Since we have 6 Elected Leaders for 2022 who are Indigenous students, they were offered a workshop on Wednesday 24th November to prepare them for these higher duties. The topics covered were: Time management, SMART goals setting and creating time schedules to prepare themselves for their extra responsibilities. It was great to see the engagement of the students and also the rapport they have built so they can support each other in the year ahead.

Our last gathering event for the Burara Program was held at Jezzine Park (BBQ area) on Thursday 11th November with around 30 students, mentors and staff attending. After a check in, the groups broke off to talk about challenges they have faced and how they will be managing these challenges in the future. This was followed by a BBQ dinner and cooling desserts. The students said there were some “deep yarns” which we hope helped support them as we wrap up the year.

At the end of last term a group of 35 staff, mentors and students from Years 10-12  went to Cairns for our Burara Mentoring Camp. We were privileged to have a rich cultural experience meeting with Traditional Owners at Mamu Skywalk and Rainforestation. Dadirri at the Babinda Boulders, throwing Boomerangs and a Skyrail ride down were some of the highlights. There was dedicated time for group mentoring and lots of fun bonding over board games and outdoor activities. We are confident we will see lasting relationships prosper and grow.
 

Gangali Group

The Gangali group (pronounced gang-gah-lee) involves Indigenous students in Years 3 and 4 and gives them an introduction to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and positive promotion of Indigenous identity amongst the group. By participating in this program the students can gain confidence and self-esteem, which will have a positive impact on their engagement and educational outcomes. The word Gangali comes from the local Biriguba language group and it means ‘be proud’, this name was chosen because we want to instill a sense of pride and confidence in our students, we want our students to be proud of their culture and themselves. 

In the first session last term the students engaged with bonding activities and working together to create the rules and expectations of the group. 
 

There were 2 more sessions this term where students learned more about Aboriginal and Torres Strait culture, protocols, history and traditions.  This has been a great opportunity for our Indigenous students to come together and develop their sense of identity as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in a safe place. 

  
Junior Campus students wearing their Indigenous shirts on Thursday 14th October for the First Sea of Hands - Canberra Native Title remembrance.
 

Prep Orientation

  
We welcomed 10 Prep students at our Orientation day on Thursday 18th November. They all seemed happy to come into our classes and we look forward to supporting them when they start in 2022.

In the middle of this year, 8 staff from the college (Primary and Secondary) were offered to participate in the Stronger Smarter Institute Leadership Program which equips educators to challenge mindsets within schools to actively engage the school community and staff to enact High-Expectations Relationships, promote positive identities and excellence in schools. The vision of the program is to create transformative change in Indigenous educational outcomes. The Phase 2 of this program was run in October at The Ville. We are looking forward to seeing those initiatives be introduced within the school community very soon.

On Thursday 4th November, our young men met in the Hub for their last session of their Men’s Business series with Floyd Gillin. After a shared lunch the boys had some time to look at Ochre and the traditions of paint up before dancing and ceremonies. It was great to see them engaging with their culture and we hope we can continue this in the future.

On Tuesday 9th November, our staff had a wonderful development session with Krista O’Connor, our Indigenous Education Adviser from TCEO touching on topics of strength based approach and giving feedback.

Women's Business
  
On Thursday 28th October, we held our first in what will hopefully be a long series of cultural connectedness sessions for our young Indigenous women. Our guest speakers, Tracey and Vicki from TAIHS spoke to our students about the different groups and activities that they run for Indigenous women in the community and gave our girls some ideas for things they might like to include in their own women’s group which will meet once per term throughout next year with a different cultural focus each session. Kilah did a great job with an Acknowledgement of Country emphasising the significance of the Battle of Pinjarra.


Good Quick Tukka
  
In Week 3 we welcomed back Fabian from TAIHS to the College to run the first of 5 workshops on Good Quick Tukka. Eleven of our deadly students from Years 7-10 have enjoyed an introduction to safe food handling and identifying healthy foods. In the second session students had a great time making granola and fruit yoghurt cups as a quick, healthy, easy to prepare snack option. They also learned about safe knife handling and which food groups the ingredients belong to.


Bacho's Farewell
  
Bacho left us at the end of  Week 7 to fly to Melbourne for his pre-season with the Melbourne Storm. We took the opportunity in Week 6 to wish him well on this exciting new journey at a shared staff morning tea. We were honoured to also have Les Tanna, Floyd Gillan, and Leroy Whelan from the Yalga Cultural Program join us to wish him well and present him with a beautiful miniature painted shield made by Les to signify their shared connection as Rainforest people.

Our annual Junior Campus Activity Day was held on Friday 26th November. Our first group of Years 2, 3 & 4 were kept busy with activities like making woven turtles, flying reindeer's, palm tree Christmas cards, catapults and an outside game. We then had a shared lunch with the Preps and Year 1 students joining us. Our afternoon was spent entertaining our Preps and Year 1's with similar activities including hands on play activities like sand drawing, magnetic fishing and cave art. The students enjoyed spending time and having a yarn with their friends from other year levels and our wonderful staff!

We farewell two more staff members:
 Brenton Baira - Senior Campus
 Amy Sinclair - Junior Campus
 We wish them all the very best in their new adventures!

IEAC Meeting - TBA
Indigenous families Meet & Greet - Tuesday 22nd February - 5-7pm
Yarning Circles  - TBA

Student Elected Leaders 2022
College Captain - Ella DeDaunton
Community Captain - Lexi Laidlow
Sports Captains - Brianna Cassady & Sam Hanson
Connolly Captain - Eila Koskela
McGuire Vice Captain - Jasper Caddies

 Have a safe and deadly holiday from the Indigenous Education Team!

For any queries, please contact us at indigenous@ryan.catholic.edu.au

From Pria, Kirby, Georgia, Amy, Michelle, Bacho,
Shannon, Alesha, Brenton and Kate.