Last Friday, Mr Casey, Mrs Stonham and 8 students attended the Catholic Education’s NAIDOC Mass at St Christopher’s Cathedral. Some of us had our faces painted using traditional ochre and patterns while we all gathered as one community at the steps of the cathedral. Before the mass began, we participated in a smoking ceremony. A smoking ceremony is used to bring people together at celebrations, meetings or burials. Gum leaves were burned and we were invited to ‘wash’ the smoke over us, cleansing our spirit as we entered St Christopher’s Cathedral.