On Friday 24th March Edmund Rice College welcomed Warradha Aboriginal Group to the school for the Year 9 Indigenous Cultures Day. The day was a success with both outstanding respect shown by the Year 9 students as well as the weather holding off and providing us with a clear sunny day.

Aunty Rayma and Aunty Marlene welcomed the cohort through a traditional acknowledgement of Country than allowing each student to be smoked by Uncle Rik, Neenan and Chris. The day consisted of rotating workshops where each student had the opportunity to immerse themselves in differing aspects of our First Nations culture including, dreamtime stories, Aboriginal art, traditional dances, traditional use of ochre as body paint, artefacts and Didgeridoo.

We were also blessed with a special dance performance by the teachers here at Edmund Rice who too were taught a traditional dance that tells the story of the codfish and performed this in front of the Year 9 cohort.

Some of the students have shared their experiences of the day:

“The Indigenous Cultures Day was a great opportunity for us as students of Edmund Rice College to appreciate and enjoy the traditional owners of Australia and the traditions they bring to the Australian personality” – Jay Jayaswal

“I really enjoyed the day and I hope I can share some of the things I learnt with my peers” – Jack Manns

“Overall it was an amazing experience and I think everyone should at least do something similar to this because it is a once in a lifetime experience” – Zac Nielson

“A great experience and a great learning opportunity to learn more about the land we stand on today.” – Angus Lawson

“I got a lot of joy and learnt a lot more about my Indigenous culture. Overall the day was amazing and it was good to see other students participating in the Aboriginal Culture.” – Miles Ackerely

Finally, in Week 9 the College welcomed local Torres Strait Islander man Zachary Bennett-Brook to complete our first art mural for the year. The story behind the art is a combination of the school’s house colours (McMahon, Rice, Keira, Ignatius, Crown and Waterford). With meeting places signifying the differing places we as College come together to learn and teach and the journeys we take along the way. The College would like to thank Zac for his beautiful piece.

Ms Neal
First Nations Coordinator