Welcome to Hagley’s new Diverse Communities newsletter. This is an update on some of the things that have happened this year related to the work we do with students from new and emerging communities as well as some things coming up.

2020 has been a year unlike any before and it is understandable to feel a bit overwhelmed and over it. It has been amazing to see that things keep going, people keep going and great things keep happening. This newsletter is a reminder that there have been a lot of positive activities and learning going on and many reasons why staff, students and communities should be proud of what they have done in 2020. You will find updates from our English Language Learning department, Preschool, Homework Centre, Adult Literacy Centre as well as profiles on new staff members and other activities that have been happening at Hagley.

About me:

My name is Ben Gresham. I was born in Christchurch but grew up in Wellington and have lived in the Middle East, Australia, and Europe for different periods of my life. I returned to Christchurch last year to help the government and Muslim community after the mosque attacks. I started work at Hagley College in March this year. I have worked at schools in New Zealand and Australia, but Hagley College is unlike any school I have ever worked at before. With adult students, a preschool, a huge English Language Learning department, an Adult Learning Centre and students arriving throughout the year as part of the refugee quota programme I understand why Hagley is called a "Community College" and not a school. Hagley is a unique place to work and learn. Its programmes are designed around its students and their staff.

My top 3 Highlights so far this year have been:

· Online learning during COVID-19 restrictions. What a huge learning experience for everyone and amazing to be doing this learning with the rest of the world!

· The arrival of our new Eritrean students and whānau. It has been so exciting to see a new culture, language and community growing in our school and in Christchurch. We pray that your community continues to grow in numbers and strength.

· Collaborating on our Living in New Zealand Literacy sessions. We have already had presentations learning about recycling, the Police, voting in NZ and living in NZ homes. It’s been amazing to try different ways to support our learners for these presentations. For the recycling presentation we had interpreters in NZ sign language, Somali, Farsi, Tigrinya, as well as experimenting with Microsoft software to do live translation into Tagalog!

Though it has been a tough year for many of us it is great to see so many positive things happening. With the anticipated opening of the new multicultural centre just down the road from Hagley at the site of the Christchurch Netball Centre there is much to get excited about the  future ahead.