From the Student RAP Committee

Student RAP Committee 2024

This year the Student Reconciliation Action Plan Committee (SRAPC) aims to continue to promote Reconciliation throughout the SCEGGS community. Our goal is to come together and actively involve the SCEGGS community in discussing and reflecting on the important themes of Reconciliation, Racism and Truth Telling to name a few. We are seeking to engage the school in activities where students listen to and connect with First Nations People firsthand and understand Indigenous perspectives and stories through educational videos, art and music. It is such an important time to actively fight to ‘close the gap’ and to move towards reconciliation for all. 

Committee Members, Primary School and Teacher RAPC

This year we welcomed many new members who we are excited to work with throughout the upcoming year. With a range of students from Years 8 -12, SRAPC truly represents the scope of voices at SCEGGS. Each member contributes their passion, experiences and ideas on how to foster reconciliation within SCEGGS and the wider community. We also had, for the first time, a stall at the Co-Curricular Expo earlier in the term which was an important step in becoming a more established and formalised Co-Curricular group. This allowed us to interact with the wider student body, promoting the value of our role and providing vital insights into our work. 

To take Reconciliation beyond the Secondary School, we have begun collaborating with the SCEGGS Primary RAP Committee. We have three representatives sitting in on our weekly meetings who contribute to our discussions and enable our initiatives to blossom within the Primary Years. Additionally, we plan to work more closely with the Teacher RAP Committee and hope this collaboration will foster a further sense of community, purpose and dedication. 

National Close the Gap Day 

National Close the Gap Day is coming up this month on Thursday, 21st of March, with the central theme of “Voyage to Voice, Treaty, Truth and Beyond”. The aim is to move forward with strength and success despite the setback of the Voice proposal outcome in the October 2023 Referendum. Close the Gap Day aims to raise awareness of the health inequities faced by Indigenous Australians across the country, and to rally support and commitment towards a more equal, just Australian society, as well as to listen to Indigenous Australian opinions on these issues. We urge everyone in our community to use this opportunity to send our governments a clear message of the value of health equality as an intrinsic right for all Australians. 

We encourage the wider community to read more about Close the Gap Day and progress towards Close the Gap targets via the link here.

The SRAPC has set out to support and promote local Indigenous businesses. We have identified some exciting groups and individuals who communicate powerful messages and spread their culture. An example is The Blak Markets at The Rocks which are organised and run by First Hand Solutions Aboriginal Corporation, with a mission to close the gap for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People. Visitors connect directly with Indigenous artists, designers and small businesses and make ethical purchases of authentic Aboriginal products. We aim to bring attention to Indigenous authors whose works can inform students in both the primary and secondary school. This includes ‘Create the life of your dreams in your teens’ by Aboriginal educator, Kylie Captain which provides an insight into the strength of culture and connection to Country. Ms Conliffe is securing copies of these books which we hope will arrive soon. We also hope to connect the SCEGGS community with upcoming artists and musicians. The APY Indigenous owned Gallery in Darlinghurst is a valuable starting point as it celebrates both established and emerging artists from around Australia. The SRAPC is continuing to search for businesses, groups and individuals to support as we believe this is a worthwhile avenue to engage the SCEGGS community with First Nations Peoples and their culture. 

Thank you for reading.

Student Reconciliation Action Plan Committee 2024