Scarborough Public School students work on an artwork for their NAIDOC showcase. Photo supplied by NSW Department of Education.
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<h2>A grant to bring a Dreaming story to life through music has changed the way a school learns about Aboriginal customs and culture.</h2>
<p>The musical piece composed in collaboration with the local Aboriginal community took centre stage at Scarborough Public School’s NAIDOC showcase last week.</p>
<p>The composition was a year in the making and funded through a grant that enabled the school to work with the local Aboriginal community and composer Owen Elsley.</p>
<p>The ‘Five Islands’ composition, was based on the Dreaming of the Five Islands, a story with geographical and cultural significance to the local area.</p>
<p>The story for the composition was chosen by the local Aboriginal community and presented to the Scarborough students by Elder and native Dharawal speaker, Aunty Jodi Edwards.</p>
<p>The composition was developed across several workshops with Aunty Jodi and Mr Elsley, who explored with students the Dreaming story and developed musical phrases, visual scores and rhythms.</p>
<p>The school’s choir performed the composition last Wednesday during the school’s NAIDOC showcase, with a second performance planned at the Wollongong Schools’ Choral Festival at Wollongong Town Hall on 1 August.</p>
<p>The showcase also featured student artwork, public speaking and a ‘Connecting to Country’ poetry slam, with poems performed by Year 5 and 6 students exploring the concept of ‘home’ and the relationship to the local area.</p>
<p>Principal Chris Hopkins said while the school had always celebrated NAIDOC Week and other significant days, it had always “felt as if they just scraped the surface”.</p>
<p>“This all changed when we received a grant for a music composition workshop around the local Dreaming story of the Five Islands,” he said.</p>
<p>“This experience led us on a new journey, led by our students.”</p>
<p>He said as a result of the questions raised from the music workshop, Year 6 students approached the school leadership to ask if they could fundraise to paint a concrete tunnel in our playground with an Aboriginal mural, which had gone ahead.</p>
<p>Through the workshops the students had also had greater exposure to the Dharawal language.</p>
<p>“This led to one class researching a range of greetings in different dialects across the many Aboriginal nations,” Mr Hopkins said.</p>
<p>“We also chose to name all our classes after Dharawal words with local significance, chosen by the students. These class names are <em>Burri Burri</em> (humpback whale), <em>Gadhu </em>(sea) and <em>Mudjingaal </em>(friend).”</p>
<p>Mr Hopkins said the composition had also been the springboard for developing a strong relationship with the Northern Illawarra Aboriginal Educational Consultative Group who has worked with the school to develop a meaningful approach to learning around Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history and culture.</p>
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