Assistant Principal's Report

Throughout week 9, GWPS celebrated Cultural Diversity Week.  As with everything we do at our wonderful school, we developed this opportunity into a sequence of deep learning opportunities for our students. Using the week’s theme “Connecting Through Culture,” all students were taken through a sequence of learning tasks that aimed at deepening cultural understanding.

We started our learning journey by using the text “My Two Blankets” to spark thinking about what culture we feel most connected to and exploring this with our families.  You can view our wonderful CIS Captains, Kiara and Yuvan, reading the book “My Two Blankets” on this video:

Our students also explored the Australian culture and what it means to be a part of this culture. Everyone across the school created “Two Blankets” of their own; one representing their own understanding of culture and the other exemplifying their place within Australian culture.  This then led to an exploration of cultures within our classes and the wider school community, finding similarities and differences – an opportunity to connect through culture.

The week was punctuated on Thursday by Harmony Day, where our learners wore their cultural dress and connected with their buddy classes.  By sharing their two blankets with their buddy, our learners had the opportunity to broaden their connections through culture, while also deepening a sense of connectedness with other students, beyond their own class.  In the video below, Rehmat, Nivie and Mehar from 2C, talk about why they feel Harmony Day is important.

Cultural Diversity Week culminated in the final learning experience, where everyone brought their “Two Blankets” together to reflect on what they had learned throughout the week.  In the videos below Thinuli (4D) and Suwi (4B) talk about their two blankets and what they learned during Cultural Diversity Week.

As a proud school with so many different cultures represented, Cultural Diversey Week is a very special time.  Our two blanket displays, which can be seen on display across the whole school, really exemplify the rich tapestry that makes up Glen Waverley Primary School. We encourage you to take a moment to walk through the school and observe the wonderful classroom displays where their “Two Blankets” are on show.  There is some amazing and deep learning within them.

Here is a selection of photos from across the school, exemplifying the rich learning that took place over Cultural Diversity Week.  The blankets featured are accompanied by the reflections our learners undertook to recognise the everyone exists with a culture that is influenced by multiple cultures.