Highfields State School students craft work of hope for November Takatsuki Art Festival entry
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Highfields State School students have completed an artwork symbolising hope, which will be sent to Toowoomba’s Japanese Sister City of Takatsuki for its annual arts fair in November.
Toowoomba Regional Council Economic Development portfolio spokesperson Cr Edwina Farquhar said the students’ 2.5 metre by 3.5 metre canvas was titled, Our Connection to Country.
Cr Farquhar said members of the school’s NAIDOC Club, comprising Indigenous students and their friends, were inspired by nature and their connection to the land.
“The canvas incorporates Indigenous symbols, representing meeting places, water, animals, human tracks and waterholes,” Cr Farquhar said.
The work also draws on sunrises, oceans, sitting around campfires and the hopeful feeling of being in nature. The Highfields State School mascot and local area totem, the eagle, also inspires students to fly high in all that they do.
Cr Farquhar said Highfields State School had entered the 2019 Takatsuki Art Festival, which was followed by the formation of a Sister School relationship with Takatsuki’s Gunge Elementary School during an October 2023 online ceremony.
“In June this year, Highfields State School deepened its commitment to the agreement when Principal Mr Chris Gilbert, Deputy Principal Mrs Kayte Gillinder, three teachers and 25 students from Years 5 and 6 travelled to Japan for a study tour,” Cr Farquhar said.
“The Highfields party attended a Mayoral reception at Takatsuki City Hall and later visited Gunge Elementary School to join various activities followed by a visit to the Imashirozuka Museum.”
The Toowoomba Anglican School and the Toowoomba Art Society Junior class entered an artwork in the 2018 Takatsuki Art Festival. Oakey State School’s 2021 entry won the ‘Full of Dreams’ judges’ commendation award before Gowrie State School entered the 2022 competition, with North State School flying the Region’s flag in 2023.
A formal Sister City agreement between Toowoomba and Takatsuki officially was established on November 13, 1991.
The Declaration of Friendship agrees to deepen the relationship through mutually beneficial exchanges in the educational, cultural, sporting and commercial arenas.
Toowoomba and Takatsuki have enjoyed a highly active relationship with many exchanges occurring over the years, including student study tour exchanges.
Takatsuki, with a population of 355,000 people, is located halfway between Osaka and Kyoto in the southern section of the Honshu Island of Japan.
Caption: Highfields State School teachers Sean Turner (left) and Melita Semler with students from the NAIDOC Club and their artwork, Our Connection to Country. (top) (Below) Highfields State School Japan Study Tour students enjoying the culture of Japan on the recent visit.