NAIDOC Week at Chisholm Catholic College has been an eventful week full of celebrations. We began NAIDOC Week with Mr Jake Ricks lighting the fire pit in the Yarning Circle and continued to do so every morning before PCG for everyone in the school to enjoy.

On Wednesday, the Aboriginal Education Team provided all staff with NAIDOC themed sugar cookies and cupcakes to enjoy for morning tea.

As this year’s NAIDOC Week theme is ‘For Our Elders’ we decided to dedicate this year to our Indigenous students and their parents. By doing this, we hosted a ‘For Our Elders’ Afternoon Tea for our students’ parents as they are the most influential people in their lives and we wanted to celebrate it. This was held on Wednesday in the staffroom after school and it was a great event, with most of our students and their parents attending. We provided food from Kuditj Catering, who use native ingredients in all their food. Once everyone settled in, had a yarn (talk) and ate, we took everyone on a tour around the school grounds to see some of the locations within the College that have Indigenous significance. The main place being the Aboriginal Programme Office, where all the Indigenous students spend a lot of their time and parents could see what the space offers. While on the tour, our students along with Miss Amy McGuire, our Aboriginal Liaison Officer, explained the stories or significance of these locations and art pieces.

The afternoon tea was a huge success for everyone involved. It was a good atmosphere and everyone enjoyed the afternoon getting to know one another.

To conclude NAIDOC Week, Mr Ricks coordinated the Staff Prayer on Thursday morning. Starting off with an Acknowledgment To Country which all staff read aloud, he then read an Indigenous prayer. This was followed by a couple of the GECKOS (Growing Enriched Cultural Knowledge in Our Schools) Committee Members sharing another prayer to staff. He concluded the morning by showing a few videos dedicated to Indigenous Elders for NAIDOC Week and how they have made a positive impact on lives today.

Miss Amy McGuire
Aboriginal Liaison Officer