NAIDOC Week 2023
The national celebration of NAIDOC Week takes place during the school holidays from Sunday 2 July through to Sunday 9 July, 2023. The acronym NAIDOC stands for National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee. NAIDOC week celebrates Aboriginal people’s history, culture and achievements and is a great opportunity to learn about their rich culture. It is a time of celebration and connection between all peoples. 

For Our Elders - is the National NAIDOC Theme for 2023. The NAIDOC Week theme was chosen to reflect the important role that elders play in the lives of Indigenous Australians. By honouring the past, and paying tribute to our Elders, we lay the foundations for the future generations to come. (Please see the flyer under Community News to find more information about NAIDOC Week events happening in the Eurobodalla).

At St Mary’s we are passionate about developing all staff and students’ understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures, languages and knowledge systems. We are incredibly proud of our connection to the first custodians of the land on which we live and work, the Yuin people. We are committed to developing and maintaining genuine, collaborative and respectful relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents, families, local community members, service providers and agencies. 

Our school NAIDOC Week celebrations will be held at the start of Term 3, beginning with the NAIDOC Regional Mass.

NAIDOC Regional Mass and Awards 2023
On Friday 21 July (Week 1) St Mary’s will be hosting the South Coast Schools Regional NAIDOC Mass which will be celebrated in our Sacred Heart Church. We will be joined by other students from schools across our Southern Region including St Bernard's, Batehaven, Carroll College, Broulee, St Patrick’s, Bega and Lumen Christi, Pambula. 

All our Aboriginal students at St Mary’s from Kindergarten to Year 6 and our school leaders will be attending this special Mass. We warmly welcome the parents, carers and families of these children to join us for Mass.

The theme of our Mass is ‘For Our Elders’ and the celebration will begin at 11:20am with a Smoking Ceremony and Welcome to Country offered by Trish Ellis. Mass will begin at 11:30am. Following Mass there will be a presentation of NAIDOC Awards for nominated adults and students from our regional schools.

Yuin Banaan - Cultural Day
On Friday 4 August our K-12 Pathway schools will be hosting the Yuin Banaan Cultural Day at Captain Oldrey Park, Broulee. Aboriginal students from Kindergarten to Year 12 from St Bernard's, St Mary's and Carroll College and their friends will be invited to attend, as well as all family members. Students will travel by bus to attend the full day of cultural activities.

We have been very fortunate to receive a NAIDOC grant from the National Indigenous Australians Agency to support this event. Activities planned for the day include a bush tucker and medicine walk; traditional dancing with the Muladha Gamara group; damper cooking; Yarning circles; a seafood cook up; ochre face painting; Aboriginal Trivia, art making and soccer. Some of these activities will be organised and led by Carroll College students and we thank them for their initiative and leadership.

Community organisations and service groups have been invited to set up stalls on the day and many have also offered to co-ordinate an activity for the students. 

We particularly extend a very warm invitation to Elders of family members from our school communities to attend the Yuin Banaan so that we can honour you in a special Elder's tent.

Please mark this date in your calendars! More details will be provided in the coming weeks.

Wishing you all a safe and relaxing holiday break.

God bless and take care,

Sue Heffernan
Assistant Principal