Last week, Yipirinya School hosted an empowering program that focused on the themes of safety, security, and trust. The program aimed to provide a safe space for students to express themselves and develop a sense of identity, confidence, and self-esteem. The highlight of the week was the creation of a fantastic music video called 'Be Brave', which was a collaborative effort that engaged the entire school community.

The lyrics of the song were developed with the help of Aunties from community and incorporated the four languages taught at the school - Central Arrernte, Western Aranda, Luritja and Warlpiri. This represented the school's two-way learning purpose and vision. The team brainstormed what school, culture, and family mean and how invaluable it is to be connected to your identity and culture. The students led the way, creating their own dance moves and raps, that have been showcased throughout the music video.

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Much of the music video was shot on-Country, with groups venturing out to locations such as the sand dunes, football oval, and Anzac Hill. The rap element of the music video was a focus area in the planning process, and many of the students enjoyed workshopping the story together. To make the project even more impactful, the teams from Jesuit Social Services and Artful Dodgers collaborated on its development and execution, leveraging a wider range of skillsets and allowing more students to benefit from one-on-one engagement.

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The music track played at the Ghost Gums festival, and the music video was proudly shown at the Yipirinya school family day. Kirra Voller, Yipirinya music teacher, expressed her joy in having a whole team of creative minds to collaborate with to pull it off. She says, “There’s not a day that goes by since recording it that a student doesn’t sing, ‘be brave, be strong, be wonderful’, somewhere in the schoolyard”.

The week in Yipirinya was a beautiful and inspiring one, and the music video was a testament to the creativity and collaborative spirit of the school community. The themes of safety, security, and trust were explored in a meaningful way, and the students were empowered to express themselves and develop essential skills for personal and academic success.

"What an epic time! The video and the song are so great, and we got an excellent reception playing the song on Saturday at the Ghost Gums Festival."

- Jesse Sullivan

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