St Michael's Nowra
A Catholic Parish Primary School
St Michael's Catholic Primary School acknowledges the traditional Aboriginal custodians of the land, and is committed to working in partnership with families and community in welcoming Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students – supporting them to reach their full potential and to embrace their culture and identity.
St Michael’s is located near the Shoalhaven River part of the Yuin nation. The Yuin Nation stretches from Nowra across to Goulburn, from Goulburn down to the Victorian border and from the Victorian border in as far as Cooma.
St Michael’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community gather and celebrate regularly. Our school has an Aboriginal Cultural Centre, and our Aboriginal Mentor regularly assists the school with cultural activities including visiting classes, boomerang and didgeridoo lessons, dance and painting lessons.
Our Aboriginal Education Assistants (AEAs) consult our Aboriginal Elders on cultural sensitivities and assist teachers to select meaningful and appropriate local Aboriginal History and Spirituality resources. AEAs also assist students with numeracy, literacy and social needs.
All Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students at St Michael’s have a Personalised Learning Plan (PLP) that is tailored to the student and is regularly reviewed and updated each semester. PLPs are an active process. They are developed in a consultation process between the student, parents/carers and teachers, to identify, organise and apply personal approaches to learning and engagement. These PLPs are accessible to students, families and staff. It is owned by the student and engages the student voice in the development, monitoring and review processes.