IRRAWANG Public School has opened the Port's first drop-in centre catering for Aboriginal students and the wider Raymond Terrace community.
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As part of Sorry Day activities last Friday, the school was presented with an official signed excerpt from former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's 2008 apology.
School librarian Chris Berry said the poster would hang in the drop-in centre.
"Eighty-five of the school's 320 students are registered as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander," Ms Berry said.
"It was decided by the Aboriginal Education Committee (AEC) to renovate an area to provide a comfortable, non-threatening area as a drop-in centre and co-ordinate it with the anniversary of the apology to the Stolen Generations."
Ms Berry said the school's AEC and education officers worked closely with the Youyoong Aboriginal Education Consultative Group.
"We very much hope our drop-in centre will become a community gathering place, where Stolen Generation survivors can tell their stories to our students and continue the healing process by talking with this current generation," Ms Berry said.
The day also included a smoking ceremony and acknowledgement of country by a local Worimi elder, Aboriginal dancing presented by SistaSpeak and BroSpeak groups, bush tucker, painting of a commemorative mural and an educational workshop involving students, aunties and uncles.
