School wins reconciliation award

YUILLE Park Community College has been recognised for its work embedding Indigenous culture into its curriculum.

The college recently received the HART Award, which stands for Helping Achieve Reconciliation Together, in the schools and early years category.

The awards are partnership between the Victorian Local Governance Association and Reconciliation Victoria for local community organisations or schools

The schools Nyatne Mok Boriyn project, which means thankful and proud, reflects the institution’s values of belonging, empathy and respect.

Performing arts coordinator and Koori curriculum champion Bri Dredge said the school has been working hard to create a culturally safe environment.

“It’s more than a project, it’s everything we’ve been doing so far on our reconciliation journey, it’s been over the last four years at Yuille Park,” she said.

“Really developing ways to embed Indigenous perspectives into the curriculum and to create a culturally safe environment for all of our students and families at our school.”

Yuille Park offers schooling from prep to year 8 on one campus, senior school on another campus and even a young parent’s program in Delacombe for parents who have not completed their schooling due to having a child.

Twenty percent of students at the college are Indigenous, and Ms Dredge said it’s across all campuses the school upholds their values, and all staff have undertaken cultural understanding and safety training.

The school starts each year with a Welcome to Country and a flag raising ceremony with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander standards.

The school’s choir, run by Ms Dredge, sings in different Kulin nation languages.

“For our Indigenous families it allows them to feel a sense of pride in their identify, in who they are, in their culture and it also educates our non-Indigenous students and families,” Ms Dredge said.

“We learn about Australia’s true history and about reconciliation and what we can do to make our community, but also Australia as our children grow up a more inclusive place for everyone.”

Ms Dredge said the Nyatne Mok Boriyn project is a collaborative effort between staff, teachers and the community.

This includes Koori education support officer Darlene Rumler, Wadawurrung elder Bonnie Chew who helps run traditional ceremonies, and member for Wendouree Juliana Addison, who recently congratulated the school on its award in State Parliament.

“Everyone in our community has contributed to our reconciliation journey so the award is for all of us,” Ms Dredge said.