In my work as a classroom teacher at Biraban Public School, I am firmly committed to improving the educational outcomes and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in my class, so that they can excel and achieve in every aspect of their education.

Aboriginal Education involves continuous, lifelong learning. As part of my Professional Development Plan this year, I have developed a goal to incorporate more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives into my teaching and learning programs across all Key Learning Areas. This goal is aligned directly to a key Strategic Direction from the Biraban School Plan to empower the school community for an inclusive and positive school.

Evidence of the incorporation of more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives is documented in my teaching and learning programs and evident in work samples and photographs of students and our classroom. When teaching explicit letter/sound knowledge, I used objects and symbols from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture. Students play traditional Aboriginal games, such as Borna Jokee and Mer Kolap, as part of sport and fitness lessons; these games are from Yulunga-Traditional Indigenous Games from Australian Sports Commission 2009. During the Personal and Family Histories unit, students learned about their own family history and investigated how the past is different to the present. Our school’s Aboriginal Education Worker, Uncle Amos, shared his knowledge with the class by sharing traditional yarns and provided students with hands-on objects of Aboriginal cultural significance to explore.

My aim is to create an inclusive classroom environment, connecting Indigenous and non-Indigenous students to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history and culture. All Aboriginal students are on track to meet expected outcomes at their stage level.

Story contributed by Gary Hughes from Biraban Public School. Published in 2017.