Natanya Milner – Head of Primary School

Today is the start of National Reconciliation Week (NRW) – a time for us to learn about our shared histories, cultures and achievements and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia. The national theme of NRW for 2022 is ‘Be Brave. Make Change’ which is an inspirational call to action for us to all consider how to learn and do more. The theme from Reconciliation NSW and the Reconciliation Challenge for our students is ‘From River to Sea: Our Island Home’. This theme provides us with the opportunity to explore the First Nations people’s connection to water.

Throughout the coming week, our students will participate in different activities connected to NRW. On Tuesday 31 May 2022, the students can come dress in mufti that is in the colour/s of either the Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander flags – red, black, yellow, green, blue and white. They are asked to bring in $5.00 to contribute towards some fundraising we are doing for Jilkminggan School. As the weather gets colder, the school is hoping to create a school set of winter jumpers to be available for the students as needed at school.

Over the past year, a team of Emanuel staff has been writing our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) which has recently been approved and published by Reconciliation Australia. We are very proud of this achievement. This exciting document outlines actions that we can take in our school to create relationships, build respect and increase opportunities for reconciliation at Emanuel. We are enjoying taking these steps together in order to build our community’s understanding and involvement. Part of our RAP also includes staff training so that the teachers are better equipped to teach about Indigenous histories and cultures.

As with any important messages that we share with our children, the more engaged we are, the more important they will believe the message is. If you are looking for ways to become more involved, here are some ‘actions to make change’ suggestions from Reconciliation Australia and here is a calendar with some activities taking place in the community. We also encourage all of our Emanuel Families to learn about the Uluru Statement from the Heart  to support the learning your children have done at school.