From the Deputy Principal

Sorry Day

This Friday (24 May) students are invited to wear a purple accessory for National Sorry Day, which recognises survivors of the Stolen Generation, as a simple gesture of unity and understanding.  The purple native hibiscus flower was chosen as the symbol for National Sorry Day. Its resilience and widespread growth across Australia represent compassion and healing.   Students should wear their uniform and choose an accessory such as purple socks, a purple tie, purple hair accessories or similar.  

Sorry Day leads into Reconciliation Week and, every year on 26 May, National Sorry Day remembers and acknowledges the mistreatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were forcibly removed from their families and communities, which we now know as ‘The Stolen Generations’.  The information below is from the Reconciliation Australia website:

National Sorry Day is a day to acknowledge the strength of Stolen Generations Survivors and reflect on how we can all play a part in the healing process for our people and nation. While this date carries great significance for the Stolen Generations and other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, it is also commemorated by Australians right around the country.

The first National Sorry Day was held on 26 May 1998,  one year after the Bringing Them Home report was tabled in Parliament. The Bringing Them Home report is a result of a Government Inquiry into the past policies which caused children to be removed from their families and communities in the 20th century.

Following this, in 2000, there was one issue that was high on the agenda at the Sydney Harbour Bridge walk for reconciliation – an apology to the Stolen Generations.  Today, twenty-three years after the Bringing Them Home report and twelve years since the National Apology, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are still 10.6 times more likely than non-Indigenous children to be removed from their families.  We cannot begin to fix the problems of the present without accepting the truth of our history. Sorry Day asks us to acknowledge the Stolen Generations, and in doing so, reminds us that historical injustice is still an ongoing source of intergenerational trauma for Aboriginal and Torres Islander families, communities, and peoples.

Update on road works on Ulster Road

A note from Water Corporation

Our authorised contractor, DM Civil, will be completing some early service locating work along Ulster Road from 21 to 31 May, in preparation for the upcoming project to replace a wastewater pipeline.

This service locating will include temporary short stop-start single-lane traffic control along Ulster Road, at progressing locations. For the safety of road users and our workers please follow all speed limits and traffic signs.

The contractor will commence mobilising to site, for setting up in week commencing 10 June. Project traffic management and road closures will commence later in June.

Further information, including traffic management, timings and team contact details for the project can be found here, or searching “Ulster Road Pipeline Replacement”. 

We also encourage you to sign up via the webpage for regular updates on the Project and associated traffic management.

Thank you – Water Corporation Project Team

Mrs Emma Franklin | Deputy Principal