Reconciliation Week

We acknowledge the Kaurna people as the traditional custodians of the Adelaide Plains upon whose ancestral lands Saint Ignatius’ College operates.

We acknowledge and pay our respects to the Elders, past, present and future – for they hold the memories, traditions, culture and hopes of living Kaurna people today.

We also pay respects to the cultural authority of Aboriginal people from other areas of South Australia and Australia and acknowledge their deep feelings of attachment and spiritual relationship to Country.

This week has been busy with many options on offer for students to engage with National Reconciliation Week.

On Monday in Mass, Lucy and Reid gave a beautiful reflection connecting the events of Pentecost with the idea of reconciliation in Australia. They recalled the time spent around the fire on Bathurst Island sharing traditional songs like “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” and then hearing the Tiwi locals sing the song back to them in Language.

On Tuesday, over 300 donuts were sold to raise money for Aboriginal Catholic Ministry (and more will be available tomorrow during the football on the Bourke Oval.)

On Wednesday, students flocked to eat some damper and sweet potato, and hear Uncle Ivan explain about some of the native bush spices used.

On Thursday, Tanya, Ella and Montana led an art activity, telling students about the importance of art in their cultures.

On Friday Uncle Ivan visited again to cook fish and squid in the fire. The fish was covered in damper to imitate traditional methods of cooking it in clay. Throughout the week, Mr Toome’s Stage 2 RE: Ignatian Immersions class used music and scripture in Faith and Service Mentor Time to illustrate to students why they should try to “be a voice for generations” in their actions around reconciliation. Overall, it was a great week and fantastic to see so many students getting involved!

Victoria Coxhill
Aboriginal Education Coordinator