Early in her childhood, she lived in Ingham, QLD, where she started her primary schooling and then moved to Townsville for the rest of her schooling years. Cassie graduated from St Patrick's College Townsville in 2017.

Cassie previously worked in hospitality for 5 years during and after school. She relocated to Northern Territory and worked in a remote community called Yulara for a year as a food and beverage attendant.

Due to COVID, she transferred back home to Townsville and is excited to land the job with us.

Being with Seed Foundation Australia for 6 months, she has already done so much with us, such as taking care of our administrative tasks, travelling to the Sunshine Coast and many delightful team activities.

As she is enjoying her role, we love having her on board. Welcome again, Cassie.

Past Student and where are they now?

Martha Marks is a Year 12 graduate from last year who attended Bwgcolman Community School on Palm Island located outside of Townsville. She completed a Certificate II in Health Support Services and Community Services despite the impact of covid in 2020.

Martha has become a great role model to her fellow peers and family in the community by taking the next step in moving to Cairns under the Indigenous Youth Mobility Pathways (IYMP) program.

She is currently enrolled in a Beautician course at Tafe with the future plans of potentially studying further in Community Services or Youth Service course.

We look forward to hearing more news about Martha in the future and wish her all the best in her.