Aboriginal CULTURAL UNIT.
In 2010 the study of Aboriginal culture became a part of our school curriculum. The goals of the program were to maintain cultural identity, to increase well-being and attendance of all students at school, to foster positive attitudes towards education and encourage parents and family members to be engaged in school.
All students from pre – school to year 6 are included in the program with a male and a female co-coordinator being employed to teach Aboriginal culture and Australian history for two and three week blocks. The focus of study is determined in a planning session with the class teacher, the cultural coordinators and the principal. All units of work are linked with subjects from the Australian Curriculum.
The cultural program has a two way learning approach which is in the classroom where in class discussions such as Identity, Australian and Aboriginal history, traditional music and video documentaries are presented and outside the classroom where first hand learning takes place to engage students and staff in activities such as comeback boomerang throwing, traditional & modern fire lighting, spear throwing, bushland trail walks and class excursions.
The activities provided in the cultural program empower the students to celebrate being Australian, proud to be part of the oldest surviving culture in the world, sharing their knowledge of what they know about their own tribal culture and participating in new activities.
At the completion of each unit parents are invited to attend a parent’s day morning tea and to witness their children’s learning in a video presentation of all activities completed during the two or three weeks. It is obvious that the students become active listeners during this time, show respect to adults and each other, engage in their learning and of course have a lot of fun.
