We are nearly at the end of the school year, and I am delighted to share some of our recent cultural diversity activities with you.

Term four started with one of the biggest celebrations of our South Asian, majorly Indian community, Diwali. Diwali or Deepavali symbolises the spiritual victory of light over darkness, good over evil. It originated in Hindu culture, is now celebrated globally and is known as the festival of light in popular culture. 

Like in previous years, we celebrated Diwali within our school community. This year we invited Pavithra Ravi, a brilliant Bharathanatyam teacher from ZAIA, to run a workshop on Indian classical music and dance. We organised this workshop in the library and the local community got an opportunity to participate. 

Thanks again to all the students and staff who took part in the workshop and learned some new skills. Once again, Happy Diwali!  

Filipino parents’ hui

The CDCT organised an information session for our lovely Filipino community. 55 members from around 30 Filipino families attended the meeting. 

This time we highlighted the significance of student attendance, and how to support teen-aged children. Mr Chris Singh, our Head of Guidance, ran an important workshop on these topics with the support of our Filipino staff team, Mrs Seth Tio, and Mrs Delia Talili. The parent participants gave excellent feedback about the session, and we feel sure that the information provided will be very helpful for them in the future. 

Thanks again for attending the meeting, maraming salamat po!

Canterbury Tramping Club

The Christchurch Tramping Club (CTC) has set up a Youth Programme to provide an introduction to tramping for over 15-year-olds. We are excited that RHS students with diverse ethnic backgrounds get this unique opportunity to get a tramping experience absolutely free of cost.

The programme runs completely separate from the school, under CTC's own legal entity with a detailed health and safety plan to manage risk. Experienced police-vetted volunteers (two CTC members) will take eight interested students to bookable huts for an overnight trip. If required they can arrange pre-day walks for students who've not experienced longer walks with a pack. They have clothing and gear for a loan at no cost as well. They will run this programme during the summer holidays. 

Chinese Dance Group 

The 1st of December saw our wonderful Chinese Dance Group students receive their certificates for their commitment and participation in the Chinese cultural activities this year.

Well done to all.