Anson in Review
Sunshine Coach donation
Recently, we were formally presented with our Sunshine Coach from Variety. We are incredibly grateful for this generous donation! This will enable us to take larger groups of students to local and intra-state events, engaging with the community and providing access for all. Anson Street School are very excited to see what future travels our wonderful Sunshine Coach will take us on! Liz Gearing, Head of Kids Support; Kate Fester, Marketing Coordinator; Variety community representatives ‘Bashers’ Keith Thorne, Stephen Lindsell and John Lindsell along with our very own ASSETS President, Dr Sonia Thew joined us for the formalities.
Jodie Pritchard
Deputy Principal
Orange Show Society
We received first place in our art display of recycled materials completed by stage 6 at the annual Orange Show. We also entered collective artworks with the theme 'Colours of Orange'. Thank you to all the students who contributed to these creative pieces for all of Orange to see!
Cathy Huggett
Art Support Officer
Cultural Awareness forum
Last week, staff participated in forum style professional learning about connecting with our local Aboriginal community. Alivya Powell, Chief Executive Officer, Wambinya Enterprise and Elijah Smyth, Aboriginal Engagement Advisor, UGL Regional Linx answered questions ranging from ‘how can we make parents feel more comfortable about coming into school’, to ‘how can we help kids find out what country they are from’.
Alivya and Elijah were a wealth of knowledge, they shared their own personal context and experiences to elaborate throughout the discussion. We are very grateful for their time and openness.
Jodie Pritchard
Aboriginal Education Coordinator and
Deputy Principal
National Sorry Day
National Sorry Day is held on May 26 and marks the day that the landmark 'Bringing them Home' report was tabled in federal parliament in 1997. Last Friday, secondary students learned about past policies of forced child removal and reflected on the stolen generations. Primary classes focused on Sorry Day craft activities and stories.
Stage 6 researched significant milestones in Indigenous history, watched an Adam Goodes documentary and created a Jam board of prior and gained knowledge.
Stage 5 watched an interactive sorry day video on BTN, read a poem titled ‘I am sorry’ and reflected on its meaning. They also created and decorated the word SORRY for classroom display and explored Aboriginal symbols in art.
Stage 4 read the book 'Took the children away' by Archie Roach, listened to the song and discussed the stolen generations. They also worked on Sorry Day craft activities.
More details in 'Inside the Classroom'.
Jodie Pritchard
Aboriginal Education Coordinator and
Deputy Principal
National Reconciliation Week
Commemorates two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey - 26 May, the successful 1967 referendum and 3 June, the High Court Mabo decision. It is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia. This year the theme is 'Be a voice for generations'. Each stage group has been learning about significant events in Aboriginal history and people who have had an impact on achieving reconciliation in Australia. Unfortunately, our community gathering had to be postponed until 8 June due to Covid restrictions, but we are all looking forward to coming together and enjoying games, a damper cook off and of course a sausage sizzle next week.
Jodie Pritchard
Aboriginal Education Coordinator and
Deputy Principal