Smoking Ceremony

On the Thursday of the last week of term, we had the experience of being part of a Smoking Ceremony performed by Neville Collard, along with him sharing Aboriginal culture. Many thanks to Mrs Desert and Mrs Lewis for their efforts in organising the event.  Smoking ceremonies have been performed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people for thousands of years to cleanse people and places of bad spirits and to treat sickness. These ceremonies encourage good health and wellbeing through connection to culture and the health benefits of traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander medicine.  They are regarded as an important part of connecting people to the country and keeping them safe from the dangerous powers of the spiritual beings residing in the land and waters.  In this situation it was used as a symbolism to cleanse the old name and space and provide prosperity for the new name and space for two of our classrooms.  The two new names the students have chosen are Coombs replacing Forrest and Farmer to replace Bell. If you would like further information about why they chose those name please check with the students and staff in Coombs and Farmer. Please see our Facebook page for more photos