Merry Christmas to all our Friends of Gawura. 
May you have a wonderful, relaxing holiday break. 
Thank you so much for your tremendous support in 2016.
Click here to watch a Christmas message from Gawura primary students:

Welcome to our  Christmas Edition of Friends of Gawura News . 

Our students are already on their well deserved summer break after a huge year at school. The teachers are on holiday too - alas it is the hardworking support staff yet again holding the fort until the very last moment (get out your violins)!

It has been a busy but rewarding year and we are already thinking about what we will be doing next year to celebrate Gawura's 10th Anniversary!

But firstly, here are a few highlights from 2016!
Gawura learning two languages!
Did you know there were 250 different Aboriginal languages spoken in Australia prior to settlement? Only 145 languages are spoken today and of those, 110 are 'critically endangered'.

At Gawura, two languages are taught - Wiradjuri and Arabana. The students have been learning Wiradjuri for a number of years however this year was the first time the school introduced a new Indigenous language. In this photo, Tina Raye, a Gawura mum, is teaching the students Arabana, a native Indigenous language from country west of Lake Ayre. It is critical to immerse Indigenous children in their culture as soon as they start school. It is just as rewarding for non-Indigenous children. St Andrew's Cathedral Junior School are looking to include Wiradjuri in their curriculum next year. We are also excited to announce that Gawura is offering Wiradjuri lessons to parents next year on Tuesday afternoons!

Corporate Australia get their hands dirty
for charity!

How does a high-rise school with space restrictions accommodate a traditional Indigenous food garden and chicken coop? You get creative with the rooftop, then call on your Corporate Australia Charity Partners to help!  To learn more about this great working bee over two days in the September school holidays this year, click here
Gawura and SACS primary students tough it out at Kirrikee
Team building skills, resilience, team work and leadership skills are really important skills to learn as a child and develop as you grow into an adult. The Kirrikee outdoor education excursion provides the opportunity to learn these skills. It's not for the faint-hearted but all our Gawura and SACS primary students are required to attend and while it can be tough and character building - there is space for the kids to have just a really good time too!
Practice makes perfect!

St Andrew's Cathedral School and Gawura encourage students to get involved in sport and co-curricular activities. Our Year 7 Soccer team with former Captain of Gawura, Sadie, won their grand final this year. A fantastic achievement and a testament to the students who persevered, practiced and committed themselves to their sport.
Have you seen our new Gawura bus yet?

W e are super proud of our new Gawura bus which you may have spotted travelling around the city in Term 4. Learn all about how we came to have, in our possession, this fine looking piece of machinery! 
Our bright new bus 

I f you are interested in watching a short video on how the bus was wrapped in it's beautiful new cover, please click here

Gawura Cocktail Party

Thank you to all who supported our Cocktail Party this year including our wonderful volunteers and supporters. We were over the moon with the results and thanks to you, our students who are transitioning from school to work or university will now have much more support from the school. Help will come in the form of more courses such as hospitality, clothes, resume writing help and even help getting a drivers licence. These basic things can be taken for granted but can be quite daunting for first timers. Our Gawura primary students will be able to attend their Canberra excursion next year and hopefully get a trip to the snow in at the same time. We will have enough tutoring and mentor support in our Homework Club to provide Gawura students with the help they need. These opportunities would not have been available for our kids without the community rallying together and supporting us at the Gawura Cocktail Party. Thank you so much.

We would like to thank Stephen Green, Gawura dad and artist for providing the beautiful painting and shield to help raise money. We would also like to say a huge thank you to NGS Super for sponsoring this year's 'thank you' gift which all our guests left with on the night (we hope you have planted your seeds already) and special thanks also to SACS parents, Nino and Krissoula for donating a table of four at their wonderful restaurant, The Restaurant Pendolino.

Last but not least, we would like to thank our students for trying so hard this year. Here's what some of them had to say about Gawura - we are excited to have a budding Prime Minister in the mix! Click here
The Gawura Ngara Centre

If you have visited the school in the last couple of months you may have noticed some changes to the first room you see as you come out of the lift on level 6 and head to Dr Collier's office. This space has been very kindly funded by the Association of Independent schools (AIS) and will be used as an Indigenous resource centre for both Gawura and SACS students. The word Ngara is from the Gadigal language and means 'think, hear, listen" which fits really well with the objective of the new space.
To new SACS families & first time donors:

We have endeavoured to give you more insight into how Gawura works by answering Frequently Asked Questions in more detail. 

THANK YOU

We feel blessed to have the support of so many corporates, Foundations, organisations, individuals and families. To learn more about our supporters, please 





On behalf of all of us here at Gawura, have a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful new year. We look forward to seeing you in 2017.

GET IN TOUCH

David North
Head of Gawura

Lucy Crook
Director of Development, Gawura

Rose Miller
Marketing and Fundraising Co-ordinator 

GAWURA | www.gawura.nsw.edu.au | (02) 9286 9500