Kaya everyone, and Wandjoo to Term 3! It has been wonderful to see our students and families back on site this week and to hear of holiday adventures. 

Our focus Core Values for Term 3 are Honesty and Courage. We look forward to unpacking the meaning of these concepts, including ways we can demonstrate them in our lives, throughout the term. 

Our NAIDOC Week events began with our Welcome Back Assembly we unpacked the 2024 NAIDOC theme, Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud. We learned about the poster artwork, by Torres Strait Islander artist Deb Belyea, called Urapun Muy, which means ‘One Fire.’ Our Arts Captain launched a NAIDOC Art & Colouring Competition based on the NAIDOC theme with entries due Friday 2 August, in honour of National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day.

We began working with Noongar Artist, Bianca Willder, on Thursday to create our Noongar Bonar mural which captures elements of the six seasons and our House Group mascots. It is looking amazing so far, and we look forward to continuing the work in Week 2. 

All of the Primary students across the School gathered on the Meadow Springs oval on Friday morning, for a Smoking Ceremony and Welcome to Country, led by Mr George Walley. After a brief sprinkle of rain, the clouds parted, and the sun shone. The students demonstrated such respect as they listened and walked through the smoke towards the Kwobadiny, where Uncle Tim Kelly and the Deadly Yongers entertained us with Noongar dance and stories. We were truly blessed to experience this beautiful Cultural learning opportunity and thank everyone involved for their contributions.

On Friday afternoon, our ‘Sound Squad’ team attended the Cluedunnit Kids 2024 Awards presentation at Perth Children’s Court to receive Runner-Up prize for the whole competition. What an incredible achievement from these young people. We are proud of the efforts of all of our teams and send a huge thank you to Mrs McRae for her devotion to our extension programmes. 

What a fantastic first week! There are many more adventures to be had and we are excited to share them with our School community.

Boordawan

Mrs Natalie Burbage

Acting Head of Primary - Halls Head