Marrung News

Acknowledgement of Country

Wantirna College acknowledges the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nation as the traditional custodians of the land where we learn, work and grow. We pay our respects to the First Nations members of this school community, the Wurundjeri People who first lived in communion with and nurtured the earth, water and natural life of this beautiful land where we support our students, and all First Nations Peoples both here and across the globe.

We respect the deep connection, rich cultural heritage and ongoing custodianship of the land where Wantirna College is situated, and are committed to ensuring that we, too, are continually fostering empathy, compassion and care for the environment, land and waters we share within our school, and working towards a culturally safe, respectful, responsive and inclusive learning environment for our First Nations learners and wider school community. We are working to ensure that we are continually building Aboriginal perspectives and ways of learning into our school curriculum, and celebrating First Nations voices in our community.

We acknowledge the historic and continuing impact of colonisation on our Koorie learners and their families, and the profound impact of intergenerational trauma on the health and wellbeing of First Nations people. We are committed as a school to working towards healing and reconciliation for all First Nations people, and to always practice in culturally safe, inclusive and affirming ways, acknowledging the deep spiritual, cultural, emotional, psychological and physical cost that sharing this land has had on our First Nations community.

We acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded, and that this has always been, and will always be Aboriginal land.

Marrung News

Wawa (hello) Wantirna College, and wominjeka (welcome) to the first edition of a new newsletter segment we’re calling Marrung News. Marrung is the Wemba Wemba word for the Murray Cypress pine tree, representing branches of education and knowledge.

As a school, we are committed to ensuring that our Koorie learners are supported to achieve their highest learning and vocational potential through access to culturally responsive and inclusive education that supports their academic, social, emotional and cultural needs. Our work with the Koorie learners at our College is driven by the Marrung Education Plan 2016-2026, an initiative developed by the Victorian government to improve educational outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, structured around four priorities areas and actions: 

• Building a positive climate for learning and development 
• Increasing community engagement in learning and development 
• Building a culture of professional leadership 
• Excellence in teaching, learning and development (early childhood, schools and higher education and skills 

If you are interested in understanding more about the Marrung Education Plan 2016-2026, please visit https://www.vic.gov.au/marrung.

Our Marrung working group, headed by our Marrung Leading Teacher Nicholas Elliott and supported by Wellbeing Leader Ash Bibby, have developed a list of actions that the College will work on throughout 2024 to improve the First Nations representation and inclusive practices within our college, including:

• A cultural safety audit of the school
• Reviewing our Individual Education Plan and Student Support Group templates and ensuring our Koorie learners are supported in these processes
• Organising for staff to participate in Cultural Understand and Safety Training
• Organising activities and whole-school events on days of significance to the First Nations community (i.e. NAIDOC, National Sorry Day, National Indigenous Children’s Literacy Day, etc.)
• Engaging with our Koorie Education Support Officer to facilitate yarning circles and campfire conversations for our First Nations community
• Reviewing our curriculum to ensure Aboriginal perspectives and history are included across all learning areas.
• And introducing this newsletter page to highlight First Nations voices, community events and activities within our school community and more broadly across Naarm.

Woiwurrung Word of the Week 

If you want to learn more about the Woiwurrung language local to our area, or other languages spoken by First Australians, please check out the 50 Words Project website – https://50words.online/languages.

The 50 Words Project is led by the Research Unit for Indigenous Language at the University of Melbourne, and funded by the Duncan Leary Trust for Australian Indigenous Languages, with all words, audio, and video recordings provided by language speakers and included on the website with permission. Australian Indigenous languages have many thousands of words, and this project aims to provide fifty words in Indigenous languages of Australia, with accompanying audio to support pronunciation. The interactive map is intended to be a useful resource for schools and educational organisations to learn 50 words in their local languages, and for the general public to discover the diversity of languages around Australia. For the best experience, the map should be viewed on a computer or tablet.

Deadly Beats 

We understand that song and dance are important aspects of Aboriginal culture and identity, used in storytelling and ceremony for tens of thousands of years, and so hope to use this platform to share some of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait musicians we admire most.

Support Services

Please download the attachment for Knox Network/Victorian Indigenous Support Services and don't hesitate to contact us for further information.

Ashleigh Bibby

Leader of Wellbeing

Nick Elliott 

Marrung Leading Teacher