The students from St Mary's Primary School at Warners Bay quite literally turned a word into an action for National Sorry Day on Wednesday.
About 350 students from kindergarten to year six, as well as teachers, dressed up in red, yellow and black shirts and spelled out the word "SORRY" in the school playground with a picture taken from above by a drone.
The measure was a away of apologising for the pain and injustices afflicted upon Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, particularly the Stolen Generations.
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The initiative was the idea of the school's Aboriginal education teacher Megan Bloxom, who learned to fly a drone especially for the day and turned up at the school at 7am to mark the spots for the students to stand.
Ms Bloxom explained to the students how sorry should be more than just a word, which is the theme for Reconciliation Week.
"The first step in mending any relationship is apologising for causing hurt," Ms Bloxom said. "Saying sorry - and demonstrating that you mean it - is vital for friendships to continue to grow and become strong."
The demonstration follows lessons the students took part in learning about Sorry Day and Reconciliation Week.
Tim Bowd from the Catholic Schools Office said he believed the students really understood the message.
"I think the way it cut through to the student body was really strong," he said.
