PRIMARY NEWS 

from the Assistant Principal  

This week:

7:00am Wednesday Year 5 depart for Lake Keepit 

8:00am Wednesday Year 3 depart for Thalgarrah (day only)

9:15am Thursday Year 4 depart for Copeton Dam.

On Friday Year 4, 5 and 6 return

This week we have a report on the Wii Gaay Program.

Wii Gaay

On Monday 13th November 2023, Mr Boney, Des Collins, Aleirah Goodwin and Rory Orchard left Holy Trinity School for Wii Gaay Learning Hub 2 at Lake Keepit and Tamworth. Mr Boney, Des, Aleirah and Rory were to spend the week at Lake Keepit and Tamworth learning about Aboriginal culture, history and knowledge while engaging in activities run by the NSW Office of Sport program coordinators at the Lake Keepit Centre. 

The Wii Gaay program (when translated from Gamilaraay means “Clever Child”) is designed to identify Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students who have high academic potential and assist those students to meet their full potential. 

The first stop on Monday was Boundary Rock, in between North Tamworth/ Attunga and Moonbi. The Wii Gaay students and staff were greeted by the Tamworth Local Aboriginal Lands Council, who provided information about the site and its significance to the Gomeroi/ Gamilaraay people and surrounding nations & mobs. The students and staff got to view Aboriginal rock paintings believed to be close to 1000 years old and have a lesson on traditional Aboriginal tools, weapons and artefacts. 

After this, the students and staff travelled to the Tamworth Botanical Gardens where they were to continue their learning with the assistance of the Tamworth Local Aboriginal Lands Council. Students were divided into year groups and rotated between dancing and performance, language activities and designing art pieces on to real possum skins which were to be taken to Lake Keepit for the children to continue finishing their part pieces. 

The significance of the possum skin in Aboriginal culture was a baby was gifted a possum skin to keep them warm, and as the baby grew older and got bigger, additional possum skins were added to create a full coat which provided warmth and comfort in adulthood. Students in Year 4 and 5 will have the opportunity to add more art to their possum skins to represent their Wii Gaay journey when they attend the next Learning Hubs in 2024 and 2025 until they finish the program at the end of Year 6.

The students and staff then participated in a liturgy at the Bush Chapel of the Botanic Gardens before departing for Lake Keepit. 

The students and staff arrived at Lake Keepit late in the afternoon and settled into their accommodation and had dinner. The students and staff were treated to traditional Aboriginal Dreamtime stories by Uncle Len Waters. These stories were to be used as a part of the children’s learning experiences over the next two-and-a-half days. 

Tuesday was the official start for the Learning Hub 2. Students were to complete activities in three key learning areas of the Australian curriculum, which are; English, Mathematics and ICT. These included:

- The ICT component of the Learning Hub saw students create an animated short film based upon the Dreamtime stories told by Uncle Len Waters. Students were to adapt the story, and create the animation using Canva.

- The Mathematics component of the Learning Hub saw students investigate the Dhinawan (emu) and use different mathematical methods and techniques to solve problems related to the Dhinawan. 

- The English component of the Learning Hub asked students to reflect on past Learning Hubs and what it means to be a Wii Gaay kid and then create a concrete poem.  

From 8:15am till 4:00pm for two days, students completed two rotations of each component, with 2 1/2 hours allocated to complete any unfinished tasks with students presenting their work to the group (including staff) on the Thursday night.

Midday and afternoon activities were also planned which included fishing with the Tamworth Local Aboriginal Lands Council, Lake Keepit Kammando Mud Run & Obstacle Course, swimming, archery and team building activities. Night time activities included continued work on their possum skin art pieces, socialising & creating friendships or down time. 

On Thursday afternoon, students presented their pieces of work for English, Mathematics and ICT. A Zoom link was provided to parents and families which gave students an opportunity to share their pieces with their loved ones. Year 6 students who were finishing the Wii Gaay program were presented with their certificates, departing gifts and possum skins. Mrs Cate Taylor, who created the Wii Gaay program in 2001 - 2002 and oversaw it until 2022, was in attendance for the presentation. A small “21st” birthday celebration for the program was held after the formalities before the students celebrated their Learning Hub with a disco. 

Des, Aleirah and Rory represented their families, community, mob and school with great pride with their behaviour, work ethic and dedication to Aboriginal culture and the Wii Gaay program being highlighted by the staff attending the Learning Hub.