Students at Oxley Vale Primary School will be able to continue learning Gomeroi language with the program being expanded into high school locally. From this year Oxley high students can opt to learn the language, alongside other languages like Japanese. "They now have the option to continue to do that into high school and go onto more advanced stuff," Gomeroi and Yuwaalaraay man Brendan Welsh said. The language program was launched at Oxley Vale Primary School three years ago. Aboriginal Liaison Officer and Gomeroi woman Rebecca Browning is a driving force behind the project. Read also: "We started off by talking to kids just about bush tucker, artefacts, art, animals, numbers and just culture," Ms Browning said. Since then in collaboration with teachers and Gomeroi community leaders the school has been able to build a structured syllabus, fitting alongside the state set curriculum. Each cohort completes a 15-20 minute lesson each week, taught by language teacher Gomeroi and Yuwaalaraay man Brendan Welsh (also known as Odee). The short class times have proved more beneficial, allowing the students to absorb more of the language. Kindergarten to Year 2 students start off at stage one, where they are introduced to culture, learning about animals, numbers, song, and dance. By Year 3 the students begin to dive into stage two, which focuses more on the language. "As they hit Year 3 and 4 they learn more of the acknowledgement, and then we put sentences together and do storytelling," Miss Browning said. "It's great to have Odee come in and teach us about Aboriginal culture and language," Year 4 student Jett Russ said. Key to the program's success is the continuous involvement of Gomeroi Elder Neville Sampson and Mr Welsh. "We're really lucky to have Uncle Neville, as not all schools have an Elder," Year 6 student and cultural leader Mataya Grant said. And the program is thriving. Walking the halls you can hear the echo of the greeting, Yaama - which means hello in Gomeroi. And students are even taking their learning home. "I've been able to teach my mum a few words," Mataya said. Mataya in particular is thrilled about the program expanding into Oxley High as she wants to one day become fully fluent in Gomeroi. Last year the NSW Department of Education announced that by 2024 students will be able to learn Indigenous language with the release of a new Aboriginal Languages syllabus. Oxley Vale Primary School's self-made program is already leading the way. "Working with the teachers and Odee on the program, has shown that it can be done," Ms Browning said. "And it would be nice if the education department came down and said this is not bad and get some people on board, to build a program that can be put into any school would be great," she said. The revitalisation project of the Gomeroi language also known as (Gamilaraay or Kamilaroi) in the Tamworth region has been in the works for the past two decades, with various community-based programs like the Gomeroi language academy. The growth of the language is becoming more evident. The 2021 census showed a growth in Gomeroi speakers in the Tamworth region, up from 0.6 per cent in 2016 to 2.6 per cent in 2021. Mr Welsh said that the revival of Gomeroi language, especially within schools, has progressed so far since he was a kid. "The kids, teachers and Uncle Nev are using the language together daily," Mr Welsh said. Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
