5 minute read
James Hargest College’s first student-led Cultural Day
James Hargest College in Invercargill brought together the junior and senior campus for their inaugural Cultural Day. It was a vibrant, student-led event that brought together kai, kōrero and culture to celebrate the diversity of its school community.
James Hargest College has more than 60 ethnicities represented in their kura. This year, the school held its inaugural Cultural Day to honour and celebrate this rich diversity.
Students proudly expressed who they are and where they come from by sharing stories, heritage and traditions that are meaningful to their cultures.
Lara Buchanan, director of international students, says, “It was a memorable day of listening, learning, sharing and celebrating.”
Lara explains that the idea came from Diane, a Year 12 student, who went to see a guidance counsellor to ask for help in organising a culture day by the end of the term.
“She is from the Philippines and has noticed that quite a range of cultures are represented at Hargest and wanted to find a way to bring recognition to this.”
The guidance counsellor and Diane had a brainstorming session and she came up with the idea to have a fashion show where students walk the catwalk wearing traditional clothing to traditional music, with a world map projected on the stage spotlighting the represented country on the world.
An MC would talk about the clothing, describing the significance of the items worn and the cultural narratives behind it.
Christine Black is the teacher-in-charge of ESOL and the International Friendship Club – a club of around 100 students who support international students through social events. Christine eagerly jumped on board to support the absolutely incredible celebration.
“I facilitated the leaders from the International Friendship Club and Diane to finalise a plan. I put some systems in place for these students to use and had checkpoints regarding the progress of each cultural group and gave suggestions where needed.
“My aim was to let the students take ownership and to give guidance and fill in any gaps where needed.”
Two campuses, one community
James Hargest College spans a junior campus (Years 7–8) and senior campus (Years 9–13), and the event was designed to include everyone.
Senior students supported junior students to participate in activities such as a parade of nations, shared kai and cultural performances.
“This day allowed students to learn about other cultures using multiple senses – hearing and watching performances, tasting traditional foods and talking about other cultural aspects,” says Christine.
“It was real life learning. Hopefully this inaugural event will encourage more students to participate in it next year.”
Lara says the day filled her with pride, adding, “While this event was supported by staff, it was largely driven by students, for students.”
Students were encouraged to attend school in traditional garments or colours that were culturally significant.
“I was super surprised to see almost the whole school watching the performances, everyone was hyping each other up. All the worries and jitters went away when everyone was cheering.”
She says the pride and energy in the room was palpable and while it was held in the gym, the crowd gathered was much larger than anticipated.
“We had students standing at the windows outside trying to get a view as well. Often it is these students from minority cultures who don’t ‘see’ themselves in the fabric of our schools.
“To have a multicultural celebration which gave a vehicle for students to celebrate and showcase their culture was just special. You could see the pride these students had.”
Sharing food, performance and pride
From food stalls to live performances, the day was filled with opportunities to share and learn. Students brought kai from their cultural backgrounds to share with others, turning the event into a sensory journey of flavours, stories and traditions.
Pubuduni, a Year 7 student from Sri Lanka, was proud to share their culture.
“My friends and I performed a dance we made ourselves. I was so happy that the students enjoyed the performance. It made me more proud of how I see my culture in school. My favourite part was the shared kai and performances.”
George Dobson, ESOL teacher and international committee member, says the event shows students that the school values their cultures.
“It was fantastic to see the pride that students showed in their costumes and willingness to perform at assembly. Parents also emailed me to say how awesome it was that we were organising this activity.
“We had Irish dancing, bagpipes, Cook Islands dancing, Sri Lankan dancing and the senior campus Pacifica group performing.”
Looking ahead
The success of the event has inspired students and staff to make the cultural day an annual tradition.
“Today was a day to be very proud of our kura,” says Lara.
The leadership and initiative shown by students throughout the planning and delivery of the event is something the school is incredibly proud of.
“From the feedback I’ve heard, they want to see it again! It’s something to look forward to,” says Diane.
“I overheard many groups talking about how they’re going to execute a better performance for another culture day at school. I was super surprised to see almost the whole school watching the performances, everyone was hyping each other up. All the worries and jitters went away when everyone was cheering.”
