27 Jul 2015
On Friday 26th June Taree Public School students, staff and community celebrated NAIDOC at Saltwater Reserve. Despite the rain during the night, and the worry that it may rain during the day, the weather was perfect.
The day began with Aunty Wilma performing 'Welcome to Country' in Gathang. The children love to hear her speak in language and were keen to learn some Gathang words during the day.
Uncle Russell played the digeridoo and spoke to the children about the significance of Saltwater to the Biripi people. This was very relevent as the theme for NAIDOC 2015 is 'We all Stand on Sacred Ground: Learn, Respect and Celebrate', which highlights Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' strong spiritual and cultural connection to land and sea.
Our activities for the day were a mix of education, creative and environmental, all with focus on learning about, and appreciation of, Aboriginal Culture. The children played 'Birrguu Matya" (Buch Game) they solved problems with 'feeding the mob' and 'crossing the river', they painted boomerangs, made necklaces and bracelets and learnt colour words in Gathang. Uncle Russell led them on a bushwalk and told them stories about when he was a child. He taught them about Aboriginal art and everybody got to draw in the sand.
It was a great way to finish the term and cant wait to do it all again next year!
Di Murray