On Monday, our school community came together for our annual Cultural Day, organised by Global Prefect Edelweiss Von Hofler. The day was a fantastic celebration of diversity, featuring a special morning assembly, student performances, a photo booth with traditional clothing, and a popular lunchtime food hall. We were also delighted to welcome visiting students from our sister school, Yasuda Girls High School, who joined in the festivities.

Opening the day's assembly, Edelweiss spoke to the student body about the importance of experiencing other cultures firsthand rather than just talking about them.

"If you go to an Asian household, you don’t wear shoes inside. If you’re invited to a Middle Eastern home, a lot of them share meals on the ground, sitting together on colourful mats. Every culture does things differently. In order to actually learn about culture, you can’t just give a speech about it—you have to experience it."

Using the plumeria flower (pua) as a central metaphor, Edelweiss explained how a single flower can connect different communities across oceans, holding distinct cultural meanings for both Southeast Asian and Pasifika peoples.

"This flower isn’t just a flower, you’re looking at a bridge between oceans... although the flower can mean so many different things, it holds a special meaning to a lot of us."

She also encouraged our students to reach out and connect with our visiting guests from Yasuda Girls High School:

"Don’t be afraid of cultural barriers, because I promise that if you take the first step to say 'Hi!', you’ll find out that you both have a lot of things in common."

To conclude her speech, Edelweiss sang "Nak Dara Rindu", a classic Malaysian love song by P. Ramlee, setting a wonderful tone for the rest of the day. A huge thank you to Edelweiss and everyone who helped put together such an enjoyable and memorable event!