Aboriginal Education
NAIDOC celebrations
Our school usually celebrates NAIDOC (National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committe) in July every year. However, due Covid restrictions in NSW Schools, this year our NAIDOC plans have been continually delayed.
This year, the NAIDOC theme is Heal Country - which calls for all of us to continue to seek greater protections for our lands, our waters, our sacred sites and our cultural heritage from exploitation, desecration, and destruction.
Country is more than a place and is inherent to our identity. We speak about Country like a person, sustaining our lives in every aspect - spiritually, physically, emotionally, socially, and culturally.
NAIDOC 2021 invites the nation to embrace First Nations’ cultural knowledge and understanding of Country as part of Australia's national heritage and equally respect the culture and values of Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders as they do the cultures and values of all Australians.
We are planning a virtual assembly for our 2021 Naidoc Awardees and hope to hold our NAIDOC celebrations later this term in Week 10 with a Covid-safe BBQ, cake, dance, and other activities.
Year 9 Mentoring Program
On Friday, 22 October, 11 of our Aboriginal students Dallas Kelly, Patrick Faint, Leilani Simon, Sophia-Rose Markham, Lyric Van-Dorp Browning, Hannah Whitton, Cooper Collins, Savannah Moore, Amos Tanikomave, Sara Dixon, and Brayden Porter participated in the first session of the Australian Business and Community Network (ABCN) Mentoring Goals Program.
The program is designed to inspire, guide and support First Nations Students in Year 9 to set goals, overcome challenges, develop leadership skills, and dream big! The students will be working in groups with online mentors and Aboriginal Education Team Staff from school over a total of four sessions during Term 4.
We look forward to working with these students and sharing their success.
Design competition
Deadline: 5 November
Kaylene Johnson
SLSO - Aboriginal Education Team