Cultural Diversity Day

A week in the life of a Diversity Team.

Every year one of the first big challenges faced by the Diversity team is how to celebrate Cultural Diversity Week at MFG. Thanks to a grant we received from the Victorian Multicultural Commission (which was supported by the Victorian Government), this team was able to run a great range of activities. Here are some reflections from our Diversity team.

From the 18th to the 22nd of March, the Diversity Team ran activities around the school for Cultural Diversity Week. On Monday and Friday, we had a henna stall, where some very talented students shared their skills with other students. Using henna for body art has been practiced for over 5000 years and the designs shared today were beautiful.

Tuesday we had a guest speaker come in from World Vision, who talked to us about how different life can be and how our important MFG’s support is. We have been sponsoring a child for 17 years now. The Thursday was also our casual dress day and the money raised from the gold coin donation went towards supporting our sponsor child from Zambia, Misozi. It was really great to see what a difference everyone can make if we all work together.

On Wednesday we had an African Drumming workshop. Fred, his wife and baby daughter came in and taught everyone about his culture and allowed the participants to immerse themselves in the different styles of music from all over Africa. It was an amazing turnout and everyone that participated had such a great time getting involved. The vibe of all the girls coming together in a circle to learn about the culture behind the music was an experience that everyone thoroughly enjoyed! Playing the drums, dancing and interacting with each other was not only fun, but educational.

Thursday was a big day. Apart from it being a casual dress day with a gold coin donation – which got you some fairy bread! – we had French cakes at recess, miam miam! Sticking with the European theme, we had Mexican and Spanish Food Trucks come in while we also had Scottish dancers not only perform for us but teach us how to dance as well. Despite them being almost four times older than us, the Scottish dancers worked us hard and the dancing was great fun. The participation was amazing and it showed on the students’ faces how enjoyable this was. Everyone had an amazing time listening to the Scottish music and dancing along with all their friends and making more friends along the way.

Over the whole week, we had an epic battle on Language Perfect for the R.A. Kartini Cup. Kartini fought for women’s right to access education and this week we were fighting for the right to retain the trophy that bears her name. Students competed across all year levels in over 20 languages to earn points in the competition. Unfortunately, Saint Ignatius were too strong for us this time, but we will be back with 2020 vision next year!

Being a part of the student leadership team involves some hard work, but it is a really rewarding experience that everyone should consider joining in with!

Lily Brown, Bailee Adamson, Sabira Sakhi Dad & Tabeta Khokhar

(Diversity Team)

SMANSA Sister School Visit 2019

MFG and SMANSA have had a sister school relationship for 12 years. Just like MFG is short for ‘Matthew Flinders Girls’, SMANSA is short for ‘Sekolah Menengah Atas Negeri Satu’, or ‘State Senior High School #1’. SMANSA is located in Mataram, which is the capital city of the island of Lombok, just to the east of Bali. MFG students get to visit SMANSA and experience life at school, in a hot and humid environment, while SMANSA students get to experience Geelong in April/May, with our weather ranging from fine and warm(ish) to wet and freezing.

A large group of students visited this year, staying with families from Surf Coast Secondary, Newcomb Secondary and MFG. These exchange programs are always full of rich and rewarding experiences and this visit has proved that yet again.

At the very centre of our exchange program are the generous host families who welcome our Lombok visitors into their homes. Alma was hosted by Kelly Barrett (12) and Chloe Visser (9L), TJ by Amity Jacobson (9L), Devi by Jessica Wimshurst (9C), Putri by Isabel Smith (9L), Cindy by Ain Hazad (8L), and their teacher Bu Sri Ngayomi by Ms Ingrid Marshall.

Thank you to everyone who welcomed our visitors into their homes and classrooms, sharing personal stories and experiences, just as true friends do. One of the greatest benefits of student exchange comes from the connection with people. While it is wonderful to see the Great Ocean Road and pat a kangaroo, it is people opening their hearts to other people that brings the greatest rewards and understanding. It is the sharing of laughter and tears, the common challenges and joys and the struggle to speak a language that is not your own. These are the best moments and the ones that provide the greatest benefits for all our students.

We hope that our guests leave us with countless new friends, hundreds of photos (even more group selfies) and experiences about which more people only dream. We hope that they have eaten foods that that they never imagined that people might eat (sorry about the Vegemite!) and had a fantastic experience.

Through programs like this we can open our eyes, hearts and minds in many ways. We can see and feel differently than when before. Regardless of our language, religion, hair colour or cultural background, it is clear that people in Indonesia and Australia share common goals and struggles. We all want the best for future generations as we strive to live in harmony with each other.

MFG hopes that we will all continue to promote international understanding at home and when we travel. Thank you to everyone who worked very hard to make our SMANSA and Australia experience such a success.

Caroline Hall

Leader of Languages

Sayembara Lisan 2019

Once again, MFG students buffed up their Indonesian speaking skills and headed out to compete in the Sayembara Lisan, or Indonesian Speaking Competition. This competition involves talking to someone the student doesn’t know, answering pre-prepared questions, presenting a speech (no flashcards!) and answering unrehearsed questions. This is challenging enough in your first language!

We are proud of everyone who competed on the day. Thank you to Christian College for hosting a great day.

Congratulations to Ebony Knighton (8C), Nargis Niamatullah-Nazar (8C), Chloe Visser (9L), Isabel Smith (9L), Georgia Clingan (10B) and Sophie Watson (10B) who have made it through to the State Finals on Saturday 1 June at the Sidney Myer Asia Centre, University of Melbourne. Semoga sukses!

Caroline Hall

Leader of Languages

Wellbeing - Yoga and meditation sessions at MFG