FIRST NATIONS NEWS

First Nations News Term 4 Week 9 2025

This will be my last newsletter, as I will be retiring at the end of the year. I have really enjoyed the Aboriginal Education Teacher job over the last 6 years. It has been wonderful to work with the students and meet so many families in the community.  I will certainly miss being at such a great school. Felicity will be here next year. She has been doing a great job since starting here and she will be your contact. Best wishes to all of you. 

Regards,

Sue

What a busy year! Here are a few highlights.

Term 1

Cultural Hub

The R/1 classes visited the Cultural Hub the first few weeks this term. They learned about the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island flags and made one each. They drew Aboriginal symbols on leaves that they gathered from the oval to add to the Acknowledgement of Country their class made. The students watched the Dreaming Story about How the Birds Got their Colours, the Rainbow Snake and Tiddalick the Frog and discussed the importance and meaning of the stories. 

The Cultural Hub has been open on Wednesday lunchtimes and students were welcome to come in for cultural activities.

19th February Meet and Greet in the Cultural Hub

On the Wednesday of week 4, the First Nations families were invited to a Meet and Greet in the Cultural Hub. It was great to meet so many families and many of the teachers were able to come as well. We had an afternoon tea and activities for the children. 

Term 2

Reconciliation Week

The Reconciliation Week 2025 theme, Bridging Now to Next, reflected the ongoing connection between past, present and future. Bridging Now to Next calls on all Australians to step forward together, to look ahead and continue the push forward as past lessons guide us. Classes were asked to discuss both the importance of and their understanding of Reconciliation Week, and each child was able to express their ideas on a hand that was put on a bridge painted on calico. The finished product was put in Penney Space for the assembly.

Wednesday 28th May Supporting First Nations Students in Maths

As part of Reconciliation Week, the Supporting First Nations Students in Maths was held in Penney Space. All First Nations students were involved this year. Family members who attended enjoyed watching the students work on the maths activities and the students were able to answer questions about what they were doing. 

Casual Day – On the Friday of Reconciliation Week students were able to wear any of the colours of the Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander flags. A coin donation was optional and $83- was raised and donated to the Indigenous Literacy foundation.

24th June Whole School Incursion - Boori Monty Pryor 

Boori Monty Pryor is a muti-ward- winning children’s author, didjeridoo player, dancer and renowned public speaker. He was born in Townsville, North Queensland, his father was from the Birrigubba people and his mother a descendant of the Kungganji people. He shares dreaming stories, anecdotes and his presentation offers a unique insight to modern-day Indigenous culture. The students and staff really enjoyed his visit. Some of the staff/student feedback is below.

Feedback from classes and staff on Boori Monty Pryor incursion

Savannah - it was good different from other Authors - he was more fun and interesting because he told stories rather than talk about himself and writing.

Tyler - He told us a lot of stories.

Daniella - He was great because he was interactive with us. With dances and echoing him with his stories. 

Rylan S - He was funny - the fly story, it was hilarious

Layla B - when he told us stories, he got us to do actions and teach us dances in the story. He explained things as if it was happening - pretending to be different people

Isaac S - we got a lot more involved that other authors

3rd July NAIDOC March and Family Fun Day

On Wednesday the third of July the First Nations students attended the NAIDOC in the South event run by Neporendi. We met at the markets on Beach Road and marched down to Rotary Park on the foreshore to the family run event. There was a variety of activities and food stalls. Thank you to all the families that joined us. There was a strong feeling in pride in both cultures and community.

World Cultures Day

On World Cultures Day at the end of term 2, the Cultural Hub was open at lunch time and over 30 students participated in cultural activities. 

Term 3

29th July SAHMRI visit 

Courtney and Talisha from SAHMRI visited our school and presented 2 sessions for the First Nations students, one for the Reception to year 2s and the other session for the Year 3-6 students.  The sessions were to promote their book “Walk Strong, Walk Tall” and teach First Nations students about foot health and diabetes. The sessions were age appropriate. The Reception to year 2 students listened to the story Walk Strong, Walk Tall and discussed how to look after their feet, then traced their foot and decorated it. The Year 3-6 students watched 2 videos and learnt about how to keep their feet healthy. They also were able to use a mini doppler as an ultrasound to hear the blood moving in their veins and arteries and a tuning fork to feel the vibration on their arm.

August - Carclew Artists in Residence

In term 3, every Thursday during Weeks 4, 5 & 6, Ayden Martin and  Katie O’Reilly from Carclew Performing Arts came in and taught the Year 3-6 students about different styles and art forms. The classes had the chance to have conversations about the local algae bloom. Students painted a picture of the beach using acrylic paint. They added natural ingredients like shells, stones and sand. 

The participation of students was fantastic and everyone has enjoyed it.

12th September Deadly Start to High School

On Thursday 12th September the year 5 and 6 First Nations students attended a transition day for First Nations students at Seaford Secondary School. It was a great experience for our students who participated in drama, science and music lessons. 

Tuesday 23rd and Wednesday 24th September 

Aboriginal Learners STEM Congress 

Four Year 6 First Nations students attended the Aboriginal Learners STEM Congress at Adelaide Oval for 2 days. They heard inspirational speakers who worked in the STEM area and listened to Dem Mob and learned how they make their music electronically. They made a canoe, using alfoil, pop sticks and tape and then put them in water and put ping pong balls in to see how many they could before it sunk. One group managed 15 balls. We also visited the Zoo and the task was to design a trap that could capture an animal safely so it could be tagged. The second task was to use a map to find specific animals and answer a question about each animal. The students were engaged and excellent representatives for our school.

Term 4

Term 3, weeks 3,5,7  Wirreanda Secondary School STARS program

Alyesha and Matisse brought students from the STARS program to work with our year 3-6 girls. They had an indoor games session, outdoor games and cooking cupcakes. The girls really enjoyed meeting the girls from Wirreanda and we hope to continue this next year.

Nunga Tag Yr 4-6 First Nation Students

On Wednesday the 5th November, 8 students represented the school at the annual Nunga Tag carnival at Hackham Hawks oval. The students all played well, and showed excellent sportsmanship. They were a credit to our school. It is always a lot of fun.

First Nations Celebration of Learning 

On Monday 10th November, we had the First Nations Community Celebration.  Students and their families participated in fun activities and had pizza and nibbles. Students were presented with a certificate to celebrate their learning in 2025. Ms Sally and Mrs Kemp attended. It was great to meet so many people from our community. Students who were unable to attend will receive the certificate this week.

What a busy year we had! It is always a pleasure to take our students on excursions and they are excellent representatives for our school.

Felicity and I wish the Community Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Enjoy the holidays!

Regards,

Sue Dunn (AET)

Felicity Rickett (ACEO)