Barker College Indigenous Education 2020 Indigenous Education I 1
Honor Non Honores 2 I Indigenous Education
Mission An Anglican community inspiring every learner every experience every day
Vision To be a leader in Christian education that is characterised by a global vision that inspires hope
Values Commitment Compassion Courage Integrity Respect
We acknowledge the Dharug, Darkinjung and Wonnarua peoples who are the traditional custodians of the land on which Barker College, Darkinjung Barker and Ngarralingayil Barker stand. We pay respect to the Elders past, present and emerging of the Dharug, Darkinjung and Wonnarua nations and extend that respect to other Indigenous people within the Barker College community.
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Introduction
At Barker College and our Indigenous campuses, our vision is to uphold, celebrate and promote the contribution of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to our society. We create opportunities for Indigenous people to participate in all aspects of our community and the life of the School. We incorporate the perspective of Indigenous Australians into each classroom. We educate our students about First Nation peoples, creating respect for and an understanding of their culture. Therefore, at Barker, we listen, we learn and we reflect. Turning vision into reality takes an enormous amount of effort from a great many people – wonderful teachers, committed parents and beautiful children who are eager to learn every day.
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Our intent is to keep these Indigenous campuses small, keep them local and keep them focused on our purpose - strong and proud cultural identity in concert with academic achievement. When these two things walk together they can produce amazing results. Reconciliation is best achieved one life at a time. Individual student achievement really matters.
Phillip Heath AM Head of Barker College
Supporting the education of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children is a contribution to justice and a way in which Barker can participate in practical reconciliation and the national goal of ‘closing the gap’. Through our Indigenous campuses of Darkinjung Barker and now Ngarralingayil Barker, we aim to work in partnership with Aboriginal communities to provide a type of education that enables young people to dream of a better future. This process started with the opening of Darkinjung Barker in 2016. The success of Darkinjung Barker is a testament to our partnership with First Nations Peoples and creates a model on which Ngarralingayil Barker and other partner schools can be based. Our dream for Ngarralingayil Barker and other schools still being discussed represents our community’s broader vision to look beyond the Mint Gates. We are seeking to provide education for First Nations children in a culturally safe, culturally relevant context. From our perspective and that of our partner communities, this means educating on Country, interweaving culture with curriculum, and ensuring Indigenous children stay connected with their community.
But education on Country is not the right choice for everyone. Many Indigenous parents want to send their children to a school like Barker, and we have the opportunity to build on what we have learned from our partner communities to provide students with a safe environment where they feel secure and confident in themselves and their culture. First Nations students and their families bring new perspectives and a sense of history into our diverse community at Barker, and we are blessed by their willingness to share their perspectives and cultures with us.
Sophie Mynott Indigenous Education Project Leader
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Schools on Country The Barker Model The strongest foundation for leaning for Indigenous students is their belonging to Country. When children are forced to leave their home to attend school, the sense of loss and disconnection is far greater than ‘homesickness’. It is a severing of the ties to that which makes one whole, that which forms the basis of identity, family, community and spirituality. One can never ‘belong’ to a new place. In Aboriginal culture, the relationship between people and the land is central. The sense of purpose and fulfilment which is derived from physically being on one’s Country is evident in Indigenous communities across Australia, and being on Country maintains the connection between family, language, culture and Country. People belong to Country, which is the source of spirituality, law, values and history, and forms the basis of identity and community. For Indigenous people, their cultural connections to the land lead to a strong sense of identity and wellbeing. This sense of connectedness, security and purpose is a protective factor against suicide and poor mental health, both of which are significantly more prevalent in Indigenous communities than in the Australian population as a whole. As a result, learning on Country provides a direct and measurable benefit to Aboriginal children’s levels of involvement in school. Wherever possible, educating children on Country, and teaching them the history, geography, animals, plants, stories and songs of that place in partnership with their family
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and Elders, should be the primary goal of any educational endeavour which aims to ‘close the gap’ and improve academic and pastoral outcomes for Indigenous students. This is why Barker seeks to partner with First Nations communities to provide education on Country for young people. The schools follow the Australian Curriculum, and students are assessed by NAPLAN and as required by the NSW Department of Education. Students’ successes and achievements are measured by their ability to meet literacy and numeracy standards defined by the Australian Curriculum, and by their cultural knowledge and understanding as defined by their community.
Mission and Vision
Schools on Country are successful if:
• An Aboriginal worldview is embedded into all aspects of education, teaching and learning.
• students are developing the skills and confidence to fulfil their educational potential and pursue their future aspirations.
• The curriculum is developed in partnership with local Indigenous communities. • The students are fully engaged in and benefit from their schooling. • The students are empowered to achieve strong academic outcomes. We seek to improve student outcomes by: •
bringing two cultures together in mutual respect and understanding to foster meaningful student and parental engagement.
•
providing high-quality teachers, using effective evidenced-based teaching.
•
promoting high expectations of attendance to attain strong literacy and numeracy outcomes.
•
undertaking effective monitoring of students’ understanding and achievement, to identify where support is needed.
• students are meeting the minimum literacy and numeracy standards for their age, and their overall levels of literacy and numeracy achievement are improving. • attendance rates are over 85%. • students are developing a mastery of the Australian Curriculum in order to successfully transition to high school education. In future we are seeking to partner with communities outside NSW to extend the Barker Model to other parts of this nation and possibly the world.
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Schools on Country
Darkinjung Barker has demonstrated the powerful impact of a small school dedicated to Aboriginal students with a culturally appropriate curriculum.
Darkinjung Barker Barker has partnered with the Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Land Council to set up a K-6 school for Indigenous students on the Central Coast. The School opened in Yarramalong in early 2016 with 23 students. Education on Country necessitates having high expectation of children. While the School’s first priority is to ensure that every child feels safe and enveloped within the culture of Darkinjung Barker, and celebrating Aboriginal identity is at the centre of every experience, it is equally important to expect high levels of academic achievement from the students. To achieve this, students, parents and staff work co–operatively to maintain a stimulating community environment. Whilst recognising the individual identities and needs of students, the School aims to develop students’ outcomes in all Key Learning Areas, while ensuring they have an understanding 8 I Indigenous Education
of the social and physical environment of the Darkinjung people and have opportunities to pursue creative and cultural pursuits. The educational outcomes of students at Darkinjung Barker are continually improving, particularly in literacy. Some students have gained the equivalent of three-to-five years’ educational growth in one year. This process is possible because of the sense of safety the children have within the culture of the School. But growth cannot always be measured with graphs, data and statistics. The social, emotional and general wellbeing of students are areas of huge improvement. The patience, nurturing and guidance of staff, parents and the broader community are important elements of the success of Darkinjung Barker. Enrolments at Darkinjung Barker have grown to 32 (33 for 2020), so in 2019 a demountable was added to the site to cater for the additional students and provide for growth in numbers up to 40 students.
Reading
Grammar and Punctuation
500
500
480
480
460
460
440
440
420
420 400
400 2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2013
2018
2014
2015
2016
Average NAPLAN Score: Darkinjung Barker
Average NAPLAN Score: Darkinjung Barker
Average NAPLAN Score: State
Average NAPLAN Score: State
Spelling
2017
2018
2017
2018
Numeracy
480 475 480
470 565
470
460
460
455
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440
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430
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435
410 2013
2014
2015
2016
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2018
2013
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Average NAPLAN Score: Darkinjung Barker
Average NAPLAN Score: Darkinjung Barker
Average NAPLAN Score: State
Average NAPLAN Score: State
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Schools on Country
Wollombi Public School, 1890s; Source: Cessnock Public Library.
Ngarralingayil Barker In Ngarralingayil Barker, our dream to replicate the Darkinjung Barker model is being realised in a school for First Nations students in the Lower Hunter Valley. The name ‘Ngarralingayil’ means ‘a place where learning happens’ in the Wonnarua language.
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Wollombi has long been a significant place for First Nations peoples. It is the meeting place of three creeks and is at the base of Mount Yengo, a sacred place. Mount Yengo is the place in sandstone country where Baiame (creator god, father of all) stepped back into the sky after completing creation and giving laws to his people. Mount Yengo is therefore as significant to the Peoples of sandstone country as Uluru is to the First People of Central Australia, and there are over 3,000 significant sites – cave art, rock engravings and stone arrangements – in the mountainous region to the west of Wollombi.
Aboriginal people have lived in the sandstone country of the Wollombi area for at least 20,000 years. Wollombi means “meeting place” or “meeting place of the waters”, with Wollombi village being the site of a former corroboree ground and the meeting point of pathways from the surrounding areas. The area is the meeting place between three language groups – Darkinjung, Wonnarua and Awabakal – with Dharug and Worimi peoples also living nearby. Today there are five Aboriginal Land Councils – Dharug, Awakabal, Biraban, Mindaribba and Wanaruah – which meet near Wollombi, with Darkinjung lands a short distance away. There is a sizeable Aboriginal community in the area, particularly at Cessnock.
Ngarralingayil Barker will be a primary school for 25 – 30 Indigenous students. We have made considerable progress to deliver this place of learning, designed specifically for young people living on Wonnarua Country. The School will open with one K – 6 class with the hope of expanding to two classes by the end of 2020. The students at Ngarralingayil and Darkinjung will have opportunities to learn and play together. Barker College, Kiray Putjung, and WSCET are working together to provide education that is not only of the finest standard, but embodies pride in culture.
In Term 1 2020 we will open a school at the former Wollombi Public School site, to be called Ngarralingayil Barker. Wollombi School opened in 1852 but after 162 years of educating Wollombi’s children, was closed in 2014. Now Barker College is partnering with the Wollombi School Community Education Trust (WSCET) to ensure the historic site remains a place of education and learning. Ngarralingayil Barker will be opened as a campus of Darkinjung Barker in partnership with Kiray Putjung Aboriginal Corporation. Kiray Putjung is a not-for-profit Aboriginal Corporation bettering the lives of First Nations communities by providing services and support. Kiray Putjung will oversee admissions, cultural pedagogy and community relations.
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Reconciliation in Practice Barker College is located on the lands of the Dharug people. Darkinjung Barker is located on the lands of the Darkinjung people. We honour the traditional custodians of Australia and seek to understand the complete story of this ancient continent. We uphold the right of Indigenous Australians to live, preserve and pass on their culture, language, law and lore.
Reconciliation requires a new relationship together with respect. Rosalie Kunoth-Monks OAM Eastern Anmatjere/Eastern Arrente Elder
The Bible guides us in the way we relate to all people: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second most important commandment is this: ‘Love your neighbour as you love yourself.’ There is no other commandment more important than these two. Mark 12:30-31
Therefore, at Barker, we listen, we learn and we reflect. We respect the voice of Indigenous Australians and demonstrate commitment to listening and finding new ways to walk together as one. We hear the story of Indigenous Australia with compassion, we recognise and share in the pain and anguish of Indigenous people, and celebrate the triumph of maintaining culture in the face of adversity.
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We have the courage to accept past wrongdoings and to work for a nation in which all people and cultures can thrive. We display integrity in our dealings with Indigenous people, and seek to be guided by, and walk alongside, those from First Nation communities. We seek to improve educational opportunities and outcomes for Indigenous people and communities. The Barker community is grateful for the contributions of Indigenous people to Australian society, past and present. We respect Indigenous peoples’ connection to and knowledge of Country, and with inquiring minds, we learn from the richness of Indigenous culture and understanding of Country. We apply rhetoric to determine ways in which we can serve Indigenous people, communities and the environment.
RAP Progress and Working Group At Barker, a Reconciliation Action Plan means putting into words our intention to promote practical reconciliation at the institutional and everyday level. The Reconciliation Working Group, consisting of 37 students and 22 staff, is working to implement the 29 actions identified in Barker’s Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). The Reconciliation Action Plan was launched in May 2019 during Reconciliation Week, at an event attended by several hundred students and staff members. The RAP was developed within the framework designed by Reconciliation Australia. This framework identifies five dimensions from which progress in reconciliation can be measured – historical
acceptance, race relations, equality and equity, unity, and institutional integrity. The actions outlined in our Reconciliation Action Plan at Barker target these dimensions through a focus on relationships, respect and opportunity in the classroom, around the school, and in the community. Many of the identified RAP Actions have already been achieved. Members of the Working Group have developed an antiracism campaign, as part of which we held a screening of The Final Quarter in late 2019, with a panel discussion afterwards, to educate the Barker community about racism towards Indigenous people. Complementing this, a program of community education about issues in Indigenous education, such as why we acknowledge Country and the meaning of National Reconciliation Week, has been prepared for 2020. The Working Group is focused on achieving all of the 29 Actions by the end of 2020.
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Reconciliation in Practice Relationships In the classroom • Enhance teaching and learning activities by engaging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from within the school community. • Provide opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to engage in activities that celebrate their cultural heritage and identities. Around the School • Invite Elders and Traditional Owners to speak to students and staff about the histories and cultures of the local area. • Provide opportunities for staff to build and extend knowledge and understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. With the community • Coordinate a Welcome to Country for significant events. • Celebrate National Reconciliation Week (NRW) from 27 May to 3 June each year. • Maintain a list of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, organisations and other key stakeholders within the local area to help implement RAP initiatives. • Build relationships with the local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community that are founded on mutual respect, trust and inclusiveness. • Provide opportunities for students to extend their knowledge and understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.
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• Establish external networks with groups that are committed to reconciliation to mutually support and collaboratively progress reconciliation initiatives.
Respect In the classroom • Teach about the concept, history and progress of reconciliation in Australia. • Use curriculum resources to teach students about days and weeks of national significance. • Raise awareness of current affairs and issues in the public domain that are of particular significance to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the process of reconciliation. Around the School • Develop understanding of what it means to acknowledge Country, and provide everyone the opportunity to do so at meetings and events throughout the year. • Physically and visibly demonstrate respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and contributions around the School.
With the community
Around the School
• Organise and participate in events to celebrate or commemorate days/weeks of national significance for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and reconciliation.
• Ensure policies are inclusive of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and aim to increase knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures.
• Fly or display the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags all year round to demonstrate pride and respect for Australia’s First Peoples. • Display a physical, durable Acknowledgement of Country such as an Acknowledgement plaque or mural. • Hold a special event to launch the Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). • Raise awareness of, teach about, and take positive action against racism.
Opportunities In the classroom • Support teachers to embed the Australian Curriculum ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures’ crosscurriculum priority.
• Encourage staff to be involved in the ongoing development and implementation of the RAP through staff development opportunities. • Allocate funds in the budget specifically for the implementation of RAP Actions. With the community • Visit appropriate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sites, attend significant local events and explore Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives on excursions. • Develop and implement an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employment and retention strategy for teaching and nonteaching staff. • Celebrate RAP progress in the School and throughout the community.
• Ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures are incorporated in curriculum planning, development and evaluation processes. • Support teachers to meaningfully engage with Focus Area 1.4 and 2.4 of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers.
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Reconciliation in Practice
Geuram Barker (2019)
Geuram Barker The images on the left as you look at the work represent the Aboriginal cultures of Mainland Australia, and portray snakes – representing the earth and the Rainbow Serpent – moving over the land, painted in the colours of the Aboriginal flag – red, yellow and black. The images on the right represent Torres Strait Islander cultures, painted in the blue, green and white of the Torres Strait Islander flag. The manta rays’ heads are drawn using the Dhari (headdress) featured on the flag, putting culture headfirst. The background represents the blue-green of the ocean and the red-brown of the land, the Country that is the source of culture, history, lore, food and spiritual sustenance.
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The snakes slither across the land, and the manta rays glide through the ocean, symbolising how culture flows from generation to generation. This also represents our goal of students of many different backgrounds, languages and cultures joining the Barker community with ease. In the middle of the painting, the crossing over of the blue-green of the ocean and the red-brown of the desert in the background represents the fertile coastal region where Barker is located. The leaves represent the eucalypts of the Hornsby Plateau and our campus. The white lines represent many peoples’ different paths coming together at Barker as a place of learning and reconciliation.
The black, ochre and green circular image represents a meeting place around a fire where many cultures come together and people learn about each other. The large red and blue shapes represent the staff, parents and alumni of Barker, and the smaller black and white shapes represent the current students. The artist, Ethan Landy-Ariel, describes the painting’s centre as showing “all of our cultures come together into one big family in one place”. Geuram is Ethan’s tribe, and also represents the snake totem, bringing together the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander elements of the work.
This work was designed by Ethan LandyAriel, in 2019 was a Year 11 student at Barker College. Ethan is a Meriam man from Mer (Murray) Island. He also has Aboriginal heritage. He lives in Woolloomooloo and is a boarder. Ethan’s design was digitised by Glenn Quevedo, Barker’s Design, Publications and Media Coordinator. Ethan approved the digitisation at every stage, and Ethan and Glenn worked together to bring Ethan’s vision to life. The process started in April 2019 and was completed in September 2019.
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Reconciliation in Practice Education is central to all we do in ensuring truth telling and making sure all people have the real facts about Aboriginal peoples’ cultures and histories of contact in Australia
Every year at Barker we celebrate National Reconciliation Week and NAIDOC Week. Students explore Indigenous histories, cultures and perspectives in the classroom during these weeks. National Reconciliation Week is overseen by Reconciliation Australia and is held each year to promote learning about Indigenous histories and cultures and truth-telling. At Barker we acknowledge National Reconciliation Week by holding interviews in Chapel with our Indigenous students, hosting guest speakers from First Nations communities and focusing on reconciliation in Connect Groups. During National Reconciliation Week, students from Barker and Darkinjung Barker also participate in Hornsby Council’s Children’s Voices for Reconciliation event at Hornsby Mall.
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Dr Lynette Riley, National NAIDOC Committee Member
NAIDOC Week is centred around the celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and achievements. A feature of our NAIDOC Week celebrations at Barker is our NAIDOC Assembly. At the Assembly the Indigenous students from Hornsby and the students of Darkinjung Barker lead as they address the audience, dance and sing. The annual Indigenous Round across all sports is also part of our NAIDOC Week celebrations. This initiative was started by Jayden Kitchener-Waters who was the 2018 Boarding Captain and a leader in Yarn Up. Each year during the Indigenous Round all Barker players in Years 3 – 12 wear armbands to mark the occasion, we acknowledge Country before each game, smoking ceremonies are held, and songs are sung in language. For the 2019 Indigenous Round the arm-bands were designed by Year 11 student Ethan Landy-Ariel, and the design is now featured in his larger artwork Geuram Barker.
Support for Indigenous Students
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students are supported to achieve their academic, cultural and personal goals. Currently Barker has 19 First Nations students, ten of whom are on full or partial scholarships. We are hoping to increase this over time to 30, out of a projected school population of 2,796 in 2025. Given our commitment to education on Country, Barker does not have a partnership with any organisation which funds students to leave home to board. We have our own scholarship program for students who have graduated from Darkinjung Barker, and students from Sydney, the Central Coast and the mid North Coast who wish to attend Barker as day students or boarders. We also have a partnership with the GO Foundation which currently partially funds four students to attend Barker. All teachers of Indigenous students are briefed during staff orientation on creating a culturally appropriate classroom with high expectations of all students. The Indigenous Education Project Leader works closely with the Heads of House, Boarding staff, Clinic staff and Learning Support throughout the
year to support the academic and pastoral needs of Indigenous students. A program of academic and cultural support for Indigenous students has been developed, based on the AISNSW’s Improving Outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students pilot program, evaluated by the University of Technology, Sydney. This is called Wingaru-wa Muru-da (‘thinking on the path to the future’ in Darug). The program includes individual, targeted literacy and numeracy support for students in Years 7 – 10, and 8 hours of small group tutoring a week for the boarders, and any other Indigenous students in Years 10 – 12 who wish to attend. In 2020 the Wingaru program will be expanded to include cultural mentoring on campus. Indigenous students are encouraged to access opportunities outside Barker, such as mentoring, university readiness courses and cultural programs. In 2019 eleven students attended a total of 18 activities off campus.
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Reconciliation in Practice Yarn Up Yarn Up helps our Indigenous students at Hornsby grow socially, academically, and culturally.
Our Indigenous students meet weekly in Yarn Up, where they provide support for each other, make suggestions to help us move towards reconciliation in our community, and participate in cultural events at Barker and beyond the Mint Gates. The meetings are held in the Yarn Up space located in the Indigenous Education Office. The space has chairs, lounges and tea and coffee facilities. The Yarn Up space is a place of safety and welcome, and students are encouraged to come and go in their spare time as they wish. The Yarn Up program also facilitates student engagement in culture-related co-curricular activities. Students from Yarn Up attend the Aboriginal Youth Program at Waitara PCYC once a fortnight with Indigenous students from other local schools. In 2019, 84% of students across all schools in attendance felt that the Aboriginal Youth Program helped
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them feel more connected to their culture and 94% of students identified a feeling of belonging when attending the program. Yarn Up students also participate in courses, camps and mentoring through organisations such as the GO Foundation, the University of New South Wales, Macquarie University and the Association of Independent Schools. Yarn Up students are supported not only whilst at Barker but in their transition out of the School after graduation. In Term 1 a tertiary information evening is held for Indigenous students from Barker and other schools in the area. During the event, representatives from universities and TAFE come to Barker to speak to students about their courses, programs and scholarship opportunities. Yarn Up alumni are invited to return to Barker to participate in events throughout the year, and mentor the younger First Nations students.
Teaching and Learning
An inherent part of Barker’s commitment to reconciliation is to improve relationships with, and respect and opportunities for, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the classroom and around the School.
Actions completed to foster reconciliation in the classroom include the creation and management of a Canvas page for all school subjects that provides resources for staff to utilise. Four staff members have also attended the six-day Stronger, Smarter Leadership course and are developing, in conjunction with Indigenous people, a cultural competence program for staff. Teachers are being supported with information and resources to include Indigenous perspectives, histories and cultures into their units of work. Many teachers have participated in professional learning on Country to increase their understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and perspectives. Members of Indigenous communities from the Central Coast, Hunter Valley, Central Australia and Arnhem Land have visited Barker to further our partnerships with these communities and provide staff and students
with the opportunity to learn from Aboriginal people about their language, culture, history and perspectives on issues in Australian society. Our relationships with the students, parents and staff of Darkinjung Barker and Ngarralingayil Barker also help us to learn from First Nations people. A database has been established through which staff can invite local Aboriginal community members to participate in school events and advise on culturally appropriate programs and units of study. Barker staff also participate in networks for Indigenous education such as Aboriginal Education Consultative Groups, the Association of Independent Schools and informal networks with other schools. These networks provide professional development, advice, and opportunities for Indigenous students to interact with their peers at other schools.
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Teaching and Learning Extended Stay Program
The Extended Stay Program to Alice Springs is offered to Year 9 students and is aimed at extending our students and connecting with Central Australian cultures.
The 18 day camp is about developing relationships with members of a variety of Indigenous communities. It provides students with a unique opportunity to live together in a very different environment, away from the busyness of life, and be exposed to a range of people and experiences which challenge and stretch them and give them cause to reflect on important aspects of life. The program provides a context in which students are compelled to participate, solve problems, collaborate, communicate, explore, understand and serve. Year 9 has been revealed to be the ideal time for this type of program, as adolescent students are making their first steps into exploring the adult world.
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Darug Unit Language can bring the Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities together where we can form mutual understandings. Dr Mishel McMahon, La Trobe University
From 2020 all Year 7 students will complete a term of Darug language studies. The Darug people are the people of the Country on which Barker stands. Barker’s students will be learning a language that has been spoken on this land for millennia. It is estimated that before colonisation over 250 distinct languages with their own dialects were spoken across this continent. Embedded within these languages is culture, lore, philosophy, history and knowledge. Many of these languages have been lost since colonisation with only 13 traditional languages still acquired by children today, and only another 100 spoken by older generations. The Darug language is a language in revival. It is today being studied, re-taught and re-learnt. Engaging with this revival, the Languages staff are working with Darug Elders and staff in other subjects to develop a crosscurricular unit of work to teach students about the history, culture and language of
the area where Barker is located. Staff have undertaken cultural competency training and the Heads of other Departments have also integrated the unit into their existing programs. This cross-unit integration is intended to facilitate a genuinely crosscurriculum exploration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledges and cultures. The Year 7 Darug unit represents an opportunity to demonstrate respect to the Darug community. Through the unit, the Barker community will teach and learn their language as a demonstration of genuine interest in Darug culture, and as an acknowledgement that this culture and its relevance to our community continues to this day.
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91 PaciďŹ c Highway Hornsby NSW 2077 Australia 24 I Indigenous Education
t +61 2 8438 7999 w barker.college
February 2020