Every year on 26 May, National Sorry Day remembers and acknowledges the mistreatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were forcibly removed from their families and communities, which we now know as ‘The Stolen Generations’.

National Sorry Day is a day to acknowledge the strength of Stolen Generations Survivors and reflect on how we can all play a part in the healing process for our people and nation. While this date carries great significance for the Stolen Generations and other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, it is also commemorated by Australians right around the country.

The first National Sorry Day was held on 26 May 1998, one year after the “Bringing Them Home” report was tabled in Parliament. The “Bringing Them Home” report is a result of a Government Inquiry into past policies which caused children to be removed from their families and communities in the 20th century.

UPDATE ON CHILD SAFETY

Learning Environment

We are so happy with our new furniture in Grade 3/4!

Our 3/4 team has done an amazing job of being flexible and has worked together to get the new furniture into our 3/4 classrooms this week. It is great to see another truly ‘flexible’ learning space, where students work collaboratively to make the entire learning space their own. The Grade 3/4 team have embraced this change and I know the students will continue to reap the rewards of having a say on how they use their learning space, to get the best out of their learning. In 2024, our attention will move to the 5/6 classrooms for furniture upgrades! Until then, please look after our new furniture and enjoy your amazing new learning spaces.

Our school Gate's A & B have had an upgrade!

Both gates open and close automatically, which means that students can now walk through the gates when they are unlocked, even when they are not visually open.

The gates automatically open at 8:30am and lock at 9:00am. If you arrive at school between those times, the gates will be unlocked. Please encourage your child to walk up to the gate, open it, walk into the school and close it behind them.

If you arrive after 9:00am, the gates will be locked and you will need to sign your child in. A reminder that children cannot sign themselves in. If you are late, you will need to come into administration to sign in your child.

ADMINISTRATION UPGRADES

If you have visited the school lately, you will have noticed that we have installed new locks and reconfigured the Administration area so that people cannot enter the school unless they are let in. Alternately, students are not able to leave the school and do not have access to any door that is open to outside of the school.

For both these reasons, the school is safer and mitigates risk and increases the safety for our children. It also means that if needed, we can lock the school down very quickly, which would be rare but possible. Please note that while this may seem like a big change to our small country school, this is very common in most schools and there is no reason that our students should be less safe than those in bigger schools. I know you will all be very supportive of the adaptations and when needed, show patience when entering or leaving the school. A small price to pay to ensure the safety of our children.

SHADE SAILS

Our shade sail project is complete! We have added a shade sail to both Gates A & B, taking advantage of the state government's $25,000 shade sail grant offered to schools in 2020.

Both shade sails have been designed to keep the hot sun out in the summer and the rain at bay during the winter. Our shade sail on gate B will also be utilised for an outdoor learning space and for staff to eat outside during lunch breaks during the warmer months.