Marrung

National Reconciliation Week 2024

We had an important National Reconciliation Week at WPPS this year, marked from May 27 to June 3 under the theme 'Now More Than Ever'. It was an important opportunity for us to learn more about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and perspectives together, linking perfectly with our CBL Big Idea of 'Country'. It also allowed our school to bring our Reconciliation Action Plan to life, as we understand and enact our responsibility on the journey to reconciliation in Australia.  

Deadly Door Challenge

A whole school event throughout the week was the 'Deadly Door Challenge'. Each class decorated their classroom door with themes inspired by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. The designs were impressive and showed a deep appreciation of First Nations cultures. Classes have themed their doors in a variety of ways, including;  the NRW 2024 Theme, NAIDOC 2024 theme, learnings from CBL this term (like the Wurundjeri 7 Seasons and 6 layers of Country), a visual response to a picture book, and more. We have our Koorie Education Coordinator and Support Officer, Uncle Arbup and Kira, helping us to judge the winners.  Some pictures are below:

What does 'deadly' mean?

In this context, 'deadly' is an Aboriginal English (or Kriol) word for 'fantastic', 'great' or 'awesome'.

 Aboriginal English, Kriol and Yumplatok are “contact languages”, developed as Indigenous Australians mingled with people from other Aboriginal language groups and with European colonisers on cattle stations, missions and reserves. They contain elements of English and traditional Indigenous languages. And as many of the traditional languages died out or declined, the new languages flourished, becoming crucial to identity and culture.

A big thank you to everyone who got involved in this week’s activities. Let’s keep the spirit of reconciliation going all year round!

NAIDOC Week 2024

NAIDOC Week is celebrated annually in the first full week of July. For 2024, it will be observed from July 7 to July 14. The theme for NAIDOC Week 2024 is 'Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud'. 

Each year there is a poster competition and the winner for this year is below:

NAIDOC Week is a huge celebration of the history, culture, and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, the oldest continuing cultures on the planet. It's a time to recognise the contributions of First Nations Australians. More information on local events during this week will be available in the next newsletter.