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Diocese of Broken Bay hosts NSW Aboriginal Catholic Education Conference

 

110 Aboriginal Education Workers from Catholic schools across the state gathered in late September for the 5th Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Workers NSW Catholic Conference hosted by the Broken Bay Diocese. 

Held at Quay West Magenta Shores, the delegates travelled from all eleven NSW Catholic dioceses and included Aboriginal Education Workers from as far as Wilcannia -Forbes, Broken Hill and Eden.

With an emphasis on gathering, learning and sharing ideas the conference program included presentations from leading academics in the area of Aboriginal education and policy including Dr Nerida Blair, Associate Professor of Aboriginal Education, Australian Catholic University; Associate Professor Laurel Williams, Head of the Department of Aboriginal Studies, University of Newcastle; and Ms Cindy Berwick, President of the NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group Incorporated.

Delegates were engaged on a diverse range of workshops throughout the conference led by education professionals from the Catholic Schools Office, Diocese of Broken Bay including learning partnerships, early literacy, IT in schools and gifted and talented.

Aboriginal Education Workers were recognised for their service during the conference and presented with certificates for anniversary years of service.

Conference organiser and Education Officer-Aboriginal Education for the Diocese of Broken Bay, Dave Ella said that Aboriginal Education Workers played an integral role in their Catholic school communities supporting and raising the learning outcomes of Indigenous students and lifting awareness of Indigenous culture within the entire school community.

“We have an important job in that we work with some fantastic Indigenous kids and their families to support their learning and well-being at school,” Mr Ella said.

“We also play an important role in raising the awareness within our schools of the local knowledge of our land including the culture and traditions of our nearby Indigenous communities.”

The Broken Bay Diocese employs five Aboriginal Education Workers to support and work with the 230* indigenous students and their families at Broken Bay Catholic schools.

There are 3,000* indigenous primary students at Catholic primary schools and 2,000* attending Catholic secondary schools across NSW.

*2010 figures