APRE News
Welcome to the end of Week 6! Our Year 1 Echidnas lead us beautifully in assembly today on the theme of Reconciliation Week. The prayer asked for God’s strength and grace to welcome, accept and include all people of this land. They also prayed that the spirit of reconciliation fill our hearts, our minds and our deeds.
On Thursday afternoon some of our St Benedict’s staff and Indigenous families gathered to launch our Reconciliation Action Plan. We were especially blessed to have Warrant Officer Uncle Dave Boye from the 3rd Brigade attend and share some insights into why ‘Sorry Day’ matters and the connection between the Australian Defence Force and Indigenous Australians. It was particularly moving when Uncle Dave welcomed ancestors to be with us in our school in language.
It was wonderful to gather as a community and recognise the work of our Indigenous Education Committee, who have worked hard over the last few years to get it to the point of launch. It’s certainly fitting that we are now able to launch this document during Reconciliation Week, and something worth celebrating. In doing so, it also marks a commitment from our school to show the wider community what reconciliation means to us, and the actions we plan on doing to enact this. I thought it would be fitting to share a part of our Vision for Reconciliation below:
We aim to continually develop shared understandings of the value and respect that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rights, histories, cultures and contributions deserve.
Our Benedictine values of Love, Community, Learning and Stewardship call us:
- To nurture the wellbeing of others
- To lead with an openness of heart and mind
- To listen to one another with consideration
- To promote awareness that we are a part of a larger world
We are committed to building deep interpersonal relationships and partnerships in order to enact varied actions of reconciliation within our community.
We aim to see God in All of Life.
Some of the goals within the the action plan include:
- Providing opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and children to engage in activities that celebrate their cultural heritage and identities
- Provide opportunities for staff to build and extend knowledge and understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures
- Build relationships with the local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community that are founded on mutual respect, trust and inclusiveness
- Provide opportunities for students and children to extend their knowledge and understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures
- Ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures are incorporated in curriculum planning, development and evaluation process
Pax
Nick