Due to unforeseen circumstances, the NAIDOC celebrations had to be delayed, but the wait was worth it.
Finally on Thursday 7th September Warners Bay Public School was privileged to have Jodie Stewart, Aboriginal Community Liaison Officer and Relieving President of Kumaridha Local AECG, come into the school to coordinate our belated NAIDOC Day celebrations.
Members of the local Aboriginal community shared the day with the school, which began with an assembly run by our Year 6 Indigenous students, Mayra Kelly, Kane Hancock and Ruby Gray. These students did an amazing job and made the Aboriginal and Warners Bay School communities very proud.
Almost twenty Warners Bay Public School Indigenous students (of all ages) performed traditional Indigenous dances for the whole school and community guests. Jodie had given up several hours of her time in the weeks leading up to the event to choreograph and teach the students the dance before the big day.
Prior to the day, the students and teachers had been asked to wear black, red or yellow, and after the assembly, the children, teachers and community members gathered into their respective colours of black, red and yellow to create our traditional human, Aboriginal flag.
After the official assembly and a BBQ lunch the whole school participated in tabloid style Yulunga Traditional Indigenous games and activities, which included:
- Hunting games
- Traditional Indigenous games
- Learning about Aboriginal artefacts
- Clapsticks (Girls) and Didgeridoos (Boys) experience
- ‘Red Black and Yellow’ dance
- Hand printing on two ‘memory poles’
- Dreaming stories
A fantastic day was had by all and we thank everyone who made this significant day a success. Special thanks to Jodie Stewart for your dedication and commitment in bringing the day together!
