Jennifer Caruso
Educating our young people about the histories of First Nations people is an opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of cultural diversity and why it plays such a significant part in the Australian narrative and our understanding of others.

Year 8 students were fortunate to work with Dr. Jennifer Caruso as part of a Merge unit involving the studies of English and Artemis. Jennifer is an Eastern Arrente woman and a survivor of the Stolen Generations. She is a lecturer at the University of Adelaide, specialising in Australian Aboriginal History, examining the public and social policies that informed the removal of Aboriginal children during the assimilation era. Jennifer’s engaging presentation invited us on a journey through the challenges and responses to discrimination, assimilation, and the ongoing aspiration for equitable and appropriate recognition of First Nations people. Students also engaged with the film ‘Remembering Country’, which shares the story of Harold Furber’s experiences through the use of slides and old moving footage taken by the missionaries.

This engagement with First Nations perspectives and experiences will shape students’ creation of a visual text with a supporting justification that focuses on an aspect of First Nations representation including education, health and healing, spirituality, and culture. The ability for our students to reflect on their learning and contextualise this in relation to our School’s values is beneficial to enriching their capacities as responsible citizens.

Liana Rossi
Acting Head of Artemis

Mathew D’Aloisio
Head of English