NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia each July to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The official NAIDOC Week in 2021 was held July 4-11. Given that this was during the school holidays, the College acknowledged the celebrations in Week 2 of Term 3.

Each day commenced with an Acknowledgment of Country and prayer and there was a range of activities throughout the week which have been highlighted below:

Art Exhibition

We hosted an Aboriginal Art Exhibition with Noongar and Yamatji artists presenting and sharing their stories, art and artefacts.

Thank you to Gloria Miller (The Vault Aboriginal Art Gallery), Teresa Miller (Teresa Miller Designs) and Makirah Miller-Lewis (Meekadarribee) for their time.

Bush Tuckers Tasters

On Wednesday at Recess ‘Bush Tucker Tasters’ were available to students who wanted to try some traditional Aboriginal food. Options included:

Gourmet Sausages

Emu and Illawarra Plum

Kangaroo and Riberry

Damper

Lemon Myrtle Damper served with butter

Bush Chutney served with crackers

Bush Tomato Chutney

Apricot and Quandong Chutney

Science Classes

In our Year 7 Science classes students connected their current ‘Chemistry of Mixtures’ learning topic with a special NAIDOC Week focus: learning how ochre was used in Indigenous art. They were encouraged to be curious and creative with their choice of designs and research into using ochre. The Year 7s were then challenged to create a piece of art themselves using the mixing of ochre.

Sit Down Lunch

On Thursday Principal Frank Italiano, Vice Principal Damian Scali, Deputy Principal Ministry Gemma Wooltorton and Aboriginal Liaison Officer Rachel Taylor shared in a special NAIDOC Week lunch with 10 of our Indigenous students and their friends. Rachel Taylor cooked a traditional kangaroo stew with damper for the lunch, which was followed by a delicious lemon myrtle cake.

Library

The Library had a number of resources and activities available for NAIDOC Week, including E-boards, books, music and a special focus Speaker’s Corner. Students were invited to participate in one of two topics for the Speaker’s Corner based on their year level:

• Senior School (Years 10-12) topic: "That Australia Day should be changed from 26 January."

• Middle School (Years 7-9) topic: "If you were Prime Minister of Australia, what would your number one recommendation be to stop inequality in Australia?”

Theatre Film Screenings

In My Blood it Runs was shown in the College Theatre at recess and lunch time.

Wheatbelt Tour

During the July school holidays, 18 of our Senior School Arts students and two staff embarked on the 2021 Visual Art Wheatbelt Tour. As part of the tour students immersed themselves in local country communities and explored Indigenous culture and art. A video outlining their experience at Wave Rock is below. To learn more about their tour read the blog here.

The Yarning Circle

For those that would like to continue with their involvement ‘The Yarning Circle’ started this week. This group is open to all students and will be meeting each Wednesday from Weeks 3 - 8 in the Library at lunch to knit for the NATSICC Palliative Care Program. The blankets go into packages for sick patients who are in palliative care. Many Aboriginal patients travel down from country areas with limited personal possessions so it is a way of giving some comfort in their end of life care. Students will be knitting 20cm x 20cm squares that will be joined into blankets for the patients.

Thank you

Thank you to everyone who was involved in making our NAIDOC Week celebrations a success. It was wonderful to see everyone embrace learning about the cultures and values of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.