Dear Parents, Guardians and Carers,

National Sorry Day is held annually on May 26. This day gives Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and non-Indigenous Australians the chance to come together and commemorate the history of forcible Aboriginal child removals and their continued effect on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and communities.

The first National Sorry Day was held on May 26, 1998, which was one year after the tabling of a government report about the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families and communities. The report, known as Bringing Them Home, acknowledged that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were forcibly separated from their families and communities since the early days of European occupation in Australia. Governments and missionaries were responsible for this forced separation.

The 3/4 team had a wonderful day on Friday 20th May with an incursion that connected with their History inquiry unit. Students got to participate in and observe various aspects of indiegnous culture as well as learning about the local traditional owners of the land in Gippsland, the Gunaikurnai People . 

Holy father, God of love, You are the creator of this land and of all good things.

We acknowledge the pain and shame of our history and the suffering of our peoples- especially the grief of those who were taken, as children from their homes and families, taken from all they knew and loved.

We ask your forgiveness.

We thank you for the survival of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Our hope is in you, because you gave your son Jesus to reconcile the world to you.

We pray for your strength and grace to forgive, accept and love one another, as you love, forgive, and accept us.

Give us the courage to acknowledge the realities of our history so that we may build a better future for our nation.

Teach us to respect all cultures.

Teach us to care for our land and waters.

Help us to share justly the resources of this land.

Help us to bring about spiritual and social change to improve the quality of life for all peoples in our communities, especially the disadvantaged.

Help young people to find true dignity and self-esteem in the ways of your Spirit.

May your power and love be the foundations on which we build our families, our communities and our Nation.

Amen

Late arrivals/early departures

We are currently experiencing an increase in late arrivals and early departures at the moment. Please be mindful that each time this happens the office staff have to stop what they are doing to let you into or out of the school. Please be patient if the office is unattended.  We know it can be unavoidable when you are accessing appointments however it would be appreciated that where possible these occur outside of school hours. 

The office waiting area is small so we will only call for your child for collection once you have arrived at the school. 

Kind regards,

Jodie