Every six months, Biraban Public School invites our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mums, dads, carers and members of our school community to participate in a ‘yarn up’. On our Yarn Up Day, we share ideas and plan school directions.
Usually, we hold our Yarn Up Day at school; this year we did something different. Aboriginal students in Year 6 and K-6 parents and carers went to the Watagans, Awabakal Country, for a cultural day and chance to yarn.
The girls did women’s business with Cara, Adisyn’s mum, who showed us bush tucker plants and how to make a palm leaf basket. The bush walk was beautiful and we managed to avoid quite a lot of leeches.
The boys did men’s business, with the key event being a challenging walk to the waterfall. The boys found spear-sharpening grooves in rocks, a tiny frog, played with a few leeches and also spotted a lot of goannas.
We finished the day with kangaroo fillets and patties on the BBQ and shared the school’s Milestones for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students. Cara and Summah, Jharell’s mum, shared some great ideas for NAIDOC Day celebrations.
On the drive out Cara, Mr Liles, John and Uncle Amos braved the thorny native raspberry plants to provide us with another taste of bush tucker.
Thank you to Biraban Local Aboriginal Land Council for the use of the bus. We plan to do cultural tours for all classes over the year. Watch this space!
Back Row: Uncle Amos Simon, Mr Matthew Liles, John Larkins, Alicia Valentine, Cara Llyod, Summah Varagnolo, Ms Lenise Hollis (photographer)
