Wandana Aboriginal Education Visit

Last Monday 26 August, Isaac and Eve from Wandana Education visited to lead the school in learning

about Indigenous culture, music and art. Our indigenous students at school were leaders and helped provide direction, while all staff, students and visitors on the day contributed to our school mural.

Please see the script below explaining the representation of the painting , or alternatively, watch the Facebook live video we broadcasted on the day.

The St Joseph’s Catholic School, Wee Waa painting is a modern, contemporary Aboriginal painting that pays homage to the local Gomoroi Nation Aboriginal people and the rich history of the school community.

At the centre of the painting are the red, concentric circles which are traditional Aboriginal symbols for a meeting place and which also represent the School. The colour is red to represent the Aboriginal peoples' deep connection to the land. The white dots around the meeting place are the local Aboriginal people of the past. The large orange coloured U shapes are traditional Aboriginal symbols to represent the local Aboriginal Elders. The smaller yellow coloured U shapes represent the younger members of the community.

Above the meeting place is Kaputhin the Eagle which is the local Totem for the people. The Kaputhin Eagle associates itself with the spiritual concepts of ; Celebration of the blue skies, upper world messenger, heat and wind wisdom, soaring over obstacles and flight of the spirit.

Flowing through the Eagle are colourful dots which represent the local Aboriginal people, Teachers, Students, Parents and Carers from the School community.

Within the Eagle can be seen the Cross and 3 J’s which represent the local Josephite Sisters and the Catholic Faith flowing through the School and wider community.

To the left can be seen Aboriginal women’s Coolamon which is a multi-purpose wooden bowl used to collect food, water, mix ochre paint, for Smoking Ceremonies and also as a baby’s bed with the baby wrapped in possum or kangaroo skin. This Coolamon has a “fire for roasting” which is the Kamilaroi Aboriginal meaning for Wee Waa.

To the right can be seen the Aboriginal men’s boomerang and hook boomerang. These locally made wooden tools made from myall wood were among items the local Aboriginal people would trade. Also to the right can be seen the local rivers Namoi, Barwon, Peel and Darling which provided a variety of food including crayfish, mussels and shrimp.

The handprint of the School Principal represents the love, care and guidance over the entire School community. The 2M by 2030 represents the Wandana motto to inspire 2 million people through Aboriginal Education throughout Australia by the year 2030.

Book Week

Last Tuesday 27 August, we held our annual Book Week Parade. It was great to see all the staff and students dressed up as their favourite book characters, with the theme 'Reading is My Secret Power', as well as the parents joining us for a picnic morning tea and the book fair!

If you would like to see more of the parade, please visit our facebook page and watch the Facebook live broadcasted on the day.

Father's Day Breakfast & Stall

Last Friday 30 August, we held our annual Father's Day Breakfast. It was great to see all the families who joined us for breakfast on the morning. Afterward, we then had our Father's Day Stall. A big thanks to the P & F for organising the day, as well as all the parent volunteers who were able to donate their time to help.

Mini Vinnies

Our Mini Vinnies group were busy this week writing happy and inspirational quotes on rocks to place along with the levy in hope that seeing them will brighten other people's days.

Learning Gallery

Kindergarten

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3