Dear Principals
NAIDOC celebrations are held around Australia in July each year to celebrate history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The theme for 2016 is: Song lines: The living narrative of our nation
For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the Dreaming describes a time when the earth, people and animals were created by our ancestral spiritual beings. They created the rivers, lakes, plants, land formations and living creatures.
Dreaming tracks crisscross Australia and trace the journeys of our ancestral spirits as they created the land, animals and lores. These dreaming tracks are sometimes called ‘Song lines’ as they record the travels of these ancestral spirits who 'sung' the land into life.
This year the Aboriginal Education Team will be supporting the NAIDOC Public Speaking and Debating Challenge, which are to be held across our Educational service area. The NAIDOC Public Speaking and Debating Challenge is aimed at students who would like to develop skills in research, goal-setting, organisation and oral presentation, while increasing their knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures in a localised context.
A number of free Public Speaking and Debating workshops will be held over Term 2. This will help prepare students for the NAIDOC Public Speaking and Debating challenge heats which will be hosted soon after. Students whom win their heat will have the opportunity to move forward in the competition to be held in Term 3, Week 2 Friday 29th July 2016, hosted by Ulladulla High School. Winners of the Network Challenge will be asked to participate in the State NAIDOC Public Speaking and Debating Challenge final to be held in Sydney, term 4, 2016.
The public speaking topic will be based on this year’s NAIDOC theme
Song lines: The living narrative of our nation
The debating topic will be:
Traditional Aboriginal Songlines should be maintained
Please see attached information on how to register for the workshops and enter the challenge
Due:Tuesday 5 April 2016
(Due to catering and allocation of resources no late entries will be accepted)
If your school would like to be involved in such an exciting event, please Contact
Rochelle Koster Ph. 42676118 email:
NSW Department of Education & Training – Unit/Directorate Name
Street NameSuburb NSW Postcode PO Box NoSuburb NSW Postcode T XXXX XXXX F XXXX XXXX
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