NAIDOC Week Fair at Toukley

Toukley Public School got in early for NAIDOC Week (July 7-14) with a NAIDOC Week Fair featuring preschoolers from the on-site Kooloora Preschool held on July 2 and 3.

Preschoolers will join their older peers, as well as hosting other little learners from the area.

Kooloora Preschool is one of 11 NSW Department of Education preschools designated especially for Aboriginal children.

While enrolments are open to all families in the community, the preschool prioritises enrolments from Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander families.

Assistant principal Sharon Buck said the preschoolers participated in two days of events.

On Tuesday, July 2, they joined their older peers at a whole school NAIDOC Fair.

And on Wednesday, July 3, they welcomed children from three other local early childhood education and care services to a smaller version of the fair.

“NAIDOC Week is a time to reflect and celebrate the history, culture and achievements of First Nations peoples – recognising them as the traditional owners of the land,” Buck said.

This year’s NAIDOC Week theme is Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud.

Buck said the primary school had the highest primary school enrolment of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children in the Tuggerah network: 169 out of 530.

At Kooloora Preschool, 17 of the 37 children are Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.

The whole school event on July 2 started with respected Aboriginal community member Matt Sonter performing a smoking ceremony to cleanse the path from the preschool to the school, where preschoolers joined the whole school assembly, which included an Acknowledgement of Country and a performance by the school’s girls cultural dance group.

“We want our children to be proud of their culture and to see themselves reflected in our school environment and events – and we also want our non-Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children to have a rich understanding of Aboriginal culture as well,” Buck said.

Activities on the day included: enjoying foods with traditional ingredients lemon myrtle, saltbush, kangaroo and emu; engaging with a Gorokan High School student who played the didgeridoo and shared Dreaming stories; contributing to a sea of hands, symbolising unity and reconciliation; using ochre; participating in traditional games organised by Sports in Schools Australia (SiSA) and from the Australian Sports Commission’s Yulunga Indigenous games resource; and art-making.

Local Aboriginal and community services – including Yerin Aboriginal Health Services, Barang Regional Alliance, Toukley Neighbourhood Centre, Uniting’s Home Interaction Program for Parents and Youngsters program – as well as the P&C had stalls on the day and representatives from the local and regional Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (AECG) attended.

Buck said the preschool hosted a smaller version of the event on July 3 for three other local early childhood education and care services: Toukley Preschool, Play to Learn Early Learning Centre and Little Coast Kids.

“The school is committed to ensuring successful transition for all local children attending early childhood education and care services into our school,” she said.

“We do this by including other services to join as many school-based activities that our public preschool attends as possible.

“We aim to support others and showcase our practice.”

Buck said Aboriginal culture was embedded into the daily program at Kooloora Preschool and not isolated to specific event days.

She said the school and preschool had partnered with Gorokan Public School and Gorokan High School to develop a localised Aboriginal curriculum.

“This means that we ensure that the curriculum we are delivering is localised to our specific context,” she said.

“So we might not talk about the desert – we talk about what is local to us, so we take children on Country to the beach to see the shell middens or to Mount Yango, a significant site, or to the rock carvings at Bulgandry, at Kariong, so they learn what is sacred to the Darkinjung Country people in our area.

“This has involved significant community consultation led by Elder Uncle Dave Ella, and in consultation with Muru Bulbi AECG.

“We have held yarn-ups for families, children and community both on and off site and have provided the opportunity for staff, families and children to learn on Country.”