Eventful NAIDOC Week at Eidsvold State School

CELEBRATIONS of NAIDOC Week 2020 were in full swing at Eidsvold State School, with the teachers preparing various activities for each day of last week. SEE WHAT THEY GOT UP TO.

​STUDENTS at Eidsvold State School were kept busy this NAIDOC Week, with weaving tutorials, book translations and the cooking of traditional food to celebrate the week-long event. Photo: Contributed.

STUDENTS at Eidsvold State School were kept busy this NAIDOC Week, with weaving tutorials, book translations and the cooking of traditional food to celebrate the week-long event.

This year, the theme of NAIDOC Week was ‘Always Was, Always Will Be’ and was postponed from July to be celebrated from November 8 to November 15.

Eidsvold State School includes grades Prep to 12 and is a school dedicated to bringing the culture of the local Indigenous people into the classroom and reviving the ancient Wakka Wakka language.

Principal Preston Parter said the staff and students wanted to organise events across the whole school week to acknowledge the cultures, customs and history of First Australians.

“It is really important for everyone involved in our school to learn local stories and knowledge that are passed along from Eidsvold elders throughout the week,” Mr Parter said.

NAIDOC Week kicked off with an acknowledgment video to the traditional land owners, where students got involved in speaking Wakka Wakka.

Aunty Kaylene Atkinson from Chancellor State College then joined the students to teach them how to weave and talked about her life growing up.

“It was great to listen to her story and our students really appreciated learning a new skill,” Mr Parter said

“All students from year 3 – 10 participated and were pretty chuffed with their efforts.”

Aunty Kaylene travelled over from Chancellor State College to teach the year 3-10 students of Eidsvold how to weave for NAIDOC week. Photo: Contributed

On Tuesday, Mr Parter said a morning tea was held to catch up with the local Indigenous and non-Indigenous elders.

“There were many stories shared and everyone who attended agreed that it needs to be done more often,” he said.

Mr Parter congratulated Corey, who was accepted into the First Nations Dance Lab, along with a dozen other participants to learn traditional dance and talk about how they can incorporate this into their schools.

“That was held on Minjerribah (Stradbroke Island) this week,” he said.

“I really look forward to seeing Corey’s new moves when he gets back.”

Another language video was created and shared on Facebook, which was the Very Hungry Caterpillar presented in Wakka Wakka language.

Mr Parter said the student leaders learnt some new skills on Wednesday, preparing traditional food for a ‘kup murri’ to share.

“We looked at cooking using river rocks and created an underground oven,” he said.

“The food was delicious and we are hoping to put a bigger one down next year to share.”

The ‘kup murri’ in the ground cooking up a delicious feast of tender meat and vegetables. Photo: Contributed

Finally, NAIDOC week was capped off by the unveiling of the new artwork sign in Apex Park, combining Russell Plunkett’s poem with the translated Wakka Wakka version.

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