Acknowledgement of Country
As a way of showing respect to the Traditional Custodians of the land, an Acknowledgement of Country can be used to recognise the continuing connection of Aboriginal people to Country. An Acknowledgement of Country can be delivered by both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.
Under the guidance of a group of students from Room 17, each class has been represented in this Acknowledgement of Country recording, for use within our school over the coming terms.
We appreciate the time, energy and commitment shown by all those who helped to produce this video as a symbol of our school’s commitment to Reconciliation.
Smoking Ceremony
Last week, a smoking ceremony was conducted to mark the official beginning of the building works at Woodend. This ceremony can only be performed by Aboriginal people and involves burning various native plants to produce smoke. The smoke is believed to have cleansing properties and the ability to ward off bad spirits and make way for future success.
Senior Ngarrindjeri Elder Major ‘Moogy’ Sumner, or Uncle Moogy, conducted this ceremony in the presence of our students and representatives from the contracted building company, Intract. As an Indigenous owned and operated company, it was important that this ceremony was conducted prior to Intract commencing any building works.