St John's Kindergarten

To the St John's Kindergarten community, reconciliation means building genuinely mutually respectful relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous people. This depends on all Australians valuing each other's cultures, rights and experiences; having equal and equitable opportunities; understanding and accepting the impacts of the wrongs of the past; being unified by respect in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ cultures and heritages; and being supported by "institutional integrity" (Reconciliation Australia, 2021). We imagine a reconciled Australia to look and feel like a country, full of communities, undivided by the social construct of race. We hear people saying "I'm sorry that happened" without becoming defensive or feeling blamed. We see people working to make amends, striving to see each child and adult offered equal and equitable opportunities for success.  We imagine this lack of division spilling over and the respect for diversity spreading so that each individual is valued as an important member of their society, for their culture, their heritage and their unique characteristics and skills allow them to strengthen our society.

Based on our reconciliation journey so far, our next most power steps involve teaching children about the history that divided us and creating a culture of reunification in our kindergarten. We hope to help children to develop an understanding of Aboriginal peoples’ and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ ways of knowing and being and their connections to Country (QCAA, 2023). We will empower children with a respect for diversity and pride in Australia's national identity. We will also empower staff through upskilling and ongoing professional conversations and reflections. We will celebrate our successes and continue to set ourselves goals for improvement. 

We are committed to engaging with the Mandandanji People and Narragunnawali resources in order to ensure our efforts truly reflect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives.