Student Voice

Acknowledging Indigenous Cultures

At our first school-wide assembly on Monday 10th February, our School Captains spoke to our community about our school's “Thank you to country”. Please see below the information which was shared with our community. 

On Tuesday 28th January, our teachers attended a Curriculum Day with Selby Primary School, and Macclesfield Primary School.

On this day the teachers learnt about the importance of the Australian Indigenous Culture, and also clarified some points which are commonly misunderstood within schools.

The main point which we learnt as a school, is that our “Thank you to country” has previously acknowledged the Wurundjeri people as the traditional owners of Upwey. This is in fact incorrect, as Upwey is an area which is in dispute. This means that no traditional owners have been formally acknowledged by the Aboriginal Council of Australia.

Upwey is in fact contested between two groups, the Wurundjeri people and the Bunurong people. The Wurundjeri people have been formally recognised as being the owners of land to the North East of Emerald, and stretching into Melbourne. The Bunurong people have been formally recognised as being the owners of the land South of Cranbourne.

Therefore, we have changed our Acknowledgement as a result.

We acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we are meeting. We pay our respects to their elders, past and present. We also pay respect to the Aboriginal elders of other communities, and any emerging leaders who may be here today.

Student Leaders Nomination Process

Over the first fortnight of school we have begun the process of electing Student Leaders for 2020.

We would like to officially congratulate our House Leaders, who received their Leadership badges and certificates at our assembly on Monday 10th February. Congratulations to the following student leaders: 

As well as contributing to the overseeing of School Assemblies, our House Leaders are responsible for undertaking the following tasks: 

Student Council, SWPBL, and Specialist Leaders

The following timeline provides families with information regarding Student Leadership announcements: