Hosted by our Junior and Secondary Reconciliation Ambassadors Maggie, Scarlett, Izaac and Henry, we celebrated this year’s National Reconciliation Week theme of ‘Now More Than Ever’ with the assistance of some exceptional guests at our whole-School Reconciliation Assembly in May.
We were honoured to be joined by the State’s highest office bearer, Her Excellency the Honourable Frances Adamson AC, Governor of South Australia, who spoke about her personal experiences with Kaurna culture, and encouraged us to actively engage with our new Reconciliation Action Plan.
Providing an official Welcome To Country was proud Kaurna, Narungga, Ngarrindjeri, Ngadjuri and Arrente man, Cliffy ‘Tangku Munaitya’ Wilson, who enriched us with language lessons and insight into local culture, along with a few laughs at his own expense (ask him about his spirit animal if you get a chance!).
We were also fortunate to witness a compelling presentation by St John’s Grammar School student and proud Miriam Mir person, Ophelia, who spoke very well, bringing wisdom and meaning to ‘Now More Than Ever’ in a context that resonated with all present.
Away from the speeches, we watched two videos highlighting our School’s engagement with indigenous culture – one poignantly covering the School’s annual APY Lands trips, and the other showing our ELC students participating in ‘Bush Time’, which was very cute! Musically, our ‘Whole School Choir’ filled the hall with raised voices, and the Assembly was closed with the line ‘stand up and be counted’ sounding out from the student body during teacher Pat Penfold’s performance of Warumpi Band’s hit ‘Black Fella/White Fella’.
A full event that left us with full hearts, the spirit of reconciliation, and many smiles as the children ventured into the sunlight afterwards.
You can see more pictures from this event on Facebook, by clicking HERE.