Middle School

National Reconciliation Exhibition

STUDENT REFLECTION

On the 24th of May, a group of students were invited to attend the Resilience Week Exhibition at the Manningham Art Gallery. The purpose of the event was to ‘engage with our broader community to celebrate National Reconciliation Week and to launch Manningham’s annual exhibition’. The theme of the exhibition was ‘Grounded in Truth’, which was also the theme for National Reconciliation Week this year.  The event was held in the Gallery with presentations from the Mayor and the incredibly talented artists of the exhibition.

The art showcased in the exhibition was created by members of the Young family, including Judith Young, Richard Young, Lyn-Al Young, Robert Young and Raymond Young. All of their art pieces were different and unique, but they were all incredible. The artworks were beautiful, and each held a deep meaning about aboriginal culture and history. We enjoyed reading about what inspired the artists and what it represented.

After the formal presentations at the beginning of the day, the students were allowed to look at the artwork, learn about the stories they tell and talk to the artists about the artwork they created. At one point the majority of the students and teachers from Doncaster were all listening to the one artist explain how and why he created those pieces and the meanings behind them.

The food at the exhibition was catered by Charcoal Lane, which offered a gourmet, contemporary menu (seasonally driven) and ‘draws on the best of native Australian food’. The selection included sausage rolls with kangaroo meat, lamingtons with dragon fruit cream, fruit salads etc. The drinks offered were peach iced tea, orange juice, and tea.

The food was quite diverse. A few students found the sausage rolls strange and unpleasant while others found it delicious. The food explored different combinations of flavour you wouldn’t normally try. Everyone agreed that the drinks were pleasant.

Overall, the excursion was amazing and fascinating. All of the students were able to grasp a greater understanding of the Aboriginal culture and were able to take that knowledge back to school and home, which also helps us to further understand the true importance of Resilience Week in Australia.

Victoria M. 9C and Mae-Rose B. 9C

Year 9 MyCity Excursion: Melbourne from another perspective

I have been in Melbourne for only a month now, so I am in that phase where everything is still so new to me; much still has to be discovered, therefore every chance to walk around the centre gives me some new glimpses about the city, its people and how to enjoy the city at its best.

This week I got the opportunity to discover Melbourne from another perspective. Despite the very cold weather of Wednesday morning, the fourteen Year 9 students taking part in the MyCity project gathered in front of the DSC main entrance right on time, ready to leave for the city centre. Their willingness to go, despite their shorts and the cold wind, should be applauded.

Once getting off in Flinders Street, we headed towards the Southbank Promenade to purchase the tickets for the 12:10 cruise. Tourists filled the big vessel very quickly, eager to enjoy the cruise heading upriver to Herring Island. It was a pretty last minute decision, actually, to join Ms Gucciardo in her excursion on the Yarra River, and I am glad I did.

As we sat on the vessel, the cruise started and the captain began to talk on the microphone, giving notions about buildings located on the two river banks, the bridges we passed under and the rich fauna which populates the Birrarrung, the aboriginal name of the Yarra River. We could see the MCG on our left, some sculptures are hidden by the rich vegetation on Herring Island as well as many cormorants, black swans and lovely ducks swimming along the river. It was a very relaxing and pleasant activity, which students very likely enjoyed as well.

All the students did a good job: a few of them lead the way, others helped collect money and keep the tickets, and everyone diligently followed all the instructions Ms Gucciardo gave, never complaining about anything. We were also blessed by the weather: besides the cold wind, it did not rain until we got on the bus returning to Doncaster.

In conclusion, it was a very pleasant experience which allowed me to get to know the students and Ms Gucciardo. I really hope in the future to have some more chances to go out and discover Melbourne: there is always something new to learn, despite not being a student anymore.

Y Nam Phan

Italian Language Assistant