St Margaret’s has won a 2023 Queensland Reconciliation Award in the Education category in recognition of its inspiring initiatives committed to reconciliation.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced the 2023 Queensland Reconciliation Award recipients at a ceremony held during National Reconciliation Week at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre on Tuesday 30 May.

Principal Ms Ros Curtis said the award was validation of the school’s commitment to promoting reconciliation.

“As a school, we have a responsibility to educate and foster an environment of respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, culture and knowledge.

“In 2021, after significant planning, we launched a Reconciliation Action Plan providing a framework to drive important change in the classroom, around the school and within the community, based around relationships, respect and opportunities.

“This award is an outstanding achievement for the school and a wonderful acknowledgement for our First Nations students and families who have supported and helped guide us on our reconciliation journey,” Ms Curtis said.

Along with expanded celebrations of larger national events and significant days – such as National Reconciliation Week, NAIDOC Week, Sorry Day and Mabo Day – St Margaret’s has shaped its own form of reconciliation through initiatives such as First Nation themed prayer spaces, specific boarding house activities, and the publication of two unique anthologies Ghidal and Mulu Maguydan, authored by the school’s First Nations students.

The goal of these anthologies, an innovation of Secondary Teacher Margot Shave, was that St Margaret’s would enact its own form of Reconciliation – a coming together of stories as an expression of listening, debunking stereotypes and celebrating the unique cultures of these students.

The researching and writing process of the anthologies uncovered many stories that empowered First Nations students and allowed them a greater voice to share their stories across the school community. Through the school’s Reconciliation Action Plan, and the publication of the anthologies, the culture and identity of the First Nations students is being nurtured and affirmed within the school community.

A third publication, Our Stories, is now in the pipeline with the school’s First Nations students continuing to share their stories but also celebrating food as a cultural expression through the recipes of their families and communities.