Reconciliation Week 2021 - What is National Reconciliation Week? - Oxley Park Public School

Oxley Park Public School
                               Learning Together for the Future

  114-130 Adelaide Street, St Marys 2760    : 9623 1375    : 9623 1340   : oxleypark-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au

  Term 2 Week 8                                                                            10th June, 2021

    Reconciliation Week 2021
What is National Reconciliation Week?
National Reconciliation Week (NRW) is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared
histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving
reconciliation in Australia.

The dates for NRW remain the same each year; 27 May to 3 June. These dates commemorate
two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey— the successful 1967 referendum, and the
High Court Mabo decision respectively.

Reconciliation must live in the hearts, minds and actions of all Australians as we move forward,
creating a nation strengthened by respectful relationships between the wider Australian
community, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Aboriginal Education
Significant days of celebration and discussion

National Sorry Day
Observed annually on 26th May, National Sorry Day remembers and acknowledges the
mistreatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were forcibly removed from their
families and communities, which we now know as 'The Stolen Generations'.

Anniversary 1967 Referendum
27th May marks the Anniversary of the 1967 Referendum in which Australians voted
overwhelmingly to amend the Constitution to allow the Commonwealth to make laws for Aboriginal
people and include them in the Census.

National Reconciliation Week
27th May marks National Reconciliation Week (NRW) started as the Week of Prayer for
Reconciliation in 1993 (the International Year of the World’s Indigenous Peoples) and was
supported by Australia’s major faith communities. In 1996, the Council for Aboriginal
Reconciliation launched Australia’s first NRW. In 2000, Reconciliation Australia was established to
continue to provide national leadership on reconciliation. In the same year, approximately 300,000
people walked across Sydney Harbour Bridge as part of NRW, to show their support for
reconciliation.
Today, NRW is celebrated by businesses, schools and early learning services, organisations, and
individuals Australia-wide. Hundreds of NRW events are held each year.

Mabo Day
On 3rd June, Australians commemorate Mabo Day, marking the anniversary of the historic Mabo
decision.
Eddie Mabo of Mer island in the Torres Strait spent a decade seeking official recognition of his
people’s ownership of Mer and on 3rd June 1992, the High Court of Australia agreed, rejecting the
doctrine that Australia was terra nullius (land belonging to no-one) at the time of European
settlement.

Elyse French
Aboriginal Education Officer

The Native Hibiscus
The native hibiscus has been approved by the National Stolen Generations Alliance as the official
symbol for Sorry Day. According to the Kimberley Stolen Generations Aboriginal Corporation, the
native hibiscus "was adopted because it is found widely across Australia and it is a survivor. Its
colour denotes compassion and spiritual healing."

                    Acknowledgement of Country

Acknowledgement of Country Workshop
Reconciliation Week has been very busy, we had a visit from Mr Les Pitt, a Kamiliaroi man from
Walgett NSW, who did an Acknowledgement of Country Workshop with our Prefects and SRC.

Reconciliation Week Pledge

Reconciliation Week Pledge

S3M
S3M during Reconciliation Week learning about the Uluru Statement from the Heart.

S2L
Here is a photo of S2L watching a video of Indigenous man Trevor Jamieson reading 'Sorry Day'.
Eesha has also written up a little blurb describing what we learnt.

S1B

S1D
To commemorate Sorry Day and to start off Reconciliation Week, S1D visited the yarning circle
where we read Finding Our Heart, talked about the Uluru Statement from the Heart and discussed
what reconciliation means.

S1H
S1H have been busy doing artwork for Reconciliation Week.

S1K
S1K are in the Craft Club creating Darug number displays.

S1K continued
S1K writing Darug numbers.

S1L
We have been busy in S1L doing artwork for Reconciliation Week 2021.

S1S

S1S have been learning about Aboriginal culture and perspective through listening to stories and
reading. Together they pledged that they would walk and work together with our first nation’s
people to take care of this land. They signed their posters and drew Aboriginal art symbols .

S1S continued

S1S continued

S12T

National Sorry Day
As part of Reconciliation Week S12T watched the in-parliament apology speech by the Former
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd with discussions that help kids understand the impact of the past and
the important place acknowledgement has in the healing process. We have included the official
symbol the native hibiscus into our artwork.

S12T continued

KG
KG participated in Acknowledgement of Country each day to show our respect to the Darug
people.

We spent some time observing the Koori garden and discussing how we can be respectful to the
land and animals.

KP

We watched the Play School Reconciliation special episode called - Walking Together and we did
the craft activity that they suggested. KP loved it.

Reconciliation Week in KR
We have been discussing and reflecting on Reconciliation Week through reading, writing and art.

Preschool News
Reconciliation Week has enabled us to further embed
  Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island perspectives into
    our program. To keep the concept easy for the
children to understand, we talked about being kind to
one another and provided them with a variety of rich
 learning experiences to develop their understanding
  and respect for First Nations culture and traditions.

                                                There was an artwork in the Sunday paper by Maureen
                                                Hudson Nampijinpa that we studied and discussed the
                                                  meaning of at group time. The children were then
                                               provided with black paper and white paint to create their
                                                own artwork. We talked about Aboriginal symbols and
                                                 their meaning in the art and how it is another way of
                                                            communicating to each other.

  Sensory trays are a new exploration in our classroom at the
 moment, so we added to this by making an Aboriginal flag using
            black beans, red rice and yellow lentils.
   After reading ‘Warnayarra – the Rainbow Snake’ the children
 worked collaboratively to make their own snake on our concrete
outside. They were able to retell parts of the story and noticed how
                the illustrations reflected the plot.