 How is it half-way through January already? Time seems to pass faster and faster. My boys are growing too fast and I wish there was a way to slow down time, just a little. These last few weeks have been such a needed break from routine. We have loved the slower pace, the not needing to be anywhere, the extra time to read, swim, and play Nintendo – all three favourite pastimes here. School is approaching faster than most of us would like. The exception being Mr 5 who is very excited about heading off to big school this year so the start of school can’t come fast enough! This time of year, for me, like all educators, isn’t just about the fun, it is also about getting ready for the year ahead. For us at Wingaru it means finalising our new lessons – “Seasons” will be available soon so keep an eye out for it – and getting ready to enrol our 2021 class groups. We are welcoming 35 new schools at the start of Term 1 which I am really excited about. Our set up team will certainly be busy! We can set up your 2021 classes as soon as you are ready. We will be in contact with your school’s primary contact shortly but you can send your class lists through anytime and we can get everything sorted so your accounts are ready to go. Most teachers are in full swing already – setting up classrooms and planning lessons for the year. The love that goes into setting up classrooms is amazing. If you are a parent, I hope you get the chance to take a minute to look around your child’s classroom and appreciate the time, effort and thought that has gone into the set up. Your teacher likely did that during their vacation time. If you are one of these teachers, we have some resources that you may find helpful. If you are setting up your classroom consider including some Aboriginal artwork. I have our 2021 Wingaru Calendar and Acknowledgement of Country poster for you here. If you are a subscriber you might like to check out our name labels and birthday calendar in the teacher resources section of the platform. I am a huge fan of Chloe Webb, a young Darug artist who has done this year’s artwork. Don’t forget to check out our planning templates https://www.wingaru.com.au/blog/planner-challenge to help you identify and plan where you can include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content in your program this year. As always, sing out if I can help! 2021 Wingaru Calendar and Acknowledgement of Country Poster - Download from the links below  
Are you a Wingaru Kids subscriber? Check out our birthday calendar and name labels in the teacher resources section of the platform. 
0 Comments
 Well, here we are at the last full week of school here in NSW and the final challenge chatter email. I hope you’ve had a great week and an even better term despite the craziness that always is Term 4.
It’s hard to believe that we’ve come to the end of our #PlanningWithWingaruAndMrJChallenge already, it feels like just yesterday I sat down with my Wingaru Planner and looked at how I was going to embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives each week. Despite, the name I’ve actually found this journey to be anything but a challenge. For me personally, it’s hasn’t been hard to find ways to embed this important cross curriculum priority, it’s been more about changing the way I think, being more mindful and forming new habits when it comes to planning my lessons and units of work. Thanks to the amazing resources from Wingaru and this incredible online community I’ve never been short of great lesson ideas, activities and resources that I can use throughout my week across a range of KLAs. My eyes have been opened to new perspectives, ideas and insights that I wasn’t aware of before and I’m so excited to take all of this with me into a new year. For me, this was never about doing a “one off” thing for a term, but it was about changing the way I’ve done things for the last 12 and a half years as an educator and leader in schools. The way I look at it, this isn’t the end of our challenge but simply the start of a new journey and I’m really looking forward to taking this Challenge further and sharing many of the insights, resources and approaches that I’ve seen from others over the past 10 weeks with my colleagues and students. I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for being a part of our Challenge this term. I hope it’s been a positive experience for you as an educator and you’ve come away with something new that you can continue to use beyond this Challenge. As a non-Aboriginal educator, 2020 has been a wake up call both personally and professionally and I’ve continually challenged myself to do better when it comes to embedding First Nations perspectives and content into my classroom because I had been ignorant up until now. For that I am deeply sorry and I am committed to doing better moving forward. Thank you again for those who followed along on this journey, for those who gave it a go and for those who shared their weekly intentions with us along with a snapshot into their classrooms. You’ve continued to inspire me and so many others. Have a wonderful Christmas and New Year season friends! Mr J  2020. What a year! I for one am so glad that it is coming to an end! I am counting down the days until the holidays begin and we can slow down and sink into holiday mode and enjoy some salt-water healing on our usual trip north to gorgeous Gumbaynggirr Country. The tree is up, the elf has arrived and Christmas craft has started coming home from school – Christmas has arrived! While Christmas was not a traditional Aboriginal celebration, many of our mob embrace the holiday today and we celebrate it with great enthusiasm. Our mob gathers, we have a big feed and there is no shortage of laughter. Community Christmas events bring us together, providing opportunity for connection with people and culture. Blak Santas hand out gifts to our jarjums and the Aunties and Uncles gather, sharing stories that we have heard over and over but at the same time can never hear enough. But before we can get to that we have to make it through the final weeks of term. The energy of kids this time of year seems to be ebbing on exploding with cards and candy canes starting to be exchanged. Teachers are frantic, writing reports and finishing work units as well as planning for next year, all while managing the day-to-day of classrooms full of tired children who are ready for their summer break. Christmas craft is the perfect inclusion this time of year and this year we have some new handouts that bring an Aboriginal perspective into the busy classroom. Including simple activities like these helps keep Aboriginal content a regular inclusion in your classroom, even at this busy time. Have fun exploring bush flavours or creating some Aboriginal inspired gift-cards or tree decorations with your students – I would love to see what you do!  Aboriginal/Indigenous Education Classroom Printable Resource for Christmas - Free
 Anyone who knows me, knows that I love a yarn and this week I have had so many interesting yarns with teachers about how they are approaching the Challenge. I love the diversity of approaches and the thought that has gone into the plans that are being rolled out across the country. For some teachers this is the end of week 2 – can you believe how fast it is going? Astronomy was popular this week – lots of kids getting to learn about the amazing skies above us! We have two different astronomy lessons complete with video and other resources to support you on the Wingaru Kids platform. If you haven’t already come check them out! NAIDOC is coming up and this year’s theme ‘Always was, always will be’ is a great theme to build your planner around. There are so many ways you can explore the theme. You might like to:
I have spoken to a few teachers who are using NAIDOC as inspiration for the Challenge so make sure you are sharing and following so you can see all the great ideas that are being shared! To give you some ideas on what you might do for a NAIDOC approach I have attached a sample planner below. No matter how far in you are I would encourage you to check out some of the inspiration being shared under #PlanningWithWingaruAndMrJChallenge. Stage 2 NAIDOC Sample Planner - Download from link below 
 This week we announced the #PlanningWithWingaruandMrJ Challenge – an initiative to get teachers thinking and talking about including more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content in their classrooms. The response has been amazing! I am so excited at the number of teachers who have said they are going to take part! I can’t wait to see what everyone does. If you missed the initial posts about the Challenge, check out the previous blog, which has more information and the planner template: www.wingaru.com.au/blog/planner-challenge. You should also head on over to Mr J’s Learning Space to follow his journey. In the words of Mr J “the #planningwithwingaruandmrj challenge is all about taking that first step and deciding to think more intentionally about what we do and how we can naturally incorporate First Nations content into our teaching and share the journey together to inspire and support other educators as they try to do the same”. To give you some ideas on what you might do to bring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content in each week for term 4, we have created 3 sample planners that I have attached here. These planners, one for each stage, illustrate just some of the different approaches you could take in including a weekly First Nations perspective. Local Focus - Use term 4 to explore your local community. You could explore: Country – how did the local mob use a river? or get to know the clans of the language group; Language – what is the local language? Can you find examples of it? Is there a local speaker you could invite in? Land management - what bush tucker grows in the area? What tools would likely have been made given the material available in the local environment? What sustainability practices were likely practised? Perhaps you could look at how the local people are represented today. The possibilities are endless. Build lessons around a single resource – this example shows how you can build experiences around one topic or resource. Consider the elements of your focus topic and build additional experiences to explore the elements. In our example we look at turtles but the same approach could be taken with many other subjects. Think about the key learning areas and how they may be present in your chosen resource. Focus on a single topic/unit – this example shows the possibilities of choosing a topic you are learning about in your class and exploring it from many angles which supports students to develop a strong understanding of the related issues. This works well for topics where students should consider different opinions and perspectives on an issue as they develop their own thoughts on it. You could apply any of these approaches to any stage with some tweaking or apply the approach to any topic that suits what is in your plan for term 4. Don’t be afraid to mix it up! The possibilities are endless – don’t forget to share your ideas by tagging @wingaru_education and @mr.j.learning.space Stage 1 Sample Planner - Download from link below 
Stage 2 Sample Planner - Download from link below 
Stage 3 Sample Planner - Download from link below 
 One question that teachers regularly ask me is how often they should include Aboriginal content or perspectives in their classrooms. There is no one answer that is going to work for every classroom and I always suggest that teachers start with what they are comfortable with. The most important thing is that you give it a go and build from there. That said, I would love to see teachers including Aboriginal and Torres Strait content once a week. I think this is attainable and planning can support you to reach this target. One teacher who has taken up this challenge is Mr J of Mr J’s Learning Space who you can follow on insta here www.instagram.com/mr.j.learning.space/. Mr J is one of those teachers we all want our kids to have. His energy is amazing and I love that he is so inclusive with both his classroom content and his approach to school leadership. So, when he responded to a post about including perspectives weekly (saying that he was aiming to do just that) I reached out to offer him a planner that would support him to include content each week for a term. The planner is designed to help identify and organise the inclusion of First Nations content in all key learning areas for a term. I have included the planner below and I encourage you to take up the challenge of including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content each week of term 4, 2020. Mr J will be including Aboriginal content in his classroom each week of term 4 and sharing it with you on his insta so make sure you follow along for inspiration and follow his tips to make this challenge achievable. Follow him here www.instagram.com/mr.j.learning.space/. If you are reading this and thinking that I have lost touch with reality and there is no way you can include more in your already busy program, bear with me. I know including Aboriginal content or perspectives is daunting for many teachers. We will be sharing ideas and tips over the term to support you in the challenge, including examples of different approaches using the planner. Make sure you are following us on social media so you don’t miss these. There are so many ways you can bring Aboriginal content or perspectives into your classroom. At Wingaru, we aim to support teachers by providing complete lessons that align with curriculum so that teachers can, if they choose, add an Aboriginal perspective to the content they are already teaching in the classroom. This approach means that even just 30 to 60 minutes can bring a new layer to student learning and increase the amount of Aboriginal content they are exposed to over the year. But if this approach isn’t for you that is ok. There are so many other ways you can approach bringing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content in. You could:
Share your ideas with us online and borrow from other teachers’ ideas. If one inclusion a week feels out of reach, don’t worry. Start where you are comfortable and increase at a pace that works for you. The Wingaru Planner is flexible and will work for you no matter how you approach the challenge or how many weeks you plan to include Aboriginal content. Just give it a go! Finally, share your experiences with us. We want to see how you are including Aboriginal perspectives and would love to hear your ideas for meeting the challenge. Use the hashtag #PlanningWithWingaruAndMrJ. Download the planner and social media templates and join us in term 4 for the #PlanningWithWingaruAndMrJ Challenge. A4 Aboriginal Perspectives Teacher Planner - Download from link below 
Challenge Social Media Templates - Download from links below 
 Ya (hi) everyone, my name is Alana Gall and I am an Indigenous health researcher at Menzies School of Health Research. I come from a large Pakana/Tasmanian Aboriginal family. Our Ancestors connect us back to the North East coast of lutruwita/Tasmania, and more recently to the Bass Strait Islands of Cape Barren and Flinders Island. One of my family’s ancestors, a woman named Pularilpana, was abducted by European sealers in the early 1800s and taken to the Bass Strait Islands. A number of Pakana/Tasmanian Aboriginal families ended up on the many islands in north east Bass Strait (or the Furneaux Islands) but were eventually forced to live at the Aboriginal Reserve on Cape Barren Island. ningimpi-mana (My Nanna), was born on Flinders Island and grew up there and on Cape Barren Island. I currently work on Turrbal and Jagara Country in Brisbane. I have always been exposed to natural medicines and cultural ways of life. My Dad, Andrew Gall (kurina), always hunted for food when I was young. He would catch snakes, go spear fishing and also hunt for kangaroos. My Mum, who is of English descent, was a keen gardener (as was her father) and growing food “organically” was just a normal part of our lives. So we tended to use both bush medicines that were traditionally used by my ancestors in Tasmania, as well as natural remedies passed down in my Mum’s family. Growing up I didn’t know this was different to other people and I always liked the idea of using the things placed on earth to heal. It wasn’t until my daughter was 5 years old though that I really understood just how powerful these natural medicines could be. She had suffered with pustular tonsillitis no less than 5 times in one year. The sixth bout was very stubborn, and I ended up having to go to the doctor for a third lot of antibiotics as it just wasn’t clearing up. This upset me as I hated seeing my daughter in so much pain and the doctor was saying she’d need to get her tonsils removed. I am of the belief that where possible we should keep everything in our bodies, as otherwise why would it be there? So I didn’t like that option either. I decided to jump on the internet and try to find an alternative so looked into natural medicines for tonsillitis on there. I ended up giving her Schuessler Tissue salts and echinacea tincture. Her pustular tonsillitis healed up and now she is 18 years old and hasn’t suffered with it since! This solidified in my mind just how powerful these medicines are and that I wanted to know more. Since that time my passion for natural medicines has seen me complete courses in Flower Essence therapy and Iridology, a degree in Nutritional medicine, and a Masters by research that focussed on traditional and complementary medicine use by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cancer patients. Through this work I have been able to see just how important these medicines are to the people who use them. In one study I highlight the need for the health sector to open up communication about traditional and complementary medicines in the health care setting, and ensure they are not allowing their own biases about medicine to interfere with providing culturally safe care. As teachers and parents, it is equally important that we understand about these medicines so we can speak confidently about them, and also teach the young ones. This is especially true for the traditional medicines of my people, and other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders around Australia. These medicines have been shown to provide them with physical, emotional and spiritual benefits, which is congruent with their differing views on health, being that of a holistic model of health. As teachers, it is especially important that you also provide a culturally safe space for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children to learn. Through putting your bias aside (assuming you adhere to the reductionist model of health care that is the politically dominant one in Australia) you allow these children to feel accepted in the school setting. By teaching about bush medicine in the classroom, not only is this an interesting and engaging subject for all your students, you foster an environment of inclusion which in turn may reduce racism in the future generations. I am happy to share what I know, so please contact the team at Wingaru if you have any particular bush medicine topics you’d like to know more about and they can work with me to develop the resources you need to teach your children with confidence about this topic. nayri nina-tu (thank you) Alana Pakana woman, Alana Gall, is an Indigenous health researcher at Menzies School of Health Research. You can follow Alana’s work on: alana.gall@menzies.edu.au TWITTER @LarnzLarnz LINKEDIN https://au.linkedin.com/in/alana-gall-36535152
 This week marks 250 years since Lieutenant James Cook explored the east coast of a largely unknown southern continent in the Endeavour and ultimately claimed the entire land for the British. Despite significant protests, the Australian Government recently planned extravagant events and monuments at enormous expense to celebrate that history*. Regardless of your views on settlement and the events leading to it, Cook’s journey of exploration was monumental in the development of the country that we now know as Australia. Like it or not, that visit by Cook was ultimately devastating for Aboriginal People and culture as British invasion brought death and destruction to our shores. Reading through Cook’s journals we know that Cook wasn’t welcomed when he first landed and encountered the Aboriginal People of Botany Bay. We also know that he was heavy handed in his approach when he was unable to appease them with trinkets. He quickly decided that the people he met here did not meet his definition of “civilised”. Later, when stranded for seven weeks at Endeavour River (near today’s Cooktown) Cook and his men lived alongside a local tribe and witnessed a harmonious and fulfilled society who wanted for nothing. Despite interacting peaceably and benefitting from the hospitality of the locals Cook went on to declare Australia terra nullius (belonging to no-one) and claimed the land for his country. However, this is not the story Australians have been taught. Cook, and the settlers that followed, have been given a heroic role in the history of Australia. In the 80s, when I was at school, I found myself participating in celebrations of Cook and his successors without any understanding of what these events meant for my People. There was never any inclusion of the Aboriginal perspective or a hint that these much-celebrated events had a negative impact on the existing population. I often think about the day my mum sent me to school dressed as a settler. I wore a beautiful lemon dress that had long sleeves and a full skirt, very similar to the dresses that women wore back then. I was excited – that dress was pretty – the photos from the day are all about the dress as I showed it off, unaware of what we were really celebrating and how my mum must have felt sending her Aboriginal child off to school to celebrate the beginning of the destruction of her culture. It’s a feeling that I will not have to face as a parent. My generation, and those to follow, know it is our choice not to participate. And that choice is increasingly respected by the wider community. However, imagine the possibilities if we, as a nation, had simply acknowledged the truth from the outset – that Australia was invaded and Cook’s visit began an onslaught that would change the Aboriginal way of life forever. Imagine where we could be if we didn’t spend centuries learning a false history and arguing about the injustices that occurred. If instead we accepted that the injustice happened and resulted in disadvantage; that the travesties occurred in another time when those actions were not seen as wrong; and that Australia was a result of all past actions, good or bad. Would we have spent centuries compounding the damage? Would we, as a nation, be more willing to see the impact and acknowledge the resulting disadvantage? Would we be more willing to work towards a solution? Would we have made greater progress in the work towards reconciliation? We will never know. But this week, as the nation talks about Cook and his great ship “discovering” this land, Aboriginal land, don’t forget to also talk about the People who were already here. You don’t need to assign a good role and a bad role. We just need to respect and acknowledge both perspectives and recognise the truth of our history. It isn’t pretty but it is only with truth that we that can move forward. * Covid-19 has meant that these events have not proceeded in 2020. 
 Please be advised that this post contains the names of people who are deceased. Anzac Day is usually an occasion where schools come together to remember those who fought for our country, many of whom made the ultimate sacrifice. Our children sit in assemblies and learn about the wars that Australia has been part of and how we continue to commemorate those events and the people who fought. Some children would also normally participate in Anzac activities with their families or extra-curricular groups. This year, these activities won’t happen. Covid-19 means that we will honour our Anzacs differently and reflect on their sacrifices in isolation with the other people we live with. Aboriginal Anzacs are often overlooked in Anzac commemorations and this year it is likely that fewer kids will hear about:
This year the telling of these stories depends on each of us. Talk to your children about what they have previously learned about Aboriginal soldiers and consider sharing some of the stories that I have included below. These are not my stories. They belong to the servicemen and women and their families. I am honoured to share these stories and privileged to share the attached resources to support your conversations about these great Australians
 This week we have been celebrating eggs! Eggs are an important part of bush tucker. The types of eggs available to Aboriginal people differed depending on the environment they lived in. Download each activity sheet from the last four days to explore the types of eggs included in the traditional Aboriginal diet. Remember to follow us on social media for alerts on our free printable activities. Facebook - www.facebook.com/wingaru Instagram - www.instagram.com/wingaru_education/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/WingaruEd 
This week we are celebrating eggs! Eggs are an important part of bush tucker. The types of eggs available to Aboriginal people differed depending on the environment they lived in. Each day this week we will have an activity sheet to explore the types of eggs included in the traditional Aboriginal diet. Remember to follow us on social media for alerts on our free printable activities. Facebook - www.facebook.com/wingaru Instagram - www.instagram.com/wingaru_education/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/WingaruEd 
This week we are celebrating eggs! Eggs are an important part of bush tucker. The types of eggs available to Aboriginal people differed depending on the environment they lived in. Each day this week we will have an activity sheet to explore the types of eggs included in the traditional Aboriginal diet. Remember to follow us on social media for alerts on our free printable activities. Facebook - www.facebook.com/wingaru Instagram - www.instagram.com/wingaru_education/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/WingaruEd 
2020 has brought a lot of changes to all of us. We are spending more time at home as lockdowns and isolation restrictions are in place around the country and getting tighter as COVID-19 continues to impact our lives. It certainly is not life as usual. Easter has arrived without the usual fanfare. There were no Easter hat parades or egg hunts and there will be no family gatherings to celebrate the occasion. For my family this means a quiet weekend at home instead of the holiday we usually enjoy with my parents. My boys look forward to the time they get to spend with nanny and poppy and the realisation that we will not be seeing them has brought great disappointment. Luckily, they have an amazing nanny who has posted their usual PJ gift and a few small treats and we have organised a facetime call so all is not lost. I have it on good authority the Easter Bunny will still be able to visit. The boys are also missing the craft they would normally do at school at this time of year. I will admit that Easter activities are something that I usually leave to the teachers so I didn’t have anything up my sleeve to cater to this request but after some discussions we have decided to make some paper baskets and leave some of our local friends some small gifts – contactless of course. We have also been having some conversations about eggs - both the chocolate and non-chocolate variety and how people use them. While Easter is not an Aboriginal celebration, eggs were a big part of customary life and looking at how Aboriginal people used eggs is a great perspective for all age groups and an easy one to discuss at home. Over the next few days I’ll be sharing worksheets the Wingaru Educators have created that may keep your young people occupied for a while and help them to explore how eggs were included in traditional bush tucker. I wish you and your mob a safe and healthy Easter. 
 What a week Australia has had! With increasing uncertainty about just about everything, life is changing drastically for most Australians. For schools around Australia these changes are immense and teachers and principals are working overtime to do everything they can to support education for our kids. It is not an enviable job – catering to kids who have to attend daily as well as those that can stay home while putting together programs for online learning in case we are not back to school as normal for term 2 and supporting their students who are feeling the uncertainty. Then of course they have their own families to organise and plan for. It is a confusing time and everyone is worried. Parents have questions and are feeling the pressure of taking on a bigger role in their children’s day to day education which is not easy. It is a good time remember to be kind to each other. Teachers are doing the best they can. I have spoken to many teachers in the last week who are searching for the right resources to keep kids on track with their learning goals. Nothing replaces a classroom teacher but teachers are working to come up with the next best thing – a balanced, engaging program that can be delivered digitally or via take-home packs. Trust your kid’s teachers, be patient and be kind. We are all in this together. Wingaru Kids is a tool that can support schools in this time. It offers a range of lessons meeting outcomes from all key learning areas and students can access the resources from anywhere. For teachers it offers quality content that can be provided with little preparation and for students it offers engaging content that provides variety in the work that is being sent home. We have been contacted by many parents this week asking how they can access our resources. We are working on how to do this but at this time the best way is to speak to your classroom teacher about organising access through your school. They can set up a free trial and our team are working to set accounts up in just a few hours. We are working with schools to meet their budget so we encourage them to get in touch and see what we can do. Our educators are also working on resources that we will be sharing on our social media so make sure to follow us on facebook and Instagram so you don’t miss them. Speaking with many teachers and parents this week, one thing is very clear - we are all worried about how this epidemic affects our kids. Coronavirus is everywhere we turn and kids are hearing so much information that they probably don’t understand. The uncertainty is a cause of worry for many. Mr 8 saw a report on the news about the impact of the virus on Aboriginal people and asked me if he was going to die. The concern in his face was heartbreaking – it’s a level of worry that none of us want our kids to feel. After a yarn with a few kids in my life I realised they were all experiencing a new level of concern and while the specific worries differed, the level of concern was high. I reached out to Nathenya, the director of Kids Steps Speech Pathology, who we provided Cultural Awareness Training to late last year. I explained that some were worried because they heard that old people would die and Aboriginal people were going to be one of the groups most affected and asked her if she had any suggestions on how I could support my kids. Nathenya said some of her clients had expressed similar concerns and gave me some strategies that might help not only my jarjums but many of our young friends out there. I have attached a social story that might be of help to your family. Please use it with your children and share it with other families that you think could do with some support. I hope your mob stays safe and healthy in this time. 
 The catastrophic bushfires that have torched much of the country since September have raised many questions about fire management in Australia. While a shocked and shattered population are blaming everyone from environmentalists to the Prime Minister other stories are emerging of what appear to be lucky escapes but may just hold the answer to best-practice fire management for the future.
There are many different types of fire that occur in Australia. These include:
There are three main types of deliberate fires in Australian bushland:
Cultural burning is also known as firestick farming and it is no coincidence that the word farming is used in this phrase. For traditional Aboriginal People land was their food, their livelihood, their country and their home. Despite over two centuries of colonial propaganda, we now know that Aboriginal People managed crops (of grasses, grains and tubers) to provide sustainable food. They farmed eels and fish to establish an ongoing food source. And through cultural burning they managed the safety of the land that supported plant and animal species that provided food and resources for survival. The fire was used to manage the land and produce more favourable outcomes for survival. Cultural burning employs small, “cool” fires that encourage the regrowth of desirable native plants. It is a practice that has been perfected over centuries. There are cultural protocols involved. Indigenous practitioners vary their techniques to match the particular country that they are in. Their knowledge of the land enables a targeted approach. The heat of any fire will determine what plants grow back. For example:
Hazard reduction burns are a contentious issue. There is much misinformation by climate deniers that the 2019-20 summer fires are purely the result of tree-hugging environmentalists preventing the undertaking of hazard reduction burns. This has been countered by a range of experts from scientists to fire chiefs who explain that such burns are never the decision of community groups or political parties. Hazard reduction burns must be undertaken when circumstances and resources allow. The weather must be favourable to undertake hazard reduction burns. If the ground is too wet after rain, the fires won’t burn. If the land is too dry and the wind is strong, the fires can’t be undertaken safely. Even when conditions are ideal there is public outcry that the smoke has settled in heavily populated areas causing health risks (for example, hazard reduction burns in the Blue Mountains have been known to fill the Sydney basin with smoke). Aspects of climate change (longer, hotter summer periods, more heatwaves and longer-lasting drought) have been seen to reduce the window in which hazard reduction burns can be undertaken and that in turn puts pressure on fire services to maximise the efficiency of burns when they can be done. But this approach could be contrary to the practice of cultural burning because a hot, hurried burn may cause the regrowth of a plant community that becomes the fuel load of a subsequent fire season. Cultural burning is a practice developed over millennia. Indigenous fire management involves many layers of knowledge. Practitioners must know about different country, different types of tree, different ecosystems that burn differently at different times of year. It aims for “cool” burns that improves the health of Country and makes a safer environment. It is an ongoing process. As plants regrow the type and distribution of species is monitored to see if further burning is required. Ongoing inspection and maintenance is crucial. In the recent summer bushfire crisis stories have emerged of unprotected properties surviving a fire that completely surrounded them. Owners had evacuated and thought their homes were lost. No-one remained to extinguish the flames and yet the homes escaped the blaze. This seemingly miraculous outcome has been attributed to recent cultural burns which reduced to fuel load in the nearby bush in those specific locations. In other places, the fuel load on the ground meant fires burnt so ferociously that they reached the canopy of the trees where the eucalyptus oil provided an additional, explosive fuel source that was difficult to combat and often caused firefighters to retreat and homes to be lost. Australians are indebted to the brave and hardworking volunteer firefighters who have faced this catastrophe with bravery, skill and dedication. Some have paid the ultimate price, losing their lives to save others and questions will be asked about how this can be avoided in the future. Why does so much responsibility fall to unpaid citizens? How can we reduce the risks in the summers ahead. Meanwhile, throughout Australia, many Aboriginal groups are learning and teaching the ageless methods of cultural burning. While some fire-fighting experts have denounced the current method of hazard reduction burns in favour of cultural burning, the practice has not been widely employed. Hopefully as the smoke recedes and the embers of this terrible summer die out there will be extensive investigation of how we manage fire risk on this continent with appropriate deference to the people who have been practising their methods and refining their techniques for thousands of years. Can you believe it is 2020 already? I feel like 2019 passed by in a blink and all of a sudden we are here, a few days away from a new school year. A fresh start with new challenges ahead for teachers, students and parents. Aboriginal perspectives is one of those challenges for many teachers. Putting together a program that meets curriculum requirements, is engaging and works for the kids in their class is no small feat, especially since a teacher may not have met the students in their class for the year ahead. Yet teachers do this year in and year out, usually during the holidays. One of the challenges that comes up during this planning is how to incorporate Aboriginal perspectives, and how to do it in a meaningful way. The fear of being seen as tokenistic often means teachers do not include an activity out of respect and not wanting to offend somebody. I would love to see teachers feel comfortable in including perspectives, even if they are small. Small does not mean tokenistic. Short activities or pieces of information contribute to a child’s knowledge base and understanding of the world around them and when it comes to Aboriginal perspectives, short learning opportunities are much better than what most kids are getting now. Wingaru Kids supports teachers to include a short activity/session that relates to something already being explored in the classroom. For example, include Aboriginal Astronomy with your study of Earth and Space Science or learn to count in Darug when exploring numbers and counting in Maths classes. This is a really easy way to include perspectives across all key learning areas. The whole purpose of Aboriginal perspectives is to give kids an appreciation and understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It would be great to see 2020 as the year that we focus on getting more perspectives in the classroom and letting small things grow into a solid knowledge base for students going forward. As a starting point you could:
I’d love to hear how you are incorporating Aboriginal perspectives in your classroom. Maybe the things you are doing are just what another teacher needs to get the ball rolling in their classroom. 
 In modern society Christmas is celebrated in many different ways. For some it's a religious holiday to celebrate the birth of Christ, for others it's a holiday to celebrate with gifts. Whether for religious or cultural reasons, the common thread for all that celebrate Christmas across the globe is the coming together to spend time and celebrate with family and friends. In traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture Christmas was not celebrated but coming together and celebrating as a mob was, and continues to be, an important aspect of culture. While held for varied reasons, these events helped in defining identity and a sense of connectedness to kinship and culture, strengthening the mob through feelings of spiritual and cultural belonging. Traditional reason for coming together for ceremonies and gatherings included: Welcome to Country: In traditional times an Aboriginal person would not travel between groups without permission. If permission was granted the mob accepting travellers would formally welcome their visitors with a welcome ceremony. This welcome would tell the spirits of the land that the traveller came in peace and asked them to protect the traveller while on the traditional lands. Smoking Ceremony: Smoking ceremonies are traditionally a cleansing ceremony. Various native plants are collected and burned to produce smoke which is believed to have cleansing properties and the ability to ward off unwanted and bad spirits. Corroborees: Corroborees are ceremonial meetings for mobs to interact with the Dreaming through singing, dancing, costume, and artistic expression. Sorry Business: Sorry business refers to protocols around the death of an Aboriginal person. There are very intricate Dreaming ceremonies to help a spirit leave the earth after death. Traditionally the ceremonies around death varied between clans. How the body was prepared and farewelled was significant to ensuring the spirit made safe passage back to the Dreaming. Trade: Traditionally trading was a time for sharing ideas, technology and culture, it was a time to catch up with other mobs for both business and leisure. Download our free "Ceremonies and Gatherings" find-a-word PDF for your class to see what other ways Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people traditionally came together in celebration. You can also explore this topic in more depth with the following lessons found on Wingaru Kids:
Like most western countries mainstream Australia has four distinct seasons, summer, autumn, winter and spring, with each of these beginning on a specific date marked on the calendar. But does this system accurately reflect the different weather experienced around the year in different parts of our vast and diverse country? For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities seasons are based on thousands of years of detailed observation of the surrounding environment. By studying the night sky and cycles of water, plants and animals communities were able to identify variations and accurately predict recurring seasonal changes. The seasons identified varied according to geographic location, ecological context and cultural interpretation. This knowledge of nature was recorded into stories, song, dance and ceremony and passed along to ensure sustainability for land and general well-being. For the people of Dharawal Country, southwest of Sydney, there are six distinct seasons, Gadalung Marool (January-March), Banamurraiyung (April-June), Tugarah Tuli (June-July), Tugarah Gunyamarri (August), Murraiyunggory (September-October) and Goraymurrai (November-December). Each of these seasons is marked by changes to weather, plants and animals. This can be seen with Gadalung Marool, also known as the time of Burran, when male burra (kangaroos) become aggressive as the female burra start having babies. To learn more about the different animal changes and weather patterns that signify seasons in the Dharawal calendar with your students download our Aboriginal Seasons Dharawal Language Group activity. 
5 Deadly Activities to Celebrate National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day25/7/2019 Next Sunday, 4 August, is National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day, a day for all Australians to show their support for and celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. The weeks surrounding the day provide classrooms with a great opportunity to explore this year’s theme, “We Play, We Learn, We Belong”, and promote the achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. Here are 5 deadly activities to celebrate National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day with your kids: Activity 1: Our FREE downloadable colouring-in sheet. Get your kids thinking more about this year’s theme with our free downloadable colouring-in sheet. Have a discussion about what each of the topics mean as they colour in each section. Download available below. Activity 2: Play traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander games with our FREE downloadable instructions. Have a blast with your kids playing one or more of the traditional games using our detailed instructions. Download available below. Activity 3: Learn more about traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander toys and games. Log in to Wingaru Kids or Wingaru Bubs and watch our “Traditional Toys” video and discover what they were made from and how they were played. For primary school teachers, complete the STEM activities with your students and test their knowledge with digital activities. For early learning educators, print out our “Traditional Toys” poster and matching card game or play a digital matching game identifying if a toy is modern or traditional. Don’t have a Wingaru Kids account? Primary schools can access our “Traditional Toys” lesson by requesting a free trial of the platform www.wingaru.com.au/wingaru-kids-trial.html Activity 4: Celebrate the achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people What great things are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people doing in your school or local community? Celebrate these by creating artworks representing their achievements and display them in your classroom. Activity 5: Celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture with storytelling Invite a member of your local Aboriginal community into your classroom to share a Dreaming story. For more Dreaming stories from around Australia log into Wingaru Kids or Wingaru Bubs and access videos, digital activities and printables.
Like most school parents, making sure my child gets a healthy lunch box and a breakfast that is capable of seeing him through a busy morning of learning is a challenge that I face daily. I worry about how much Mr 7 eats and also the quality of the things he is willing to eat. Hot dogs and happy meals just won’t cut it, despite what he tells me! I am really lucky to have an amazing support network to draw on and when Mr 7 stopped eating breakfast I shared my frustration with the amazing Jenny Kahn, a Ngiyampaa Wailwan woman and the owner of the delicious breakfast cereal company: The Unexpected Guest. This is an Aboriginal owned company that produces the most amazing muesli and health bars. In her usual low-key way, Jenny told me about her kids, who are all grown up, and the things she did to get them through this same stage. And as has always been the way with Aboriginal People, her stories taught me some new approaches to breakfast and our mornings are much less stressful. I mentioned the advice from Jenny (which I have shared below) to some of the mums at school pick up and they agreed that Jenny is a wise woman! And because I really do know the most amazing women, I wasn’t surprised when another mum, Tracey Pattison, a very respected cookbook author, offered her muesli slice recipe which we have been making a lot using the Unexpected Guest Gluten Freestyle Muesli, which is a staple in our house. I have attached Tracey’s recipe so you can share the goodness. We eat it for breakfast as we can’t send nuts to school but I plan to make a nut-free version for the lunch box any day now – I just really love the Unexpected Guest range so it’s what I always have in the house. Healthy Breakfast for Busy Lives - Jenny Kahn Getting organised for the school day is hard for most people (kids, teachers, mums and dads) which means fuelling your body with the best foods to get you alert for the day may be the last thing on your list. Most people will tell you that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Back when my daughter was in school she didn’t like to eat early so breakfast was not a factor for her. Back then I was determined she should have something healthy in her tummy before school. Our schedule was hectic and I had to drop her at Before School Care by 7.30am otherwise I would miss my train to work. Every morning I would give her a banana or carrot and we would walk into the Before School Care Centre with her happily chewing on either one and me feeling relaxed in my mind that at least her lunch box was full of goodness plus a banana or carrot for brekky, everyone happy! My daughter is 25 now and we are both busier than ever. The variety of breakfast goodies has changed too and we have so many different options available like cereals, smoothies, protein shakes, eggs on toast (if time permits). The one thing you do not want to indulge is foods covered with refined sugars that will affect your focus and therefore your work performance. Our Freestyle Granuesli at The Unexpected Guest is 99.9% Australian Certified Organic and includes the most beautiful Australian Bush Honey from Queensland which is organic. Honey is our second ingredient and was a very popular food source and sweetener in Aboriginal/ First Nations communities before colonisation as well as nuts and seeds. The Aboriginal/ First Nations diet was simple but rich in every food group (meat, fish, fruits, vegetable and nuts). In Aboriginal life we only take what we need to ensure vital balance in ourselves and the environment, therefore we believe the serving portions in our mueslis ensure you maintain balance in your food intake. Even if you are time poor in the morning, pour a portion into a reusable snap lock bag or go plastic free with a paper bag and eat it like a trail mix: no need for milk. Another option is our Organic Oats & Nuts Bar which is a perfect grab-and-go food that has no refined sugars and includes the Australian Bush Honey. Enjoy the school and work morning routine without the stress of missing breakfast! You can follow Jenny and the Unexpected Guest at: Website: https://www.theunexpectedguest.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_unexpected_guest Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theunexpectedguest You can follow Tracy Pattison at: Website: https://www.traceypattison.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tracey.pattison/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TraceyPattisonCommunity/ 
How is the end of term 1 here already?! 2019 is flying by! We have had a busy term with lots of new schools joining us and new content being created by our educators. Look out over the next few weeks for some new Torres Strait lessons, and more lessons that align with the STEM elaborations released at the end of 2018. We are also preparing our NAIDOC lessons for 2019. We have been assisting teachers with matching lessons to the units they are currently teaching in their classrooms. I love that teachers are reaching out for this support as it is why I started Wingaru. Changing the way people approach Aboriginal education and making Aboriginal content more accessible means more perspectives in the classroom and thats something I can get excited about! Sing out if you need a hand! As Easter approaches, classrooms are busy with Easter activities. Easter parades, Easter craft and visits from the super Bunny himself, mean that eggs are a focus for many students. While Easter is not an Aboriginal celebration, eggs were a big part of customary life and looking at how Aboriginal people used eggs is a great perspective for all age groups. I have attached some worksheets that may help. I hope the holidays are a relaxing time for you and your mob. 
How is the 2019 school year here already? This week as families, including my own, get back into the swing of everyday life and remember the routines that come with having school age children, I can’t help but be excited about what the year may hold. How will my children grow and develop this year? What newly found knowledge will they share with me as they burst through the door eager to share the amazing facts they have discovered? How much bigger will their feet get and how many new pairs of shoes will I need to buy to keep up? With each year I see more of the great men they will be and watching them navigate who they will be is without a doubt one of my greatest privileges. I am also really excited to introduce some new services to Wingaru as we introduce Wingaru Butabuta Cultural Awareness Training and education services for adults. The name Wingaru Butabuta is inspired by the teaming up of two amazing Aboriginal women who have come together to share their knowledge and experience with organisations looking to increase their cultural capacity. Tricia, a Darug woman, and Cynthia, a Dunghutti woman, share the Wingaru mission of creating a shared understanding about Aboriginal Australia. Wingaru, a Darug word meaning 'to think' and Butabuta, a Dunghutti word, meaning 'together' is the perfect name for the services that Tricia and Cynthia will be overseeing and there are no words to express how excited I am to introduce the program that they have put together. Wingaru Butabuta offers programs for organisations of all types including government and non-government organisations, teachers and educators working across all stages as well as individuals wishing to increase their understanding of Aboriginal people. We are also able to support organisations in developing culturally appropriate education materials, programs and plans such a Reconciliation Action Plans. We also have some great things planned for the coming year for Wingaru Kids and Bubs. We of course have new content for both platforms, including NAIDOC resources which will support kids of all ages to think about the importance of Aboriginal voices, the truth about Aboriginal history and our people, and of course treaty and the ways that we can best recognise the rights of our first nations. Our educators have been busy over the break working on Aboriginal perspectives for STEM. This includes revisiting many lessons on the Wingaru Kids Platform to highlight relevant Science outcomes and have included engaging new printables. We also have some new language lessons on the way in recognition of 2019 being the International Year of Indigenous Languages. When I chat to the teachers whose classes use the Wingaru Platform the most, the thing they have in common is planning, whether it be yearly, termly or weekly. The curriculum is busy and it is difficult to find time for all the things we ask teachers to include in the classroom so having lessons where Aboriginal perspectives are combined with outcomes from Key Learning Areas such as HASS, Science, PDHPE or English is a big advantage. Planning can also support more regular inclusion of Aboriginal content in the classroom so as you are planning for this term I encourage you to consider ways you can deliver Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives each week. I'd love to see your approach to planning - sing out if we can help! 
 Every time I hear someone say that racism is not a problem in Australia I am surprised because racism is an everyday factor in the lives of Aboriginal people. Regardless of our age, skin colour and social status we are disadvantaged every day due to attitudes and actions based on our Aboriginality. And I am genuinely surprised that people cannot see it. How do they miss it? You need look no further than social media to see this. Read any post that relates to an Aboriginal person and you will see the plethora of racist comments based on myth, bias and ignorance. A white person dies and the world expresses sympathy and support for the family in an outpouring of grief. An Aboriginal person dies and the family is instantly judged as incompetent, criminal and disrespectful. The ignorant comments come thick and fast. The recent comments on the death of the lads from Townsville is an example of this. It was instantly assumed they died committing a crime (that later reports revealed to be committed by a white man) and people felt it appropriate to write comments that are nothing short of disgusting, adding to the stress, trauma and loss a family is already facing. Why is the loss of an Aboriginal life not given the same respect as the non-Aboriginal person? Australia Day is another example of the racism that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people face daily. The belief that we do nothing but drink, wait for handouts and do nothing to better our lives feeds the hate that is directed towards us. Reading the comments is exhausting but I couldn’t look away because our country cannot go on the way it is. We need to find a solution and therefore need to understand where the hate comes from. Racism is complicated and I am not suggesting that the solution is simple but reading the comments it was very clear that most of the hate comes from misinformation and ignorance that continues to be spread due to fear. We can address this through education. The reality is this – Australia was invaded and the country stolen from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People who despite the atrocities committed against them have maintained a connection to land. Acknowledging this takes nothing away from non-Aboriginal people. No one is asking them to pay for the crimes of the past, but acknowledging that the past happened and had a lasting impact is important. Educating all Australians will help address the misconceptions feeding racism. We need to start there. Closing the Gap Day is next week and it is a great opportunity to start a conversation about Aboriginal disadvantage to inform an understanding about the issues impacting on Aboriginal people and what we can all do to start to address the gap. We had a great response to our Closing the Gap Activity last year so I have attached it again in case you would like to revisit.
 NAIDOC Week is fast approaching and Aboriginal communities are buzzing with excitement about the opportunity to come together and celebrate our culture and recognise the work people in our communities are doing to promote, protect and preserve our culture. Each year our celebrations seem to get bigger. It is a busy week and I love it! It is an opportunity to acknowledge the work people have been doing, check out community initiatives and come together to celebrate our people. It is about connecting and reconnecting with people. It is about pride. It is about looking around and seeing all the great things our communities are doing and taking a moment to breathe that in, appreciate who we are and our place in the world. It is a time when, just for a moment, we can move the focus from the negativity and struggles that our people face day in and day out and move the attention to all the great things we are doing to overcome the adversity. It is an opportunity to show the wider community our resilience and the great things we have achieved because, let’s be honest, our great work is often lost in the overwhelming negative voice of mainstream media and misinformed public opinion. And it is an opportunity to invite non-Aboriginal communities into our world, to experience some culture and witness firsthand the deadly people we are. For schools, NAIDOC provides a great platform to introduce students to Aboriginal people, issues and education. It is an important week for all students and offers lessons in respect, self-respect, leadership and acceptance as well as Aboriginal education. For some students, NAIDOC is the only exposure they get, the only opportunity to see through the misconceptions that permeate Australian society. It is an opportunity for Aboriginal students to stand tall and be proud of who they are and show their friends and peers the great things about being Aboriginal. It was at school, many years ago now, that NAIDOC became a key date on my calendar. I loved the activities and the fact that my parents and community came to school. The sports days, the BBQs, the art projects, the performances and the interest and respect that non-Aboriginal students showed that week. NAIDOC will look different for every school – the most important thing is to enjoy your celebrations! We'd love to see your pictures and hear about your activities so please share on our social media. Download our free NAIDOC poster and colouring sheets below. 
Over the last week we have been honouring Black Diggers for their service. I am overwhelmed by the response! Every single person who has served for this country deserves the highest respect and I have seen that this week. The pride the Aboriginal community has for our soldiers is heartwarming. It is great to see Black Diggers getting the recognition they deserve. I have learnt a lot and been privileged to hear the stories of great people. I hope schools start to include Aboriginal soldiers in their ANZAC lessons and am proud of the resources we offer to support this. I am fortunate enough to call Uncle Ken Canning a friend and am excited to share, with his blessing, one of his poems. You can download a printable version at the bottom of this post. You will find more of Uncle Ken's work at https://vagabondpress.net/products/ken-canning-burraga-gutya-yimbama. BLACK DIGGERS Author Burraga Gutya (Ken Canning) Hail!! You brave men. You gave your all, to fight. Not for King or Queen but for country. Your land, your soil, entrenched in your heart. All wars all battles, the strong Black Diggers stood tall proud and gave honour to all Peoples of this land. Fires of war burned out, some came home to be shunned once more. The country your fought for, turned its cowardly back on you, the brave Black Digger, as brave as those who fought, in our frontier wars. You once more were cast out by a callous country. Not even allowed to speak to those you fought so valiantly beside. Proud strong, humble Black Digger, we your Peoples, give thanks and glory to your sacrifice. From those long passed to you still amongst us, stand tall in honour. For at the going down of every sun, we shall always remember you, BRAVE BLACK DIGGERS.  Burraga Gutya (Ken Canning)
|
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
February 2021
Categories |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
RSS Feed