Reconciliation Week

Reconciliation Week Events at Hackham East Primary

Reconciliation Week celebrations began with an assembly to mark National Sorry Day on  26 May . At the assembly we watched Kevin Rudd’s National Apology.   Mr Thiele and several students talked about the significance of National Sorry Day.

Each student was involved in painting his or her own sorry message onto a message flag, which will then be hung up around the school. The concept of message flags is that the wind then picks up the message and carries it through the breeze.

Southern Reconciliation Week Event - Real Voices, Real Action

On Tuesday 30  May, Lorraine, Dianne and Gill caught the bus with 8 of our Year 4- 7 students to Ramsay Place for the Southern Reconciliation Week Event run by Joining Hands and Minds. The theme for the event this year was Real Voices, Real Action; students were immersed in a day of culture and learning. Chiara-Lee and Latysha used their courage and represented our school community up on the stage when Aunty Georgina did her Welcome to Country. The students took part in a fishing workshop run by Clem Newchurch, a local Aboriginal Man, where they learnt about some of the fish in our local waters and also learnt an easy step-by-step way to draw fish.

Aboriginal Cultural Presentation with Clem Newchurch

On Wednesday 31 May Clem Newchurch came to Hackham East Primary School for the day and ran 50-minute Aboriginal Cultural presentations for all Reception – Year 7 students. Clem shared some of his fishing adventures with the students showing photos and videos of different fish in our local waters. He made cultural links to how Aboriginal People in the past would have hunted fish and tying in the importance of family and sustainability. Students were able to see and learn about some Aboriginal artifacts that Clem has made himself, sharing with the students how they were constructed and what uses they have. All class groups showed they had listened attentively and were interested in the new learning by the well thought out questions they asked Clem. Many students were able to make connections to the local places Clem’s stories were from as many students had been to these places too.

Gill Dowd, Aboriginal Education Teacher