A group of Year 6 students together with their teachers Michelle Weir, Machiko Ohta, Drew Holmes and David Engelbert embarked on an incredible journey to Goodooga for an intercultural on Country program—Schools Walking Together. They stayed at the school for the whole week and had teachers and Elders from the community teaching, doing cultural activities, cooking and feeding them.
Students reflected on their daily experiences by writing a journal. You can read some of the reflections below.
“I learnt so many new things about aboriginal tucker and the things that we could find in the wild”
“After we finished all our food, we went to an Aboriginal museum, where we learnt about Aboriginal weapons and Hospital Creek. I was quite surprised with how much I learnt from the day”
Below are some highlights of their visit to Goodooga.
Meanwhile, the Year 6 students staying in Sydney participated in an Intercultural Immersion Week and were immersed in learning on Country, exploring the historical The Rocks Area and boarding the Tribal Warrior, Mari Nawi Big Canoe to learn about the traditional culture, history and stories of one of the most beautiful harbours in the world. They heard stories of the Gadigal, Guringai, Wangle, Gammeraigal, and Wallumedegal people of Sydney Harbour and learnt the Aboriginal names and meanings of significant Sydney landmarks. To finish their enriching week, they also had a workshop with Aunty Bianca about totems and aboriginal art.
Thank you to teachers, Elders and the principal of Goodooga School who generously gave their time, space and knowledge to give our students an incredible once-in-a-lifetime experience over the week.