NAIDOC 2020
Always Was. Always Will Be
NAIDOC MASS
It was a wonderful start to NAIDOC Week for our Community to come together for mass celebrated by Bishop Brian Mascord who was led in by John Therry students dancing and playing the didgeridoo. Bishop Brian led the community and spoke about the importance of asking Aboriginal communities for their input before making decisions about them. He spoke about an Elder who taught him the value of asking questions about Aboriginal culture, a lesson he remembers to this day.
After mass the Community came together with the Bishop for a catch up and refreshments. It was a beautiful liturgy on a glorious morning and we look forward to seeing the Bishop at next year's NAIDOC mass.
NAIDOC @ JTCC
On Friday the 13th of November the school had two formal assemblies to mark NAIDOC Week. Due to COVID restrictions we were sadly unable to have Community guests or Elders join us this year. Once again our JT students represented their Culture with pride and dignity, beginning the ceremony with didgeridoo playing and dancing. A number of our students also spoke at the assembly including Benjamin Anderson, Lily Short, Sokowa Parker, Olivia Omaye and Jorja Borg. These students spoke about the importance of Culture, love, ceremony, family and land to Aboriginal people. They spoke about 60 000 years of continuous Culture and how, underneath the concrete, stone and wood there is sand, histories, joys, discoveries, dreaming and tragedies, songlines and the footprints of the Ancestors.
Some of our JT students received awards for the Contribution to Culture. This award is given to students who have not only represented the school but their Aboriginal Culture in events such as Aboriginal Sunday, attendance at the Beatification of Eileen O'Connor St Mary's Cathedral as well as representing the school in cultural days both on and off site. Congratulations go to Jorja Borg, Tony Lardner-Carriage, Kalan Nau, Jesse Mundine, Brayden Wickey, Tanesha Tobler and Shontay-B McClymont-Lucas.
