​If you are following along with this year’s Challenge, your class would be talking about some of the amazing First Nations change makers who have played a significant role in making change for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

Earlier this year, I was invited to participate in a truth telling session hosted by the Art and Culture Exchange on Burramattagal Country. The session was part of the 23rd Sydney Biennale and brought together Darug custodians and the National Committee of the Friends of Myall Creek to yarn about frontier conflict and healing.

​Getting up and learning about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, people and culture is important for all Australians. Some of our Challenge Team share why getting up is important to them.

I am really excited about NAIDOC this year. I am looking forward to getting to some events, catching up with mob and celebrating the hard work that our communities are doing. Once again, the National NAIDOC Committee have chosen a theme that I think perfectly reflects where Australia is at with its education journey.

This year’s theme is Be Brave. Make Change. It encourages us all to reflect on our practice and look at the changes we can make. Change is one of those funny things that we want because it opens up opportunities and can make us feel energised and motivated but at the same time, change can feel challenging as it forces us out of our comfort zones.

Digital tools are an important part of today’s classrooms. We all have our favourites – Wingaru Kids, Mathletics, Essential Assessment, Typing Tournament, Reading Eggs, Google Classroom, just to name a few – whatever your chosen resources, digital tools are an everyday part of learning.

​Reconciliation is a big word that echoes louder and louder as time pounds ever forward. It means different things to different people. To some, it is a token gesture, a week in the year in which a word is repeated to tick political boxes.

April 22 is Earth Day, a day when people all over the world focus on caring for the earth and protecting the planet from things like pollution and deforestation. The day brings focus to the environmental challenges our world is facing and raises awareness not only of the problem but also the things we can all do to help make a healthier planet.

It’s still a few weeks away but Easter craft is starting to pop up - it wouldn’t be Easter without Easter craft! We have more amazing basket craft activities this year. They are so gorgeous that I couldn’t wait to share! I have included one below and the other is available to Wingaru Kids subscribers in the Additional Resources section of the platform.

I love it because it is a time when we connect with so many of our teachers. We hear what they have been up to and how the school is doing with Aboriginal education. We get to celebrate the wins and help develop approaches to support schools looking to improve their approaches. Yep – I love a yarn! Not really that surprising, right?

Delivering Aboriginal perspectives is one of the many things that teachers need to consider. The what, when and how of including First Nations content are different for every class teacher. Getting it right can feel daunting but the most important thing is to start. Starting is the beginning of finding a groove that works for you and your students.

It’s the great debate we have every year – should we be celebrating our great country on the day that began the destruction of our First Nations cultures? Is a day of mourning really the right day for this celebration? Communities are still living with ongoing trauma resulting from invasion – from massacres, strategic attempts at genocide, abuse and bias.

This year the Wingaru team have worked with two amazing Aboriginal artists – Dunghutti artist Aunty Cynthia O’Brien-Younie, and Marlee Webb, an emerging Darug artist – to bring you some new Christmas crafts for you to share with your class.

I get emails from teachers at all times of the day and night – all year round. Which is why I am not at all surprised that despite the fact term 4 of 2021 is not over, teachers are already reaching out to get ready for 2022.

I can’t believe how fast this year has gone! I feel like I blinked and now we are getting ready to roll out the Christmas activities! As well as classrooms full of Christmas crafts (we have some deadly ones coming so keep an eye out!) the end of term 4 is a time that many families like to give their classroom teacher a small gift.

Last week I sat down for a yarn with the host of WinewithTeacher podcast, Ceri. It was a follow-up to the article about Wingaru and our philosophy that was included in issue 10 of Wine with Teacher magazine which focuses on elevating Aboriginal voices in the education space.