An opening ceremony was held to mark the beginning of the week-long celebration where many special guests, including Aunty Laurel, members from the Land Council, the AECG and our local member, were invited. Aunty Laurel spoke wonderfully about the message behind this year’s theme: Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up!
By showing the students her new book People, Places and Pathways, Aunty Laurel also shared a Dreaming story about the Belmont Lagoon not far from Swansea. We also had the privilege of listening to a student, Olivia Smith, talk about role models like Ash Barty and how we can stand up, and show up in our daily life.
Throughout the week, the students participated in rotational activities. They learnt to weave with Mrs Stewart which was an incredible success. Students also listened to Damen, one of our SLSOs, share a traditional Indigenous game that he and his friends played growing up. Other activities included Dreaming stories, art and a very competitive game of trivia.
NAIDOC Week concluded with a presentation of all classes sharing their findings of a significant Aboriginal person. Each class spoke about how the person has represented Australia and their culture in their career such as politics, sport, art, and music. Students loved listening to and sharing their facts about Ash Barty, Cathy Freeman, Adam Goodes, Yothu Yindi, Bronwyn Bancroft, Jessica Mauboy, Baker Boy and Albert Namatjira to name just a few!
Swansea Public School would like to thank all those involved in making NAIDOC Week a success and to all those in the community who helped to celebrate! We can’t wait for NAIDOC Week 2023!
