Cultural Diversity at HPSC

Meet our new Cultural Diversity Co-Ordinator!

Cultural Diversity Co-ordinator Sally Carruthers

Hi students and staff, I’m HP’s very own Cultural Diversity Co-ordinator! 

You can find me in the Mabo office, located on the top level near Mrs Bellgrove’s desk. You are welcome to contact me via teams, Compass or come and meet me in person. My role is very diverse in itself and I wear a number of different hats. 

A big part of my role is to promote equality for all students from diverse backgrounds. The way I am able to do this is by supporting the New Arrival students in the classroom as classroom support, create and build resources and materials to support the needs of each student such as student profiles. Other ways I promote cohesion and equality is acknowledgment through celebration of cultural events, much of this will be done through student voice and what the students would like to see celebrated here at HP. The first big event will be the showcase of the multicultural assembly to recognise Harmony day. Other cultural events will be celebrated in various ways across the year. 

I am the liaison between cultures in the community and our school, which I would like to open up specific parent forms to build connection with family’s staff and community. Students, please keep a look out for cultural competitions throughout the year, our first competition has been launched, so if you would like to participate see the Waitangi Day competition flyer below (house points and prizes are up for grabs!). 

A multicultural hub will be launched on Teams over the next coming weeks, keep an eye out for that as this space will be filled with lots of information supporting our diverse college. I look forward to a positive transition into this new role for me and for the HP community!

Waitangi Day

New Zealand's 'The Treaty of Waitangi' is named after the location that it was signed.  6th February now marks the anniversary of its signing and has since become a New Zealand national holiday known as 'Waitangi Day'. The Waitangi Treaty was signed by Māori chiefs and representatives of the British Crown and was three pronged in that it gave the Māori people the same rights as the British.

Waitangi Day was first commemorated as a holiday in New Zealand in 1934, two years after Governor-General Lord Bledisloe and his wife bought and gifted to the nation the rundown house, where the treaty was signed. Bledisloe hoped the day would become a celebration of the nation. The first Waitangi Day saw more than 10,000 Māori in attendance.

A Māori cultural performance was usually given as part of the ceremony, this first occurred in the mid-1950s and has since continued as tradition. Many of these early features remain a part of Waitangi Day ceremonies, including a naval salute, the Māori cultural performance (now usually a pōwhiri, a ceremonial welcome), and speech es from a range of Māori and Pākehā dignitaries. Waitangi Day is celebrated in Australia as a cultural event but is not a public holiday.

Waitangi Day Competition

This week we celebrated Waitangi Day, which was held on Monday 6th February. To help celebrate and recognise Waitangi day, we are running a competition asking students to illustrate what Waitangi Day means to them. House points and other prizes are up for grabs, and entries must be submitted to your House Office by Tuesday 21st February. Students can collect their A4 paper from their House Office.

Lunar New Year

The Year of the Rabbit

Many Chinese Australian families spend Lunar New Year by gathering together for a festive meal. The Lunar New Year celebrations can last for about 15 days. It is usually a busy time filled with festive programs across different communities in Australia. Th Lunar New Year is often symbolised with Envelopes with money (Hong Bao, Ang Pao, or Lai See) and come in the colour red, which symbolizes happiness, good luck, success, and good fortune. These envelopes are mainly given as presents to children.

Each Lunar New Year is associated with an animal name for one of 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac. The zodiac animal for 2023 Lunar New Year is the Rabbit, the fourth of all 12 zodiac animals. The last year of the Rabbit occurred in 2011. In Chinese culture the rabbit represents the moon.

This year, the Lunar New Year started on Jan. 22, and will last until February 1st. Celebrations last up to 16 days. The celebration will reach its peak with the Lantern Festival on February 5th.