On the final day of Term 3 we held our Annual Open Day here at the school. A lot of planning and organisation went into making this day possible.
We had Hospitality students learning new recipes to cook on the day, various year levels getting their classrooms ready to be showcased to guests, and staff organizing for external community services to be able to come in and hold stalls on the day.
Open Day was an incredible coming together of all that makes Southside the unique place that it is. We had students arriving early along with their family members to help with the set up of the school for the day. Our beautiful Ginibi Dancers were so eager to show off their dances they were calling staff at 6.00am to ensure their performance was going ahead. The Ginibi Dancers got into their traditional dress and painted each other with ochre before realizing they were ready to perform hours early! This was fine of course because who doesn’t love to see a deadly, proud, Indigenous woman in her traditional dress feeling confident. A huge thank you to our ambidextrous Youth Worker, Lara, who has always been happy to lead the Ginibi Dancers, teach them the dances and perform with them on these special days.
A special mention must go out to the community elders who came out to share their wisdom and unwavering support for the school that they love – thank you for always giving up your time to attend events at Southside where you continue to encourage, inspire and motivate our girls with your yarns and your beautiful natures. Particular thanks to Uncle Dr. Albert Holt for sharing his wisdom and doing the acknowledgement.
Finally, a MASSIVE thank you to the community organisations who came out to run stalls on the day. A wide variety of services were present at the Open Day with games, interactive learning and prizes up for grabs. Young people and their families enjoyed being able to engage with organisations and services they might have otherwise never heard of, or struggled to engage with previously.
These community organisations not only work with our students, but with each other to help remove the barriers to education that so many of our girls face. It is often said that it takes a village to raise a child and that phrase has never rang more true than it does here at Southside, and we are always so grateful to the organisations that take the time to be available for our girls.
Overall, Open Day was a harmonious, unified coming together that was an absolute honour to be a part of.