Giinagay ngujawiny,
Gumbaynggirr Giingana Freedom School (GGFS) is a unique and special place, being the first bilingual school of an Aboriginal language within NSW and I am proud to be our school’s principal.
At GGFS, we believe that when our children feel safe, valued, and confident in who they are, they engage much better in meaningful learning.
Our vision is to provide culturally-centered learning pathways that empowers our students and equips them to contribute to the community whilst being grounded in the core values of the school: Country, Culture and Wisdom.
We are committed to ensuring our students have Gumbaynggirr language, cultural perspectives and traditional philosophies embedded in everything we do, and across all Key Learning areas. Our children are taught in both English and Gumbaynggirr with an emphasis of Gumbaynggirr being the preferred language used. Traditionally our teaching has always taken place outside, on-country. Our language, knowledge, and stories are written in the land which is why we ensure our students are provided with weekly on-country learning experiences.
Learning in our classrooms is rich, purposeful, hands-on, and based on the traditional learning pedagogies of our ancestors. We have the oldest continuing living culture in the world and it is paramount we are continuing these customs and philosophies for our children to continue our rich culture. Kinship connections are a central part of this which is why we value our family and community as an integral part of our school.
Our holistic approach ensures that our children grow up to be strong, confident, and proud of who they are and where they come from.
Staff, students, and families are nurtured in a safe and supportive learning environment with small class sizes and two educators with each class. This allows for intense, small group, and individualised instruction; enabling our talented educators to tailor their practice to best meet student needs.
Gumbaynggirr Giingana Freedom School nurtures children to become Bularri Muurlay Nyanggan; two path strong. Strong in culture and strong in education!
