Classroom to Plate

After a chance conversation between the manager of Holcim and a past School parent, Mrs Judy Morgan contacted the School in 2022 and invited us to visit her property. Judy and her husband, Edgar, bought a farm 30 years ago, and it has been used for sheep, beef, small scale cropping, seed, and hay production, and to agist horses. Edgar passed a number of years ago and, with their children busy with their careers, the farm was becoming harder to manage. For Judy, the opportunity to partner with the School to offer the next generation of students an agriculture-centred learning program, aligned with her ideals and vision.

With the generous support of the Morgan family, we have secured a site for our School farm, 2km from the main campus gate. Our broad vision is to develop an authentic agribusiness program, leveraging the farm to offer cultivation projects for our primary students, agriculture research and mentoring partnerships in Secondary, and courses with certification in sustainability, land management, agribusiness, and agriculture in Senior Secondary. We want to maintain the integrity of a working farm, producing crops and meat to supply our

School kitchens with high quality produce, bringing the philosophy of ‘paddock-to-plate’ to life.

As we shape this vision, we are working with current and past families with farming experience and expertise. We are also in talks with ECU and UWA about research partnerships and pathways and we are investigating the specific courses we will offer, including ATAR (Agriculture Science and Technology), General (Plant or Animal Production Systems), and Certificate courses (Land management, Agriculture, Production Horticulture, Aviation: Drone piloting).

It is exciting to be at this juncture for our School, working with our community as guiding partners to re-imagine just what we can do at “The School in the Bush… with a farm.”

New Beginnings

In 2022, our School celebrated its 50th anniversary, sharing a significant part of its history with Simon Jacob, who has served on our Board of Governors for 23 of these 50 years. This year, at the AGM, the Board farewelled Mr Jacob, having served the maximum number of terms under the constitution of the Board, and acknowledged his exceptional service to the School.

In 1996, Mr Jacob relocated from Perth to Bunbury and, along with his wife Marilyn Buttaccio, joined Young & Young Lawyers, where he practised until 2021, before accepting the position as CEO at Axis Hire. With an interest in education, and keen to make a contribution to the wider Bunbury community, Mr Jacob accepted an invitation from Mrs Irene Bourne to join the Bunbury Cathedral Grammar School Board of Governors in 2000.

Mr Jacob was appointed to the Chair of the School’s Board on 20 May 2011, a position he held until 25 April 2023. Mr Jacob has stated that, “it has been an enormous privilege to work on the Board of the School with members from different backgrounds but with a common passion, and Heads of School and a leadership team with a commitment to excellence and wellbeing, which has given me reason and desire to continue to give time and effort to the School.”

As Mr Jacob steps down from this role, the School acknowledges his exceptional technical and leadership capabilities in guiding the Board in achieving its strategic objectives and providing a solid foundation for further development. In recognition of his significant contribution and service to the School, Mr Jacob was awarded an Honorary Life Membership of the Board.

The School is delighted to welcome Ms Maria Cavallo as the incoming Chair of the Board. The School has enjoyed a long association with Ms Cavallo, as a past student, current parent, Treasurer of the OGA, and joining the Board in 2016, Ms Cavallo held the position of Deputy Chair from 2018 to 2022, Chair of the School Foundation Incorporated and Finance Sub-Committees from 2017 to 2022.

With deep roots in the South West, Ms Cavallo values every opportunity to contribute to her local community. Coupled with her clear interest in education, Ms Cavallo is also actively involved in the not-for-profit sector, holding the position as Director and Secretary on the Type 1 Diabetes Family Centre Board and a Council Member of the Catholic Diocese of Bunbury Diocesan Finance Council.