A Message from the Principal
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children's Day
Today our school partnered with Gungahlin Child and Family Centre and Gugan Gulwan to celebrated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children's Day with all of our preschoolers and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from across the school. It is an opportunity for us to show our support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, as well as learn about the crucial impact that culture, family and community play in the life of every Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child. Unfortunately this year we were not able to make it the community event we had hoped, but our children had a great time.
Deputy Director General Visit
Last Thursday Deputy Director General, Deb Efthymiades visited our school. Our wonderful school captains greeted Deb and took her on a tour of the things they are most proud of in our school. This finished in their classrooms with a discussion of their recent learning experiences. Deb complimented our school on the high levels of engagement in learning, the pride for our school reflected in our indoor and outdoor environments and the warm welcome all students gave her as she moved around the school.
School Leader Appointments
Last week I had the pleasure of appointing two school leaders to our school permanently.
Erin Salleo has won the position of school Leader C. She will continue on as our capable leader in the Preschool and with our Specialist Team. Many of you will also encounter Erin as our Disability Education Contact Officer (DECO) and an active participant in school events.
I also congratulate Natalie Munoz who has permanently won the Early Years Engagement Partner position. Natalie brings experience in both the education and community services fields that strengthen the supports our school is able to offer to our students and their families to maximise positive outcomes for all.
Dion Drummond Performance
On Wednesday and Thursday of this week we are treating all of our students to a performance to compliment our whole school learning focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives. Dion Drummond (whose Aboriginal name is Moogera - meaning “storm”) is of Torres Strait Islands descent on his mother’s side and Aboriginal from his father’s family. Dion was born in Mossman (Kukuyalangi) 80 km north of Cairns, Queensland. Dion was part of the well-known Naroo Dancers, and has performed extensively in Australia and overseas.
The first part of his programme is full of wonderful and playful Islander music including various Island dances and singing. For this section of the show, he wears traditional headdress and grass skirt. The second part of his performance is devoted to Aboriginal dance, indigenous to Far North Queensland (Cape York), didgeridoo, clapping sticks, stories and explanations of various artefacts.
Ask your children over the next couple of days what they learnt from Dion. We will share some pictures of our school visit after the performance.
School Satisfaction Survey
We are looking forward to seeing all of the wonderful work our school community has been doing reflected in the School Satisfaction Survey this year. Of course, it is also a great avenue to suggest areas for growth. We encourage all families to complete the survey to help our school celebrate success and plan for improvement. Survey links will be coming out soon.