This year I chose not to engage in the Change the Date debate. It is too exhausting. I cannot face the racism that floods media and social media on this day. It is too ignorant and too frustrating, too much.

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.

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 “Planning with Wingaru and Mr J Challenge” was a big focus for the Wingaru team in term 4 and I could not be happier with how it went.

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.

The tree is up, the elf has arrived and Christmas craft has started coming home from school – Christmas has arrived!

NAIDOC is coming up and this year’s theme ‘Always was, always will be’ is a great theme to build your planner around.

​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.

One question that teachers regularly ask me is how often they should include Aboriginal content or perspectives in their classrooms.

​When I visit schools there is usually at least one teacher who asks why Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander perspectives are so important. This seems obvious but let’s not forget that Aboriginal education hasn’t always gotten the attention it deserves so we are asking teachers to teach something that they themselves may not have received a lot of education about.

Every Wingaru Kids lesson supports an understanding of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander perspectives. The following lessons talk directly to racism, stereotyping & cultural bias.

Tip 1: Participate in a simultaneous learning experience with “All Together Now for Reconciliation”.

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.

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*.

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 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.