CELEBRATING FIRST NATIONS CULTURE 

Dream Aloud Festival 

Sincere thanks to Mrs Cherie Spannenburg, Head of Music; other staff members including Mr Paul See Kee and his family; JJ Parsgaard and other students and their families who joined me at the Dream Aloud Festival in October at Munro Martin Parklands, Cairns.

This First Nations music festival is part of the Queensland Music Trails and is supported by Triple J and the state government. 

The Saints connection to the festival is through organiser Mr Stu Watters, a Saints Old Boy. Stu joined Mrs Spannenburg to inspire students to explore career opportunities in the music industry and to appreciate First Nations music, culture and traditions. The event showcased these traditions alongside world-class modern electronic technology, sound amplification and cutting-edge visual effects, including animated Indigenous artworks.

The key message was clear: you don’t have to be a musician to play a part in the industry.

Everyone enjoyed the afternoon. Sincere thanks to Mr Watters and Alice, a production assistant, for their generosity and kindness. Hopefully next year we’ll get some more Saints people along to it. 

JJ Parsgaard, a Year 11 boarding student from Thursday Island, shared his thoughts on the festival: “The experience at the Dream Aloud Festival was nothing short of amazing. It was inspiring to see Indigenous artists making a name for themselves and travelling across Australia to promote their music.” Additionally, it was awesome to make new connections with people that are in the many different industries that make these shows and productions possible. Thank you Mr Carswell, Mr Stu and Ms Alice for the opportunity”.

Saints alumnus’ artwork honoured through First Nations award

On our recent trip to Sydney, courtesy of scholarship partners, AIEF, we had a stop over in Brisbane. We were delighted to run into Mr Robbie Reckenberg who graduated in 2010. It was a privilege to catch up with him. 

Robbie was the epitome of a Saints man who excelled academically and athletically. He represented the College with distinction in Union and Rugby League and was a key player in both codes. Robbie also had an amazing talent for art, especially lino cut designs depicting traditional Torres Strait themes and customs. 

One of his large framed art pieces is permanently on display in the Gildas Centre, and  segments of it are used in our prestigious First Nations Gratitude Award. This award was conceived by our students in 2014 to express their thanks, appreciation and gratitude and is presented to any staff member or community individual who they believe has gone above and beyond in assisting them.  

We presented this special award to our first lay principal, Mr Matthew Brennan, on his departure from Saints.