​Did you know that the Woiwurrrung word for Melbourne is Naarm. One way to show respect and acknowledgment of  First Nations peoples is to add the Aboriginal place name to the mail that you are sending out.
Check AIATIS map which shows the general locations of larger groups of people. Then write the Traditional Place name between the recipient’s name and their street address.

What is the difference from a welcome to country and an acknowledgement of country?
https://www.reconciliation.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/acknowledgement-of-country_welcome-to-country.pdf
The suburb of Wollert has been in the news a lot lately, did you know that Wollert (derived from Walert) is the name for Possum. And that Merri is Place of many rocks - https://www.whittlesea.vic.gov.au/about-us/our-city/local-aboriginal-history-wurundjeri-willum-people/
 
Other words that we can start using:
Bubup- baby
Coolamon: is what we had before tupperware came along. The multi-purpose curved wooden tray can be used for carrying infants, food, digging and for burning leaves during smoking/cleansing ceremonies.
baan water
biik country
birrarrung Yarra River
djirringu lightning
duat fish
gulinya men, people
gurrong canoe
lalal grandfather
mama(n)/mamu(n) father
murnmut wind
Wirrirrap magic man, traditional doctor
yaluk river
https://cv.vic.gov.au/stories/aboriginal-culture/nyernila/woiwurrung-the-durrung-of-the-yan-yan/
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Parents, have you spoken with your work/employers about pay the rent? Saying sorry isn’t enough –
Australia is founded on land that was stolen from Indigenous people. The wealth that has been generated by that theft is disproportionately distributed. All people who live here today, or who lived here in the past, have not benefited equally from the continuing dispossession of Indigenous people. Indeed, many are deliberately and profoundly marginalised from power and the spoils of colonialism. However, some uncomfortable facts remain:
Every day, people consume food grown on Indigenous land or harvested from Indigenous seas; they drink water that flows across or under Indigenous land.

Every day, people who are not Indigenous to this land take shelter in homes built upon it; they socialise, gather, and make family and community here. 

Every day, business is conducted on this land for the benefit of non-Indigenous people.

Every day, land belonging to Indigenous people is traded for profit.
This land was never empty; the sovereignty of First Nations people was never ceded. Despite centuries of attempted genocide that continues to this day, Indigenous people have managed to hold onto and nurture culture and connections with country. At the same time, Indigenous health and wellbeing has been devastated; Aboriginal people are significantly more likely to be incarcerated, over-policed, to die in custody, for children to be separated from their family, and are more likely to die prematurely from preventable illnesses or to die by suicide. While governments and individuals have said Sorry to the Stolen Generations, they have taken no meaningful action towards making right, nor towards preventing further harm. 
Paying the Rent is a step towards acknowledging these facts. It is part of a process that all non-Indigenous people – individually and collectively – need to enter into if we are to move towards justice, truth, equality and liberation for First Nations people.
 
https://paytherent.net.au/
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We have been talking a lot in the past few weeks about what we look like, The similarities and differences that we have in our appearances. How we look different when we get older, So the children wanted to see what people looked like when they were babies. We have asked all families to provide a photo of when their children were babies. Here are some of our teachers baby photos. Can you guess who is who???

Audrey

I can only begin to imagine what it's like parenting during Covid. I have a feeling two fighting rabbits (my pets, Leo and Pixie) at home is nothing compared to children that have been forced to adapt to the changes that have been thrust upon us! 

So take care and look out for parental burnout signs of "feeling tired, lacking energy and motivation and a lower immune system functioning, difficulty in concentrating, increasing negativity, feeling overwhelmed and unable to cope, shutting down emotionally and withdrawing from others including partners and children." 

How to avoid parental burnout during isolation article link

x Reggie