ATSI NEWS

What a busy year! Here are a few highlights.

Term 1

Cultural Hub

In term 1 the R/1 classes visited the Cultural Hub each week this term to learn about some of the Aboriginal Dreaming stories. We have watched videos of the Rainbow Snake, Tiddalick the Frog and How the Birds Got their Colours and discussed the importance of the stories. 

The Cultural Hub was open on Thursday lunchtimes and students are welcome to come in for cultural activities.

Term 2

It was a busy term. To celebrate Reconciliation Week our art teacher, Melissa Thiele, planned a unit of work based on Aboriginal contemporary artist Jimmy Pike’s artwork and used artwork of other Aboriginal artists from a Tarnanthi exhibition at the Art Gallery of South Australia. Students looked at the work objectively, focussing on the elements of the artworks – colour, different types of lines, space and shape elements and the use of colour and used this for inspiration to create their own artwork. Student work was exhibited in Penney Space, the library and outside Castle unit and celebrated at the Week 4 assembly. 

In Reconciliation Week we had a barbeque on Sorry Day. Thank you to Jharni for organising it and a big thank you to Jharni and her dad, Jimmy, who provided the food and cooked it as well. Students and staff were encouraged to wear a splash of yellow and give a gold coin donation for a special fundraiser. The money raised was $160-. The funds supported Children’s Ground, who create First Nations led education tools. Culture Beats came to the school and the Aboriginal students in Year 2-6 were taught a dance and, as a group, wrote a song for Reconciliation Week.

We also had a Meet and Greet with our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island families. Thank you to the families who were able to attend. Everyone enjoyed the pizzas and families were able to give us feedback about our school community. 

NAIDOC March and Family Fun Day

On Wednesday the third of July our 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 of our cultures and community.

Term 3

Supporting First Nations Students in Maths – Friday 9th August 

On 9th August, several First Nations Families attended the Maths session in the Penney Conference Room. Some of our learners demonstrated maths games that they use in their classrooms. Fiona Dealtry, our Maths Coordinator, spoke about the school’s Big Ideas in Number focus and the strategies used in maths. It was great to start some conversations about making our Maths program more culturally relevant. We look forward to arranging other family events.

Aboriginal Learners STEM Congress

Jharni and I had the pleasure to take Savannah, Lulu and Damian to the Aboriginal STEM Conference recently. The Congress is a South Australian Department for Education initiative to engage and inspire the next generation of young Aboriginal scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians. They attended 3 workshops and listened to speakers who work in STEM areas. They enjoyed making the cloud dough, which is a like play dough but softer and the performance by Dem Mob. After singing some of their songs, they showed how they created the songs using a music program with help from students in the audience. We also enjoyed Brian Haddy’s Fire and Froth Science Show. He did interesting experiments creating both fire and froth.

Nunga Tag – Tuesday 24th September 

The annual Nunga Tag Carnival is the biggest Aboriginal community event in Southern Adelaide. The event has been running for over 10 years and continues to grow with the strong support of the community. The Nunga Tag Carnival for students in Years 4 and above was hosted by SA’s National Rugby League team at the Hackham Football Club. Seven students participated in the games and were excellent representatives of our school. It was a great day and the students showed good sportsmanship and persistence and resilience when playing.

Term 4

On Monday 28th October we had the First Nations Community Celebration.  Students and their families participated in fun activities and had pizza and nibbles. There was also a video shown of all the First Nation students reading or showing their work. Students were presented with a certificate to celebrate their learning in 2024. Ms Sally and Mrs Kemp attended. It was great to meet so many people from our community. Students who were unable to attend will received 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.

Jharni and I wish the Community Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Enjoy the holidays and we look forward to seeing you next year.

Sue Dunn (AET)

Jharni Perry (ACEO)