Darkinjung Barker students and staff have been broadening their understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives in History and Science. The children, with help from Uncle Gavi Duncan, have focussed on the key drivers of Indigenous Culture and Heritage. The focus has been how we can strengthen partnerships between staff, students and the local Indigenous community.

Embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives enhances educational experiences. It provides an accurate and rich understanding of Australia’s history and culture. The  Yarramalong area contains evidence of ancestors, of creation times, of the relationships between the sky, landforms, waterways, plants, animals and people, of relationships between other Indigenous groups, of language use over time, of colonisation, loss, change, life stories, family histories and current realities. 

Students enjoyed creating their own version of a dreamtime story and are working towards creating books and a Claymation movie.  Traditional dancing with Uncle Gavi is always a hit especially when barefoot and outside in the dirt. The students have been exploring the Aboriginal history of Australia and the first contact between the Macassans and Arnhem Land mob.

Kindergarten to Year 2 have been working with Senior School Science teachers support as part of learning. They have been looking at the structure of living things and what helps them survive. They started by answering the inquiry question, Is coral a plant or an animal? The students looked at a variety of living things in an aquarium. Then they looked at creatures and shells under the microscope. Students were able to conclude that coral is an animal because it eats.

Years 3-6 have been working on visualisation and reading for meaning as they have been sharing the novel; The Witches, by Roald Dahl. In Maths, they explored multiple mental strategies, applying their understanding by challenging each other in maths games with cards, board games and Prodigy. They have been learning how to utilise diverse software for learning and are focusing on accessing and completing work online using Microsoft OneNote. In Science, the focus has been living things in our environment and the children plan to rejuvenate our school garden beds. In History, they have been exploring ‘My Place’ introducing a variety of Australian characters throughout the 1700-1800’s. They compared the past to the present and this tied in well with International Women’s Day, looking at the changes for women over time.