Meet the teacher reviving the Woi Wurrung language

Sherryn Groch

By Sherryn Groch
Published September 9, 2016

When Mathew Gardiner picks up the phone, there is a smile in his voice. The Wurundjeri man has just had a “breakthrough” with the Preps he teaches twice a week at Melton West Primary School.

Matthew Gardiner is loving teaching kids the local Woi Wurrung language

This is Gardiner’s first stint in the classroom and the subject could not be more personal.

Now in his second ...

This story appeared in the September 2016 edition of Australian Teacher Magazine.

Gaming Design Tutor

Veritas East London

Teaching - Secondary / Mar 12, 2026

SEND teaching Assistant Primary school

Veritas Leyland

Teaching - Primary / Mar 12, 2026

Casual Educator

Story House Early Learning Pimpama Pimpama QLD

Explore how we enhance and support our Story House-ers at our Pimpama service, proudly certified as a Great Place to Work!

Childcare & Outside School Hours Care / Mar 12, 2026

School news / NAPLAN meltdown: teachers, parents slam communication chaos

Parents and teachers have called out the chaos of NAPLAN testing after a widespread outage wreaked havoc across thousands of schools.

School news / NAPLAN push contributing to ‘moral injury’ and hastening of attrition: expert

NAPLAN season is here again this week, with technical glitches proving stumbling blocks for many, but while much of the focus as ever is on student performance, one education expert says more attention needs to be paid to its impact on teachers.

School news / ‘Not a fringe phenomenon’: manosphere targeted in new resource for schools

Secondary schools grappling with the insidious influence of the ‘manosphere’ now have a new resource to guide how staff can identify, understand and respond to the harmful behaviours and misogynistic ideologies that are increasingly playing out in...

School news / Gender equality efforts eroded by ‘tech-facilitated abuse’: Contos

Tech-facilitated abuse and harassment has become normalised among young people, with advocates calling for better education in schools to ensure people understand it’s a crime.

Opinion / Schools should value cognitive diversity over student rankings

Australia’s schools are still too often measured by ATAR scores, NAPLAN results and exam rankings.

School news / GenAI could be a game-changer for gender-inclusive STEM education

Generative AI (GenAI) might have significant potential to boost girls’ confidence, agency, and participation in STEM subjects, however realising such potential really depends on how teachers use GenAI in the classroom, new research suggests.

School news / Popular teaching approach creates ‘lethal mutations’ for classroom inclusion

An inclusive education framework that dilutes teaching quality and lacks a credible evidence base is being pushed by the Victorian Department of Education, a learning specialist has flagged.

School news / WA Govt’s $28 million School Breakfast Program expansion boost to wellbeing and learning

More students from disadvantaged backgrounds will enjoy a free, nutritious breakfast five days a week in Western Australia under the state’s expanded School Breakfast Program.

School news / Driving change: the campaign to curb toxic fumes harming kids during pick-up/drop-off

The drop-off and pick-up line has become a cleaner, quieter place at the primary school Anthony Hull and Fiona Foo send their kids to.

School news / Tassie teachers’ “total and indefinite” ban on NAPLAN testing: wage dispute rolls on

Tasmania’s public school teachers are escalating industrial action, starting with work bans including refusing to administer NAPLAN tests to students, in response to the State Government’s continuing refusal to negotiate a fair pay and work condit...

Comments