A long-time community partner with arguably the most stunning backyard, Mutitjulu, and its primary school, welcomed our team back for the second time this year. With the school's principal, Jodie, suddenly taken ill, with no other teacher working there at that time, the team was particularly warmly received by the substitute principal, Katie. The team called one classroom ‘home' for the week, quickly settling in and jumping into a plethora of activities to keep the students engaged and coming to school each day.

School: Mutitjulu School

Students Participating: approximately 30

Highlights of Visit:

∙ Lots of classroom activities around hygiene, nutrition, food and where it comes from

∙ Establishing a school garden and showing the students how to plant their own herbs and vegetables

∙ Dancing, singing and art sessions that got everyone involved

∙ Learning about bush tucker and medicine from the ladies in the community

∙ Creating a new song and video clip with the students called ‘Here I Am'

∙ Hosting a community BBQ at the Respite Centre and welcoming our partners from Voyages along

Another longtime community partner, Areyonga, once again opened their collective arms and heart to our team. This particular visit we were pleased to include two members of the media - one from Sydney's Daily Telegraph and the other from ABC's Radio National. Though their time with us was short (they departed for Alice Springs with the music team, who made their way to Mutitjulu), they did not hesitate to jump right into all of the activities that Red Dust was delivering, and they proved themselves very valuable team members.

School:  Areyonga School

Students Participating: 32

Highlights of Visit:

∙ The enthusiastic welcome by the community and students, and their warm hospitality

∙ 100% school attendance for every session, every day Red Dust was there!

∙ Creating a great new song and video clip for Areyonga School called ‘Skin on Fire'

∙ A dedicated, exuberant team that contributed to all aspects of the program wholeheartedly

∙ Hurdles with KVK - always a hit, with young and not-so-young

∙ Introducing hip-hop dancing to the program mix - a fun, challenging way to keep fit and learn at the same time

∙ Loads of extracurricular jaunts with the kids, including long canyon walks, swims in the billabong and playing games

∙ Joining the community members for ‘roo tail on the fire, and a fascinating introduction to the practical uses of spinifex