2025 Term 1 Community Program News

What a fantastic start to the year it has been! Enjoy some of our favourite moments from the month…

Lockhart River

Excitement filled the air as g-oz returned to Lockhart River for a 10th year of collaborating with Lockhart State School.

Term 1 g-oz Instructor, Piper, reflects:

“The kids from Lockhart State School greeted us with the most incredible warmth and excitement despite me never having met most of them. They simply saw the g-oz t-shirts and felt comfortable. There were kids who were asking for songs and dances that g-oz taught them years ago, which just proves their engagement with the program and their eagerness to explore the performing arts.”

“It was an absolute joy to be able to share my passion for the performing arts with the kids from Lockhart River. In just five days I could see the increase in their confidence and communication skills. They demonstrated incredible resilience and their energy was infectious. We had so much fun singing and dancing together.”

The Kindy kids also practised singing ‘Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes’ in local language with their teacher aide, Miss Angie (pictured below, far right), each day throughout the week. g-oz had the opportunity to join in the class and learn from Miss Angie too!

Kowanyama

In Kowanyama, we celebrated International Women’s Day on March 8 with a morning tea at the community hall. At school, we sang some g-oz favourites, including ‘Many Waters Rise’ by Archie Roach. We also began learning the chorus of ‘True Colours’ in Kokoberra language.

We can’t wait to build on our learning during our next visit in our 5th year of collaboration with Kowanyama State School!

During the week, the g-oz team also had the opportunity to catch up with g-oz Board Member, Tania Major, on her own Country and visit her new local-owned, local-run business, the Kowanyama Café. Congratulations, Tania!

Halls Creek

We had a sensational week in Halls Creek delivering performing arts workshops for our 15th year at Halls Creek District High School.

We were so impressed with the Grade 1 through to Grade 6 students who performed at the end-of-week Term 1 g-oz Concert. All primary school students and staff as well as community members were in the audience supporting and cheering the girls on in their first performance for 2025. Congratulations to all on a wonderful start to the year!

We are also thrilled to announce that Melia, Julie, Sevarniah, Cheyenne, Rochelle and Jianni from Year 7 and 8 have been selected for the 2025 g-oz Leadership Program. In Term 1, these six girls joined the Pre-Primary and Grade 1/2 classes and were excellent role models for the younger students! We can’t wait to continue the Leadership Program with them next term.

Throughout the week, g-oz was also supported by Skye, g-oz alumni. Skye completed her final year with g-oz last year, having graduated from Halls Creek District High School. As one of our most strongly engaged g-oz participants throughout the years, Skye was selected to attend the 2024 Travel Program to Sydney last November.

Reflecting on her g-oz experience, Skye says:

“… going on trips and performing has helped me build my confidence on stage and meet new people and go new places. g-oz has taught me to always enjoy the moment and shine bright and to keep smiling. I hope the Halls Creek girls have and always consider doing these programs, so we can have more young ladies singing and dancing in our community together.”

Skye is now working as a Representative AIEO for Grades 3-6 at Halls Creek District High School. The g-oz team were lucky to have her join all our sessions across the week as a brilliant role model and mentor for the younger girls. Thank you, Skye!

Bidyadanga

2025 marks our 4th year of collaboration with La Grange Remote Community School in Bidyadanga. It was such a lovely week of singing, dancing, creativity and connection. Our time also included a visit to the Bidyadanga Women’s Centre where g-oz participated in a ceramics workshop with Bidyadanga Artists!

Term 1 g-oz Instructor, Bella, reflects on the week:

“Arriving in Bidyadanga and having the girls run up to us yelling “g-oz, g-oz!”—so full of energy and joy—is incredible. You can see how excited they are to be part of this program, which makes us even more excited to share, listen, and learn alongside them.”

Term 1 g-oz Instructor, Simone, reflects on her return to the school and her continued engagement with the community:

“Being my 3rd trip, I have had the opportunity to see firsthand how this program creates positive experiences and promotes empowerment. Through dance, music, and drama, the g-oz program not only cultivates artistic talent and skills, but strengthens confidence, leadership, self-expression and storytelling. From a personal perspective, I cherish connecting with the kids at school and the wider community through recreational sports in the afternoon, pottery classes at the women’s centre, and more. It is an invaluable experience that deepens connections and fosters self-growth for all involved.”

For all photos and videos of our Community Programs in Term 2 follow us on Facebook and Instagram.