NAIDOC Week was celebrated differently at Maclean High School this year.
The existing celebratory week was not only moved into Term 4, but was also delivered differently due to Covid-19 restrictions. Students were given information and presentations digitally, which included a greeting each morning and an official Welcome to Country by the Aboriginal Education Staff, Sam Kapeen, Krystal Randall, Deborah Breckenridge and Anjanette Warburton.
The Aboriginal Education Team at Maclean High School developed a series of podcasts to share with the students, focusing on the theme ‘Always Was, Always Will Be’. The topics covered were the Matthew Flinders voyage in 1799 and its link to Yamba, and the history of the successful Native title claim lodged by the Yaegl people in 1996 and 2017.
Students in Years 7–10 were organised into workshops covering topics such as Aboriginal artefacts and tools, cultural portraits, and making origami boxes into a huge map of Australia depicting Aboriginal songlines. A welcome circle and message stick activity were run by Anjanette Warburton as a way of acknowledging and welcoming all our students to NAIDOC week.
A big thank you to staff and students who participated in our NAIDOC activities.
