30 Jan 2025
Principal Daniel Mowbray standing in front of ‘Summer’ by Jazz Matthews, one of a series of
artworks at Aunty Agnes Shea High School representing each of the six Ngunnawal seasons.
With the 2025 school year about to start, Aunty Agnes Shea High School principal Daniel Mowbray is excited to welcome the first cohort of Year 7 students to the brand-new school in Taylor, North Gungahlin.
“I’ve met a lot of our new students already, and it has been a really great experience to learn who they are as young people, so that we can really plan for a school that is set up to meet their needs,” Daniel says, explaining that working in partnership with the students and school community is key in shaping the school culture.
As part of this, Daniel collaborated with the staff and students to come up with the school values of Kindness, Inclusivity, and Curiosity.
“We want our students to leave this place as great humans; we want them to be kind and inclusive, and we want them to look curiously at the world, to make a positive contribution to their communities and the world around them,” Daniel says.
Another important element of this school culture is the connection to First Nations culture and the legacy of late senior Ngunnawal Elder Aunty Agnes Shea.
The school motto Walking Together, Shaping Tomorrow was inspired by the legacy of Aunty Agnes and her welcome to country which always mentioned leaving footprints on the land.
“Our motto is about the importance bringing the people in our community together and leaving a really positive impact on the world. Aunty Agnes’ legacy is all about the importance of inclusion and working to create a strong community,” Daniel says, further explaining the cultural significance of the school.
“The school has a strong sense of connection to the land that we are on. You can see throughout our buildings artworks that are really in tune with what has been here for many thousands of years.
“We’re very aware of the responsibility of sharing this story and embedding it in our teaching and learning programs, so that the kids build that understanding and hopefully this will transfer into their wider knowledge and experience in engaging with our first nations culture,” Daniel says.
To further acknowledge this legacy, the school’s logo was co-designed with Aunty Agnes’s family, which in turn is reflected in the school’s uniform design.
Aunty Agnes Shea dedicated her life to bettering the world for future generations of Aboriginal Australians and worked in many different roles for the range of communities that call Ngunnawal Country home.
As we head into the 2025 school year, it's fitting to remember Aunty Agnes’ legacy that will inspire young Canberrans to live life to its fullest while looking out for everyone in our community.