Cultural Spotlight Day

On Monday 11^th July we launched a brand new series of events to celebrate the cultural diversity within the Mount St Mary’s school community. Organised by students and a range of teachers the launch event saw a series of taster sessions for students to explore, enjoy and celebrate their cultural heritage and learn about the cultural heritage of others.

Our community is made up of over 45 different nationalities and languages. Rather than these events being only one day a year we aim to learn and celebrate our cultural identity in context as global celebrations and events take place. Each month we will do different activities and our launch event gave us a chance to showcase some of what is it come.

The Art and Technology department created a “Pathway of Flags” representing the nationalities within the MSM community. Students across Years 7 and 8 all helped paint the flags and it proved a real talking point on our recent Target Setting Day.

Language Ambassadors and student volunteers in Years 8, 9 and 10 joined together for an event celebrating national, religious and traditional dress. Students shared the meaning behind different colours of each garment or where each style of clothing was from.

At break time a series of pop up stalls showcased different food from around the world. Students were given taster pots to try the delicious home cooked food. Thank you to all the students and families that contributed. Over 100 students took part in trying to guess where different dishes were from.

Our Language Ambassadors also spent time suggesting possible events for next year and putting together new profile sheets that will introduce their role to visitors. Our Language Ambassadors are available whenever parents or families visit school in order to support those in our community who don’t speak English. This ensures everyone feels fully supported.

At lunch time the school featured dishes that we offer as part of our traditional menu but highlighting the links to the national heritage amongst the school community. As a one-off new addition our school Irish heritage was celebrated with a traditional “Irish Stew” added to the menu and we are planning exciting new dishes to feature in the new year for special events.

For more photo’s of the event please click here to go to our photo gallery