National Reconciliation Week 

This week is National Reconciliation Week. National Reconciliation Week in Australia is a time to acknowledge the history, culture and contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It is a week where Australians come together to promote understanding, respect and harmony between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. Reconciliation Week is an important opportunity to reflect on the past and work towards building a better future for all Australians.

In the lead up to Reconciliation Week, we were lucky enough to host Ganga Giri from Didgeridoo Australia for a special assembly. Ganga Giri is a didgeridoo virtuoso and master performer, who has travelled the world performing at some of the world's biggest festivals! Ganga introduced us to how a didgeridoo is made and played. A highlight was when Ganga demonstrated a range of animal sounds using the didgeridoo - I loved the frog! 

He then encouraged the students to clap along as he performed some solo rhythms, as well as some his own original songs mixing Indigenous music with a dance beat! We learnt about how the Indigenous people use an Emu caller to safely take emu eggs for food, without getting chased by angry male emus. 

The performance wrapped up with the students getting up on their feet to do some Indigenous Animal dances. It was wonderful to be able to enjoy a cultural experience with our students and parents, celebrating Australia's first nation people! 

The grade Prep and One students also did a surprise performance for the whole school as they sang their 'Acknowledgement of Country - Care for Country' song. Ganga was so impressed, he said it gave him goosebumps!

Thank you to Bank First for the funding for this performance. It was donated through the Teaching Initiatives Program to provide a unique cultural experience for our multicultural students.

If you would like to see videos of the performance follow this link:

In Art class with Mrs Boskovska, Grade Five and Six students made an Australian Animal Collage to learn about National Reconciliation Week. Ros Moriarty and Balarinji teamed up to create fantastic children’s books such as Kangaroos Hop and Splosh for the Billabong that serve as the inspiration for these bright and colourful Australian Animal Collages. We explored colour through painting either warm or cool colours and planning for contrast. We also use straight and dotted lines to create repetition. 

In Cultural Studies with Ms Foster this week, we continued learning about Indigenous Australian Culture with a focus on Reconciliation week.

Prep: We read the story 'Somebody's land' by Adam Goodes. Somebody's Land is an invitation to connect with First Nations culture, to acknowledge the hurt of the past, and to join together as one community with a precious shared history as old as time. Students discussed feelings of empathy with the Indigenous people for the loss of their land and culture. We discussed the meaning of the phrase, 'Always was, Always will be Aboriginal land' and how we can show respect to the traditional owners of the land we are learning on, Wurundjeri Country.

Grade One and Two: We watched sections of the Play School special Reconciliation week episode named 'Walking Together'. We discussed the Indigenous Land we are on and how all Australians can start to 'walk together'. We also listened to the story 'Say Yes' which was interspersed with the song 'From Little Things, Big Things Grow'. Students used their 'Voice for Generations' to write about what they think a reconciled future looks like.

Grade Three: Grade Three continued to explore important events in Aboriginal History. We listened to the story 'Sorry Day', which told two stories set in different times. One was the story of the Stolen Generation, and one was the day of the National Apology. We compared and contrasted these stories, then watched Kevin Rudd's address to the Nation. Students then wrote and drew about what they had learnt.