This week we celebrated NAIDOC week, a time to celebrate the history, cultures and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. St Joseph’s NAIDOC week this year was centred around experiences with the community and the sharing of knowledge of the unique pace we live in.
On Monday we had the Kindy children visit from C&K Weipa and C&K Napranum. The little visitors spent the morning with the Prep students, dancing, listening to stories, having a yarn, face painting and completing totem crafts.
Thank you to Liz and the team from C&K Weipa and Emma and the team from C&K Napranum for coming along.
We also had Sean and Cameron, the Napranum Rangers visit all the students and to speak about the work they do including the turtle monitoring and conservation at Pennefather. The students thoroughly enjoyed the presentation and the wealth of knowledge the rangers shared about invasive pets and what we can do to help. Did you know that an average of 400 nests are recorded at Pennefather each year, with each nest producing about 50 eggs per nest. Sadly only 1 in every 1000 hatchling will survive until adulthood. Thank you Sean and Cameron, we are looking forward to you visiting again.
On Wednesday the Year 4-6 students visited the Western Cape Cultural Centre to learn about the History of Weipa. What a beautiful location and experience for the children as they worked through the many displays and art gallery. A big thank you to Moira and Gina Hart for being so welcoming and sharing your knowledge with us all. WCCC were very kind to gift our students with a bag full of goodies and information. We look forward to visiting again.
On Thursday, the team from PCYC Napramum came with lots of energy and enthusiasm to lead Indigenous Games with the children. They played a range of games from communities all over Australia. Thank you to TJ and his team for coming along, we look forward to the PCYC team visiting regularly this term.
We also had the Western Cape College Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Dance Troupe present cultural dancers. The costumes, painting and singing were outstanding. The students enjoyed hearing about the meaning of the dances and the live music using the drum. Thank you to Alyce and Ernest, the WCC team and students for joining us and celebrating with dance and music. We wish you all the best for your celebrations next week.
It was great to have Lillian Miller join us all week from Cairns. Lillian is out First Nations Consultant who spent time in each classroom sharing the meaning of this year’s NAIDOC theme Heal Country. Lillian spent some time explaining the artwork for this year and ways we can work together to heal our waterway, land and sacred sites.
Our week finished with a Liturgy on Friday during which representatives from each class presented an item. Thank you to all the students for your participation and sharing during this time. Thank you to all the parents who joined in the events throughout the week. You are always welcome.