Finigan School of Distance Education

Why's NAIDOC Week important?

NAIDOC Week is important as it’s an opportunity for learning, connection and community.

It gives First Nations people and non-Indigenous people the opportunity to celebrate and connect with community and Country. And it’s a chance for everyone, not just First Nations people, to celebrate all aspects of First Nations histories and cultures.

As well as this, with its origins based in one of the first major civil rights gatherings in the world, NAIDOC Week is an important time to reflect on the challenges faced by First Nations people — to look at how far we’ve come and how far we still have to go.

Why do we celebrate NAIDOC Week?

There are so many reasons why people get involved with NAIDOC Week. It’s a chance to celebrate First Nations Peoples of Australia, a chance to highlight challenges that need addressing, a chance to learn about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, and a chance to engage with amazing cultures that are thousands of years old.

Poster title - Urapun Muy

Artist - Deb Belyea

‘Urapun Muy’, from the Kalaw Kawaw Ya dialect of the Top Western Islands of the Torres Strait, means ‘One Fire’. The title of this work pays homage to Torres Strait Islanders and Aboriginal people everywhere, as we all have that one fire: our passion for our culture.

In this work, I have depicted the hands of our ancestors that have carefully dropped a burning ember on to a fire. This ember burns hot with intensity, stoking the flames, as it combines with the new fire. The linear detail shows the energy and power as cultural knowledge is transferred from our ancestors to us today. Culture is the fire that gives us knowledge, wisdom and purpose.

It is our responsibility to maintain, practice, and pass on our fire to our future generations.

Afterall, Culture keeps us Blak, Loud and Proud.

Entries are now open for Young Scientist 2024!

Inspire and encourage the next generation of scientists via the Young Scientist Competition, an initiative that celebrates the scientific investigations and technological innovation of K-12 school students across Australia.

Since 1992, the Program has been encouraging students to undertake innovative projects and investigations to find creative solutions to real-world problems. It encourages and celebrates excellence in STEM through inquiry-based learning.

STANSW Young Scientist is open to all students in NSW. Projects can be completed by individuals, or groups of up to 3.

Read more about Young Scientist and submit entries HERE

KEY DATES:

• 2024 Entries close Monday 2 September
• Judging from Saturday 7 September to Saturday 21 September
• Award Ceremony Friday 22 November at UTS

Positive Partnerships is providing a free, government-funded autism workshop for parents/carers on 27 August, 2024 in Queanbeyan NSW.

Parents, grandparents and full-time (unpaid) carers of children on the autism spectrum are invited to learn about autism and ways to strengthen home-school partnerships. Parents/carers of preschool-aged children often attend the workshops, particularly if their child is transitioning to school in the next year or two.

Please find further details about the workshop on their website and in the flyer below.

Over the last 24 days of June, we’ve had our Finigan SDE students and staff enthusiastically complete the Push Up Challenge!

During this time, collectively we’ve:

• Completed over 50,000 push-ups (or alternative exercises).
• Raised $1,500 in donations.

All of this, in the name of supporting Lifeline and mental health services across Australia – as well as enhancing our own mental health and wellbeing along the way. One of our Year 10 participants, Zyggy, outlined what this challenge meant to him and his twin brother, William:

"This challenge brought us closer together, as we are tackling the same obstacle, and increased our feelings of joy and self-worth, as we know we are able to conquer large demands such as this challenge. We both also felt that, by doing this challenge, we are also encouraging other people to do the same, setting themselves challenges and striving for their own goals – therefore, strengthening their mental health and resilience."

We want to provide a big thank you, in particular, to Alexis from Year 11! She is the one who got our school set up and organised to do our exercises, and whom has kept us motivated throughout the Push Up Challenge this month. We appreciate your dedication to this cause and your endless enthusiasm.

Overall, this challenge has reminded our school community that, even whilst we are apart in terms of physical distance and time zones, we can work toward a common goal and share in our achievements together. Well done!