Ad Astra No.118 June 2010

Page 20

AD ASTRA JUNE 2010 David Curnow and Dr Pauline Turner from The Geelong College; Norm Stanley from Narana; Gove students Dongga Maymuru, Marradakthun Marika and Boogie Ngurruwutthun; and Geelong Football Club player Nathan Djerrkura.

CULTURAL

CONNECTIONS Respect, understanding and tolerance are traits that every parent hopes their child will exhibit as they make their way through life. These are the same traits that the College’s indigenous education program is founded on, and the ideals of ‘we are all in this together’ and ‘building bridges’ has helped to establish a strong bond between the College community and indigenous Australians. The indigenous education program is the result of a relationship between The Geelong College and Shalom Christian College in Townsville that has seen more than 250 College students and staff travel to Shalom and 40 Shalom students and staff visit Geelong over the past 10 years. In April, eight students from Shalom visited the College as part of the program, and with the support of the Geelong Football Club, were joined by an additional four students from Gove in Arnhem Land and Groote in the Gulf of Carpentaria.

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Arriving during the Year 10 Fulfilling Lives week, the indigenous students participated in some of the activities of the Community and Cultural program that was being held at Mokborree, the College’s Otways Campus, where the visiting students were staying during their time in Geelong. Students also took part in classes at the College, including an art class where they were able to teach our students about their traditional art, played in College sports teams, participated in football skills sessions run by Geelong Football Club players and attended a learnto-surf lesson at Jan Juc. The Geelong College’s Spiritual and Community Outreach Coordinator, Mr David Curnow, said the program has gone from strength to strength and is now being supported by other local organisations and businesses. “The indigenous program focuses on building relationships and developing cultural understanding and it is really

pleasing to see other local enterprises jumping on board and supporting the program,” Mr Curnow said. “Up-and-coming Cats star, Nathan Djerrkura, played a big role in this year's program and was able to work with the Football Club to include some of his family members from Gove and Groote in the program. Nathan is a great role model and the students really enjoyed having him around during their time here.” “With support from organisations such as the Geelong Football Club, Quiksilver, the Uniting Church, Narana Creations and the Narana Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Congress, we have been able to take the program to the next level and will continue to build on this in the coming years,” he said A highlight of each year’s program was the surfing lesson, sponsored by the Quiksilver Foundation. The Quiksilver Foundation has supported the College’s indigenous program for the past eight years, and this year, was


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Ad Astra No.118 June 2010 by Geelong College - Issuu