Cultural Diversity Week

"Proud to Belong"

Every year, the Diversity Team puts on a great range of activities for Cultural Diversity Week and this year was no exception! From the 19th to the 23rd of March students enjoyed a range of activities relating to Cultural Diversity Week. In keeping with this year’s theme - “Proud to Belong” - the Diversity Team organised activities celebrating as many cultures as possible. Our goal was to bring together the cultural diversity amongst our school and accept each other as individuals. Here are some highlights of the week:

On Monday, we saw a wonderful performance from the Réunion Island exchange students during which MFG students joined in and in return sang a few Australian songs. It was a great group experience and we were all sad when our visitors had to go home to Réunion Island.

On Tuesday we kept with a long-held tradition and sold French cakes (a highlight every year!) and provided food vans. The Dolly Sisters vegan food van was incredibly popular amongst the students and Pete’s Wood Oven Pizzas were delicious.

Thanks to a grant we received from the Victorian Multicultural Commission (which was supported by the Victorian Government), on Wednesday students learned the basics of African drumming (djembe) and enjoyed the natural tonal rhythms they provided. Even people who thought they had no rhythm and couldn’t possibly learn how to drum were able to get stuck into it and learn how to drum!

Thursday lunchtime saw girls from disparate backgrounds, including Pakistan, Afghanistan and Africa, giving a fashion show. This activity was welcomed by a big crowd of students. Alongside the spectacular showcases of stunning cultural dresses, we held a Henna stall with all sorts of beautiful designs done by our talented students. By doing so, we raised about $180 to help support our sponsor child, Misozi Tembo, who lives in the Nyimba Area Development Program in Zambia.  Everyone seemed to be enjoying their lunchtime there, while watching the performers.

On Friday, we celebrated the skills of students in a talent show highlighting the exquisite musical capabilities of many girls at this school. The bravery and talent of our students is always something wonderful to watch.

The canteen supported us all week with a great range of food, matching our multicultural themes, which was fantastic! We also spent the week competing against Saint Ignatius College in the annual Language Perfect R.A. Kartini Cup. The final numbers were:

Number of competitors

MFG - 379

SICG - 757

Final points

MFG - 96,852

SICG - 94,004

Final average

MFG - 255

SICG - 124

Number of questions answered

277,190

Number of certificates

500+ points/Credit: 24

1000+ points/Bronze: 12

2000+ points/Silver: 3

3000+points/Gold: 4

Number of hearts broken

More than 3 (?)

The real winner in this competition

Languages!

Overall, it was a very successful week and everyone felt very “proud to belong”. Thanks to everyone who supported us and attended events!

The Diversity Team: Suraya Bandari, Sinead Hawthorn & Sonia Kull