A Look Back at 2016

2016 was a great, productive year for Cultural AWARENESS, RESPONSIVENESS and CELEBRATION!

We kick started the year with Cultural Diversity Week. From the 11th to 21st of March, students were able to participate in the Soccer World Cup, listen to World Music, purchase authentic cuisine from around the world for just $5 a plate, enter a Harmony Art Wall competition, enjoy henna tattooing, watch live performances from different cultures and a cultural fashion parade, and so much more!

Our CALD Haven lunch time activity also runs from Mondays- Fridays in the EAL room, where CALD students are welcomed with various activities that help them with social skills, academic work and extra-curricular fun.

We also celebrated Samoan Language Week with a lunch time concert for the whole school. There were live performances of songs and dances for everyone.

Celebrity motivational speaker Abdi Aden told our Year 8 and 9 cohort about his journey as a Somalian refugee. John Riak had an opportunity to speak to Mr. Aden. “Abdi’s kind of like me. He was alone in Australia coming here. And when he told me what motivated him, it got to me.” Mr. Aden told John that, “…he’s got nothing to lose.”

We laud Nyibol Atoc, the inaugural Cultural Captain, who was awarded a YAC Award for Student Leadership in the culture category by the Melton Youth Services.

For the UN’s International Day of Peace in September, we had a peace photo booth, and the photos were uploaded to our Staughton FB page. We also had a fun human bingo game at lunch time.

The culminating activity was our Cultural Family Picnic in October. We had live singing and dancing to entertain our family and friends. There was a lot of food to share, with games and prizes galore. This was the perfect way to end the year with cultural festivity!