EDUCATION

Bernice Zaro helping East Ayr State School Students with their wearable art designs

East Ayr State School creates Indigenous Reference Group

Marina Trajkovich

A new initiative from East Ayr State School is working towards a more supportive and inclusive environment for Indigenous students, seeking help from members of the community via their Indigenous Reference Group.

Deputy Principal, Damien Ricketts says the group has been running since November last year to increase student’s awareness and understanding of the regions local indigenous cultures.

“What we really wanted to do this year at the school was to look at the way we engage with the Indigenous community at East Ayr, and so we sought out some feedback from community members,” said Mr Ricketts.

“We thought that there was an opportunity for more proactive work to be done in that space, so we created the Indigenous Reference Group. We invited some parents and carers of Indigenous students to have a bit of a yarn and to chat, I suppose, about how we’re going from their perspective.

“We really want to create an environment that creates belonging for our Indigenous students as well, and we started that conversation with them about where we go next.

He says that through community feedback, the school began working on creating more inclusive classrooms that acknowledged and celebrated diversity among students.

“I think the main thing was making sure that our school environment is reflecting the indigenous voices that BURDEKIN Catholic High School is getting ready for their production of School of Rock, based on the hit movie and noughties classic featuring Jack Black.

Director Elisa Rigano says the production will be a real treat with talented students bringing the movie to life.

“It’s going really well. I have a group of about thirty students, and they’re amazing. They’re the ones who are experienced theatre performers, but we’ve also got a couple of newsies, new students who’ve never been on stage before,” said Ms Rigano.

“They came to the audition and sang, and we all just went ‘oh wow.’

The students have been preparing for the show, for the big performance at the Burdekin Theatre on July 16th.

“It’s a bit different to what we’ve done in the past. It’s got a lot of rock which we haven’t really done before. It’s the kind of show that will appeal to both kids and adults, especially if they’re familiar with the movie,” said Ms Rigano.

“If you love the film, you’ll love the stage show because it’s just high energy all the way through.”

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Tickets for the show can be purchased through the Burdekin Theatre website www.burdekintheatre.com. au.

we’ve got. That involves the physical environment, the classroom environment and what we teach at the school to make sure those voices are reflected,” said Mr Ricketts.

“One of the recommendations was to create Indigenous recognition days throughout the year. We’ve recently acknowledged Reconciliation Week, and we’ve now got the ‘adopt a ranger’ program with Gudjuda. Tracey Solomon from the Gudjuda Reference Group has been visiting the students,” he said.

Mr Ricketts says that the new initiatives have been made possible by the dedication of teachers and teachers aides, like Naomi Lampton, Maureen Eaton and Kellie Lampton who are passionate about inclusiveness.

This week, students worked on creating their own wearable art pieces to go towards the the People, Culture and Country Project, a North Queensland arts initiative led by Emily Nash.

“It’s called the People, Culture and Country Wearable Art Project. It’s an ongoing project where students are encouraged to design and create a piece of wearable art that will be displayed in Townsville alongside work from other North Queensland regional schools,” said Mr Ricketts.

“It could be a suit, a headpiece. Our local totem here is the Gubulla Munda which is the snake, and so kids have already begun to look at using snakeskin and creating something that reflects the local indigenous people,” he said.

“We have now engaged local indigenous artist, Aicey Zaro, to work with the ten Year 5 and 6 students who have committed to developing the artwork.

“It’s an opportunity to learn about their local culture and to develop a piece of artwork that reflects some of those local stories.”

BCHS READY TO ROCK

Marina Trajkovich