Principal's Report

Dear St John's Community,

Last newsletter I explained that I was heading to Darwin and the NT for this year's Peninsula Principal Conference. I had never been before and was looking forward to the adventure. It was a lot of driving and late nights, early mornings but worth every minute. The experiences I have encountered in the last week have been so memorable and I highly recommend anyone thinking about travelling there to absolutely do so.

Our group of 16 principals were also very fortunate to secure the services of an exceptional tour guide who is extremely well-connected and mired in First Nation Culture across Victoria, Qld and NT. In fact, he has even been given a skin name by one of the north Queensland tribes.

What's a skin name? I'm glad you asked! Every member of the clan at some point is given a 'spiritual' skin name. Your skin name aligns to your totem spirit and also lets you know who you can talk to and who you cannot talk to. It also dictates who you can marry in the tribe as well. This prevents inbreeding and any part of the community or tribe from becoming too insular. In the bush, everyone needs to play their role and do their bit for the benefit of everyone else so that the entire clan can survive. This is the way they have lived their lives for over 65000 years. That date has in recent years been scientifically verified in the NT while in Victoria we have evidence going back now to at least 50000 years. Australian First Nation people are now undeniably recognised as the oldest living culture in the world. 

During the time there we visited the Catholic Missionary precinct on the Tiwi Islands. The Tiwi people do not see themselves as related to Australian mainland aboriginals but as a separate unbroken line of Tiwi people. While we did see the evidence of the impact our society has had on them, we could also see how they have managed to maintain more of their culture than many of the clans in Victoria.

On the Tiwi Islands, we were taken on our tour by Harry 'Potter' (on the right of me) and Phelan (on my left). The two of them were very funny characters with Harry being somewhat of the island's resident comedian. The other picture here shows the Catholic Church on the main island. Check out the altar and the artwork on the walls! Amazing! We were all surprised to discover that all the Tiwi are Catholic but we were also told their first Religion is now AFL! Across the islands there are 13 men's women's and kids AFL teams and every year they play a grand final at Easter time and thousands of people from from everywhere to watch it. A lot of current and past AFL legends come from the Tiwi Islands.

Another part of the trip took us to the Southern Alligator River. While there are no alligators anywhere in Australia outside captivity, it is full of Aussie Crocodiles! Years ago an American explorer misidentified the crocodiles as Alligators and the name has stuck. We meet local indigenous arts, saw some of the local crocs and the other image is what our Bininj guides call the 'Two-face' rock. This rock sits on what is known as The Arnhem Escarpment which separates Kakadu (Gagudju - pronounced - Gadge-a-du) from Arnhem Land.

For all the budding naturalists out there. There are huge amounts of the following all through the region.

The tall mound is from Cathedral Termites and this mound is about 100 years old. The termite mound is formed into fins to deflect the heat of the sun away from the main body of the mound. When the sun is on one side the termites move all their eggs to the opposite side. So all day they are moving their eggs around inside the mound. When it floods they go to the top of the mound and when there are fires they go underground in the mound. Pretty clever!

The second image shows Magnetic Termite Mounds. These form in creek or river beds, of which there are many in Kakadu. They align from north to south so the heat of the sun never shines on the flat sides of the mound. These mounds grow about 1 metre every 10 years. When the first colonists arrived in this region they used to smash the termite mounds and mix them with water to create a type of concrete. That's how tough they are despite their fragile appearance.

I'll share more in coming weeks! Especially how the first Catholic Priest to the Tiwi Islands managed to have 150 wives! (Hint: It's not what you think!)

Production Update

The main cast members have made their adjustments to the scripts and now have their own copies to practice with. Next term we begin the stage work, song practice and some of the choreography.

In the language of the Bininj people, I say, Bobo!

(Arnhem land tribes are so connected with each other they don't need to say hello or goodbye but they have learned that people outside their culture say that, so when they talk to others not of the tribes they say Bobo - which loosely translates to something like - You are leaving my sight so I won't see you but I know you are still there and I hope to see you again - there is always an expectation and invitation to return to their sight.) 

Kind regards,

Derek Bruitzman

Principal

Helping your child understand traumatic events in the media

Mr B's Fun Facts & Trivia

1. Kakadu's real name is Gagudju - pronounced - Gadge-a-du
2. First Australian settlers to the NT used Termite mounds to make concrete
3. NT First Nation tribes take 4-5 years to honour and bury someone who has died
4. Tiwi Island inhabitants consider themselves to be the longest 'mostly in tact' culture in Australia

Something funny!

Q: A stingray, a crocodile and a poisonous snake walk into a bar

A: Sorry, that's no joke...

Q: Whydon't crocodiles like fast food?

A: Because it's difficult to catch!

Q: How many limbs does a crocodile have?

A: That depends on what it ate for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Q: What do you call a crocodile who studies the sun?

A: A sun-dile