John Hartley Primary School Sorry Day Song 2018
In 2018, John Hartley Primary School joined the National Sorry Day in the North committee, chaired by Relationships Australia South Australia (RASA). Erica, the Student Wellbeing Leader, and Donald, Aboriginal Community Education Officer, worked with the teachers and students to develop the Stolen Generations Honour Walk. For this walk, the pathway was filled with art and children who sung the Sorry Day Song as Stolen Generations Members passed through; an extremely emotional event for all involved.
Melissa, our Projects Coordinator, approached the school after the event and offered to record the song performed by the students on the day. This recording, created at Northern Sound System, became an acknowledgement and celebration of the commitment and contribution the young people made towards the healing of the Stolen Generations.
Prior to the recording session, we visited the school and interviewed the ten children selected to participate. We asked them:
- What does Sorry Day mean to you?
- What message do you hope people will hear by listening to your song?
- How do you feel about recording at Northern Sound System?
After the recording, staff from RASA compiled the footage from the interviews and the recording session to make a short documentary on the experience. BASEM3NT Studios worked on the final edit of the video, producing a short documentary. Watch the full documentary below here.
On the day, Erica and the Choir teacher, who lead the children during practice and preparation of the song, arrived at Northern Sound System with ten very excited students.
They worked with an audio engineer, who showed the students how the studio worked, and the software and hardware required to produce music. They rehearsed, performed and finished the song on the very same day!
The John Hartley Primary School, their wider community, and RASA remain committed the active participation in National Sorry Day. As members of the planning committee, another powerful Honour Walk will take place at the 2019 Sorry Day event. Full event details here.