1. Ruyton Girls Junior School
12 Selbourne Road,
Kew, Melbourne
Dear Glenn,
We are so grateful for all that you shared with us in such a creative
and interesting way when you recently spent a morning with us and
the Year 4 girls.
The Storyteller Game, that you have devised, proved to be very
powerful and successful with girls of this age and it gave them
‘something to hang their hats on’ in terms of knowledge. It also
provided them with an understanding of central vocabulary and key
ideas.
They gained some insight into, and a greater appreciation of the
knowledge that is intrinsic to your ancestors and their spiritual beliefs
and way of life through ‘Connection to Land.’
We all have so much more to learn, but it was a wonderful beginning.
Those seeds were scattered most successfully by playing the game
and the follow up lessons that we are creating as a result of your
valuable input, reflect the central messages and perspectives of
aboriginal people.
Children in this day and age love to do things for themselves; to make
choices and to feel as though they are in charge of the situation. The
structure of the Storyteller Game promoted this independence, but it
also encouraged collaboration and co-operation.
Yarning with the girls was also an essential component of the
strength of your presentation, and the girls loved this aspect of the
overall experience.
(Please see their quotes following the letter.)
We all felt that it was a very special to have you with us, sharing the
some of the ancient spiritual and secular knowledge of your
ancestors, and to begin to gain an appreciation of the connection.

2. The central notion that all is connected and nothing is without its
essential spiritual nature was very potent.
The image on the Storyboard demonstrated this so powerfully and
you gave an excellent explanation of this. There are so many layers
of understanding. It is like peeling an onion to get to the core. The
girls took from this what was suitable for their level of understanding.
As an adult I find it very fascinating and remarkable that all things in
life can be connected to it.
Now that we have begun to ‘sew the seeds’ of understanding, we
sincerely hope to continue to find ways to make our connections ever
stronger.
Your people and their traditions are our closest link to help us
understand the mystery and spiritual significance of this ancient land
that we all share.
The girls learnt that we are all the same, just a little bit different, and
realise that we need to appreciate each other’s perspectives and
cultural heritage, and thus gain from each other in a sincere and
respectful manner.
Thank you so much and we hope to share with you again in the near
future.
Sincerely,
Cate Hallpike and Tanya Cockwill.
Year 4 teachers, Ruyton Girls’ School
Please feel free to use any part of this letter and the quotes for
promotion purposes and we hope it will be helpful in some way.
The girls direct quotes are on the following pages.

3. Glenn Shea - Storyteller
THE STORYTELLER Game
Comments from the girls in Year 4 at Rutyon Girls’s School Kew.
2014
It was a great experience to learn directly from Glenn and to play the
game and read about aboriginal people, their skills and their stories
that have been passed down from generation to generation. It was
very interesting. Maddy.
The Storyteller Game reminds us that we are not the only type of
Australians here. It is a privilege that we got to play the game and to
learn all about Glenn’s culture. Alyssa.
I loved it how Glenn learnt his stories and knowledge from his elders.
Scarlett
One thing that inspired me was how everyone kept passing on the
information. Hannah.
I learned about the dreamtime stories and I enjoyed playing the
game. The game is worthwhile because it is good to learn about
different cultures and just to take it all in. Sophie C
It was fun learning with Glenn. He taught us about aboriginal life and
the tools they use. The game is very clever and it was fun playing the
game Glenn made up. Sarah.
The words that we had to read weren’t too challenging, but weren't
that easy either. It was good that we worked in groups so we could all
help each other. Hannah
The different waterholes on the game board reminded me that
everything is joined together. After reading the story of the Koala and
the Kangaroo I was really inspired. Ashley N.

4. I think that us younger kids reacted well to this game. We learnt a lot
more about aboriginal people and their beliefs, and about Australian
Animals. There must be a lot of Australian Animals that we do not
know about. I now know a lot more about different totems and
weapons. Sophie T.
I think the game was very worthwhile because it tells us about the
things that aboriginal people used in their day-to-day lives, when they
lived in the traditional way, in a fun and interesting way. Charlotte S.
The game was good because it was a bit of a challenge. It would not
have been good for younger girls because they would not have
understood it. Phoebe B
I enjoyed learning things from the stories that we read. I learnt that
the aboriginal people think the koala has a short tail because he was
greedy. Phoebe J.
I really enjoyed learning about all of the artifacts and know more
about the didgeridoo and the shield now. Kamilah.
I learnt more about the animals by using the cards. Stephanie
Glenn taught me about aboriginal culture and the artifacts - Molly
I loved playing the Storyteller Game and learnt a lot from Glenn -
Talia
I learnt what the different artifacts were and what names they had -
Erica.
General Comments, Reflections and Responses
I think that it is absolutely amazing to keep such knowledge in the
family for over 60,000 years. I think that it was an amazing
experience for us to learn some of the knowledge that aboriginal
people have been handing down to the next generation. Most
amazing was that Glen was giving that knowledge to us, and we

5. aren’t even aboriginal, so I think that it was a very special privilege.
Erica.
Glenn, I feel that it is a great tradition because you are passing on
education about your culture to someone else. I felt as though I
should now remember to do something like this to those who are
younger than me. It is a really inspiring tradition. One thing that really
inspired me was how everyone kept on passing on the information.
Hannah.
I think that Year 4 is really special for having Glenn come into South
House. We are so lucky. I have never experienced anything like that.
Bailey.
I thought it was really great to have an aboriginal teacher in our class
and I really liked learning about totems. I would really like to have the
wombat totem. Kamilah.
I felt different being in a room with an indigenous person. It was a lot
of fun. I felt that it was a very special experience. I was astounded
when Glenn told us that his uncle is on the 50 dollar note. I asked my
Mum to have a look at it when I got in the car. I was joyful that I met
someone like Glenn. I was surprised that the aboriginal people would
hit the bad people with the Nulla-Nulla and then start the forgiving
and healing straight away. Ashley N
Personally, I think that I understood more of what Glenn was saying
when he was talking, than when I was playing the game. It was very
interesting listening to Glenn. It was so special of him to come to
Ruyton and to be our first aboriginal teacher. I think that I learnt a lot.
The stories at the end about the waterholes were a bit hard to
understand but they were full of ideas and connections. Alyssa.