The students, comprised of 13 girls and 6 boys, accompanied by two teachers,are very excited about experiencing life at these Gunawirra supported schools, helping unconditionally and energetically wherever they can, and sharing their own life stories with those they will be working closely with. They would like to have a session with everyday parents whose children attend the preschool.

It is hoped that a documentary will be made by the Radford staff and students chronicling their experience. At the close of their school stay, the group will retreat to The Warrumbungle’s to reflect on their journey, what they gained from it, and where their next footsteps will lead them.

Radford Early Learning centre, Gunawirra, Jeff Nelson, a proud and deep thinking Aboriginal professional who works with Gunawirra, Good Beginnings Liverpool, Kootingal, Werris creek, Quirindi and Kempsey, (missed Gunnedah – car broke down) all attended to begin the actual process of building our new Activities website.

Ably led by Sarah Boardman of Radford, we spent the days really working very hard on our basic values and our actual practical work to get the site up and running. Every centre will look after a modem. Gunawirra will add to it the work of famous cartoonist Carl Sherrif who with Carolyn Leys from Gunnedah will plan the little movie for the children on the “Gunawirra ‘Good-hearts’ ” to do with Nutrition, Personal Hygiene and Health.

Norma and Shiri from Gunawirra with the help of Patricia and Chryne (our ‘mother infant’ Aboriginal specialist) will work on a movie with the avatars which Chris Bourke will help us create from the Gunawirra Kids. These are her Yarramundi Kids while we wait for our own Gunawirra Kids.

Chris is a proud and skilful Aboriginal women who specialises in working with children who are sexually abused and victims of alcohol, drugs and domestic violence. Gunawirra is honoured to have her now as a member and an integral part of our work. She will work for Gunawirra for a day each week.

Developing an activities book for NSW Aboriginal preschools

The health and creativity of a community is renewed each generation through its children.

Who is involved?

Gunawirra and two early childhood staff, directors of Radford Early Learning Centre, six outback Aboriginal preschools, a representative of DET, Aboriginal community representatives from the new Government multi initiative in Gunnedah, and other book designing professionals have formed a committee with Gunawirra professionals to design and develop an activities project (like a giant book with pockets for the teachers and children in Aboriginal preschools from DET (24 centre’s) and community (100 centre’s) to use and follow with one project for each month over a 10 month or full year period.

Purpose and validation:

• It addresses cultural issues for Aboriginal children in the here and now.
• It addresses stories and mythology of the dreaming.
• It includes ideas, material, DVDs both for the teachers and for the children to watch, laminated cards on respect for self and each other, pre-literacy help, songs, dances, games to play, artwork, activities relating to environment, local Aboriginal language words, stories from the dream time.
• It involves the parents
• It is easy to follow and do the activities.
• It gives direction to preschool staff
• It helps non Aboriginal children understand the past of Australia’s first people.
• The idea is to deal with issues of nutrition, self care, to respect nature, to respect others, to get to know the world around them in ways that will encourage respect and care of self in the future.
• It follows on from our booklet “Let’s Go to Preschool”. 2000 copies sold or circulated in first few months of publication.

Time line: The how to:

We expect the designing of the booklet part of the project to take 18 months.

This exciting project will begin in October 2010 and begin with a 2 day visit from:

• Three of Gunawirra professional group, (fourth a social work student)
• Pre-school Directors from Gunnedah, Inverell, Werris Creek, Kootingal, Kempsey
• DET Field Officer for (24) Aboriginal preschools
• NSW Government Community Liaison for New Project in Gunnedah(Aboriginal artist)
• A world famous cartoonist

We will be guests of Radford Early Learning centre and Canberra Grammar Early Learning Centre and one of the purposes of the visit is to see how their centres operate. Discussions on planning the project, what will be useful what will be included and what constraints the preschools have to work within will be considered for example one operates at the back of a corrugated iron lean-to at the local community centre. Another has no toys or resources at all.

All the members of the planning committee will visit Aboriginal pre-school centres before, after and during the development of the book, so that a network of support is created between centres in the creative work that is shared. We hope the interactive visiting will go on for years and years.

A network of interactive professional support and encouragement is an essential part of the project.

Peer sharing and mentoring is central to the task; a sense of being supported by other preschool centres is an important part of the project. Our hope is that this will create useful support links that will last beyond the time of the Project. Committee members would follow up the booklet with visits to centres to help and encourage and develop activities that will support the children and support the teachers in using the project. As the project proceeds, the engagement between centres, the shared thinking and creative ideas developing will make this a wonderful interactive experience for our Aboriginal and partly Aboriginal preschools.

Every part of the project will acknowledge the cultural gifts Australia has from its first people and will help the children be proud of their heritage and ancient spirituality.

One group of five workers had joined us for the first time. Their preschool for 32 children is a corrugated iron lean-to on the back of an ancient Masonic Hall in the town of Kootingal. The good news is that the Government has agreed to provide $500,000 towards a new preschool. They want Gunawirra to help train their teachers in the best way to be as useful as possible to these needy children.

Maria Aarts immediately agreed to halve the Marte Meo fees for the workshop and that of any other country preschool centre. The six directors met with Norma and Shiri and later Patricia to discuss three new Gunawirra initiates for preschools.

To enquire about Marte Meo training please use use the form on our Contact Us page.

Gunawirra has been awarded space in the exhibition area and we will be presenting our story, programs and publications to the attendees. Our video “I go to Preschool now” will also be featured in the conference audio visual presentations.

This is only the second time in 63 years that the UN has held this important global conference out of New York and Gunawirra is excited and honoured to be included.

The new book called ‘Let’s Go To Pre-School’, for Australian Indigenous pre-schoolers and their parents, was released and is being distributed to indigenous children and their families.

For more information go to our website Events page or call Kristina Karasulas on 0414 923255.

A new book called ‘Let’s Go To Pre-School’, for Australian Indigenous pre-schoolers and their parents, is to be released at a cocktail party on 6th May at the Gilbert and Tobin office in the Sydney CBD.

Your entry fee donation of $50 will support distribution of the book to an indigenous child and family.

Norma Tracey, Program Director of the not-for-profit organisation Gunawirra, says the new book will help more Aboriginal children enter pre-school. “It is widely reported and acknowledged that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are significantly educationally disadvantaged. This book, and the other work of Gunawirra, is part of a powerful community initiative to change that”.

Using beautiful photographs, ‘Let’s Go To Pre-School’ follows three Aboriginal children, Kiara, Noah and Sharon as they play and learn through a typical pre-school day.

The author of the book is Rebecca Gorman who will speak about its background at the function on 6th May.

For more information go to our website Events page or call Kristina Karasulas on 0414 923255.