Reconciliation    

Action Plan

Thornbury High School has been using the Narragunawali platform to guide staff along the process of starting a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). The next step is to invite families, students and the broader community to provide feedback on what has been done so far and give direction for the next steps. 

So far, the focus has been on small, measurable goals:

• Reviewing the 7-12 curriculum to see how First Nations cultures, histories and perspectives are embedded; seeing what’s working and where the gaps are. So far, English, Maths, Visual & Performing Arts have looked at every subject across all year levels. Next, all learning areas will be supported to undergo this process. 
• Embedding a Welcome to Country into the school calendar, so that this happens every year. Most recently, Craig and Aunty Joy Murphy Wandin conducted a Smoking Ceremony to open the new STEAM centre for students and staff. 
• Reconciliation Week: Student Leaders & VM students were involved in raising money for the Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency through a ‘Morning Tea for Culture.’ For VM students, this was part of a bigger unit looking at racial discrimination. They promoted and delivered soup to staff, while the SRC held a bake sale. The grand total was $1,641. Jodie, Paul and Melinda from VACCA came to thank the students with gifts and a certificate, then spoke to VM students about the strengths of the local Aboriginal community here in Thornbury. 

In addition to the RAP, a few other exciting updates in this space include:

• Cassie Davidson joins THS as the new Deadly Sista Girls Coordinator, funded by the Waalitj Foundation. 
• Jonothan from Na Djinang Circus visited and ran a taster workshop with First Nations students, who now have the opportunity to be perform in the First Nations Ensemble in the State School Spectacular.