Community Update

Community Update

Welcome to Term 4. We trust that you had the opportunity to enjoy some family time over the holiday period to rest and renew as another busy term of community events and activities awaits.

With the introduction of our Year 9 Experiential Program in 2025 and our Midawarr Program (through Culture College) moving to Year 10 from 2025, a reminder that an exclusive opportunity exists for our parent and carer community to experience this unique and extraordinary program through a Redlands Parent and Carer Midawarr Arnhem Land Trip in May 2024.

Our partnership with Culture College inspires and educates through the sharing of unique experiences and the celebration of traditional Yolŋu knowledge systems and customs, all shared in an authentic Yolŋu setting in northeast Arnhem Land. First Nations educators from along the East Coast also teach the diversity of their cultures and customs alongside Yolŋu, threading the stories together.

Your participation in this trip will directly contribute to the advancement of our job pathways program, which empowers young Yolŋu individuals through mentorship provided by esteemed senior Yolŋu leaders in the field of cultural education. Furthermore, this experience presents an occasion for the Redlands community to unite and engage in meaningful dialogues and collaborative roundtable discussions with Yolŋu educators.

This is quite literally a once in a lifetime opportunity to deeply explore miny’tji (art), manikay (song), bunggul (dance) and story-telling at Gulkula, the site of the annual Garma Festival. The trip is planned for Sunday 26 to Thursday 30 May 2024 and includes:

  • Camping accommodation, tents with single camp stretcher (1 or 2 per tent)
  • Daily breakfast, lunch, and dinner
  • Morning and afternoon tea breaks (light snacks)
  • Airport transfers to and from Gove airport and Gulkula
  • Transport in Nhulunbuy and surrounding areas
  • ‘Welcome to Country’ ceremony
  • Visit to Buku – Yirrkala Arts Centre and Museum
  • Sharing of knowledge with local Yolŋu educators
  • Proceeds will contribute to a job pathways program to help provide training, further education and job opportunities to Yolŋu educators within the program
  • Round-trip economy airfare from Sydney to Cairns return on Virgin Australia scheduled
  • Round-trip economy airfare from Cairns to Gove return on Air North

Gather a group of friends, a friend or join the wider group for this once in a lifetime experience not to be missed. Places on this exclusive trip can now be reserved by competing a booking form which can be assessed HERE.

Thank you for your continued guidance and support and as ever, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the Community Engagement team, or to me directly, should you have any feedback, suggestions or questions.

Grant Birse
Head of Community Engagement
9908 6406
gbirse@redlands.nsw.edu.au