School Culture Day

Last Friday, our Arts and Culture Leaders started what we hope will become a wonderful new tradition at St Mary’s—our very first School Culture Day!

We were incredibly fortunate to have seven groups of families generously take time out of their day to share their culture, heritage, stories and traditions with our students. A huge thank you to Deb and Lila, who shared about Scotland and the Picts; Annie and Tannah, who shared about Glasgow; Kat, Yew and Ishaan, who shared about the Philippines; Jane, Ray, Tadeo and Primo, who taught us some traditional dances from the Philippines; Alice, Leila and Archer, who shared their Iranian heritage; Jess, Alex and Nina, who shared their Vietnamese culture; and Josh and Luna, who shared stories and images from the town in Italy where Josh’s family originated.

Throughout the day, our students were engaged, curious and in awe of the different stories, languages and traditions they had the opportunity to experience. It was wonderful to see them asking questions, learning from our families and celebrating the incredible diversity within our St Mary’s community.

Students also had the opportunity to add their family names to the map in our yard, helping us to see just how many different cultures and places around the world are represented within our school community. It was a fantastic visual reminder of the many unique stories and backgrounds that come together to make St Mary’s such a special place.

A very special congratulations to Alex and Nina for bringing this fantastic idea to the Arts and Culture Team and helping to make the day a reality. Most importantly, a massive thank you to all of the families who generously gave their time, shared their stories and helped make our first School Culture Day such a memorable experience.

We hope this is just the beginning of a wonderful new St Mary’s tradition!