Ellen José Student Reconciliation Awards - winners and finalists 2023
"As a young person, what does reconciliation mean to you?"
The Ellen José Student Reconciliation Awards are aimed at Bayside primary and secondary school students, bringing awareness of reconciliation to our young people, who are the future of Australia, through art and writing. Entrants are asked to interpret "As a young person, what does reconciliation mean to you?" in their artwork or writing piece.
This year, Dr Joseph Toscano from the Ellen José Memorial Foundation and Bayside City Council Mayor, Cr Hanna El Mouallem, had the challenging responsibility of judging the exceptional finalists and selecting first, second, and third prize winners in the art categories of Prep-Grade 3 and Grade 4-6. Additionally, they awarded a first prize winner for the written category for secondary school students.
Congratulations to the young winners who were awarded their prizes at the Flag Raising Ceremony on Saturday 27 May, marking the start of Reconciliation Week (27 May to 3 June).
Prep – Grade 3 Winners
Iona J, Hampton Primary School – 1st Place
Image credit: Iona J, Hampton Primary School
Cormac E, St Finbars Primary School – 2nd Place
Oscar F, Brighton Beach Primary School – 3rd Place
Grade 4 – 6 Winners
Lola F, Black Rock Primary School – 1st Place
Image credit: Lola F, Black Rock Primary School.
Lily C, Hampton Primary School – 2nd Place
Ada L, Hampton Primary School – 3rd Place
Secondary School winner - Pierce L, Beaumaris Secondary College
Reconciliation by Pierce L
Imagine what it’s like finding a land that you claimed
A land you made home, settled down and named
A land that contained its beauty and vitality
Where people and animals were at peace, so natural and free
Transformed to a conveyer-belt concrete factory
No time to think intuitively
Imagine what it’s like finding a land you claimed
A land you made home, settled down and named
Transformed to a conveyer-belt concrete factory
No time to think intuitively
Why do the first people of this land have to feel unease?
I feel ashamed we ignored the laws of water, land and trees
They treated this land with love, the land they obtained
If you believe pain is having an ankle sprained
How about feeling betrayed?
The people who raised our land remain changed
It seems so cruel, yet unexplained
They never had the freedom to complain
Having no rights is how it feels to be locked up, even chained
There was never a hooray for the people who lived here first
And their culture was hidden or forgotten at worst
I watch the traffic whizzing past
above the sky is overcast
I gaze out of my window and think of my fate
I wonder why it’s so hard to reconciliate.
Thank you and congratulations to this year’s finalists
Prep – Grade 3 Finalists
Alice D, Hampton Primary School
Angela Z, Hampton Primary School
Cormac E, St Finbars Primary School
Iona J, Hampton Primary School
Lewis M, Brighton Beach Primary School
Nicholas C, Hampton Primary School
Oscar F, Brighton Beach Primary School
Rosalie P, Black Rock Primary School
Thomas G, Brighton Beach Primary School
Grade 4 – Grade 6 Finalists
Ada, Hampton Primary School
Archie O, Hampton Primary School
Freddy H, Black Rock Primary School
Grace, Hampton Primary School
Isabella K, Our Lady of the Assumption
Isabella W, Brighton Beach Primary School
Isabelle I, Brighton Beach Primary School
Lily C, Hampton Primary School
Lola F, St Finbars
Lua C D, Black Rock Primary School
Mila T, Black Rock Primary School
Come down to the Corporate Centre to view the incredible work of this year’s winners and finalists on display in the foyer until 28 July.
View all Ellen José Student Reconciliation Awards 2023 entrants
We celebrate Reconciliation Week in Bayside to recognise its importance to all Australians.
It is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.
