Respect for First Nations people and culture

Acknowledgement

Brighton Grammar School acknowledges that our school is on Country of the people of the Kulin Nations. We wish to honour the connection to Country of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and pay respect to their Traditional Custodians and Elders past and present.

Wominjeka

Our RAP and strategy – Under Construction

At BGS we value and respect First Nations People, Culture and Country. We acknowledge the injustices of the past and look toward building unity in the future through education, truth telling, new relationships and reconciliation. We have started to develop our first Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) and a long term strategy for change.

Connecting to Country

The land our school sits on is Aboriginal land. The Boon Wurrung and Woiwurrung people have walked the coastline of Nerm (Port Phillip Bay) and the land around Melbourne for many thousands of years.

We are committed to developing authentic partnerships to connect to this ancient land and its people in unity and friendship. BGS has relationships with Traditional Custodians, we incorporate Welcome to Country ceremonies performed by Traditional Owners to begin our school semesters and we welcome First Nations people into the classroom to ensure a rich and balanced education for our boys.   

Pormpuraaw

With a Year 6 exchange and Year 9 immersion programs, our boys have two opportunities to travel to Thaayorre Country and immerse themselves in the remote Cape York community of Pormpuraaw.

The purpose of these experiences is to give our boys an extended opportunity to develop relationships, learn about the cultures of the Thaayorre, WIk and Kugu people and spend time exploring the beautiful landscape of Gulf.

Our boys stay at the Community Centre in the centre of town and walk to school each day, most afternoons are filled with basketball and play, the local kids love hanging out with our boys. We always have enough food for unexpected guests and make sure we maximise every opportunity to bring people together and support learning both ways.

Tiwi

Our relationship with Tiwi goes back to 2010, when the first Year 6 exchange took place in the community of Milikapiti. The town of Milikapiti is nestled against the northern coastline of the Melville Island.

The boys spend each day at a Milikapiti school and explore the town in the afternoons and learn about Tiwi culture. The Tiwi kids love AFL and our boys are usually quick to form relationships based on their shared interest. The Year 6 Tiwi class visits our school each year to experience life in Melbourne. Through our partnership with MITS we now have several Tiwi boys attending Brighton Grammar School.

MITS

We are a proud partner of the Melbourne Indigenous Transition School (MITS). MITS is a Year 7 transition school in Melbourne for Indigenous students from remote and regional communities. Each year we welcome new MITS graduates.