22 Mar 2021
We had a delightful time last Thursday attending the Narrabri Council Gamilaroi Banner Workshop at St Francis Xavier Primary School. 10 students accompanied Auntie Pattie and Mrs Allen to the workshop, where Auntie Pattie opened with a welcome to country in language and then entertained us all with the theatrical creation story of the brolga. Students then moved into groups, working with visiting artists and local elders to explore land marks, plants and animals that are local to our area.
The students shared their experience of our region and talked about what they felt connected to. Many students chose to draw animals and landscapes, with our rivers featuring heavily in many artworks. They were blown away by the artists talents and, in turn, we could not believe the amazing artworks our students produced. These have now been taken away to be turned into a tear drop banner that will be presented to our school in time for Reconciliation and NAIDOC Week. This year is sure to be a significant one at NPS, commemorating 20 years since Australia’s first formal procession of reconciliation in 1991. We look forward to sharing not only our new banner but also our celebrations with our whole school community. We would also like to sincerely thank Narrabri Council for all their organisation, the visiting artists for sharing their talent, SFX for hosting this wonderful event, and, as always, Auntie Pattie who inspires us all!