National Reconciliation Week takes place annually between 27th May and 3rd June and is a time for all Australians to learn about the truth of Australian history and the depth of First Nations cultures and achievements. It is a time to explore how each of us can contribute to attaining reconciliation in Australia with First Nations people and communities. The National Reconciliation Week theme for 2021 was ‘More than a word. Reconciliation takes action’. This theme encouraged all Australians to take action to achieve equality between First Nations and non-First Nations people.
Observed annually, National Sorry Day remembers and acknowledges the mistreatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people forcibly removed from their families and communities, who we now know as ‘The Stolen Generations’.
As part of our Out and About Program at Carlton Learning Precinct, children and educators used the multipurpose room to watch a video of Wurundjeri Elder Colin Hunter Jr, who welcomed us to Wurundjeri country and shared the significance of the Mana Gum leaves. We explored the beautiful grounds of Carlton Primary School for our own gum leaves which we then used to create the word ‘Wominjeka’ as a symbol of our respect for the Wurundjeri people and the connection between our classroom and the land upon which we learn.
To launch Reconciliation Week, our educators at Clare Court created a multi-lingual Acknowledgement of Country in their home languages.
Languages included Portuguese, English, Creole, Vietnamese, Hindi and Bengali.
On 2nd June all staff, educators and children took part in Wear It Yellow Day to raise funds for First Nations organisation, Children’s Ground – raising a total of $1,900.
At Clare Court, children from Wombat, Emu and Koala created individual artworks to sell and raise donations for Children’s Ground. Through ongoing conversations and stories around reconciliation, the meaning of ‘sorry’ and taking action, the children have been thinking about their connections with Country, which they represented through their artworks.
Wemba-Wemba Wergaia man, Dean Stewart generously shared his knowledge and experiences with our Children’s Program Team at The Harbour. We stood on the banks of the Birrarung, looking at Queens Bridge and were transported to a different time and place. Our next step is to engage with the Uluru Statement of the Heart and for the children to share age-appropriate experiences based on our new understanding.
At Gowrie Docklands Kindergarten (GDK), children from one group had begun building their own Melbourne landscape, and it became the starting point for another group's exploration of what Melbourne means to them.
Learn More about What Melbourne Looks Like Through Children’s Eyes
Senior secondary students from 13 government schools spent five weeks finding out what a career in early childhood education looks like day to day, through the second phase of the Introduction to Early Childhood for School Students program.
Learn More about Introduction to Early Childhood for School Students Program a Big Success
In July, a child in the Room 1 at our Gowrie Docklands Kindergarten site asked the educators why they can’t have real fire at the service. Rather than shutting the idea down, educators used it as a starting point for a longer project.
Learn More about A Campfire in the City at Gowrie Docklands Kindergarten
Earlier this year our Carlton Learning Precinct (CLP) service received a Victorian School Building Authority grant to address acoustic issues in the outdoor areas and the kitchen corridor, where excessive noise had made it challenging for our children and educators to communicate.
Learn More about Gowrie Carlton Learning Precinct Reflects on Its Quieter Spaces
Wednesday 2 September was Early Childhood Educators’ Day, and teams across our services received many lovely and kind messages from children and their families thanking our educators for all that they do.
Learn More about Early Childhood Educators’ Day 2026