Bayside High School is only months old, but it has already made a clear statement about what it wants to be.

The school opened this year following the merger of James Cook Boys Technology High School and Moorefield Girls High School, bringing together two school communities into a single co-educational campus for the first time.

Its inaugural NAIDOC Day brought the entire student body together to celebrate this year's national theme, "50 Years of Deadly” It’s a milestone that resonated particularly deeply given the school itself is in its first year.

Deputy Principal Ben Yelavich said the timing made the day especially meaningful.

"It has provided an opportunity to recognise the strength, progress and enduring impact of 50 years of NAIDOC celebrations while reflecting on the identity and traditions our new school community is beginning to establish," Mr Yelavich said.

The day was structured around hands-on cultural learning, with students participating in traditional Indigenous games, bush food cooking and tasting, and art-making sessions exploring Indigenous techniques and cultural meanings. Workshops on respect and inclusion ran throughout, with staff guiding students through both the practical and cultural significance of each activity.

But the centrepiece of the day was a school-wide reveal that had been months in the making.

In the lead-up to NAIDOC Week, students had researched, campaigned and voted on names for the school's four new house groups. The result: Goodes, Mills, Freeman and Goolagong - named in honour of Adam Goodes, Patty Mills, Cathy Freeman and Evonne Goolagong Cawley.

"Each of these Australians has responded to challenge, pursued excellence and used their influence to create positive change," Mr Yelavich said. "Their achievements connect strongly with Bayside High School's values of adaptability, achievement and ambition."

The four names span generations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander excellence across sport, culture and community leadership.

Unveiling the houses during NAIDOC Day was deliberate. As a school establishing itself anew, Bayside High chose to anchor its identity to figures whose legacies speak directly to what the school hopes its students will become.

"NAIDOC's 50-year milestone reminds us that every strong legacy begins with people choosing what they will stand for," Mr Yelavich said.