Head of School Welcome
I write to acquaint you with the developments the School has made with the establishment of a campus for primary school aged Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from Redfern / Waterloo area. The School has been investigating this concept for the past year or more.
The concept for such a school arose from a visit I made to the Republic of South Africa in mid 2005. I was deeply moved to observe the efforts of a small group of people offering educational support to the children of Soweto. They used space in Anglican churches in well-to-do suburbs of Johannesburg paying a peppercorn rent and receiving funds from private donation. At this stage there are four schools operating under the name “Vuleka” (Enlighten). The little schools in Johannesburg gave a strong focus on literacy and numeracy acquisition together some important assistance with self-esteem and other important social skills. The RSA Government education sector welcomed these schools because they eased the overwhelming burden facing education in that country.
Taking this model as an example, in 2005 we formed a Task Force of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from our own Redfern community and designed a concept that we felt would meet the pressing needs within our own city. Our intention is to form a small community based school of not more than 25 children in mixed staged classes from Kindergarten to Year 6 with very focussed teaching of literacy, numeracy and elements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and tradition. The objective is to equip our students to perform at a level at least commensurate with other children at the end of Stage 3 (Year 6). We intend to make use of the strong educational resources enjoyed by St Andrew’s students and share some of the many benefits that a city education can offer. Our Advisory Group gave the School the name Gawura¸ which means “whale” in the Eora language. The Gawura was a totem of the Aboriginal people in the Port Jackson region and a revered symbol of strength, beauty, endurance and hope. Our Task Force affirm that God saved a nation through the belly of a whale, and this is our dream for Gawura.
With the continued delays in finding a suitable site, we have resolved to commence the Gawura campus within our own school premises in a refurbished classroom space within St Andrew’s House. On Monday 23 April 2007, seven children from Redfern / Waterloo attended their first lessons in the Gawura school room under the leadership of Ms Catherine Miskovich, a fine educator with wide experience in aboriginal education.
I commend this exciting initiative to you and hope that you will partner us as we seek to encourage our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.
Mr Phillip Heath
BA (Hons), MA (Hons), DipEd, FACE, MACEA
Head of School
