Now more than ever
Schools
The sounds of a whole school singing ‘Blackfella Whitefella’ heralded the launch of the 2024 National Reconciliation Week Action Day at St Joseph’s School, Clare.
The powerful anthem called for unity as part of the Week’s theme of ‘Now More Than Ever’.
Charlotte Sweeney, a proud Arrente woman and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leader at St Joseph’s, shared a personal Acknowledgement of Country in which she paid respects to Ngadjuri Country.
School captains Tyson Schulz, Sophie Green and Jedd Kain reflected on their learnings of Indigenous culture and history.
Tyson discussed the importance of developing our knowledge of Indigenous ideas and culture every day. He used the analogy of his football journey which required regular training all year to reach his potential.
Sophie Green spoke about the significance of this year’s theme. She mentioned that as current day students, they would be the next generation of voters. It was therefore imperative for all students to grow their understanding of Indigenous perspectives and issues so they could be better informed going forward.
Jedd Kain shared his reflections about his active Aboriginal and Torres Strait learnings and how it would help to enlighten his future way of thinking. Jedd showed the gathering a traditional marn-grook ball made of possum fur, native grasses and charcoal.
Georgia Strong shared an artwork she designed and created. It demonstrated how it takes a journey to get to Year 9 and this adventure is full of ups and downs. Georgia connected this quest to the development of her emotional resilience.
The whole school spent the afternoon playing Aboriginal games led by the Year 9 Indigenous Languages students. The first game was called Marn-grook. This game is technically AFL, but it was played with a ball made from possum fur stuffed with charcoal and native grasses.
After playing the games the whole school assembled in the pattern of Georgia’s artwork and each person held up a coloured card captured by a drone.
Sophie and Tyson said it was another “amazing learning opportunity for our school”.
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