1. Relationship, Responsibility,
Respect, Rigour
Worawa Way
We wish to advise that this presentation contains images of Aboriginal
people who have entered the Dreamtime

2. We believe
“Aboriginal children must be educated in the way of our people. They must learn their
history, about their great ancestors, the language and the law. It’s time for them to
know and understand themselves. They must also be educated in the ways of the
society in which they live, in the very best of what it has to offer, so they can truly be
part, not only of Australia’s past, but also its present and future.”
Pastor Sir Douglas Nicholls

3. “in this, the first Aboriginal school in Victoria, the
educational curriculum has been specially
designed to suit Aboriginal students to bring them
to their full potential …Formal studies at
secondary level will include English, Mathematics,
Science, Current Affairs, History, Geography,
Languages, Domestic Science, Business
Management, Art/Craft, Music and Physical
Education…Aboriginal culture will be imparted
not only as a school subject in each class’s
timetable but as an integral part of everyday life
at the school…” Hyllus Maris at the opening of Worawa 1983

4. Worawa School Poem
I am a child of the Dreamtime People -
part of this land like the gnarled gum tree
I am the river softly singing
chanting our songs on the way to the sea
My spirit is the dust devils
mirages that dance on the plains
I’m the snow, the wind and the falling rain
I’m part of the rocks and the red desert earth -
red as the blood that flows in my veins
I am eagle, crow and snake that glides
through the rain forests that cling to the mountainside
I awakened here when the earth was new…
there was emu, wombat, kangaroo
no other man of ‘differen’ hue!
I am this land and this land is me
I am Australia.
Hyllus Maris
(1934-1986)

6. Worawa is located on Culturally significant land, the site of
Coranderrk Aboriginal Station. The College caters exclusively for
up to 65 young Aboriginal women in the middle years of
schooling, Years 7 – 10. It provides a quality education and
boarding experience for Aboriginal young women and girls from
suburban and regional Victoria and regional and remote
communities interstate.
Worawa provides a holistic program that develops the
intellectual, social, physical, emotional and cultural wellbeing of
each student through a combination of mainstream education
and Aboriginal Pedagogy – ways of Being, Knowing and Doing.

8. WORAWA ABORIGINAL COLLEGE
Caring for Country
LITERACY
CREATIVE ARTS
English
Learning Centre
Success
Traditional and Contemporary NUMERACY for All
Learning Centre Maths Individual
Learning Centre Assessment
Aboriginal Culture Individual
Vision Spirituality, ceremony, Learner Profiles
art, dance, law, land,
people, history, values, music, Digital Folios
Policy language, environment , Personalised
story, ‘country’. Learning Plans
Procedures SCIENCE
WELLBEING Contracts
SPORT, PE, HEALTH, ENVIRONMENT for Learning
Learning Centre Learning Centre
Commitment to
-Participation in
-Culture
Copyright, 2008 Pam Russell & W orawa Aboriginal College -Community
Respect, Relationship, Responsibility, Rigour

9. Learning Centres
Worawa curriculum studies have been
organised into ‘learning centres’ delivering
tuition and personalised tutoring, taking into
account the needs of students based on results
of their literacy, numeracy, health and wellbeing
assessments.

10. Our land gives us 136 acres to teach on.

11. Learning on Our Land
• Education for each Learning Centre is well supported
using our land:
• Aboriginal Astronomy camps
• Water Science Classes testing our dams
• Our Dreaming Trail - Reconstructed Aboriginal
archaeological sites used to teach students to
identify, record and interpret sites
• Traditional cooking on our clay hearth

13. Student Health & Wellbeing
On entry, Students have a thorough health and fitness.
From this information a personal health and fitness regime
is designed for each student which is linked to the College’s
Healthy Eating Plan. All students are involved in circuit
training, sport, Zumba, swimming and an Outdoor
Education program.
•Sound technology
•School Nurse
•Wellbeing Worker
•Weekly GP Clinic
•Dental services
•Optometry services

15. Community Engagement and Alliances
Relationships with students' home communities are valued and
are critical to students' wellbeing and learning and the College
emphasises building relationships with students home
communities. Strategies include visits to and from communities,
community art exhibitions with visiting artists, involvement of
parents/families in school special events and in some learning
areas, and communication through IT such as Skype.

16. Professional Development
Worawa has an emphasis on professional
development for all staff and allocates a number
of days for professional activities each term. All
staff has participated in the professional
learning activities organised by the College. In
addition to in-house professional learning
activities, staff is released for professional
development activities provided through
affiliate organisations.

17. Whole School Approach
• Restorative Practice – a whole school
approach to conflict management.
• Positive psychology
• Yarning Up on Trauma: A holistic approach to
understand trauma that includes historical
/cultural trauma.
• Trauma First Aid

18. Professional Development

19. Pre-Service Teachers
• Worawa regularly supports the training of pre-
service teachers providing the opportunities to
develop academic expertise while gaining cultural
competence and skills in student health and
wellbeing, before going to work in Communities.
• Pre-service teachers are welcomed into all aspects of
teaching life at Worawa including all professional
development, excursions and school camps.

20. Staff Support
• Appreciative Inquiry Model - valuing &
affirming people’s contributions, whilst
also leading the shared inquiry into the
area of possibilities and potential.
• Strong professional Development Program
• Worawa Academic Reference Group
• National Partnerships Program
• Peer Support

21. Worawa Academic Reference Group
(WARG)
• Members of the WARG consist of highly respected Academics from seven
Victorian Universities, who are specialists in the subject areas taught in
the Learning Centres at Worawa.
• We acknowledge two members of WARG here at this conference today,
Mark Rose and Gary Thomas
• The WARG curriculum is theme based for each term and offers teachers a
range of references and support materials that are culturally appropriate
for our students.
• The four year curriculum prepared by the WARG team, is designed to
accommodate students who orbit in and out of the academic program at
Worawa, specifically those who may have to return home for cultural
events such as Sorry Business etc.
• This facility means students are able to pick up from where they left off as
they rejoin the academic progam.

22. A Teachers View
• The “Worawa Way” model offers teachers a
specialist method of approach in dealing with
Aboriginal student learning
• The Worawa Way was created in response to
the needs of the Aboriginal Community to
educate our children. Over the last 30 years
this ethos has been continually refined to
become an integrated model of Education,
Wellbeing and Culture

23. Holistic Education

24. Aboriginal Values
• Respect; every teacher can expect mutual respect
and support from their colleagues, as well as
collaborative approaches in the planning and
implementation of the curriculum
• Responsibility; teachers are responsible for their
student learning, to the families & communities and
their College

25. Relationships
• As a boarding school the College becomes the
girls “family” during the term.
• We offer them a safe, supportive and
nurturing environment where the students –
teacher relationship is productive and
essential for their learning

26. A Second Family

27. Rigour
• Regular meetings with members of the WARG
reference group offer teachers guidance with
professional Academics in each of the
College’s Learning Centres
• This shared responsibility for academic
curriculum and student learning ensures that
rigorous education standards are expected
and maintained for all students

28. Teaching Two Worlds
Exploring Mainstream

29. Valuing Aboriginal Culture
Through the Creative Arts

30. Why Worawa?
• Worawa offers a unique opportunity for a pre-
service teacher to gain varied experiences working
with Aboriginal students, at one school.
• Worawa helps to prepare resilient pre-service
teachers with a spectrum of skills and knowledge of
multiple Aboriginal Cultures
• Worawa provides unique teaching models and
experience in dealing with Aboriginal Specific
student needs.

31. The Joys of Teaching