Koorie Education 

& Engagement

NEW PE UNIFORM

Where did this idea come from?

Marley, a proud Wiradjuri woman now in Year 11, approached the Koorie Education and Engagement team to raise the idea of Indigenous representation on interschool sports uniforms, as part of the 2023 Reconciliation Action Plan.  Marley is a talented football and basketball player who has represented herself, her local clubs, and her culture, across many levels.

Who was involved in this?

Last year, Dean King (Principal) and College Council commissioned a dress code policy consultation process involving an external research company.  This involved student focus groups, staff focus groups, and feedback from families and the community.  The new PE polo design involved multiple staff, all students voting on the design, as well as the Koorie Education and Engagement team.  Then, there were submissions and presentations to the College Council uniform subcommittee and finally College Council.  There are student reps on both committees.

What is the design about?

EMC commissioned Ky-ya Nicholson Ward of Djirringu Art (https://djirringu.com/), a Wurundjeri, Dja Dja Wurrung, Ngurai illum Wurrung, German and Irish artist, based in Naarm (Melbourne). Ky-ya was this year’s artist in residence at the Australian Open, and has designed sports uniforms for North Melbourne FC, Melbourne FC, Western Bulldogs FC, Melbourne Renegades CC, Melbourne Stars CC, Melbourne Storm RC, Melbourne Vixens Netball, Dandenong Rangers Basketball, and St Kevin’s College.

This custom design, which is for exclusive use by EMC, includes the below representation in the artwork:

1. Meeting place/s: They represent coming together and uniting as a community, the lines flowing into the meeting place represent students coming from different places and their diversity.
2. Cross Hatching: Represents strength and resilience.
3. Circles: The circles represent the students.
4. Flowing lines in the centre: Symbolises water flowing which is representing the school community moving forward together to reach a positive successful future.

 Ky-ya has previously shared that “around Australia we have different styles of art, in the NT it’s cross hatching, in central Australia it’s dot art and in Victoria it’s lines, carving and circles because here in Victoria our ancestors carved into trees”.

RECONCILIATION ACTION PLAN

Each year since our first Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) endorsed and published in 2020, we ‘refresh’ the RAP and draw on the Koorie Education and Engagement team (who serve also as the RAP Working Group) and our wider network to undertake this important reflection and planning.  Our current RAP is accessible here: https://www.narragunnawali.org.au/raps/22935/elisabeth-murdoch-college

On Thursday 16 November, we held a meeting to reflect on 2023 and plan for our 2024 RAP.  We had representatives of EMC staff, DET Koorie Outcomes Division, DET KESO, EMC Koorie alumni, parents and apologies from current students.

The EMC Koorie Education and Engagement team are responsible for developing, implementing and maintaining the RAP.  A collaborative approach ensures our RAP incorporates diverse perspectives, and represents the diversity of our educational community in empowering and sustainable ways.   

We have submitted our new 2024 RAP to Reconciliation Australia for publishing.  Once published, we will sent Koorie student families the 2023 summary report and link to the 2024 RAP, before sharing with the wider community.  We still send an annual newsletter to Koorie students and families, which is less formal.

FROM THE NARRAGUNNAWALI WEBSITE

When and why do we need to refresh our RAP?

While you may choose to revert your RAP to draft at any time, your RAP will automatically be reverted to draft 12 months after publication to give your Working Group the opportunity to refresh the RAP and ensure it remains a dynamic, living document. The refresh process is a meaningful opportunity to reflect on your school or early learning service’s reconciliation journey so far, and ensure your RAP remains relevant and responsive into the future. Refreshing your RAP will also ensure that members of your school or early learning service’s RAP Working Group will be eligible to register for online Learning Circle sessions. Facilitated by the Narragunnawali team, Learning Circles are designed to support deeper conversation and collaboration in response to RAP commitments, and to build a strong national network of reconciliation in education champions. 

What steps are involved in the RAP refresh process?

Refreshing your RAP does not mean starting the RAP development process from scratch, and all data from the previous version of your RAP is kept within the Narragunnawali platform. Your RAP Working Group will need to complete the Reflection Survey again to track progress over time and inspire your next steps. You can compare your previous Survey responses to further internally evaluate and plan.You will also be prompted to review your Vision for Reconciliation statement and consider whether you might like to make any updates based on learnings over time. Even where the aspirations and commitments articulated in your Vision remain consistent over time, consider drawing on language shifts such as “continue to”; “extend on”; or “deepen” to reflect the progression of your reconciliation in education journey. Writing or updating your Acknowledgement of Country statement to accompany the Vision statement is another key step.

Use the refresh process to update your RAP Working Group membership details, and extend on your commitments to reconciliation by adding new Actions to the RAP, and reviewing and updating the Goals and Deliverables. In particular, please ensure that there are no incomplete overdue Deliverables included in your RAP.  

Your RAP can then be submitted again for publication. 

EMC KOORIE CHRISTMAS