Reconciliation Week Events
Brigidine College, St. Ives
Sea of Hands for Reconciliation
This week the College community showed their support for Aboriginal Reconciliation by participating in the ‘Sea of Hands’ project. Each student wrote a short message of hope, acknowledgement or peace and placed it beneath their chosen hand. The hand is symbolic of us ‘putting our hand up’ for reconciliation and saying ‘yes’ to the process in Australia.
The colours symbolise the Aboriginal flag and the flag of the Torres Strait Islander people too. The shape is the Cross of St Brigid, representing to the world that within this Brigidine Community there is room for reconciliation and hope.
Clonard College, Geelong
Reconciliation Week at Clonard is always one of celebration. 2018 was no different. We began the week with our whole school Reconciliation Assembly. Many of our Indigenous students choose to learn traditional dances to perform in front of the whole school. Our FIRE Carrier Leaders are instrumental in the running and organisation of the assembly and should be congratulated. Well done to Mietta Scarlett, Rebekah Lasky, Kiah Lee Muller and Zawadi Corstorphan. This year the theme for National Reconciliation Week was “Don’t Make History a Mystery”. Mr McKew was invited by our senior FIRE Carriers to perform the Acknowledgement of Country and to say a few words. His message was strong and powerful – he spoke of our school community taking on the responsibility of spreading the message of Reconciliation; to acknowledge and accept the errors of our history in order to move forward together.
Throughout the week there were many lunchtime activities that all students were invited to participate in. For example, painting nails in traditional Indigenous colours, making necklaces, watching an indigenous themed movie and traditional indigenous games. Indigenous music also replaced the usual tunes that mark the end of recess and lunch.
The Yr 9 students who have recently returned from the community immersion trips in the Northern Territory prepared a short report and video for the school assembly. The also gave a presentation to their parents and staff on Wednesday evening. All three student groups worked together to present a short video and explain the impact of such an educational experience.
On Friday Scott Darlow, an Indigenous singer songwriter from Yorta Yorta Country worked with our Yr 10 students for their Reflection Day. He was able to bring an authentic perspective of our history and entertained our students throughout the day. Our very own Aunty Sue Collins also delivered a moving speech on her family’s experience of being members of the Stolen Generation.
We finished our week with our traditional trip to Melbourne to participate in The Long Walk and Dreamtime at the ‘G. Our students love this experience as we travel with other students from St Joseph's, Sacred Heart and St Ignatius College. Cultural connections are extremely important. We recognise the importance of sharing culture with the school community and hope to continue this journey into the future.
Star of the Sea College
Don’t Keep History A Mystery. Learn. Share. Grow.
The theme for National Reconciliation Week 2018 set the tone for a positive reflection on National Reconciliation and what the Star of the Sea College community is doing to take those steps towards authentic reconciliation.
As we try to live out our College motto Deeds Not Words, we welcomed into our community Aboriginal speakers Vicki Clark, Kutcha Edwards and Evajo Edwards. They spoke to each of our year levels about key issues in Reconciliation like Treaty (Makarata to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people) and about healing from the experiences and memories of having survived the Stolen Generation years.
Vicki Clark (nee Walker) is known to many Presentation Sisters from their collaboration with her in a range of Aboriginal issues through the Aboriginal Catholic Ministry. The Sisters attended Vicki’s presentation to our Year 10 students, to pay tribute and to listen to her wisdom, and joined her and the students for morning tea.
Year 7 students heard Karen Mahoney, Coordinator of the Yingadi Immersion to Lake Mungo, speak about the importance of story and story-telling in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture. Afterwards, they had great fun uncovering the delightful coloured stories that emerged from their scratch-it cards to form story boards.
Brigidine College Indooroopilly
This year Brigidine College Indooroopilly commemorated Sorry Day with a Liturgy on Tuesday with the theme, “Don’t Keep History a Mystery”. In this year of Hope at Brigidine Indooroopilly, we invite each generation to continue to engage in ways of walking together in reconciliation whilst celebrating our deeper Australian culture.
Our hands set out on the Holy Lawn reminded us of the common threads that intertwine within all cultures and bond our community in unity, offering a hand of welcome, a hand of support, a hand of creativity and a hand of action in solidarity together.
It is 25 years since the Council of Aboriginal Reconciliation was established and Sorry Day reminds us of the commitment to ongoing reconciliation between all Australians as we continue to explore themes of Hope and Respect in 2018. Our guests and parents, staff and students were invited to create hands of welcome and solidarity for our Holy Lawn and we gathered together to commemorate and celebrate our first culture’s history.
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Kildare College
To acknowledge and pay respect to all Indigenous Australians during Reconciliation Week, staff and students of Kildare College participated in various activities – inside and outside the school community.
During the week students and staff offered reflective daily prayers seeking forgiveness and praying for wisdom, for our political leaders past and present; so that they may never repeat the injustices of our history.
The exhibits presented in the Resource Centre paid tribute to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples; they were colourful, informative and highlighted the skills and wonderful artistic talent that many Indigenous people share. The displays were flagged by the Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Australian flags in a sign of reconciliation and unity. Lunchtime activities offered during the week saw students participate in various arts and crafts, and view Indigenous stories featured during the pop-up movie sessions.
The Nunga student group were also invited to assist our local Tea Tree Gully Winds Elders group in Reconciliation Week community activities, held at the nearby Holden Hill Community Centre. The students served morning tea and helped visiting primary school students with dot painting. The highlight was face painting not only themselves but also the younger students – who felt the students’ artistic efforts were amazing! It was a great opportunity for our students to support our local Elders in the wider community.
The college came together as a community later in the week for the Reconciliation Liturgy; as our Indigenous students proceeded in with the flags it was evident that this was a proud moment for them. The liturgy was both moving and reflective, and the students presented a powerful message. From the ‘Acknowledgement of Country’, the prayers presented by Justice and Democracy students, a moving dance piece by Year 10 and Year 11 students, an identity poem, and bringing proceedings to a close with a wonderful rendition of Follow the Sun, the liturgy was an opportunity for staff and students of the Kildare College community to show respect and promote reconciliation across our cultures.
Angie Selga, Indigenous Focus Team, Kildare College
Kilbreda College
At Kilbreda, we have a very strong commitment to matters of justice and as such we are called to be people of action and hope. Reconciliation Week provides another opportunity to ensure we promote and action the message of respect and justice for all Australians. The 2018 theme Don’t Keep History a Mystery was a fitting opportunity for our students who travelled to Lake Mungo this year to share stories of this experience and to be the voice that ensures the painful history is not denied but is recognised and the through acknowledgement of the injustices, strengthen our commitment to reconciliation. It was fitting to commence the week with a student led flagpole Liturgy recognising the need to continue to focus on reconciliation and justice for all Australians. Kilbreda’s FIRE Carriers, along with year 12 leaders planned lunchtime activities to raise awareness and to encourage all members of our community to deepen their understanding of the significant role we play in Reconciliation.
All students were invited to place a fingerprint on a banner promoting Don’t Keep History a Mystery. This banner will be displayed centrally within the College. For many the highlight was the sharing of stories around the campfire in Brigid’s Garden on Friday. FIRE Carriers explained the significance of fire and in particular the camp fire as a place of storytelling, passing on of traditions and gathering in Indigenous culture.
St. Joseph's College
At our Whole School Assembly Friday the 25th of May we acknowledged that this week was National Reconciliation Week. National Reconciliation Week is book ended by two important dates: the anniversary of the 1967 referendum on the 27th of May and the anniversary of the historic High Court Mabo judgement on 3 June.
National Sorry Day is an Australia-wide observance held on May 26th each year. This day gives people the chance to come together and share the steps towards healing for the Stolen Generations, their families and communities. Stolen generations refer to Indigenous Australians who were forcibly removed from their families and communities.
National Reconciliation Week is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared stories, cultures and achievements, and to explore how each of can contribute to reconciliation in Australia.
Reconciliation must live in the hearts, minds and actions of all Australians as we move forward, creating a nation strengthened by respectful relationships between the wider Australian community and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Let’s make reconciliation part of our story and our future.
I want to share with you some of the material that we used in our Reconciliation Week Liturgy. The first is a reading from St Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. This scripture piece is most often used when there are important messages about community and a sense of inclusivity for all those who make up a part that community. Its message is strong that all people have something to contribute; no one person or group can do something alone. If we don’t have a place for everyone then the whole will suffer.
Scripture Reading:
A reading from St Paul’s Letters to the Corinthians. This reading reminds us that despite our differences, we are all part of the one family of God.
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptised into one body – Jews or Greeks, slaves or free – and we were all made to drink of the one Spirit.
Indeed, the body does not consist of one member, but of many. If the foot would say “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear would say “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?
But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honour to the inferior member, that there may be no dissension in the body, but the members have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together with it.
Another very important feature of the Liturgy was an address delivered by Mrs Allison O’Brien who has ably lead our recent rebranding process. Allison delivered a heartfelt speech conveying the stories of two important women in the history of St. Joseph’s College. Nancy Bono was a Koorie Education Worker at St. Joseph’s College for more than a decade. She had a very deep impact on the community. Her work with the St. Joseph’s College community has left an important legacy in the history of our College. Her daughter Reanna still has close connections to the College. Most recently Reanna has designed the symbols that we will be using in the College’s new branding. Allison unpacked the symbolism that is present in these new images, creating connections between both our Brigidine history and our College’s long and proud relationship with the local Aboriginal community.
We hope that Allison will have an opportunity to share these important stories with our parent body. We will certainly look for an opportunity for this to occur. In the meantime take a look at our new website. Many of the new symbols are present on each of the pages.
Let us pray….
God of all creation,
We thank you for this beautiful land,
for the First Peoples you entrusted to care for it,
for its wealth and many Second Peoples who have made it their home.
Australia has been good to us.
We ask now for this land that we will all be healed,
For our ancestors made gains at the expense of the Aboriginal custodians.
Lands were taken and families destroyed by the removal of children.
We pray for those who were taken,
And those parents and grandparents whose arms lost little ones.
We struggle to imagine how this would feel, and how it could have happened.
For the pain and loss of identity and culture, we ask healing.
For a callous disregard of human rights we ask forgiveness and healing.
For wilful blindness and ignorance we ask for your light to shine.
For the descendants still affected by trans-generational trauma
we ask for ongoing support in the name of justice.
May we all be one.
In the name of Christ, Amen
Kirrilee Westblade
Catholic Identity Leader