Saturday the 4th of August is National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day. It is an opportunity for all Australians to celebrate our kids, and consider the impact that community, culture and family play in the life of every Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child.

I am really excited to announce this month's Wingaru Teacher of the Month is Sonia Layton from Tempe Public School. Sonia is an amazing Aboriginal teacher who makes a huge contribution to Aboriginal education and her school community.

​One of the things I hear a lot from schools when talking about how they approach Aboriginal perspectives is that they don’t need support because they have a cultural performance, usually a didge player, during NAIDOC week and that this is enough for their school.

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.

Top 10 Tips for a Deadly NAIDOC

Ashwyn is an amazing woman and a truly inspiring teacher who works hard to support both her colleagues and students with Aboriginal perspectives. Ashwyn has lead Aboriginal education at two schools and we have been lucky enough to work with her both in 2017 at Busby West Public School and 2018 at Cartwright Public School.

As the mum of a kindy kid, I spent a lot of time in parent forums and groups during the first term of this year. I gained some valuable insight into school life and how best to support my child in his first year of school. But there was one thing that bothered me – so many parents were quick to criticise teachers and complain about the job they were doing and often this criticism seemed unfair.

This week we acknowledge World Environment Day and World Oceans Day. Both of these events focus on raising awareness and encouraging action to support a healthy planet. Modern society does not treat the environment well and the impact is starting to be seen.

​This week is Reconciliation Week. Reconciliation means acknowledging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples as the First Peoples of this land, and recognising the dispossession, persecution and oppression they have suffered as a result of Australia’s colonisation.

National Sorry Day is celebrated around the country each year on the 26th of May. As the day approaches, there are Australians out there who are asking why we need to have such a day. Many of these people see Sorry Day as Aboriginal people stuck in the past and not being able move forward.

With Mother’s Day just gone and Sorry Day fast approaching, I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge all the mums of the Stolen Generation: the mothers whose children were taken, without cause, and in many cases never returned. For those mums, Mother’s Day isn’t about sleep-ins, flowers and carefully selected gifts that symbolise love and thanks. It is about a loss that never goes away.

For those of us who are dedicated teachers of English and literature, literacy has always meant more than the ability to read words on a page. Literacy is the ability to make meaning from those words. To read them, evaluate them, use them, create content with them, understand and make meaning from them.

Remembering Our Soldiers - Uncle Phillip McLeod

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.

On 17 April 1816, Aboriginal men, women and children were murdered after Governor Lachlan Macquarie dispatched soldiers to ‘rid the land of troublesome blacks’.

I’m really excited this week to have our new platform, Wingaru Bubs, available to early childhood education providers. It is a digital resource centre, filled with informative, engaging and flexible resources that support educators and children as they explore Aboriginal perspectives.