Hugs, smiles and an Indigenous smoking ceremony welcomed IGS students and families this week, followed by apples on IGS Foundation Day on Friday.
All week, Kelly Street has been alive again with the sounds of a new school year.
Orientation Day for new students and staff began the week, with the Flourish staff conference on Tuesday, first day for all students on Wednesday, and apples from student leaders on Friday to celebrate the School’s founding by the late Professor Reg St Leon AO.
The symphony of car doors opening and closing, parents greeting each other over a sea of heads, good-bye kisses, hello hugs and chattering children made for a wonderful backdrop to the traditional smoking ceremony performed by IGS parent Tim Bishop, whose ancestors hail from the Murrawarri Nation in Northern NSW.
As has become a tradition on the first day of school at IGS, Tim performed the smoking ceremony surrounded by a crowd of excited parents, teachers and students.
He began the ceremony by creating the fire and then smoked an array of native leaves from Gadigal country, the land on which IGS stands, inviting students to crush the leaves and enjoy their aromas.
During the ceremony, performed to cleanse the school and invite new, fresh energy into the new year, Tim sang a traditional song and invited the crowd to join in.
Our school gates were also the site of celebration on Friday, our Foundation Day, when student leaders handed out apples for the School’s 39th birthday!
It was wonderful to see the smiling faces of our students, families and teachers, reuniting after a long summer break and welcoming new members of our community.
