Koori Preschool

Background music plays.

Children hugging one another: We are proud

Child: I am proud

Child smiling: I am strong

Child wagging finger: I am deadly

Children: Koori Pre is deadly

Children: Koori Pre is deadly

Children shouting: Koori Pre

Child standing outside: Ah, I like to make friends

Child smiling: I like johnny cakes

Child: Birds and puppets

Child: Playing outside

Child: I like painting

Child: Playing with my friends. I love learning about my culture, and I love riding my bike with my friends.

Image of children sitting around a fire with Grannies and their educators.

Adult voiceover: I’ve been to Koori Pre. I’ve seen all my siblings, younger siblings, go through Koori Preschool. It’s such an amazing opportunity for kids to come in and explore and just start young about learning their culture. That makes them feel proud of who they are.

Image of two children mixing johnny cakes with a Granny.

Educator talking.

Smiling child showing a portfolio.

Images of children’s artwork, child playing inside, educators and children singing and playing clapping sticks, child playing clapping sticks.

Mum holding her child and talking to the camera: I sent her here so she can learn about her culture and her people as well. We’re not in touch with her Aboriginal family so she can come to school and learn about it.

Adult: I love the exposure to culture. I love the songs that they’re learning. I love that they’re learning language – how to say hello, goodbye, thank you. I just really love that cultural inclusion in just every day, normal preschool life.

Images of Aboriginal performer Johnny Huckle playing guitar and clapping, child plays clapping sticks.

Adult: They do a lot of painting, singing, dancing. They use the clapping sticks and stuff like that as well when the Elders come in.

Images of children participating in art and craft experiences and playing with cultural resources.

Adult: One of the aspects that I really enjoy is that the kids get to plot out on the map of Australia where their ancestral heritage is actually geographically located, and it just gives them an idea of we’ve come from far and wide across the country.

Teacher singing an action song with children. Child singing.

Mum holding her child: They make friendships, they get involved with the community, they go on little excursions. It’s great.

Children following their teacher outside through totem poles.

Teacher reading a story.

Child listening to a story.

Adult: For us it was about that sense of connectedness and identity. If we can start it here in the grassroots it’s something that will continue through his development, through his life. It will be something that he can be proud of which is really, really important.

Children running around totem poles.

Child using a glue stick.

Father holding his child: Yeah it’s just having that sense of pride within themselves is an awesome feeling.

Adult: I think if she can be connected to community and to people, and our culture, then that’s a wonderful thing.

Granny slicing up and frying johnny cakes.

Child eating a johnny cake.

Granny mixing johnny cakes with a child.

Adult: We’re all from different Countries, off Country and um it’s really good to get them to bond and connect um and just learn.

Child painting at an easel.

Adult: It’s good to be able to teach the children to be proud of who they are and to stand up and say I am Aboriginal, I am Koori, I am who I am, and I am proud of who I am.

Child plays clapping sticks with Aboriginal performer, Johnny Huckle.

Child matches coloured stones to an image of the Aboriginal flag.

Child with face paint smiles at the camera.

Child: Koori Pre

Child: Koori Pre

Child: Koori Pre

Children: Koori Pre

Child laughs

Child: Koori Pre is deadly.

Child: I love Koori Pre.

Closing credits: Koori Pre.

Thanks to the children, families, and staff at Ngunnawal, Wanniassa, Kingsford Smith, Richardson, and Narrabundah Koori Preschools.

Mob, Place, People, and Way.

Koori Pre. Thanks to Johnny Huckle, The ACT Nannies Group

Koori Pre. The Koori Pre Co-design would not have been possible without the thoughts, ideas, expertise, and generosity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, families and community in sharing their hopes and dreams about Koori Pre.

Mob, Place, People, Way.

ACT Government