Aboriginal Education

Some of our regular Aboriginal Education programs have kicked off nicely this year with lots of positivity and engagement from students. First Nations students in Year 7, 8 and 9 are all working hard in DEADLY Study Sessions, our weekly program aimed at building confidence in literacy and numeracy skills through cultural learning. We have started to explore some great First Nations texts including ‘Fair Skin Black Fella’ by Renee Foggarty, ‘Brother Moon’ by Maree McCarthy Yoelu and ‘Marngrook’ by Grace Fielding and Titta Secombe and we are enjoying yarning about the themes and the way each book uses language and art to tell their stories and convey meaning.  

Our weekly yarning circle, Friday Yarns, returned in Week 3 and it was wonderful to see so many students attend. Friday Yarns is open to all students and is a great place to listen, share and connect with Aboriginal culture in our beautiful Yarning Circle and Bush Tucker Garden. In our first week, students were able to do a bush tucker tasting with Davidson Plum and Finger Lime cordial to enjoy while they listened to a special welcome story called ‘Cooee Mittigar’ by Jasmine Seymore. Cooee Mittigar means ‘come here friend’ in the Dharug language and the story is an invitation to yana (walk) through Dharug Country and see the special connection between place and people.  

FUN FACT our Year 7 and 8 classes all have the names of Aboriginal greetings and 7C and 8C are both named for this Dharug greeting - 7Cooee Mittigar and 8Cooee Mittigar!