Dear Parents and Carers,

Term Four Excursions

Brungle Aboriginal Cultural Education Centre

This term, you may have noticed some further signage across the school written in traditional Wiradjuri language. Gawaymbanha (welcome) and student year levels have been a recent addition to the entrance of our school and learning spaces. Mrs Parker has done a terrific job educating our students about these Wiradjuri words and numbers and this great work at school has culminated with some further learning at the Brungle Aboriginal Education Centre. This understanding, respect and further learning is an important part of reconciliation and respect for our Aboriginal people.

On Wednesday, students came back with fond memories of their experience and I thought it might be great to highlight some of the learnings and comments made by students upon their return.

Harley: “I liked it. The boomerangs were good because they were so cool and had lots of different colours. I learned how to make a basket out of string! There were also these didgeridoos that made a sound like (insert didgeridoo noise!) and the last thing was that we sat down and sang songs together.”

Braxton: “It was really fun. It was exciting working out whether the boomerang would come back or not. The ochre was also really fun because it showed us about Aboriginal culture and when we put it on and it dried out you couldn’t feel it on your face anymore. I learned how to speak in Wiradjuri language”

Lily: “It was really good, we learned lots of things including different new words and what different trees are used for. The Black Wattle helps make soap but can also be used to bring fish to the surface so they can be speared. The flower of the Red Wattle can be used to mix with water and make a sweet drink.”

Junee - Wednesday 30th November

Next Wednesday, our K-3 students will finally get to venture to Junee for their excursion. Students will be visiting the Junee Roundhouse and Junee Licorice Factory. A note will go to parents tomorrow via Compass explaining that dates have been changed and that previous permission has been used for these new dates. If this consent or contact details need to be changed, Michelle will ask this be done through Compass. We hope it’s a terrific experience for our K-3 students!

2023 Counselling Services

While I understand some circumstances can change over the holiday period, for families already looking to utilise or continue our end to end school counselling services (regardless of whether or not this service has been utilised in 2022), could they contact myself and I will ensure referrals are completed before the end of the school year.

Reports

Our End of Year Reports will go home to families on Friday 2nd December. Following this (Week 9) there will be an opportunity for parents to book in for Parent Teacher Interviews. I want to remind families of previous correspondence regarding reports: "A decision (inline with several other educational jurisdictions and systems) was made by Catholic Education Canberra Goulburn that students would not be receiving general comments in this year’s Semester Two reports." I would therefore encourage parents/carers to utilise the allocated times to meet with your child’s teacher to discuss Semester Two and their future learning. If the allocated times don’t suit, please contact the teacher directly.

Enjoy the remainder of your week,

Ryan Forsyth

Acting Principal