Special events across both campuses have taken place this week in honour of National Reconciliation Week. Even the canteen has featured Indigenous-inspired dishes including crocodile burgers and kangaroo sausages.

Reconciliation assemblies across the College welcomed Bunurong Elder Aunty Sonia Weston, Wurundjeri Elder Murrundindi, Ngiyampaa man and First Nations singer-songwriter Pirritu and Wurundjeri female dance group Djirri Djirri.

On Tuesday, fifty Year 5-12 students across both campuses took part in the annual Reconciliation Sports Carnival at Healesville’s Worawa Aboriginal College, a Reconciliation event that Beaconhills has taken part in for five years. This year, over 600 students from 22 schools came together for a great day of sport, cultural exchange and building of new friendships.

Pakenham Year 12 student Sophie Corrigan said the day was one of her favourites of the whole year.

“You get to be immersed in Indigenous culture, welcomed with a smoke ceremony, play sport, and join a dance circle at the end of the day,” she said.

National Reconciliation Week holds important significance as we strive for unity and positive Reconciliation in our community. This year’s theme, Now More Than Ever, serves as a poignant reminder that the fight for justice and the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people must continue.