Week of NAIDOC celebrations greet returning students at St Matthews School

A week of celebration greeted returning students at St Matthew’s School in Narrogin with NAIDOC Week festivities running in the first week of term three.

This year’s NAIDOC Week theme was Heal Country, a message which calls on everyone to protect the lands, waters, sacred sites and cultural heritage of First Nations people.

Students across the State were on school holidays during NAIDOC Week from July 4 to 11.

But after returning on Tuesday last week, the activities kicked off with a play from the Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company for students from kindergarten to Year 6.

“That was absolutely amazing, our little people just sat there for the full hour,” principal Sue Milton said. “It was about water conservation ... looking at water conservation but also teaching parts of the Noongar language.”

On Wednesday, families painted pickets representing their family story, which will now become part of the school’s Bush Tucker garden.

On Thursday, students were put in groups and rotated through a variety of activities celebrating Indigenous culture.

“We did some dance, some didgeridoo making, some doll making and then in the other groups we did some sand yarning and looked at the changes to the national anthem,” she said. “We explained to the children how changing one word — from young and free to one and free — has made it a more inclusive national anthem.”