National Reconciliation Week commenced on Friday 27 May and will run through to Friday 3 June. It is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.

This week our students will be taking part in a range of activities to highlight the importance of reconciliation.

Today, our Year 12s would like to share a short video.

Today our Year 7 History students learnt about the importance of dot paintings.

Dot paintings are now internationally recognised as unique and integral to Australian Aboriginal Art. The simple dot style as well as cross-hatching is beautifully aesthetic to the eye but has a far more hidden meaning and deeper purpose; to disguise the sacred meanings behind the stories in the paintings.

After learning about this history our students completed a National Sorry Day collaborative colouring page, which will be displayed in their classroom.

Today our Year 5 students from 5JB hosted our Junior School Assembly, with a focus on Reconciliation. They spoke about the importance of ‘Welcome to Country’ and ‘Acknowledgement of Country’ and celebrated the achievements of some of our iconic Aboriginal sportspeople. They also talked about the history of reconciliation and the ways we can all be brave and make change.

At the conclusion of their Assembly students sang an Aboriginal song ‘Ngaya berong’ together. The song is about the importance of family and is sung in Dharug Aboriginal language.

Today our Year 7 Class Leaders led their Year Level Assembly and presented ways to ‘Be Brave’ and ‘Make Change’ in line with this year’s theme for National Reconciliation Week.

Their presentations included a range of ideas, from greeting each other in the morning with the traditional Kaurna greeting “Niina marni”, through to incorporating Aboriginal culture into sporting events, such as special uniforms or smoking ceremonies. They presented ways to respect our country, for example, through recycling and simple and practical ideas like addressing letters with ‘Kaurna Country’.

Our College Pastor, Marty Fox, spoke about the importance of seeing the light in others and understanding that not everyone has the same history and to consider this when building relationships with people.

Students also viewed some thought-provoking videos about racism, the history of Australia and the Mabo decision.

Thank you to our Year 7 Class Leaders for a remarkable Assembly.

In the lead up to National Reconciliation Week our Year 9 students focused on this year’s Tarnanthi exhibition at the Art Gallery of South Australia.

The name Tarnanthi (pronounced tar-nan-dee) comes from the language of the Kaurna people, the traditional owners of the Adelaide Plains. It means to come forth or appear – like the sun and the first emergence of light.

Tarnanthi is a platform for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists from across the country to share important stories. In response to the work of Kaylene Whiskey, students painted compositions onto road signs that portrayed a story about the things that were important to them. The signs light up in the dark with the use of reflective materials and paint.