OTHER SCHOOL NEWS
Jadranka Avram and June Bashiruddin
Library Staff
Banksy arrives in the Library!
After searching for a painting for the Library we found the perfect piece to adorn the blank space in the Teaching area. Banksy’s Colourful Rain was the artwork chosen.
It arrived during the holidays and within days was hung on the wall by Pete and John. It looks fantastic.
Banksy, an English graffiti artist, is known for his controversial social comments through his street art. He has gained in popularity and has the respect of many globally.
The colourful piece of artwork, Colourful Rain by Banksy features a playful scene involving a young child and a grown man in which the colourful “rain” drops down the side of the building. They both react quite differently to what it represents.
What do you see in the painting?
Amy King
Science Manager
Scotdesco Camp - Old man saltbush & Artwork - Part 2
We would like to acknowledge the Wadawurrung people, the traditional owners of the land on which our school is located and the Wirangu people, the traditional owners of the land that we visited. We pay respect to their elders past, present and emerging.
In the last issue of the newsletter we outlined our trip to Scotdesco Aboriginal community in South Australia and the warm welcome we received. In this issue we will outline our experience working with saltbush, creating artwork and what we learned about living on Country.
On day 2 we learned about the communities’ efforts to grow saltbush on a large scale on the property. The students explored the many uses of saltbush - from a seasoning for food, ground up to make flour or used to make sheep feed. One of the major hurdles encountered by the community was the lack of water and drought that had been experienced for several years. The drought had really hampered the large-scale establishment of the saltbush. We put on our gardening gloves and helped the community in their nursery to prepare cuttings of saltbush to be planted out later in the year. The students worked well in teams to cut, dip in rooting hormones and plant the cuttings - we ended up with a couple thousand in an hour or two.
We ventured out to the open field where the saltbush is planted. Mark, a community member who tends to the saltbush project, told us about the arduous effort it had taken to plant the endless rows of saltbush with minimal equipment, but with loads of community support. The students experienced how dry it was in the field, as the grass crunched beneath our shoes, but they could see the pride that Mark and others receive from this project and their efforts. Having the saltbush project up and running would provide an opportunity for the community to have ongoing work and income on their land.
In the afternoon, we headed to the art room and with guidance from Glennett, the students learned about the significance of artwork in aboriginal culture. We were given an opportunity to work individually on creating our own pieces that told a story of our experiences. Over the remainder of the week a small group planned and painted a piece of art for our school, which will soon be hung within the school. We learned that the Waldya (eagle) is the totem of the Wirangu people - we included this as a part of our artwork and included a second eagle to represent Bundjil, a sacred totem of the Wadawurrung people. Our art work tells the story of our adventure and experiences on camp.
The stories shared by the community members brought to life the importance of their land and living on Country. The students were able to appreciate, first-hand, the importance of yarning and sharing culture and knowledge of the environment. Through our experience of preparing bush medicine, learning about the local wombat population, learning about First Nations language and the Wirangu language we had come to respect the culture of the community and the wider Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island culture. Words here cannot express the authentic experiences, understanding and respect we gained from speaking and learning from the Scotdesco community members - this camp and experience was very special.
In the next edition of the newsletter, we will continue our adventure to the Nullarbor, caves and finding water.
Vera Dudas
Multicultural Community Liaison Officer
MULTICULTURAL COMMITTEE NEWS
The Multicultural Committee will have its second and final meeting for this term on Monday 6 June at lunch time (12:45 pm -1:30 pm). We will be looking at what’s on for ‘Refugee Day’ celebrations in the community, at The FoRT of Greater Geelong, as well as on updates of coming events at the school, such as The Multicultural Festival, back once again after a two year break .
As a Committee we will be looking at ideas for the Multicultural Festival within this year's theme. For more information on the Multicultural Committee, feel free to contact Vera Dudas via the school’s Administration Office.