Reconciliation Action Plan

In 2019, Ignatius Park College completed a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) under the guidance of Reconciliation Australia through the Narragunnawali school model. A Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) is a document that provides a framework for organisations to support the national reconciliation movement. For schools across the country, completing a RAP is done using this model. More details regarding RAP’s for schools in Australia can be located here: https://www.narragunnawali.org.au/

Edmund Rice Education Australia (EREA) launched their own Reconciliation Action Plan in 2019 and as a result, are now strongly encouraging all EREA schools in the country to create their own RAP. At the commencement of 2020, IPC was one of only two schools in Qld to have a Narragunnawali Reconciliation Action Plan and as a result staff from IPC were asked to present their RAP at a state-wide Reconciliation Forum held in Brisbane in February 2020.

The IPC RAP was completed by a Working Group comprising of IPC staff, parents and members of the community. The group broke down the development of the RAP into 4 stages (Planning, Design, Follow Up and Implementation). Currently, the College is implementing its RAP and is doing this through following up on Actions and Goals raised in the RAP.

The creation of the IPC Reconciliation Action Plan was a valuable exercise for our school and allowed us to reflect on our practices and programs to ensure they maintain the vision of Reconciliation in our school community.

The Story Behind the Artwork

The story behind the design is based upon the Boys journey through the years at Ignatius Park College and the steady growth of confidence, pride and respect for one and other. It starts with the great serpent guiding the Boys from their communities and into school life at Ignatius Park and finally into our big beautiful world of opportunities.

The green, burnt orange and darker blue patterns on the outer part of the design represent both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Boys. The six main circles represents Year 7 through to Year 12. The smaller circles outside Ignatius Park represent the surrounding communities and the boys being active within them. The black symbols around each of the main circles represent the guidance of Elders and Teachers at school.

As the boys go through the grades over the years, the symbols change depicting the boys growing in maturity and confidence. By year 10, (circle 4 on the bottom) the boys are growing into young men. By the time they graduate, the boys are Iggy Men and ready to explore and make their mark in this world.