NAIDOC Day 2013

​In July each year the school holds its annual NAIDOC DAY which aims to promote reconciliation, develop cultural understanding and respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC Day is a highlight for both our students and teachers.

In 2012 visitors from the Ngutana-Lui Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Studies Centre visited the school to assist us with the activities.

For NAIDOC Day 2013 we were fortunate to be able to listen to one of indigenous parents speak about what it was like growing up as a child on the central coast of Queensland. Mrs Doyle, mother of Ella (Yr 7) and Edwina (Yr 1), gave a moving address holding the audience enthralled throughout. Mrs Doyle is well known to the students often visiting the classes to share stories of her family and their traditional practices.

NAIDOC stands for the National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee. Its origins can be traced to the emergence of Aboriginal groups in the 1920s which sought to increase awareness in the wider community of the status and treatment of Indigenous Australians. NAIDOC is a celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and an opportunity to recognise the contributions of Indigenous Australians in various fields.  Activities take place across the nation during NAIDOC Week in the first full week of July. 

The image above is our new Australian Indigenous Garden whcih was planted outside Penola Place in preparation for NAIDOC Day 2012.
 
Chris Thomas
Principal
July 2013