"The Last Daughter" (Netflix, Book) chronicles Brenda Matthews' inspiring journey as a member of the Stolen Generation. Taken from her parents at the age of two, she spent five years living with a loving white foster family, unaware of her Aboriginal identity and her parents' tireless search for her.
Suddenly, she was returned to her Aboriginal family, becoming the last daughter of six siblings to come back home. Decades later, filling a void, she embarks on a quest to reconnect with her foster family, particularly with her white sister. In this session, Brenda shares her remarkable story and imparts how ancient Aboriginal wisdom and spirituality profoundly influenced her healing journey. She reveals how these secrets, once hidden in the past, have become powerful lessons for us all today.
Krystal Gagen-Spriggs
Krystal Gagen-Spriggs is a PhD Candidate and Lecturer with the School of Information and Communication Studies at Charles Sturt University. She has a background in teacher librarianship and secondary school education. Krystal is passionate about the role of the teacher librarian, school library advocacy and the promotion of reading for pleasure. Her PhD research aims to understand the factors that affect the teacher librarian’s influence on reading cultures in schools.
There are many factors that affect the teacher librarian’s influence on reading cultures in secondary schools, such as student reading identities, reading motivation, support from school leadership, and the time that teacher librarians have available to them. In this presentation, Krystal will share preliminary findings from the surveys and interviews of her PhD research that investigates these factors and more in detail. Participants will then engage in discussion on how best to harness these preliminary findings to increase their own influence on reading cultures within their schools.
Workshop presenters:
Gabrielle Mace- Creating a whole school reading culture to provide voice and choice.
Monique North- Linking up through Literacy: Advocating for School Libraries through collaboration.
Siobhan James- Connecting students with books through creative reading programs: a practical workshop.
Catherine Oliver & Catherine Ferguson- Decolonising the School Library Collection - Every book is a conversation: a practical workshop.
Details of the full summit program are available here.
Please note SLANSW's Cancellation and Refund Policy for Professional Learning Events when registering for this conference
Suggested Standards addressed by this Summit
2.5.2 2.5.2 Apply knowledge and understanding of effective teaching strategies to support students’ literacy and numeracy achievement.
6.2.2 Participate in learning to update knowledge and practice targeted to professional needs and school and/or system priorities.
6.3.2 Contribute to collegial discussions and apply constructive feedback from colleagues to improve professional knowledge and practice.
7.4.2 Participate in professional and community networks and forums to broaden knowledge and improve practice.
Certificate of participation available via request to: info@slansw.net.au