Principal's Report

Dear Parents,

Last week our school celebrated National Aboriginal and Islander Day of Celebration, NAIDOC Week. The theme is;

Always Was, Always Will Be.

Always Was, Always Will Be recognises that First Nations people have occupied and cared for this continent for over 65,000 years. They are spiritually and culturally connected to this country.

This country was criss-crossed by generations of brilliant Nations. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were Australia’s first explorers, first navigators, first engineers, first farmers, first botanists, first scientists, first diplomats, first astronomers and first artists.

Australia has the world’s oldest oral stories. The First Peoples engraved the world’s first maps, made the earliest paintings of ceremony and invented unique technologies. We built and engineered structures - structures on Earth - predating well-known sites such as the Egyptian Pyramids and Stonehenge.

Adaptation and intimate knowledge of Country enabled first nations to endure climate change, catastrophic droughts and rising sea levels.

Always Was, Always Will Be. acknowledges that hundreds of Nations and cultures covered this continent. Managing the land - the biggest estate on earth - to sustainably provide for their future.

Through ingenious land management systems like fire stick farming they transformed the harshest habitable continent into a land of bounty.

NAIDOC Week 2020 acknowledges and celebrates that our nation’s story didn’t begin with documented European contact whether in 1770 or 1606 - with the arrival of the Dutch on the western coast of the Cape York Peninsula.

The very first footprints on this continent were those belonging to First Nations peoples.

Our coastal Nations watched and interacted with at least 36 contacts made by Europeans prior to 1770. Many of them resulting in the charting of the northern, western and southern coastlines – of our lands and our waters.

For us, this nation’s story began at the dawn of time.

NAIDOC 2020 invites all Australians to embrace the true history of this country – a history which dates back thousands of generations.

The ‘Value of the Month’ in November is ‘Democracy’. Students have voted for our school leaders in 2021 this week. Presentation of badges to our school leaders will be made early next year. Our current school captains have done an excellent job representing our school and modelling school leadership.

Term 4 guidelines for schools managing COVID-19 have been published. We still need to comply with NSW Health advice to ensure we maximise the health and safety of staff, students and community. All adults must maintain a minimum of 1.5 meters physical distance from each other at all times and a limit of 30 adults in one gathering.

These guidelines have required changes to our end of year activities. Unfortunately parents will not be able to attend Presentation Assemblies and Year 6 graduation and farewell.

Presentation Assemblies 2020.

Kindergarten: Monday 30 November 10:00am

Stage 1: Tuesday 1 December 11:30am

Stage 2: Tuesday 1 December 9:15am

Stage 3: Monday 30 November 11:30am

Parents are able to join the assemblies online via the link https://conect.schools.nsw.edu.au/girraweenassembly

Enter your name and sign in as a guest at the times allocated.

Our P&C met last night at 7.00pm on zoom to review the new timetable changes to our school in Term 4, end of year organisation and student reporting.

Best wishes,

G. Walker

Naidok Week