Indigenous Cultural Day

June, 2009

Year 5 students at the Valley Campus were immersed in indigenous tradition when the Middle School held an Indigenous Cultural Day for all Year 5 as part of their Term 2 Indigenous Studies program during the week leading up to Reconciliation Week and Sorry Day.

Students were involved in a range of activities, including storytelling, indigenous art, ‘Marnngruk’ (indigenous football), modern indigenous music and animated stories and indigenous dance.
The special guest for the day was a senior elder from the Wurundjeri tribe, Murrindinidi. He ran storytelling sessions with each Year 5 class, including the creation stories about the platypus, the sky and Bunjil the eagle.

For the indigenous art project, the various groups each prepared a small panel as part of a year level canvas.
The dance sessions culminated in a full Year 5 dance led by Murrindindi in the quad at the end of the day.
The students proved to be very enthusiastic about these activities and the opportunity to be creative in a different way. They also very much valued the opportunity to meet and spend time with Murrindindi, who proved to be very adept at storytelling and connecting with our students.

“Given the College’s theme of ‘Reconciliation’ in 2009, this special day proved to be an excellent vehicle for encouraging a better understanding of indigenous culture and promoting reconciliation amongst our Year 5 students”, said Mr Frank Pagliuca, Head of Middle School – Valley Campus.