Special Guests to History Club
We had two special visitors to History Club last week - Sr Kerry Macdermott OLN and Ms Mandy Edwards. Both ladies have worked tirelessly with the Aboriginal community for decades and have been involved in the Winga Myamly Reconciliation Group. Mandy's daughter, Tia, is also a past student.
Two of our members, Kaitlyn and Laiba of Year 9, interviewed Sr Kerry and Ms Edwards as part of their entry for the National History Challenge. The girls are researching the 1816 Appin Massacre, a government sanctioned massacre of at least 14 local Dharawal people. The theme of this year’s National History Challenge is ‘Causes and Consequences’ and Kaitlyn and Laiba will use archival material to assess the causes, but conducted the interview to gain insight into the long term effects of this massacre on the Dharawal people. This includes the way in which the massacre is commemorated as well as the trans-generational trauma of the event.
It was a privilege to get these insights from Sr Kerry and Ms Edwards and we thank them for their eagerness to help the students. On behalf of the College, we also presented Sr Kerry with a special gift for her recent 80th Birthday.
Fran Musico Rullo - HSIE Teacher