Houses - Canberra Grammar School

PRIMARY SCHOOL HOUSES

In 2022 CGS developed six new Houses and expanded this system to include Kindergarten to Year 2, both at Red Hill and at Northside campuses. The goals of our new House system (developed in collaboration with our House Captains) are as follows:

Allow students to develop social and emotional skills in a safe environment Self awareness Self management Responsible decision making Social awareness Relationship Skills	Promote Leadership and personal development Seeking and incorporating student voice about safety and wellbeing Collaborating with Heads of Student Houses and other staff members Enhances organisational skills
Create an inclusive environment Welcoming Valuing diversity Academics, The Arts and sporting areas	Celebrate and enhances student voice Authentic student participation Decision making/choice in areas that affected them Taking action
Allow opportunities for partnerships Between students-staff, staff-community Proactively build collaborative relationships

In summary, to build a sense of belonging, connectedness, inclusion and an empowering culture within CGS.

One rewarding parts of the implementation of the House group has been the process of the name and logo creation. Our Captains thought that an opportunity to allow the students to feel connected to their House is if they could connect to the story and the origins of their House symbol. Mr Aaron Chatfield, a local Kamilaroi man, who works closely with the Ngunnawal community was engaged to create the House names and totems. He spent a lot of time working with our children and staff and chose our six names that represent important flora and fauna that is found on Red Hill.

Please watch this video with Aaron Chatfield describing the importance of each new House name.

The next stage was to engage Ms Kalara Gilbert, a local Wiradjuri artist. She listened to our stories of what the children felt their Houses were and the importance of them in our school culture. She worked closely with the School and walked Red Hill many times and in order to develop a connection with each House name.

We are thrilled to launch our Canberra Grammar School Primary House logos to our wider community. We are excited to celebrate our Houses and gather beneath our new names and logos together.

An explanation of the origins of the artwork is below:

	Mulleun – Wedge Tailed Eagle Mulleun is the protector, he flies over the earth looking out for the other little animals and plants. He is wise and keeps order. In this image, you can see Mulleun in different stages of flight. He is flying across the land, watching over creation as he goes. The three interconnected circles represent the three sections of Canberra Grammar School, the Early Learning Centre, Northside and Red Hill campuses and the learning journey that happens between these stages.
	Bariny- Stringybark This logo depicts the Bariny tree, its leaves and flowers. The three connected circles with figures sitting around them represent the three sections of Canberra Grammar School, the Early Learning Centre, Northside and Red Hill campus and the journey between these stages. The smaller clusters of dots represent the families of the students at Canberra Grammar School. Stringybark is a very important tree and its bark is used to make twine and rope by twisting the fibres together. This can be seen in the patterns inside the connected circles. When twisting and connecting the fibres it creates strength, by working together you create strength much like the fibres of the stringybark tree.
	Dhiriwiri – Ironbark Straight, tall and strong is the ironbark tree, it represents strength, wisdom and resilience. You can tell it apart by its distinct dark brown almost black bark and its delicate leaves and light pink flowers. Its leaves have medicinal qualities and have been used by First Nations Peoples for thousands of years. Its sap can be used as a dye for fabrics or to tan hides. The Ironbark tree can live for over 200years and connects many different communities. This connection is depicted in the circles of this image, school, family, friends and the teachers at Canberra Grammar School. The smaller clusters of dots represent the individual families of the students and the community surrounding Canberra Grammar School.
	Namarag – Wattle This wattle is used to make boomerangs, clapsticks and digging tools. Its leaves have medicinal properties and can be rubbed together in your hands with water to make soap. The tree flowers in summer, it can be found around most parts of Canberra and on Red Hill. It is easily recognised by its unique spiral seedpods that often twist together in a clump. The three circles with figures sitting around them represent the three sections of Canberra Grammar School, the Early Learning Centre, Northside and Red Hill campuses and the unique learning that happens in these three sections of the school. The smaller clusters of dots represent the families of the students at Canberra Grammar School.
	Guginyal – Kookaburra Kookaburra has a special job, every morning he sings the sun up and in the evening he sings it safely down again. Listen around your school and home, do you hear Gaginyal? In this image, the sun is radiating in the top right-hand corner and Kookaburra is singing his morning song to it. The sun’s rays are spreading across the Country and warming it, bringing life as it goes.
	Buru- Kangaroo Kangaroo is fast and strong, he is a leader and cares for all the other smaller animals. Buru always looks forward to the future, as he can’t walk backwards. The markings on his body tell the stories of his Country. The Inter-connected circles represent the student’s individual life journeys, from home to Primary School, through to Senior School and then on to their life afterwards. The kangaroo footprints represent the steps taken to achieve their goals. The dots represent all the friends and important people they will meet along the way.