NAIDOC WEEK at APS
NAIDOC started in 1938 as a small protest movement that quickly gained momentum. From there a committee was formed, the name was changed to reflect conversations with our First Nations peoples but also to move from a verb to a noun. The name may have changed, but the advocacy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Rights has stayed present.
The NAIDOC the acronym still exists and it has grown - from one day in the 1930s to a whole week now. NAIDOC Week celebrated its 50th anniversary last week and it celebrates this week at Aspendale PS. This year, the theme is 50 years of Deadly, a slang term used across Australia in books, tv shows and in the yard to describe something as ‘cool.’
50 years of iconic actions by our First Nations peoples.
We hope you all had a chance to celebrate it.
Year 6s have worked for a number of weeks, during our leadership program, to first understand NAIDOC Week at a Year 6 level, before delving deeper - by brainstorming icons they consider have had a ‘deadly’ impact on Australia. These people all identify and are known for a range of things from politicians, artists, sporting stars to academics, scientists and law makers. Students work in groups to create short videos about these people that are then shared in our daily NAIDOC Week episodes. For the first time, this year, students identified who would be the hosts, how long videos should go for and gave suggestions based on previous videos. Our program supports students with their Term 3 independent PYP Exhibition inquiry, supports our digital curriculum and allows time to work through the cross curricular priorities and English curriculums.
All Year 6 students have done an amazing job. A special thanks to the hosts of each of our episodes - Ollie, Marcus, Lily, Minnie, Ted, Maddie, Isla, Cora, Piper, Sacha, Archie, Terry, Brooklyn and Saskia - who gave up lunchtimes and recesses for last minute reshoots.
Angus S has also taken the time to write a book review for Sue Lawson’s ‘Freedom Rides.’ Great work, taking action Angus!