Cultural News - Week 8

Indigenous Education

This term, the Year 6 Leadership groups are having sessions with our Koorie Worker, Tahlia, and Mrs Dyke with a focus on the difference between a Welcome to Country and an Acknowledgement of Country. 

Protocols for welcoming visitors to Country have always been a part of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. Boundaries were clear, and crossing into another group’s Country required a request for permission to enter.  When permission was granted the hosting group would welcome the visitors, offering them safe passage and protection of their spiritual being during the journey. Visitors had to respect the protocols and rules of the land owner group while on their Country. Today, while these protocols have been adapted to contemporary circumstances, the essential elements remain: welcoming visitors and respect for Country. Welcome to Country is delivered by Traditional Owners, or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who have been given permission from Traditional Owners, to welcome visitors to their Country. Welcome to Country occurs at the beginning of a formal event and can take many forms including singing, dancing, smoking ceremonies, and/or a speech. Traditional owners are not welcoming people to Australia, they are welcoming to the land within their cultural boundaries which their ancestors have cared for, and lived on, for millennia.

An Acknowledgement of Country is an opportunity for anyone to show respect for Traditional Owners and the continuing connection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to Country. An Acknowledgement of Country can be offered by any person and like a Welcome to Country, is given at the beginning of a meeting, speech or event. The children have learnt that there is no specific wording for an Acknowledgement of Country, just be sincere and, if possible, do some research on the Country you are acknowledging. The students have been writing their own personal Acknowledgement of Country that they can share in class. Tahlia is going to teach the students how to say an Acknowledgement of Country in language. It is hoped that some students will be able to say an Acknowledgment of County in Yorta Yorta later in the term and next term during Assembly.

New - AsheFest 2025

In the coming weeks, a permission note will be coming out for all of our Indigenous students to attend ASHEfest. 

Students from Prep to Year 3 will attend on Wednesday 10th of September. 

And students from Year 4 to Year 6 will attend on Thursday 11th of September.

Ganbina Education Scholarships

Ganbina's Primary School Education Scholarships are designed to help Aboriginal & Torres Straight Islander familes cover some of the education expenses.

The 2025 Scholarships are open to Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander children from Foundation to Grade 6 who are attending primary school in the Goulburn Valley Area.

For further information please see the attached flyer or contact Ganbina's Primary Education Program Officer - Sharni Beeton on 0438 217 399 or St Mary's Koori Educator - Tahlia Cooper on 5825 2858.

Workshops

Girls Indigenous Program

Boys Indigenous Program

Acknowledgement of Country               

At St Mary’s Primary School Mooroopna we Acknowledge the Traditional people of this land. The Yorta Yorta Nation are the Traditional Custodians of this area and we remember their elders, past, present and future. We remember that the Aboriginal people of Australia will always be the  traditional owners of the land on which we gather today. We continue to grow through education and reconciliation to a better future for all Australians.