Reflection and Action: Nicole Devlin Dean of Academics
The journey so far for the development of a Reconciliation Action Plan
This year the theme for Reconciliation Week was ‘More than a Word, Reconciliation Takes Action’. 2021 marks not only twenty years of Reconciliation Australia and almost three decades of Australia’s formal reconciliation process, but also the first year of action for the St Margaret’s Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). In 2019, a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) group was formed at St Margaret’s to begin the journey to scope and develop relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders stakeholders, to develop our vision for reconciliation, and to explore initiatives and actions we could take to develop a RAP that represents the approach our community is taking to commit to reconciliation. Sitting in the room for our first RAP committee meeting, it was clear that this process was going to have the potential to significantly influence and shape the culture at St Margaret’s. It took the group a year of meetings and online connections to understand what we already do and what we could do. This process challenged, reinforced, reinvigorated and empowered us as a group. However, while inspirational and vitally necessary, the pragmatic reality of the political and social landscape is complex, and we have challenging terrain to navigate as we make progress towards changed behaviours and shared understandings so true reconciliation can be realised. The conversations, auditing of curriculum, and the reflection on what we already do and what we need to do have culminated in the following visions. These visions and underpinning commitments are our guiding principles to unite and energise our school and community to have reconciliation live in the hearts, minds and actions as we move forward, creating a school community strengthened by respectful relationships between the wider Australian community and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
St Margaret’s Vision for Reconciliation Our vision for reconciliation is an Australia that embraces unity between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and other Australians, and a national culture that represents equality and equity, historical acceptance of our shared history and removal of negative race relations. By establishing a better understanding and respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, we will support reconciliation and develop an enriched appreciation of Australia’s cultural heritage and move towards the maturity of our community and Australia as a nation based on mutual respect and trust. Our commitments • We believe in the power of shared learning experiences, and welcome Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people into our learning spaces. We believe that having Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices in our classrooms are an essential part of learning about and understanding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures. • We believe in fostering authentic connections between our vision, our plans for reconciliation, and the principles and practices of the Early Years learning framework. We commit to fostering a strong working relationship between the two, and to ensuring that reconciliation is authentically embedded into our early learning environments. • We believe in celebrating cultural identities. St Margaret’s commits to providing opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to cultivate a shared pride for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, contributions, identities and histories within our school community. We believe that these opportunities will have a positive impact on the wellbeing of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.
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