Students and staff from Mulwaree High School stepped out of the classroom and onto Country for Reconciliation Week, walking together to the banks of the Wollondilly River.

Wiradjuri woman and Hume Police Sergeant, Bianca Williams, welcomed the school and officers from the Goulburn Youth Command to share in a yarn about the meaning of reconciliation.

Sergeant Williams said the river had special significance for First Nations people and was used as a means of trade, travel, stories and connection.

Students and staff participated in a traditional smoking ceremony and cleansing, a message of good intentions to the ancestors and way to carry 'Country’ back with them as a symbolic act of safe passage.

Sergeant Williams spoke about truth telling and its essential role in closing the gap in employment, health and education for Indigenous communities.

“Reconciliation is more than just this week,” she said.

“It’s a conscious effort to see beyond race, ethnicity and gender. To build a better future, we each must choose to be good people, to support all with kindness and compassion.”

She said her decision to join NSW Police came from a desire to be “at the coalface of change and reconciliation”.

Her daughter Lucy, who walked beside her, encouraged students to take pride in their culture and speak up for who they are.