Welcome to Country

Aboriginal Flag Raising Ceremony

For the first day of Term 3, we had a flag raising ceremony for NAIDOC Week. We had a moment of silence and then myself and Cecil Puruntatameri raised the Aboriginal flag. Mara Lovett-Murray then raised the Australian flag. We stepped back and put our hands on our chest and watched the flags fly with pride for NAIDOC.

Kaleb Brogan–Rioli 
Year 8

Welcome To Country

This morning Steve Parker one of the traditional owners of the Boon wurrung people came to assembly and performed a welcome to country after the flag raising ceremony. He spoke about NAIDOC Week which is in July and stands for National Aboriginal Islander Day Observance Committee. After welcoming all staff and students, he performed a song from Bunjil The Creator to watch over us on Boon wurrung country.

Cecil Puruntatameri
Year 8

Smoking Ceremony

A smoking ceremony was performed by Steve Parker who was a traditional owner of the Boon wurrung people of the Kulin Nation. Steve spoke about the importance of a smoking ceremony and also taught the students local Indigenous words from the Boon wurrung language. He then invited all staff and students to walk around the fire and to let the smoke cleanse their spirit. The NAIDOC themes for this year are Voice, Treaty and Justice.

Nathan Lovett-Murray 
Indigenous Mentor